I’m going to miss the Brown sisters so much!
Representation matters, plain and simple. Being able to see yourself in media makes you feels a little less lonely; like someone understands you. In 2019, I heard about the book Get a Life, Chloe Brown by Talia Hibbert, a contemporary romance about a black woman who sets out to “live a little” after a (kind of) near death experience. Most importantly, this was the first time I was reading a book with chronic illness representation—especially fibromyalgia. It really made me emotional seeing my disorder written on the page (page 10, no less!), something I never knew I needed. You could tell it’s an own voices novel and written with so much care and insight. I felt like I was sitting there on the couch with Chloe, bundled up and going through a flare, or using a chair in the kitchen just to cook a simple dinner. I saw so much of myself in her and it was so refreshing to read.
When I heard there was going to be a second book, I was a little worried. I wondered if maybe I was so captivated with Chloe Brown only because of my personal connection to the character. I was happily mistaken. Hibbert knocked it out of the park again! Take a Hint, Dani Brown focused on the career-driven middle sister Dani, in a friends-to-lovers AND fake dating romance. Having just finished the final book in the series, Act Your Age, Eve Brown, following the youngest Brown as she is forced to grow up and finds herself in a fantastic enemies-to-lovers relationship with her new boss, I can definitively say that this is my new favorite series. Yes, technically they are just companion novels and you don’t necessarily need to read the each book to understand the other, but where’s the fun in that when the family is just delightful. The sisters filter through the other books, but the culmination of the entire family coming together in Eve Brown was so great, it is not to be missed.
Hibbert creates these flawed and genuine characters. These are three strong black women who don’t need a man to define them, but are there to support them in anything they do. And boy do they support! Our three love interests compliment each Brown sister so well—the chemistry is out of this world. They’re also not just one note characters. These guys bring a lot of depth and vulnerability to the page—I want my own Red, Zafir, and Jacob!
I really don’t want this series to end. Can we just get a catch-up novel every once in a while? Or some novellas? I’ll take anything! I could go on and on about these books, so if you’re a fan of smart and interesting romance that are more than surface level sex, give these a read!
Lindsay Glenne 