Spoiler Free Review: Act Your Age, Eve Brown by Talia Hibbert

Title: Act Your Age, Eve Brown

Author: Eve Brown

Pub. Date: March 9th 2021

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Format: eGalley

Publisher: Avon Books

Pages: 400 pages

GOODREADS | BARNES & NOBLE | AMAZON | LIBROFM

🖤eGalley provided by Publisher in exchange for an honest review, all quotes come from an advance copy and may not match the final release🖤

Eve Brown hasn’t quite found her footing in life when her family decides to stage an intervention. The wealthy Brown family love their daughters but realize that Eve is a bit lost and hesitant to set off in the world. Cutting her off of her trust fund and pushing her to set some goals turns out to be the push she needs to discover some things about what is holding her back. She stumbles into a Bed and Breakfast that is looking to hire a Chef, the owner Jacob is an autistic man who is everything Eve has stayed away from. Organized, meticulous, a bit rigid and a stickler for rules Jacob sees Eve as a tornado come at the wrong time. Eve personally applies for the job because she thinks it doesn’t run the risk of being something she will fall in love with doing. For Eve it’s not just fear of failure, it’s also disappointing her loved ones. It’s why she’s floated in between careers and hobbies without ever truly setting roots even though she’s quite skilled and great at pretty much anything she tries her hand at.

“𝑊𝑜𝑟𝑘 𝑤𝑎𝑠 𝑠𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑑𝑖𝑑 𝑡𝑜 𝑡𝑟𝑦 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑓𝑒𝑒𝑙 𝑢𝑠𝑒𝑓𝑢𝑙—𝑢𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑙 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑓𝑢**𝑒𝑑 𝑖𝑡 𝑢𝑝. 𝑊𝑜𝑟𝑘 𝑤𝑎𝑠 𝑠𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑑𝑖𝑑 𝑡𝑜 ℎ𝑒𝑙𝑝 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑝𝑒𝑜𝑝𝑙𝑒 𝑎𝑟𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑑 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑢𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑙 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑤𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑛’𝑡 𝑛𝑒𝑒𝑑𝑒𝑑 𝑎𝑛𝑦𝑚𝑜𝑟𝑒. 𝑊𝑜𝑟𝑘 𝑤𝑎𝑠 𝑛𝑜𝑡 𝑠𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑒𝑛𝑗𝑜𝑦𝑒𝑑 𝑖𝑛 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑜𝑓 𝑖𝑡𝑠𝑒𝑙𝑓, 𝑏𝑒𝑐𝑎𝑢𝑠𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑤𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑑 𝑜𝑛𝑙𝑦 𝑚𝑎𝑘𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑢𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑤𝑜𝑟𝑠𝑒 𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑛 𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑦𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑐𝑜𝑙𝑙𝑎𝑝𝑠𝑒𝑑.“

Jacob has just suffered an injury (won’t say how cause spoilers haha!) and doesn’t have anyone that can help run his B&B the way he is accustomed to on such short notice. He gives in and posts a flier looking to hire a Chef temporarily and Eve is who comes in for an interview. We get a hate-to-love romance with plenty of steam to accompany the dishes they’re serving! + who doesn’t love the proximity trope? *wink eye wink eye* UGH! just when I thought it couldn’t get better than Dani & Zaf from Take a Hint, Dani Brown (my review) Hibbert swoops in with the next all star couple *heart eyes*

There’s so much we get to unravel with Eve as a main character, someone who is so giving of herself but doesn’t see much of a return. This was really a story of self worth and setting boundaries that I heavily could relate to. It’s also not a Talia Hibbert book without A+ humor and banter, Eve & Jacob had me laughing for the entirety of my one sitting read of this book. I created a playlist of songs Eve listens to while she works and enjoyed my time with these characters. Character quirks I loved: Jacobs maddening inner monologue on how Eve drives him up the wall had me giggling for hours. His need for control and icy reserve slowly coming apart whenever he entered the kitchen and saw Eve in her element. Eve who is completely oblivious at just how magnificent she is…I LOVE HER! I lived for those moments when Eve delighted in the joy she got from making Jacob blush with her sexual innuendos. I love all of the Brown sisters but Eve is just so full of personality and a nurturer in ways she herself hasn’t acknowledged. Eve is a multi-talented, plus size, sexy, fun tee-shirt wearing woman with great taste in music and a big heart.

“Your abilities lie in the places people usually overlook, so you’ve been convinced you don’t have any at all. But you’re smart, and you’re capable, and if people struggle to see that, it’s their problem, not yours.”

Jacob is 100% supportive and in doing so helps Eve come to the realization that she is a phenomenal woman. They also share a lot more in common than meets the eye, won’t say what cause that would definitely be spoilery. I just honestly believe Talia Hibbert knows how to deliver a male love interest you can’t help but love! They’re in no way perfect but Red from Get a Life Chloe Brown, Zaf from Take a Hint, Dani Brown and now Jacob from Act Your Age, Eve Brown Come close to ideal when thinking of a life partner  This is the conclusion to the Brown sisters and although bittersweet, I am beyond happy to have met all of these characters on the page. These are character driven stories filled with humor and strongly independent female leads paired with awesome male partners. Best of all is the humor, diversity, and body positivity they all carry within💜

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