Cute, quick, 🔥 read- perfect for those that love fake dating, enemies to lovers, forced proximity, coworkers, billionaire boss tropes.

Felicity and Cameron have a rocky start, he tried to steal her cab, the one she was taking to her interview for her dream job, marketing for the diamond company Veritigue. She finds out Cameron is the new CEO for Veritigue when she’s across the desk from him during her final interview. Veritigue is currently struggling due to some marketing guffaws from the prior CEO, Cameron’s father.

To help save the company from the marketing nightmare, they inlist Lucy, an influencer with millions of followers and develop a campaign centered around romance and jewelry ultimately ending with a Veritigue engagement ring. Lucy outs Cameron and Felicity as being in a secrete relationship, which in reality is her spitfire personality and their love-hate bantering. Now they have to fake date and fake being in love. Except, is it all fake?

I mostly read this over one evening and enjoyed the story, even if it was predictable. Good tension and chemistry! Would love a second book of Nina and Tyler’s story! 3.75/5

Thank you NetGalley, Relay Publishing, and author Leslie North for this ARC, it made my day!
Pub date: June 6, 2024

The Grouchy One by Leslie North
Rating: 4/5
Release Date: 9 July 2024

Felicity harbours a dream of owning a bookstore but finds herself struggling in her freelance marketing job. When she finally uncovers her dream job opportunity, she encounters a major hurdle: a previous heated dispute with the boss over a cab.

On the other hand, Cameron is unexpectedly thrust into managing his family's jewellery empire following his father's mishandling of a scandal. In urgent need of a capable marketing expert, he reluctantly considers the very candidate his staff highly recommends — none other than Felicity, the woman with whom he had clashed over a cab. Despite their rocky history, Cameron and Felicity embark on a challenging partnership that promises to test their professional skills and personal boundaries.

Amidst the whirlwind of their professional endeavours, a romance quietly blossoms between Felicity and Cameron. Their playful banter, endearing misunderstandings, and vulnerable moments that deepen their bond. Supported by a diverse cast of characters, including Cameron's steadfast best friend navigating his own challenges, the narrative unfolds as a delightful contemporary romance.

Meanwhile, Cameron is also grappling with personal growth amidst the weight of familial expectations and his own insecurities. Confronting his limitations, he learns to trust Felicity's expertise, leading to a deepening of their professional collaboration and forging a stronger personal connection between them.

The author adeptly weaves together the protagonists' career aspirations with the progression of their romantic journey, culminating in a heartwarming resolution where Felicity and Cameron discover fulfilment and joy together.

Overall, this feel-good novel provides an engaging escape for fans of contemporary romance. Readers are invited to immerse themselves in the enchanting tale of Felicity and Cameron as they navigate the twists of both love and business, ultimately finding a promising and optimistic future side by side.

Thank you so much to NetGalley, Relay Publishing, and the author, Leslie North, for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest and fair review.

This story had everything, a grouchy hero and a woman who won’t settle for anything but full stop love! Felicity Rhodes’ first meeting with Cameron O’Connor was when he tried to steal her cab. Arriving for a job interview, she knows that Cameron, the cab stealer and owner of Veritique, will never hire her. She tells him where his company has made mistakes in their previous campaign, never expecting that he would hire her, but he does! He survived a brief disastrous marriage, is dealing with his best friend who needs to go to rehab and has no plans to get serious about anyone. This becomes more difficult as he and Felicity are involved in the new campaign. What could possibly go wrong? She didn’t plan on getting involved with him, especially after her issues with her ex! Will he admit his love for her or panic and lose the only woman he’s ever truly loved? Humor and raw emotions between two people who have yet to let go of their pasts. I received an advance review copy at no cost and without obligation for an honest review. (paytonpuppy)

Read if you like: enemies to lovers, workplace romance, fake dating, billionaire romance

Felicity and Cameron have a super rough first meeting and do not get along. Due to their job, they’re forced to work together and fake date.

This was quite a fast paced book and it was easy to fly through. The plot sounded great in theory, but execution wasn’t quite there for me. I just wasn’t convinced on their romance, they argued a lot but there was no chemistry or connection? I didn’t care about them or their romance at all, it felt very forced and super awkward 😭
Felicity kept annoying me by assuming the meaning of Cameron’s words. She kept starting arguments for literally zero reason 😤😤
There’s also a lot of side plots happening I was starting to lose track of it all early on tbh
Overall I wouldn’t recommend, but if you like the tropes maybe give this book a go.

Title: The Grouchy One by Leslie North

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️Stars

Release date: June 6th 2024


From the moment Felicity met Cameron O’Connor, it was war. Already late for a job interview, she thought her luck had changed when a cab stopped right outside her apartment—until the grumpiest, grouchiest, and admittedly handsome suit-hole snatched it from her. Imagine her shock when she finally arrives at her interview, only to find him sitting behind the desk!

“You’re late. Couldn’t find a cab?” he sneers. Felicity’s blood boils, and she can’t help but tell him exactly how his company is bungling their PR disaster. No way would she work for this infuriating man—or touch him with a ten-foot pole. But then he offers her a salary with more zeros than she can count, and she finds herself stuck working alongside the bosszilla.

Keeping her sarcasm in check is a daily struggle, especially when he hires an influencer who spreads rumours about their supposed secret romance.

Suddenly, their fake relationship is all anyone can talk about. Forced to go on fake dates and pretend to be in love, Felicity soon finds that pretending becomes a lot harder. Against all odds, Cameron starts to grow on her, and she suspects he’s not faking it either.

"The Grouchy One" by Leslie North is a hilariously charming enemies-to-lovers romance! Watching Felicity and Cameron navigate their love-hate relationship is pure entertainment, with sharp banter and sizzling chemistry. This story had me smiling and laughing. The fake dating trope is executed to perfection as well as my all time favourite, the enemies to lovers trope.

If you're looking for a fun, lighthearted read with plenty of laughs and a touch of heartfelt romance, this book is a gem. Highly recommend for all the romantics out there!

Thank you to The Publisher Relay Publishing ,The Author Leslie North & NetGalley for an advanced reader copy (ARC) in exchange for my honest review.

Fake Dating - Workplace romance - grumpy sunshine tropes. Felicity is looking for a new start after heartbreak and humiliation, only to find herself in a new job with the “bosshole” she briefly spared with unknowingly. Cameron is all about his company, as CEO of a jewelry company in the middle of a PR crisis, he needs a new PR person to help save his company, Much to his dislike, it’s the feisty, opinionated blonde he can’t stop thinking about, Both characters have scars and baggage from previous relationships. I feel like the depth to this was maybe not well explored. I feel like the relationship ended up feeling awkward and forced, I wasn’t 100% on board with Cameron as an MMC. An easy read with good writing, a little slow in pacing for me,

I received a copy of this for my honest review

In this story our FMC is hoping to get a job as the social media director for a jewelry company. She's trying to get a cab to go to the interview when she has a heated exchange with our MMC. Who it turns out is the CEO of said company, and in some tough shit after a PR nightmare dealing with diamond sourcing. She eventually gets the job and suggests bringing in a very popular influencer to help with marketing. When showing off the new engagement ring line, a plan is hatched to follow their love story - only problem is, they kinda still hate each other. But they agree for the company, to do a fake dating relationship and use it as an ad campaign. But when they break their rules, is the feeling between them enough to really blur the lines or is this all just fake?

** spoiler alert **

I really enjoyed reading this fake dating romance arc! The first chapter had me unsure whether the book and writing style was for me, but I stuck with it and ended up really loving it in the end!

Cameron is the grumpy CEO of a jewellery line who has been stung by past relationships. He wants to take the company in a new direction after taking over as CEO from his father.

Felicity is a marketing genius who had a run in with Cameron over a taxi on her way to a job interview. Unbeknownst to her, Cameron was the CEO of the company she was interviewing at. She is hesitant to take the job once she realises that the asshole she met on the sidewalk would be her boss.
Felicity ends up taking the role and finds herself part of a fake dating contract to gain social media interest for the jewellery line, Veritique.

Fake feelings turn into real feelings and steamy scenes ensue. There are bumps in the road but in the end Cameron and Felicity get their happy ending!

I definitely recommend this to romance readers and those who enjoy the fake dating trope!

I absolutely loved reading, The Grouchy One. I fell in love with Cameron when he explained how he adopted his dog. I actually cried a little. I also loved how Felicity stands up to Cameron from the first meeting. Even though Cameron can be grouchy a lot of the times there are always reasons behind it. Felicity has a great way of drawing the reasons out of him.

This grumpy/sunshine workplace romance is a delight. Cameron has had a bad experience of love but is persuaded into a fake relationship by his marketing board. Enter his feisty neighbour and new work colleague Felicity who also has had a bad experience of romance but has a positive and hopeful attitude for the future. The whole story is entertaining and enjoyable.

The grouchy one

I am so excited to share my review with you! The grouchy one is a fake dating/ enemies to lovers story that melted my heart like multiple times.

I enjoyed Felicity and Cameron so much. They were pretty intense but also charming and lovely. The tension was insane.

Leslie North wrote a lovely book.

A grouchy guy! Yes please! And if he turns into the love of your life, even better!! This book was great. I’d recommend it!