There are SO many people who recommended this series for me, so I finally went and picked it up. OH MY GOSH!! THIS WAS SUCH AN ADORABLE STORY!! I love Chloe so much, wishing she was my real-life friend and not only a character in a novel! Hibbert has become a new author that I’ll be keeping an eye out for!

This layout is a little different … no real bullet points or pros and woes lists. The only way I could really write this review was to simply just WRITE IT OUT! Hopefully, the structure has worked out!

Title: Get a Life, Chloe Brown

Series: The Brown Sisters, Book One

Author: Talia Hibbert

Published on November 5th, 2019 by Avon

Format: Paperback, 373 pages

Genre / Themes: Contemporary | Humour | Realistic Fiction | Romance

Synopsis: Chloe Brown is a chronically ill computer geek with a goal, a plan, and a list. After almost—but not quite—dying, she’s come up with seven directives to help her “Get a Life”, and she’s already completed the first: finally moving out of her glamorous family’s mansion. The next items?

• Enjoy a drunken night out.
• Ride a motorcycle.
• Go camping.
• Have meaningless but thoroughly enjoyable sex.
• Travel the world with nothing but hand luggage.
• And… do something bad.

But it’s not easy being bad, even when you’ve written step-by-step guidelines on how to do it correctly. What Chloe needs is a teacher, and she knows just the man for the job.

Redford ‘Red’ Morgan is a handyman with tattoos, a motorcycle, and more sex appeal than ten-thousand Hollywood heartthrobs. He’s also an artist who paints at night and hides his work in the light of day, which Chloe knows because she spies on him occasionally. Just the teeniest, tiniest bit.

But when she enlists Red in her mission to rebel, she learns things about him that no spy session could teach her. Like why he clearly resents Chloe’s wealthy background. And why he never shows his art to anyone. And what really lies beneath his rough exterior…

Source: Goodreads

Hibbert’s Get a Life, Chloe Brown was such a fun read. It’s equal parts comedy, romance, steamy, and emotional heartache. The first three-quarters of the novel were impossible to put down, especially as Chloe and Red begin their bargain of (1) helping Chloe tick items off of her bucket list and (2) helping Red build his art portfolio. The chemistry sparked instantly between them, making it easy to fall deep into the depths of this novel. And the story progression just flowed so naturally, as though there was no room for error or misplacement in Hibbert’s novel.

Unfortunately, my BIGGEST disappointment is how the ending of the story felt so sudden; their quarrel felt too rushed and the finale felt rather anti-climatic. I wanted Red and Chloe to flesh out their issues and inner turmoils a bit longer before resolving, especially since they were confronting things that have haunted them both for a long time.

There’s a TON of diversity and different representations illustrated in this novel, a lot of which I STILL find rare in literature today: race, ethnicity, class, sexual orientations, interracial couples, invisible disabilities, and much more. It just makes the story feel more realistic, making it easier to connect to the characters and the world around them.

Also, I’m not usually one to BRAG about this part in a novel … but the steam factor was ON POINT! Chloe and Red’s sexual tension and incredibly sexy intimacy just blew me away. The way in which these scenes were written was also well-done; it was tasteful yet not all “whimsical” and “flowery” … it’s real and so seductive.

But what makes this story worth it all? The focus on chronic illness. Chloe’s everyday battle living with a chronic illness felt so real. Her discussion of losing loved ones, the small details such as wearing braces, the deeply descriptive passages of Chloe’s sporadic moments of pain and exhaustion, and the mental health toll it’s taken on her really showcases an accurate portrayal of what it’s like to live with an invisible chronic illness. You can tell Hibbert did a lot of research.

 OVERALL

Hibbert’s Get a Life, Chloe Brown is a wake-up call … showing readers to take charge of your own life. Don’t wait for that PERFECT moment or when THE TIME IS RIGHT; live your best life in the best way you can. Life’s going to through you curveballs, like failed relationships and chronic illness. But Hibbert’s message tells readers there’s still more to do … room to grow … life to live … even if it doesn’t feel that way.

As much as I adored this novel, I still wished there was more. The ending really felt abrupt, as though there should’ve been another 100 pages to explore. But this doesn’t change the fact that this novel is absolutely incredible. I was LAUGHING SO HARD one minute and then BAWLING MY EYES OUT the next. It’s so steamy and swoon-worthy, especially with our two main leads being such amazing characters (seriously … Chloe is a gamer with an amazing sense of style and looks). If you are in DESPERATE need of a book pick-me-up novel that will make your heart double in size, make sure to pick up this one!

I recommend this novel if you enjoy: interracial couples, ethnic diversity; racial diversity; strong emphasis on familial love; romantic comedy; happy endings; growth.

Discussion time!

I’ve read the sequel and I think I’m even more in love with it than I am this one. So be prepared for my next book review: Take a Hint, Dani Brown. I still can’t get over the fact that Chloe is a gamer who HAPPENS to love The Sims … if this isn’t reason enough to read this, I don’t know what is. Have you read this book? Are you planning to? What are your thoughts?

 

 

 

Goodreads | Instagram