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Take a Hint, Dani Brown: A Novel (The Brown Sisters, 2)

Talia Hibbert

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Named one of the Best Romances of 2020 by Apple, Kirkus, PW, Washington Post, NPR, BookPage, OprahMag, EW, Insider, Buzzfeed, Bustle, and Amazon!

USA Today bestselling author 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 big, brooding security guard Zafir Ansari rescues Dani from a workplace fire drill gone wrong, it’s an obvious sign: PhD student Dani and former rugby player Zaf are destined to sleep together. But before she can explain that fact to him, a video of the heroic rescue goes viral. Suddenly, 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 is 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.

The easy lay Dani dreamed of is now 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?

“Talia Hibbert is a rockstar! Her writing is smart, funny, and sexy...”

— Meg Cabot, #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Little Bridge Island and Princess Diaries series

Featured in OprahMag, Bustle, Parade, PopSugar, New York Post, Essence, Travel & Leisure, Ms. Magazine, TheSkimm, Betches, Shondaland, Buzzfeed and more...

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Posts about this title from Boundless Press

Boundless Press\ \ Jananie\ \ • Mar 9 2023

tier ranking your fave book tropes & recommending books based on them

Check out G2A's deals here from March 1-20th, 2023: https://www.g2a.com/best-deals/girl\_power?banner=main

💓 join as a channel member to get access to perks: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJn0v3OAEAX3-V4crjcHtRA/join

socials 🤍 instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thisstoryaintover/ 🤍 twitter: https://twitter.com/jananiekvelu 🤍 tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thisstoryaintover?lang=en 🤍 storygraph: https://app.thestorygraph.com/profile/thisstoryaintover 🤍 goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/thisstoryaintover

💌 for business/sponsorship inquiries please contact eric@smallscreenmarketing.com 💌 for all other inquiries please contact me at thisstoryaintover@gmail.com

faqs 🤍 how do you pronounce your name? - my name is Jananie—pronounced JEN-nah-nee (like a knee!)

🤍 what's your background/ethnicity/etc? - both my parents are Sri Lankan Tamil, and I was born and raised in Canada!

🤍 what is your job? - aside from youtube I also work in product marketing!

48 books

Posts about this book from across Bindery

chronicallybookish\ \ Kaley\ \ • Jul 16

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romance books where both characters are disabled!

ad | Dating in real life can be a lot more intimidating than it is in a novel—especially when you’re disabled and have to worry about ableism and accessibility. That’s where Dateability comes in! Dateability is a free dating app built specifically with disabled and chronically ill people in mind.

Dateability was founded by sisters Jacqueline and Alexa to be an inclusive alternative to mainstream dating apps after Jacqueline experienced discrimination on dating apps due to her chronic illness and disability. I especially love the Disability Deets section on your profile that lets you add details about your disabilities or access needs if you want to. It’s so clear that this app was built FOR disabled people, and with love for our community, and helps alleviate a lot of potential anxieties around dating while disabled 🩷

#bookstagram #romancebookstagram #dating #disabilitybooks #disabilitypride -paid partnership-

30 books

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Wanderland Reads\ \ Sayer\ \ • Nov 3 2025

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If you grew up in a conservative religion, you probably learned early that desire was dangerous. You were told to guard your heart, protect your purity, and stay “undefiled.” Lust was a sin. Curiosity was a trap. Wanting was something to fear, not to understand.\ \ By the time you reached adulthood, you might have developed a complicated relationship with your body and desire. You might freeze when someone touches you, or feel a quiet hum of shame even when you’re safe and loved. You might crave intimacy but pull back at the first sign of arousal because it feels “wrong.” - HIS THIS WAS MEEEEEE!\ \ That’s not brokenness. That’s conditioning.\ \ Purity culture teaches you to separate from your own body. It makes desire feel like a test of morality rather than a natural signal from a living, breathing body. When your worth is tied to your ability to suppress, it becomes almost impossible to experience desire without guilt.\ \ Even when you leave the belief system behind, the reflex stays. You might intellectually know sex is normal, but your body flinches like you’re about to be caught. You might say “I’m free,” yet still whisper “sorry” after pleasure.\ \ This is where romance novels come in—not as escapism, but as education.\ \ Romance as a way of reclamation.\ \ Reading romance allows you to witness desire handled with tenderness, care, and consent. It models what safety looks like when two people explore attraction without punishment. The genre gives space for curiosity, communication, and mutual pleasure—concepts that purity culture erased.\ \ When a character asks, “Do you like this?” and the answer is a confident yes, it’s more than a sexy line. It’s a demonstration of autonomy. It’s a reminder that desire is not sin. It’s sensation. It’s communication. It’s trust.\ \ For those unlearning purity culture, this kind of modeling matters. You don’t have to perform confidence to start healing. Sometimes you begin by reading it, seeing it lived on the page, and letting your nervous system notice what safety feels like secondhand.\ \ From a trauma-informed lens, this is exposure therapy in the gentlest form. Reading about touch, pleasure, or intimacy lets you explore what your body avoided—without real-world risk. Your brain learns new associations: desire can be safe, pleasure can coexist with calm, love can mean choice rather than control.\ \ Each story becomes a small rehearsal for trust. You’re building tolerance for your own future.\ \ When you read romance after purity culture, you’re not learning how to have sex. You’re learning how to want again.\ \ You’re learning that attraction doesn’t require apology.\ \ You’re learning that connection doesn’t erase selfhood.\ \ You’re learning that pleasure isn’t proof of sin.\ \ Desire is not a moral failure. It’s a sign that your body is waking up to its own wholeness.\ \ If you want to use romance as part of your healing, begin with stories where emotional safety and consent are central. Look for slow burns, open communication, and partners who prioritize comfort over performance.\ \ Try reading with curiosity instead of critique. Notice where your body tenses, when you blush, when you soften. Those are clues about where shame still lives and where freedom is waiting.\ \ You were taught to fear desire, but desire itself was never the enemy.\ \ You were taught to silence your body, but your body has been speaking truth all along.\ \ You were taught that wanting makes you unholy, yet every tender pulse of longing is proof that you’re still here, still capable of connection, still alive.\ \ Romance stories aren’t the complete solution, but they’re a doorway—a way to practice wanting without punishment.\ \ Ask yourself:\ \ What would it feel like to want something without guilt?\ \ And what if that feeling wasn’t dangerous at all, but sacred?\ \ Relearning Desire Through Romance \ \ 1. Something to Talk About by Meryl Wilsner (sapphic)\ \ A quiet, queer slow burn between a Hollywood showrunner and her assistant. There’s mutual respect, consent, and emotional care on every page. It models how attraction grows through safety and trust.\ \ 2. The Roommate by Rosie Danan (hetero)\ \ Smart, funny, and sex-positive. It dismantles shame around pleasure and features a heroine learning that desire can be generous and collaborative, not transactional.\ \ 3. Take a Hint, Dani Brown by Talia Hibbert (queer)\ \ Brilliant academic heroine meets emotionally fluent partner who celebrates her ambition and sexuality. It normalizes communication about wants and boundaries. Actually this whole series.\ \ 4. The Care and Feeding of Waspish Widows by Olivia Waite (sapphic)\ \ A sapphic historical where two women find safety and sensuality after loss. It reclaims intimacy from duty and reframes it as shared curiosity.\ \ 5. You Made a Fool of Death with Your Beauty by Akwaeke Emezi (sapphic/queer)\ \ A story about reclaiming desire and pleasure after grief. It explores how trauma and sensuality can coexist without one canceling the other.\ \ Some of these are repeats from the free tier post the other day, and go check that post out for more recs along this line.\ \ Upgrade for $5 or login

Relearning Desire After Purity Culture (How Romance Stories Help You Reclaim Wanting Without Shame)

5 books

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Discotopia | Diverse Books\ \ Disco (he/they)\ \ • Nov 2 2025

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10 Brilliant Books by Black British Authors

Books listed: The upper world by Femi Fadugba The Haunting of Tyrese Walker by JP Rose Rapunzella or Don’t Touch My Hair by Ella McLeod Augmented by Kenechi Udogu Goddess Crown by Shade Lapite On the Run with a Vampire by Anise Starre Black Dolls Sweet Heat by Bolu Babalola People Person by Candice Carty-Williams Take a Hint Dani Brown by Talia Hibbert The Final Strife by Saara el-Arifi Small Worlds by Caleb Azumah Nelson Edge of Here by Kenechi Okafor A Song of Legends Lost by M.H. Ayinde #booktok #blackbooktok #blackbooks #blackhistorymonth #ukblackhistorymonth

8 books

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chronicallybookish\ \ Kaley\ \ • Sep 15 2025

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read our september book club pick or else

And we’re gonna be voting on our next read soon!!! #booktok #bookclub #romancebookclub #taliahibbert #takeahintdanibrown

2 books

Wanderland Reads\ \ Sayer\ \ • Aug 17 2025

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[In a world obsessed with narrow beauty standards fueled by media, advertising, and social platforms, it can be hard to see and love your body for what it truly is. It feels like all the books that go viral on BookTok and Bookstagram feature some 26 year old size 2, zero body fat, with huge boobs and a round ass. She’s ridiculously bendy and has the ideal beauty standards popular in western societies, aka the beauty standard of white supremacy. \ \ But here’s the truth: body diversity is beautiful, and every single body deserves love and acceptance. The journey toward body positivity starts within—by practicing self-love and embracing your unique shape and size.\ \ Our bodies come in all shapes, sizes, colors, and abilities. There’s no one “ideal” look—only the incredible variety of human bodies. Society often promotes a limited idea of beauty, but the reality is that every body has worth. Whether you have a small frame, luscious curves, scars from life, or are navigating disability, your body is an essential part of your identity.\ \ Celebrating this diversity is key to building a more inclusive world—and to your own self-acceptance.\ \ Many of us carry internalized societal messages that promote shame, making it hard to love ourselves. Book covers often show ‘perfect’ bodies that are unrealistic and unrepresentative, if I had a nickel for every time I’ve heard authors complaining that they can’t find plus size stock images. Comparing yourself to these images can lead to feelings of inadequacy. Past criticisms, whether from peers or family, also contribute to negative body image.\ \ In a world obsessed with narrow beauty standards—think tiny waists, zero body fat, and boobs so big they have their own zip codes—it’s honestly exhausting. Seriously, if I had a dollar for every BookTok or Bookstagram viral book featuring some 26-year-old size 2 with a six-pack, a round butt, and bendy flexibility that’s borderline superhero stuff, I’d be buying islands by now. It’s like the “perfect” bookish body is a white, Western, societal fantasy that’s basically a cookie cutter nobody actually looks like.\ \ But here’s the real deal: body diversity is so much more beautiful than any airbrushed Instagram filter or viral TikTok star. Every single body on this planet deserves love—whether you’re rocking some stretch marks, an apron belly, scars from life’s adventures, or navigating disability. Your body is part of your story and who you are, and it’s time we stop pretending there’s just one “ideal.”\ \ Celebrating all kinds of bodies isn’t just some ‘nice’ thing to do—it’s essential for building a world where everyone feels seen and accepted. We’ve all internalized some level of society’s nonsense, and it’s easy to look at those glossy book covers or scroll through Instagram and start thinking, “Ugh, why do I look like this, and why isn’t that image more ‘normal’?” If I had a nickel for every time I heard an author complain about the difficulty of finding realistic, plus-size book covers, I’d probably be sipping margaritas on a yacht somewhere, on the island I already bought with all those dollars. Comparing yourself to those impossible standards? Yeah, I see you—been there, done that, bought the emotional distress T-shirt.\ \ The first step is recognizing these barriers and challenging them consciously.\ \ Practical Ways to Embrace Your Body \ \

  1. Practice Daily Affirmations\ \ Start each day by telling yourself something positive. Focus on your body’s strengths, like “I am grateful for my legs that carry me,” or “My smile is beautiful.”\ \
  2. Limit Harmful Media\ \ Follow body-positive influencers and accounts that showcase beautiful diversity in appearance and lifestyle. Unfollow or mute content that triggers negative feelings.\ \
  3. Wear Clothes That Make You Feel Good\ \ Clothing is a form of self-expression. Select outfits that reflect your style and boost your confidence—comfort over conformity.\ \
  4. Celebrate Movement and Health\ \ Engage in activities you love—dancing, swimming, hiking—not as a way to change your body but to honor what it can do.\ \ \ If you struggle with deep-seated shame or trauma related to body image please make sure you are talking about this with your therapist, but also, consider these approaches:\ \ Cultivating Self-Compassion: Be kind to yourself. Challenge negative self-talk by asking, “Would I say this to a friend?” Focus on your strengths and accomplishments. Remember, the goal isn’t perfection—it's self-acceptance. Recognize that every small step counts. If you’re learning to love your body, celebrate the victories, no matter how tiny they seem.\ \ The power of community and support looks like surrounding yourself with people who uplift and support body diversity. Join online or local body-positive communities, share your journey, and listen to others' stories. Supporting each other creates an environment where everyone feels valued.\ \ Challenging societal standards can look like using your voice to advocate for representation of all body types in media, fashion, and advertising. Small acts—like complimenting someone’s style or speaking out against unrealistic beauty ideals—can create ripples of change.\ \ Don’t think I forgot to add the Romancelandia lens here, these novels are more than escapism—they can be tools for body validation. Reading stories with diverse MCs who love and desire themselves creates a sense of possibility and acceptance for your own body. Seeing characters with different body types celebrated for their confidence and sensuality helps solidify the idea that all bodies are worthy of love and pleasure.\ \ I remember the first book I read with a plus size heroine, and the first book I read that had spicy times with a plus size FMC. I was like…skrrrrr…wait, people actually have sex in plus size bodies. Granted I was young and had been conditioned to believe that my body was undesirable, repulsive even. But the more I read books with fat FMCs, the more I unlearned that, you know what, fat girls fuck. \ \ So my non-exhaustive list of books I LOVE that have plus size FMCs\ \ Like all of Olivia Dade’s books, let’s just get that straight right now.\ \ The Brown Sisters Trilogy and The Princess Trap by Talia Hibbert\ \ Whirlwind by Kayla Grosse (for fans of Twister)\ \ The Next Best Fling by Gabriella Gamez\ \ Curvy Girl Summer and Plus Size Player (good LORDT THIS ONE IS HAWT-If ‘talk her through it was a man”) by Danielle Allen\ \ My Best Friends Honeymoon by Meryl Wilsner \ \ At Her Feet by Rebekah Weatherspoon\ \ For Her Consideration by Amy Spalding\ \

Body Positivity Begins With Self-Love: Embracing All Body Types

11 books

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chronicallybookish\ \ Kaley\ \ • Jun 20 2025

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Intersectional Representation in Books

Do you remember the last book you read that featured multiply marginalized characters?

We talk a lot about prioritizing diversity in the books we read, but intersectional identities are far too often left out of the conversation. I have spoken to far too many authors who have had publishers or agents push back because their character can’t be a person of color AND queer AND disabled (or any other marginalized identity—Jewish/muslim/plus sized, you get the drill). That would just be TOO MUCH for one character.

As if that’s not the actual lived experience of these authors and so many real people.

I wanted to come on here and recommend some books that I love (or in the case of If We Survive This—a book I am highly anticipating) that feature characters of 3+ marginalizations (I specifically went with disabled, BIPOC, & LGBTQ+ for this post), because the more we read and support these books, the more we show publishing that these stories matter.

#bookstagram #bookish #weneeddiversebooks #fantasybooks #romancebooks #yabooks #bookrecs #diversebooks #diversebookstagram #disabilitybooks #disabilityrep #bipocbooks #lgbtqbooks #takeahintdanibrown #taliahibbert #thefinalstrife #saaraelarifi #ifwesurvivethis #thisismetrying #racquelmarie #abrokenblade #melissablair

5 books

Fat Forward Books\ \ Samantha Puc\ \ • Jun 4 2025

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Fat Forward Books: Pride Recommendations 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️

Happy Pride from Fat Forward Books! 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️ If you’re looking for fat & LGBTQIA+ books to add to your TBR, we’ve got you covered.

71 books

2

Wanderland Reads\ \ Sayer\ \ • Apr 7 2025

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Queer Books: M/F Pairings

Still queer, just a different flavor. Let me know in the comments what your favorite queer book with MF dynamics is!

#queerromance #queerbooks #romancebooks

43 books

All Shades\ \ Sera\ \ • Jun 21 2024

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\ \ Upgrade for $5 or login](https://allshades.binderybooks.com/item/KhWNAKAzuVpirnCkhRTZ/)

BOOK HAUL + SHELVES AND THE CITY RECAP

Had my first bookish brand trip this weekend and it was a WHIRLWIND!! Let me tell you all about it!

3 books

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Boundless Press\ \ Jananie\ \ • Jan 22 2024

book recs to get you back into reading in 2024!! | lit fic, fantasy, romance

Hope you enjoy xx

15 books

Sapphic and Proud \ \ Amivi\ \ • May 13 2023

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#fakedatesandmooncakes #honeyandspicebook #romancebooksrec #romancebookish

#fakedatesandmooncakes #honeyandspicebook #romancebooksrec #romancebookish

8 books

Boundless Press\ \ Jananie\ \ • Mar 9 2023

tier ranking your fave book tropes & recommending books based on them

Check out G2A's deals here from March 1-20th, 2023: https://www.g2a.com/best-deals/girl\_power?banner=main

💓 join as a channel member to get access to perks: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJn0v3OAEAX3-V4crjcHtRA/join

💌 for business/sponsorship inquiries please contact eric@smallscreenmarketing.com 💌 for all other inquiries please contact me at thisstoryaintover@gmail.com

faqs 🤍 how do you pronounce your name? - my name is Jananie—pronounced JEN-nah-nee (like a knee!)

🤍 what's your background/ethnicity/etc? - both my parents are Sri Lankan Tamil, and I was born and raised in Canada!

🤍 what is your job? - aside from youtube I also work in product marketing!

48 books