The Grumpy Player Next Door Paperback – July 8, 2021

There's a particular element that makes a good rom-com sparkle, and I didn’t realize I had been missing it. Glitter! Glitter makes everything sparkly. For. Ev. Er. And what's a Graņt book without glitter?It can’t be easy being basebąll superstar Cooper Rock's sister. But Tillie Jean gives as good as she gets while still being the kind of girl we all want to be BFFs with. Or at least exist somewhere in her orbit so we can bask in her warmth and joie de vivre. She may be a master prankster, but she loves wholly and completely and gives her love freely to everyone in her life. Although this nuisance attraction to her brother's teammate and best friend, Max Cole, seems to make her a bit irritable at times.I couldn’t help but feel a little sorry for Max while wanting to simultaneously shake him. Then I wanted to wrap my arms around him. Then shaķe him. And maybe knock him upside the head. The poor guy wants to fit in so badly, but he can’t seem to figure out that there’s only one thing he needs to do for that to happen. Choose it.His teammates are there. The Rock family is there. The entire freaking pirate town of Shipwreck is there, all with their arms open wide. But Max has to summon some courage, stop hiding behind his protective wall, and walk towards the love and acceptance he's needed and wanted his entire life. He may think he has a million reasons to hate Tillie Jean, but possibly he has his own nuisance attraction he's dealing with.A Pıppa book is always great fun, with things like cursing parrots, prank upmanship and goatus interruptus. But the heart and emotion in this one? I felt it to my soul. The pranks and shenanigans and the quirky, colorful characters breathe life into the story, but TJ and Max are the air I need to breathe. Every step of their road to forever is so real and vivid that these two will always own permanent real estate in my heart.How any wrıter canwhiįp me from laughter to tears to anxiety to unbridled happiness from one page to the next, I’ll never understand. But that is the magic this crafty penner of prose weaves into her stories, and reading them is an unparalleled, exhilarating, bewitching experience. Do yourself a favor and be sure not to miss this one. It deserves all the glittering stars, and your romantic heart will be eternally grateful.

Once again, Pippa Grant deliver a rom-com with an emphasis on comedy. You can always count on Pippa Grant to elicit so many reactions starting from page one. I was laughing out loud, shaking my head, snort laughing, strategically looking away from the book when I drank so I didn't spew my drink on my Kindle, wiping tears from my eyes from prolonged laughter, and repeatedly saying "that did not happen! Where does she come up with this stuff?"Chapter one starts with a massive glitter bomb fail, and the entire book has a glitter feeling - the gift the that keeps on giving, the massive unexpected shine. That's the spirit of this book.The Rock family is in fine form in this Copper Valley Fireballs books. Tillie Jean is the perfect sister to Cooper and Grady, with a high threshold for both pranks and the brushoff after growing up with her brothers. She has an absolutely unstoppable spirit, and she's been driving Max Cole nuts for 4 years by the time their book starts. Tillie loves easily and loves hard, and she loves giving everyone a hard time, too, so her long-standing flirtation drives both Max and Cooper crazy.Max, the poor guy, just wants to belong, and he doesn't even realize that he already does! Yeah, he's been intrigued by his teammate's sister since the day he met her, but the last thing he wants to do is anger his best friend, Cooper. He spends so much time in his own head, worrying about everyone's reactions and opinions, but he doesn't see that they love him as he is. Luckily he has TJ to help him get out of his own head for a little while.This book is full of Pippa Grant hallmarks - a prank war, animals with a character all their own, a huge cast of supporting characters that you love, situations that you sincerely hope don't ever happen to you in real life but you love reading about, and so much heart that you just want to go live with these characters for a little while. TJ and Max seem so heartfelt, so real, so emotional, and I loved how they made each other open up.I always know going in that I'm going to love a Pippa Grant book. It's going to have me laughing from start to finish, but it's also going to really get me in the feels. The Grumpy Player Next Door did that in spades!

Originally I wasn't going to rate this book as high as I did because Tillie Jean and Max were too frustrating. It wasn't until near the end when Max finally starts opening up about his insecurities that I finally started to enjoy the book. It does have its funny moments but not like the previous books. Tillie Jean was irritating until I found out why she does what she does. I did like the ending and can't wait to read Cooper's book.