Title: Act Your Age, Eve Brown
Author: Talia Hibbert
Published by Avon Books on March 9, 2021
Type: Fiction
Genre: Romance
Book 3 of 3 in The Brown Sisters Trilogy
Dates Read: March 20- March 22, 2022
Main Characters
Eve Brown – Protagonist, youngest Brown Sister
Jacob – Protagonist, Castell Cottage Inn Owner
Eric – Jacob’s best friend; Owner of the Rose & Crown Bar
Lily – Jacob’s aunt and his adopted mom
Tessa & Alex – Eric’s twin sisters
Chloe and Dani Brown – Eve’s older sisters
Sadly, we’ve come to the final book in the Brown Sisters Trilogy, and I’m heartbroken, to say the least. I was super excited to get to this book. I mean I couldn’t wait to get devour this book, especially with the first two fresh in my memory. The entire series has been fascinating. I wish I had read them just a tad bit slower so that I could have savored them longer. I mean from start to finish, I read all three in just 11 days, and that includes the time to write up the first two reviews. To say I was engrossed is putting it mildly. I almost feel like a member of the Brown family. Chloe, Dani, Eve, and even Gigi all feel like family. This last book, Act Your Age, Eve Brown focuses of course, on Eve, the youngest of the Brown women. Eve is quite the handful. She’s loud, colorful, defensive, and just as quirky as her older sisters. I absolutely love her.
Summary
We enter the novel with Eve writing in her journal (not diary!) about yet another failed business venture of hers, wedding planning. She had just planned a wedding for her friend, Cecelia, which included the release of doves. Instead of releasing the doves during the couple’s photography session, she let them go before the wedding ceremony (tsk tsk tsk). After the incident, Eve even removed her wedding planning website. Then suddenly Eve is blindsided by her parents, who demanded that she stop playing around with her life and get serious about both her future and her career. Until she does, her parents are cutting off her monthly payments from the family trust. To avoid crying in front of her parents from the embarrassment, Eve jumps in her car and drives. And drives. And drives. Until she happens upon a sign for the town of Skybriar. Once there, she stumbles upon the Castell Cottage Inn, which just so happens to be in need of a chef. She applied and was promptly rejected due to her lack of experience. However, the owner, Jacob, decided he needed someone. ASAP! Before he could offer her the position, Eve ups and hits him with her car, breaking his arm and giving him a concussion. I mean, now she has no choice but to take the job, right?! Right! She nearly killed him! What ensues is a love story between two people trying to navigate uncharted territory; Eve sticking to a job and Jacob learning to lighten up.
My Review
This is my favourite (British spelling) book in the series. As with the other two in the series, this one made me laugh out loud, roll my eyes, and yell. Like ugh. Talia Hibbert really outdid herself with this one. She really puts the comedy in romantic comedy.
We really got to know and understand the characters as they developed. Talia does a great job of sprinkling the character’s backstories throughout the book, so you’re always learning something new about how they are and what makes them tick. Eve went from a spoiled, pampered princess to someone really comes into her own and learns to trust herself. I loved her quick wit, and the sayings on the the t-shirts she wore. Jacob is an autistic, no-nonsense perfectionist who cares about his customers. As time progresses, he starts to loosen up and really enjoy himself, while also learning to trust Eve. I enjoyed watching them transform. It was both tear-jerking and comedic.
If you read a lot of romance books or watch a lot of romance movies, as I do, then you know the plot isn’t new however Talia puts her own little twist on it. I appreciate the twist and the representation. It made the story unique because you didn’t know how it would affect the storyline. And she did it with finesse. Talia even apologized in advance if she didn’t do it with enough finesse. The racy scenes weren’t overpowering and were short and brief, however, this book, like the others, is not recommended for children.
The book didn’t move as fast as the others, which is fine, because I wanted to savor this last book until the last word.
Rating
Favorite Quotes
“Read like your book is burning”
“Well, shit sticks and fudgesicles.”
“In case you hadn’t noticed, I’m a part-time hot mess.”
“Hey, do you think anyone’s ever gotten their dick stuck in a Pringles tube?”
‘I think anyone’s who’s big enough to get stuck in a Pringles tube has better places to put it.”
“I think I’m only capable of fuckups and not-quite enough.”
“It sounds like your dream broke, and you’ve been picking up shattered pieces and blaming yourself when your hands bleed.”
“What if the thing she’d failed hardest was… herself?”
“If you want me to behave like an adult, you need to give me the space to do so.”
“Your not just my sunshine, you’re the sun.
