How to Kiss Your Grumpy Boss

 

How to Kiss Your Grumpy Boss (Hawthorne Brothers #2)

By: Jenny Proctor

Genres: Romance, Contemporary Romance, Romantic Comedy

Trope: Grumpy Sunshine, Only One Bed

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Steam Level: 🔥 (kissing only)
Trigger Warning: brief mentions of divorce, death of a spouse, and psychological abuse

About the Book:

Perry Hawthorne is my boss. Only my boss. And I do NOT have a crush.

When one of THE Hawthorne brothers—known by their chiseled jawlines and their family-run farm and event center—hires me to be his virtual assistant, I do everything I can to keep him firmly in the work zone.

His grumpy demeanor helps.
His smoking hot profile picture does not.
But even if I do have a crush (a very tiny one), I can’t catch real feelings for a million different reasons.

Besides the whole business part of our relationship, I’m a single mom. I have to think about what’s best for my son, Jack. And my grumpy, divorced, humorless boss isn’t exactly giving me “ready to be a stepdad” vibes.

When Perry upgrades me from virtual to in-person assistant, I wonder if I’ve gotten him all wrong. He’s actually pretty great with Jack. And with me? Let’s just say the chemistry crackling between us might vaporize all my reasons for keeping my distance.

Trouble is, after his messy divorce, I’m not sure Perry’s ready to bet on a new relationship. But it isn’t just my heart that’s on the line. It’s Jack’s, too. And after everything we went through before my husband died, I’m not sure that’s a gamble I’m ready to take, no matter how desperate Jack is for a daddy.

How to Kiss Your Best Friend is a sweet romantic comedy with all the sizzling kisses you want in a closed-door romance but no explicit scenes.

 

I loved this book as much as I loved the first one.  I am a sucker for small-town, feel-good romance novels where the men are gentlemen.  Even if one is a little grumpy 😊

Perry Hawthorne (swoon) is a little rough around the edges which makes him even more appealing.  He wears his battle scars from a previous bad relationship, and he doesn’t hide from his feelings.   I love the close bond the character has with his brothers and even with the banter he still finds solace with their advice.  Perry is forced to face his doubts at dating a single mom and learn that no one is perfect, and parenting does not come with a handbook.  I enjoyed watching him overcome his fear as he fell in love with Lila and her adorable 5-year-old Jack. 

Lila (my hero) is a strong happy woman who is raising her son on her own since her husband passed away.  I loved this character she didn’t second guess herself in every turn she loved herself and was confident.  She knew what she wanted and what she wasn’t willing to settle for, she made sure that Perry knew she was package deal with her son from the beginning. 

This book was lighthearted and laid back, not quite insta-love and not quite a slow burn, this book falls somewhere in the middle of the two.  I would recommend this book and I cannot wait to see what happens next in book 3. 

Thank you to the author Jenny Proctor for providing me with this ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

How to Kiss your Best Friend

How to Kiss Your Best Friend (Hawthorne Brothers #1)

By: Jenny Proctor

Genres: Romance, Romantic Comedy

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

Spice: 🚫

Trope: Friends to Lovers, Slow burn 

About the book:

 He’s a hot high school chemistry teacher living in a small town. She’s a globetrotting journalist running from her past. They used to be best friends. Then one kiss changes everything.

*******

Kate Fletcher is my kryptonite.

She’s also my best friend. Former best friend?

I’m not sure what you call it when we grew up attached at the hip and then she left Silver Creek (and me) to travel the world.

The important thing is: Kate is back. (Temporarily.)

And I’m still in love with her. (Permanently.)

But something is different now. The attraction doesn’t seem one-sided. I don’t think I’m imagining the heat in Kate’s eyes or the chemistry crackling between us.

But will that be enough to keep Kate here, when, for as long as I can remember, all she’s wanted to do is leave?

I’m determined to give her a reason to stay. Family. Connection. Roots. And me. I’ll have to start with sparks and fire, but if I take this step, there’s no turning back to simple friendship. And if she doesn’t feel the same way, I might lose her again—this time for good.

How to Kiss Your Best Friend is a sweet romantic comedy with all the crackling chemistry and sizzling kisses you want in a closed-door romance but no explicit scenes.

 

 

“There are never any guarantees, Kate.  Not in life, certainly not in love.  But that doesn’t mean you can’t believe a love like that is possible, even hope for it.  I’m willing to be the people who do find it are the ones who always believed they would.”

 

This is a very sweet Friends to Lovers story; this story follows Kate and Brody who have been best friends since they were kids.  However, Brody has been in love with her since the beginning without ever telling Kate about his feelings.  Kate is a free spirit travel writer and since she graduated High School, she hasn’t stayed in one place for long.  Brody and Kate are very different people he comes from a big family who are very close.  Kate is an only child with divorced parents and has a strained relationship with her mother. 

I love the character development I really felt connected to everyone in this book, I loved seeing how Kate worked through her fears to find out what she truly wanted.  I would say that she was in her head a little too much and I just wanted her to hurry up and pick Brody.  

I really enjoyed this book an I cannot wait to read the rest of the Hawthorn brothers stories.