Romancing the Grump

An Appies Hockey Romance

De: Jenny Proctor

Narrado por: Rock Engle, Katie Schorr

He's a grump and happy to stay that way. But can her sunshine melt the ice around his heart?

Nathan Sanders didn't earn his reputation as the grouchiest player on the Appies hockey team by chance. So when Summer Callahan breezes into his life with her flirtatious smiles and endless charm, he responds like he always does: he completely ignores her.

Summer is intrigued by the surly defenseman, so when a viral social media post requires her to step in and fake it as Nathan's girlfriend, she jumps at the chance. She's convinced the ones with the hardest shells are often the softest underneath, and she's determined to prove it.

But Nathan doesn't crack so easily. Despite their obvious chemistry, he makes his lack of interest in a relationship—any relationship—perfectly clear. But the longer they pretend, the less fake everything seems, and the more Summer starts to fall.

She can only hope her fake relationship doesn't lead to real heartbreak.

Romancing the Grump is a closed-door, grumpy/sunshine, fake dating hockey romcom with heart and humor, sizzle but no spice. Perfect for fans of sports romance who want a little less heat.

Books in the Appies Hockey Romance series connect to Just Don't Fall and Absolutely Not in Love from the Sweater Weather series, but all books stand alone and can be listened to in any order.

©2024 Jenny Proctor Creative (P)2024 Podium Audio

One of my favorite closed-door Hockey Romances!

I’ve been in a little bit of a Hockey Romance Era lately and this one ranks up in top favorites!!

Summer arrives for her first day working as legal counsel for the Appies organization and immediately has a run in with Nathan, the very good looking, but ever grumpy player, or the “defender” as he’s known on the Appie’s team. Nathan’s broody demeanor is such a regular occurrence it’s brought its own wave of viral videos and hashtags with female fans everywhere wanting to #tamethebeast.

Concerned for the Appie’s family friendly reputation, the social media director comes up with a plan to tame the female fans.

What you’ll find:
Dual POV
Fake dating
The DREAM TEAM brotherhood
One bed
Slow burn
The protector
“The KISS”
Great banter
Dad “hockey” jokes
She takes care of him when he’s sick
Twin sisters

The “Dream Team” dynamics was one of my favorite parts. The teammates always had beach others back. I loved how open and upfront Summer was throughout everything - it was so refreshing!! I loved that Nathan was given the space to work through the issues of his past so he could love Summer the way he wanted to love her and allow himself to be loved by Summer.

This story is part of the Appie’s Hockey series (4 books so far). Each book is a stand alone read, but so much more fun to read each player’s background story.

I HIGHLY recommend!!

Romance content: Just [great] kissing - closed door!

Hockey romance A+

So many hockey-romance books are an X or XXX descriptions on sex and all the types the characters have it. if that's what you're after, this isn't your book.
This hockey romance has all the great possibilities and humor dropped in too.
The story doesn't die off and magically everything works out. This story follows through the secondary stories as well.
I can recommend this book to any hockey lover that wants a great storyline.

It was great

I’ve liked all the Appies stories! This was great too! It was sometimes hard to hear the female narrator because she would drop her voice and be really quiet so I’d miss words and then she would be louder again. It wasn’t a huge deal just kind of annoying. I didn’t have any trouble understanding/hearing the male narrator. I like the 2 person narrators and dual perspectives .

Loved it all

Just like a summer breeze, Summer drifts into Nathan’s life and tosses everything he knows around. The resident grump on the Appies team is big, tough, and impenetrable, yet somehow, Summer flits through the cracks, spreading warmth and sunshine (and desire) everywhere. Who could resist that? I sure couldn’t especially when a fake relationship with all the sparks and zings of a mutual attraction comes into play.

Jenny Proctor does a phenomenal job of constructing big personalities, a team that’s more like a family, and lovable characters in this darling episode in the Appies series. I’m a huge fan and absolutely LOVED these narrators. They bring the banter, wit, and situations to life.

This is a book with so much to love–full of growth, charm, and swoon.

Content: mild language; mild romance

Fun story, banter, narration

Jenny Proctor is always a good call. I absolutely love the Appies and their found family, brotherly banter protective vibes. I am glad to own this so I can listen to it when I need a quick easy listen that makes me smile.

Love, love, love

Love the story!
Love the narrators!
Love the series!
I love all of the books about the Appies! And hope to see more!!

Loved This Fake Dating Story!

The Appies series is one of my absolute favorites and I am slowly listening my way through all of the books. I love this series so much that I have purchased each book in all of their available formats! I know! I just can’t help myself.

If you are a fan of sweet and clean hockey romances, this series is one you should definitely read. You can jump into any book, as they are all written so they can be enjoyed as stand alones, however, I really love the experience that the authors have created by crafting these stories of teammates who are also close friends. So, I love reading them in order when possible.

This is the second book that I have read this week where the male main character feels that he cannot, in good conscience, enter into a relationship due to the troubles that he experienced as a child, growing up in a family where love didn’t conquer all. But, of course, Nathan falls for Summer anyway, even though he puts up as many walls and boundaries as he can.

I love the fake dating trop because it gives the characters a reason that they must act as if they are in love when they are in public. This story had the great twist that Summer realized early on that she cared for Nathan, so her feelings quickly became real. It added some great tension. Both of these characters were just so wonderful and I couldn’t help but love them both. And I loved that Summer ended up taking care of Nathan when he was sick. It was a beautiful turning point for them, too.

Once again, as with all of the prior Appies books, I loved it from start to finish, which included an epilogue and even a bonus epilogue!

Amazing series and amazing voices

This has been such an enjoyable series! Good, strong, manly men who have high morals and an admirable respect for women. It’s fascinating how these men that have the same job, the same schedule, and even play the same sport, can be so diverse in their personalities and character traits. Such a creative author! Highly recommend!

Swoony closed door Hockey Romance

Loved it!!😍 So good! Jenny creates such great characters and the audio for this was well done!

Loved it!

Love this sweet book and the grumpy/sunshine fake dating trope. I enjoyed both the performance and the story. Looking forward to the next book, as I’m super invested in the Appies at this point. This is one of my favorite closed door romance series.