The Grump Next Door

Steele Brothers of Starlight Cove, Book 1

De: Brighton Walsh

Narrado por: Jason Clarke, Emma Wilder

Our first kiss was a lie. Our second was a mistake. And the night we spent tangled up in each other? Hot as hell, but a complete disaster.

Because now Sutton Sinclair—the sharp-tongued troublemaker who left claw marks down my back and a dent in my self-control—is living in my backyard cottage with her teenage daughter. And I’m her goddamn landlord.

I like things quiet. Controlled. She's neither. Sutton’s chaos wrapped in sunshine, a temptation in scrubs I can’t seem to stay away from.

When her ex shows up acting like Sutton’s still his to lose, I claim her on instinct. The kiss? Hot. The fallout? Immediate.

Now my family—and the entire town—thinks we’re a couple.

Fake dating Sutton wasn’t in my playbook, but if being a pro-footballer turned high school coach has taught me anything, it’s how to pivot. All I have to do is keep my hands to myself.

Then her cottage floods.

Now we’re sharing a roof…and a bed. The line between real and fake is blurring faster than I can redo the guest house.

This is supposed to be temporary. But Sutton doesn’t just crash into my life—she rewrites it. She’s in my home, moaning my name, breaking every rule I’ve ever lived by.

And I’m starting to want something permanent with the woman who’s already got one foot out the door.

©2025 Brighton Walsh (P)2025 Brighton Walsh

Great story

Loved the sweet story and the narrators were awesome. My first book by Brighton Walsh and will read more about

Loved this one!!

I loved every moment of this hilarious, fast-burn romance. The witty banter between the grumpy neighbor and the sunshine girl had me laughing out loud—and their chemistry? Incredible. The spice was off the charts🔥🔥.

The way they went from bickering neighbors to something so much more was just chef’s kiss. If you’re looking for a romance with humor, heart, and seriously steamy moments, this one’s a must-read!

Daddy Grump was just perfection and I love the way he fell for Laurel and the way she fell for him. Watching Sutton fall for Atlas was swoon worthy!

Audiobook review:

I LOVED the dual narration. The male narrator read a little too slow for my own tastes, but I sped up the audio and it worked perfectly. The female narrator was the absolute perfect Sutton!

beautiful story

new author for me. got it because I buy anything jason clarke narrates. loved the banter between FMC and her daughter and the daughter's banter with MMC. so entertaining. you won't be disappointed.

THE CHEMISTRY!!!

• Small town
• Football coach x nurse
• Grumpy x sunshine
• Single mom
• Small town
• Found Family
• Neighbors to lovers
• Age gap (8 years)
• Adorable teenage daughter
• One night stand
• Enemies to lovers
• Forced Proximity
• German shepherd MMC

I have heard such amazing things about this book, and it lived up to every expectation I had and more! What an incredible place to start my journey into Brighton's world. Not only did I love the main characters, but so many of the side characters also stole my heart. Mabel in particular! She was such a hoot.

Brighton has done such an incredible job with the adorable small-town feel of Starlight Cove. It was very Gilmore Girls coded, and I absolutely loved it. And to open a book with such a chemistry filled meet cute? She absolutely knew what her readers wanted. Atlas and Sutton's chemistry was unreal from the very beginning. The way she flips it on us and gives such a good enemies-to-lovers story, after such an incredible one-night stand, was so well done. Especially between the grumpiest teddy bear of a man and the sweet, tender single mom who wasn’t afraid to clap back at his grumpy side and put him in his place.

I absolutely loved these characters. Atlas might have been known as the town grump, but he definitely had a sweet, tender side that came out in the most heart-melting ways, like rescuing a kitten or caring for the people he loved. This man put so many people before himself, and Brighton did such an incredible job pairing this grumpy MMC with the most adorable FMC.

Sutton was as tender as she was feisty! Her life hadn’t been easy, but she pushed past her trauma to give her sixteen-year-old daughter the best life she could. I loved the relationship between Sutton and her daughter, Laurel. Brighton nailed her teenage personality so well. Arguably one of the best teenagers I’ve ever read about. Laurel was perfectly sarcastic, and I adored the way she was with Atlas, calling him “Daddy Grump” or a “lovable idiot.” It was such a cute relationship to watch grow.

I am so excited for the next book! We get a tiny peek at what to expect in Xander's book, and I am absolutely here for it. I’ve loved the dynamic of this family and the relationships they all share. Although we didn’t really get to meet Xander, I’m excited to see him thrown into this adorable family dynamic.

🎧 Audiobook Review 🎧
Duet narration
Narrated by Emma Wilder and Jason Clarke

These two narrators nailed their performances! I just love the sound of Jason and Emma together. They’re such a playful duet. Jason always does an incredible job playing the grumpiest of grumps with his deep, growly voice. It fit Atlas’ personality so well. But as good as he is at playing the grump, when that vulnerable side comes out, Jason always delivers it with perfection. The balance was spot on.

Emma’s performance as Sutton was equally perfect. Both spunky and tender at the same time. And not only did she nail Sutton, but she absolutely killed it as Laurel. I was so freaking impressed! She bounced between Sutton and Laurel so flawlessly during conversations, always bringing out both personalities in the best way.

I couldn’t have loved this audiobook more. I highly recommend it! If you’re going to read this book, hands down, try the audiobook. The duet performance paired with Brighton’s writing was amazing

Funny, spicy hotness 🔥😊

Loved how many times I laughed out loud. This book had just about everything in it. This author has become an automatic buy for me. Her books are heartfelt, funny, spicy hot.
The duet narration was fantastic. Perfect nattators.🤗

Take me back to Starlight Cove, please!

Story Vibes:
𝙱𝚛𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝𝚘𝚗 𝚆𝚊𝚕𝚜𝚑 has delivered all the amazing vibes with this one! You want grumpy/sunshine? It's here! You want cat dad? It's here. Fake dating? No problem! Forced proximity? It delivers! You want single mom? It. Is. Here.

Audiobook Vibes:
Duet narration with 𝐽𝑎𝑠𝑜𝑛 𝐶𝑙𝑎𝑟𝑘𝑒 & 𝐸𝑚𝑚𝑎 𝑊𝑖𝑙𝑑𝑒𝑟 could not have been better! These two paired up, hit all the chemistry, banter, spicy moments and fun with this one! 𝐽𝑎𝑠𝑜𝑛 𝐶𝑙𝑎𝑟𝑘𝑒 can epically nail a grumpy MMC! I adored his performance of bringing Atlas to life! 𝐸𝑚𝑚𝑎 𝑊𝑖𝑙𝑑𝑒𝑟 is one of my top female narrators and she did a masterful job bringing us Sutton! These two together were the best pairing for this audiobook!

Overall Vibes:
𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑮𝒓𝒖𝒎𝒑 𝑵𝒆𝒙𝒕 𝑫𝒐𝒐𝒓 was everything I wanted it to be! A grump of a guy who's in a book club with his mama? SWOON! A grump of a guy who's a ball of mush for an adorable kitten? Yes please!

I absolutely loved the way he fell for Sutton and her daughter! But, be warned, ladies. You'll absolutely need a fan for this one when he, ahem, "acts out scenes" from her books *smirk*. Being back in the small Maine town of Starlight Cove was a refreshing treat!

If you love Gilmore Girls & books with all the heat, laugh out loud banter and Swoonworthy, dirty talking MMCs then you'll want to grab this one up today!

Spectacular Read

I think Brighton Walsh is my new favorite author. And unless one of her other books trumps (ugh, I loathe that that word is forever tainted for me..). But, yeah. You’re definitely gonna want this one 😆

Five Star Read

Jason Clarke and Emma Wilder really bring Atlas and Sutton to life. The duet narration makes it so that as a listener you can feel the tension between the two characters. The banter was on point. Brighton Walsh never fails to deliver a captivating story. Not only am I extremely excited for the rest of this series, I love getting to stay in the small town of Starlight Cove and getting to see all my favorite characters play into this new series!

I didn’t want it to end!!

This book checked every box
🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️ ✔️
Amazing narration ✔️
Book boyfriend goals ✔️
Laugh out loud ✔️

I hope there more to the series and it’s released on audio soon!!

Love a Grump

The banter between all the characters was incredibly entertaining. This is a spicy good time! I loved the relationship between Atlas and his family.