Nur knapp entgeht Chloe Brown einem Unfall, der böse hätte enden können. Die 31-Jährige steht unter Schock und realisiert, dass ihr Leben bis dato viel zu langweilig war. Ihre chronische Krankheit hat sie als Ausrede für ihre Zurückgezogenheit genutzt. Jetzt aber will sie alles umkrempeln, zieht aus ihrem Elternhaus aus und erstellt eine Liste von sieben Dingen, die ihr Leben erfüllter machen sollen. Das Problem: Sie braucht einen Lehrer. Ob Red Morgan, ihr neuer Nachbar, dabei helfen könnte?

 

„Kissing Chloe Brown“ ist der Auftakt der Romanreihe von Talia Hibbert zu den Brown-Schwestern.

 

Meine Meinung:
Der Roman besteht aus 23 angenehm kurzen Kapiteln. Sie werden von einem Pro- und einem Epilog eingerahmt. Erzählt wird aus der Sicht von Chloe und Red.

 

Der Schreibstil ist anschaulich und lebhaft, jedoch nicht zu platt. Eingestreut sind E-Mails, Aufzählungen und andere Elemente, die den Text auflockern.

 

Die Protagonistin ist eine der Stärken des Romans. Chloe ist alles andere als klischeehaft: chronisch krank, farbig, übergewichtig und ein wenig eigenwillig. Das macht sie sowohl sympathisch als auch authentisch und bringt Diversität in die Geschichte. Auch Red mochte ich gleich. Die Gefühle und Gedankengänge der beiden lassen sich gut nachvollziehen. Die übrigen Charaktere wirken ebenfalls interessant

 

Besonders angesprochen hat mich, dass es eine etwas andere Art von romantischer Komödie sein soll. Und in dieser Hinsicht wurde ich keineswegs enttäuscht. Zwar ist die Story, die sich auf fast 400 Seiten erstreckt, recht vorhersehbar. Aber sie ist auch humorvoll und gleichzeitig tiefgründiger als viele andere Bücher des Genres, denn es geht um ernste und wichtige Themen wie Chloes Krankheit und weitere Probleme. Dabei gleitet die Geschichte nicht ins Kitschige ab, sondern berührt auf wohltuende Weise.

 

Das Cover passt gut zum Genre, gefällt mir aber nicht ganz so gut wie das amerikanische Original. Ähnlich verhält es sich mit dem deutschen Titel, denn die englischsprachige Formulierung(„Get a Life, Chloe Brown“) ist treffender und klingt weniger schnulzig.

 

Mein Fazit:
Wer einen Liebesroman der etwas anderen Art sucht, wird bei „Kissing Chloe Brown“ von Talia Hibbert fündig. Er bietet intelligente Unterhaltung mit Herz und Humor. Eine empfehlenswerte Lektüre für schöne Lesestunden. Auf die folgenden Bände zu Chloes Schwestern bin ich schon jetzt gespannt.

I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

 

Fibromyalgia and chronic pain were invisible afflictions, so they were easy to dismiss.

 

Chloe loves her family but is starting to feel suffocated by them, so she decides to make a list to help her get a life. On top of the list is moving into her own apartment, accomplishing this task also comes with a sexy superintendent.

Red is trying to get his confidence back after leaving an emotionally abusive relationship. His feelings for a new tenant have him more mixed up than ever.

Chloe guards her feelings well and Red gives a little too much but these two might just be perfect for each other.

 

He turned her into a complete disaster, and so, by day, she avoided his company like the bubonic plague. But at night, sometimes, she watched him paint.

 

The first in the Brown Sisters series, Chloe is the first one up for her happily ever after. Chloe has fibromyalgia, which the author did a great job portraying how this not only physically takes a toll but emotionally. The near constant pain makes Chloe a little short tempered and the background on how Chloe's fiance and some friends slowly drifted away because of how serious and consuming such an almost invisible disease is, gives reason to her closed off and grumpier personality. Red, by contrast, is a naturally open and sunshine type of guy, to the point that he ignores his own wants and needs. Our two leads are the often loved grumpy and sunshine trope.

 

Red smiled up at her. It was the kind of sweet and effortlessly handsome smile that heartthrobs deployed in rom-coms, and she didn’t trust it an inch.

 

I really enjoyed Chloe and Red in the beginning, the way they sparked off one another, even when there was some misunderstandings because they didn't know each other well enough to get the nuances underlining what they were saying to one another. I liked how they butted heads until Red gets a peek at Chloe's soft side under her tough shell. Having Red help Chloe with the items on her “Get a Life” list also worked to keep these two together. Chloe trying to help Red set-up a website for his art also worked well to get readers Red's story and what happened in London and why he lost his self-confidence. I thought the story lost some steam in the middle when Red and Chloe start to communicate by email. This worked to have them hash out some feelings and misunderstandings but it stalled their momentum a bit.

 

She saw the precise moment that he realized she was a breathless, horny little demon with a ridiculous crush on him.

 

This author's writing style and prose provided some cute, sexy, and snappy lines and moments. This wasn't as light and fluffy as the cartoon cover lead me to think it was going to be, there are plenty of curse words and open door sexiness. Chloe was the stand-out character for me and I loved her grumpiness and how around people she cared about and trusted, it peeled back to show a funny, sarcastic, and caring woman. I wish the scenes with her grandmother and sisters could have continued as much as we got in the beginning, I felt we lost that great connection after the first half. Red was lacking a certain wholeness for me, I think more scenes with his mom and his friend could have thickened up his character a bit.

 

Whether she admitted it or not, what Chloe really needed was a decent fucking friend. And what Red really wanted, badly enough to surprise himself, was to give her that. To show her every kindness she should take for granted. To make her smile and laugh and feel like herself. The way she did for him.

 

Chloe and Red's love felt somewhat rushed at the end, I wasn't sure the deepness to their love was fully on page for the time length given. There was also a misunderstanding that felt contrived, if a character is proclaiming love the way they were, it feels overly angst to have them immediately think the worst of their partner. Overall, the author managed to tackle issues like chronic illness, emotional abuse, and therapy and have her characters experience and live these in a romance story. The love was seen and felt in how Chloe and Red challenged and helped each other navigate and overcome these moments in life. Chloe's sisters were delightful and I'm anticipating their books.

It has been a week, TGIF! Settling in with some popcorn and a new to me author.
The heroine’s toe point on the cover is so delightful :)

 

Get a Life, Chloe Brown by Talia Hibbert purchase link

 

Harvest Caramel Corn recipe

Extremely rich!

 

 

 

Damaged Goods - Talia Hibbert Remember in my prior review (yeah, I doubt it, but I do) when I said that I had that I was feeling awfully grumpy at contemporary and this unknown to me author named Talia Hibbert crumpled up that feeling, threw it in my face then lit it on fire?

That.She is, without a doubt, a fresh (to me) voice in contemporary romance. There's something so true and stripped, yet beautiful about her style. Elegant with a flare of humor, minimalist with a touch of whimsy. As I've read her books I've felt more than with other authors who are low angst that the arc is a little different. It's not the why or despite-all-odds getting together love stories. It's a romance about how two people find each other, stripped bare, and become each other's. It's simple, it deals with the essentially mundane of a couple falling in love and deciding to be together, yet both books I've read of hers feel unique and like nothing I've ever read before. (And great humor!)

In Damaged Goods, we have Laura-wife of Daniel-becoming herself after surviving her marriage to Daniel. Her backstory is intricately woven in the story, but it doesn't detract or consume or add dependency to Samir and Laura's relationship (second chance type), it just is. It's painful, it's real, but it's something the couple deals with as a couple and moves on. Samir is lovely too, and like Evan comes off a bit too perfect. I'm left feeling I know the heroines a touch better than the heroes thus far in her books (we did have his back story it didn't seem to be integral, if that makes sense)...but for me that isn't really a bad thing. That said, though Samir was a bit infallible, you can't help loving him or his smitten, torch-carrying self. Laura and her friendship with Ruth are highlighted, and so is a delicate balance of coming off one relationship into another. This 'rebound' wouldn't always play well with this backstory, but again, here it just is. We also get a glimpse of Hassan, Samir's brother and I have to say I would've loved to meet him and his husband in the story. I loved that interaction, and it added to Samir's character.

Honestly, two more perfect and idealized heroes have never existed in my mind (Ravenswood are her only books I've read), so I guess a kudos for that. I do have a strong desire to see one of her heroes with a really rough edge though, I believe Hibbert is the kind of author who could write me into love with anyone.

Parts of it are quite *ahem* hot, so you won't be disappointed there.

All this said, though Hibbert's Ravenswood series have become a beacon in the sludge of CR I feel like I've been wading through, I'm giving this a 4. It's a novella, though a hefty one, and I can always use a bit more depth. The 4 is also for the perfection of the characters-or at least the heroes. I love the snappy humor and writing style and can't wait to read the backlist & more from this talented author.