Get a Life, Chloe Brown by Talia Hibbert (The Brown Sisters #1) * *
The premise is simple and promising. Chloe Brown is a wealthy woman living in the UK who, after almost being run over by a car, creates a list of things she wants to do to “get a life.” She has fibromyalgia, which limits her energy and shapes how she navigates the world. To complete her list, she enlists the help of Red, the building’s handyman, who is also a painter. From there, the story focuses almost entirely on their developing relationship.
The problem is that the list, which should have driven the narrative, feels like a thin framework rather than the core of the story. Each item is technically completed, but only in the most minimal way. The camping trip is a good example. You expect something concrete. Setting up a tent in the dark, struggling with the poles, the cold air, the sounds of the night, maybe something going wrong. Instead, the tent is already up, they sit by a fire, roast marshmallows, and talk. That is the pattern throughout the book. The events exist, but they feel like background props rather than actual experiences.
Because of this, the pacing becomes an issue. The audiobook runs for over ten hours, yet very little actually happens. Scenes are stretched out with long internal monologues. Conversations often consist of a few spoken lines, while pages are filled with what the characters are thinking rather than doing. The result is a story that feels static. They are in different places, but it rarely feels different. A bar, a campsite, a flat. None of them are really described. You are expected to fill in the blanks yourself.
The romance itself also did not work for me. It relies heavily on constant internal lust and insecurity. Almost every interaction is filtered through attraction and self doubt. There is very little sense of a relationship being built through shared experiences or meaningful interaction. Instead, it feels like a loop. They want each other, they misunderstand something, they pull back, they repeat the same emotional cycle again. The conflict is almost entirely based on misunderstandings, and it happens over and over again in slightly different forms.
Chloe as a character has strengths. Her chronic illness is handled with care and specificity, which makes sense given that the author has the same condition. The descriptions of fatigue, managing energy, and dealing with medical gaslighting feel grounded and real. That part of the book stands out as genuine. It is also relatable on a broader level, especially the idea of losing connections because you cannot show up consistently. However, outside of this aspect, I did not find her particularly compelling. She is described as intelligent, but it does not come through strongly in her actions or decisions.
Red, on the other hand, feels too idealised. He is kind, patient, supportive, and endlessly accommodating. His main flaw is that he gives too much of himself in relationships, but this is never meaningfully challenged. By the end, he is essentially the same person. His arc feels incomplete, and his perfection becomes tiring rather than appealing. From experience, that kind of dynamic can become exhausting very quickly, and the book does not seem aware of that.
The side characters also feel underdeveloped. They appear when needed, mostly to give Chloe someone to talk to, but they do not feel like they have independent lives. The same goes for the world around them. There is a clear class difference between Chloe and Red, but it is never properly explored. It is mentioned, then left alone.
One positive element, aside from the chronic illness representation, is the inclusion of therapy as a normalised part of Red’s life. That is a good detail in theory. In practice, it also contributes to his overly perfect characterisation. It feels less like a meaningful part of his growth and more like another box ticked.
As for the tone, the book tries to balance humour, romance, and emotional depth. The banter is meant to be witty and flirtatious, but it rarely lands. Combined with the heavy focus on sexual attraction, it becomes repetitive. The constant emphasis on desire, often immediate and intense, made the relationship feel more shallow than intended.
In the end, this book did not meet my expectations. I was looking for a story built around action, change, and experience. Instead, I got a slow, introspective romance where most of the story happens inside the characters’ heads. If you enjoy character driven romance with a strong focus on internal emotion and attraction, this might work for you. It did not work for me.
The most memorable character was the cat, and even that feels like a missed opportunity.
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