Act Your Age, Eve Brown
Author: Talia Hibbert
Publication Date: 09 March 2021
Genre: Adult Fiction – Contemporary Romance
Pages: 400
Publisher: Avon Books
In Act Your Age, Eve Brown the flightiest Brown sister crashes into the life of an uptight B&B owner and has him falling hard—literally.
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.
After reading Take a Hint, Dani Brown last year, I didn’t think that Talia Hibbert could outdo the amazingness of Dani and Zaf. Looks like I’m the clown because Eve’s story blew me away.
Now, if you haven’t read the other two books prior to reading Eve Brown, you won’t miss out on any major details. The previous two books focus on the older two sisters and how they ended up with their partners. Both Chloe and Dani do make a cameo in this book, but this book is still 100% enjoyable without the background info. That being said, I HIGHLY recommend both books.
Eve Brown is the youngest of the Brown sisters, and unlike her older sisters, she hasn’t figured out her career path and still lives at home (which she is happy with). However, when her parents tell her to either get a job and move out or risk losing her trust fund, Eve heads to the country where she comes across a B&B hiring a chef (a position that she’s not qualified for). The owner (Jacob Wayne) immediately clashes with her personality and turns her away. Eve proceeds to accidentally hit Jacob with her car putting him in the position to need her help since he’s left with a broken arm. As the two of them spend more time together, the chemistry between is undeniable.
From the moment that Eve literally barreled into Jacob at the B&B, I was so enamored with these two. The banter between them was absolutely top notch. Eve is very much the spontaneous and go with the flow type of personality that refuses to be contained. Jacob is the non-nonsense rule follower that is out to prove his worth since he literally came from nothing. The two of them were different in almost every way, but their chemistry and passion together was infectious. Their relationship just felt so authentic and was easy to get wrapped up.
And the steam between these two? OMG. I thought the first two books were steamy. Y’all, this book gets all the steam and eggplant ratings. I wasn’t ready!!!
I also want to comment on the way that autism is addressed and portrayed in this book because Talia is out here debunking the harmful stereotypes that are typically on page. Here we see two characters on the spectrum that exhibit different behavior, struggles, and ways to cope. Furthermore, there’s no judgment or assumptions made, and at no point do you feel like these characters being autistic makes either of them lesser. They are whole and thriving, and THAT is something that we need more of!
Honestly, this is a book that I will be rereading because it’s that good.
I could gush about this book all day, but I’ll just end with pick this one up. It is an incredible read and deserves all the love and praise.
Thank you Avon Book for providing a review copy. This did not influence my review. All opinions are my own.
The Reading Chemist 