Summary [courtesy of Goodreads]: 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.
As with pretty much all Talia Hibbert books I’ve read (including a lot of her indie titles), this book was a pure joy to read. The Brown sisters are so much fun, and I’d guessed from the earlier two books that Eve would be the most fun of all. And I was right, insofar as Eve is a delightful character and shines even brighter in her own story, despite (or perhaps because of) her flaky ways.
I related probably too well to Eve’s career crisis for someone who’s almost 10 years older than she is, but what can I say? I guess a crisis-of-purpose can happen at any age. (And it’s fun times, let me tell you!) But in this novel, I loved how rapidly and organically Eve realized, despite years of wheel-spinning and anxiety, what she felt fulfilled doing. It was so fun and comforting to see her find her ‘home,’ identity-wise, even as she found her home, romantically. I also appreciated how Hibbert showed Eve’s gradual realization that her previous so-called ‘flakiness’ was actually due to neurodivergence (and that she herself, like her love interest Jacob, is probably autistic). The way Eve stops blaming herself and becomes more self-confident and assured was beautiful.
I will say, going into this novel knowing the basic plot synopsis, I was wary of Jacob as a love interest. The crabby/prickly white dude archetype walks such a fine line between intriguing and irritating, since in the wrong hands (most hands?) that character’s privilege and behavior often translate into sexism, racism, and narcissism. But I wasn’t THAT worried, because this is Talia Hibbert we’re talking about, and her books have amply proven that she’s a trustworthy, caring romance storyteller. So the Jacob we get is prickly at first and upfront about his autism and impatience with some things, but behind the scenes he’s also deeply selfless and caring. I loved the reveal that he insists on paying his staff (of one) an actual living wage, while he himself has only a handful of professional shirts he rotates through. His rapidly escalating level of attachment to Eve was also really sweet to see.
I didn’t adore the compulsory last-act separation/set-back here, but to be fair I truly hate this genre convention and wish that it could be jettisoned without reader and publisher (and plot) outcry. (I’m a strong advocate of as little plot conflict as possible–if there could be, like, none, that would be fabulous with me.) In this case, though, I was shocked to discover that there was a scenario where I would NOT enjoy the intrusion of the entire Brown family into the setting. It was kinda disturbing to see my favorite characters become the (temporary) source of miscommunication, conflict, and Eve’s misery, even though I understood Hibbert’s purpose and overall point about family and boundaries, which is a good one.
Overall, though, I loved this book.
I also couldn’t get enough of Jacob’s best friend Monte and–even more–Monte’s sisters. The sections where they went out of their way to become Eve’s friends brought tears to my eyes, they were so idealized and sweet. Who wouldn’t want a friend group that snarky and loyal? There should be more stories that include friendship fairy-tale/instalove happily-ever-afters. I was over the moon when I learned Hibbert’s planning a spin-off series starring that family. Yay!