Grouch-ish by L.B. Dunbar [Review]

Grouch-ish (Holiday HOTTIES #3) by L.B. Dunbar
Format: ebook
Source: purchased
Disclaimer: As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Date read: December 27, 2024

Holiday HOTTIES
1. Scrooge-ish
2. Naughty-ish
3. Grouch-ish - Paperback | Kindle

L.B. Dunbar
| Website | Amazon |

Synopsis (Goodreads):

Let’s start here. The twelve days of Christmas are actually after the holiday.

And my dad, being the great guy he is, and the fire department's battalion chief, signs up one of his rebellious firefighters for a retreat because of his bad behavior.

The guy is a total grouch.

But when the grumpy silver fox misses the bus for the adult redemption camp, Dad sticks him with me for twelve days.

Alone.

So, on the dozen days some mysterious true love—which I have yet to experience—should be bringing me gifts, like French hens and golden rings, I’m in charge of this firebird on our pear farm. Being the city man he is, he doesn’t have a clue how to can fruit, mend fences, or milk cows.

But he knows how to kiss . . .

Not that we should be doing such a thing. Only his silver beard is sexy, and his crooked smile kind of sweet. He has this alpha energy vibrating around his well-honed body but underneath the grumpy exterior is a man lonely for something more in his life, like me.

And instead of gifting each other random birds, leaping lords, and piping pipers, the gift we give one another is time . . . and our bodies.

But what about our hearts?

Maybe true love will strike after all.

A lot can happen in twelve days.

Thoughts on Grouch-ish: A firefighter with some anger-management issues (the dude really needs to deal with his stuff before his life implodes because of it) and the daughter of the fire chief are holed up together working on...well, on the surface it looks like they're working on making sure Brock has a job when they're done. BUT...for all Pear seems like she's pretty well adjusted when it comes to the things she's had to deal with in her life, she has her own things she needs to work on. Come to think of it, she sort of bottles things up herself. I mean, she kept something big from her dad because she didn't want him to worry. Huh.

Anywho. Brock and Pear. He's broody and reactive and is having a rough week or two seeing as his ex is marrying his best friend over the holidays. Meanwhile, Pear's trying to find herself now that she's worked her way out of the mess her ex left her in. Which is the thing she didn't want to tell her dad about, btw. She also has a complicated relationship with the holidays and that's messing with her a little. Let's just say that they both have things they need to deal with before they can be in their happy places.

So. At the request of her father, Pear sets Brock to work on tasks around the farm. Canning pears and milking cows and building owl boxes. Which aren't necessarily traditional holiday tasks, but a firefighter's gotta do what a firefighter's gotta do to stay with the department. Somewhere along the way, these two start to have fun. Fun leads to kissing and kissing leads to MORE. Sure, sure, nobody's planning on getting their heart involved, but holiday magic sometimes doesn't listen to plans.

Let's just say it isn't long before both of them have fallen. Now they just have to deal with Pear's father returning, the case of a little white lie, and a broody firefighter who isn't a fan of any type of lie.

Bottom line: Fun, sexy, and stuffed full of offbeat holiday cheer.