It’s been a while since I read a romance, and this was a great way to return to the genre. Chloe Brown has a near death experience that leads her to re-evaluating her life. She thinks she’s boring, so she comes up with a list of things that she thinks will help make her braver and more interesting. This process starts with her moving out of her parents’ house and into an apartment, where she meets Red Morgan, the superintendent. Red is an artist who’s recovering from a relationship that destroyed his confidence, and he’s decided to be the handyman for the apartment until he gets back on his feet.
Chloe has fibromyalgia. It took a long time for her to get properly diagnosed and start effective treatment, and during that time she was abandoned by a lot of people in her life. She closed herself off after these losses, and this, combined with the chronic pain she feels, can lead her to being snarky and irritable, so at first Red doesn’t like her. But this is a romance novel, so of course he gets over that.
I loved this book. It was funny, sweet, and hot. I loved the repartee between Chloe and Red; that’s often my favorite part of romance novels (e.g., Red tells Chloe that at first he thought she was a snob but then realized “You’re just a cute little hermit who hisses at sunlight”). I loved how supportive they are of each other, even when they’re mad at each other or in emotional or physical pain. They’re able to grow as people because of each other.
Also, there’s a cat. Pets, especially cats, always add to my enjoyment of novels, especially when they actually get attention instead of being treated as though they are little more than a piece of furniture.
I’m waiting for my library to have a copy of the next Brown Sisters book. While I’m going to miss the focus on Chloe and Red, Talia Hibbert is a good writer, and I’m looking forward to getting to know Dani and Eve Brown.