Grumpy/Sunshine
There is nothing more tantalizing than an exasperated man
First of all, I agree with discourse about how whenever the girl’s grumpy and the guy’s sunshine, it should not be called “reverse grumpy sunshine.” Fewer gendered tropes, more opposites getting hot and bothered and then hot again! I don’t have any “reverse” picks in this first roundup, but trust me, this will not be the last time you see a grumpy/sunshine curation from me. I like this trope a lot, because I think it does a great job (when done right) unpacking what otherwise might seem like the Manic Pixie Dream Girl trope, adding dimension and nuance to optimistic women and the Eeyores who adore them.
The Austen Playbook by Lucy Parker. Freddy Carlton has just been cast in an absolutely bonkers project- a live, interactive Jane Austen medley where the audience at home will vote on which storyline the performers will pursue (be still my web series/transmedia loving heart). The one-night-only event will take place at a beautiful historic theater on the grounds of a massive estate just outside of the city, and rehearsals are happening on location. It’s weird, it’s challenging, but for the fun-loving Freddy this might be just the thing to shake her out of her recent creative slump. The only problem?
The estate is owned by James Ford-Griffin (goes by Griff), the theater critic who’s been absolutely merciless with his critiques of her recent performances. And he’s got his own problems with the arrangement, beyond being constantly in proximity to the irritating (but, damn her, lovely) ball of joy that is Freddy. His inherited estate is falling to pieces, his younger brother is on yet another get rich quick scheme, and a mystery many years in the making might finally be solved, though whether it’ll save him or destroy him, he isn’t sure.
And of course, once Freddy learns there's a mystery afoot, she insists on coming along. This is my favorite of the London Celebrities series, I think, because the pining and the specificity and the interactive storytelling TV show which is almost more up my exact personal alley than epistolary elements. Also, I can’t help but love a set up about an artist and her biggest critic falling for each other. Art is complicated, and so is love!
Rating: 4.5/5
How hot? 🔥🔥🔥
Faking Ms. Right by Claire Kingsley. Everly Dalton is great at a lot of things- she’s a loyal and dedicated friend and sister, and she’s lasted the longest as assistant to famous curmudgeon Shepherd Calloway than anyone before her. Unfortunately, she’s terrible at dating. It’s not all her fault, but the breadth of her experience with bad dates is starting to reveal an alarming pattern.
So when her grumpy billionaire boss, who’s never given her a second look (hell, has he even given her a first look?), asks for her help posing as his date for an event, and then as his live-in girlfriend, after discovering his gold-digging ex has latched on to his father (who’s also living in his apartment currently), she’s torn between her general discomfort and her surety that dating is her weakness and her usual excelling at assisting, as well as the request her sister recently made of her.
I can’t help but love a bubbly but sure of herself lady forced to spend a lot of time with an emotionally closed off guy who has tons of professional power but no idea how to interact with their day to day life. The biggest complaint I have for this book is that the reasoning for why both Shepherd and Everly are lying (to the people around them, to each other) is a little thin. Some romances do a good job of showing you exactly why a lie has been prolonged past the point of no return (I like to believe my own first one included), but I’m not sure this one fulfills that brief. I found myself wanting to shake everyone involved to just say the thing because prolonging it was far far worse than coming clean. But while I don’t buy a lot of the late-book conflict as a result of people coming clean, overall I found this couple very fun and endearing and ya girl loves a fake engagement/forced proximity situation.
Rating: 4.5/5
How hot? 🔥🔥🔥🔥
You Again by Lauren Layne. What’s the opposite of a meet-cute? A meet-disaster? A meet-ugly? Whatever you want to call it, that’s where we begin. Mackenzie Austin is a commitment-phobe and is only looking for short-term pleasure, and after a less than ideal night out in NYC, she parks herself at a bar to swipe through her favorite app. When she comes across a corporate-looking prepster she can’t help but scoff, at how opposite this digital profile is to what she wants. It’s unfortunate, then, that the very prepster she’s deriding is sitting right next to her as she swipes his profile away with an emphatic no.
Thomas Decker is equal parts amused and offended, but after an exchange of barbs they’re both sure it’ll just be a silly story they tell friends later. Except… not only is Thomas Mac’s new boss (who she’ll be working closely with on a project), but he’s also her best friend’s soon-to-be brother-in-law. These two absolute opposites are being forced together in every part of their lives, but what at first seems like a curse might actually be a blessing, if they can simply get on the same page.
It’s always a refreshing change of pace to have the heroine be the commitment-phobe, and Lauren Layne knows her way around a character fatal flaw as well as a way around the inherent dubious power dynamic of a boss/employee relationship. This was also a fun departure from her usual NY high society story (all of which I love, as you know if you’ve read this newsletter a while)! She writes the rich and glamorous well, but I’ve always been a fan of when she goes in a new direction as well.
Rating: 4.5/5
How hot? 🔥🔥🔥🔥
Next week, I’ll be recommending three more fake dating tales, this time curated by the fact that they’re all available on Kindle Unlimited!
What should I be reading next? Let me know in the comments!
THANK you for your "first of all"! I too believe that there's no "reverse" trope. Grumpiness is not gendered!!