The Grumpy Player Next Door by Pippa Grant

 

BLURB

An enemies-to-lovers / sports / grumpy-sunshine / neighbor romance

I, Tillie Jean Rock, am not in love with my brother’s teammate. Sure, he might have those biceps and that “I am the grouchiest of grouchy bears” smolder, and he might shovel snow off his driveway next door wearing nothing but boxer shorts and rubber boots, and he might be running a side business feeding all the stray goats in town, but studliness is only skin-deep.

And I might flirt with him every chance I get, but I swear it’s only to annoy my brother.

And him.

Because Max Cole?

Under all of those glorious muscles and chiseled cheekbones and searing glares beats the heart of a heartless devil.

I could no sooner fall in love with a guy who treats me like a kid, and judges me at every opportunity, and sets an army of garden gnomes loose on my yard, than I could fall in love with my grandfather’s pet parrot.

But I can definitely annoy him. I can one hundred percent get on board with annoying him.

That’s what you do when you don’t like your neighbor, right?

But you know what they say about love and hate…

It’s a very thin line.

Especially when the real reason I’m not in love with Max Cole—that he’s incapable of love—might not be true at all.

The Grumpy Player Next door is a fun-filled enemies-to-lovers romcom featuring a ray of sunshine on a mission, an athlete who’s only grouchy around her, and an epic prank gone wrong. It stands alone and comes complete with small-town shenanigans, a goat who’s not nearly as wise as his name suggests, and proof that sometimes, love is the best kind of vengeance.

Review

The book begins with a prank, which I love because the first glimpse of these two characters together causes tension. And THE PRANKS in this book! So many great ones and I would love to see them compare notes with the Bergers and Nick Murphy in the Thrusters books. 

In previous Copper Valley Fireballs books you catch bits of Tillie Jean flirting with Max and Cooper getting annoyed by it. There is so much fun and humor in this book, but also bits of insecurity and how Max is dealing with issues like anxiety as well as Tillie Jean's expectations of herself.

Max and Tillie Jean have wonderful chemistry mixed in with all of the fun of Shipwreck. I honestly thought Long Beak Silver couldn't get any funnier but that bird learned some language that is not appropriate for visiting children to hear.

Another hit by Pippa Grant! Check out the excerpt below and there is a link to a giveaway at the end of the post!

ADD TO GOODREADS

PURCHASE LINKS

AMAZON US / UK / CA / AU

UNIVERSAL

Free in Kindle Unlimited

ALSO AVAILABLE IN PAPERBACK

EXCERPT

There’s a fine art to revenge, and today, I am arting the hell out of it. I’m talking cackles of glee, evil cartoon overlord-style, rubbing my hands together while bouncing on my toes. Reminding myself to shut up because my brother will be home from his morning workout any minute now, and I don’t want to tip my hand when he doesn’t know I’m waiting for him here in his house up on the mountainside.

You would think he would’ve learned to engage his security system more often by now.

But he hasn’t, which means I’m here, armed and dangerous and ready, and I’m cackling with glee all over again.

I know, I know. Is this really how you want to pay him back for having a box labeled “dildos” delivered to you at your parents’ house in the midst of all the pre-wedding activities for your other brother last week?

Yes, actually.

Yes, it is.

It’s payback time.

Also?

I have zero doubt Cooper will have mad respect that I’m doing this.

Sort of like while I was pissed when he replaced my coffee beans with roasted goat poop before he left for spring training nine months ago, I very much respected that he pulled it off, even if I wasn’t pleased at having to admit that that was the prank that took him over the top to win in our annual off-season prank war.

But this winter?

This winter, my brother Cooper “Stinky Booty” Rock is going down.

The universe told me so. Why else would it have hand-delivered that video into my social media stream to inspire me right after I finished figuring out where to donate an unopened box of dildos?

I cackle again.

And then I slap my hand over my mouth.

He’s home.

There’s his dark head, bent toward the knob, beyond the tempered glass panel beside his front door. He’s dressed in Fireballs red, which is more orange than it is red, and he’s probably worn out from lifting at the gym.

Yesterday was cardio day.

I know, because he ran past Crusty Nut, our dad’s restaurant where I’m the manager five days a week, at least two dozen times without stopping in once to say hi.

I haven’t seen him since the wedding several days ago, which either means he’s avoiding me and the revenge he knows I owe him, or he has a stick up his butt and has forgotten the little people.

Or, possibly, he’s distracted, in which case, he needs this.

I squat into position at the top of the stairs, as hidden as I can be while still seeing my target, Nerf blaster locked and loaded, waiting while he fumbles with his keys.

For the record?

It’s not easy to hide at the top of a curved staircase. I’m on my belly now, half-angled behind the wall of the hallway to his guest bedrooms, peering between the slats of the banister, hoping all my target practice pays off.

Steady, TJ. This is what you trained for.

The lock clicks.

I flatten myself lower and take aim.

The door swings open.

Dark hair in the foyer. Go go go.

I squeeze the trigger, sending a rapid blast of modified foam darts at the six balloons floating in the space above the door.

The needle sticking out barely an eighth of an inch in the tip of the first dart connects. One helium balloon pops. Then two more, followed by the fourth and fifth. The sixth shifts after getting hit, like it’s a tough guy balloon. It’s the ninja of balloons, and it doesn’t want to participate in my dastardly plans today, but that’s okay. The other balloons are bursting in a sparkly, shiny, beautiful pink glitter spray that’s splattering on the walls, exploding from its nylon shell and raining down like a spring shower, coating the walls, making the air sparkle, and dusting all that dark hair as Cooper’s lifting his head. “What the—”

And in the span of a heartbeat, before he can finish that sentence, I realize my mistake.

My terrible, horrible, very bad miscalculation.

If I were a superhero, I’d be sucking all that glitter into my lungs and redirecting it into my brother’s bedroom, which is likely what I should’ve done in the first place—hindsight, right?—but I didn’t. This was so much more dramatic and didn’t risk me having to find out which local he’s screwing around with in his spare time, as she’d be coated in glitter too after rolling around in his sheets, except my prank has failed.

It has failed spectacularly.

“Oh my god,” I gasp.

That’s not Cooper.

That is so not Cooper.

ALSO AVAILABLE

AMAZON US / UK / CA / AU

Free in Kindle Unlimited

ALSO AVAILABLE

AUDIBLE / AMAZON AUDIO

#2 Real Fake Love – 99c for TODAY ONLY!

(US & UK only)

 

US: https://amzn.to/34IbeSI

UK: https://amzn.to/2YI3pbM

CA: https://amzn.to/2QLF3tH

AU: https://amzn.to/3gC9FZ4

 

Free in Kindle Unlimited

 
 
AUTHOR BIO
 
Pippa Grant is a USA Today Bestselling author who writes romantic comedies that will make tears run down your leg. When she's not reading, writing or sleeping, she's being crowned employee of the month as a stay-at-home mom and housewife trying to prepare her adorable demon spawn to be productive members of society, all the while fantasizing about long walks on the beach with hot chocolate chip cookies.
 
 
AUTHOR LINKS
 
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pippagrantromance
Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/ThePipsquad
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/ReadPippa
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/pippagrant
Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/pippa-grant
Website: http://www.pippagrant.com
Instagram: https://instagram.com/pippa.grant  
 
 
GIVEAWAY
 
There is a giveaway for Grumpy Player Next Door Book Box full of goodies plus bonus signed paperbacks (1 winner, open internationally – please note international winners may be responsible for their own VAT should it apply)

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/ce38fedf39

Chasing Romeo by Sarah Ready

 

Chasing Romeo, an all-new heartwarming opposites-attract standalone romantic comedy from author Sarah Ready is available now!

A laugh out loud, soul mate chasing rom-com romp, Sarah Ready’s Chasing Romeo is a perfect feel-good novel about finding love where you least expect it.

Chloe Daniels is a starry-eyed romantic who believes in true love, soul mates and happily ever afters. So when a psychic predicts the identity of her soul mate Chloe will do anything to find him.

But there’s a tiny problem.

Chloe’s soul mate is 1 of 7 men, spread across the U.S. and she has only one week to reach him.

Out of desperation she hires Nick O’Shea, a cynical private investigator who thinks soul mates, love and happily ever afters are a load of crap.

Chloe and Nick have nothing in common. She wants her soul mate. He wants to get paid.

But on their crazy, true love chasing road trip across the U.S. Nick starts to wonder if maybe he was wrong about love, and Chloe starts to wonder if she was wrong about the identity of her Romeo.

Soon, Chloe will have to choose between her soul mate and the man she hired to find him.

Opposites attract in the first book of a heartwarming new series by romance author Sarah Ready.

Review

Chloe really wants to find her soul mate. Enough that she'll travel across the country with her enemy and high school ex-boyfriend. Their relationship is pretty adorable and some hilarious things happen as they try to find the RIGHT Matt Smith. The trip is pretty chaotic and crazy, but the people they meet along the way also teach them about themselves. An excellent read for a beach day or just hanging out at home!

Find your Romeo today!
Amazon: https://amzn.to/3msWNsM
Amazon Worldwide: http://mybook.to/ChasingRomeo
Nook: https://bit.ly/3cOkoAH
Apple Books: https://apple.co/3cMHuaZ
Kobo: https://bit.ly/3fHCd6p

Add Chasing Romeo to Goodreads: https://bit.ly/3mlYqZh

Excerpt

“I’m just asking,” I say, “are you sure you want to bet your future on a myth?” Because, to be honest, something inside me wishes she’d get up and say, screw you, fate, I’m taking my future in my own hands.
“Would I bet my future?” she asks.
I nod and lean forward to hear her answer.
Slowly, she says, “I’d bet everything.”
Her words ring in my ears. She’s serious. She’ll do anything to get with this random guy she hasn’t seen in nearly twenty years. It’s like a cosmic joke, except I’m not laughing. I guess I shouldn’t have expected anything less.
“It’s a myth,” I say. “It’s not real.”
“It is,” she says. She points her finger at me and jabs me in the chest. “And I’m going to prove it to you.” Her hand rests over my heart. We both look down at her touching me. She yanks it back and wipes her hand on her napkin.
No man likes to see a woman wipe herself off after touching him. I scowl and then take her unspoken challenge. “More likely, by the end of this week, I’ll prove that soul mates don’t exist.”
“Good luck, you have hundreds of Aunt Erma’s successes against you.”
No worries, I stand by my belief that the whole town of Romeo is suffering from romantic delusions. Hey, the tourism dollars depend on it.
Also, I’d like to push a little bit of reality into this situation and throw out the idea that this guy might not be decent.
“He could be a rapist,” I say. That gets her attention. Her head snaps up and she glares at me.
“Or a Lothario,” she says. Take that, her eyes say. She bares her teeth at me in a semblance of a grin and I smile back. Game on.
The minstrel who had wandered close again hightails it to the other side of the restaurant.
“He could be a drug dealer,” I say.
“Or a pharmacist,” she says.
“He could be an alcoholic.”
“A vintner.”
“He’s unemployed,” I say.
“Independently wealthy.”
“He looks like a frog.”
“He’s a prince,” she says.
“He’s boring.”
“Strong and silent.”
I glare at her and she glares back, a smile curving on her lips.
“Bad in bed,” I say.
“A sex god.” She bites at her lower lip and I have the urge to take it in my mouth and show her a decade of pent-up wanting. I yank my thoughts from her lips and drop my ace in the hole.
“He could be an ax murderer,” I say. Take that and chew on it.
She laughs, throaty and low, and her eyes light up. The candlelight sparks off her glowing skin.
“Or,” she says, “he’s a lumberjack. Mmmm. Sexy ax. I’ll hold the handle. Rawr.” She claws her hand and scratches at the air.
I shake my head. “You got it.” I hold up my goblet of mead for a toast. “To Matt Smith. Chloe’s lumberjack soul mate.”

About Sarah Ready
Author Sarah Ready writes contemporary romance and romantic comedy. Her books have been described as “euphoric”, “heartwarming” and “laugh out loud”. Her debut novel The Fall in Love Checklist was hailed as “the unicorn read of 2020”. She loves to write fast-paced, emotionally compelling romances about quirky, smart women and the men who love them.

Before writing romance full-time Sarah had lots of fun teaching at an Ivy League. Then she realized she could have even more fun writing romance. Her favorite things after writing are adventuring and travel. You’ll frequently find her using her degree at a dino dig site, crawling into a cave, snorkeling, or on horseback riding through the jungle – all fodder for her next book. She’s lived in Scotland, Norway, Portugal, Switzerland and NYC. She currently lives in the Caribbean with her water-obsessed pup and her awesome family.
You can visit her online at www.sarahready.com

Connect with Sarah
Amazon: https://amzn.to/2PVEe4j
Goodreads: https://bit.ly/3wt7D6B
BookBub: https://bit.ly/3wtATKA
Website: http://sarahready.com/
Stay up to date with all the things and subscribe to Sarah’s mailing list: https://bit.ly/3sWxUbe

Grumpy Cowboy by Max Monroe

He’s a real-life, blue-eyed, tough-as-nails, thirtysomething cowboy who is so darn strong he looks like he could lift a car just for the heck of it.

He’s also stubborn, rude, and we don’t get along…at all.

Grumpy Cowboy, an all new laugh out loud rom com from New York Times bestselling author Max Monroe is available now!

ATTENTION: If you have been a victim of false advertising, you may be entitled to compensation. If you were ever hired to take care of a fourteen-year-old boy’s knee injury on a luxury ranch in the Middle of Nowhere, Utah, but that fourteen-year-old boy ended up being a tall, rough-and-tumble, muscular, one-hundred-percent all-man cowboy by the name of Rhett Jameson, you may have been put at risk for falling in love. Please seek counsel immediately.

Dear Counselor,

It was supposed to be simple favor for my very important boss, Frank Kaminsky of the Salt Lake Slammers professional basketball team—go to his good friend Tex Jameson’s luxury ranch and provide personal medical care for his recently injured teenage son.

I thought it’d be a working vacation of sorts—a chance for my city-girl self to experience something I would never otherwise do—but everything is upside down, and absolutely nothing is as I thought it would be.

For one, this patient is not a teenage boy.
He’s a real-life, blue-eyed, tough-as-nails, thirtysomething cowboy who is so darn strong he looks like he could lift a car just for the heck of it.

He’s also stubborn, rude, and we don’t get along…at all.

Add in the heart-melting vision of him as a single father to the cutest little girl on the planet, and I’ve found myself in a whole different dimension of trouble.

Lust. Feelings. A whole lot of enemies-to-lovers-style complication.

Please help me. My name is Dr. Leah Levee, I am a victim of false advertising, and if I’m not careful, this Grumpy Cowboy might just be the death of me.

My Review

I can't help myself with how much I loved this book. It has two of my favorite romance novel tropes, a grumpy hero and single dad. I can't help it and I don't know why I find them so hot! I'll be honest and say that I didn't like Leah at the start because I saw her love of high heel shoes and fancy dresses and rolled my eyes. But the woman has grit and determination, more than enough to make sure Rhett does what he needs to heal his leg. Rhett says she can treat his leg if she can find him, and I appreciated that she was willing to do what needed to be done, and she doesn't look down on hard work. I mean, she's a doctor! Also, Rhett's daughter Joey is adorable and I understand the obsession with Target that Leah and Joey have. I feel you, ladies! 

Beyond the grumpy hero and other cuteness, there is A LOT of humor here. The part with the bull and the... collection... had me rolling. Definitely worth the read. 5 stars! Also, it is on KU so that is always a plus!

Grab yours today!
Amazon: https://amzn.to/3tia1eA
Amazon Worldwide: http://mybook.to/GrumpyCowboyMM

Add to Goodreads: https://bit.ly/3saZJva

About Max Monroe
A duo of romance authors team up under the New York Times and USA Today Bestselling pseudonym Max Monroe to bring you sexy, laugh-out-loud reads.

Max Monroe is the New York Times and USA Today Bestselling author of more than ten contemporary romance titles. Favorite writing partners and long time friends, Max and Monroe strive to live and write all the fun, sexy swoon so often missing from their Facebook newsfeed. Sarcastic by nature, their two writing souls feel like they’ve found their other half. This is their most favorite adventure thus far. ​

Connect with Max Monroe
BookBub: http://bit.ly/3bJFJJh
Amazon: https://amzn.to/2ReoxkK
Facebook: http://bit.ly/31XxggS
Instagram: http://bit.ly/39wuCkW
Stay up to date with Max Monroe by joining their mailing list today: http://bit.ly/2HzGmau
Website: https://www.authormaxmonroe.com/