The Single Dad's Guide to Recreation

Welcome to Climax, Book 1

De: Karen Grey

Narrado por: Grayson Owens, Carly Robins

He’s the big-city corporate VP slashing costs. She’s the sunny, small-town toddler-whisperer in his crosshairs. It should be easier for them to keep their hands off each other.

The new guy in town may be a hot single dad–we’re talking total, mouthwatering eye candy here–but that isn’t stopping him from shuttering my favorite program here at Climax Parks & Rec.

Nor does it stop me from being blinded by lust and tripping over my own feet every time I see him, even though we’re completely wrong for each other.

He’s all business; my job is to play.
He’s moved upstate from Manhattan; I’ve returned to my small town roots.
He’s overwhelmed by his two adorable kids; doctors told me I’ll never be a mother.

Oh, and did I mention that it’s his job to “re-org” (aka ruin) everything I love about my job?

Despite all this, he’s got me dreaming of something I told myself I’d given up on: a family of my own.

Warning! Do not listen to this audiobook unless you love:

• Uptight heroes who are silly with their kids
• Sunshiny, Cinderelly heroines
• Nosy, interfering, small-town bureaucrats
• Possibly magical clock towers
• Parks and Recreation and Schitt’s Creek vibes

To the listener: my romance novels are all lighthearted and humorous, and the main two characters are guaranteed to find a happy ending. However, they may run into a few obstacles along the way, as well as need healing from incidents in their former lives.

If you’d like content guidance regarding sex/nudity, death, mental health and/or reproductive health challenges, you can find them in detail at karengrey com/contentguidance

©2025 Karen Grey (P)2025 Home Cooked Books

“If the bell tolls, someone found their one true love.”

This was such a fun and sweet listen. And the narrators were absolute perfection. They did such a great job at bringing all the characters and emotions to life, especially with so many different characters, including small children, being involved.

Avery works at the town's recreation center, and she literally bumps into Josh when he and the rest of his team come to the center to meet with the director about their company basically taking over. The attraction between the MCs is instant, but Avery is now avoiding Josh because, one, he's wearing a wedding ring, and two, he's basically now the enemy since he's in charge of gathering information to see which departments can or should be closed. What Avery doesn't know yet is that Josh is not married, and after spending time with his son in Avery's class, he doesn’t want to close that department.

I absolutely loved Avery's personality and her quirks and fake cuss words. I also loved how comfortable Josh's kids felt with Avery, and how she took the time to get to know and understand them. And the town's legend around the clock was so freaking cool, ngl I was geeking out a bit with that.

The story also has some deeper topics that broke my heart a little, like Josh's guilt and struggles with wanting to always be there for his kids, and Avery's past relationship and misdiagnosis which I will not get into to avoid spoilers.

Quote: “You are precious to me. You've brought hope to my life when I never thought I'd feel that again. You make me a better dad, a better man. I don't want to live my life without you in it.”

Funny and fantastic with amazing narration

This may be my favorite book from Karen..definitely her funniest! Her creative curse words will have you laughing out loud. So many amazing tropes- small town, single dad, enemies to lovers, and grumpy sunshine. The side characters are fabulous and the town of climax is filled with nosy and meddling neighbors! Josh and Avery bring all the emotions, laughs and feels to this story. They both have some baggage they are working through - although they are advisories they develop a beautiful romance. These two have amazing chemistry, banter and are great confidants for one another. There are laughs but also serious topics that Karen writes so beautifully. A fantastic read! Hoping there are more books that take place is Climax! Grayson Owens and Carly Robins delivered a fantastic performance! They gave perfect voice, personality and emotion to all the characters. I previously read and loved this book…but I love how narrators take authors words and create a whole new experience. Their voices are full of joy, seriousness and love. A fantastic listen!

Great Together

The Single Dad's Guide to Recreation is a small town, widower, steamy romance. Avery & Josh are cute together or they would be if they could get together. This book is an easy listen and very enjoyable. I really like Karen Grey's writing, I've read all her books maybe I'm bias. I'm surprised this book isn't based in the 1990's. I like the getaway, It turns out all funny. Grayson Owens and Carly Robins did an amazing job bringing this world to life. I like they're voices, hope I hear them together again.

Finding Balance

The narrators Carly Robins and Greyson Owens did a truly fantastic performance, 5 stars all the way. I could really feel all the emotions of Josh and Avery. I originally read and reviewed this book and when given the chance to listen to it, I couldn't pass it up. I devoured this audiobook in one sitting. Below is my original review.

This is a wonderfully written single dad rom-com based in the city of Climax. Josh and Avery meet and have this intense, instant attraction when they meet at Climax Parks and Rec. They both have lots of baggage which leads to lots of misunderstandings but it all is very realistic and makes you root for them even more. It is a slow burn but all the characters have depth and the story is pretty emotional at times. I definitely shed a few tears and laughed a lot. Avery has a very creative vocabulary that made this even more enjoyable. Definitely a 4.5 star must read and I can't wait for the next book.

I was sent an advanced copy from HCB and am voluntarily leaving this honest review.

This series is going to be amazing!

Story - ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
Spice - 🌶🌶
Narration - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Single Dad's Guide to Recreation is book #1 in the Welcome to Climax series. This series is a spinoff from the Farm 2 Forking series and I'm so excited for all the new stories and the tie-in with the old! Karen Gray is such a great writer, telling tales of people with real situations with a splash of humor and spice. Avery cares for her parents and is licking her wounds from a relationship that left her broken. Josh is a widower with two adorable kids, now living with his parents for the extra help and to get his life back together. Two people who aren't trusting or even looking for a relationship find themselves drawn to each other even though they try to keep the relationship "professional". If you are a fan of "Parks and Recreation", then you will be as excited for this series as I am!

The narration was so perfectly cast with Grayson Owens and Carly Robins. They brought the reality, the humor, and the passion to Josh and Avery (and the great kid voices!). Loved this duo. 5/5 stars!