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.

Listen, I can’t lie, this book totally caught my eye because it mentioned Elsie Silver in the blurb, so I had to read it! This was my first book by this author, and I enjoyed it! Ian is a big grump at the beginning, having recently given up his career as a show jumper because of an injury. It’s safe to say he’s not at all expecting Bronwen, the barn manager, when he shows up at Morning Song Farm, though he’s not exactly what she’s expecting either. It’s clear Bronwen is passionate about her job and isn’t going to let anything, including a grumpy stand-in for her new boss, get in the way of her job. There’s an attraction between the two of them, but Ian’s too set on becoming a recluse to explore anything. Or at least that’s how it is until they start spending time together where Bronwen’s passion for horses starts to help Ian find what he thought he had lost and they can’t avoid the pull between them anymore! I really enjoyed getting to know the whole crew from the barn and seeing how close their friendships are. This one’s got all the feels; it’s sweet, we get to know Ian & Bronwen’s stories and how they ended up at the farm, and it’s got some spice! It was a quick read (I think that’s my only “complaint;” I would have loved more), but was exactly what I was hoping for based off the blurb! I’m excited for more in the series–I want to know more about Anne and Olivia and the rest of the crew! I do also want to mention this book is closer to 4.5 stars than a true 4 for me!

Thanks to NetGalley, Harelquin Romance and Katy James for an ARC of The Grump Whisperer.

As a life long horse girl, I was so excited to get my hands on this book. Horses (SHOW JUMPING none the less!!), small town romance, and a grumpy MMC? It had all of the makings of a rom com tailored perfectly for me. Overall it was a delightful read, I LOVE that we didn't have to deal with the mess of a third act breakup, and I enjoyed Bronwen and Ian as main characters.

However, all of that being said, the chemistry and dynamics of the story did fall a little flat. Ian's grumpiness didn't last very long (I mean, can you blame him?), and the instant connection between Ian and Bronwen felt like there wasn't really anything to support it. I think a little more depth to the characters' development and relationship could've had more payoff!

I would recommend The Grump Whisperer for fans of small town or cowboy romance, like Elsie Silver and Lyla Sage.

I was so excited for this one a grump with horses it sounded like the perfect mix. It just fell flat for me unfortunately. There was something missing, it went from grumpy to not grumpy waaaay too quickly. I mean it is in the title so I was expecting it to be more grump and more slow burn. It just did not work for me.

The Grump Whisperer
by Katy James
3⭐️

I am a big fan of small town cowboy romances and this has all the bones for being something I would love but it fell a little flat for me. The writing style didn’t work for me at all, it felt very repetitive and clunky. I also feel like it had some insta love vibes because the chemistry and emotional connection were lacking. I wish the grumpy to falling in love connection had been a little slower and little more meaningful. I did love that there’s no third act breakup and how sweet things ended up.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Romance for this gifted arc!

Unfortunately this wasn't for me, Ian is marketed as being the Grump in the book Iast for all of 5 secs, and Bronwen. was able to overcame all her fears just because Ian just told her to get back on the horse. And with this being a shorter book, everything happened so fast.

3 stars

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Romance for an opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I was extremely excited to read this story. I grew up with horses and could relate really well to Bronwen after her fall (I too had a bad fall and broke my wrist and fearlessness of riding). The horse world was written pretty accurately and I had no trouble following that aspect of the story - -which I loved.

Unfortunately, this story really fell flat for me. Ian was not very grumpy and it his "grumpiness" lasted about a chapter. There wasn't any character development or even realistic character arcs. The pacing was off -- things happened too quickly including the romance. There was no sexual tension or build up. The scenes weren't terribly steamy and didn't add much to the relationship. One minute they didn't like each other and the next day, bam in the hayloft. I didn't really find Ian an appealing romance interest. He was so flat. He had the potential to be so much more. The whole story kind of felt rushed and I just really wasn't invested in the characters, their romance, or the ending.

I loved this book! If you loved horse books growing up. Then you will love this horse romance book! It as so cute in this book!