Review | Act Your Age, Eve Brown by Talia Hibbert

In Act Your Age, Eve Brown the flightiest Brown sister crashes into the life of an uptight B&B owner and has him falling hard—literally.

Eve Brown is a certified hot mess. No matter how hard she strives to do right, her life always goes horribly wrong—so she’s given up trying. But when her personal brand of chaos ruins an expensive wedding (someone had to liberate those poor doves), her parents draw the line. It’s time for Eve to grow up and prove herself—even though she’s not entirely sure how…

Jacob Wayne is in control. Always. The bed and breakfast owner’s on a mission to dominate the hospitality industry—and he expects nothing less than perfection. So when a purple-haired tornado of a woman turns up out of the blue to interview for his open chef position, he tells her the brutal truth: not a chance in hell. Then she hits him with her car—supposedly by accident. Yeah, right.

Now his arm is broken, his B&B is understaffed, and the dangerously unpredictable Eve is fluttering around, trying to help. Before long, she’s infiltrated his work, his kitchen—and his spare bedroom. Jacob hates everything about it. Or rather, he should. Sunny, chaotic Eve is his natural-born nemesis, but the longer these two enemies spend in close quarters, the more their animosity turns into something else. Like Eve, the heat between them is impossible to ignore—and it’s melting Jacob’s frosty exterior.

Act Your Age, Eve Brown was easily one of my most anticipated reads of 2021, but I was a little nervous to start it after how much I adored her sisters’ stories. As it turns out, I had nothing to worry about: Eve’s story was absolutely charming, and it ended the Brown Sisters trilogy on such a high note.

Act Your Age, Eve Brown had all of the tropes that I love: a slow-burn, enemies to lovers, opposites-attract, sunshine-grump relationship. At first glance, Jacob and Eve couldn’t be more different: Jacob is calm, quiet, and demanding; Eve is exuberant, kind, and chaotic. While their differences are initially a source of mutual dislike (and exceptional banter!), they come to see that they have much more in common than they would have expected. It was such a delight to watch Eve’s self-confidence grow as she discovered what she was good at, and to see Jacob’s prickly exterior reveal a soft, marshmallow heart filled with unconditional love.

The bulk of Act Your Age, Eve Brown is set at a Bed & Breakfast in the quaint little town of Skybriar. I would have liked to see more of the town itself, beyond just the one pub scene with the Montrose siblings, so I’m very excited that a spin-off featuring them is in the works!

Overall, Act Your Age, Eve Brown was an absolutely delightful read. It quickly became my favourite of all the Brown sisters’ stories, and I can’t wait to give it a reread.