I devoured this book! Started it on Saturday and read over 300 pages and finished it on Sunday morning. I absolutely loved this story - a clean hockey romance. I loved grumpy Nathan and sunshiny Summer. I loved that you could see the instant connection they had throughout their "fake" dating. I absolutely loved the change Nathan went through to finally realize that he is worth loving.
Also, make sure you subscribe to the author's website so you can get the bonus epilogue. It's so good - I cried!
Absolutely love Jenny Proctor. I can never put her books down. They are excellent pallet cleansers too.

Thank you JPC Publishing and Jenny Proctor for sending me an eARC of Romancing through Grump in exchange for my honest feedback.

I really really loved this. It’s the perfect grumpy sunshine dynamic that I love in a book. Also, fake dating is one of my favorite tropes. I did not know that it was a clean romance until about half way through and I was missing the spice factor but not every book needs to be super spicy. I really enjoyed this and could not put it down.

BOOK REVIEW

Romancing the Grump by @jennyproctorbooks

The Appies are an AHL Team with popularity comparable to an NHL Team. When Summer Callahan joins the legal team for the Appies she's immediately thrown into the chaos surrounding the team. Nathan Sanders is the team's grumpiest player and wants nothing to do with serious relationships. Once a few hashtags and fans get out of hand, he is forced to take on a fake girlfriend to calm things down. Summer and Nathan slowly develop a solid friendship and soon the hockey player that never smiles, finds himself doing it just for Summer. Eventually they both find themselves unable to decipher what is real and what is just for the cameras.

This was my first book reading about this team and I'm super excited to read more! I usually don't read books without spice, but I found I really enjoyed reading about this couple building a solid foundation of friendship first. There are a lot of sweet gestures and the characters working through their emotions so that made up for it for me.

Tropes:
-Grumpy x Sunshine
-Fake Dating
-Hockey Romance
-Forced Proximity

Huge thank you to NetGalley and Jenny Proctor and Team for letting me review this ARC! It is out everywhere on Kindle Unlimited and I highly recommend it if you're interested in Hockey/Sports Romances but not sure where to start!!

Hockey romance with fake dating and grumpy + sunshine.

Pros:
- The two main characters are likable, intelligent, driven, and relatable.
- The relationship depth is believable and relatable - coworkers to friends to lovers.
- The scene where she takes care of him when he's sick is absolute perfection - it's the reality of intimacy.
- The friendships that both Nathan and Summer have with their friends is so perfect.
- The supportive family relationships are written so well - especially Nathan's mom - who he loves but gets frustrated with.

Cons:
- The main conflict of the story is much to easily resolved. The resolution 1/3 of a chapter and one conversation with his mother. After a lifetime of feeling one way, Nathan should have had to do more soul searching and work.

Overall, it is a really great story. A sweet and swoony romcom with great tropes and real intimacy without spice.

⭐️ 3.75 stars!

• grumpy x sunshine
• hockey romance
• fake dating
• forced proximity
• found family

I loved the dynamics between Nathan and Summer and their interactions, from the first moment to the last.
There’s was nothing short of the cute and funny moments between them

The banter between the main characters and the side characters were some of the moments I loved the most about the book.

This was a fun, easy and quick read that was nothing short of enjoyable.

Thank you NetGallery and Victory Editing for a copy of this E-Book in exchange for my honest review.

Another great addition to the Allies Hockey series! It has all the grumpy + sunshine vibes and the forced proximity of working together. Overall, an enjoyable and lighthearted read.

Y'all...I've read some really great books so far this year, but this one topples them all. This was my first Jenny Proctor read after trying to get around to one of hers for a WHILE. I certainly won't be waiting much longer before diving into her backlog and then eagerly awaiting her Summer 2024 release.

I also just have to gush about how stinkin' much I adore the Appies universe. Emma and Jenny are both AMAZING storytellers and they've done an exceptional job creating this world. I took a while to finish this one because I honestly just didn't want it to end. I adore the Appies themselves, the women they've found love with, and the precious town of Harvest Hollow. I get so absolutely lost in these books and I so wish the characters could be my friends in real life. This series is absolutely going to be a top recommendation from me from now on!

Nathan...This guy is hands down one of my favorite MMCs of all time. I love a good grump and Jenny just made Nathan absolute perfection. He is so swoony and that man bun...😍 I lived for Nathan thinking he could prevent himself from falling for Summer and then him realizing the absolute futility of that plan. He is without a doubt a first-rate book boyfriend!

Summer...I loved her boldness and absolute inability to stop talking. This girl made me laugh so many times...and not just with her bad dad hockey jokes. I really respect the confidence she exuded time and again and how fiercely she loved her family and friends. Her sunshine is such a good balance to Nathan's broodiness.

Things I loved...getting to spend more time with the other Appies (Emma and Jenny have done an excellent job with connecting their books), Summer's moxie as an attorney, the banter and text conversations between Summer and Nathan (truly top-notch), several specific scenes (shower, bar, party), Summer and Nathan's closeness to their families, and just so much more.

I literally had the goofiest grin on my face as I finished this book and then smiled for the next two hours straight. I know the book hangover from this one is going to be intense!

Thank you to Netgalley, the Victory Editing Netgalley Co-op, and Jenny Proctor for a free ebook in exchange for an honest review.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
🌶️

This book was adorable. I’ll def be going back to read the first one in the series. My only complaint is… “perfect for fans of sport romance who want a little less heat” I mean wtf who falls into that category? Is that a really thing?! Give me spice and this could have been 5 stars.

If you loved Icebreaker like I did you will probably love this book as well!
I really enjoyed the story of Summer and Nathan and how they found each other. The tension in this book was AMAZING and I definately had my moments I laughed out loud for real. For anyone who is into funny romance books, this is a great shot, bonus if you're into sports romance.

Meet Nathan Sanders the king of grumpiness and Summer Callahan the ray of sunshine determined to melt his icy exterior. With witty banter hotter than a winning goal and heartwarming moments sweeter than victory Jenny Proctor serves up a romcom that's as addictive as your favorite game-day snack. So grab your popcorn, settle in and get ready for a love story that'll leave you cheering for more. Perfect for fans of sports romance craving a dose of feel-good fun, Romancing the Grump scores big on heart and humor.
Thank you to Jenny proctor and net galley for an ARC of this book!
Ive posted this review on my Goodreads!

4⭐️ just kissing 🌶
THE VIBES WERE IMMACULATE. This was the booking needed at just the right time. I think I finished this book in a little under 5 hours which I didn't think a could even read that fast anymore but I couldn't put it down. I loved the dynamic between Nathan and Summer and how determined she was to wear him down. I think my new favourite microtrope is when the ultra grump smiles for the first time and it lights up the world. It was really steamy and the tension was fab and it didn't feel like the spice was missing. I loved the tension of the fake dating after the friendship was established. The side character shenanigans were fabulous and hilarious and the found family always hits the spot.

NATHAN FREAKING SANDERS 😭🥰

This was one of my favorite books in the series so far, which really surprised me. Nathan was never likable in the other books. He was just…. There.

But when you actually got to be inside his head and hear more about his life, it became easier and easier to appreciate him.

Summer, on the other hand, was immediately likable. Her character was exciting and the way that she protected and cared for Nathan (and him for her) was everything.

I loved everything about their love story.

This is my honest review. Thank you to both NetGalley and Jenny Proctor for this ARC

I have read a lot of hockey romances over the last year and I can safely say this is one of my favourites, Romancing the grump is definitely in the top 6. I don’t want to give to much away but I knew very early on that I was going to love this book in the end even with it being a “closed door” romance. Closed door romances aren’t normally my fave but this one was written perfectly. This was also my first Jenny Proctor books and I can’t wait to read more.
100% recommend this book to everyone!

FINALLY, Summer and Nathan's story! I've liked Summer since the last of the Hawthorne series and was glad she made an appearance on Gracie and Felix's story.
Summer's character is consistent with her previous appearances. I like that Nathan is a grump but he's not cruel towards Summer (or anybody). I like that they can be honest with each other and become each other's anchor at some point. The relationship feels natural.
But tbh I don't like too much inner thoughts, although it keeps me entertained. Good laugh, good friendship, heartwarming story, love the found family. Perfect cozy read for one sitting ❤️❤️❤️❤️

Thank you for the ARC! I absolutely loved this book, it was such a sweet romance! I definitely will recommend this book and look forward to reading more of Jenny’s books

OMG! I love this book!
Nathan is a dream boat and Summer is the sweetest, most caring person on earth. He doesn’t want a relationship because of hockey responsibilities and she’s in love at first sight. She helps him when he’s sick and he brings her coffee every morning. *melting*
I love hockey romances and this one is amazing!!! Totally worth the read.
A closed door romance that makes your heart flutter. Fake-dating, grump vs sunshine, and forced proximity.

Thank you NetGalley and Jenny Proctor for this ARC, this is my honest review.

Summer starts her new job as a legal counsel to a minor league hockey team, The Appies. In the car park, she bumps into one of the players, Nathan who she had previously asked out - but been rejected by. She tries to strike a conversation with him but he’s kind of rude to her. Summer thinks he’s totally not interested in her but we quickly learn that hasn’t been able to get her out of his head since they first met.

Nathan is having some family issues with his younger brother and he confides in Summer, seeing if she can help which starts to bring them closer together. Then Nathan begins trending on TikTok but it’s not in a positive way so the teams social media manager suggests that Summer and Nathan fake date, to start a new “trend”. Summer is hesitant because she has real feelings for Nathan but in the end, she agrees.

I really enjoyed this story. I liked the characters and could tell that Summer and Nathan would end up falling for each other! It was an easy read with low drama and no spice. The hockey team felt like a family and I like how supportive Nathan’s actual family were. This was the first book I’ve read by this author and I would read more in the future. Rating 4/5 stars.

Thank you for the ARC!

I went into this book blind and with low expectations and wow was I surprised to find that this book was really lovely. I knew at the 20% mark that this book would be one of my favorites ever by the end of it. My only issue was that I didn't read the books before this one before reading Romancing the Grump because I know that if I go back and read them now, I'm just going to be upset that Nathan and Summer won't be together in them.

Nathan... What a stand up guy. In all seriousness, he is one of my favorite book boyfriends of all time now. I loved seeing his internal battle with being in a relationship but seeing his treat Summer with so much care and love. And Summer. Don't even get me started on her; I LOVED her. Granted, I did get a lot of second hand embarrassment from her, but somehow I was able to overlook that (which I usually can't) because she was genuinely such a lovely character to read. I loved how much Nathan and Summer protected each other; Nathan getting Dominik away from Summer, and getting her ex-boss away from her, Summer getting the reporter off his back, and helping him when he was sick. I don't see that very often (granted, a lot of books don't really need it to further the plot) and if I do I usually cringe, but this was done so well and you could feel the love between them, even if they were just "faking." I loved being able to see their love for each other develop properly; they did have feelings for each other before the story fully began but I loved seeing the love grow and the way they interacted with each other change. Another thing I did like was the third-act breakup (does it count as a breakup if they were never really together?) which is a sentence I never thought I'd say. I liked that it made sense to the story and didn't happen because of some miscommunication. I liked that it didn't really feel like a breakup (possibly because it didn't last long) because we knew Nathan loved Summer and wanted to be with her, we just needed to wait for him to realize that he wasn't destined to be like his dad.

I think I need to start picking up more books by this author because in case you couldn't tell, I LOVED this one. Thank you for the opportunity to read it!

5/5 - I loved Nathan and Summers story! Such a sweet romance. Fake dating, hockey romance, grumpy sunshine, what more could you ask for!! This is my first book of Jennys and can’t wait to read more!!

I didn’t realize that this was a “clean romance” until I was pretty deep into it. I don’t have a personal problem with clean romances but, if there is no spice to fill the pages then there needs to be a really solid plot. I don’t think there was much of one here. The main characters like each other from the very first page but Nathan is extremely adamant about not being in a relationship for no reason except that he doesn’t think his schedule as a semi-professional athlete is compatible with it. Except, in this case, Summer WORKS FOR THE TEAM. She can travel with them whenever she wants. It’s her job! And the reason for the fake relationship seemed a stretch. And they knowingly lied about it to the GM! They could both be fired for that. They filed paperwork with HR that was also a lie at the time they filed it. And Summer is supposed to be a lawyer!

The other thing that I found unbelievable was that this minor league team is so much fun that none of the players want to get called up to the NHL. If you have gotten to the semi-pro level of a sport then most people are highly competitive by nature and will want to be the best in their game; not hang around the minors because their teammates are buddies.

I think that the by-line here of this being a “sweet” rom-com are correct. It is very sweet. Too sweet for me but that is just a personal preference. The writing was good and I think that someone looking for that extra sweet vanilla romance will enjoy this just fine.