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Mendell Hawks #1

Sunny Disposition

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Naomi
I can't understand why – out of the four hockey players I'm sharing a house with this semester – Finn Howard's the one who catches my eye.

The guy never smiles. He doesn't say much and disapproves plenty.

But, something about him feels familiar. Something about him feels safe.

I'm not falling for Finn, I'm just curious. Could I make him smile? It wouldn't hurt to try. I love a good challenge. And who knows, maybe it'll distract me from pining over a guy I meet online.

Finn
I don't get nervous unless I'm on the ice. So why does my chest feel tight whenever Naomi Lewis looks in my direction?

She's witty, kind, and happy. How is someone that happy all the time?

If her sunny disposition isn't enough to distract me, the fact that her voice sounds exactly like the streamer I anonymously moderate for will.

If Naomi is her, she's in for a huge disappointment. I'm not the guy she thinks I am...not anymore, at least. And for that reason alone, I should stay away from her. I should stop trying to get closer. I should stop wanting her because she fell for someone else. Someone I will never be again.

__

Sunny Disposition is a slow burn, hidden identity romance featuring a grumpy, amnesic hockey player and sunshine cozy game streamer.

335 pages, Paperback

First published June 30, 2022

1240 people are currently reading
15821 people want to read

About the author

Deanna Grey

14 books748 followers

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5 stars
1,915 (19%)
4 stars
3,573 (35%)
3 stars
3,470 (34%)
2 stars
905 (9%)
1 star
186 (1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,727 reviews
Profile Image for amanda.
48 reviews2,042 followers
October 3, 2022
that was absolutely precious i loved it i loved it i loved it who do i need to talk to to get the cover changed. i’m being deadass do i need to email somebody bc i can’t have that on my shelf but i need a physical copy of this book
4.5 !
184 reviews2 followers
September 30, 2022
There was just a lot happening yet not much happening at the same time.
I think the amnesia was a lot
Profile Image for Shawnaci Schroeder.
519 reviews4,355 followers
April 29, 2025
3/5
- This was such a cozy read and really fun to read! I’m really excited to continue this series when I’m in the mood for a fluffy & cozy book.
- I haven’t read nearly enough sports romances and this one was the perfect start to jumping into that trope!
- This was an easy read and would definitely recommend to someone looking for a cutsey read!
Profile Image for Christy.
4,541 reviews35.9k followers
November 30, 2024
3.5 stars



This was a cute book, and I love a good grumpy/sunshine book, but I had trouble connecting, and it was slow going for a lot of the story. I love the pen-pal aspect and am always here for a college romance!
Audio book source: Hoopla
Story Rating: 3.5 stars
Narrators: Charlie L. Wood & John William Maddux
Narration Rating: 4 stars
Genre: Romance
Length: 8h 51m


Profile Image for sil ♡ the book voyagers.
1,358 reviews3,191 followers
April 18, 2023
‧₊˚ ☁️⋅♡𓂃 ࣪ ִֶָ☾. A gamer ends up rooming with four hockey players in the same house and one of them happens to be her anonymous chat moderator from her streams!

This book was so much fun. I loved Naomi and Finn and their dynamic. THERE'S AMNESIA TROPE OH MY GOD!!! You know it since the very beginning and it's so fun and interesting to see how their relationship develops after that. So, Finn was supposed to meet Naomi, finally, after being her mod for a while. They wanted to meet, they flirted constantly on chat and in private, so they wanted to see if they could have something more, you know? But then that night, Finn got into a fight and knocked his head and lost his memory, so obviously he didn't arrive to the meeting and actually forgot about Naomi herself too.

The book only gets better from that point on tbh. Naomi is sunshine and Finn is grumpy, but they have their reasons to be that way. Their characters are so intriguing and heartwarming. I love meeting them and getting to know them more throughout the story. Sometimes when there's like a big secret identity plot happening in a book I get nervous because one of the two characters knows from very early on who the other one is while the other doesn't and you start to fear how angry the other person will be when the character tells them they knew who they were from day one. But Deanna Grey did such an amazing job writing this part and I loved it. One of my favorite secret identity trope romances FOR SURE.

One other thing I really loved in this book is the friendships. The three other guys (plus Finn) are hilarious and they become close friends with Naomi too now that they all live together in the same house. Naomi doesn't really have a lot of people on her side (Celeste is her only friend really) and now she has found a little family who can back her down on everything and be there for her when she needs it PLUS FINN <3 HE'S ADORABLE AND LOVES HER SO MUCH ♡ But yeah there are so many hilarious scenes of them all five together and I always enjoyed and craved more scenes together. This is why I love college romances tbh like the friendships they get to form and how they all go out together or stay in and be there for each other - that's so cute and I loved seeing those cozy scenes on the book.

♡ If you love pining, obsessed boy trope, sports, gaming, college-set stories, and found family, definitely read Sunny Disposition asap! Thank you to Deanna for sending me her book(s) because they're super pretty and I can't wait to read the next one. I also saw Kimmy reading this book once upon a time and it made me want to read it immediately, so thanks Kimmy for always talking about books!!!
Profile Image for Muna.
18 reviews30 followers
August 28, 2025
I should’ve gotten amnesia instead.
Profile Image for Hpitcher.
558 reviews
October 5, 2022
I think the bones of this book had potential but it was just missing some filling. I want to learn and feel what is happening between the characters rather than being told outright from the beginning.
It was just lacking and I'm a bit disappointed because I really was interested in the concept of it all.
Profile Image for Melanie (mells_view).
1,929 reviews393 followers
December 11, 2022
Finn and I would never get closer than roommates.

Famous last words eh?

Sunny Disposition was a super sweet college romance. There are a handful of tropes in this one and there’s some miscommunication/lack of communication, but I still really enjoyed this one and thought it was super sweet. It’s slowburn, but the MCs both sort of pine for each other in more ways than one. It’s a fun one. I do think that one subplot was kind of wrapped up too easily, but I think maybe if this is an ongoing series that it will finish in other books maybe? Other than that I enjoyed this and even though slowburn isn’t usually my thing I thought this one was good. There is some heat towards the end of the book, so if you’re someone who requires spice you’ll get it.. eventually.

All in all a good read if you enjoy sweet college sports romance with some fun side tropes!

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Profile Image for Drache.... (Angelika) .
1,518 reviews217 followers
Read
October 10, 2024
Dnf page 9.

"Most people frowned upon aggression outside sports. I understood that. Respected it. But it never felt right.
What felt right was my knuckles connecting with Greate’s nose. My knee shoved in his gut. The crook of my arm around his neck. Hearing his voice strained as he begged me to stop. Feeling his blood on my skin as I tightened my grip a little more.
I’m not sure if I would’ve stopped if the other guys didn’t show up. But once they did, everything went south in a heartbeat. In the end, I was the one gasping for air. Like me, they had little taste for mercy.
I understood that. Respected it."

What a moron.
Easiest (and earliest) dnf in a long time.
Profile Image for sabrine &#x1f90d;.
62 reviews1 follower
December 13, 2022
BORINGGGGGG - had me going in the beginning but as soon as he revealed his identity…… shit went south. i was expecting some big drama reveal where he has to grovel at the end (the best part of romance books) but it was just normal…. they were … happy?? maybe i’m the problem
Profile Image for Karla.
441 reviews148 followers
May 15, 2023
This book was perfect. It’s one of the best books I have read this year (or ever). The plot was ingenious and intriguing, the characters were incredibly fleshed out and had great chemistry, and the writing style was refreshing and funny.

My heart could burst at how much I enjoyed spending time with these characters.
I LOVED the dual POV which gave us enough insight into the characters’s minds and motives. So many moments made me swoon and laugh and the spice was STELLAR.
Read this read this read this.

The tropes in this:
- secret identity
- grumpy/sunshine
- Amnesia
- Tutor (she is)
- Found family
Profile Image for kash.
183 reviews268 followers
November 28, 2022
this was so cute and i adored naomi and finn 🥺 the side characters were hilarious. i can’t wait for sam’s book!!! 😍
Profile Image for Bethany.
485 reviews1,963 followers
September 2, 2023
This was a super cute, easy read - and damn do I love boy obsessed trope.

This man was down bad for Naomi, and we love to see it. I adore adore adooooored when he said 'You can be sad if that's what you need' - given the fact he was keeping a secret for more than half the book, he was actually surprisingly good at communicating and just so sweet with her. I'm not entirely sure how accurate any of the amnesia/brain injury plot is (can't say I have any knowledge of that), but I found the way he found it difficult to speak to people and be likeable and not be seen as grumpy or rude very much relatable to the autistic experience! (to be clear, the character isn't autistic, I just found certain things he struggled with to be relatable)

Naomi was a fun main character, but I wish we'd seen a bit more of her personality and the things that were mentioned. We never really saw much of her gaming/streaming, and her past or her current situation with finances and things (particularly her essentially being their live in maid and the dynamic that creates?) didn't really feel like it was delved into enough for me - in some ways it felt a little surface level? I think we also could've seen more of Finn's hockey and relationship with his teammates, particularly the ones that he lived with. I loved what we saw of them, but still felt quite disconnected from them - especially Sam, which is funny because his is the next book in the series.

And why was the ending so abrupt?? It really just ended in the middle of nowhere without wrapping up any of the external conflict. I'm assuming that's going to come into play in the next book, but it was mentioned as if it was going to be this huge thing and then kind of only touched on a few times, we had a massive breakthrough right at the end, and then it just...stopped? It was super jarring as a reader.

I did find that the writing style was a little basic and a bit 'I did this and then I did that', and it seemed like there was a week's time jump after every time they interacted, which had me sitting here like wait what how did you deal with or talk to each other after that (if I'm honest it took a little while for me to get into, but once I got over the writing style and into the plot I really enjoyed it!). But I thought the way the relationships were written was done well and I was invested in the story, so I see a lot of potential and am really excited for the author's future work!
Profile Image for Briana.
424 reviews620 followers
July 16, 2023
“For the longest time I believed we only got one incredible, life-changing thing in our lives. Hockey was mine. But then, I got lucky. I met her. And everything changed.”

• Grumpy hockey player x sunshine gamer girl
• College roommates
• Secret penpals
• Dual POV
• No third act breakup

“Touching her seemed as close to heaven as I’d ever get.”

OH, I HAD SO MUCH FUN READING THIS BOOK ❤️ The mcs are absolutely adorable!! This book had me blushing, swooning & kicking my feet 🤭

“Who knew a kneeling man lacing skates could be so hot?”

Looking for a quick hockey romance?? Pick this up 😍
Profile Image for Zoë.
808 reviews1,583 followers
February 12, 2025
so the two main conflicts of the book were just … not resolved ? I’m confused as to what this book wanted to be
Profile Image for Hannah ✰⋆.˚.
76 reviews
July 21, 2025
3.75 ⭐️

This book is so underrated!! Pulled me out of my slumpy mood <3

My thoughts:

- The characters are very realistic. The reasoning for their personality traits make so much sense - they aren’t grumpy for no reason or ‘sunshine’ for no reason. They have real struggles and their development throughout the story was SO good!

- Adding to their realism; they don’t have perfect bodies. It’s mentioned that they have stretch marks, fat, body hair. This was so refreshing to read about !

- Not cringey and the writing is easy to follow

- My only criticism is the pacing. I wish this book was longer. It was fast paced but sometimes books need to take their time too 🙂‍↔️
Profile Image for Tay.
179 reviews41 followers
June 24, 2023
YOU NEED TO READ THIS BOOK!!!

I am not pleased at how this book wormed its way into my heart from the very first chapter!!! It’s not fair.

What a delightful read. I love a good grumpy | sunshine personality mashup and this didn’t disappoint. Loved Naomi. She’s been through so much but is still so resilient and amazing. Smart and focused. Finn was a teddy bear - grumpy, but still a teddy bear. I am a sucker for grumpy men who break their wall down for the women they love.

Was very pleased that this book didn’t go the usual trope of having his memories come flooding back as a fairytale, because statistically, brain trauma victims usually never recover their memories. The depiction of what Finn went through and how he felt was so well done. It was so refreshing.

The book was well written. I got second hand embarrassment from all the scenes where the author wanted readers to feel those emotions.

Usually, I diss like first person narratives, but this was so well done, I am forgot I wasn’t a fan. Also, the smut scenes were INTENSE. I am currently looking into getting a regency era dress IYKYK.

Didn’t like that even though the status of their relationship didn’t end on a cliffhanger, the plot of the story did. I suppose I’ll have to read the second book to see how that turns out. It was a plot I was interested in. It was being well written and then we don’t get closure. I suppose it resumes in the second book.

Lincoln and Celeste??? What’s happening there and why did we not see more of them? I want more. I’m greedy. Lol.

The landlords are terrible people. Winter is here full fledged and you lot still haven’t fixed the heater or anything in the house for your tenants?? Absolutely terrible people.

Didn’t mention this, but LOVED that Naomi was a gaming streamer! Hello!!! That was cool!!

Both characters were deserving of love, and a place in my heart. And they do!! Hope I’ll get to see glimpses into their relationship in the second book.
Profile Image for H-e-l-e-n-a.
534 reviews35 followers
September 26, 2022
-Grumpy-Sunshine
-Amnesia
-Hidden Identity
-Interracial Couple

La verdad empecé el libro con otra idea en la mente... 😂 No es la historia tal como imaginaba que sería. Es linda, pero no que yo diga ¡Que espectacular!

Eso sí, Finn y Naomi juntos fueron 🥰😍 super cute.


📖
“I like when you kiss me like that,” she whispered. “Makes me feel like I’m yours.”
_
“You’re the first and only person who made me feel safe since I woke up,” Finn said. “I was terrified and alone and then I went into your stream and heard your voice and my body reacted...”
Profile Image for rach⭑.
703 reviews283 followers
July 13, 2025
4.25⭑

This was actually the cutest hockey romance I have ever read oh my god.

I loved everything about this from the secret penpals to their forced proximity as roommates. The relationship developed very naturally between them and was a very good slow/medium burn with some good spice. 100% recommend this book and I’m excited to read the next one in the series.

I hope that most side characters well get their own book bc their friendship group was a highlight of this book.
Profile Image for nala &#x1fabd;.
111 reviews60 followers
April 5, 2024
so steamy, so fun, so fluffy. and the smut was very good (especially the 1st two times, take it from someone who doesn’t typically enjoy smut)! this is a book for when you're almost in a reading slump and need something mindless and noncommittal to read. or when you're on a long commute and don’t want to look at a screen. nothing mind blowing/memorable but still very engaging and entertaining. 3.8 ⭐️
Profile Image for ⋆˙sanyae˙⋆.
473 reviews69 followers
February 25, 2025
sunny disposition is a simple, character driven hockey romance. it's less than 300 pages. i enjoyed the characters and their love. the audiobook was really good too and helped me push through this time

♡ borrowed the audiobook from the library♡


1st read-
june 2023: dnf
Profile Image for Kelli.
17 reviews2 followers
June 12, 2023
DNF!!!! The main character was dryer than my edges!! There was no plot- also sooo many characters to keep up with! Who is who up in dis bitch!? Rick, Dan, Rob, Lincoln- idk!!!

Anyways - I’m off to read “Again” by J.L Seggars - feel free to join me 🤭
Profile Image for farhia.
114 reviews7 followers
December 15, 2024
4.5 ✰ this book made me like the grumpy sunshine trope. pretty sure my rating will go up once I reread it
Profile Image for Erica.
706 reviews848 followers
October 22, 2024
The easiest 5 stars, truly. This was incredibly endearing and genuinely such a sweet read. I loved how low angst this was too! Normally I struggle with overly sunshiney characters because they tend to be overdone and overdramatized. But Deanna is so intentional with the positive attitude that Naomi has, and the complex details behind it are so well thought out. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and can’t wait to dive into book two!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,727 reviews

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