Book Review: Take a Hint, Dani Brown

After reading Get a Life, Chloe Brown again I couldn’t not re-read Take a Hint, Dani Brown. On this re-read I think I enjoyed this book even more than the first time with it’s headstrong, powerful heroine and cinnamon roll love interest. Like the first book, Talia Hibbert combines a romance with some important topics including taking time for yourself and men’s mental health.

Star rating: 5 stars

Dani Brown is a PhD student with big career ambitions of being a professor like her idol Inez Holly. She puts everything into her studies, refusing to have relationships after romantic partners didn’t understand her priorities in the past. Zafir Ansari is an ex-rugby player turned security guard who works in Dani’s building where the two of them have a friendly, flirty relationship. Zafir’s passion is his project Tackle It, an organisation that provides support to teenage boys in processing and handling their emotions. Zaf himself has anxiety making it a personal career choice.

When a fire alarm test brings the two their viral social media moment after Zaf rescues Dani from a broken lift, they are left with a tricky decision. Dating Dani would enable Zaf to capitalise on traction the social media viral moment would bring Tackle It, and Dani just wants a friends with benefits situation. The two decide to fake-date to satisfy both their desires – except how will Zaf, the hopeless romantic, deal with falling in love with Dani Brown, romance hating relationship avoider?

My favourite thing about this book is that the characters are so good for each other. Zaf understands Dani’s workaholic nature and brings her food and doesn’t get angry with her when she’s absorbed in her research. Dani respects Zaf’s anxiety and helps him open up about his past experiences in support of Tackle It. I really enjoyed the emphasis on men’s mental health, it’s rare to see a man with anxiety in fiction and it’s very much a part of Zaf’s character throughout. I empathised a great deal with him.

The romance is electrifying as these two cross the boundary between friendship and a relationship, still keeping the routines they had before they started to fake date like Dani bringing Zaf coffee and Zaf giving Dani a protein bar every day. Dani really is clueless when it comes to her feelings – I felt really bad for Zaf because he was head over heels from the start and Dani just wasn’t ready for it.

Overall, a another banger from Talia Hibbert. I love all three books in this trilogy with all my heart as the characters are so well developed and they always tackle some important issues. Zaf really inspires me, he’s one of my favourite love interests in a romance novel. If you’ve read Take a Hint, Dani Brown then let me know what you thought!

Book Review: Get a Life, Chloe Brown

Sometimes it’s really difficult to choose a new book to read, and in those moments I go back to the books I love the most. Get a Life, Chloe Brown is the first book in my favourite romance series, and this re-read only confirmed its place at the top of the romance list. It brings together two troubled characters together who are trying to heal from past trauma and creates one of the most supportive romances I’ve ever read.

Star rating: 5 stars (as if it would be anything else)

Our protagonist and titular character Chloe Brown has made a list – a list that aims to help her ‘get a life’. She’s struggled with fibromyalgia for years, and watched all her old friends and fiancé abandon her because of it. When she moves out of the family home and into a flat, the last thing she expected was to start falling for the superintendent she really doesn’t like.

Redford Morgan, known as Red, is trying to get his life back on track. His friend did him a favour and gave him a job as superintendent at a block of flats so he could find his feet and start painting again. Between an abusive past relationship and a loss of confidence in his art, Red has a lot going on. He didn’t intend to fall for one of the residents at his place of work, especially Chloe Brown, who really doesn’t seem to like him.

This book is everything. Chloe has to confront the real reasons behind the creation of her ‘get a life’ list and does this with the help of Red, who shows her what it’s like to have real friends who look out for you. Red takes Chloe on various adventures from bars to camping, all the while thinking of her disability and anticipating her needs, which is something Chloe has never had outside of her family before. Talia Hibbert never pushes Chloe’s disability to the side and I appreciated the way her daily struggles were integrated into the story, and how it demonstrated her toughness. Meanwhile, Red himself has to deal with constantly second-guessing himself and Chloe’s intentions as he is still healing from his trauma. It was good to see a positive but realistic representation of therapy in this book, especially through a male character.

Other highlights were Chloe’s family, particularly seeing Dani and Eve again after reading their respective books. Gigi is also a standout character who I love. Overall, this is a fantastic book with an adorable romance at the centre. Everything from the characters to the plot to the writing is perfect and I wouldn’t change a thing. If you want a romance novel that manages to have that squeal-inducing cuteness alongside more serious topics then this one is for you.

ARC Review: Act Your Age, Eve Brown

Talia gave us Chloe Brown’s book, then Dani’s. Now it’s youngest Brown sister Eve’s turn, and I was excited to get stuck in to the final book in one of my favourite romance series. This book is grumpy and sunshine at his best, Eve is probably the sister that I relate to the most, and it has neurodiversity representation.

Star rating: 5 stars

Eve can’t seem to stick with one career. She doesn’t really know what she wants to do with her life. Her latest attempt at wedding planning was fun but an incident with some doves leads to a bad review, putting an end to that one. Her parents are very frustrated and give her an ultimatum. Eve, furious, leaves the house and finds her way to a B&B – which happens to be looking for a new chef. Is it meant to be?

Jacob put his heart and soul into his B&B, but when his chef wins the lottery and leaves him stranded before a big event, he starts looking for a new one. Then Eve Brown walks into his life with her sunshine attitude. He thinks she’ll be an absolute disaster, but when an accident leaves him indisposed, he has little choice in the matter but to hire her…

Honestly, I loved the characters in this book so much – Eve in particular. I related to her struggles in passing her driving test, having to listen to music to concentrate, fear of failure and difficulty making friends. She also cares a lot about people and has a really strong empathetic nature. Jacob is also the perfect grumpy in the pairing – I loved his passion for the B&B, how he did so much to make his guests comfortable (even offering weighted blankets which was a nice touch). He’s also really comfortable with his autism diagnosis.

The romance is probably my favourite of the series! I love how considerate the characters are towards each other. Both characters get a point of view and I enjoyed both. The plot is also good – not too much drama which is always appreciated. It was good to have Chloe and Dani cameos too, I miss those two and now I want to re-read.

Overall, a perfect final book in this trilogy and probably my favourite overall. I was so happy that it also had autistic representation, especially in women. I wish their was a fourth Brown sister because I’m really not ready for this to be over!

Have you read any of the Brown sister books? I love them all, if you like adult romance you should definitely check them out.