Tag: Grumpy Sunshine

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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Brynn and Sebastian Hate Each Other by Bethany Turner

Audiobook Review | Brynn and Sebastian Hate Each Other by Bethany Turner

Brenda Cornell reinvented herself as Brynn not long after she left the tiny town of Adelaide Springs, Colorado, twenty years ago.

She’s now the co-host of a network morning news show, and has a bright future ahead of her. At least, she does until she’s overheard disparaging her hometown when she thinks the cameras are no longer rolling. She is sent back to Adelaide Springs to try and save her career by making good with the people she insulted on national TV.

Sebastian Sebworth is an ex-journalist who moved to Adelaide Springs a few years back, and who now sits on the city council, runs the local newspaper, and acts as general taxi driver and dogsbody in his spare time. He’s given the job of shepherding Brynn and her cameraman around town for the week.

My first impression of Brynn was not positive, and I could fully understand why Sebastian took an instant dislike to her. She was arrogant, rude, and shallow, and seemed to excel in saying the wrong thing at the same time. However, Sebastian didn’t win me over either. He deliberately baited Brynn instead of taking the opportunity to be the bigger person.

Brynn and Sebastian reminded me why I’m not a fan of enemies-to-more stories.

I was probably halfway thought the story before I found either of them particularly likeable, and even then I was reluctant. They both have difficult backstories to overcome, but didn’t feel like their backstories influenced their behaviour toward each other … which was barely civil to begin with.

I also wasn’t entirely convinced by their developing relationship, in that they seemed to move from enemies to forever in too short a period of time (less than a week in story time). I did enjoy seeing Brynn reunite with people from her growing-up years, and I enjoyed the insights into life in a tiny town (population of under 900).

I reviewed the audiobook version which makes it harder to judge the quality of the writing.

There were a few sentences that sounded clunky, but was that the writing, the narration, or a combination of the two? It was generally a good production, but there were a few times when I found it difficult to track which character was speaking, especially if the conversation was between two men.

Overall, Brynn and Sebastian Hate Each Other is a solid rom-com that fans of the enemies-to-more trope will enjoy.

Thanks to Thomas Nelson and NetGalley for providing a free audiobook for review.

About Bethany Turner

Bethany Turner has been writing since the second grade, when she won her first writing award for explaining why, if she could have lunch with any person throughout history, she would choose John Stamos. She stands by this decision. Bethany now writes pop culture–infused rom-coms for a new generation of readers who crave fiction that tackles the thorny issues of life with humor and insight.

She lives in Southwest Colorado with her husband, whom she met in the nineties in a chat room called Disco Inferno. As sketchy as it sounds, it worked out pretty well in this case, and they are now the proud parents of two teenagers.

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About Brynn and Sebastian Hate Each Other

She’s a sunny morning-show host. He’s a cynical ex-reporter. They’re destined to hate each other . . . Aren’t they?

Brynn Cornell has to be stuck in a nightmare. Just last week, she was riding high as cohost of the popular morning show Sunup. She’s America’s Ray of Sunshine—the girl-next-door beauty who drives up TV ratings while never exuding anything but her trademark positivity and poise. All it took was one huge on-air mistake to expose her snarky side to the world and make it all come crumbling down. Now she’s back in her hometown of Adelaide Springs, Colorado, in a last-ditch attempt to convince viewers she’s not the mean girl they think she is. All she has to do is apologize and capture some feel-good footage reminding everyone she’s just a girl from humble beginnings who’s grateful for her big break, and she might manage to preserve both her career and her image. But this town holds painful memories that she’s not ready to face.

Sebastian Sudworth was on the fast track to the journalist hall of fame. A superstar reporter with a reputation for being in the center of the action, his fearless, relentless coverage of major events around the globe was winning him awards and accolades—until something snapped inside him and he vanished from the scene under mysterious circumstances. Sebastian sought refuge in tiny Adelaide Springs, working odd jobs and trying to blend in as a scruffy mountain town citizen.

When Sebastian is assigned to chauffeur Brynn around town, Brynn is sure he can see right through her carefully cultivated, sunny persona. But she’s determined to do what it takes to maintain her image and save her career—so she’ll just have to charm the socks off Sebastian the same way she charmed her viewers. Easier said than done. It’s no picnic to play nice around someone you hate . . . especially when you might be crazy about them.

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I was keeping my head above water financially while simultaneously drowning in an abyss of the poor choices it took to make that happen.

Book Review | Indigo Isle by T I Lowe

I requested Indigo Isle for review because I’ve always been fascinated by indigo. How did our ancestors learn to take the leaves of the indigo plant and process them in a way that produced a beautiful blue dye? Indigo Isle didn’t answer that question, but it did take us through the production of indigo dye, which was a fascinating detour that didn’t detract from the central story.

Of course, no one would want to read a novel about making indigo—that could get tedious.

Indigo Isle is the story of Sonny Bates (female, despite the name), who ran way from her Christian home in South Carolina fifteen yeas ago and headed for the bright lights of Hollywood. Now she’s a successful location scout, back in Charleston, South Carolina, as location manager for a movie shoot.

While scouting the islands off the coast to find a location for a romantic beach scene, Sonny comes across a private island locals say is owned by the Monster of Indigo Isle. Sonny finds something about the island – and the so-called monster – compelling, and keeps returning to the island, where she strikes up an oddrelationship with the owner, Hudson Renfrow.

Hudson is battling his own issues, so this is the story of two broken people reluctantly helping each other heal, while falling in love in the process. But the path of true love does not run smooth, and it runs a lot less smooth in Indigo Isle than in most other Christian romance novels.

I was recently chatting with a friend about a book she’d loved but I’d abandoned, and she asked me if the reason I didn’t like it was because of the Grumpy Sunshine trope i.e. the hero was grumpy, while the heroine was all sunshine and unicorns. I couldn’t really answer, as it wasn’t something I’d considered before.

Now I’ve read Indigo Isle, I have to say I do like the Grumpy Sunshine trope … if it’s done well.

It’s definitely done well in Indigo Isle. I think it works because the characters are portrayed so well, and everything that happens is a natural result of their backgrounds and personalities … including the inevitable conflict.

(If you want to know more about grumpy sunshine books, check out this episode of the StoryChats @ Inspy Romance podcast.)

I do have to add a content warning for sexual assault. If that’s a trigger for you, avoid Indigo Isle (or proceed with caution).

Indigo Isle is an excellent Christian romance, a compelling beauty-and-the-beast romance with a #MeToo element … and the obligatory happy ending.

Thanks to Tyndale House and NetGalley for providing a free ebook for review.

About T I Lowe

T I LoweT. I. Lowe is an ordinary country girl who loves to tell extraordinary stories. She is the author of nearly twenty published novels, including her recent bestselling and critically acclaimed novel, Under the Magnolias, and her debut breakout, Lulu’s Café. She lives with her husband and family in coastal South Carolina.

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About Indigo Isle

Sonny Bates left South Carolina fifteen years ago and never looked back.

Now she’s a successful Hollywood location scout who travels the world, finding perfect places for movie shoots. Home is wherever she lands, and between her busy schedule and dealing with her boss’s demands, she has little time to think about the past . . . until her latest gig lands her a stone’s throw from everything she left behind.

Searching off the coast of Charleston for a secluded site to film a key scene, Sonny wanders onto a private barrier island and encounters its reclusive owner, known by locals as the Monster of Indigo Isle. What she finds is a man much more complex than the myth.

Once a successful New York attorney, Hudson Renfrow’s grief has exiled him to his island for several years. He spends his days alone, tending his fields of indigo, then making indigo dye―and he has no interest in serving the intrusive needs of a film company or yielding to Sonny’s determined curiosity. But when a hurricane makes landfall on the Carolina coast, stranding them together, an unlikely friendship forms between the two damaged souls. Soon the gruff exterior Hudson has long hidden behind crumbles―exposing the tender part of him that’s desperate for forgiveness and a second chance.

A story of hanging on and letting go, of redemption and reconciliation, and of a love that heals the deepest wounds, from the author of the breakout Southern fiction bestseller Under the Magnolias.

Find Indigo Isle online at:

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What's the most recent novel you've read that has impacted you, and why?

Bookish Question #279 | What’s the most recent novel you’ve read that has impacted you? How or why?

I’ve recently finished my advance reader copy of Indigo Isle by T I Lowe. It’s not due to release until 6 June, so my review will post then.

But I can give you a few hints …

Here’s the book description:

Sonny Bates left South Carolina fifteen years ago and never looked back.

Now she’s a successful Hollywood location scout who travels the world, finding perfect places for movie shoots. Home is wherever she lands, and between her busy schedule and dealing with her boss’s demands, she has little time to think about the past . . . until her latest gig lands her a stone’s throw from everything she left behind.

Searching off the coast of Charleston for a secluded site to film a key scene, Sonny wanders onto a private barrier island and encounters its reclusive owner, known by locals as the Monster of Indigo Isle. What she finds is a man much more complex than the myth.

Once a successful New York attorney, Hudson Renfrow’s grief has exiled him to his island for several years. He spends his days alone, tending his fields of indigo, then making indigo dye―and he has no interest in serving the intrusive needs of a film company or yielding to Sonny’s determined curiosity. But when a hurricane makes landfall on the Carolina coast, stranding them together, an unlikely friendship forms between the two damaged souls. Soon the gruff exterior Hudson has long hidden behind crumbles―exposing the tender part of him that’s desperate for forgiveness and a second chance.

A story of hanging on and letting go, of redemption and reconciliation, and of a love that heals the deepest wounds, from the author of the breakout Southern fiction bestseller Under the Magnolias.

Indigo Isle is a Beauty and the Beast trope (or grumpy sunshine, if you prefer).

Now, my introverted self is obviously always down for a library and no one around to interrupt me while I read all the books (do I hear an Amen?).

What impacted me was the way the novel subtly reminded me that people are not always what they seem. While the scarred Mr. Beast had obvious external scars that attested to some kind of troubled past, the Instagram-perfect Ms. Sunshine also had scars … scars she kept hidden under a sunny personality and more makeup than a high school prom.

It’s a good reminder that things are not always what they seem, and everyone has scars,

What about you? What’s the most recent novel you’ve read that has impacted you, and why?