Act Your Age, Eve Brown: A Novel (The Brown Sisters, 3)

Impulsive Eve Brown goes for a drive in the Lake District to escape her troubles and ends up working as the temporary chef for a bed and breakfast owner who is her opposite in every way. Jacob Wayne has an order and a manual for everything, and he can’t believe how Eve has crashed into his life. But all he needs her to do is represent his B&B well at the annual town gingerbread festival. Of course, much more ends up happening, but that is the only predictable part of the story. I almost found it disorienting how contemporary this romance was, but it gave the lovely feeling that the story could be happening near you.

Hibbert had to balance making the hero enough of a contrast to Eve but not a jerk, and she pulls this off admirably by giving the reader insight into Jacob’s background and how he thinks. This romance features two neurodiverse characters, which I think highlights a truth that bears further exploration in romance novels. The truth is that everyone deserves and can find love in their lives. The best romances feature chemistry and a connection that is built despite, or because of, internal and external factors or challenges. Kudos to Hibbert for exploring this dynamic in a new way.