Reviews with content warning for Physical abuse - Get a Life, Chloe Brown

Reviews tagging 'Physical abuse'

Get a Life, Chloe Brown by Talia Hibbert

225 reviews

onefineelephant's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring 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

5.0

10/10. This may be the best book I've ever read. It was beautifully written and some of the lines in this book made me feel so deeply. As a person with chronic pain and personality very similar to Chloe (with a strong dash of abandonment trauma), I resonated so incredibly deeply with Chloe. Also, the caring, redheaded man who unabashedly worships his girl could not have been more my type unless he was also given glasses. Red swept me off my feet the same way he did Chloe and if he were a real person, I would fight tooth and nail to make him mine. However, considering he's fictional, I would have to say that he and Chloe are a perfect match. I loved the back and forth 3rd person POV shift between focusing on both Chloe and Red's inner lives. Also, the spicy scenes definitely made me feel many feelings but so did the flirting scenes. This book is now tied for my favorite romance. I will never stop thinking about this book and especially my number 1 book boyfriend, Redford Morgan.

Content Warnings

kingcrookback's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional funny 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

I feel like I need to preface this review by saying that Get a Life is not my usual fare; it's actually my first contemporary romance. I can't say at this point whether it's this book or contemporary romances in general that don't do it for me. To be fair, I appreciate what Hibbert is doing in terms of intersectional representation. How often do we get protagonists who are Black, plus-sized, and chronically ill/disabled? And all of these identities are so stigmatized that it's nice that Red is so unreservedly attracted to Chloe. That said, this isn't really the kind of humor I vibe with - nothing wrong with it, it's just a little silly for me. Also, while I don't generally consider predictability a flaw, the setup for the third-act breakup was so evident that it annoyed me a little. Up in the air whether or not I'll continue with the rest of the Brown sisters books.

Content Warnings

keatonslowlyreads's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional funny hopeful 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

Content Warnings

laurataylor's review against another edition

Go to review page

funny 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? No

3.5

Content Warnings

ashlikes's review against another edition

Go to review page

funny lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Content Warnings

fuzzywilson's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional funny 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? No

3.75

Content Warnings

overflowingshelf's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional funny hopeful 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

3.5

CW: Abusive relationship; emotional abuse; chronic pain/illness; physical abuse

“Once upon a time, Chloe Brown died.”

Get A Life, Chloe Brown has been on my to-be-read list for way longer than I would like to admit, but I finally got a chance to read this as a beach read last summer! While I liked many things about this book, the ending ruined the story a tad as it relies heavily on the miscommunication trope, which I’m so over in my romances.

I really liked the characters in this book, as they breathed a lot of life and soul into the story. It’s a relatively small cast, as most of the action centers around Chloe and Red, with a few other folks on the periphery.

I adored that Red was the complete opposite of what you would expect based on his outward appearance. He’s a tatted-up biker with red hair and presents a tough exterior, but oh my god, he is mush inside. A bit of damaged mush, but mush all the same. Oh, he also is a talented artist. His last relationship did a number on him, something he definitely is working on, and I cannot believe his ex would do the things she did to this sweet mush of a man. Red falls first, and he’s so far gone for Chloe that it’s adorable. I also loved how he doesn’t treat her any differently because of her chronic pain but works to accommodate her needs and acknowledges that her pain and feelings are valid.

Chloe was a bit chaotic and all over the place for me, but I couldn’t help but be charmed by her. Because of her fibromyalgia, she shut herself off from everyone except for her family. When she has her brush with death, she lists seven things to help her “get a life.” Much like Red, her outward appearance is a bit deceiving. He calls her Ice Queen at first and thinks she’s very hoity-toity as she comes from money and is very well put together, but inside her apartment, she’s a bit of a mess. What you see isn’t what you get with her.

The romance in this book is perfect for grump/sunshine lovers as Chloe is the perfect grump, with Red pushing her out of her comfort zone. They also start on the wrong foot, so they definitely have some antagonism (but I wouldn’t call this enemies-to-lovers). Their first real scene together is super cute, as it involves a cat stuck in a tree, and I feel like it sets the tone perfectly for their relationship. Also, I have to say I wasn’t expecting this book to be so steamy! Once again, a cutesy cover was deceiving. There was some good dirty talk and sexy scenes, but the writing took me a bit out of it at times as I found some of it a bit cringe or too cutesy and forced.

Where the book lost me a bit was in the third act. Sigh, the third act breakup caused by miscommunications strikes again and claims another victim! Like just TALK TO EACH OTHER. I get Red has some damage from his past abusive relationship, but he isn’t even willing to listen to Chloe when she tries to explain herself. And then she is stubborn and holds on to her grudge against him a tad too long, especially as he’s trying to make amends. She literally won’t read his notes and is even like, “I should read his notes,” before we get to their happily ever after. I wish the ending went in a different direction, as it did lessen my enjoyment of the story.

Now, I did love the Brown sisters. Their relationship is so wonderful, and each of them is a treat! I’m so excited to read the rest of the books in the series to get to know them more and spend more time with them.

Even though this book ended on a bit of a sour note for me, it is still worth reading, but maybe check it out from the library first to see if you like it! I hope to read book two, Take a Hint, Dani Brown this year. This series makes great summer reads, so I can see that being a pool read soon!

Content Warnings

belladonnashrike's review against another edition

Go to review page

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

4.0

okay, I liked this way more than I thought I would. chloe and red are perfect for each other. I love love!!!

I didn’t know chloe had fibromyalgia (twin!) when I downloaded the book, and I was pleasantly surprised that it was actually some good chronic illness representation. i’m assuming hibbert isn’t disabled or has a chronic illness from her note at the beginning, so i’m happy she wrote about this topic with a lot of grace and respect. chloe has a personality outside of her illness and she doesn’t wallow every day and she doesn’t hate her life, like a lot of disabled characters in media seem to do. she has good days and bad days, and she’s still a person outside of her illness; she’s not one-dimensional. and red doesn’t coddle or baby her either — if she needs help, he assists, but it’s not because he views her as inept. he respects and loves her and treats her like a person (and his love language seems to be acts of service anyway, so fibro or not, he would be behaving the same way). it was really nice to read about a character with an almost spot-on situation to mine be treated with so much love and care from her significant other and not be treated like a burden.

i’ve actually never read a book that treated a chronically ill character in such a way so I am just over the moon right now, she did a wonderful job.

in terms of spice: I didn’t hate it but at times it seemed a little corny (referring to dialogue) and…underwhelming 😶‍🌫️ it wasn’t bad though!

things i wish that were different: I do wish that red’s mom was present in more than just the start of the book. I think it also would’ve been nice if he had a conversation with chloe about his mothers illness because I think it made an impact on him which in turn impacts how he treats chloe. & I know people groan about lighthearted romance being more than, like, 350 pages, but I think adding more pages would’ve benefited the story, actually. like I wish that there was a bit more romance between the incredibly public extracurricular activities and the misunderstanding at the end. it needed a bit more fluff!

I did really like it though & I will be downloading the next book to my kindle immediately after I finish typing this 🫶🏻

Content Warnings

bzliz's review against another edition

Go to review page

funny lighthearted 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

Chloe Brown has a near death experience and realizes she needs to “get a life” after too long of insulating herself from hurt after being abandoned by friends and a fiancé due to her chronic illness. Red is her building’s handyman and they Do Not get along, thanks to how tongue tied and blurty she gets around him. Of course, he recognizes her type of family wealth due to a previous abusive relationship and initially tries not to get sucked in by Chloe’s beauty. That doesn’t last long and they learn to grow together despite their fears.

The pacing is perfect and I knew this was going to be something special right away. I’m absolutely thrilled to find a main character with a chronic illness that doesn’t spend the whole book consumed with woes about it. Chloe has her good days and her bad days and either way she still has a personality. Similarly, Red is supportive and thoughtful without infantilizing Chloe or sexualizing her disability, and he also has a personality outside of her, plus his own issues that he’s dealing with. It’s refreshing to see a diverse cast that feel like real people and doesn’t seem to be ticking off boxes for representation. The spice was also excellent without feeling overly vulgar which is a serious achievement.

Mind the trigger warnings!
Abandonment: off page

Chloe discusses (both out loud and in her thoughts) how once her chronic illness manifested, she lost her friends and was left by her fiancé

Car accident: on page

story starts here- a drunk driver nearly hits Chloe and runs into a building, prompting her to want to change her life to be less closed-off. An EMT expresses to Chloe that the driver will be okay.

Chronic illness: on page

Chloe has fibromyalgia and experiences chronic fatigue, headaches, etc.

Panic attacks/disorder: on page

After a misunderstanding near the end of the book, Red experiences feelings of panic that lead to him running away. Might not technically be a panic attack but it’s worth mentioning

Sexual content: on page

includes descriptions of arousal, semi-public fingering, and penetrative sex

Toxic relationship, emotional abuse, gaslighting, physical abuse: off page

Red’s previous relationship was toxic and abusive. He describes to Chloe how his former partner would gaslight and emotionally manipulate him into believing he was the one who had done something wrong whenever he was upset and how sometimes their altercations got physical, including a time she stabbed his hand with a fork

Content Warnings

_alyssar_'s review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

Content Warnings

More...