Tag: Emily Dana Botrous

In everything I do, I hear God. It turns out He's been here all along. But I was too busy trying to control my life to notice.

Book Review | The Grump who Doesn’t Belong Next Door by Emily Dana Botrous

Single mother Lottie (Charlotte) Alden is at home in the tiny town of Red Rock Place, Iowa. She’s happy being a farm girl, and happy to be raising her daughter alone in their rural paradise. But she’s a single woman surrounded by matchmaking mamas in a romance novel, so it’s pretty obvious she’s not going to be alone for long.

Lawyer Anthony Lucio is the cliché city man, in that he arrives in Red Rock Place without any farm-appropriate clothing or footwear. He’s also not a fan of rural smells (oops). I’m generally not a fan of the fish-out-of-water trope, especially when the fish-out-of-water is clearly unprepared for (usually) rural life. However, that’s normally the (often silly) heroine, so it’s a refreshing change for the man to be the simpering city dweller.

To Anthony’s credit, he can cook, thanks to a father who was a chef, and he’s not arrogant. He just prefers to live in the city (despite never having lived in a small town). And (almost predictably) he wants to get back to the city and get his impending promotion.

As suggested by the title, The Grump Who Doesn’t Belong Next Door is a grumpy-sunshine rom-com (and no prizes for guessing who is the grump and who is the sunshine). Grumpy sunshine isn’t my favourite trope, and this is not my favourite Emily Dana Botrous novel. (I think that is a toss-up between With Love, Melody and With All My Heart, Joy).

First person gives the novel a different tone. It does bring the reader closer to the point of view of the character telling the story, and I like that (well, as long as I like that character. There have been exceptions …) But one downside of first person is that it often means we only get that single point of view. Fortunately, we get both viewpoints in this novel. First person present tense isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, but the writing is solid and I liked the fact we got both points of view.

If you like grumpy-sunshine Hallmark-type rom-com with the obligatory cringey scenes, you’ll love The Grump Who Doesn’t Belong Next Door.

Thanks to the author for providing a free ebook for review.

About Emily Dana Botrous

Emily Dana BotrousEmily Dana Botrous lives in San Diego, California with her husband and their four children. She lived in 10 states before she settled on the West Coast where she plans to stay for awhile. She started writing short stories at age 10 and studied English in college. The only thing she enjoys more than writing is motherhood.

While there are a lot of things that matter to Emily, nothing is more important to her than Jesus Christ. It is her goal to point anyone who reads her writing toward Him. When Emily isn’t writing, she enjoys cooking, long walks, music, and playing with her kids.

Find Emily Dana Botrous online at:

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About The Grump Who Doesn’t Belong Next Door

Grump Who Doesn't Belong Next DoorSmall-town Iowa? Not for this big-city attorney. Too bad his plans for a quick exit are mired by the girl next door.

Lottie: I have no time to waste on glass-half-empty people. My daughter and I have had enough of that in our lives, thank you very much. So when my neighbor’s grumpy son arrives in my hometown, turning his nose up at every Iowa corner, it’s no skin off of my back. But I can’t help teasing him. It’s sooo easy to ruffle his feathers. Plus, he’s easy on the eyes. Win win.

Anthony: My plan? Three weeks in Podunkville, Iowa until my mom recovers from her stroke. Then back to Atlanta. Civilization. My upcoming promotion to senior lawyer. I have no interest in forming any attachments in Red Rock Place. Even if my new next-door neighbor and her spunky daughter are a daily dose of sunshine I never knew my life was missing.

But then there’s the matchmaking. The fake date that isn’t really fake. The cake explosion. Oh, and the cow. (Really, God? We could have skipped that one…) Let’s just say, things are not going according to my plan.

The Grump Who Doesn’t Belong Next Door is a clean, Christian romantic comedy that will put a smile on your face and touch your heart.

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First Line Friday

First Line Friday #300 | With All My Heart, Joy by Emily Dana Botrous

It’s First Line Friday! That means it’s time to pick up the nearest book and quote the first line. Today I’m sharing from With All My Heart, Joy by Emily Dana Botrous, the third book in her Scripted Love series.

I read the first, With Love, Melody, in under a day after Narelle Atkins recommended it on the Story Chats at Inspy Romance podcast. Then I read the second, Forever Yours, Lucy, the next day. So now I’m up to the third book in the series … it’s been a long time since I binged a series, so that’s got to tell you something!

Here’s the first line from the Chapter One:

The cobweb was still there.
Joy slumped her head against the pillow as she stared at the white ceiling overhead.

What’s the book nearest you, and what’s the first line?

 

About With All My Heart, Joy

A lonely single dad. A young influencer in need of counsel. Is their age difference a divide too big to bridge this Christmas?

Joy Halverson isn’t living up to her name. Being a kill-joy to those around her—and hiding reality from her online viewers—only makes her depression worse, and with the holidays coming, it’s time to do something about it. But there’s one thing she didn’t expect—to be attracted to her counselor. Her much older counselor.

Isaac Miller’s only priority in life is providing a stable environment for his disabled daughter. He has no time for flakey women who can’t commit to Paisley. When the young counseling client he can’t stop thinking about steps in to skillfully care for his daughter in a pinch, he is caught by surprise.

As a client, Joy is off limits to Isaac. He could never deserve her, anyway. An anonymous Christmas-card exchange is enough romance for him, right?

Besides, Joy doesn’t believe any man would want her for long in real life, no matter his age. Her counselor tries to challenge her thinking—but what will she do when he captures her heart?

Find With All My Heart, Joy online at:

Amazon | BookBub | Goodreads

Click here to check out what my fabulous fellow FirstLineFriday bloggers are sharing today.

And you can click here to check out my previous FirstLineFriday posts.

Share your first line in the comments, and happy reading!

Don’t forget to click here to check out my Amazon shop for my top picks in Christian fiction!

First Line Friday

First Line Friday #298 | The Fault in Firelight by Emily Dana Botrous

It’s First Line Friday! That means it’s time to pick up the nearest book and quote the first line. I recently bought The Fault in Firelight by Emily Dana Botrous on sale based on the recommendation of one of my newsletter subscribers. I’m a trivia fan, so this first line has definitely got me hooked:

“Next question. What company makes Twinkies?”

Have you read any novels by Emily Dana Botrous? What did you think?

What’s the book nearest you, and what’s the first line?

 

About The Fault in Firelight

He knows the pain of betrayal. She has a past that could ruin her future. What can heal their brokenness?

Tony Coniglio loves being single again and the freedom that comes with it. But when he’s pressured to ask out the next available woman, he agrees, just to get his family off his back—even though she’s the town’s all-too-serious cop.

Officer Stacy Kallisto is by the book. Maybe it’s because she once broke the rules and has regretted it ever since. When trouble around town leaves Stacy searching for the culprit, she keeps running into Tony, the one man who wants to know more about her than she wants to share.

As sparks fly and secrets are revealed, Stacy wonders if there’s room in her heart for a man so different from herself—and for the God she wrote off long ago.

Find The Fault in Firelight online at:

Amazon | BookBub | Goodreads

Click here to check out what my fabulous fellow FirstLineFriday bloggers are sharing today.

And you can click here to check out my previous FirstLineFriday posts.

Share your first line in the comments, and happy reading!

Don’t forget to click here to check out my Amazon shop for my top picks in Christian fiction!