In the way of this type of “Never Going to Be Believable But Read It Anyway” type story (i.e. completely unbelievable), Natalie charms a curmudgeon of a billionaire who only loves one person in life (and it isn’t her…yet). Fortunately for him, she is insanely talented in fashion design because he owns a fashion design business. But wait- there’s more! Not only can she design, but she never makes a false step in her business suggestions to him. And - everyone loves her! And she’s gorgeous! And kind! Yes I know- this could never happen in real life. Who cares!

The book is escapist fun. The crises are sure to end in a satisfactory manner. Her relationship will culminate in a better than satisfactory manner. So, read and enjoy for the couple of hours it takes to finish the story, and feel the stress in your own life melt away.

The Grumpy One is such a fun read. Imagine hitting your boss with a mop. On your first encounter. The amount of embarrassment and horror.

Other then Natalie and James, I admire the Branson's family (Bernie, and even the sweet cinnamon roll Christopher). Can't wait to read more of Leslie's works!

If you're looking for a next read with grumpy boss, sassy heroine, banter, family drama and office romance, you’ve found the perfect read!

3.75/5

Thank you to Relay Publishing and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. All my opinion are mine, and mine alone.

This was my first Leslie North book, and hopefully not my last! I did really enjoy reading this book, even as being a second book a part of an interconnected series. It satisfied all the boxes for a romance novel for me: good character dynamic, spicy, and immersive.

We follow heroine Natalie, who is a fashion college student working multiple jobs, including one at a department store. One night she crosses path with the CEO, James, on the wrong foot. James discovers her designs and promotes her to the design department. Natalie is ferocious and determined, and slowly a taboo boss-employee relationship forms. Lots of shenanigan's occur, and we learn about James's family including his mysterious older brother who hasn't been at work in many months.

I think the writing was good, and this novel was heavily edited, so I found this easy to read. My only major critique is sometimes I got whiplash from Natalie. Her sass and assertiveness was over-the-top, and then she would come off meek. I think realistically there would have been different consequences for her words and actions in real life. Alas, it is a work of fiction, and I can suspend suspend disbelief in order to enjoy the story.

I would rate the spice a 2.75/5. It was present but not overdone for the sake of being a part of the story.

There are some heavier topics including drug abuse, so please take care when reading if that could be triggering for you.

Overall this was a good read, and I have added a new author to the rotation.

This was a run of the mill boss-employee/billionaire romance. Generally these tropes are not my favorite so take my review with a grain of salt I guess. I didn't find either character very interesting. It doesn't help that the heroine is loud and abrasive in the first scene and doesn't consider the fact that a person she discovered in the building she works at overnight might also work there. This leads her to threaten and even hit him, which is just jumping to all sorts of conclusions. We're not off to a great start when I don't really care for the characters who I'm supposed to be rooting for to get together.

Next, the plot was not exciting. I can put up with a dull plot if the heat is there in the romance. Let me just say that this cover lead me to believe that there would be more excitement in that department as well and there just was not. If you like workplace or billionaire romances this might be for you. There are fun scenes with him taking her shopping and to fancy parties, but as I said it's not my thing.

Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book was super cute for an enemies-to-lovers romance. I had fun reading it and devoured it in one sitting. It made me laugh, made me smile as I was reading. The characters had cute chemistry although I will say Natalie as a character was not my favourite but her being with our grumpy CEO helped her cause a little bit.

It was definitely a fun read and one I enjoyed! Thank you NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I DNF'd this. It was really hard to get into. The book starts off with the two main characters arguing. The FMC thinks this beautiful dressed to the nines MMC was going to assault her and the MMC was asking her why he would when he's rich. Then she calls a security guard who confirms the male is the CEO and she continues to argue with him.

This book was so good! I couldn’t put this down. I loved the characters and the chemistry between James and Natalie was so spicy and the enemies to lovers just hit different. The banter between them made me laugh and smile!

I loved the characters and personalities in this book. I felt that they were very well thought out and developed. The storyline was entertaining with unique twists that made it different from all the other “grumpy boss” romances out there. There were a few sections where timing felt slightly off (things moved really fast or things got really slow and I was like “okay already”). Overall, an enjoyable book that I’d recommend.

Thanks NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to review an ARC of this book!

I was excited to read this story, but unfortunately it just didn’t deliver as described. The MMC is supposed to be grumpy - the premise of the book - but the reader sees very little of that. Once the main characters have sex, all tension and excitement disappear and the story became mundane. At this point, I kept putting the book down and had a hard time finishing it. This is, however, a nice, light read for anyone who enjoys this type of book.

My thanks to NetGalley and Relay Publishing for the opportunity to read and review The Grumpy One by Leslie North

I loved the concept of this book. It had the parts of a Rom-com to the T. It had a lot of humor like the first scene with the mop attacking the CEO to her showing her boobs in the elevator to the CEO. It had lots of scenes that I was chuckling and then had to explain to my husband what I was laughing about. Though there were parts where I was like where is the grumpy boss and who is suppose to be grumpy. I didn't see anyone grumpy in the book maybe a little upset at certain events that were happening but grumpy nope. I also thought when Natalie went against James wishes in the book he would have a worse reaction to it then just brush it off and move on. I wanted more action between the two of them. I wanted to see James tip the scale to being angry. Both characters were flat. We did see some back story of James with his brother but nothing really happening with both characters. I didn't see much of who they are and what makes them tick. It was just a lot of scene hoping. I did see some chemistry between the two main characters but just a little. I would have loved to seen more. Little to no smut was in the book and it wasn't steamy that made me want to fan off the heat. It was a great book and I will read more from the author.

Honestly this one was pretty good but I just wished it had been fleshed out a bit more and a little bit more real. The FMC felt a bit immature and I'm not convinced a cleaner would be blasting music, maybe in headphones but meh.

Received this through NetGalley for my honest review and feedback.

I enjoyed the banter and the main storyline. Grumpy boss, enemy to lovers, and a little bit of family drama. However, it fell a little bit short for me. I wish they would have talked a little more about James past and relationships, especially given the ex girlfriend plot line. Also, the MFC just came off as immature and unprofessional, which’s was super frustrating. It was a good read, but I most likely wouldn’t recommend.

I have been a fan of Leslie North for a while, but the last few books I've read by her didn't feel as good as some of the earlier books I've read. This one really was better than those and I really really enjoyed it. I highly recommend it!

The Grumpy one is book two in Leslie North’s Bossy Glenhaven Billionaires series. Set in a fashion design house this book follows James (MMC) and Natalie (MFC). James is a grumpy billionaire and Natalie is a creative sunshine with undiscovered talent that end up fake dating early in the plot.

I do like a good billionaire romance but this one was a bit average. While I was able to finish it there were several things that ripped me out of the story to the point that I had to pause and gather my thoughts. One is the MMC said things that came straight from social media. It was strange. The second thing was the abrupt chance of time and place making me wonder if I missed something.

If you want a light easy billionaire romance this is a good book to pick up. You can read it stand alone even thought it is part of a series. Since people want to know this book is not closed door and has multiple explicit scenes.

I’ve read a lot of Leslie North and I really enjoy her new stuff. Her writing seems to get better and better.

Natalie is a former foster kid wrapping up her fashion design degree working as a janitor at a local fashion house when she meets owner James Branson. They hate each other.

We get to see them come together with a few problems along the way.

A few triggers - overdose on pills (character came through ok) and sexual harassment from a professor to student.

Thank you to NetGalley for the copy in exchange for my honest review.

Amazing read, I really enjoyed this book. Grumpy/Sunshine office romance which was such an enjoyable read.

Absolutely loved the sassy attitude on Natalie and especially the banter between Natalie and James.

Heart warming romance with laughter, emotions, family and friendships.

A good quality read with a grump/sunshine romance trope with spice, banter and an amazing happy every after.

Loved reading the fabulous and fantastic romance story. When Natalie is working late cleaning the floors, she strike a man with a mop not knowing he is her boss, James, and Natalie is shocked by her behavior and inadvertently leaves her sketchbook. James looks through her sketches and wants to hire her. Read the highly recommended, wonderfully written, and a must read riveting love story by the awesome author, Leslie North.

This book was right up my alley with romance being my favorite drama. I loved the plot behind this book, and it had me laughing and swooning! Great read!

Natalie is working 3 jobs to put herself through design school when she's found cleaning at her retail job by the boss, except she doesn't know he's the boss and she assaults him with the mop she's holding. She soon realises her mistake and she's worried she's been fired, this is confirmed when her swipe card won't get her into the building the next morning. But again, she's mistaken and when her boss, James, comes up behind her holding her sketchbook and tells her there's a technical glitch with the system and that he wants her to be one of their new designers.

This is how their attraction to each other starts before James agrees to be Natalie's fake boyfriend in an attempt to get her creepy teacher to stay away from her. This leads to them fake dating at James' grandmother's birthday weekend but soon they both start to catch real feelings for each other but of course neither of them want to admit it and then James screws everything up when he pretends he's gotten back together with his ex girlfriend.

When he finally realises what he's lost he tries to win her back with a grand gesture but it back fires on him when Natalie still refuses to talk to him, even after he tells her he loves her. Natalie isn't impressed by his money and a big gesture like that feels hollow to her, like he can throw his money at anything to get his way.

I enjoyed the story to a point, but it didn't feel like it flowed particularly well and James flashing hot and cold just didn't feel right. One moment he's all into her, being the doting boyfriend but then he decides he can just cast her aside and decide that their relationship didn't mean anything. I thought there would be more spice and there was a bit but not enough in my opinion!

Thanks to NetGalley and Relay Publishing for the opportunity to read and review this ARC.

I got hooked on the book! Once I started I couldn't put it down. It does have a classic theme but there's an interesting twist to it. I enjoyed it but would have liked there to be more steamy moment between the main characters!