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wardenred's review against another edition
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
4.5
Because that’s how people should behave; they should fill in each other’s gaps.
This was really fun! I loved seeing the MCs go from clashing to gradually discovering how much they compliment each other, with this super low-key enemies to lovers vibe. Chloe is a wonderfully grumpy character with a biting sense of humor. I loved her relationship with her sisters (looking forward to reading their books already!) and the excellent representation of living with chronic pain. So, so relatable. And Red is such a sweet guy, I instantly loved him. His kindness always shined through even when he hit some lower mental places, and I loved how it was always clear from his chapters that he was an artist even when his art wasn’t mentioned—just that specific way he sees the world. His inner journey to recovering after an abusive relationship was well-handled, and I kind of liked that he was the one with that storyline: in m/f romance it’s far more common to see the female lead in this position, and it was refreshing to see another angle.
The book is absolutely packed with delightful banter. Whether these characters communicate face to face or via e-mails, there are always lines to laugh at. Hell, they pack witty one-liners even into their inner monologues, and it always happens so naturally. I kept laughing and smiling as I read. At the same time, the prevalence of humor never cheapened or downplayed the more serious, heavier topics the book touches on.
It would’ve been an absolute five-star read for me if not for how the third-act break-up played out. I know those are a staple of the romance genre—the characters need to have that moment of doubt before they fully commit to their happy ending and all that. But the way it happened, idk, it came a bit out of the left field. On one hand, Red’s backstory does explain why he reacted the way he did, but by that point I would’ve expected it to be a shorter knee-jerk reaction followed by talking it out quickly. The fact that instead it turned into a semi-prolonged drama clashed for me with the character progression both Chloe and Red had earlier over the course of the plot. It’s the kind of dramatic misunderstanding I can accept in YA, but in adult romance like this it feels sort of contrived.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Chronic illness
Moderate: Toxic relationship and Domestic abuse
Minor: Medical content
craftysnailtail's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.25
This book was rather delightful. It's absolute brain candy, but I really appreciated the uniqueness of a main female love interest being chronically ill and disabled.
I also liked Red quite a bit, which is surprising because I'm usually not a big fan of men in romance novels. But he reminded me of my partner, with his compassion and always paying close attention to Chloe and anticipating her needs. I saw some reviews complaining that he was a mind reader, but I disagree. He simply paid attention to her physical signs of pain and exhaustion and acted accordingly. Literally the least we can expect from a devoted partner, in my opinion.
The smut wasn't for me, but that's not unusual. It also was unnecessarily dramatic at times, but I feel like that's easily forgiven with books like this.
Overall, I found it to be a very relaxing and fun read with much appreciated diversity and accurate disability representation.
I also liked Red quite a bit, which is surprising because I'm usually not a big fan of men in romance novels. But he reminded me of my partner, with his compassion and always paying close attention to Chloe and anticipating her needs. I saw some reviews complaining that he was a mind reader, but I disagree. He simply paid attention to her physical signs of pain and exhaustion and acted accordingly. Literally the least we can expect from a devoted partner, in my opinion.
The smut wasn't for me, but that's not unusual. It also was unnecessarily dramatic at times, but I feel like that's easily forgiven with books like this.
Overall, I found it to be a very relaxing and fun read with much appreciated diversity and accurate disability representation.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Chronic illness and Sexual content
Minor: Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Classism, Medical content, Toxic relationship, and Emotional abuse
venetiana's review against another edition
I love the book tons, the narration is just not for me (there's absolutely nothing wrong with it, though).
Content Warnings
Minor: Car accident, Medical content, and Chronic illness
martapsalvado'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? Yes
3.75
I'm finding this book hard to rate because I read it in 4 days and had a lot of fun, but it's not quite my type of romance. Loved the representation and how funny the dialogue is. However, the relationship felt a bit rushed and the third act breakup annoyed me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Abandonment, and Chronic illness
Minor: Medical content
tinysierra's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Something about Get A Life, Chloe Brown was addicting. I enjoyed the characters, the romance, and the writing style.
My allosexual friends struggle to describe what sexual attraction is… I think I understand after reading this book 😂 As a sex repulsed asexual person, I don’t read a lot of adult romance and I was surprised by how much I enjoyed the books despite the fact that they were so horny.
What to expect from the Brown sisters trilogy:
1. So! much! horniness!!
2. Plus size, Black, Muslim, Queer, Neurodivergent and disability representation
3. Loveable and slightly ridiculous and dramatic (said with affection) characters/situations
4. Beautiful family bonds
5. Humor!
6. Minor/Brief Harry Potter references
My allosexual friends struggle to describe what sexual attraction is… I think I understand after reading this book 😂 As a sex repulsed asexual person, I don’t read a lot of adult romance and I was surprised by how much I enjoyed the books despite the fact that they were so horny.
What to expect from the Brown sisters trilogy:
1. So! much! horniness!!
2. Plus size, Black, Muslim, Queer, Neurodivergent and disability representation
3. Loveable and slightly ridiculous and dramatic (said with affection) characters/situations
4. Beautiful family bonds
5. Humor!
6. Minor/Brief Harry Potter references
Content Warnings
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Medical content, Physical abuse, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Racism
emlittle's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-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
4.0
Overall thoughts: Talia Hibbert continues to snag my heart. I first read “Highly Suspicious and Unfairly Cute”, and was so excited to get into her adult books starting with the Brown sisters trilogy. The story was sweet and fun while maintain Hibbert’s trademark of dealing with an unpleasant reality without it feeling defeating. Simply put, I loved it ♡
I adore Hibbert for writing romance for the people we don’t typically see getting romance: those who are disabled, have mental illnesses, or are chronically ill; characters who for one reason or another aren’t seen as a typical love interest. Chloe Brown has fibromyalgia, an illness that leaves her exhausted and in pain often. It’s revealed that in her past, people often leave her life when they feel her illness makes her “too much”, including a fiancé. But Hibbert makes her the beautiful, desirable female main character in a love story because Chloe can have an illness AND be all of those things. This book is one of those “i just love that it exists” cases, because I love that women with chronic illness/pain get to see themselves in a story where they’re not desirable IN SPITE of their illness, but are desirable and the illness is accepted and worked with- Redford Morgan is a book boyfriend everyone should aspire to.
Speaking of our leading man, Red Morgan’s story is equally special. While he’s the tall, well muscled, and handsome main man in a romance, he’s also been traumatized by a mentally and emotionally abusive relationship. We get to see him go to therapy, begin to unpack that, and implement coping mechanisms. This makes me particularly happy knowing this trilogy is on its way to the screen- someone needs to tell men it’s okay to go to therapy.
There were two elements that took this from a 5 to a 4 star read for me:
A third act break up. No further explanations.
Sometimes I struggle when two characters who dislike each other already know each other and the author tells us how much they dislike each other instead of us getting to see the dislike form/grow. It unfortunately made some of the writing at the beginning of the story a tad bit repetitive
That said, I still thoroughly enjoyed this book. It was fun, engaging, real, and ~*steamy*~ when needed. I loved both of the characters and loved seeing their story unfold and connection grow even more. I’m really excited to read the other sisters’ stories!!
I adore Hibbert for writing romance for the people we don’t typically see getting romance: those who are disabled, have mental illnesses, or are chronically ill; characters who for one reason or another aren’t seen as a typical love interest. Chloe Brown has fibromyalgia, an illness that leaves her exhausted and in pain often. It’s revealed that in her past, people often leave her life when they feel her illness makes her “too much”, including a fiancé. But Hibbert makes her the beautiful, desirable female main character in a love story because Chloe can have an illness AND be all of those things. This book is one of those “i just love that it exists” cases, because I love that women with chronic illness/pain get to see themselves in a story where they’re not desirable IN SPITE of their illness, but are desirable and the illness is accepted and worked with- Redford Morgan is a book boyfriend everyone should aspire to.
Speaking of our leading man, Red Morgan’s story is equally special. While he’s the tall, well muscled, and handsome main man in a romance, he’s also been traumatized by a mentally and emotionally abusive relationship. We get to see him go to therapy, begin to unpack that, and implement coping mechanisms. This makes me particularly happy knowing this trilogy is on its way to the screen- someone needs to tell men it’s okay to go to therapy.
There were two elements that took this from a 5 to a 4 star read for me:
A third act break up. No further explanations.
Sometimes I struggle when two characters who dislike each other already know each other and the author tells us how much they dislike each other instead of us getting to see the dislike form/grow. It unfortunately made some of the writing at the beginning of the story a tad bit repetitive
That said, I still thoroughly enjoyed this book. It was fun, engaging, real, and ~*steamy*~ when needed. I loved both of the characters and loved seeing their story unfold and connection grow even more. I’m really excited to read the other sisters’ stories!!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Medical content, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Chronic illness, Sexual content, and Gaslighting
panic_at_the_bookshelf's review against another edition
While the disability rep was amazing, more than half of the book is about the characters thinking about smutty things, talking about smutty things and doing smutty things.
A lot of stuff felt so repetitive. Each time a new smut scene appeared it felt so similar to the last one. Not to mention some scenes had such a weird build up and many things were said in a rather weird way. One sentence in particular creeped me out and that's the moment I decided to not finish this book. It clearly is not meant for me.
A lot of stuff felt so repetitive. Each time a new smut scene appeared it felt so similar to the last one. Not to mention some scenes had such a weird build up and many things were said in a rather weird way. One sentence in particular creeped me out and that's the moment I decided to not finish this book. It clearly is not meant for me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Physical abuse, Medical content, and Emotional abuse
sophiesometimesreads's review against another edition
emotional
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? Yes
4.5
I really really enjoyed this book! I was kicking and giggling and blushing through a large portion of this book.
I loved how fleshed out both the characters were, and both had backstories and valid reasons for their reactions, which made the conflict far more believable despite the fact that I don't particularly enjoy miscommunication and a third-act break up.
I thought the representation was great and really added depth to the story, though I haven't experienced the things represented in this book so take my review of this with a grain of salt - those who are being represented may have a more valid take on how good the representation actually is.
Talia Hibbert's writing style was fun and quirky and the banter was amazing. I really enjoyed her writing style, but I can see that it may not be for everyone.
The only very slight negative I had was that the MMC gave me a little bit of the ick at the start when he was (in my opinion) oversexualising the FMC when he barely knew her, but I think that's more of a me/personal preference thing.
I am definitely reading the rest of this series!
I loved how fleshed out both the characters were, and both had backstories and valid reasons for their reactions, which made the conflict far more believable despite the fact that I don't particularly enjoy miscommunication and a third-act break up.
I thought the representation was great and really added depth to the story, though I haven't experienced the things represented in this book so take my review of this with a grain of salt - those who are being represented may have a more valid take on how good the representation actually is.
Talia Hibbert's writing style was fun and quirky and the banter was amazing. I really enjoyed her writing style, but I can see that it may not be for everyone.
The only very slight negative I had was that the MMC gave me a little bit of the ick at the start when he was (in my opinion) oversexualising the FMC when he barely knew her, but I think that's more of a me/personal preference thing.
I am definitely reading the rest of this series!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Chronic illness, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Physical abuse, Medical content, and Toxic relationship
rachrreads's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
“This was where and who and how he should be: with Chloe.”
I received this from a friend a few years back for my birthday and finally got around to it. This was such a sweet romance full of understanding and mutual adoration.
Chloe deals with chronic pain that can be so debilitating she spends days in bed. Due to this, Chloe has had friends abandon her. While I don’t currently have chronic pain, I was in chronic pain for most of high school. I related so much to Chloe and had people tell me they didn’t believe I was in pain.
Redford “Red” was in an abusive relationship that left him feeling absolutely worthless. He is an artist and struggled after that relationship to feel as if his art mattered.
The two end up supporting each other as they heal and become friends. Red helps Chloe cross things off her “get a life list”, while Chloe helps Red with a new website for his art.
The only issue I had with this book was it was so long!
I received this from a friend a few years back for my birthday and finally got around to it. This was such a sweet romance full of understanding and mutual adoration.
Chloe deals with chronic pain that can be so debilitating she spends days in bed. Due to this, Chloe has had friends abandon her. While I don’t currently have chronic pain, I was in chronic pain for most of high school. I related so much to Chloe and had people tell me they didn’t believe I was in pain.
Redford “Red” was in an abusive relationship that left him feeling absolutely worthless. He is an artist and struggled after that relationship to feel as if his art mattered.
The two end up supporting each other as they heal and become friends. Red helps Chloe cross things off her “get a life list”, while Chloe helps Red with a new website for his art.
The only issue I had with this book was it was so long!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Panic attacks/disorders, Medical content, Sexual content, and Chronic illness
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Abandonment, and Emotional abuse
anjasshelf's review against another edition
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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Abandonment, Medical content, Mental illness, Chronic illness, Ableism, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, and Domestic abuse
Moderate: Alcohol, Physical abuse, and Emotional abuse