Talia Hibbert, one of contemporary romance’s brightest new stars, delivers a witty, hilarious romantic comedy about a woman who’s tired of being “boring” and recruits her mysterious, sexy neighbor to help her experience new things—perfect for fans of Sally Thorne, Jasmine Guillory, and Helen Hoang.
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 glamourous 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: library borrow from Hoopla Audio
This is only my first Talia Hibbert novel and I am absolutely blown away by what a fantastic storyteller she is! The title and the cover give you the idea that it'll be a fun, whimsical rom-com and to a certain extent it is. However, it also busts any myths about living with chronic illness. Hibbert doesn't extract pity from the reader but rather informs and educates through this marvelous story of a woman determined to not be afraid anymore, and who wants to conquer the world by ticking off one thing after another on her list.
Chloe was an instant hit with me what with her funny, smart and sarcastic personality. She's just so bright and resolute despite how often her fibromyalgia kicks her down. Moving out from under her family's ever-watchful eye is what she needed to do for herself to starting living and experiencing things again. Red, the superintendent of her building notices her and assumes she's stuck up upon their first meeting. He's had enough experience with those types and doesn't want to have anything to do with that. Except that Chloe is like a magnet. He can't resist her. Underneath her barbed responses and quick run-ins, Chloe can't stop thinking about him, either. An awkward encounter involving a tree and a cat bring them together, and I honestly have never laughed so much listening to a book.
Both Chloe and Red have been hurt by their exes and people they were close to. This is where Hibbert had me - she details so intimately how Chloe's illness has affected her friendships and how not everyone is patient when she goes through her rough spells. I didn't know much about fibromyalgia but reading how it affected Chloe was eye-opening. When there's flare up she's pretty much out of commission. A lot of time is spent managing the pain before she can start feeling herself again and pop back to life. These are the moments when Chloe is most vulnerable and simply tired. And for Red to start noticing the little details is truly sweet. I get Chloe being skeptical because why let anyone get close if they're just going to walk away when things are bad? But Red makes it clear he wont abandon her even if she does try to push back.
There's so much amusement in this story because Hibbert refuses to let her heroine be a victim. Not only is Chloe a warrior but she's thriving because she's found a way to live her life and make adjustments for when she absolutely needs to. A reviewer friend, who's never led me astray with books recs, even told me that she felt like Hibbert had described her life. I take that as not only an incredible compliment to the author but also a grateful hat tip for bringing an invisible and misunderstood disease to the forefront. Hibbert knows what she's talking about and brought her research, sensitivity and compassion to Chloe's story.
Aside from Chloe and Red, there are also other characters such as Chloe's sisters and a strange cat owner who bring even more laughs and colour with their presence. If you can, I highly recommend the audiobook because the narrator does a smashing job of bringing them all to life. I especially love the contrast she does between Chloe's sometimes high-pitched silliness and Red's low grunts and quiet demeanour. Their interactions made me laugh so much to the point that I had to clutch my sides from laughing so much!
I loved Get A Life, Chloe Brown and I want nothing more than to read the next book, Take A Hint, Dani Brown, right now. So, yay! More of the Brown sisters to come because they are a crazy, lively bunch and I love them!
~ Bel
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