Tag: grump-sunshine romance

new release, Review

✍🏻 Professor Romance’s Reviews: Helena Hunting’s If You Claim Me ✍🏻

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Cover of the romance novel 'If You Claim Me' by Helena Hunting, featuring an illustration of a couple in wedding attire. The woman is wearing a white dress with a fitted bodice and flowing skirt, while the man is dressed in a maroon suit. The background is decorated with library elements and the title is prominently displayed in colorful text.

Overall Grade: A

Tropes: opposites attract; pro hockey romance; found family; grump/sunshine; librarian FMC with a heart of gold; misunderstood MMC; marriage of convenience

The fear of being vulnerable in love will always be my favorite romance theme. It makes my heart race and brings tears to my eyes every time. There’s nothing more terrifying than trusting someone with your heart, knowing they could destroy it with a single harsh word or action.

Helena Hunting absolutely nails this in If You Claim Me, her latest Toronto Terror book featuring Mildred “Dred” and Connor. This story took me on an emotional roller coaster from start to finish – and it’s easily my favorite in the series.

What I loved:

  • Connor’s quiet, devoted love for Dred
  • Dred’s ability to love even the most difficult people
  • The amazing friend group and found family
  • Connor calling Dred “darling” (swoon!)
  • The perfect balance of grumpy/sunshine and marriage of convenience tropes

The way these two struggle to open up to each other, even when it’s obvious they’re deeply in love, absolutely wrecked me. Hunting masterfully builds the tension until you’re practically screaming at them to just be honest with each other. And when they finally do? Happy tears guaranteed.

This reminds me so much of Little Lies (Lavender and Kody’s story), which is my other favorite Hunting book. Both couples share that same fear of revealing their true feelings, terrified of losing everything. The emotional depth in these two books shows a different side of Hunting – beyond her trademark steamy humor, she can write heart-wrenching emotion that stays with you long after the last page.

If You Claim Me is easily in my top 5 romance reads of 2025. If you love stories about two people learning to trust each other with their whole hearts, this book is an absolute must-read. Helena Hunting has earned a permanent spot on my auto-buy list.

In love and romance,

Professor A

new release

✍🏻 Have you grabbed Jessica Peterson’s foray into cowboy romance? Cash is LIVE and ready for you to download. ✍🏻

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Cash by Jessica Peterson is now live! 

Butting heads leads to knocking boots in this wildly sexy enemies-to-lovers, grumpy/sunshine, small town cowboy romance by Jessica Peterson.

My dad and I have been estranged for years. But as his only living relative, it’s no surprise I inherit his massive cattle ranch when he dies. Something that is a surprise? The stipulation in his will, which requires me to live on the ranch and actively manage it for a year before I can access my inheritance money.

I haven’t stepped foot in Hartsville, Texas, population one thousand, since my parents split when I was six. Now a city girl through and through, I never imagined having to move back to cowboy country. But I need the money to invest in my company, and a girl’s gotta do what a girl’s gotta do.

There’s just one giant roadblock to my plan: the ranch’s foreman, grumpy cowboy Cash Rivers. I don’t care how good he looks in his Wranglers and chaps. He’s rude, he’s growly, and he wants me gone. I’d fire him in a heartbeat, but I need this cowboy to teach me the ropes of running a ranch.

We’re enemies from the get-go. But turns out, Cash is really good at this ranch thing. He’s got strong hands, an intelligent mind, and let’s just say everything really is bigger in Texas. Working alongside him leads to conversations beneath the stars. Throw in some cheek-to-cheek dancing at the local dive bar, and it all feels so right that I start to fall in love with life on the ranch. And maybe with him, too.

But my stay in Hartsville is only temporary. And you know what they say about cowboys: they may break horses, but they also break hearts. If only Cash hadn’t already lassoed mine…

CASH is the first standalone book in the brand new steamy, interconnected Lucky River Ranch Series!

  Download today or read for FREE with Kindle Unlimited

Amazon: https://amzn.to/3ycEbqW

Amazon Worldwide: https://mybook.to/CashJP

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

Meet Jessica

Jessica Peterson writes romance with heat, humor, and heart. Heroes with hot accents are her specialty. When she’s not writing, she can be found bellying up to a bar in the south’s best restaurants with her husband Ben, reading books with her adorable daughter Gracie, or snuggling up with her 70-pound lap dog, Martha.

A Carolina girl at heart, she fantasizes about splitting her time between Charleston and Asheville, but currently lives in Charlotte, NC.

Connect with Jessica

Website: https://www.jessicapeterson.com/

Goodreads: http://bit.ly/JessicaPetersonGR

Amazon: https://amzn.to/2KoS0sb

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jessicapetersonauthor/

Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/PetersonsPupils/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jessicapauthor/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/JessicaPAuthor

Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/jessica-peterson

Verve: https://ververomance.com/app/JessicaPeterson

new release

✍🏻 Laney Hatcher’s first contemporary romance is HERE! Take It or Leaf It is LIVE, and it is small-town romance perfection. ✍🏻

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★★NOW LIVE★★

Take It or Leaf It, a grumpy sunshine small-town contemporary romance from Laney Hatcher, is LIVE in #KindleUnlimited!!

★★Grab your copy today!★★

https://geni.us/TIOLI-BLG

★★BLURB★★

𝗕𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘃𝗼𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲𝗹𝘆 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝘂𝗰𝗰𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝗱𝗼𝗲𝘀𝗻’𝘁 𝗺𝗲𝗮𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝘆𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗰𝗿𝗮𝘄𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗵𝗼𝗺𝗲.

William Clark IV never anticipated being back in his hometown. At least, not until he had a long and successful career as a pitcher in the major leagues. He couldn’t have foreseen his career-ending injury right out of the gate or the painful return to his family’s apple farm in rural North Carolina. 

What started as an effort to get back on his feet turned into nearly a decade of going with the flow. Now the grumpy farmer is stuck in a resentful rut. He’s bitter and bearded, and baseball is a sore spot that never stops aching–not when his well-meaning neighbors keep reminding him of everything he lost. 

𝗦𝗵𝗲’𝘀 𝗳𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝗻 𝗹𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗵𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗼𝘄𝗻, 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗰𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗱𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵𝗻𝘂𝘁 𝗮𝘁 𝗮 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲.

Becca Kernsy never expected to fall in love with a town. To be fair, she’d never had much luck with men either. But the tiny hamlet of Kirby Falls completely blindsides this city girl and makes her ache for something she’s never had before: a place to belong. The residents are quirky and lovable. The setting is picturesque perfection. And it doesn’t hurt that she keeps running into Will Clark and his faithful dog. 

Getting a reluctant smile out of the handsome farmer becomes her favorite pastime. But pretty soon, her innocent crush gets out of hand. Becca ignores the looming expiration date on her trip down south, and like a helpless cliche, she finds herself falling hard for the man she met on vacation. 

𝗜𝘁’𝘀 𝗴𝗼𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗮𝗻 𝗼𝘂𝘁𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗼 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗽 𝗵𝗶𝗺 𝗳𝗶𝗴𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗲𝗹𝗼𝗻𝗴.

Through small-town adventures and increasingly friendly outings, Will starts to remember the hometown he once loved. The only missing piece is the tourist who’s headed back to the city at the end of her stay. The one packing up and taking his heart on a six-hundred-mile journey home. 

𝘉𝘰𝘰𝘬 #1 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘒𝘪𝘳𝘣𝘺 𝘍𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘴 𝘴𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘭-𝘵𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘮𝘺 𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘢 𝘨𝘳𝘶𝘮𝘱𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘦𝘳 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘧𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘭𝘦𝘵𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘯𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘺 𝘵𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘵 𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘯’𝘵 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘮 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘴𝘵. ‘𝘛𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘐𝘵 𝘰𝘳 𝘓𝘦𝘢𝘧 𝘐𝘵’ 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘧𝘶𝘭𝘭-𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘵𝘩 𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘤 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘥𝘺 𝘧𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘰𝘳, 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘵, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢 𝘨𝘶𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳.

new release, Review

✍🏻 Professor Romance’s Reviews: Karla Sorensen’s The Best of All ✍🏻

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Overall Grade: A

Tropes: hate to love; enemies to lovers; forced/close proximity; grump/sunshine; slow burn; he falls first; sports romance (football)

I am always thankful when God grants Karla Sorensen the words, story, and characters for her next book. There is something special about her stories that attach themselves to you. When I pick up one of her books, honestly, it’s almost impossible to stop reading it, and, when required to adult, I mourn for my time in her stories. Her newest book, The Best of All, is more of all of this. 

While it borrows a plot point from the 2010 movie, Life As We Know It, starring Katherine Heigl and Josh Duhamel (a movie I adored), Sorensen writes her way through it with her brand of romance. You may ask, what is Sorensen’s brand of romance? Well, recently, her stories showcase grumpy, protective MMCs who love their FMCs hard from afar, hiding their emotions behind walls that reach the heavens; FMCs who are so beguilingly independent and amazing that everyone falls in love with them; and so much slow burn that you don’t know if they will ever find their way into each other (wink wink!). Seriously, Sorensen knows exactly how to craft a slow burn which doesn’t lead you to want to send her DMs, cursing her for keeping her MMC and FMC apart. Instead, she inches them closer at a pace that feels organic to her characters’ story. At least, that’s my impression, although 73% for a first touch was eye-opening. 

What I loved the most about The Best of All (and having fallen deep for the predecessor book to this one, The Best Laid Plans – I loved this book more) is Liam. Oh how I loved Liam. He’s so emotionally buttoned up, denying himself of his heart’s desire for much of the book that you cannot help but fall in love with him because he is protective and intentional even when it’s misguided. Through Liam, Sorensen showcases the power of therapy to find the words for feelings. His journey is the foundation of this book even though Zoe has her own important Zoe. For me, though, what drew me to him a bit more over Zoe is the way he loves her to his bones. He hides it behind acrimony and derision, but it’s all an act meant to turn her away. I have found that this brand of MMC is my favorite by far. My therapist had a bit to say about the reasons for this, but we agreed that, in fiction, MMCs such as Liam make for swoon-worthy romances. And that is definitely the case. 

Once again, Karla Sorensen showcases her ability and passion for writing romance in The Best of All. I loved every page of this book, and it’s been one of my fastest reads in recent months. The ending felt poetic and beautiful, and it receives the highest marks from this reader.

In love and romance,

Professor A

new release

✍🏻 When you’ve been off the grid and miss the release day for a favorite author…If you haven’t done so, grab Playbook by Rebecca Jenshak, out now! ✍🏻

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Playbook by Rebecca Jenshak is now live! 

From USA Today bestselling author Rebecca Jenshak comes a standalone fake dating sports romance. This steamy, grumpy / sunshine football romance delivers a swoony and emotional happily ever after.

Brogan Six’s fan mail has been filling my mailbox for weeks. With every lipstick covered letter I receive, my irritation with him grows. And let’s not talk about the time I accidentally opened one of the packages to find someone had sent him their panties. Gross.

When I come face-to-face with my new nemesis, I expect to give him a piece of my mind and we’ll go our separate ways. Me to an empty mailbox and him to sift through his panty collection.

That is not what happens.

I don’t know if it was the booze, his clever wit, or if I was tricked (I’m sure I was tricked), but now I’m fake dating the Mavericks’ hot new rookie.

And I might just be the next woman to lose her panties to Brogan Six.

Playbook is a standalone fake dating, grumpy/sunshine sports romance with banter, found family, spice, and a guaranteed happily ever after.

  Download today or read for FREE with Kindle Unlimited

Amazon: https://amzn.to/3WDLqSQ

Amazon Worldwide: https://mybook.to/Playbook

Goodreads: https://bit.ly/3yitDX3

Meet Rebecca


Rebecca Jenshak is a USA Today bestselling author of new adult and sports romance. She writes sexy, feel-good stories with lots of swoon-worthy moments.

Rebecca lives in Arizona. When she isn’t writing, you can find her cheering on local sports teams, hanging out with friends and family, or curled up with a good book.

Sign up for her newsletter to be notified of new releases: https://rebeccajenshak.com/newsletter/

Connect with Rebecca

Website: https://www.rebeccajenshak.com

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/16681160.Rebecca_Jenshak

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Rebecca-Jenshak/e/B074F258NP/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rebeccajenshak

Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1523746940998401

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rebeccajenshak

Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/rebeccajenshak

Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@rebeccajenshak

Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/rebecca-jenshak

new release

✍🏻 Vi Keeland’s What Happens at the Lake is LIVE across all platforms. If you love a grumpy-sunshine romance, this is your next read. ✍🏻

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Title: What Happens at the Lake
Author: Vi Keeland
Genre: Standalone Contemporary Romance
Trope: Grumpy-Sunshine
Release Date: January 15, 2024
BLURB
When life took an unexpected turn, I decided to get out of New York for a while. What better place to go than the idyllic small town my father spoke about so fondly when I was growing up? Laurel Lake held the title America’s Friendliest Town for seventeen years running, and friendly was just what I needed right now.
Unfortunately, friendly wasn’t the welcome I got when I arrived.
Instead, I got Fox Cassidy. My tall, dark, and burly neighbor, who grunted at me instead of saying hello.
Okay, so I might’ve had his mailbox in my hands the first time we met. And it might’ve been a little crushed after removing it from under my tire. And I might’ve needed his help breaking into the place I was staying in after the key broke off in the lock. But still…he didn’t have to be so grumpy.
As time went on though, I started to notice things about Fox other than his glares. Like how he watched me when he thought I wasn’t looking, or how fire ignited in his eyes whenever we bickered. Though I was in Laurel Lake to escape my problems, not create new ones. And getting involved with a man like Fox screamed trouble, even if he was gorgeous and unlike any man I’d ever met.
But alas, problem seemed to be my middle name this year. So why not have some fun while I was here for the summer? It seemed like a good plan. At least until it was time to go home…
They say what happens at the lake, stays at the lake. But it’s not so easy to walk away when what stays behind…is your heart.
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Vi Keeland is a #1 New York Times, #1 Wall Street Journal, and USA Today Bestselling author. With millions of books sold, her titles are currently translated in twenty-seven languages and have appeared on bestseller lists in the US, Germany, Brazil, Bulgaria, Israel, and Hungary. Three of her short stories have been turned into films by Passionflix, and two of her books are currently optioned for movies. She resides in New York with her husband and their three children where she is living out her own happily ever after with the boy she met at age six.
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