ARC Review: Act Your Age, Eve Brown by Talia Hibbert

From the blurb:

Eve Brown is a certified hot mess. No matter how hard she strives to do right, her life always goes horribly wrong—so she’s given up trying. But when her personal brand of chaos ruins an expensive wedding (someone had to liberate those poor doves), her parents draw the line. It's time for Eve to grow up and prove herself—even though she's not entirely sure how…


Jacob Wayne is in control. Always. The bed and breakfast owner’s on a mission to dominate the hospitality industry—and he expects nothing less than perfection. So when a purple-haired tornado of a woman turns up out of the blue to interview for his open chef position, he tells her the brutal truth: not a chance in hell. Then she hits him with her car—supposedly by accident. Yeah, right.


Now his arm is broken, his B&B is understaffed, and the dangerously unpredictable Eve is fluttering around, trying to help. Before long, she’s infiltrated his work, his kitchen—and his spare bedroom. Jacob hates everything about it. Or rather, he should. Sunny, chaotic Eve is his natural-born nemesis, but the longer these two enemies spend in close quarters, the more their animosity turns into something else. Like Eve, the heat between them is impossible to ignore—and it’s melting Jacob’s frosty exterior.

Heather's rating: 

Talia Hibbert writes her best book yet with the third book in The Brown Sisters series, Act Your Age, Eve Brown. Moving, interesting, and incredibly sexy, Talia Hibbert nailed every aspect of this story.

I'm a big fan of Talia Hibbert's work, and I've enjoyed all of the books in The Brown Sisters series, but seriously, none of them hold a candle to Act Your Age, Eve Brown.

I was extremely excited to read this story because I love books with neurodiverse main characters. I'm really drawn to them, and I actively seek out romances with characters who are not neutrotypical. However, the intense chemistry and excellent writing is what made this story special.
 
Eve and Jacob were a great example of a soft enemies-to-lovers story with a sizzling initial attraction that doesn't detract from the relationship development. Sometimes, the author leads with insta-lust and it stunts the relationship development between the two MCs. However, though the chemistry was there from the start with Eve and Jacob, it was given time to slow-burn. I loved how their relationship grew and changed over time, and how their attraction simmered until it boiled over.

Both of these characters also carry baggage, but the story doesn't feel heavy. Talia Hibbert has a way of inserting just the right amount of humor into her stories, and I was reading this book with such a big smile on my face. The dialogue and banter between the two MCs were such a joy to read. I'm a dialogue junkie, and I love it when the author can carry a story through with witty conversation. Though the book touched on a number of serious topics, it didn't take itself too seriously.

The story is so cute that the heat really sneaks up on you. Talia Hibbert pulls no punches when it comes to writing her sex scenes, and I love her for it. I'm talking scorching hot chemistry. There are no silly euphemisms for sex, just enthusiastic SEX. Yes, yes, yes!

I was so enjoying this story that I was surprised when I had tears in my eyes near the end: the emotions really crept up on me. I felt my heart squeezing and squeezing, and I couldn't put it down in the last 20%.

Act Your Age, Eve Brown was simply a pitch-perfect story for my tastes. Sexy, bold, diverse, funny, and moving, I got everything I wanted and more from this story.

*Copy provided in exchange for an honest review*

Buy this book: 

Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo

Enjoy, everyone!