“Act Your Age, Eve Brown” by Talia Hibbert

Act Your Age, Eve Brown is the last of Talia Hibbert’s Brown Sisters trilogy, and just overall a goddamned delight.

Eve is considered by most to be a disaster. At twenty-six, she has yet to chose a path, flitting from job to job with the speed of an intrepid log-jumper. Eve knows she keeps failing, and the latest disaster brings the wrath of her disappointed parents down on her. They demand that Eve get her act together, hold down a job and find some purpose. Until then, they will revoke their financial support, leaving Eve without an income, or a home.

Eve stumbles into a temporary gig at a bed and breakfast, where she not only makes an enemy of the proprietor, but almost immediately injures him.

Said proprietor is Jacob Wayne, a perfectly put together guy who does not need a force of chaos like Eve in his B&B. From the moment she shows up without a resume, Jacob knows Eve will not be frying the bacon at his establishment, but he has little choice, given the lack of other acceptable applicants. Then, Eve hits him with her car, and they’re stuck with each other. Jacob can’t run the B&B by himself with a broken arm, and Eve is wracked with guilt. Now, all they have to do is stay civil, though both of them can’t help but being distracted by each other.

This is just such an addictive read. I was forced by necessity to read it in two days, but otherwise I might have consumed it in one sitting! Eve is just adorable and wonderful, so charismatic and sweet. Jacob is grumpy and vulnerable, and their interactions are just a pleasure to read. Speaking of pleasure, this book is hot. Like, incredibly sexy. Turn up the AC, you’re gonna need it. It’s just what I needed, sexy, sweet, funny, and I am hyped for the new series to follow, set in the same town to follow Mont and his sisters, who are featured secondary characters and have some of the best lines in the book. The book also has some stellar ASD rep, I think writers like Hibbert and Helen Hoang are really doing the hard work to normalize neurodivergence in romance. To borrow a phrase from Mont, I want to take it home and hide it away from the world and marry it. Five stars.