[REVIEW] The Brown Sisters Trilogy, by Talia Hibbert

(Buy these books!)

I love a British rom-com. I also love an #ownnormal story, and I have a special place in my heart for hot summer beach reads.

The Brown Sisters’ romances(Get A Life, Chloe Brown; Take A Hint, Dani Brown; and Act Your Age, Eve Brown) deliver all of the above and more.

All 3 books have the same basic story. Grumpy guy meets rich, seemingly carefree Black girl. Shenanigans ensue only to be solved by the power of intense attraction and obvious misunderstandings, which leads to realizations of deep feelings and dramatic confessions leading to adorable happily-ever-afters. Along the way there’s plenty of laugh-out-loud funny banter(I was surprised at how funny these were!) and some of the steamiest steam to ever fog up a nerdy reader’s glasses–these books are boiling hot.

Unexpectedly, these stories take a welcome look at love with invisible disabilities, mental illness, and neuroatypicity, perhaps because the author is neuroatypical and disabled herself. Chloe’s story includes fibromyalgia and PTSD. In Dani’s romance, generalized anxiety disorder comes into play. In Eve’s tale, autism is key for several characters. In all three books, these things are treated as parts of life that make love and romance different but not impossible or strange. The fear and worry that comes from being seen as abnormal is included candidly but people are loved and romanced because of their differences, not despite them.

There have been grumbles about how the sisters are rich, quirky, and date non-black men, which for some people affects their perceived Blackness. As a soft and squishy mostly carefree Black woman who is constantly dodging the dread pirates Strong Black Projection and Misogynoirist Thought, I think that’s a bit unfair. The way that the Browns are allowed to be smart, safe, and sensitive and have their emotional, material and sexuak needs met is affirming, not inauthentic. For me, they don’t read as any less Black because they are disabled, or because they feel deeply and openly, and are loved and cared for just as deeply and openly in their stories. If anything, I think they tell a story of Blackness that is often neglected, and I’m glad to see women who are so personally relatable on the page in romance novels.

Also– where does one find a man like Zafir? Asking for myself…

5 stars and a smile to The Brown Sisters.

(Beautiful people! This review is short and sweet because after three years and lots of social distancing, hygiene and my own body weight in N-95 masks, I’ve finally managed to get COVID. Therefore, I’m exhausted and will just end this quickly by saying; legal reasons. Affiliate relationships. Bookshop. Commissions. Read something good! Peace!)