Take a Hint, Dani Brown by Talia Hibbert
Genre: Realistic Fiction/Rom-Com
Blurb (on back of book):
Talia Hibbert returns with another charming romantic comedy about a young woman who agrees to fake date her friend after a video of him “rescuing” her from their office building goes viral... Danika Brown knows what she wants: professional success, academic renown, and an occasional roll in the hay to relieve all that career-driven tension. But romance? Been there, done that, burned the T-shirt. Romantic partners, whatever their gender, are a distraction at best and a drain at worst. So Dani asks the universe for the perfect friend-with-benefits—someone who knows the score and knows their way around the bedroom.
When brooding security guard Zafir Ansari rescues Dani from a workplace fire drill gone wrong, it’s an obvious sign: PhD student Dani and ex-rugby player Zaf are destined to sleep together. But before she can explain that fact, a video of the heroic rescue goes viral. Now half the internet is shipping #DrRugbae—and Zaf is begging Dani to play along. Turns out, his sports charity for kids could really use the publicity. Lying to help children? Who on earth would refuse?
Dani’s plan is simple: fake a relationship in public, seduce Zaf behind the scenes. The trouble is, grumpy Zaf’s secretly a hopeless romantic—and he’s determined to corrupt Dani’s stone-cold realism. Before long, he’s tackling her fears into the dirt. But the former sports star has issues of his own, and the walls around his heart are as thick as his... um, thighs.
Suddenly, the easy lay Dani dreamed of is more complex than her thesis. Has her wish backfired? Is her focus being tested? Or is the universe just waiting for her to take a hint?
MY OPINION: ***
I actually really liked this book a lot more than the one before it in the series but I ended up giving it the same 3-stars. I know that everyone adores these books but I just think they aren't really my cup of tea. I don't think they are bad or anything like that, but something about them just doesn't seem to really agree with me. I don't find myself getting ramped up full of excitement for the characters, which I think is one of the reasons why I find it difficult to get through these in the usual 1-2 day time period I read rom-coms in.
Again, I loved the representation within this book! We focus on Dani and Zaf, two fairly different people who somehow find their way to each other. Zafir suffers from extreme anxiety and panic attacks and I really liked how it was dealt with in this book. Similar to Chloe's disease, it wasn't his key defining trait but also wasn't treated like a joke or something that should be ignored.
Dani is afraid of commitment. She's had bad experiences with long-term relationships and so has resorted to one-night-stands and staying away from love. However, her feelings for Zafir, the doorman at the building she works in, seem to be different, no matter how hard she tries to push them away. I liked Dani but there were times when I found her character super annoying. Also, her personality was very similar to Chloe's and I would have liked getting to see us differentiate between the sisters. As I'm reading the last book in the series, I find that it's the same with Eve. I think they are all built from the same mold and I would have liked to see them as more unique people. That might just be my opinion, though.
Zafir is a cute, adorable, lovable man, despite his being over six feet. I love the teddy-bear type men in rom-coms especially when their outward appearance is nothing like it. He's also a fellow romance book reader and I loved that. It was so unique and cute and I think it really added to his character. Romance novels do tend to bring up unrealistic expectations for real life, which I think added to the overall conflict and tension within Dani and Zaf, which I really liked.
Basically, there's a fire drill or some emergency drill in the building and Dani finds herself trapped in an elevator. Of course, lo and behold, our man Zaf comes to save her and carries her out victoriously. However, a video of them goes viral and the Internet goes wild, convinced they are together and in love. Zaf is trying to propel his business (mental health awareness for teen athletes) and asks Dani if she would be willing to fake-date him, since his donations have been skyrocketing since the viral video. Although she's reluctant, she agrees since it's all fake... right?
Of course, fake dating is never fake dating. At least, not in a rom-com. Soon, they're both equally falling for each other but each has their reasons for pushing their feelings away. Adding friends-with-benefits into the mix definitely did not help things. I really loved the slow-burn aspect even though they were "together" for the cameras. I've read a lot of fake-dating tropes, and this one followed the same mold, but I liked the pacing of this one particularly because we really get to see them fall for each other but choosing to avoid their feelings to stay away from heartbreak. Both also have their own traumas to get through, which adds another layer of conflict to their potential relationship.
We get to see a lot of cameos from Chloe and Red, which were cute. Overall, the book is a fairly cotton-candy, cutesy, fluffy romance. Yes, there were some serious topics and depressing themes but overall, it was very light and predictable. I wish there had been a little more character development and plotlines that weren't just about their romance but I suppose you can't expect much from a rom-com. I think there were a lot of places where we could have seen MORE than what we got.
I would recommend this book to readers looking for a fun, easy-to-read romance novel.
Main Character: Dani, Zaf
Sidekick(s): Chloe, Red, Eve, Fatima, friends, etc
Villain(s): Misunderstandings, trauma, etc
Realistic Fiction Elements: All of this book could occur in real life.
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