An engaging story revolving around a horse farm. Unfortunate accidents left the main characters with issues. Interesting to watch their growth and realization that there could be a romance. I did skip over the intimate details. A nice variety of characters. Good to see this is the beginning of a series. Thanks to the publisher for providing a copy via NetGalley. My review is voluntary.

The Grump Whisperer by Katy James is the first book in the Morningsong Farm Series. This is Bronwen and Ian’s story.
 
Bronwen lives and breathes for her job as the manager of the Morningsong Farm, but everything changes when the farm gets sold and the new owners don't seem to care. Bronwen is a confident and hardworking woman and her love for the horses is visible on every page. This book and her reminded me a bit of the horse and pony books I read as a child.
 
Ian’s sister is the new owner of the Morningsong Farm, and it becomes his hideout, and he needs a break. He was a former show jumper and didn’t expect to get sucked back in with horses. He is the epitome of a grumpy character who is often very rude and unlikeable and therefore I had a hard time connecting to him. It took too long for him to show a good and lovable side of him.
 
This book is very much a small-town romance that only revolves around the farm. Ian is a hindrance at first and therefore he closes with Bronwen and these two needed way too long to draw near each other. The switch from tolerating each other to loving each other happened basically overnight and there wasn’t really a romantic build-up and it felt very casual. At some points they just were together and it felt like the book skipped important scenes and that was quite sad because it had a promising beginning.
 
If you’re looking for a very classical small-town romance with a romance that is mainly implied, this might be for you. 3 stars.
 
(Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with an arc.)

Bronwyn is a barn manager that has just been bought by a new owner. Ian's sister just bought a farm and he plans to hide from the world there. However, as it turns out the farm is actually a horse boarding farm and the barn manager, Bronwyn, has become a pain in Ian's ass. As responsibilities begin to pile up around the farm, Bronwyn and Ian will need to work together to keep the horses safe and the farm running. Each has baggage from their past, but maybe together they will be able to move forward.

This book was super short and moved extremely fast. I would not have minded if more time was spent developing the setting and the romance. However, the characters were well-developed for the short amount of time they were in the book.

Cute, but spicy book. I really liked the storyline however could have skipped so much spice in it. I liked the storyline set in a horse barn. There were some very heartwarming parts in the book and it has strong themes of found family.

Thank you to Harlequin books and Netgalley for the chance to read an ARC of this book. All opinions expressed are my own.

When a sunshine barn manager meets the grumpy former show jumper will love bloom?

Ok I don’t know I really enjoyed the horse aspects of this books. I loved the cast of characters that boarded their horses at the barn. I loved that you could tell how much care was put into writing about the horses and the barn. However, I just don’t think the same care was put into the romance. Ian was clearly supposed to be a grump and he was for like 3 chapters. It felt very insta love to me and Bronwen and Ian were just not well developed. The first kiss came out of nowhere so suddenly the first time that I had to go back and read it because I was so confused?? I think had there been been 50 more pages then the relationship could have developed way more naturally.

I’m in a cowboy romance phase so I still enjoyed this book and it was a fun quick read. However, I think if there were just a few tweaks it would be an excellent book. A 3.5 star read for me.

thank you net galley for the digital arc. Browen and Ianhave such an emotinal attraction i loved that bowen was the one to start start the sexual relationship. the setting was so perfect.

The perfect romance for that horse girl who lives in all of us. Did I mention its sexy as hell. The grump/sunshine trope didn't still around long enough to really impact the love story as much as I thought it would. Thoroughly enjoyed!

Harlequin - Romance | Afterglow Books by Harlequin

I'm a sucker for a grumpy x sunshine romance, and I was excited to read a book with a horse backdrop and a slow burn. Unfortunately, this book missed the mark a bit for me. The burn was almost a little too slow, and the progression of Ian and Bronwen's relationship did not feel natural. Not for me, but I can definitely see the appeal for the right reader!

I am a sucker for a grumpy sunshine book and one set with the backdrop of horses I am immediately invested. I found the book super easy to read in the best way. I really enjoyed all the characters as well and was routing for the relationship.

Thank you to Harlequin and NetGalley for giving me this ARC in exchange for my honesy review.

This book was decent. The beginning went at a good pace but towards the middle of the book things really dragged on. I don't mind a slow burn but it felt almost too slow for me.
I also would have liked Ians grumpiness to last a little longer.

** spoiler alert ** ***I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review***

This was my first Katy James book and I thoroughly enjoyed it! Bronwyn is a barn manager that has a "if you cant do, teach" vibe and Ian is a broken broody grump who just wants to not be in charge of a horse boarding barn since he was injured in a horse show. The romance was a slow burn and the grump could have been grumpier for me; but overall the story moved along at a good pace and I loved the relationships with the side characters.

Thank you to Harlequin and NetGalley for the arc in exchange for an honest review!

I was drawn to this title for the horse atmosphere and slow burn trope. While I was initially hooked on the writing style, I had a hard time believing the development of the romance plot between characters as feelings unnaturally blossomed out of nowhere. I DNF'd halfway through, and it just wasn't for me.

If you love horses and an adorable grumpy MMC read this! It brought swooning into the outdoors and I lived every minute of it! The cover is adorable and the book got me in the feels. What a cute one!!!

always love a good grumpy sunshine! and with horses 🥰 it made it perfect! I loved the fact that he liked animals more than people lol, it was a fun cute read that I would recommend!

Personally not for me. I tried to get into it and even gave it two different tries in case it was a mood thing, but I was not able to get past the first 15%. I know a lot of other readers will love this book though.

I was hooked from the cover and description and so glad I was able to read this. It had a great romance going on and enjoyed the overall story being told. The characters had that realism that I was hoping for and glad everything worked with them. I thought Katy James does a great job in writing this type of book and glad I was able to read this.

If you like Elsie Silver you will love this. This book is about a horse ranch manager and a grumpy show jumper who has the career she always wanted. A super cute cowboy read!

Great story but it moves very quickly. Its definitely on the shorter side of books that I have read and I wish there was a little more time and pages for the characters to develop and fall in love. The MMC's personality changes from grump to not grump very, very quickly but it's wasn't a bad or unbelievable transition. Overall I really enjoyed the book.

Thank you for allowing me to review. This was a nice fun read. It was a little repetitive and could have used a little bit more chemistry. MMC went from grumpy to not grumpy very quickly. I enjoyed not having a third act break up but I wish the romance was spread out a little more.

This was my first Katy James experience and I loved it!! It’s pretty much exactly how she describes it in the author acknowledgments—a horse girl-centric book but with romance and spice.

I enjoyed her writing style a lot, even though I’m typically skeptical of 3rd person POV. You could really feel the deep wells of emotion both MCs were working with, and overall their emotional connection was just as strong if not stronger than their physical one.