Get a Life, Chloe Brown (The Brown Sisters, #1) in Crazy Challenge Connection

Apr 02, 2021 Jenn G rated it really liked it

Shelves: 4-stars, read-in-2021

It was funnier than I was expecting it to be. It was such a good entertainment, I loved Chloe and her sarcasm. It talked about hard topics as well which was nice. I am super curious to read the next book since I heard a lot of praise about it !

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Nov 09, 2022 Cassi (The Paperback Princess Reviews) rated it really liked it

Shelves: chick-lit, fiction, owned, romance, read-2022

Chloe Brown needs to get a life....or so she thinks. She has made a list and she is going to fulfill it come hell or high water. What she doesn't account for is the journey that she was about to go on. When she meets the superintendent of the new apartment complex that she moves into, the adventure begins!

Talia Hibbert sure grabbed my attention when we learned that Chloe Brown has a chronic illness. As a person with a couple of chronic illnesses, it is nice to see representation in novels out t ...more

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Jan 13, 2023 Traveling Bookie Monster rated it it was amazing

Shelves: blacklit, 2023, bookshop, romance, own

I adore this book!
The story is cute. Their relationship is heartwarming.
Redford Morgan is top of my Book BF for 2023 list.
Chloe is relatable and a badass.
Gigi is GOALS!

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Jun 21, 2020 Martha rated it it was amazing

Shelves: would-read-again, mental-health, fiction, bipoc-authors-black, 2020-yorwoc, read-2020, read-women-20, reading-women-challenge-20, physical-disability, read-2021

I flipping loved this! I loved Chloe's sarcasm, Red's gentleness, the HOTNESS, it was a cracker. This was also a shining example of diversity in storytelling as well as audience awareness because it had:

A Black, curvy heroine with a disability presented in a way that was neither tokenistic nor fetishized.
Chloe's curves are part of who she is, and the idea of her being "too big" / "fat" etc. or having any self-esteem issues due to her size is not referenced at all. Her race also does not feature I flipping loved this! I loved Chloe's sarcasm, Red's gentleness, the HOTNESS, it was a cracker. This was also a shining example of diversity in storytelling as well as audience awareness because it had:

A Black, curvy heroine with a disability presented in a way that was neither tokenistic nor fetishized.
Chloe's curves are part of who she is, and the idea of her being "too big" / "fat" etc. or having any self-esteem issues due to her size is not referenced at all. Her race also does not feature as a major stumbling block in her life, there are some microaggressions in the background, but this is not a book about race because, *shock horror*, stories by and about Black people can be about more than their race! Her chronic illness was a much bigger part of the story and I was overjoyed to read a story where the presentation of disability was presented in an honest way. It wasn't sugar-coated, the challenges were talked about openly but it also wasn't the only thing about Chloe, it was just one part of her identity and life, AND she was a disabled woman who has [HOT] sex! You'd think that wasn't revolutionary but unfortunately the desexualisation of disabled people is real. All of the above highlights again the significant value of #OwnVoices storytelling - the author is a Black woman who suffers from chronic pain and she no doubt drew on her own experiences to inform Chloe's character.

A male character who had experienced psychological abuse by a woman
Abuse in relationships disproportionately impacts woman and adequate representation of that in books still leaves a lot to be desired. That said, it does not exclusively impact women, and the rigid gender norms around masculinity make it very difficult for male survivors of abuse to speak up, in case they are seen as 'less of a man' or not believed at all. I thought this was dealt with so well, with sensitivity and awareness of the lasting psychological impact. An unexpected bonus (and it's upsetting that I have to describe it as such) was a CONTENT WARNING! I literally have never seen a content warning at the start of a book, so the fact that Talia Hibbert provided one here means I will actually love her forever.

While I have spent the majority of this review talking about the diversity presented in this novel, I want to reiterate that this novel isn't brilliant just because of its diversity. I feel like this is important to emphasise in a time when Black-authored books are flying off the shelves because white people have suddenly woken up to the reality of structural racism - don't buy this as a tokenistic gesture to tick off a book with a Black disabled protagonist. Yes it's important to diversify your reading so by all means check this out as one of many great examples of books by Black authors, but far far more importantly, buy this because IT'S BLOODY EXCELLENT. It's funny, warm, and ridiculously STEAMY, and I stayed up until 3am to finish it because I had to know how it would end. ...more

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Jul 29, 2023 Zaza rated it it was amazing

Shelves: mf-contempo-romcom, lu-en-2023, ultimate-favorites, great-banter

Il y a quelque chose de magique dans le fait de tomber amoureuse de la plume d'un auteur non ? J'avais déjà été chavirée par l'écriture de Talia Hibbert dans Work for him, et cette fois encore, la magie a opéré ! Je suis amoureuse de cette plume sarcastique, de cet humour britannique et de cette voix si clairement distinctive de l'autrice. Elle a vraiment quelque chose de différent, et je me suis tout bonnement délectée de chacune des phrases de ce roman, relisant certains passages plusieurs foi Il y a quelque chose de magique dans le fait de tomber amoureuse de la plume d'un auteur non ? J'avais déjà été chavirée par l'écriture de Talia Hibbert dans Work for him, et cette fois encore, la magie a opéré ! Je suis amoureuse de cette plume sarcastique, de cet humour britannique et de cette voix si clairement distinctive de l'autrice. Elle a vraiment quelque chose de différent, et je me suis tout bonnement délectée de chacune des phrases de ce roman, relisant certains passages plusieurs fois tant j'aimais la façon dont les choses étaient dites.

En soi, l'histoire est banale, avec cette nana qui rédige une liste pour prendre sa vie en main et compte sur un mec à l'apparence un peu sauvage pour faire des vilains trucs et atteindre ses objectifs. Mais vous savez quoi ? Ce roman, c'est bien plus que ça. C'est l'histoire d'une nana qui souffre au quotidien, qui est en décalage avec le monde, et qui se fout du regard des autres et des règles de savoir-vivre. C'est l'histoire d'un mec qui a mis sa vie sur pause et va tout autant sortir de sa zone de confort que le fera l'héroïne. C'est quelqu'un de gentil, attentionné et plein de sensibilité, tandis qu'elle est beaucoup plus rentre-dedans et moins soucieuse d'arrondir les angles. Chacun traîne ses propres casseroles, a sa propre susceptibilités, ses limites à ne pas dépasser et ensemble, même si ça fait souvent des étincelles, ils vont aller de l'avant et être à l'écoute de l'autre (enfin pas toujours, évidemment, et ce qui rend cette histoire si bonne à mes yeux).

J'ai adoré les voir évoluer ensemble, la romance est belle, c'est tout ce que j'aime lire en terme de relation amoureuse. C'est simple, sans frivolités, c'est banal et en même temps, ça m'a collé des papillons dans le ventre car tout a du sens, il y a des sentiments profonds et une vraie mise en danger des émotions des personnages.
Les dialogues sont fantastiques, à la fois mordants, drôles, intenses et parfois swoonants. Le timing des répliques est tout simplement parfait, Talia Hibbert a de l'or au bout des doigts !

Vous l'aurez compris, c'est un très gros coup de coeur, tant pour les personnages que la romance, et surtout la plume de l'autrice ! ...more

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Aug 04, 2020 SandyL rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: character-artist, a-overdrive, 300-399-pgs, character-geek-nerd, setting-england, a-series-read-in-order, content-illness-disability-injury, genre-romance, genre-humor, content-interracial

This book was okay for me - the hype didn't quite live up to my expectations. On the one hand I appreciate books that have characters that I can learn something from - Chloe has fibromyalgia and it was interesting seeing what someone with that condition lives with. But I found myself looking in at, rather than getting involved with, the characters. I felt sorry for them, but the story didn't pull me in enough to really get invested in them. It was a cute book, though. ...more

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Jan 28, 2022 Rachel C. rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: 2022-goodreads-reading-challenge

I have to admit that I initially judged this book by its cover; it seemed like a sweet romance with very little erotic elements. Boy, was I wrong and I'm glad I was. I absolutely loved this book. I empathize and sympathize with Chloe so much, it's a relief to see a character with chronic pain move past it and learn to love life. I definitely plan on reading this book again in the future. ...more

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Feb 19, 2021 Carissa Brown rated it really liked it

Shelves: adult, romance, audiobook

Chloe Brown has been diagnosed with fibromyalgia. While she has been coping with her diagnosis for awhile she realizes that she has lost her whole life to the disease. Chloe has decided that it is time to get a life again, she will not let this disease win. She has a list of things that she wants to accomplish to help her get a life again. Enter Red Morgan.

Red has his own issues he is running from. He has been hiding out in his friends apartment complex and working as the superintendent. He thi ...more

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