Not My Kind of Hero by Pippa Grant

Maisey was one of the stars on a D-list home improvement show. Her ex-husband was the other. She knew more about home repairs but was content to be the comedic partner. The ex wanted a bigger star and divorced her so now she's on her own except for her daughter, Junie. If that wasn't bad enough, Maisey's mother was the head of a Ponzi scheme and their names became mud in their home town so Maisey has moved them both to Wyoming. The book opens with them confronting a bear (Earl) and accidentally scaring a man off his horse. 

Flint isn't excited about his new landlord. She never came to visit her uncle and she is a dilettante who is telling him he can't run his after-school program on her property. He'd rather not deal with her at all and wishes that her uncle had finally changed his will to leave his property to the town like he had always said he would.

There are definitely misunderstandings between the two but after some time (and some heated stolen moments that they each assure each other they shouldn't be taking), they figure out they might be perfect for each other. 

I loved getting to see Maisey figure out her new life. I never quite warmed to Flint but I could see why she would. If you like Grant, you will enjoy this book.

Four stars
This book came out August 15, 2023

Borrowed as audiobook from Kindle Unlimited

Opinions are my own

The Worst Wedding Date by Pippa Grant

I usually love a Pippa Grant book but this one was just okay and I think it's because Theo's personality seemed to be bro-dude who likes cats and I'm just not sure why Laney would get involved with him. And the tension between Theo and his soon-to-be brother-in-law, Chandler, is kept going for way too long. I will definitely read the other books in this series, especially Theo's sister, but this one won't probably be kept when I re-read the series.

Laney's very best friend has just asked her to do the impossible, keep Theo under control. The only problem? Theo is known for playing pranks and pissing off Chandler. In fact, the story basically opens with a prank. And some of that opening scene is funny but it gets quirkier from there including Theo waking up with a hand around his dick, assuming it's Laney's, and finding out it's his own arm which had fallen asleep.

Three stars

This book came out April 13, 2023

Borrowed as ebook from Kindle Unlimited

Opinions are my own

The Last Eligible Billionaire by Pippa Grant

Begonia is definitely the sunshine character in this book. She is also bordering on manic pixie dream girl as the first time she meets the hero of our book, she is basically naked in his house having fallen for a fake-AirBnB-type scheme.

Hayes is sometimes a little overly grumpy and hard to get to like in this book. He is the reluctant savior of his family's Disney-type film company. His brother, a well-known actor, has always been the golden boy so he can't step in when Hayes's cousin dies leaving a seat open as heir to the throne of the business side of things. He is not at all delighted to find an intruder in his house. Especially one with a dog that he is direly allergic to. But he needs Begonia. His mother keeps throwing women at him, women that he's not particularly interested in, and having Begonia as his fake girlfriend will throw her off. 

I do enjoy Pippa Grant but this particular book was a little too silly with too much time spent on shenanigans and not enough time building a believable relationship between two such opposite characters.

Three stars

This book came out March 3, 2022

Borrowed from Kindle Unlimited

Opinions are my own

Humbugged by Pippa Grant and Lili Valente

I think it is probably better to read all of the books in this series closer together. I've forgotten some of the names and it made it hard to keep track of everyone. Also, the nutiness of a Grant and Valente book is better when it's sustained, still enjoyable when broken up, but better as one book after another. I liked that Grant set up a way for the two to have an HEA but I'm on a string of woman-giving-up-her-life-for-her-man books and I just wish one, ONE, were different. 

Noelle is a Marine Corps brat who was also a traveling photographer but she never managed to break into the big leagues. So she settled down in Atlanta with a "young Santa" and thought she was living her HEA. But then, just days before a romantic trip, he ghosted her. And took her favorite coffee mug. So, even though she attracted to the younger man, Clint, she is trying to put down roots in her new hometown, Happy Cat, and open a bakery devoted to cupcakes. It's just too bad that msot of her creations seem to be going wrong.

Clint is a fun-loving, over-the-top, Marine who truly believes he is a hero. And he is for a lot of people and especially Noelle. He is pretty much halfway in love (or at least to this reader's eyes) with the woman and doesn't even mind the ribbing he gets from his brothers on that score. He knows that she's been burned before but he's already all in on trying to make her change her mind. And good for her for calling him on it. But they do eventually figure out their relationship and make it work. 

Three and a half stars

This book came out December 10, 2019

Follows Hitched

Opinions are my own

The Grumpy Player Next Door by Pippa Grant

Tillie Jean Rock is the sister of baseball superstar (well, at least he's really well known in Copper Valley) Cooper Rock. She got involved with one of his teammates ONCE and now her brother is paranoid about her seeing anyone else. Sure, she flirts with most of them but they all know it's not serious. The only one who might reasonably hold her interest is Max Cole but he's avoiding her because Cooper is his best friend on the team and he doesn't want to screw up that relationship. Plus, he had a really complicated childhood and doesn't want to inflict his angst on to anyone else. 

But Max has moved next door to Tillie Jean in the off season and suddenly the close proximity means all bets are off...

One of my least favorite tropes is the "we can't date because you're my sibling's friend." And this book leans hard into Cooper not taking their relationship well. Grant tries to turn it around and make the prank war between Tillie Jean and her siblings amp up because of it but it didn't really click for me. Also, I never really saw that Max was trying to work through his issues with romance. In a romance novel. I wish we had seen more introspection and working toward healing from his crappy childhood but it mostly seemed magically resolved. 

Three stars

This book came out July 8th, 2021

Follows Real Fake Love

Borrowed as ebook from Kindle Unlimited

Opinions are my own

Crazy for Loving You by Pippa Grant

Daisy Imogen Carter-Kincaid is known in the tabloids as a billionaire party girl. She is footloose and fancy-free. Except that her cousin, famous for giving people one star reviews, has died and left Daisy her child. But Daisy isn't the only person left in charge of the child, so is West Jaeger, former Marine, current contractor. 

West thinks that this is one big joke. His brother Tyler is a hockey player and his team is known for their pranks. But then he figures out someone (who fired him by the way) has really left him a child. And that he needs to stick around so that the child doesn't go to his even worse paternal grandparents.

This may be one of Grant's earlier books because, while it has the absolute crazy-pants parts of the plot that she includes in all of her books, there are plot points that are thin to the point of invisibility and the character development is lacking. We hear that West and Daisy work but there isn't much explanation out of that. 

Two and a half stars

Follows Wild Open Hearts

This book came out November 8th, 2019 (oof, not as early as I had thought)

Borrowed as ebook from Kindle

Opinions are my own

I Pucking Love You by Pippa Grant

Muffy Periwinkle was introduced in a previous book as the cousin of a heroine. She is a hapless matchmaker who never quite makes the right connection. In the previous book, Muffy even set up her cousin with the ex-boyfriend of one of the cousin's friend who was a complete douchebag. So, she's not doing well. Not helping? Her mother who keeps calling her fat and spends up her credit cards. In order to make ends meet, she's even working at a Long John Silver-esque fish and chips place. And it's at that second job that she again sees Tyler Jaeger.

Jaeger is a hockey player who is in a bit of a funk. His penis hasn't been working since he and Muffy hooked up. He's not thinking she's the forever-one but he's also sort of surprised to find himself volunteering to be Muffy's date for an upcoming... thing. He's not sure what it is but he finds himself wondering whether Muffy might be the answer to his problems.

So, there's a little bit of a road trip and enough of a glimpse of his brother West and West's wife Daisy to convince me to read Crazy for You but otherwise the zaniness of this book (that Pippa Grant does so well) overshadows the actual relationship growth in this book. It was worth a read and I will definitely re-read whenever I read the whole series again but not one of my favorites.

Three stars

Follows Charming as Puck

This book came out April 8th, 2021

Borrowed from Kindle Unlimited

Opinions are my own

The Hot Mess and the Heartthrob by Pippa Grant

Levi Wilson is famous. First because he was in the boy band Bro Code but then because of his solo career. Eight years ago, his life changed because of a woman in the crowd of one of his performances. Since then, he's been working toward being a better human being. It doesn't always work (hello, he's a pampered rock star). Today, he's in his home town but still slightly lost. When it seems like some fans might get too rabid, his guard helps him duck into a nearby bookstore. And the owner of that store? The woman from the crowd. 

Ingrid Scott is astonished to see a famous person in her store. Especially since it seems like he's hiding. And then hitting on her. She's the single mom of three children who split with her husband because he was gone so much. How can she be falling for a man who's job description has him never at home?

A solid addition to the Grant canon. The end dragged a bit but I overall liked the kids, the adults as characters, and the kookiness involved with squirrels. 

Three and a half stars

Follows Liar, Liar Hearts on Fire

This book came out January 7th, 2021

Borrowed as ebook from Kindle Unlimited

Opinions are my own

Beauty and the Beefcake by Pippa Grant

We've met Ares Berger in previous books in the series. He's tall. He's a brute. He doesn't talk very much. Nor do we see him talk a lot in this book. But Felicity Murphy talks enough for both of them. She's a talented ventriloquist and incredibly smart but (according to her parents) hasn't quite figured out what she wants to do with her life. Many Master's Degrees but she hasn't found a job. Partly because she hasn't found her niche but mostly because her life goal is to work for the Thrusters, the team her brother Nick and Ares both play for. Well, usually. Right now Ares is out with a severely sprained ankle. So Nick volunteers their grandmother's house as a place for him to recuperate knowing that, not only is Felicity studying to be a physical therapist thus being valuable to Ares, but she could use some muscle to protect her from a stalker-ish ex-boyfriend.
Not as good as other books in the series; Ares is fun and Felicity is fine but why the focus on the men that she attracts. So much attention paid to that. Still crazy pants on the Grant level but the fun just isn't quite there

Three and a half stars

Follows Royally Pucked

Followed by Charming as Puck

This book came out May 17th, 2018

Borrowed as ebook from Kindle Unlimited

Opinions are my own

The Pilot & the Puck-Up by Pippa Grant

This book is... I'm having trouble describing it. It's the best kind of bat crap crazy. Zeus Berger is one of the famous Berger twins who tear up the hockey rink. We meet him as he enters a club wearing a tight skirt, high heels, and a girdle. I think it's because there's a bet? But it may just be that he wants to shock all of the people who are trying to show off how much money they've donated before participating in a golf tournament the next day. And Zeus, wearing heels, clocks in at over seven feet so he is a sight to behold. When he is dared to pick up a woman, his friends point out Joey Diamonte.

Introducing herself as Fireball, Joey is at this fundraiser under duress. She's not normally the front person for her zero gravity company, she's the pilot. But Peach has to be at her grandmother's surgery so Joey is at this incredibly boring charity event, trying to drum up an investor who will help take her company to the next level. And she thinks Chase Jett might be that man; but his friend Zeus keeps distracting her. The man is HOT.

The shenanigans in this book start from the opening page and just continue from there including ordering pizza in to the fundraiser, golfing with cans, and more. If you need something to read that is bananapants but still somehow makes you care about the character, this is your book.

Four stars

Followed by Royally Pucked

This book came out February 16th, 2018

Ebook borrowed from Kindle Unlimited

Opinions are my own

Rockaway Bride by Pippa Grant

What do you do when your manager runs away with all your money? This on top of the fact that your father's health is failing, your band's tour got canceled due to low sales, and one of your bandmates is missing? Well, getting drunk and stealing his fiancee probably isn't a good idea. But that's what Dax Gallagher does. 

Willow Honeycutt lives a pretty normal life as a preschool teacher in New York. Okay, yes, her step-father is the king of a small country but she herself is perfectly normal. She does play in an all-girl boy band cover band but perfectly normal. So when she decides to run away from her wedding the night before it happens, then finds out that her fiance actually dumped her first, she has sort of an existential breakdown. Kidnapped? Eh, not really. Willow is smarter than Dax and a better fighter than Dax so she soon becomes the brains of the operation, dragging him along on her bucket list trip around Europe. 

This book is crazy sauce. Absolutely crazy sauce. In the best kind of way. Believable? No. Enjoyable? Highly. I can't wait to read the next book in the series.

Three and a half stars

Follows Stud in the Stacks

Followed by The Hero and the Hacktivist

This book came out June 29th, 2018

Borrowed as ebook from Kindle Unlimited

Opinions are my own

Stud in the Stacks by Pippa Grant

Parker Elliott needs a boyfriend so she bids on Tarzan at a bachelor auction. She doesn't win him but she convinces him to pretend to be her boyfriend at her 20-year high school reunion. Her boss is pushing her to go so that they can land her former husband (and isn't THAT a story) as a client. Too bad she accidentally closets herself in a men's room with Tarzan. And that's before she realizes she actually used to babysit him.

Knox Moretti loves two things - romance novels and his job as a librarian. He even writes a blog as Mr. Romance. And it's that blog that gets him in trouble at work (although his boss wants him gone anyway...). So he'll take Parker on as his fake fiancee (much more stable than dating) and maybe they can help each other. 

There were parts that I found more cringe-worthy than funny but overall a fast-fun-and-fluffy book.

Three and a half stars

Follows Mr. McHottie

Followed by Rockaway Bride

This book came out January 5th, 2018

Borrowed as ebook from Kindle Unlimited

Opinions are my own

Real Fake Love by Pippa Grant

I'm not sure what it was about this book that captured my attention so much but I stayed up way to late reading it. Actually, I think it was just the sheer zaniness of it. I didn't love the heroine, "Henri" Henrietta Bacon, as she was just a little too peripatetic in her thought process and the flips often threw me out of the story. However, her manic-pixie-dream-girl-ness is updated a little bit by showing what that kind of chaos can leave in it's wake (for her, five broken engagements) and how that can wear on a person. For Henri, she decides it's time to learn how not to fall in love. And, she decides that her latest fiance's childhood best friend is the perfect person to learn from.

Professional baseball player Luca Rossi just wants to play the game, hopefully in the same place for more than a year or two. He definitely doesn't want to fall in love but his Nona (who is famous on TikTok) shows up in his kitchen the morning after Henri shows up on his front steps. And she's making her ziti which, everyone in her family knows is a part of putting the Eye on someone and that person will then fall in love. And woe to those who try to avoid it. 

Luca did have some flaws but, on the whole, he did lean a little bit toward too-good-to-be-true.

Overall, a fun story that was just a bit fluffy but still really fun to read.

Four stars

Follows Jock Blocked

Followed by The Grumpy Player Next Door

This book came out September 3rd, 2020

Borrowed as ebook from Kindle Unlimited

Opinions are my own

Jock Blocked by Pippa Grant

The entire story is based on the heroine trying to cock block the hero because she is really, really, really superstitious about her team winning. I'm going to be honest, if it hadn't been Pippa Grant, I probably would have stopped reading. The heroine irritated me and there was a LOT of tell not show.
Mackenzie knows something that not a lot of people know, Brooks Elliot, famous baseball player, is a virgin at 30.  And she knows (yeah...) that that is what makes him a good baseball player. She's ecstatic that he's been traded to the Fireballs but when she hears that he wants to lose his V-card, she immediately decides that she is going to make sure he doesn't. While she's dressed as a meatball because she is stealing one of the costumes of the current options to replace her beloved Fiery the dragon as the Fireballs mascot. Which she then steals and sends on adventures.

Three stars

Followed by Real Fake Love
This book came out May 19th, 2020
Borrowed from Kindle Unlimited
Opinions are my own

Hitched by Pippa Grant and Lili Valente

Blake and Hope were introduced in the previous book in this series. They obviously have good chemistry but Hope doesn't believe that to be enough. Her parents' marriage is proof that no one should ever get married. But her grandmother's will leaves a valuable alpaca to whichever of her grandchildren get married first. And Hope's cousin has already found a willing candidate off Tinder. Blake is not her first choice. Or her second or even her third. He's far down the list and she only calls him when her first option craps out and no one else interested. But Hope has something that Blake wants; she can help him get a liquor license for his winery ahead of opening which will make or break his work.
For his part, Blake is only too willing to play along. Except that he knows something that Hope doesn't, he still loves her and is ready to do whatever it takes to win her heart for good.
Not quite as good as the first two but still a fun book.

Three and a half stars
Follows Hammered

Followed by Humbugged
This book came out September 3rd, 2019
Borrowed book from Kindle Unlimited
Opinions are my own

Hammered by Pippa Grant

Jace O'Dell has been in an on-again/off-again relationship with kindergarten teacher Ginger for a long time. We know from the first book that he has a history of picking women who chew him up and spit him out. Ginger is no different. And Jace is ready to be done with her. He's met a woman who is much more interesting, with whom he has more chemistry, and who actually seems to want him, Olivia Moonbeam. But Ginger has some news for him, she's pregnant and she wants to get married.
Look, I get that this is the south, but that doesn't mean that they have to get married, just because there's a kid involved. If Jace were doing it for any other reason than "that's what I'm supposed to do," I would have been more sympathetic when he is whining to himself about being with Ginger. Luckily, Olivia is much smarter than he is and realizes that he can choose a different path.
This book is bonkers. The plot barely holds together and I'm not sure that I actually liked Jace. But the fast-paced narrative of the story kept me involved and amused, even when they brought in the clowns.

Four stars
Follows Hosed
Followed by Hitched
This book came out May 28, 2019
Borrowed from Kindle Unlimited
Opinions are my own

Charming as Puck by Pippa Grant

Kami Oakley has loved Nick Murphy for a long time. But he's off limits, not just because he's her brother's friend but also because he's a player; he'll never settle down. And the latest incident has just proved it. His hockey team has a history of playing pranks on each other but they've started including animals. And Kami, as a softhearted veterinarian, is often the one cleaning up after their messes. Even though she's been hooking up with Nick for awhile now, she's just realized that he's never going to be serious about her.
Nick is startled when Kami leaves. Even more so that she left his teammate's prank cow behind. He gets that she's mad at him so he decides to make it up to her.
Not my favorite Pippa Grant. It was still fun but there was so much pranking that it got redundant. And I sort of get Kami's anger but... Nick never promised her anything. And she knows he's bad at things like remembering birthdays. Like, how much can you expect?

Three stars

Follows Beauty and the Beefcake

Followed by I Pucking Love You
This book came out February 1st, 2019
Borrowed this book from Kindle Unlimited
Opinions are my own

Liar, Liar, Hearts on Fire by Pippa Grant

Tripp Wilson used to be in a boy band. He gave up a baseball career to help keep an eye on his brother. He fell in love, got married, and had two kids but his wife died. And now he's trying to figure out how to balance his fears about his kids getting sick with working but not finding the right nanny. When his local baseball team is having a crappy season, he sees his chance. He can finally own his own team. But the owner dies and the woman who inherits turns out to be someone that Tripp knows...
Lila Valentine is shocked to see that the man she had a hot interlude with in a club bathroom is in her boardroom. Unfortunately, he's not using the same name. Why would he lie to her? And why does he think that she'll be willing to give up her baseball team?
We've definitely seen Lila in previous books. She is smart, dedicated, but slightly standoffish. Her last job is ending and she figures rebuilding the baseball team that meant so much mother will be worth it.
I do love that Pippa Grant's books are a little crazypants but this one's back story was just a bit too much for me. Still can't wait for the next book in the series.

Three and a half stars

Follows America's Geekheart

Followed by Master Baker or Hot Mess and the Heartthrob
This book came out March 24th, 2020
Borrowed this as a Kindle Unlimited book
Opinions are my own

Hosed by Pippa Grant, Lili Valente

Cassie Sunderwell doesn't want to stay in Happy Cat, Georgia for long. Her job as a coder is in San Francisco and she is feeling overwhelmed by the nosiness of this small town. She wouldn't be here at all if her sister's husband hadn't decided that he liked a sheep better than her sister. Now her sister is in England leaving Cassie in charge of the sex toy factory that specializes in all-natural lube. Of course, not everyone in town is happy to have this particular factory there, even if it employs many people. But does that mean that someone is trying to sabotage the factory?
Yes. And it starts with explosions that bring firefighter Ryan O'Dell back into Cassie's orbit. They had worked on a project together in high school that left Cassie with a disgust of him. Even if he is mouth-wateringly hot.
This was just the sort of fun and fluffy book that I've come to expect from Pippa Grant. Lili Valente writes just as well. And a pet racoon? Okay, I'll bite.

Four stars
Followed by Hammered
This book came out January 15th, 2019
Borrowed this book through Kindle Unlimited
Opinions are my own

America's Geekheart by Pippa Grant

Beck Ryder is a lot of things, including famous. He was in a boy band then became an underwear model. It's that fame that makes the tweet that was supposed to be a private message to his sister go viral. And not in a good way. No he's America's #1 hated man and his charities are floundering. He needs some help to get out of it.
Sara Dempsey has a very good reason for wanting to stay anonymous. But she's willing to step into the limelight if it means that her beloved giraffe and bee charities will get some play in the press.
I'm not sure why I liked this book so much. Pippa Grant is hit or miss for me and it might be something about the humor (I can't put my finger on it) but this book hit my funny bone in the right place as did Sara and Beck's story. And the lack of a last Big Misunderstanding. I kept waiting for it, feeling so bad for the characters but it never happened. Yay!

This book comes out July 14th
Follows Flirting with the Frenemy
Followed by Liar, Liar, Hearts on Fire
Borrowed ebook from library
Opinions are my own