Mountain Grump: Mountain Men Series Book Three

Mountain Men #3

by S.J. Tilly

Tilda
I have a new house. Well, new to me. Just like living in my own place on the top of a mountain, rather than in a city apartment, is new to me. But it’s mine now because my Great Uncle Jack passed away, and he left me his freaking house. In Colorado. On the border of Lonely Peak State Park.
But that’s not all he did.
He also left a series of letters. A scavenger hunt of clues that leads me back to Vegas. To his lawyer’s office. To the reading of his will. Where I learn I must marry in order to keep my sudden inheritance out of the greedy hands of my family. And since they’re the worst, I only have one option.
Ask the grumpy park ranger I just met to be my husband.

Ethan
Jack never lied. Not outright. But he did omit some things. Like the fact that his grandkid Matty is actually a fully grown woman named Matilda. And the fact that she looks like a walking, talking mountain fairy with her long purple hair and a wardrobe of lust-inducing dresses.
He also failed to mention that he was setting us up. That he was setting all of this up. And now, when the woman I unwittingly agreed to watch out for stands before me, asking me to marry her, there’s only one answer I can give…

Genres: Romance, Marriage Of Convenience, Contemporary Romance, Forced Proximity, Contemporary, Audiobook, Small Town Romance

594 pages, Paperback

Published November 20, 2025

About the author

S.J. Tilly lives in Minnesota with her husband and their herd of boxers. She spends an unhealthy amount of time with her face buried in books, reading and writing. If she’s not nose deep in text, or harassing her dogs, she’s probably playing with her plants, pretending she knows how to garden.

You can find her stumbling around on Instagram @sjtillyauthor

https://www.amazon.com/S.J.-Tilly/e/B...

Reviews

[S.J. Tilly]

Available now!

Download today or read for FREE with #kindleunlimited
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Narrated by Erin Mallon Connor Crais

Goodreads: http://bit.ly/4mPpwX2

[Soft Nectarine ~ · Rating 4 out of 5]

City girl naked in the mountains & thrown over the shoulder of a grumpy Ranger that’s OBSESSED with her 💚💍✨ WILDERNESS SMUT included!

✨🌲 🦆💚🦆 🌲✨

Tilda is a city girl packing her crafting bags to move to the Colorado mountains and claim her inheritance. As she’s settling in a tattooed & grumpy Ranger walks out of the forest & accuses her of girlie vandalism ✨ But before she know’s it Tilda needs a husband to receive her inheritance and Ranger Ethan is reporting for duty!

"Even with the scraped-up knee and dirty skirt, she looks ready for a tea party in the forest. A dirty tea party. One where she sits on my lap and I bury my face in her tits."

Hawwwt damn this was full of WILDERNESS SMUT & adorable infatuation! Tilda & Ethan had so much sizzling chemistry as their relationship develops from playful animosity to adorable devotion 💚✨ I truly enjoyed their funny run-ins & massive protective vibes emanating from Ranger Husband!

🦆 grumpy mmc FALLS HARD & calls her his 'Mountain Fairy'

🦆 she calls him ‘Good Boy’ & he loves it

🦆 obligatory AXE swinging scene

🦆 Y’ALL ARE ACTUALLY not ready for this man’s dick!! *insert scream emoji*

🦆 when he visits a craft store for her

I ADORE Tilly’s writing style! The short chapters are like a balm for my short attention span and make the reading much more fast paced. I did think some of the fmc lines were a bit silly (a little cringy) but it didn’t really distract me from reading.

marriage of convenience
protective mmc
curvy fmc
age gap (but she is 29!)
insta love
3rd act breakup
small town
grief
HEA

Thank you to SJ Tilly and her team at Valentine PR for this ARC in exchange for my honest review!

[Kealyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mountain Grump (Mountain Men, #3) by S.J. Tilly

4.5/5 stars

Mountain Grump is another delicious installment in the Mountain Men series. This entire series is so addictive. S.J. Tilly created three men that I instantly fell madly in love with.

The book starts with grumpy Ethan who notices a ribbon tied to a fence in his forest. He is the park ranger and instantly starts cutting it off. He follows the ribbon and hears the culprit sing/hum a bit. It's near Jack's cottage who did let him know Matty would arrive.

But the culprit is female. And he is shocked. It's Tilda, who just moved into the cottage her late uncle Jack left her. She is sprucing up the place. And Ethan confronts her with the fact that it's not allowed to litter the forest and scares her senseless with his sudden presence. They instantly start to bicker and it quickly turns into a deep yearning and longing after each other. Ethan grunts a few words and suddenly notices how much they hurt her. He instantly regrets his choice of words because he never meant to hurt her in the first place.

Tilda promises to remove the ribbon and quickly rushes into the cottage. Tilda’s family are a greedy bunch and ever since she was a kid they constantly belittled her, hurt her and let her know she was the unworthy one in the family. And she is scared of what they are gonna do if they find out she inherited the cottage, the land, the furniture and 20.000 dollars.

The next day Tilda sees some stunning flowers growing and she wants to cut a few to put them in a vase. Ethan catches her and is grunting that she isn’t allowed to do that either. I just love those early scenes between them. They bicker, they long, she is sassy and he welcomes it with open arms.

And that is what kick starts this beautiful story. It's about two people who are completely different from each other but can't seem to stay away from one another. Their chemistry is undeniable and their first kiss had me melt into my couch.

But uncle Jack isn't done with them yet. He sent a letter to his Matty that she must go to the reading of his will. And Ethan gets a letter that he needs to fly her and drive her there. When they arrive Ethan immediately sees and senses how vile and money driven her family is. They instantly belittle Tilda. And when the will is read the entire family flips out. Tilda is about to inherit two million dollars she gets over the course of the next four years. But there is one contingency. She has to marry before her 30th birthday. Which is in the next few days! Otherwise the money goes to the rest of the family. She announces that Ethan is her fiance and luckily he instantly jumps onto the bandwagon without knowing why he is her fiance. They marry and now they are suddenly tied together. Closely and wholly. They don't shy away from their feelings anymore and they connect on a deeper level.

But things happen and secrets come out. This is a book about two people who like each other but also feel like they have to like each other. They balance those two things and it gets messy. 

I really love how kindhearted Ethan is. And how strong his sense of protection is. I love how he sees her insecurities and does everything in his power to show her how strong and capable she is. She doesn't need anybody. She is a force on her own.

I love how Tilda blossoms. Follows her heart. How much she cares for the animals in the forest. And I love how she isn't scared to lean on other people. 

This contemporary romance has the perfect combination of flaming chemistry, sweetness, laughter, friendship, hope, love and connection.

4.5 huge stars from me for Mountain Grump! If you love S.J. Tilly books then pick this one up. It's one of my favorite books she has ever written! ♥

[Kursed Reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

When Matilda Wright’s uncle leaves her his beloved cabin on the border of Lonely Peak State Park, she is unaware of the strings attached.

Patrolling the state park along the perimeter, Ethan Grant, finds more than prohibited purple ribbon and sun catchers.

This was such a fun story. Between the quirky Vi, the banter, elaborate inheritance plan, crazy family members, Quackers, a controlled … Never mind. You’ll have to figure out that plot twist by reading. 😜

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Burn: 🔥🔥🔥🔥
Darkness: 🤍
Heat: 🌶️🌶️
Range of Emotions: 🙄😊🥺😳😍
Ending: 💗 {HEA}

POV: 👫🏻 {Dual | Present}

🗄️ Genre: Contemporary Romance
🗂️ Subgenre(s): New Adult

✨ Tropes: Age Gap (9), Grumpy/Sunshine, Marriage of Convenience
 
💫 Microtropes: Anxiety, Bearded MMC, Caretaker MMC, Curvy Woman, “Good Boy”, Pet Name, Pierced 🐓, Tattooed MMC, Who Hurt You?

🔆 Character: Park Ranger

💋 Kinks: Domination, Pearl Necklace

🤰🏻 Pregnancy: n/a

🚩 Red Flags: Jealous/Possessive/Obsessive, MINE!, “My Wife”

⛔️ Safety Squad: n/a

📍 Setting: Remote Colorado

⚠️ Warning: This sweet and steamy read will leave your panties damp and your cheeks flushed.

📣 Type: Mountain Grump is part of the Mountain Men series of interconnected standalones. While no other books need to be read in order to follow the story, reading prior books may enhance the experience.

🛑 Be Advised: My Goodreads shelves are … explicit in both senses. As such, they could be considered spoiler-y.

[bookdatewithjdate · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was looking forward to this one; I enjoyed the first two, and the brief intro to the MMC in #2 was intriguing. However, this was a drastically different book and frankly really disjointed. Not what I have come to expect from this author.

To not beat around the bush, the FMC was a dunce and not well written. Her pet duck was smarter. She is 29 but I’ve read more mature 19 year olds. Here’s what we’re told: she’s this quiet mouse of a character who has only ever lived in Vegas. The only backstory we get is that her family was emotionally abusive when she was growing up. There are present-day interactions with the family - but those seem to be the only plot device employed to explain her past. But even then, it’s really forced and poorly written. Their villainy is almost comical without any more background. Why not have the FMC flashback on what she experienced rather than have her be triggered when someone says that she was “too much”? Instead, that’s all you get about her - as if that’s her entire personality. In addition, besides the FMC having no personality, she is frankly clueless to boot. This is not a FMC you’re rooting for - even with her awful family. No wonder the book was over 600 pages (separate rant about that below) - the author took so much time telling us people were horrible rather than earning it through character development, dialogue, and interesting plot.

But wait - there’s more: we get a doozy of a wake up during the spicy scenes when the mousy FMC becomes a soft dom? So jarring to read - and not at all in line with the pages before it. It’s like the spice was pulled from other books and dumped in this one. Continuing the trend of knowing little about her past, we never learn about her past relationships (much less what type of life she led before moving to town). So I’m sorry - no - it defies logic to give this under-developed character a soft dom arc out of no where. The only hint of her past is when she shares with the MMC that she learned a particular move from watching porn. And no shade against porn - yay - we love it - but as the sole justification for her shockingly extroverted bedroom tendencies? Can’t see it. As almost an aside, we finally learn at 65% that she used to hold down retail jobs in Vegas. But don’t get too excited- 65% is 376 pages in.

The MMC was much more fully explained and drawn out. You knew his backstory, you knew why he did things and his motivations. You rooted for him. But what didn’t work was trying to see why the MMC fell so madly for the FMC so quickly. This must be a rationale still stuck in the author’s head, as purple hair and fun dresses aren’t the solid foundation of a lasting relationship. She wasn’t that quirky cute.

So why didn’t we get more background, character arc, and plot development when the book is over 600 pages? I have a theory: the layout killed any attempt at narrative.

Every single page contained one line of text at a time.

No paragraphs.

No interesting insights into the FMCs past.

Just one sentence.

Then another one.

See how annoying that is to read? Now do it for 600 more pages.

This layout was seemingly intentional. And it might have worked for the first couple chapters, but not for 182 (not hyperbole). This layout bugged me so much it took me out of the story - one I was already struggling with. It’s effective if you do it occasionally - but not the whole book. It was maddening.

So, if you’ve read this author before you must know by now that this book was miles away from Latte Darling or the first two Mountain Men books.

It had the potential to be better, but the more I think about it, the messier I think it is. The author can and has done better. Rooting for a return to form in her next series.

[Aleksandra · Rating 3 out of 5]

I can’t believe that stupid 3rd act breakup took more than 10% of the book 🙄 And, as usual, it wasn’t needed, could be avoided if only the MMC talked about it…
I also think that pages from 60% to about 80% could be simply deleted. Snooze fest.
And the first half of the book was amazing, I can’t believe it went downhill that much after that 60%…




safety:
-no ow/om drama (just some jealousy about om)
-no cheating/sharing
-no info about their sexual experiences/previous relationships
-3rd act breakup (it took them one month to reconcile 🙄, 2 weeks of separation included)

[❥ KAT ❥ Kitty Kats Crazy About Books · Rating 4 out of 5]

📚 ARC REVIEW 📚 ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️.... GOOD BOY STARS

📚'𝙼𝚈 𝚁𝙴𝚅𝙸𝙴𝚆 𝙰𝙽𝙳 𝙾𝚃𝙷𝙴𝚁𝚂'📚 can also be found on my blog:
╰┈➤KITTY KATS CRAZY ABOUT BOOKS

°❀⋆.ೃ࿔* MOUNTAIN GRUMP °❀⋆.ೃ࿔* Is the third full length contemporary romance book in the (Mountain Men) series by author S.J. Tilly. Spoken in dual POV's. Tilda & Nathan.

I'd only just recently discovered this author due to this series which I've loved from book to book, nd have an unhealthy obsession for these rough around the edges gruff mountain men who succumb so easily to the girls that lay claim to them and Ethan is no different. Even though their first interaction he was a bit of a d*ck, his obsession quickly became his possession..



This kicks starts off with Tilda who is the new and proud owner of her deceased great uncles property in the mountains in Lonely Peaks along with 20k lining her empty bank account. It's move in day when she meets a hot grumpy Park Ranger, Ethan. Sparks fly, attraction grows, and Ethan finds himself enthralled by this mountain Fairy.

After meeting this Mountain Grump *Hot Park Ranger* in the previous book *briefly* I couldn't wait to get my hands on his story..And he didn't disappoint *one bit*, he lives up to his name perfectly, only his *Starlight* seems to being out the best in this *goodboy*

182 chapters and 2 epilogues had me sweating, wondering how I'd ever move through those chapters, but the seconds, minutes, hours evaporated once I started, and I ne ver wanted it to end. I wanted, craved, needed more, these two were perfection, the perfect balance between grumpy and sunshine.

I’ve giggled and swooned throughout this book more times than I care to count.

I love how each book in this series the females adopt a wildlife animal, in this case Matilda and
her little duck 🦆 Quackers 🦆 was adorable..

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[bec · Rating 3 out of 5]

There’s something about this mountain men series that just does it for me. Had some things I liked and some things I really didn’t but all in all, just a fun lil escape.

_______________________________

OMG “the park ranger and his curvy little obsession”?!?!? HELL YEAH
———————————————————-
pls be about Ethan

[Jenn (The Book Refuge) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ethan is our grump of a mountain man with a badge and a heart of tarnished gold. He works as a park ranger and he doesn't have time for nonsense. So when a sweet, heartbroken fairy of a lass moves into his friend's home near the park, he's less than thrilled. Especially when she starts spreading her cheery ribbons illegally all over the place.


Tilda isn't quite sure what to make of the cabin her great uncle left her, but she's willing to take it as the fresh start she needs. Her family aside from her uncle is abusive and cruel and she wants something good. Even if it's in this lonely, mountain cabin bumped up against a state park with a grumpy ranger trying to police her every move. So what if she is starting to like his gruff ways and how he shows up at just the wrong moments again and again.


But then, her uncle Jack has one last gift in store for Tilda and he hired Ethan from beyond the grave to fly her to the reading of the will in Vegas. When that trip ends in the two of them married and then crash landing in the mountains... you'd think it might ruin any chance they have together, but instead, they grow closer in more than just physical ways.


I really enjoyed this entry to the series. I think Ethan was my favorite hero in this series and Tilda was so sweet and kind hearted. I felt for her so much. I do think this story lacked a little bit of guidance and I was lost a few times as to where it was all leading. But I'm always going to pick up the next SJ Tilly.

This was narrated in the duet style by Connor Crais and Erin Mallon. They made it a great time and I loved their banter the whole way through.


4 Stars
3 on the spice scale


CW: Toxic family, airplane trauma, 3rd act break up, loss of a loved one, mention of assisted suicide


*Thank you to Must Love Audio and the author for an ALC of this title.*

[Sim-fully Ever After · Rating 5 out of 5]

5🌟, 4 🌶️

I knew I’d love this book, but I didn’t expect to fall this hard for Tilda, Ethan, and their little corner of the mountains.

Mountain Grump has all the best tropes—marriage of convenience, grumpy x sunshine, small-town mountain life, and a heroine who completely owns her story. When Tilda inherits her great uncle Jack’s mountain home, she’s suddenly thrown into a new world that includes one very broody park ranger and a few surprises her uncle left behind.

Ethan is the kind of man who falls hard and loves quietly, always ready to step in and defend Tilda without a second thought. Their connection feels so natural, full of teasing, warmth, and chemistry that eventually explodes in the best way. Tilda brings color and laughter into Ethan’s quiet life, while he gives her the steadiness she didn’t know she was missing. And between Uncle Jack’s lingering presence and Quackers the duck being downright adorable, I couldn’t wipe the grin off my face.

This book had me laughing, blushing, and clutching the pages more than once. It’s cozy with just the right amount of spice, filled with characters you can’t help but fall for. Mountain Grump is flirty, fun, and completely addictive—the kind of story that makes you want to find your own mountain man to ruin you sweetly.

S.J. Tilly keeps raising the stakes—every page is better than the last.

~~~~

Grateful to S.J. Tilly and The Smuthood for the Advanced Reader Copy. All views expressed are solely my own. ✨

[Sarah · Rating 1 out of 5]

way. too. long.

Okay, so I liked a lot of things from the book : age gap, curvy fmc, grumpy MMC but soft for her park ranger etc ….. HOWEVER the “Good Boy” stuff was just straight up ICK. I can look past it once but Tilda repeatedly saying it was making me legit cringe. Also, the book was WAY too long. 600 pages for what story line ???….. nothing really pulled me into this book. A couple chapters I thought maybe but then I just got bored again. I ended up skimming at 80% & thought about not finishing many times.

[Lynn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Starlight and the Ranger

Matilda inherited a lovely home in the mountains from her uncle. The same day she moves in a gorgeous park ranger comes to give her a ticket for lining the fence that bordered the park with ribbon. He hurt her feeling and felt like a toad, so he made it up to her. Then, Park Ranger Ethan was tasked by her uncle to fly her to the reading of her uncle’s will.

The reading of the will was complete with unlikable family members who were angry that her uncle left everything to her. Thus begins the journey of Tilda and Ethan falling in love… and getting married.

This was not Great story, but it was easy to read. I’m not sure what it was, but it disappointed me. It had plenty of spice and sort of a plot, but neither of those things impressed me. Three star spicy Romance..

[Iulia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Honestly, after reading the reviews, I can’t help but feel like 99% of them are fake. I read the first two books in the series and absolutely loved them — the FMCs were strong, knew what they wanted, and had real personality. But this book… let’s be honest, it feels like it was written by a completely different author.

Ethan is introduced as a grumpy ranger, and two chapters later we’re already at “Call me good boy.” Seriously? It feels so forced and out of character it almost made me choke on nothing.

And then there’s Matty. Usually, when I see “curvy” in a book description, I gladly skip it, because the author always ends up focusing only on that — which I don’t care about at all. But here it’s almost worse: they mention it once, forget about it, and move on. Meanwhile the FMC is 29 years old but acts like she’s 12. “My house, my bedroom…” please, someone save me.

I understand the whole bullying-from-family situation (I’ve been there too), but constantly playing the victim? That’s a hard no from me. Also, there is zero real relationship development — just pure insta-love. A hot, pierced, six-pack forest ranger instantly falls in love with a 29-year-old who behaves like a preteen and couldn’t survive a single night in the woods. Sure. Why not.

And for the love of God, can someone explain what “curvy” even means here? I’m an Eastern European woman, 5’9, size XS, and I still have curves. Does that make me curvy? 🤔

[Darlene I read WAY to many books · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tilda had a lifealtering moment when her great-uncle Jack passed away and left his fortune to her, including his little cabin in the woods. It was all hers. She had a small encounter with Ranger Ethan over a ribbon on the fence. He was acting like a ranger and told her she couldn't have it there, saying some words that made Tilda feel small. Ethan regretted his words but never got the chance to apologize since she locked herself away. In her head, she cursed him.

But the more the two met, the more feelings developed. And with her dealing with her family, who found out how much money she was left, it caused an uproar. Good thing Uncle Jack had a plan: for Ethan to fall for her and marry her, which he did. But our girl thought it was genuine until she later found out a few lies. Good thing our guy knew how to show his woman he was 10,000% truthful.

Now that this series is over (I believe), I can't wait for the next one.

No ow/om drama, no cheating, Drama, sexy times, no virgins

Recommend-yes
Cover-⭐️⭐️⭐️
Heat level-🌶🌶🌶

Prologue
Praise kink
Pearl necklace
Drug use (mmc/fmc getting high)
Violence
No condom
Hea
Epilogue

[Chelle · Rating 1 out of 5]

Look..... to each their own...... but this book was not written for me and I can respect that! When I think of rangers, I think of rugged, strong, smart, and quick-thinking but calm under pressure men..... not "good boys". Major ick that a girl who was basically useless at life was dominating in the sack? I'm all for Daddy-kinks.... but found that I draw the line at Mommy-kinks with this book.
And what was the purpose of the dummies? Seemed like a forced plot to be "relevant"......
I just don't understand how a woman with the emotional and mental capacity of a child (non-medical diagnosis) can intimately dominate a man who literally embodies Mr. Tough Guy! But again, this book was not written for me so I will live with my questions and inability to understand these characters.
R.I.P Ranger Ethan..... you were gearing up to be my favorite

[Cheesy (Rhysand's wife) · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,2 💫 | Ay, tres estrellas no me parece una mala calificación, pero esperaba ponerle más. Pensé que sería el que más me gustaría de la serie, pero nop 😓.

Realmente no sé decir que es lo que no me gustó jaja solo que hay «algo» que me falló.

Me da más penita porque es un libro de una de mis autoras favoritas. Aun así, fue con el que más me reí. La protagonista, Tilda, le da un toque muy cómico a la historia. Sobre todo al ser tan contraria del protagonista, Ethan, un guardabosques gruñón 😌.

En un principio los estaba amando, pero cuando llego el “conflicto” me sentí un poco frustrada. Ya estoy acostumbrada a la manera de agregar dramita al final de la autora por lo que normalmente nunca me molesta, sin importar si es un malentendido, falta de comunicación o lo que sea, no me molesta. Pero aquí pasa algo con lo que me sentía inconforme. Osea, entendí muy bien el porqué, las inseguridades de la protagonista a raíz de su familia de mierda eran totalmente válidas, pero no sé. A pesar de que me agradó mucho, creo que me falto conectar más con ella. Por otro lado, Ethan le oculto esa cosita qué causó todo el problema y sí, se equivoco, pero me dio mucha penita, lo quería abrazar 🥺.

Al final, la resolución me gustó y fue extra cute (Ethan verdaderamente dijo: le voy a demostrar que la amo y me va a creer sí o sí), pero me quedé un poco con el sentimiento de antes.

Mi top de fav es el mismo orden de la serie jsjs los cameos de los protas anteriores me encantaron 😂

Eso sí, fui fan del trope "buen chico". Osea, ella se lo dijo y él ENCANTADO 🤭. Denme más libros así 🙏.

Y la relación del tío Jack con Stephen (creo q así se llamaba) me la tomaré como una señal divina de que Tilly por fin (OJALÁ) va a sacar un romance MM. Mi delulu me dice que sí, ya que está escribiendo esta nueva serie de la que aún no dice nada, pero ajá, rezo 🤞

Por último, en una parte aparece un personaje que se llama Stoleman y me suena mucho al amigo de dudosa moral de Nate (love, Rosie), pero no me acuerdo si sí se llamaba así (me da pereza buscar). Ojalá no estár loca y que también sea una señal divina ☝️

[sil ♡ the book voyagers · Rating 5 out of 5]

✧˖°⛰️༄ These mountain men are HOT! ✧˖°⛰️༄

I've been waiting for Mountain Grump to release since I finished Mountain Daddy omg. I've been highly enjoying this series and I have no boring moment whenever I'm reading it. It's such a fun book with a cute story, some angst sprinkled in, the steam is insane and I just love spending time with these characters. I think this is the last book in this series and I had such a good time! I'm going to miss them so much :'(

Mountain Grump is a marriage-of-convenience romance between the new girl in town and the grumpy park ranger who lives nearby. Their meet-cute was my type of meet-cute where he misjudges her and thinks she's someone else but then realizes he's in the wrong and later spends so much time trying to make it up to her lmao. Tilda was so cute and I wanted her to have the world at her feet. She deserves everything and I just wanted to see her happy ♡

I love a grumpy man and Ethan is that and more. Before meeting Tilda, he was such a grump. He talked with grunts, never laughed or smiled, ignored everyone and lived his life alone in the woods. Like he was comfortable, you know? But maybe just live his routine because there was nothing else. But THEN he met Tilda and everything changed. That man wanted to do everything for her, be someone in her life, wanted to be 24/7 with her, make her laugh, like HELLOOOOO IT WAS SO FREAKING CUTE

It was also so nice to see the other previous couples aw and sometimes Ethan mentioned something that happened in the other books and I was like OMG I REMEMBER THAT lmao. I seriously love this whole series and there is not one bad book. I can see myself rereading them in the future too!

[Kristina · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 ⭐
I don't feel like rounding up because, while there were parts of the book I enjoyed, sections in the beginning that were entertaining and made me laugh, I have a big issue with the FMC. Truthfully, I have issues with most of SJ Tilly's FMCs, but together with Payton, this must be one of the worst.
She's 30 but she doesn't know what she wants to do with her life and, I don't want to call her stupid, but she's so ignorant and lacks common sense (think the mountain lion cub scene), that it's a) poor writing and b) annoying. She doesn't have any hobbies, isn't interested in studying and, after ending up in a healthy financial situation, doesn't know what she wants to do for work, if anything. At one point there was an inner monologue about what she enjoyed and the only thing she listed was being with Ethan and having s*x with him. Since that couldn't be turned into a profession (for a second there I thought she'd become a camgirl, that would have been a fun twist), she decided she wanted to be a stay-at-home housewife/mom. Being bored because you're an unimaginative woman-child is hands-down one of the worst reasons to procreate!

Lacking any ambition and interest in intellectual pursuits is one of the defining characteristics of many of this author's FMCs. Think most of the Alliance women and Latte Darling. The other defining characteristic is that they're spineless, have none to very little sexual experience, they have no friends and are portrayed in a way so that we pity them and their only way out of their shitty, sad, lonely lives is for a man to come around and save them. This pisses me off to no end.

Minor spoilers below:
---------------------
Talking about sexual experiences: both the MCs having piercings is not something that makes sense for these characters and you can tell it was a micro-trope just because the author wanted to spice things up. Same with the Good Boy shtick. Honestly, not convincing at all, considering Ethan's entire personality and that he is more of a soft Dom. Even in the scenes where she calls him Good Boy and he's supposed to submit, he's topping from the bottom. Because that's the type of MMC female readers often like and the type of MMC the author knows how to create. And the collaring part in the second epilogue? Again, not the right book for this kind of power dynamic. I feel like this is an unfamiliar territory for the author and she should have educated herself better on the topic of collaring and submission.

[Samantha (bookgramsaga reviews) · Rating 4 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

RTC

[Lilyya ♡ · Rating 3 out of 5]

least fave in the series 😭

[Maggie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Honestly, this was a miss for me. I’ve read all of Tilly’s work and will likely to continue to read what she puts out, but I prefer her older works.

A lot of it is that I don’t like how her actual writing style has evolved.
Because for some reason.
Every thought.
Every sentence.
Suddenly needs to be its own paragraph.
And I don’t understand why.
But it drives me a little nuts.
Her enter key must be really work down.

I’m also just really over third act break ups that are childish nonsense based on lack of communication. I’m actually never NOT over that. But as soon as Ethan decided to hide the thing, I sighed both internally and externally. Because goddammit not again. And sure enough, they ended up breaking up because one character hid someone and the other character can’t be bothered to have a mature conversation about what they found. Because who wants to talk things through and form logical answers after looking at evidence of behavior when you can jump to conclusions and shut the person out instead?

When plot points like this come up, I check out. I stop rooting for the couples because I stop having faith in their longevity; if they can’t talk to each other about things that come up and their first reaction is to break up, then you can’t convince me they will last. I already thought Ethan and Tilda were kind of blah as a couple, and it was an overall blah book. Throw in this third act crap and by the end I was skimming to get it over with.

[Alexia _reads · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was so looking forward to Grump Park Ranger Ethan's book and the final book in this series and while the first two really hit it out of the park, this was all over the place and ultimately fell flat.
The FMC doesn't really have any personality except being crafty? idk. There also wasn't really any relationship development between the two MC's. They met, they married each other for inheritance money and then had sex. I got more emotion out of Ethan but wanted it out of both of them. I kept rooting for Ethan but mainly because I got more of his character and almost nothing of the FMC. Very little background on her and she says at one point that she needs to occupy her time but then never does anything about it other than f***ing Ethan lol she seemed very immature for being 29yrs old.

[atomickitten · Rating 1 out of 5]

1 star

But it still feels too much for this book.



Once again, I got fooled by the booktok girlies and all the other bookstagram rave reviews.

And I said: ok, this sounds good, i wanna give it a go since everyone is pissing their pants about this book, there must be something worth my time, right?



What this book is about?

It's about a woman, Tilda, who inherits her uncle's cabin in the mountains and whose last will leads her to a marriage of convenience to a local park ranger, Ethan so her greedy family full of abusive assholes wouldn't get a penny.

And I know it's not very orignal or anything but I love me a good marriage of convenience story, as it usually means a slow burn, them getting to know each other, learning to trust one another and finally falling in love.



However, what we got here was just wrong.

Right from the very start.

1). 182 chapters plus 2 epilogues

This sounds like my personal nightmare for a book that is around 550 pages.

Plus, the chapters were so short, some had just a few lines, some ended in the middle of the conversation, some were just descriptions of Tilda making herself a cup of coffee.



2). The style of writing is just bad. Very, very bad.

Listen, I didn't expect Shakespeare, ok? But I also didn't expect to get something that felt like it was written by a 12 year old girlie on wattpad.

The single sentences, the detailed description of every fucking thing the heroine does including her taking a shower, unpacking, looking for her shampoo etc.

I mean, why? Why the fuck would you think it's absolutely necessary to include these things which are just unimportant, obvious and just boring as hell?

I was surprised we didn't get a detailed description of her going number 2 and then wiping her ass.

The constant repetition of the same things, same words etc. only made things 10 times worse.



3). The idiotic heroine.

This woman was 29-30 or at least that's what the writer kept reminding me every other page.

If her age wasn't mentioned, I'd say somewhere around 16, 17 tops.

Her level of stupidity, immaturity and just general lack of knowledge about anything, or any trace of personality, they were all just a nail in this book's coffin.

I dunno if there were beta readers, editors etc, but whoever decided the character was written in a good, interesting way, should give the money back and resign asap.



4). The lonely, grumpy hero who is neither lonely nor grumpy.

Do I need to add more?

He was a tad better than stupid Tilda, but he was still far from what I'd expected.

Way too OTT for my liking.



5). The slow burn flew out of the window at around 18%, when they dry humped like wild rabbits and the hero came in his pants and then drove home like that.



6). The ridicuous nicknames were a rotten cherry on top of this crappy sundae.

It's bad enough he had like 4 different nicknames for her like Mountain Fairy, Starlight, and some other nonsense that i quickly blocked out.

But she called him GOOD BOY for crying out loud!

She should've as well just taught him to fetch and scratch his belly when he was well-behaved.



Listen, I could go on and on, but my opinion would still be the same:

This book is just bad.

Badly written, boring, way too long, with nothing significant happening apart from these two humping like mad dogs.

No depth, no nothing.

I DNFed at 59%.

I couldn't go on any longer with the stupidity that poured on my from every page.

This was my first read from this author and I don't understand the hype.

Is this sort of writing the new black? Am I missing something here?

All in all, if you're thinking of reading this book, take my advice and look for sth else.

Save yourself some time and money.

[R. · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.75

มีจุดที่จอยๆ

แต่จุดที่ไม่จอยเยอะกว่ามาก5555 หลักๆ เลยคือ

- writing style: การเคาะบรรทัดแทบทุกประโยคและการแบ่งบทถี่ๆ (เล่มนี้มี182บท) ไม่เวิ้กกะผมอะ อ่านละไม่สมูธ มันไม่ต่อเนื่อง กึ๊กๆ กั๊กๆ คือมันปาหลาด เช่นฉากจูบฉากเดียวพี่ล่อไปสี่ห้าบทตัดสลับพระเอกนางเอก อ่านแล้วไม่เสว มันขำ

-characters: ให้นางเอกเรื่องนี้ติดท้อปห้านางเอกที่ผมไม่ชอบเลยละกัน(แล้วผมชอบนางเอกเรื่องไหนบ้างนะ😔) เปนผญอายุสามสิบที่ emotional intelligence เหมือนเด่ก18 สาทุบุนที่รอดมาได้จนถึงอายุเท่านี้ คืออ่อนด๋อยไม่น่าเอาใจช่วยซักนิด ไม่มีคอมม่อนเซ้น ไม่มีความมั่นใจ โอเว่อติ๊งกิ้ง โอเว่อเซ้นสิถีฟ ซึ่งก้มีที่มาที่ไปอยุ่ เกือบจะซื้อละ แต่ยังดีกว่า เป็นเรื่องที่ only tell but dont show ชัดมาก

ส่วนพระเอกคือผัวประเสริฐเลยล่ะ แต่ไหนความ grump ที่พยามจะพรีเซ้น มีจุดที่รุ้สึก ooc อยุ่บ้างนิสหน่อย

-romance: insta lust/love มาก ซึ่งบางเรื่องทำออกมาดี แต่อันนี้ไม่ ผลคือรุ้สึกลอยๆ กะความรักพระนางทั้งเรื่อง banter งั้นๆ nicknames ก้ครินจ์ third-act break up ก้ค่ดดดจะไม่จำเปน อ่านละรำคาญนางเอกกว่าเดิม พระเอกแบกจนไม่รุ้จะแบกยังไง ทำให้ทุกอย่างแล้วยังต้องมา grovel ในเรื่องที่ตัวเองก้ไม่ได้ผิดขนาดนั้นนิ🫩

ก็นั่รล่ะ เป็นการชิมนข.ใหม่ แถมยังชวนคนอื่รมาร่วมชะตากรรมด้วยกันที่ไม่ประสบความเรยหวะ55555555

spice level: 3/5

[wpwpwpwppw · Rating 2 out of 5]

-writing style โคดแปลก เป็นหนึ่งในปัญหาหลักเลยที่ทำให้เสียอรรถรสในการอ่าน มีทั้งหมด 182 บท บางบทมีแค่2ประโยคงี้ จะเว้นจะเคาะไรนัก
-นางเอกน่ารำคาญมาก immature สุดๆ แถมไม่มีพัฒนาการใดๆในตัวชีเลยยันจบนั่นละ
-พระเอกก็ 🙂‍↔️ เหมือนจะดี แต่ก็อาจจะยัง
-เนื้อเรื่อง revolve อยู่ที่พระนางอย่างเดียว แบบที่ตลคทั้งคู่ไม่มีชีวิตอื่นๆเลย ชีนางเอกก็วันๆนั่งมองเป็ดอยู่บ้านรอพระเอกมาหา ไม่ก็เอาข้าวกลางวันไปให้พระเอกแล้วก็กลับบ้านมารอพระเอกเหมือนเดิม ส่วนพระเอกอาชีพคือน่าสนใจมาก แต่แทบจะไม่ลงดีเทลเลย รู้แค่ออกไปทำงานเลิกงานกลับบ้านหานางเอก
-หลายๆเรื่องไม่สมเหตุสมผล ตย.1 emergency landing ที่ใส่เข้ามาให้พระเอกดูเท่งี้ แต่ความเป็นจริงมันแทบไม่มีทาง smooth as silk แบบนั้น ตย.2 พระเอกมีอาชีพเป็น Park ranger แต่มี cabin ของตัวเองอยู่ใน national forest ที่ส่งต่อมาจากพ่อที่แอบเข้ามาสร้างไว้!?
-insta lust love พระนางน่าจะรักกันแต่ยังไม่ถึง1เดือน มาแบบลอยๆ ไม่รู้สึกถึงเคมีระหว่างพระนางเลย ไม่ทำให้อินร่วมสักนิด 😔 ไหนจะ3rd act นั่นอีก เห้อออ
-เซ็กซีนโคดฝืนนนนน ใส่ ความsoftdom เข้าไปที่นางเอก โดยที่มันขัดไปหมดทุกอย่าง 😬🥶หน้าตอนอ่านเป็นงี้

ปรบมือให้ตัวเองนะที่อ่านจบ เอาจริงๆถ้าไม่บัดดี้รี้ดกับเพื่อนคิดว่า dnf ไปตั้งแต่ต้นๆละ นี่พยายามคิดว่าเอ้อออ เดี๋ยวมันคงดีขึ้นไม่ค่ะ! เพราะมันยังแย่ขึ้นไปได้อีก 🙂‍↕️

[Ava Ly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Life is nothing but an endless routine for our grumpy park ranger mmc…. While the isolation in the woods is comforting, it’s also lonely. But when you can’t stand other people, wilderness provides the solitude you crave.. but all of that changes when a quirky, and sexy, woman moves into a cabin bordering the land you’ve devoted your life to. Rather than run from the chaos and unknown, our ridiculously handsome (did I mention tatted/tall/and pierced?!) MMC embraces it and their lives are irrevocably changed…


Once again, sj tilly delivered a binge-able book with heart, spice and that 3rd act arc we all need to make it real!!! So sad this world is coming to a close but it was well done 🥹

🏔️ good boy
🦆 use your words
🏔️ touch her and 💀
🦆 spicy 🥵
🏔️ marriage of convenience (there’s more to it…)

[Lizzy East · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow.

I had to run to my Goodreads to write a review as soon as I finished Mountain Grump!

When reading this book, I quite literally laughed out loud so many times and you guys- GASPED. The story is set in the Gorgeous mountains of Colorado, centered around a state park ( hell yeah). Tilda, your residential purple girlie, inherits a house that backs up to the land of the state park giving her the opportunity of a life time to meet the most grumpy (BUT INCREDIBLY HOT) park ranger, Ethan. If you love a grumpy, possessive man, who only gives the most thoughtful gifts- your new book *husband* has entered the villa. Together Ethan and his mountain fairy, Tilda are perfection.

I really enjoyed the balance of character development, plot twists and turns that kept me on the literal edge of my seat, with so much delicious “Good Boy” spice sprinkled with a heavy hand.

The story has so many amazing twists and turns. I felts like I was on one of the best roller coasters. SJ, thank you for helping me feel seen in your books and giving me such a glorious love story. Your stories always give me a much needed escape 💕

[fromthestudyof · Rating 5 out of 5]

sexy ranger ftw

things to know:
- small mountain town
- she inherited a cabin from her uncle
- he’s a grumpy park ranger
- marriage of convenience
- dual pov

listen I’m not into calling anyone “good boy” so I just kind of ignored that throughout & STILL had a good ass time

if I read a contemporary romcom over 500 pages this quickly, it deserves 5 stars bc I have no patience for that usually

[Myra · Rating 3 out of 5]

ARC review

This is one of those ARC's I was sooooo excited for!
I love other SJ Tilly books, so for this one I did a little cheer when I received it.

But, I was underwhelmed.
The MMC and FMC felt a little flat, the introductions for both characters were only half there and while some things got cleared up later in the book and made me understand the character better (especially the FMC) a lot of things were just a little off.

The FMC is the sole heir to her uncle jack, who happens to be "close to a friend" to the MMC. This uncle jack has set up a whole scheme of events that involves both FMC and MMC which works for the first part of the book.
And that is where it kind of stops... the story continues but there isn't much happening. There is some spice but it feels weird and not timed right.

At about 80% the thing we as readers partially know about finally happens which throws an obvious wrench into FMC plans but all gets fixed in the end.

It is definitely not a bad book but I guess I expected more from it..

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5-4⭐️

As with every SJ Tilly book, I had an absolutely wonderful time listening to this third installment of the grumpy mountain men series!! I was actually shaking with excitement to finally get Ethan’s story because the tidbits that we saw of him in the last books had me hypeddddd!

Right off the bat you get a man who gives obsessive energy and can tell that when he’s down, he’s down bad. Ethan was so hot & protective & grumpy AHHHHH I LOVED HIM!! Tilda was so cute & she deserved all that she got from her uncle. Her family sucked dick but she had the best protector by her side!

There were so many aspects of this book that I wasn’t expecting and that gave such a nice little boost of excitement, especially if you like a good boy this is for you. I will be honest and say some parts were a bit harder to get through due to a drop in interest or nothing was keeping me invested at that time

Type; audio (thanks MLA)
Spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️

Tropes:
💚 Flannel & Tattoos
💜 Curvy Girl
🤎 Marriage of Convenience
💚 Age Gap
☀️ Grumpy x Sunshine
💜 One Bed
❣️ “Good Boy”