This is a love story. Actually it's two love stories. Maybe three? First, and in my opinion most importantly, it's a story about Eve Brown learning to understand, appreciate and love herself. Secondly, it's a very hot romance between Eve and Jacob. And third, it's me remaining devoted to Talia Hibbert. I will miss the Brown sisters so much, but I can't wait to dive into Hibbert's backlist, and I can't wait to see what she does next.

This is my third book with the Brown sisters and it was so fun to be back into the story. I really enjoyed the bed & breakfast and the view on autism. Eve is probably my least favorite sister. I was struggling to relate to her but I could see how she is going to be well-loved as a character with an inclusive background. I enjoyed Jacob and his straightfoward bluntess. I thought Hibbert did a great copy portraying what it is like to live with autism and how it would feel to be on the spectrum and misunderstood for being nero-typical .
This book was a lot more insta love feeling than the others, which I think is why I struggled a bit more with the relationship itself. As for the smuttiness, Hibbert was on par with her other books :)

If there’s something I’m not surprised by, it’s how much I loved this book!!! I adored the first two books in this series but I do think this one is officially my favorite of the trilogy! I love that we have two autistic main characters here, and that Eve and Jacob are just absolutely lovely from the moment we meet them and the book is just so much fun.

Trigger warnings are provided by the author at the beginning of the book and I’ll just paste it here: “This book mentions childhood neglect and anti-autistic ableism. If these topics are sensitive for you, please read with care. (And feel safe in the knowledge that joy triumphs in the end.)”

We met Eve in the previous books as the youngest Brown sister who was constantly changing jobs and professions on what seemed like a whim. Here, we see that it’s much more than just a flight of fancy, and there are reasons behind Eve doing what she does. She really is delightful and adorable, and nothing really keeps her down for long because she doesn’t let it. But when her own parents stage an intervention of sorts that hurts her deeply, she drives out into the country and winds up at a little town called Skybriar. And this is where, by the most fortunate of circumstances, she winds up applying for the job as a chef at a cute B&B called Castell Cottage and meets Jacob Wayne.

Jacob Wayne is, at first glance, a rather grumpy man who owns the coziest and picturesque B&B. The place seems rather at odds with his personality but the more you know him, you realize the gruff exterior is hiding the kindest man EVER. His last chef up and left one day and now he’s rather desperate to find a chef but nobody quite meets his high expectations and his best friend Mont (a nickname for a Eric Montrose) can’t be his stand-in chef forever when he has his own business to run. And of course, there’s a gingerbread festival of sorts that Jacob is determined to do well in and make a good impression at.

So normally, I don’t think I would be behind a character running a car into another character and physically harming them, but it really was an accident in this case and Eve is just so utterly apologetic about it all that it’s hard to be too bothered by it (also, knowing this book is set in the UK and Jacob having no outrageous medical bills for his hospital treatment is also a comfort). And this is how Eve suddenly becomes the chef at Castell Cottage while Jacob recovers.

Jacob is very forthright that he is autistic from the start to get any sort of awkwardness out of the way, not that he had to worry about any such thing when it comes to Eve. I will say that while there are two autistic leads in this book; Eve comes upon this realization later in the book. I did like how this book just presents this info like this is just how the characters are, and doesn’t make the book all about that or too much about anyone giving them grief. It’s refreshing.

This book is one of the BEST grumpy/sunshine books I’ve ever read and, really, mr. grumpy over here (Jacob) is just a sweet cinnamon roll underneath his icy walls and I LOVE HIM SO MUCH. His thorough thoughtfulness and care with how he runs his B&B just makes me want to cry and give him a hug. He’s really the most darling character who deserves all the best bed nests to sleep in. Meanwhile Eve is sunshine and soooo cute and hilarious, never letting anything or anyone keep her down for long, despite all the people who have tried to tell her she’s failed at something. I really adore Eve and love her so much.

So, I’m normally skeptical of traditionally pubbed books that try to say they’re a romcom because I don’t usually consider them very funny? But I definitely thing this book could be considered a romcom! It’s hilarious with very dry humor, and an assortment of unexpected circumstances to keep you on your toes and makes you burst out laughing.

I think my only critiques would be that a few minor things that are left unanswered even by the end, that I would have liked answered (did Eve ever cancel a certain commitment, who cooked that one day, when did Eve get paid, or did she ever wash her purple glittery dildo she called M’baku)? But most of all, I think with the way the story and with Eve’s position at the B&B was to help Jacob out with the Gingerbread Festival, it would’ve been lovely to have seen more of what they actually had planned for their booth, and the actual festival itself the first year they did it together. Alas.

I do love all the secondary characters in this book?? And while I was reading this, it was announced that the author will be doing a spin-off series in Skybriar with Mont as the first MC!!! I LOVE Mont, so this is the best news and the best timing. I would assume that the second and third books might be with Mont’s twin sisters as leads of their own books? The second one is supposed to be queer so I’m very excited about that!! Mont, Tessa, and Alex absolutely deserve their own HEAs and I’m so happy we get more Skybriar!!!

This book was ALL THE FEELS and while I can’t say I love a late third act breakup, this was wrapped up quickly enough and the whole book is a delight to read so I will let it go. Eve and Jacob are the cutest together and they do have scorchingly hot moments together and with lots of enthusiastic consent (no fade-to-black sex scenes here!!), and honestly I already want to re-read this book. I also can’t wait to listen to the audiobook for this, because I loved Ione Butler and her narration for TAKE A HINT, DANI BROWN, so I’m sure she’ll do an amazing job with this book as well. I never wanted this book to end, and it’s already one of my favorites for this year!

***Thanks to the publisher for approving me for this ARC on NetGalley.***

I kept putting this off not because I didn't want to read it, but because I already knew I was going to love it and I didn't want it to end. The first two Brown sisters' books have both been amazing reads and I naturally knew this final one would be the same.

I loved that this romance book again was cute and steamy and funny, but it also has the main male role with autism. We don't see that ever in romance books. The cameo from the other Brown sisters and the other family members were a nice touch as well.

I can't wait to read more books by Talia Hibbert!

Eve Brown is by far my favorite Brown sister. Her boldness, vulnerability, and empathy made me fall completely in love with her. Jacob was grumpy, loveable, and completely and utterly perfect.

The slow-burn and enemies to lovers aren't usually my favorite tropes, but Hibbert wrote this book so brilliantly that I wanted to savor every second of Eve and Jacob.

Eve may be my favorite Brown sister! Getting to see her figure out who she is and why she's struggled in certain areas of her life was exciting. I couldn't help but root for her. At the same time, Jacob was so likeable. He understood himself and was surprisingly intuitive when it came to Eve. Talia Hibbert does such a great job showing neurodiversity and chronic illness without the story being all about those topics. Her characters are still complex people living ordinary, often messy, lives.

Eve was spoiled brat. Jacob is responsible, but some how they work. Great story and dialogue great ending for the Brown sisters..

Oh, I was so looking forward to this one. Talia Hibbert is very clever, and she writes multi-dimensional characters who are also clever (and funny, and well-realized). While I enjoyed this book, it was, sadly and honestly, my least favorite of the Brown Sisters trilogy. Eve Brown, like her sisters, is delightful, unique, independent, and witty. Her story, compared to her sisters', felt a bit rushed and uneven. That said, Hibbert is so entertaining the book still works. I just wanted more. More time. More slow burn. More of Jacob's side.
<spoiler>I also have some real reservations about a a character self-diagnosing themselves on the autism spectrum. It's a real diagnosis and deserves more than a couple sentences about what some character traits might mean in terms of broader health. Although I love and appreciate the representation of people with autism being seen as desirable, I think the explanation as presented in the book deserved more nuance. The relevant section, when I read it as a person with family members on the autism spectrum in her family, did not sit well with me. While the representation is great, the execution felt like ticking a box--"Oh, this is the book where the sister has autism as her obstacle to overcome!" No thanks. Chloe's fibromyalgia in book one, for example, felt more authentically realized as part of the story. </spoiler>
The other two books take place over a longer time period, with the characters having already known each other. That time is not afforded here, and, as a result, this book feels a bit "insta-love"-y to me, which I find less believable, and therefore less enjoyable. That said, Hibbert definitely knows how to write a heartfelt, funny, sexy romance, and this is an obvious pick for contemporary fans-- especially those who want to support #ownvoices authors while gaining more racial and cultural (and neurotypical) diversity in their steamy fiction. That's a win for everyone.

A huge thank you to NetGalley and Avon/Harper Voyager for the Advanced Reader Copy in exchange for an honest review!

Oh. My. God. I have never fallen in love with a book so quickly. I love the pace, the flow, the characters, the plot, everything. Eve Brown and Jacob Wayne are polar opposites. Eve is going out into the world (again) to prove to her family that she can hold a job. Jacob is a bed and breakfast owner who is desperate for a new chef. Now, I have to admit that I had not yet read the first two books in the series when I started this one, but I was about a chapter into this one when I decided to purchase them asap. This book is absolutely adorable, and one of the best portrayals of opposites attract that I’ve read in a long time! I seriously don’t think I have any real complaints about this book, outside of my sadness that this is the final installment of the series. Talia Hibbert did an amazing job with this book, and I cannot wait to see what she does next!

<i>**I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review**</i>

Based on the other two Brown sisters books, I was pretty sure I would like Eve's story. Instead, I LOVED it. As someone who loves stories filled with banter and grumpy but lovable men (Jacob has a lot of similarities with Luke Danes from <i>Gilmore Girls</i> so of course I immediately loved him), this was right up my alley. I mean, what's not to love about this book?!

A delightful and endlessly caring main character? Check! A surly small-town love interest with a heart of gold? Check! Fun new side characters that are absolutely begging for their own spin-offs? Check! The return of existing characters in unexpected but entertaining ways? Check! A discussion of the digestion concerns of ducks? Check! All the banter you could ever want? Check, check, check!

Overall, this book was wonderful. I read it practically in one sitting and can't wait to read more books by Talia Hibbert. Her work is amazing and I love everything she does.

(Presumably, this is the end of the Brown sisters series because all of the Browns are paired off, but I can see a spin-off trilogy in this book. We'll see what happens, but in the meantime, I'd read just about anything Hibbert writes.)

This was a cute ending to the Brown sisters' series. Was it my favorite book in the series, no. But was it a great ending to one of my favorite series, yes.

I think Dani Brown will still, always be my favorite sister, but Eve is really cute too.

Positives
Great discussion of neurodiversity and what that looks like. Ever since I first read the Kiss Quotient I have had a soft spot in my heart for neurodiversity in characters. Watching them fall in love is always a roller coaster and I love every second of it. We all fall in love in different ways.

Jacob is a squishy baby bear masquerading as a wolf. I love these types of heroes.

I think where this deducts stars is because I had a harder time getting into this book for some reason. I don't know why. I started and stopped it several times. I had a hard time relating to Eve for some reason. I thought it was too long in parts and in other parts I wanted more exposition. There are also lots of English pop culture references that I had to keep looking up. Eve loves music and I kept having to put down the book to explore what she was talking about. Which was a good and bad thing. I loved experiencing new music but then I had to pick the book back up and get back into it again.

Hibbert is an amazing author and I do think anyone that has read the other books in the series should pick this up.

Though I was a huge huge fan of both the first and second books in this series, for some reason the third just didn't click with me. I think it was because Eve bothered me-- she was a bit too spoiled and rich (though the other ones were rich as well, it didn't seem so blatant here), though I adored the love interest. I might come back to this one when I'm in a different mood. Still will read anything Hibbert writes!

This book was a true delight, and Eve wound up becoming my favorite of the Brown sisters. In the first few chapters, Eve appears impulsive and irresponsible and through the events of the novel, becomes more comfortable in her own skin with the help and trust of Bed & Breakfast manager, Jacob. This book made me laugh out loud, and the steamy scenes were entertaining without being utterly ridiculous.

It's no secret that I love the Brown sisters. I love them with my whole heart. I wish I could meet them for drinks one day. Yes, I know they are fictional characters, but that doesn't mean it couldn't happen!!

With this 3rd installment of the Brown sister series, Hibbert has once again, worked her magic and given differently - abled BIPOC characters a beautiful voice, power, love, and made them sparkle bright like the amazing humans they are.

I am an autism Momma, and it truly touched my heart to see Eve and Jacob come alive on the pages. I loved their enemies to lovers journey. I laughed out loud at their banter. I identified with their struggles and I admit wanted to throw my Kindle across the room at certain points along the way because I wanted them to GET TOGETHER ALREADY! Hibbert is the queen of sexual tension. This book has some STEAM. Phew, I may have blushed a bit. Loved it.

Get this one on your must read list!

I want to thank NetGalley, Avon, and Harper Voyager for a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

Here we have the third installment in Talia Hibbert's Brown sisters series. This book focuses on Eve Brown, the youngest of the sisters. Eve has a creative spirit but she can't seem to hold down a solid job for too long. In fact, she seems to leave a steaming pile of fresh disasters in her wake. After her parents cut the financial cord until she can prove that she's going to be more independent and stable, Eve leaves home in search of a new opportunity. Enter: cute B&B owned by a youngish, handsomeish guy. After a spectacularly bad interview, Eve becomes the new B&B chief while her boss is recovering from being hit by a car (um, long story). I'll let you fill in the blanks with Eve and Jacob, her new boss.

This is a perfectly serviceable installment in the series. I wasn't blown away, and I do wish there were more details about characters, events, and motivations other than Eve and Jacob. This is a fun opposites attract contemporary romance, and the relationship development is well done. It's cute.

ARC provided by NetGalley!
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So... I just want to start this off by saying I felt every minute of that book. Eve is probably the sister I relate to the most. Chloe, from book 1, I felt would be my best friend. Dani, from book 2, I felt was my friend who I had MAD respect for- that owned everything and could empower anyone. But Eve... I see myself in her and damn did that scare me.

Her many ‘failures’? Her fear of loving something too much, knowing it could be taken away? THATS ME. Her character was so fun to read, but also so amazing in every way.

Her and Jacob were amazing together & I loved how they both put effort in to understand each other. They didn’t judge one another (too harshly) in a way that was toxic towards the other.

I loved this book so much & I can’t wait to have a physical copy on my shelf! The Brown sisters have been such an amazing journey & I know I’ll re-read them soon!

I absolutely adore this series. The Brown sisters have a take no prisoners attitude that does not fall short with Eve. The story was different than the first two but thrilling all the same. I just wish there were a plethora of more sisters so there would be more books!

In the last year or so, I have become a huge fan of Talia Hibbert. It started with Get a Life, Chloe Brown -- the first book in her Brown Sisters series. Eager for the 2nd book, I dove into Hibbert's backlist. I'm still working my way through her backlist (everything has been excellent), but I've also continued with the Brown sisters and I am a little bit gutted that this series is over.


Because, dear reader, I loved them so so so much.


Act Your Age, Eve Brown is the third and final book in the series, and when my request for access to a digital galley was approved on NetGalley late last year, I started reading it immediately. I couldn't wait to get back to these wonderful characters and Hibbert's witty, engaging writing.


Eve and her story did not disappoint in the least.


I love how well Hibbert writes such realistic, complicated, fully-developed characters. The characters are truly what make her books so special. They are all unique individuals, relatable in so many ways, and they always feel so real and authentic.


Eve is a wild, boisterous, unapologetic force of brightness and determination, and I absolutely loved her. But I also adored her grouchy romantic foil Jacob, and all of his quirks. And as much as the couple shine brightly, the supporting characters nearly steal the show (as is common in Hibberts books, if I'm being honest). Jacob's best friend and his delightful twin sisters. Eve's sisters and their boyfriends from the first two books in this series. And their free-spirited grandmother, of course.


This book just feels colorful and bright and joyful, and it made me just abundantly happy while reading it. And isn't that something remarkable?


So if you'd like to feel a bounty of joy, read this book!

Honestly, Talia Hibbert can do no wrong. I fell in love with the Brown sisters in "Get a Life, Chloe Brown", and each book of this series has only gotten better.

"Act Your Age, Eve Brown" is the beautiful story of a young woman learning to love herself as she is and to accept those parts of herself that others deem "off" or "wrong". Eve leaves her world behind and throws herself headlong into a job she knows nothing about. Throw in a gruff (but secret cinnamon roll) B&B owner who can't help but be drawn in by the quirkiness of his new employee and this book is pure perfection.

Let's not forget the amazing representation of the autism spectrum!

Oh, how the Brown sisters have brought such joy to my life. While I’m incredibly sad the final book of the trio is over, I couldn’t be more pleased with watching each of these characters go through their separate journeys of self-acceptance, discovery and love.

The representation and diversity in these books is effortless and has made me hold other romances up to much higher expectations because of it. There is no reason to not have more diverse characters in romance novels and Talia Hibbert has done so in such an organic way that I don’t have the patience for authors that don’t follow her lead. Beyond representation, Hibbert excels at bringing her readers on a journey where happiness always wins in the end. There are tough moments, moments where your heart breaks, but they’re all worth in when you get to the end of her books and everything is as it should be.

One of my favourite things about Jacob and Eve’s story was the banter and jabs at one another. I honestly haven’t laughed at a book like I did at this one in such a long time. It was truly hysterical while still being tender and kind. The jabs were never low blows or meant to hurt. There was always respect and belief between the two of them.

Talia is an expert at handling her character development and does it with such care. This book follows a journey of realizing ones worth and realizing the failure isn’t always a bad thing. It deals with abandonment and lack of self-worth and shows us how working through these things doesn’t come easy. I loved watching how Jacob would support Eve and how Eve would support Jacob. Their love was heart warming and totally sexy and absolutely the kind of love I would love! The sex scenes are always sex positive and romantic which makes for a great romance novel if you ask me.

Honestly, if you haven’t dived into the Brown family world, you are seriously missing out. These sisters are such a joy to read about and they make the romance world so much brighter.