Tangled Up With the Grump: A Reverse Grumpy/Sunshine Christmas Romance

by Silla Webb, Concepts by Canea (Illustrator)

Winter

I hate Christmas.

Every single strand of tinsel and twinkling light and the jolly jingles too.

But going home to the small town of Whispering Peaks, North Carolina is tradition, even if I'll spend the holiday alone.

At least, that's the plan until my childhood enemy, Nick Frost, forces his way into my small cabin, calling a truce to our lifelong rivalry with a kiss beneath the mistletoe.

Nick

I haven't seen Winter Snow in years, but she's coming home for the holidays.
The moment she lays eyes on me, her beautiful face a hard scowl, I realize she probably hasn't forgiven me for teasing her as a kid. But I'm a man on mission, and that's to make Winter mine.

Can I melt the ice around Winter's heart or will I spend Christmas tangled up with the grump?

37 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 29, 2025

About the author

Silla Webb is a Kentucky native, raised in the heart of the Eastern Kentucky coal fields. A coal truck driver's daughter, and a railroader's wife, the coal fields own a special place in her heart.
She is a work at home, Super Momma to three rowdy boys, who keep her on her feet from daylight to sunset. As a pass time from her everyday life, Silla started a blog-Momma's Secret Book Obsession, for reviewing romance novels. From there, she realized that not only did she have a natural love for reading and reviewing, but she found that lost love of writing that she once had as a young girl.
When she isn't conquering the world as a wife, momma and Super Woman, Silla loves to lay on the front porch swing and read while sipping sweet tea, just passin' the day away.

Reviews

[Tammie P ℓօรƭเɳαɓօօҡ · Rating 3 out of 5]

​3 out of 5 stars: A Quick, Cheesy Dose of Holiday Cheer

​❄️Small Town
❄️Childhood Enemies-to-Lovers (using "lovers" loosely)
❄️Low-stakes romance
❄️Reverse Grumpy/Sunshine

The premise is exactly what you’d expect from a seasonal novella featuring main characters literally named Nicholas Frost and Winter Snow . Winter is the anti-holiday heroine who hates Christmas, driving her to escape the city every year. Her destination is her family cabin in her small North Carolina hometown, Whispering Peaks. This year, however, her anti-Christmas bubble is popped when she encounters Nick, her childhood enemy and the bane of her existence, whose ulterior motive derails Winter's quiet plans.

The narrative is structured primarily through Winter's first-person POV (five chapters). ​The inclusion of a single chapter from Nick’s perspective is a particularly satisfying element. It is well-placed and necessary, offering a crucial explanation for the roots of their childhood rivalry and clarifying his current motives.

This novella delivers precisely what it promises: a quick, Hallmark-esque Christmas story. Since I personally love Christmas stories, I came into this with a bias, and the book successfully delivered the predictable holiday fix I was looking for.

The book does contain a few minor typos (e.g., "I close the computer and go into the kitchen the make a cup of hot chocolate."). But these are infrequent and did not prevent me from completing the story.

​If you're looking for a quick, low-angst holiday fix and don't mind a few typos, you can give it a go.

[Tammy - · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a short and sweet holiday novella with an enemies-to-lovers vibe.

Winter Snow hates Christmas, and more than that, she despises Nick Frost. He teased her relentlessly as a child, but now he's all grown up and trying to make amends.

If you're looking for a quick read to add to your Christmas TBR, you'll want to get Tangled Up With the Grump.

[Ashley Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cute, short book. Not spicy, but just a quick feel-good story.

[Hilda Heyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good but not complete

This would be a great book if it was longer, I kinda feel like things moved on a bit too quick.