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thereadinghammock's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I've heard nothing but rave reviews for the Brown Sisters trilogy all over bookstagram, and it did not disappoint! Chloe's near death experience sets her on a mission to make herself more interesting. She's felt held back by her fibromyalgia for years, allowing her constant discomfort and the unpredictability of her pain to dictate much of her life for years. But no more! She's made a list and everything!
I loved the role reversal of the grumpy (Chloe) / sunshine (Red) trope. Chloe's brusque attitude was so relatable--let's be real, when someone is in pain, their fuse is short and their attitude tends to come across as terse. Red is too good for this world, but he's got his own demons to tackle and he's working on it. Helping Chloe work through her list helps him recognize what he's been holding himself back from too.
He had some of the best lines in the book, in my opinion, and not just his worship of Chloe's thick thighs! When he cooked her stir-fry after realizing she hadn't eaten most of the day, "I'm doing it for you because that's how people should behave. They should fill in each other's gaps. Don't think about it too hard." Like YES! That's what relationships are all about! Give and take, being each other's support when they need it.
And when he knew he fucked up, "I know the difference between torture and growing pains." Just UGH, how perfect could he be?? Telling Chloe he recognized they're both imperfect people, but that together they can be perfectly imperfect and grow into better people together. Be still my heart! I can't wait to get glimpses of their happiness as we get the scoop on Dani and Eve in the sequels!
I loved the role reversal of the grumpy (Chloe) / sunshine (Red) trope. Chloe's brusque attitude was so relatable--let's be real, when someone is in pain, their fuse is short and their attitude tends to come across as terse. Red is too good for this world, but he's got his own demons to tackle and he's working on it. Helping Chloe work through her list helps him recognize what he's been holding himself back from too.
He had some of the best lines in the book, in my opinion, and not just his worship of Chloe's thick thighs! When he cooked her stir-fry after realizing she hadn't eaten most of the day, "I'm doing it for you because that's how people should behave. They should fill in each other's gaps. Don't think about it too hard." Like YES! That's what relationships are all about! Give and take, being each other's support when they need it.
And when he knew he fucked up, "I know the difference between torture and growing pains." Just UGH, how perfect could he be?? Telling Chloe he recognized they're both imperfect people, but that together they can be perfectly imperfect and grow into better people together. Be still my heart! I can't wait to get glimpses of their happiness as we get the scoop on Dani and Eve in the sequels!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Drug use, Gaslighting, and Medical content
Minor: Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Domestic abuse, and Toxic relationship
emily_mh's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
This was a delight!! I LOVED Chloe and Red’s dynamic; I could really feel their chemistry and pining, and their narrative voices were really distinct. Chloe’s perspective meant a lot to me as a chronically ill person as she was intensely relatable. I’ve docked a half star because I didn’t like how the third act breakup was executed. I did, however, LOVE the reconciliation.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Chronic illness, and Cursing
Moderate: Abandonment, Domestic abuse, Ableism, and Alcohol
Minor: Medical content, Murder, Violence, Cancer, Pregnancy, Blood, Death, Drug use, Kidnapping, Car accident, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, Racism, Vomit, Bullying, Gun violence, Body horror, Self harm, Sexual assault, Physical abuse, Drug abuse, Infidelity, Excrement, and Emotional abuse
Major warning for chronic pain. Minor warnings for fainting/dizziness, earthquake, capital punishment, volcano, self-injury, and disownment.booksbynat's review against another edition
challenging
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
THIS WAS VERY GOOD. I feel like it has been a while since I have read a romance book--like just romance, and this was SO good. I feel like I hear so so much about Eve Brown being the best one, and she is the youngest sister, so I feel like I might relate to that one the most, so I held off on giving it a 5 star rating. But, it was still just so amazing and GREAT representation, and not in a weird, showing off way where there is like one gay person. They felt like REAL people, which is why I liked it so much.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racism, Chronic illness, Medical content, and Medical trauma
Minor: Drug use
enbybooklove's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Tastes like strawberry ice-cream.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Drug use
lisa_m's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Okay this book was great and I really enjoyed reading it. Still: Why did no one warn me how much smut there would be!? I did not expect that at all. The relationship was cute and they had some cute banter. One of my favourite parts about this book was the representation. Issues like class, chronic illness and toxic relationships are tackled really well and I loved reading about it. The characters were really flushed out but I personally just didn't feel the chemistry. I don't know why but I just didn't feel it that much. Also the conflict in the end felt rushed and just a bit off.
I wanted to love this book and I did love a huge part of it but I just didn't completely fall in love with it. It might just not be the right time for me though. I would definitely reread it at some point in the future. But I would probably read it and not listen to the audiobook like I did this time. I think that actually took away a bit from my reading experience. I'm a big audiobook fan but I didn't like the voice and it just felt strange.
I am really excited to read about the other Brown sisters though. Even though they are a quite big part of Chloes life, they are not really important for the story so I'm excited to learn more about them.
All in all this was a quick and fun read and has so many things I loved. If you like representation and people being absolutely in love with each other - this one is for you.
I wanted to love this book and I did love a huge part of it but I just didn't completely fall in love with it. It might just not be the right time for me though. I would definitely reread it at some point in the future. But I would probably read it and not listen to the audiobook like I did this time. I think that actually took away a bit from my reading experience. I'm a big audiobook fan but I didn't like the voice and it just felt strange.
I am really excited to read about the other Brown sisters though. Even though they are a quite big part of Chloes life, they are not really important for the story so I'm excited to learn more about them.
All in all this was a quick and fun read and has so many things I loved. If you like representation and people being absolutely in love with each other - this one is for you.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Classism, Drug use, Abandonment, Chronic illness, and Panic attacks/disorders
Minor: Medical content, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, and Toxic relationship
lewnie's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Chloe Brown copes with her chronic pain by organizing and compartmentalizing and shutting people out. After her so-called friends and her fiance stopped coming around, she decided that she didn’t need things in her life like love. She is just fine living at home with her academically-minded parents, her eccentric grandmother, and her two sisters. But after an almost-accident causes her life to flash before her eyes, she realizes that she needs to live a little. So Chloe moves out and makes a list that will fulfill her resolution to get a life. But what she doesn’t have on her list is Red Morgan. The big, tattooed, motorcycle riding artist-turned-flat superintendent isn’t too keen on Chloe. She’s too posh and stuck-up to want anything to do with him. But she’s also incredibly beautiful and he just can’t help himself. When Red agrees to help Chloe with her list in exchange for working on a website for his art, sparks fly.
The good: REDFORD FREAKING MORGAN. My god.
But seriously. I loved everything about this book: Chloe, and Red, and their relationship, and obviously Smudge. This was by far the best relationship I’ve ever read in a romance novel. They really try to talk to each other and understand each other, even when there are miscommunications. And there are, because this is a romance novel– amiright?
The bad: Literally nothing.
Overall: I can’t believe I hadn’t read this before. Maybe the art on the cover deceived me or something, because this was sublime. The relationship was impeccable. The representation was everything I have been wanting out of a romcom. The love interest? *chef’s kiss*. There is a cat and cardigans and trauma and love and healing. I just cannot recommend this one enough.
Representation: Black FMC, Black supporting characters, LGBTQ+ supporting character, FMC has a disability.
CW: sexual content, chronic illness, toxic relationship, panic disorders, cursing, ableism, domestic abuse, medical content, physical abuse, mental illness, car accident, medical trauma, gaslighting, classism, drug use (for medical purposes).
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Medical trauma, Gaslighting, Physical abuse, Toxic friendship, Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic relationship, Ableism, and Chronic illness
Moderate: Drug use, Classism, and Domestic abuse
Minor: Car accident
marinasslibrary's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Spoiler free!
I loved every second of this book!!
First of all, I really liked that the autor/the publisher included a page for content warnings/triggers. IMO every book should have that!
Also I really enjoyed the diverse characters instead of the usual petite brunette and dark haired jacked up guy (still love these books too obvi) and the chronic illess rep.
I absolutely adored there bickering, it was hilarious! In general they had great chemistry and when it comes to plot, It was actually not the least predictable! That´s realy rare imo, especially in romance novels.
All in all it was an absolute joy reading this and I highly recommend it to everyone! Can´t wait to read the rest of the series!!
I loved every second of this book!!
First of all, I really liked that the autor/the publisher included a page for content warnings/triggers. IMO every book should have that!
Also I really enjoyed the diverse characters instead of the usual petite brunette and dark haired jacked up guy (still love these books too obvi) and the chronic illess rep.
I absolutely adored there bickering, it was hilarious! In general they had great chemistry and when it comes to plot, It was actually not the least predictable! That´s realy rare imo, especially in romance novels.
All in all it was an absolute joy reading this and I highly recommend it to everyone! Can´t wait to read the rest of the series!!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Chronic illness
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Drug use, and Emotional abuse
pia_h's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Medical content, Drug use, Cursing, Ableism, Sexual content, and Gaslighting
Minor: Abandonment, Classism, Injury/Injury detail, and Alcohol
kunma's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
What can I say? Best romance I've read in a while
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Cursing, Panic attacks/disorders, and Drug use
cemeterygay's review against another edition
emotional
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
This was a pretty great romance book but the sheer amount of miscommunication just killed me.
It's a cute and fun romance with a great sense of humor that is written so cleverly.
The best part of this book is Hibbert's writing style. With the exception of a few bizarre word choices during sex scenes, the way Talia Hibbert writes is always so enjoyable. The balance between humor and description works fantastically and the jokes keep the pace quick enough to keep your attention. The detail to the romantic scenes is always so great and sweet.
Before I get into the other aspects I adore in this book, I need to take a moment two express the only strong issues I have with this book. One, the sheer amount of miscommunication killed me. Watching two grown adults have the communication skills of two teenagers in their first high school romance hurt me so deeply. The only positive about this is that it is over relatively quickly so it doesn't take up too much of the book. Two, I think Red is a pretty meh love interest. He's okay, I like the vibes but is very much outshone by Chloe.
I cannot highlight how much I adore the cast but particularly Chloe Brown. Chloe is just such an amazing main protagonist. She has such a distinct personality and has a charm that really makes you want to root for her. I love the way both disability and past instances of abuse are talked about. I adore Chloe's relationships with her family and Hibbert does a fantastic job at writing family dynamics specifically sisters. It is an underrated skill but one that Hibbert has absolutely mastered.
The romance in this book just is so great and I love the framing of Chloe's list.
Overall, I would absolutely recommend this book to both lovers of romance and people getting into romance.
It's a cute and fun romance with a great sense of humor that is written so cleverly.
The best part of this book is Hibbert's writing style. With the exception of a few bizarre word choices during sex scenes, the way Talia Hibbert writes is always so enjoyable. The balance between humor and description works fantastically and the jokes keep the pace quick enough to keep your attention. The detail to the romantic scenes is always so great and sweet.
Before I get into the other aspects I adore in this book, I need to take a moment two express the only strong issues I have with this book. One, the sheer amount of miscommunication killed me. Watching two grown adults have the communication skills of two teenagers in their first high school romance hurt me so deeply. The only positive about this is that it is over relatively quickly so it doesn't take up too much of the book. Two, I think Red is a pretty meh love interest. He's okay, I like the vibes but is very much outshone by Chloe.
I cannot highlight how much I adore the cast but particularly Chloe Brown. Chloe is just such an amazing main protagonist. She has such a distinct personality and has a charm that really makes you want to root for her. I love the way both disability and past instances of abuse are talked about. I adore Chloe's relationships with her family and Hibbert does a fantastic job at writing family dynamics specifically sisters. It is an underrated skill but one that Hibbert has absolutely mastered.
The romance in this book just is so great and I love the framing of Chloe's list.
Overall, I would absolutely recommend this book to both lovers of romance and people getting into romance.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Car accident, Chronic illness, Sexual content, Medical trauma, and Mental illness
Moderate: Abandonment, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, and Emotional abuse
Minor: Drug use and Alcoholism
CW: Harry potter references, drug use is in reference to legal prescription drugs, abandonment (refers to past friends and partner), past medical trauma, general descriptions of trauma, Domestic abuse (both physical and emotional) is past