Grumpy the Bear

Blueball Band of Brothers, Book 1

De: Marika Ray

Narrado por: Marie Hawkins, TJ Clark

He's a tattooed, blue-eyed jerk who has no business being a single dad. He's also my next-door neighbor, and after negotiations, my grumpy employer for the summer.

I don't put up with cocky males normally, and I certainly won't put up with that man making noise at all hours of the day and night while he builds his glamp-ground. I offer advice, but the stubborn fool just turns his tractor on to drown me out. He returns the favor by pushing my buttons and making me so angry I can't see straight. And I really want to be able to see his gorgeous body in those well-worn jeans and backward hat.

Amidst the verbal warfare, I discover he's hiding scars from a recent accident. I also find out his light eyes heat up to a smoldering icy gray when I give as good as I get. Makes me want to see just how far I can push him and what he'll do when he boils over.

Gannon's been dealt a rough hand in life, and when I find a way under that gruff-and stupidly handsome-exterior, I find that maybe he's not Grumpy the Bear as I nicknamed him, but instead just a teddy bear.

Contains mature themes.

©2023 Marika Ray (P)2024 Tantor

All the emotions, the hilarity, the swoons and the love

I loved, loved Gannon and Paisley’s enemies to lovers, single dad, nanny, next door neighbor, age gap, grumpy-sunshine romance of all the things. The witty banter and sexual tension between these two was romance perfection. All the laugh out loud hilarity upped the deliciousness. Add in two strong, determined but wounded main characters and this book is the romcom trifecta. I loved it. After suffering a career ending injury and becoming an instant dad to Elise, his 5 year old daughter, Gannon buys land in small town Blueball to make a glamping campground. Paisley is a line worker who is on temporary disability due to an ankle injury on the job. She is also Gannon’s new neighbor and eventually becomes Elise’s temporary nanny. Their meet cute involved a puppy and skimpy underwear and did not result in love at first sight but they do get there. Throughout this beautifully paced, hilarious and heartwarming story of Gannon and Paisley’s HEA, they each have to deal with their less than supportive parents, the scars of their pasts, and their fears. In between all the laughs, you’ll definitely feel all the feels. Gannon and Paisley are real, relatable people who have flaws, but are really trying to just do their best as messy human beings. The story was well written and included witty dialogue, three dimensional characters who grow, and an engaging storyline as told through sweet moments, steamy scenes, laughs, supportive friends, messy families, painful pasts, mild angst and bunches of heart squeezing love. The secondary characters were well developed and I am excited to read more Blueball stories starring them.

TJ Clark and Marie Hawkins did a phenomenal job narrating the story and characters into life with enough change of inflection, tone and cadence to voice multiple characters quite convincingly.

Grumpy good times

This was a fast moving grumpy/ sunshine romance- or perhaps it’s better to say grumpy/grumpy because Paisley gave just as much grump as she got from Gannon. The little kid element was a bit overdone for me, especially since it felt like Elise was 5 years old going on 3 (do 5 yr olds miss the toilet?).

Still, it’s not like Elise kept them from sex. In this short book, I swear there were a half dozen or more mouthy, energetic sex scenes.

There were some F bombs, meddling parents, and Paisley’s three girlfriends who will each get their HEAs in this series. This was my kind of low angst, high banter, sexy good times kind of romance.

ok

(Audio)Gannon & Paisley: triggers- child abandonment. Ummm so I'm gonna say that this book has it's moments but it wasn't all that. Firstly, not only is the MC grumpy but the FC is also overly grumpy as well and annoying as well. I don't mind a good enemies to lovers story but both of these character were just too much. It takes almost half the book before the story gets past the bickering. Despite all of that, the author definitely turned up the heat. It's not so bad but definitely not the best book I've ever read.

Didn’t like the characters, especially the woman

The female protagonist is proud, selfish, narrow minded and immature. She pursues a man, who stays away because he knows they are not compatible, until he gives in. Shortly after, she dumps him, because his expectations don’t align with her willingness to work on their relationship, which is kind of what he was trying to avoid. Moreover, she also “dumps” his little girl.
The male protagonist is a good guy but he is unfortunately stupid with love. It makes him weak. He is the one who has to apologise, compromise and sacrifice and it’s unfair.

pathetic story

utterly beneath the talents of 2 good narrators - nothing they could do to save it.

immature f* fest. can't remember if I paid a credit for it or not but in either case it wasn't worth the time required to listen (even though I wasn't paying much attention as I was doing some diy; it was still so annoying I had to regularly switch to something else to get a break)