Early Book Review: Take a Hint, Dani Brown by Talia Hibbert

Take a Hint, Dani Brown by Talia Hibbert is currently scheduled for release on June 23 2020. 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. 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. 

Take a Hint, Dani Brown is a great contemporary romance with wonderfully flawed characters. I love the way even the secondary characters are fleshed out and given significant issues and lives of their own- making them feel real. Dani is a combination of strength, intelligence, and fearful insecurity that she keeps locked down hard. Zaf is my favorite kind of romance character- a sweetheart often more concerned with others than himself but still anxious and thought of as much tougher and hard than he really is. I loved watching the two discover more about each other and take this path together. They discover even more about themselves than each other, and the ride was full of feels. I really adored both characters and how real all of them felt, since none were perfect or unbearably flawed. I was left thinking about this group long after I finished the book, and was left very happy with the conclusion but still wanting more. I will be checking out the backlist and any future books from this author and fully expect to enjoy them just as much.

Take a Hint, Dani Brown is a friends to lovers romance with all the feels, and plenty of character development. I look forward to any future books with these characters.

Early Book Review: One Summer Weekend (Cedar Street) by Shannon Stacey

One Summer Weekend by Shannon Stacey is the first book in the Cedar Street series. It is currently scheduled for release on August 5 2019.

Noah Stafford loves his life—his happy, single life. So what if he made up a fake girlfriend to stop his boss’s matchmaking? He kept things close to the truth—Carly really does have long, sexy legs and a killer sense of humor. She just happens to be his best friend. His wicked awesome and completely platonic best friend. But now his boss is having a destination wedding, and Noah is expected to attend…with Carly, his girlfriend. Carly Randall has no interest in living out a rom-com plot. But Noah is her best friend, so she agrees to help. Still, once they arrive on Cape Cod, she can’t explain the sudden butterflies she feels when he looks at her that way. Or why she doesn’t mind when Noah’s hands stray a little south of her back. What happens on the Cape stays on the Cape. Except not really, not at all, and once their sexy faux-cation is over, Noah and Carly return to a reality where everything’s changed. Going for it would mean risking their friendship, but forgetting how good they were together just isn’t an option.

One Summer Weekend is a fun friend to lover novella that is sweet and enjoyable to read. Noah and Carly are best friends that share just about everything. Getting thrown together as a pretend couple instead of best friends shows bends and breaks the boundaries between them. I liked the banter between the two and how friends gave them just as much advise and ribbing as I would expect from close friends.The way they teased each other and valued their friendship was wonderful, and pulled me into the story.  I found Carly and Noah's fears to be very realistic, and I was rooting for them from the very beginning. EAch of their individual freak outs were well done and in character- and I loved seeing them figure it out and find their way to happy ever after. I greatly enjoyed the ride, and will continue picking up new books from the author.

One Summer Weekend is a perfect single sitting or relaxing by the pool read. It is fun, sweet, and has just a touch of heat. Fans of the author are certainly going to want to read it, and newcomers to Stacey's work might become serious fans after this read.