AAAAHHHHH it’s been a while since i’ve read a rom com quite this good

the tropes hit, the romance was swoon worthy, and it genuinely had me laughing out loud multiple times

although a bit insta-lovey, i can forgive it because it was a lot of fun and i can’t wait to continue the series!

3.5 stars: well written, nice characters but certain scenes were too melodramatic even for me.

Faking it with grump is the story of Harper and Christopher. A classic: big town white collar guy goes to small mountain town for a 2-month job, he meets cheerful flowery elementary school teacher Harper who happens to be in need of a fake boyfriend for just a little while to keep nosy town folks out of her way. The fake becomes reality but life is complicated.

I am not a fan of the fake relationship thrope, but I really liked the blurb and had to give it a shot.
And it didn’t disappoint on many levels: Harper and Christopher were lovely characters (though I couldn’t seem to picture their faces, except for Harper’s blue eyes, a case of "death by cover?"), I loved the small town setting and all the side characters.
The story is told from the point of view of both main characters, and I thought the writing style was well defined for each of them. Very well depicted, with their own characteristic prose. I could really picture them talking to the reader.

The story was the right amount of predictable, until... it wasn’t. I think I can deal with some cheesy melodrama, but the story was unfolding so well that it really didn't need the usual stratagems added to the mix. Harper and Christopher felt mature enough to not having to indulge in the theatrical classic ("I am upset, but then I am not." "It's impossible, but then it's not." The townhall meeting was my undoing).
Last note, just my taste, I am not enthusiastic about the title: the Grump makes me think of one of the seven dwarves, but Christopher seemed to me to be more super-serious, very focused and a bit stiff, but not really grumpy.

I really enjoyed Kate O'Keeffe writing style, her pages flow smoothly and her characters are truly charming. I will certainly read her other books, as I have a feeling I will enjoy even more other thropes.

Very cute and light hearted romance. The entire book I was rooting for Christopher and Harper to find a way to make the relationship work. I like the way things came together and I am excited to see what the next book in the series brings.

I was so looking forward to reading this. I love a grumpy sunshine story and small town settings are a favorite. Sadly, I’m giving this 2.5 stars.

Christopher was to focused on status and money and Harper was a doormat. This went from fake dating to love so fast I couldn’t find it believable. I also thought that Christopher was a bit presumptuous assuming that Harper would just give up her life and dreams to go with him to New York.

4 ⭐️

This is probably my favourite ARC of the year so far. Harper and Christopher are a classic grumpy sunshine, fake dating, adorable couple. I loved every second of their story.

Harper gets dumped by her long term childhood sweetheart and ends up moving back to her hometown. Problem is, her ex is also from this town so everyone keeps looking at her with pity. To avoid the pity and the set up attempts, she pretends to date new to torn corporate lawyer Christopher. As with any fake dating rom-com, cute and funny scenes lead to both characters eventually realizing their feelings are more than pretend.

Although at times the dialogue felt a little forced, the chemistry and relatability of Harper and Christopher was natural and enjoyable. I love a small town romance and Faking It With the Grump checks all the boxes: cute town, funny secondary character, emotional monologues, and feel good romance.

I can’t wait for the next book in the series, which will focus on Harper’s little sister and her best friend in a friends to lovers story I’m sure I’ll love!

Thanks to Wild Lime Books and Netgalley for the advanced copy!

This happy sappy romance follows Harper as she is wildly in love with her high school sweetheart and up and coming heart throb actor, Dex. However, he’s not in the same page anymore and while she thinks he’s proposing, instead he dumps her. She moves back home to her small hometown to recover and takes a job as a fill in second grade teacher. She had always hoped to move back and stay teaching there so this works out perfectly for her until everyone won’t stop trying to set her up since she’s the new single lady in town. She almost runs into Christopher who is there in a job from a lawyer firm. She lies about being in a relationship with her in order to calm the single storm. He agrees and instead of faking it, they fall for each other.

I thought this was quite a cute and cheesy rom com. I love the profile of the straight laced career grump whose actually a big teddy bear. The storyline was cute and building with the upturning of happiness before we got to the happy ending.

Thank you to Wild Lime Books and Net Galley for allowing me early access to this book.

I grabbed this book because I LOVE a grumpy sunshine trope. I was sorely disappointed. I am giving 2 ⭐️ generously.

The grump was not grumpy. He had social anxiety, maybe a little neurodivergence, and professional demeanor. That doesn’t make you a grump.

The sunshine was not a sunshine. She wore florals and let people take advantage of her.

The author started the majority of each chapter recapping what you literally just read in the last chapter.

There was a moment where the the author mocked the “me too” movement. She also made a few racist jokes that were not at all appropriate. Not to mention saying that the MMC nodding his head in acknowledgment made the FMC wonder if he was raised in Japan. Wtf?

I assumed this was a debut novel but I looked up the author’s backlist and it most definitely is not.

Thank you to NetGalley for sharing this digital reviewer copy with me in exchange for my honest review.

This book had a lot of potential, I was sold on the concept and the first couple of chapters had me excited to find out more.

Sadly, it was downhill from there for me.
There was far too much telling and now showing in this book for me. Don’t tell me it’s like a hallmark movie, show me it’s like one. Don’t tell me what the characters are feeling, show me!

The title also feels really misleading because neither of the main characters were what I would class as grumpy. Again, it comes back to telling instead of showing. Telling me a character is grumpy and calling them a grump does not make them grumpy.

The scene between the two characters where Harper told Christopher she needed them to fake date felt so forced and inauthentic, and I didn’t feel any chemistry between them, again this was just something we’re told about instead of shown.

For me, this just felt very underdeveloped, very surface level. I didn’t feel like we went deep enough into the characters to fully understand. There was also a lot repetition that could’ve been cut out to give the characters a more believable, more exciting arc. I feel like we are just told the same things over and over again which is one of my pet peeves in books.

This was a cute and sweet fake dating, grumpxsunshine, small town romance. I really enjoyed it. I loved all of the charming and funny characters, and seeing Harper and Topher develop as a couple and as people. Dex, however, annoyed me to no end (but of course, I think this was the intention)! Full review on my Instagram, booknerdysam.

Faking with the Grump was a cute, clean romantic comedy set in a small town. This book has the usual plot lines of a small town/city lawyer set up and while those parts ran smoothly, it was the small things that made this book adorable and worth 5 stars. The banter between Harper and Christopher was top tier and had me laughing in multiple ways as how Harper would tease Christopher. The famous ex storyline and the town showing were interesting and added a new element that kept me on my toes especially when the ex shows up back home.

Harper is a strong woman who goes for what she wants and doesn’t hold back, but she picks the worst time to put her foot down, and while I love her for it, it is obviously how the conflict starts between her and Christopher.

I loved Christopher from the beginning, he is a wonderful big city lawyer who doesn’t think about much else beyond achieving his career dreams. Those dreams came at the expense of a lot of people and he has to work his way though how he feels about that throughout the book.

I just loved this book, it’s easy to read and addicting!

*thank you netgalley for allowing me an arc of this wonderful book!!*

4.5 stars. after scrolling through netgalley to find something to read, i came across this and i knew it would serve. the title in itself sold me right away. but as i read it, it found a way into my heart nice and deep and these characters will stay with me for awhile. .

it was sweet, cute, it had me laughing out loud at some points too and i know it is an added bonus but the cover of the book is so beautiful too and I'm definitely going to invest in a physical copy if i can when the release date comes. i loved the dual pov and i just thought it was very well written for a romance book.

Rating a 4.5 stars. I loved this book so much. Perfect and refreshing. Christopher is such a sweetie throughout most of the book and I just love him. Also I love the character development of both characters, they both grew so much from the beginning of the book and I just love them so so much.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

I recently finished Faking It With the Grump by Kate O'Keeffe and I found it to be a very cute and lighthearted book. I enjoyed Harper and (Chris)Topher quite a bit! Their personalities were enjoyable and I liked that they explored both the positive and somewhat negative aspects of their personalities. It made the characters more rounded and eventually that helped lead their decisions. I really enjoyed the supporting characters as well - specifically Ryn and Gabe (which if I read correctly will get their own book soon!). The plot was very Hallmark movie-ish (a fact that the characters even admitted) but who doesn't love a good Hallmark?? Overall I was left entertained, happy and wanting more from the Hunter's Creek crew.
I am grateful to Netgalley, Xpresso Book Tours, and Kate O'Keeffe for the advanced copy!

I do love a small town romance and I really enjoyed this one.
The blurb was so accurate to the story and I felt the characters were fun.

This book was super cute and such an enjoyable read! You can never go wrong with a small town grumpy sunshine! Can’t wait to read the next in the series

An absolutely delightful read! Full of hometown charm and wonderful characters. It felt like a Hallmark RomCom. A cute, quick, and fun read.

Thank you NetGalley and Kate O'Keeffe with providing me with the e-arc of Faking It With the Grump! This felt like a Hallmark movie wrapped up in a book and was a cute and comforting rom-com read.

Faking It with the Grump switches POV between the MFC, Harper Cole, and the MMC, Christopher Young and primarily takes place in a small town in the PNW. Harper returns to her hometown, Hunter's Creek, after being dumped by her famous long-term boyfriend (who also happens to be from Hunter's Creek and is beloved by the town). In hopes that his performance will grant him a promotion, Christopher Young is sent to the small town to assess whether the company he is working for should by the family-owned mill, which is the livelihood of most of the town.
Harper and Christopher bump into each other and realize that a ploy to fake date could benefit them both. Harper needs her well-meaning coworkers to stop trying to set her up with a new man, and Christopher needs to gain the trust of the townspeople, without anyone figuring out why he's really there. As with most fake dating books, they start to catch feels and have to figure out if turning their fake relationship real is worth the risk.

Overall, I thought Faking It with the Grump was a super cute read and I loved the MFC and her family! This is a clean romance book (the main characters only kiss), which isn't always my favorite, but it led to the Hallmark movie feel of it all. I felt like Christopher's character could've been more three dimensional, because when his personality of not being so strict and single minded with his goals is let up to reveal his teasing and fun side, I wanted more complex emotions and diving deeper into his past. BUT Kate O'Keeffe is a queen of light and fun rom-coms, so it makes sense that the characters are also kept light. If you're a fan of Hallmark movies where the city-slicker moves to the small town for a business deal and falls in love with a local, then you'll definitely enjoy Faking It with the Grump!

Faking It with the Grump is a small-town romcom with plenty of Hallmark movies references. I enjoyed all the characters, including the main ones, whom I found believable (save from the moment Christopher asks Harper to move to NY; he’s more clever than that) and very likable, and the meet cute, which is particularly, well, cute—and funny. A buy repetitive at times, but a lot of swooning.

If you're looking for a Hallmark movie replica in book form, then this book is for you (the hero literally says many times that his current life screams Hallmark movie). If you're looking for a nice, clean, sweet romance, then this book is for you. If you're looking for a grump, or an original plot, then sadly, this is not the book you're looking for. That said, I liked this book since I do occasionally like those light-hearted Hallmark-esque reads. But I didn't love it and had some issues with the plot and writing.

I thought that Christopher & Harper were adorable together and was rooting for them. I just wanted more of that romance! Christopher was quite a surprise. At first I thought he'd be a bit too stiff, but once he arrives in town and meets Harper, it's like he turns into a puddle of goo. His stiffness just becomes quirky and quite humorous after a while (I mean who irons their jeans lol?). Harper definitely made him loosen up.

There were quite a few things I disliked about the book though. Not enough to make me reduce my rating too much, but they were still annoyances nonetheless.

The term 'grump' is really becoming overused in book titles. I've read 3 books in the last 2 months that had 'grump' in the title. And you know what? NONE of them had actual grumps as the heroes. Maybe the authors are mischaracterizing what we as readers consider a grump? A grump to me is someone who is typically unpleasant to be around (but not a douche) and someone who only tolerates people when needed. Christopher was not that guy. He was just set in his ways and determined. He was still respectful to everyone he came across, almost a little too much. So again, the title doesn't match the character.

Then there's the repetitiveness of the book. I thought to myself several times 'Didn't I just read this?' Because of this, it seemed the book did drag in some parts and was probably 10 chapters longer than it needed to be.

There wasn't much actual romance in this book, at least not where we could see the romance blooming. We were told about Harper and Christopher spending time together after the fact and I suppose that's when they fell in love. But the author left a lot of that out and it made it hard to believe they could just fall in love the way they did.

Harper calling Christopher, "Topher" was SOOOOO ANNOYING! Ugh, who shortens Christopher to Topher and not Chris? I know of people actually named Topher, but their given name was not Christopher and it was just shortened to that. The author totally lost me there and maybe it's a cultural/country difference.

As noted earlier, this is a good 'clean' book. I don't typically do 'clean' so it was a surprise for me. There's only a few scenes where they even kiss. This was the first time I've read this author, so at least I know for future reads.

Thank you NetGalley and Kate O’Keeffe for gifting me a copy of Faking it with the grump in return for my honest opinion.

3.5/5

I enjoyed this book it was a cute fun read that included one of my favorite tropes grumpy vs sunshine. I really like the characters and the development which is why I gave it just above 3 stars. The characters both grew and became better versions of themselves through out the book and it was wonderful to read.

Where it’s lacking is that it was a very repetitive book and very predictable. It was written like a hallmark movie so there wasn’t really any surprise involved in it. The plot was just the same as every hallmark movie/book. Which to make it worse, the grumpy pants would make comments like, what do you think this is a hallmark movie. Which was ironic since that what it felt like.

This is a good book to shut off your mind to and plow through. Did I like it and want to finish it, yes. Will I be able to pick up the book and remember what happened in a years time, no. That is not to say I didn’t like it, I did it was just kind of forgettable.