Book Review: Get a Life, Chloe Brown

Get a Life, Chloe Brown by Talia Hibbert

Length: 369 Pages

Genres: Contemporary Romance
Rating: 5 out of 5 Stars

"He loved Chloe. He loved Chloe like a blank canvas and a finished piece and all the exhilarating, painful, stop-and-start moments in between. He loved Chloe like tearing through the on his Triumph, feeling in motion when he couldn't feel alive inside. He loved Chloe like every she shot was a kiss and every kiss she gave him was a breadcrumb-sized piece of her heart in his hands."

Trigger Warnings in this book for mentions of mental and physical abuse

I'm on a real roll with my book choices lately! This is the second book I've rated five stars this year (I've had a rough year and I've only read four books) and also one of the most enjoyable romances I've ever read. 

Chloe Brown is determined to get a life after a near death experience brings her life into stark relief. Chloe has Fibromyalgia and along with that comes chronic pain and ritualistic remedies and lots of avoidance of things that could exacerbate her illness.Since she's been diagnosed she has lost not only many friends, but her ex-fiance, who didn't believe in her pain. She's created a safe cocoon of a life, but a boring one, too. So she does what any meticulous, detail orientated mind would - she makes a list of things that will give her a "life" - from riding on the back of a motorcycle to a drunken night out. 

Her first objective that she completes is to move out of her parents lush home, which she shares with youngest sister Eve and her glamorous "Gigi", Garnet. Chloe's new apartment and freedom is the first step in the right direction, but there's one annoying hitch in her plan. 

The superintendent of the building, Redford "Red" Morgan. Tall, red-headed, and tattooed, Red is everything that Chloe isn't. But once they get past their differences, all with the help of a fat gray cat named Smudge who helpfully gets stuck in a tree, Chloe and Red click. Little does Red know, he has already helped Chloe cross one item off her list: do something bad. She spies on him as he paints in his apartment, shirtless, and with a vigor that sets her on fire.

I cannot remember the last time I had so much fun reading a romance! Chloe is a perfect heroine, prickly and sarcastic, strong-willed and smart, and Red loves her for it. Red was absolutely swoon-worthy with his love of art and his dream to visit MoMA, his love for his mother and his gentleness. It was a breath of fresh air to see how much he respected her boundaries, always asking before making the next move and always seeking her consent and comfort. Red has problems of his own, all results of an abusive previous relationship, and when he's triggered by something that Chloe does they both react in the way of people that have been hurt before. But it doesn't take them long to talk things out like adults, and the way he left her little gifts of things she loved - sea salt chocolates, hair-scrunchies that won't snag her hair, and a plush toy that looks like Smudge, brought a smile to my face. The sex scenes were sensual and hot and full of the love between these two people, which made it all the better.

I cannot wait to pick up the next book that Talia has written which is about one of Chloe's sister, the bisexual uber-smart Dani! I loved the way she handled Chloe's illness (my mother has chronic pain as well) and Red toxic relationships and the steps he took to better himself. She's gone on my must-read authors list, for when I need something full of joy and as warm as a pair of fuzzy socks!