Hibbert artfully combines a joyful, sexy romance with a nuanced exploration of living with chronic illness and recovering from an abusive relationship. Chloe and Red are well fleshed out, likable characters and their relationship develops wonderfully. A solid contemporary romance with just the right amount of depth.

Alright, y'all, another romance novel with a cartoon cover, which means some of us have questions. I'm going to try and address those first:
1) Yes, this is absolutely a romance. It has a central love story, that truly is the main focus of the book, and an HEA.
2) Steam Factor: Explicit on page sex, no fade to black here; on par in my opinion with the books in Hibbert's <i>Ravenswood</i> series!

And now, onto an actual review.

Chloe Brown has fibromyalgia and has adjusted to the early adulthood onset by trying to be very scheduled and also maybe playing it very safe. When she has a near death experience, she decides she's been playing it too safe and makes a list to her her "get a life." We encounter her next in her new apartment, not getting along well with her building super, Red, who has seen Chloe responding to slights against her (for being black in one-like, trying to touch her hair, and then a normal shared laundry situation) without actually witnessing the slight against her. Anyway, this has resulted in Red determining that Chloe is a snob. Meanwhile, Chloe is annoyed because she finds Red, so named for his hair color, very attractive in a bad boy kind of way.

Red, for his part, is essentially hiding from his former life of being an up and coming artist by taking this position as building super at his friend's apartment complex. He's been pretty badly wounded by his ex-girlfriend. And before you roll your eyes at the evil ex trope, know that this one is more than that. Red's ex was actually abusive and it was really great seeing a man dealing with his trauma. He actually starts going to therapy later in the book, which was great. Therapy representation is always good.

Chloe and Red start out pretty incapable of seeing each other for who they are and Red, for his part, keeps attributing personality traits from his ex onto Chloe based solely on the fact that Chloe clearly comes from money. But Chloe is also the kind of person who climbs a tree to rescue a cat, so she can't be all that bad. The two of them come together in a pretty slow burn kind of way. You know they're attracted to one another pretty immediately, but it takes them a long while to act on it.

All in all, this book was great and for me, one of the things I loved the most was watching how the two balanced their needs with the other and how they worked together to figure things out. The mental health representation in this book was really, really incredible. So I'll leave you with this line that I adore and think it a great representation of what the book kind of stands for:

"You were hurt, and you reacted. You were in an unhealthy situation in more ways that one and you panicked and cleansed everything with fire. Don't dismiss you emotions and your self-protection as just a fucked-up decision. Don't reduce something so complex and real and important to nothing."

4 Stars / 3 Steam Fans

This was a very interesting read about a young lady named Chloe that has an invisible disability that she is trying to cope with. Across her apartment complex lives Red, the super sexy superintendent that likes to paint shirtless and he has his own issues to overcome. As Red and Chloe agree to help each other and in doing that they both discover a better life. However, that better life isn't easy and they have bumps in the road.

This specific video review will be included in the July 2019 wrap-up.

For other video book reviews check out my YouTube Channel: Steph's Romance Book Talk.

Jeez Louise you guys, I love Talia Hibbert! This is the third book of hers that I’ve read, and it is just as great as I was expecting!

Chloe Brown is so grumpy, y’all. Or at least, that’s what her apartment’s superintendent Red Morgan thinks. That, and she’s snobby. Kind of a holy terror, actually. But also really cute, goddammit.

Chloe Brown thinks Redford Morgan is just too nice to deal with. He’s got a smile for everyone, how dare he. But also he’s a gorgeous artist who leaves her stammering, goddammit.

Turns out - Chloe Brown isn’t grumpy - she’s chronically ill and usually in pain of some kind.

Turns out - Red Morgan isn’t all happiness and sunshine, either.

Watching these two bumble into each other was exquisite. I love how fiercely protective Red becomes of Chloe, while NEVER making her feel dependent or pitiful. I love how Chloe believes in Red and his artwork so obviously, so authentically, that he can start to believe it too.

This book is so, so funny, super steamy, and also heartfelt. Chloe + Red 4eva!

This was such a fun read. Chloe's quest to add excitement and adventure to her life gave the plot a strong backbone. Chloe's own characterization was fantastic and hysterical, and Red played his part well. Definitely nice to see chronic fatigue portrayed in a romance novel with minimal drama.

Huge thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this gem early! I have been dying to read this, since I first read the plot summary. Get a Life, Chloe Brown is an amazingly different British rom-com that features a plus-size woman of color who lives and thrives despite dealing with debilitating pain and autoimmune disease. After almost being hit by a car, she decides to break out of her comfort zone and live bravely, focusing on reaching her goals and dreams. The first order of business is to move out of her family's mansion and find an apartment of her own. At her new flat, she meets Red, the building's manager, and they have a Pride and Prejudice meet-cute. Red, a tattooed artist, thinks that Chloe is a rich, snob, and the two main characters clash at first. You'll have to read this amazing book to find out if their hate turns to love--let's just say that everyone needs a guy like Red in their lives! Also, just a heads up that the cute as a button (wink, wink) cover is deceptive--the romance is super steamy! This is not a YA book. I have so much love for this book, and I'm excited to read the next installment in the series.

This romantic comedy features an unusual heroine: Chloe is a chronically ill irrepressible woman who is trying, as the name suggests to get herself a life. By making lists. That last sounds hackneyed but the book is anything but! The hero and heroine are both fully realized, quirky and fun inhabiting cubby, romantic, original tale. Aside from this the book is so amazing because the heroine has a chronic illness. But the hilarious checking off of list items and sometimes steamy romance are the meat of the book. I’m sure my patrons will love it.

I absolutely adored Get A Life, Chloe Brown. I started reading it at the pool on vacation. It was the perfect vacation read. This book is set in Great Britain. It would be the perfect read to take you on a vacation.

I am obsessed with the heroine, Chloe. I love how she isn’t a cookie cutter heroine. I think she is more relatable. She is plus size. She is a woman of color. She has chronic pain. She’s someone who I’d want to be my friend. I love her bravery. She decided to make some changes in her life to live it to the fullest.

I want a Red in my life. I love how he wasn’t the perfect hero. He had issues of his own to work out. He gave me warm fuzzies.

I just loved this book so much. I heard that we will get another books set in this world next summer (2020). I cannot wait.


I voluntarily read an early copy.

Holy smokes, I devoured this book. I am so in love with this book! I'm in love with Chloe and Red! And I'm thrilled that this is going to be a continuing series. My heart is just so, so full.

Chloe has a fibromyalgia. Red has a shattered past with painting. Both are trying to move forward and re-claim their lives. Turns out, they fill the gaps for one another and fall in love.

Get a Life, Chloe Brown is being touted for fans of Jasmine Guillory and Helene Hoang, and it is definitely in that read-alike circle. It's got the banter, the steamy scenes, the tender care, and growth that makes this a perfect read.

Diverse reads: Chloe is of African descent (and lives in Great Britain).

Sweet and oh so sexy! This one started out rough for me but 4 chapters in, I was hooked.

While Red was a little unrealistic…let’s be real a partner that intuits a woman’s needs at EVERY single turn? Is that real? Have I become cynical in my old age?

All that aside.

I do so love a curvy normal gal, out living her best life and finding love. Romance is for all of us y’all!

Plus when do we ever get stories that so well chronicle living with the chronic pain of fibromyalgia? I have never felt as though I so thoroughly understood it, as I did reading this book. Also I wasn’t aware that some consider it a disability?

I learned a lot and it strongly reinforced that being sick or disabled does not mean losing your sexy.

This was a fun, hot romance and is perfect for Summer! ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5 out of 6 stars for the slow start but fantastic finish.

This book was pretty gosh darn cute. Let's just put that out there.

The characters are entertaining and highly likable. They are flawed and real and fun and sweet and just plain fun to read about. 

Also, diversity! Look at the cover again and bask in its multiracial, body positive glory! We need more books like this on our shelves!

But, back to the story.

This book started out so perfectly that I knew I was going to love it.

And then, because the world sucks, I started losing focus. I've been a year-long reading slump and this book just could not survive. I was still into the story, finishing it in one night, but it just wasn't the same. This should have easily been a four-star book for me. But alas, the reading slump got the best of me.

That said, reading slump aside, this book wasn't perfect. 

I personally would have liked to see more of Red's life story. He had such a sad story and it would have been so interesting to get a deeper look into it, rather than just having been told about it. Same with Chloe. We are told of how people have judged her due to her illness but we are never really shown. I would have liked to get a first-hand look at how they lived before having met.

Overall, I liked it. I also really do recommend. Despite my rating (curse you reading slump!!) it was a really cute novel that I think many of you will enjoy.

I LOVED THIS BOOK!

I love when romance is about so much more than just romance and this book is about Chloe and Red's romance but it is also about chronic illness. Chloe lives with a chronic illness and the book depicts what that is like in a way that made me understand Chloe and what her struggles were . She is introverted and has conversations in her head, she keeps her armor up to avoid painful situations. Red has his own issues, too. Together these two unlikely characters forge a connection. Chloe and Ray were well developed characters, the tension was sizzling and I learned so much about living with chronic illness--I loved this book!!

I loved the fact that Chloe was both snootily funny and vulnerable. I’ve already purchased it for the library and am excited to recommend it

I was so excited to read this book and it did not disappoint! First of all, a heroine with chronic pain and describing how living with chronic pain! This is not often written about in romance and many people live with this. I loved how Talia Hibbert wrote a heroine with chronic pain! Chloe's journey in the story is impacted by her pain, but in an empowering way. Chloe does start the story by withdrawing from the world, but she changes the course of her life after an incident in the beginning of the story. Chloe and Red had great chemistry and I love a great enemies to lovers story.
It's so important that romance continues to have inclusive stories for every reader and Talia Hibbert does a great job with this story. Chloe is relatable even to those who don't experience chronic pain and her drive to push herself to 'get a life" is a relatable ideal. Many people have seen their lives become stagnant and decided to change the course of their life.
This story is well written and I really enjoyed reading it and I look forward to having it in the store to share with readers.

I thoroughly enjoyed this story. Chloe was a fantastic character that didn't let her chronic illness hinder her confidence in herself. She was bold and determined to live life on her own terms. Of course there were side affects with living with an illness that didn't always allow her to live exactly how she wanted. There were times when she would rather be rude and curt than to show others her weaknesses. That's where I felt Red was perfect for her.

While Red's issues were no less important, he managed to find a way to eventually see beyond Chloe's cold front and family background. On the outside, she was exactly the type of woman he never wanted to be with again. So it was nice seeing them slowly let each other in and open up about the things they've had to deal with in the past, and how it has led their hearts to become gun-shy. The things that Red went through in his previous relationship were interesting to read about because it's not an issue that gets a lot of light in romance novels (even though it's a lot more common than many assume). I appreciated that perspective, and it made me appreciated Chloe's handling of it in the end when she realizes she triggered him.

I also loved Chloe's sisters, Dani and Eve. They were funny and had unique personalities that let me know I wouldn't mind reading books about them. I'm happy that Dani will be the next in line in the series. And Red's friend Vikram was also a nice inclusion. He was very supportive of Red, and knew him well enough to notice when he was starting to slowly heal. I loved the scene when he just quietly watched Red finally get consumed by his art again, and then let him know how happy he was for him in the end. I would love to see more supportive male characters like this in romance novels.

Overall, I thought this was a well-written book with great representation of various perspectives.

5 ENORMOUS STARS!!!
Have you ever started a book and even just a couple of pages in, you just know it’s going to be a perfect fit?!?! Get a Life, Chloe Brown grabbed me from the beginning and didn’t let go until the last page! I haven’t read Talia Hibbert prior, but I am thoroughly impressed! I read a lot of romance and it’s been a long time since I’ve read a romance novel that beautifully combines humor, genuineness, sweetness and depth! The characters were well-developed and so darn endearing! You will love them so much you won’t want to say good-bye...ever!!! Get a Life, Chloe Brown is most definitely a 2019 favorite for me!! I have already put Talia Hibbert’s prior novels on my TBR list and I cannot wait to delve into them!

Get a Life, Chloe Brown was pretty much perfection in my eyes. It has everything a good romance needs - characters with depth, a believable plot. an adorable cat, and some unbearably hot sex scenes. My love for Chloe and Redford knows no bounds. They are goals.

Chloe is a ray of sunshine. I'm so happy that we're getting more representation in our romances these days, as it was so enlightening to read about her struggles with an auto-immune disorder since I have so many friends who are going through the same thing. It gives readers like me who don't deal with pain every day a great look into their lives and how we can help. Or back the f off. And if you look so many reviews on Goodreads, you'll see that people who are also chronically ill like Chloe are overjoyed to see themselves on the page. Representation. Matters. But it wasn't just that perspective that made Chloe special. Her resilience, her sense of humor, her style, and her tough exterior/gooey center completely charmed me.

And don't even get me started on Red. What a man. I would ride on the back of his motorbike any day. And if that sounds like a euphemism, so be it. He was caring without being overbearing, sexy as all get out, and an artist to boot. And his dirty talk? Oof, it is on POINT. The chemistry between Chloe and Red was palpable and the sexual tension throughout the book will make readers squirm in the best possible way. Talia Hibbert is writing some of the best sex scenes out there. This was my first book by her, but now that I know she's a sex scene master, you know I will be seeking out more.

In other hands, this could have been a book about "damaged" people healing each other but instead, it's a book about two beautiful souls finding joy together and opening themselves up to more in their lives. Red can't make Chloe well, obviously, but he can help round out the edges - support her, be there when she needs it, and let her stand on her own two feet when she needs that - and Chloe can do the same for him as he continues his healing. It's a wonderfully supportive relationship that doesn't promise perfection but ends up being perfect all the same.

Such a cute British rom-com! A quirky Black main character with a chronic illness and a tattooed white love interest healing after emotional abuse. I love the representation in this book and I love reading about characters that come from different backgrounds, fall in in love, and share their life experiences. It took a little while for the characters to warm up to each other as Chloe comes across as a stuck up brat due to misunderstandings but the banter and humor make the journey to romance so fun.

This book feels like the modern lovechild of Jane Austen and Bridget Jones -- but sexy! I loved Chloe. She was such a vibrant and vivid character, and I really loved the depiction of her life with fibromyalgia. I appreciated that the goal wasn't for Red to cure her pain -- or even think he could -- just with love. The characters and the story were so sharply observed. Talia Hibbert is a masterful writer. I can't wait for what's next!