Get a Life, Chloe Brown Review
Too many people write off the romance genre as frivolous or silly. It certainly can be, but the main problem I have with the romance genre — and why I have historically steered clear of it — is the toxic and heteronormative relationships it often evangelizes. We have all seen the recent discourse on Julia Quinn’s Bridgerton series. I read The Duke and I…and yeah. I am still going to read the rest of the series though because I enjoy torturing myself. It is really fun and you should try it. Books like Get a Life, Chloe Brown are the gems that have made me fall in love (ha, pun unintended; sorry not sorry) with romance.
Titular character Chloe Brown has recently had a brush with death, making her realize that she needs to get some excitement in her regimented and highly-organized life. As an aside, I disagree. Being introverted and being super organized, never seeing people outside is honestly my dream life, but Chloe Brown wants to get a life and I support her. To get a life, she has made a detailed to-do list (that’s my girl!), which starts with her moving out of her family home and into an apartment with a tall, attractive supervisor, Red.
Chloe is so relatable and hilarious, especially because every time she runs into Red, she is in the middle of a scenario that makes her look unhinged or ill-humored or a fun amalgamation of both (that is where I live most of the time). Another relatable aspect of Chloe: her chronic pain. Chloe has fibromyalgia and when she (inevitably) gets together with Red, he “fills in [her] gaps,” and makes her “get a life” to-do list accessible to her without trying to “convince” her that her disability is something to “overcome.”
Red is equally lovable and every single interaction he has with Chloe had me going “omg my heart.” When he plans a fun “drunken night out” to help Chloe with her “get a life” to-do list: “omg my heart.” When they go camping together: “omg my heart.” §insert string of crying face emojis§ I want “s’more” of Chloe and Red (sorry not sorry for this terrible pun).
Another thing about Red that I enjoyed was his past in an abusive relationship and how it affects literally every aspect of his current life. From what I have seen of abuse first-hand, this depiction is extremely accurate. I also found it an interesting differentiation that the previously-abused party in this relationship was a man. A trope I really (really [really {really}]) hate in romance is an abused woman being “saved” and “uplifted” by a “good guy.” Barf. This relationship is not a gender-swapped version of this. Good. Chloe “fills in [Red’s] gaps,” just like he does for her. OMG, MY HEART.
Without spoiling anything, I will give my thoughts on the plot. It is paced perfectly and Talia Hibbert is a master of writing relatable, yet deep characters. Her writing style is exactly my vibe, humorous and deadpan. The phase of “tests” that Chloe and Red’s relationship goes through feels realistic and makes a compelling argument for why Chloe and Red should stay together long-term. I wish everyone a relationship as cute and supportive as this one.
I would share some choice quotes from this book, but that would just end up being the entire book which is “pirating” and “frowned upon,” so I will simply urge you to read the book yourself to discover all the quotable prose. This book lives up to its well-deserved hype. I rated it five stars and will dedicate my life to telling everyone I know “omg you haaaaaaaaave to read this book,” because I have a deep dedication to being insufferable, always. §another string of crying face emojis§
