Hibbert, Talia. Act Your Age Eve Brown. (The Brown Sisters, #3). Avon/Harper Voyager, 2021. 400 pp. ISBN 9780062941275 $15.00

*****

Opposites attract when Eve, the youngest Brown sister, having failed at yet another venture (wedding planning, this time), flees her well-meaning family’s home, and lands at a B&B who just happens to be desperate for a chef, and it just happens she can cook. After interviewing, she accidentally runs over Jacob–just a little bit!–the B&B’s owner. She’s hired in spite, and to help out the now-injured Jacob, a bit against his wishes, but at his coworker/friends encouragement. Sunny, outgoing Eve is just what shy, grumpy Jacob needs, whether he knows it or not.

Enemies to lovers only works when they are attracted in some way from the start. Eve slowly takes over the kitchen, a spare bedroom and Jacob’s heart in this funny, heartfelt, sexy story. Like in other the other books in this trilogy, the protagonists are dealing with a little something extra; in this case, both are neurodivergent and it’s Jacob who recognizes Eve’s behavior as on the spectrum. That’s not to say he diagnoses her, just offers a perspective that helps her define what she already kind of knows to be true.

Both older sisters show up with their significant others to support Eve, and Hibbert keeps them true to character. Her books are perfectly paced, contain a wonderful balance of profanity and pop-culture allusions, and the characters are messy, real and imperfect. The Brown Sisters as a series is swoony and satisfying.

I received a free advance reader’s review copy of #ActYourAgeEveBrown from #NetGalley, but I bought a copy to complete my series.