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emlittle's review
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
jessiiiru's review
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
Content Warnings
Moderate: Chronic illness
Minor: Gaslighting, Toxic relationship, Domestic abuse, and Emotional abuse
caelinsullivan's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Chronic illness, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Sexual content, Panic attacks/disorders, and Medical trauma
ellysiap's review
funny
hopeful
slow-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
2.75
Wanted to like this more than I did, it felt rushed and a bit too cheesy for me. The chronic illness rep was really refreshing though and the spice was fun!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Chronic illness
Moderate: Toxic relationship
murve's review against another edition
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Toxic relationship, Chronic illness, Emotional abuse, and Sexual content
jamie_cruz's review
challenging
hopeful
inspiring
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 such a cute read, and I loved Chlo and Red.
Usually, I've read books with chronic illness, and they really just state how the mc is tired and not go into depth of the pain, and the other effects come into play. Talia did amazing describing how pain goes in your day to day life, and the feeling you get for feeling such pain especially how doctors don't really understand until you've told them 100,000 times. I know Chloe will stay my favorite. I can't wait to read the other Brown sisters stories !
Content Warnings
Graphic: Chronic illness
Moderate: Toxic relationship and Emotional abuse
Minor: Physical abuse
mighty_lizard_queen'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
Would have been 4 stars but I never quite recovered from the 3rd act breakup. I’m not convinced she really should have forgiven him; he said some really hurtful things & the gifts felt like lovebombing.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Sexual content, Ableism, and Car accident
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Physical abuse, Classism, Emotional abuse, Alcohol, and Domestic abuse
Minor: Grief, Racism, and Death
zias's review
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
I enjoyed the humor in this book and the representation - BIPOC main character, chronic illness, therapy! It was easy to discern the cause of the third act breakup early in the story, but I otherwise enjoyed this book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Chronic illness and Sexual content
Minor: Emotional abuse, Abandonment, and Toxic relationship
ell_n's review against another edition
emotional
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: Chronic illness and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Alcohol and Panic attacks/disorders
bubblybuttercup's review
funny
hopeful
inspiring
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? It's complicated
4.0
fun and sexy, this book has loveable characters, great representation and romance, and handles its characters’ flaws and struggles with care. i must warn there is quite a bit of sex. besides that i highly recommend for cheeky romance lovers!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Chronic illness, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Physical abuse