May Book Club: Get a Life, Chloe Brown by Talia Hibbert (S4E3)

Chloe Brown is a chronically ill computer geek with a goal, a plan, and a list. After almost—but not quite—dying, she’s come up with six directives to help her “Get a Life”.

Our May book club discussion is about Get a Life, Chloe Brown, a romance novel that features characters experiencing chronic pain and trauma. We talk about impacts and healing from abusive relationships; the mental toll of chronic pain and ableism; and accurate representations of being triggered.

Additional content note: This book is sexually explicit. We don’t discuss details of sex scenes in the episode, but maybe listen to the podcast episode (or the audiobook) with headphones on!

Detailed Show Notes

About the Book

Chloe Brown is a chronically ill computer geek with a goal, a plan, and a list. After almost—but not quite—dying, she’s come up with six directives to help her “Get a Life”, and she’s already completed the first: finally moving out of her glamourous family’s mansion. One of the items? Do something bad. But it’s not easy being bad, even when you’ve written step-by-step guidelines on how to do it correctly. What Chloe needs is a teacher, and she knows just the man for the job.

Redford ‘Red’ Morgan is a handyman with tattoos, a motorcycle, and more sex appeal than ten-thousand Hollywood heartthrobs. He’s also an artist who paints at night and hides his work in the light of day, which Chloe knows because she spies on him occasionally. Just the teeniest, tiniest bit.

But when she enlists Red in her mission to rebel, she learns things about him that no spy session could teach her. Like why he clearly resents Chloe’s wealthy background. And why he never shows his art to anyone. And what really lies beneath his rough exterior…

About the Author

Talia Hibbert is a New York Times, USA Today, and internationally bestselling author whose books are available in 15 languages.

Best known for her Brown Sisters series, Talia writes spicy, inclusive romance novels starring complicated characters who make readers feel seen. Talia’s debut romantasy will hit shelves in Summer 2026.

A typically cantankerous Brit, Talia’s hobbies include chugging cups of tea, eating too many biscuits, and complaining bitterly about the weather.

Our Thoughts

We both really enjoyed Chloe Brown! We appreciated the portrayal of fibromyalgia and its impacts on Chloe without it being the only part of her story. The third act conflict (often Elise’s pet peeve with romance) is true to the emotional stakes of the relationship and required both characters to work on themselves. Also, the conflict – and the book overall – does a good job portraying the trauma of an abusive relationship, how it impacts a person and a new relationship, and what may be involved in recovering from such a trauma.

Chloe Brown is also a generally well-written and enjoyable romance novel. This is a re-read for both of us, and it’s much hornier than we both remembered?? They may be a bit confronting if you weren’t expecting spice, but fun if you were! It would have been nice to see Chloe form new friendships or rekindle old ones as part of her journey, but potentially there wasn’t enough room in the book to focus on that on top of the main romance and introducing the other Brown sisters (who will have their own books in the series).

Book Club Discussion Questions

1. What do you think of Chloe’s ‘get a life’ list? Do you have a similar list or specific goals you’d like to achieve? Feel free to share if you want to!
2. What are your thoughts on the portrayal of Chloe’s fibromyalgia? Have you read other books that feature characters who experience chronic pain?
3. Talia Hibbert breaks down some romance tropes while still embracing others. Did you notice any common romance tropes in the story? How were they used or subverted?
4. This book explores themes of vulnerability, self-advocacy, and independence. In what ways do Chloe and Red reclaim agency in their lives?
5. We both found this book entertaining and fun, even on a re-read. What are some books you’ve enjoyed multiple times? What makes a book worthy of re-reading?

Resources

• Fibromyalgia
• Chronic Pain and Mental Health
• Coping with Chronic Pain
• Understanding Relationship Abuse/Domestic Violence
• Healing from Relationship Trauma

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We record our podcast on Wurundjeri Land, which is home to both of us in Naarm/Melbourne. We also acknowledge the role of storytelling in First Nations communities. Always was, always will be Aboriginal Land.