She’s the sunshine bakery owner who can’t stop humming. He’s the grumpy widower Sheriff no one dares look in the eye. And his dying grandmother just announced their engagement to the entire church.
Knox Bowen is six-foot-three of granite-jawed silence. He doesn’t smile. He drinks his coffee black on a porch built for two. The last man who crossed him left with a broken jaw.
Riley Hatfield is pink hair, sundresses, and the first woman who has ever stopped him mid-sentence in his kitchen. She accidentally became the favorite person of his dying Nana — who stood up at her bridal shower and announced their engagement to the whole town.
Knox didn’t deny it. His fists clenched. His voice dropped to a growl that emptied her knees. “Get in the cruiser, sunshine. Don’t run.” This terrifying widower makes her coffee at five in the morning, walks her down a country aisle in a borrowed dress, and kisses her at his kitchen table like a man who has just remembered what hunger is for. “Three weeks of pretend.” He steps closer. “It was real on day two. I couldn’t say it.”
Then her runaway fiancé figures out where she’s hiding. And he’s driving south. He has no idea what a grumpy widower with a reason to live again is capable of. Welcome to Cedar Hollow. Where the grumpy ones fall the hardest — and the widowers love loudest.
READER'S NOTE: A grumpy widower Sheriff and the sunshine event planner who tricked him into a fake marriage. Grumpy/sunshine, fake dating, fake marriage, widower, forced proximity, small-town Tennessee, scorching heat, guaranteed HEA. No cheating. No cliffhangers. Each book features a new Cedar Hollow couple. Start reading now.
I am not want to just toss a book aside but this was took all I could do to finish. The premise was good but the repeat of Riley, Sheriff, Knox, Winter every other line and start of any conversation drove me up a wall. I was anticipating arching story lines from then first on however there isn’t any. Overall just an okay read.
The story line is good, worth a better rating, but there were so many errors, from the time frame all throughout the story to ages of the characters, to the Setting of the story, to the facts about the characters. Example Nanas age first time appeared was 72, though MMC mom was 68. MFC was 30, but main character said he was four years older even though his age was referred to as 40. I always finish a book I start but so many issues made me want to stop reading.
One of the most ridiculously written books I’ve ever read
I baulk at giving this book even one star! It’s the most ridiculously written book I’ve ever read! The grammar was so stiff & stilted. No one talks the way these characters were talking to each other!
I'm so glad I'm not the only one who felt completely disconnected to the writing in this book. If it isn't AI, this writer needs an Editor BAD. All the emotional connection was absent from this book and the writing was stilted, no contractions used anywhere and constantly using 10 words where normal conversation would use 3, and felt more like a grocery list of events rather than a narrative story. I shouldn't have forced myself to finish it, but I did. It's literally the novel description of telling rather than showing...and the characters were more robot pretending to be human than human. And Good Lord, the inconsistencies. She was childhood friends with his sister but didn't know him and also lived 7 hours away with her family. He was 40, 36, or 25...who knows which. And on and on.
I'd really feel bad about this 1 star review if I didn't wholeheartedly suspect that I just got suckered into reading my first AI written story.
At times it was funny. She comes to stay with her friend, because the bakery she worked so hard to build, by herself, and trying to maintain it making a profit, has worn her down. She needed to be far away from the constant demands, for a little while. She takes a walk shortly after they arrive, and promptly becomes a near purse snatching victim. Within seconds, it seems she is rescued by a very tall, yummy Sheriff. She later that evening she sees him coming in for supper, because he lives there, with her friend, who is his little sister. He is a widower, and has gone through a traumatic time, that never healed, because he never really grieved. He just locked it all inside, and decided to never get involved with another woman. There is a lot of pain in this story, and he causes her even more because he can't except that he needed to tell his grandmother he didn't want to get married. That if he found someone, he would choose a time. This book has a few tissue worthy scenes. There is supposed to be a bonus chapter, but it wouldn't open at all for me. No place to give email address.I really wanted to read this. Great HEA ending. Trish. A
Honestly, I'd love to know what the specific AI prompt was when the "author" put it into ChatGPT or whatever AI tool they used. I'm not 100% sure the author is an actual human. I mean, maybe?
I have no idea how to describe what this was. The writing was beyond strange. No one talks the way the conversations were structured, nor do they describe things the way the author did. There were very few actual conversations. Everything was short, one or two-word sentences like: "Sheriff." "Riley." "I know." "Baby."
Honestly, I finished it b/c I had to know if it got better, and the premise was actually really cute. The execution was HORRIBLE. If I could give it negative stars, I would. The sheriff is a widower, and Riley is his sister's bff. She is a bit of a nut job, but cute and funny. If this were actually written by a human being, instead of a bunch of AI prompts, this had the potential to be really good. There was no emotional development, no character development.
Book 2 of the Small Town Grumpy Sunshine series. Can be read as a standalone.
'Reader's Note: A grumpy widowed sheriff hero who only softens for one woman. A fake marriage set up by a beloved grandmother. A small town, a front porch, a backyard under an oak tree, and a pink handprint on a birthday cake. Perfect for anyone who believes the grumpiest ones fall the hardest. One-click now and come home to Cedar Hollow.'
The characters drove the storyline and they were very appealing and likeable and complicated and absolutely perfect together. Plot was intriguing and well paced. World building was solidly drawn and impressive. All in all a great addition to the series. Enjoyed immensely and highly recommend.
Grab a copy, kick back and enjoy!.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
This is a new to me author and it’s very well done. The writing style really stands out in that it’s very formal. It’s very noticeable in the sections containing dialogue. The author doesn’t (or rarely) use contractions. Instead everything is written out longhand. As a general rule the vast majority of people don’t speak that formally.
It feels a little clumsy, although it could potentially be an indicator of the education levels of the characters. Or maybe I’m reading too much into this?
There’s a strong emphasis on the emotional state of the two main characters above everything else. The Book blurb doesn’t pan out in the same manner as it suggests in the preview but that’s not a major issue. The main characters are both quite likeable and overall it’s a really good story. I definitely plan on reading more from this author.
I'm not sure how to figure the sheriff's age. He was 21 when he got married, she died eighteen months later, he mourned for five years. Count it up, how can he be 34?!? And it said that he had never been to her apartment but they stayed there when they went to meet her parents. And the apartment was in an apartment block. When they went to move her, the apartment was over a coffee shop!! And when did Maggie move to Nashville? If her parents lived in Nashville how did it take them seven hours to get to the hospital or did they move too!! How did Riley and his sister know each other since they were five but she didn't know Knox!? Way too many descrepencies. Who edits these books?
I fell in love with the Knox and Riley fairly quickly. The story was a deep,well thought and smart one. I laughed and teared up at certain parts. I really liked her writing style and the flow she uses. I doubt there is one contraction used in the entire book. The problem I had was that there seemed to be a lot of inconsistencies. Riley's dad is speaking to Knox about Riley's mom but Roger keeps saying your daughter (to Knox). There are a few other either typos or spots where the language/flow gets confusing and I have to reread a passage to figure it out. It does not happen a lot but it did get in the way of me reading although I am going to jump right in and read book 2.
Where to begin…well, I wish I hadn’t. 300-plus pages of nothing but childish actions (from the FMC) and stupid reactions (from the MMC and the FMC.) The writing was robotic since the use of contractions was practically nonexistent. Contemporary or Victorian, the world may never know.
Poor technical skills could have been mildly forgiven had the story and characters been remotely intriguing. The tip of the iceberg is that fact that the FMC drank and drove and got in an accident over a manipulation as if communication wasn’t an option. All for the obviously manufactured drama. What a waste of time.
I enjoyed the premise and found myself invested in the story and the chemistry between the main characters. The concept had a lot of potential, and I wanted to see how things would unfold.
However, I occasionally found the dialogue difficult to follow and some words and phrases felt repetitive, which pulled me out of the story at times. I also felt that some of the emotional moments didn’t land quite as strongly as I had hoped.
Overall, I enjoyed the book and would happily read more from this author, but I felt the execution didn’t quite live up to the promise of the premise.
A pleasant little romance between a baker and an unhappy local sheriff. I did find the dialogue stilted and at times was confused as to who was speaking. This was because of the way it was set down in the story. It could perhaps be a regional thing, which may confuse those readers from much further away. Also there were occasions later in the book where a character got mixed up with the incorrect destination, but overall not a bad read. A little editing might help.
The premise could've been cute but the writing was so terrible that it was difficult to read. I fast-forwarded to the end from about 65%. The English language uses common contractions and I could not find one in this whole book. The 2-3-4-5-6 word sentences were overused. Writing was awkward and clumsy. Needs a good edit. This is the first Penny Snoak book I've read and I'll be very cautious about another. If you use AI, at least run it through again with the request to make it more readable.
This book had a lot of promise. The storyline was really good. This issues were the many inconsistencies. Seven hours from Nashville yet several times the travel time was shorter. The wedding was in his small town and the reception was supposed to be in Nashville. It was in the backyard immediately following the ceremony. She was a baker and bakery owner,yet told someone she reviewed flour and ingredients for a magazine. Just so many other timeline mistakes and inconsistencies. Such a shame.
This book had so much promise but didn’t quite deliver. There were so many consistency errors. Knox’s age did not match the story we were told in the beginning was the first thing to confuse me and it just got worse, but the book was so long I couldn’t be bothered to keep going back to check. I plowed on through the book and the ending was sweet but I honestly kept getting bored of the stunted back and forth dialogue.
This book got me good with the tears and I won’t lie, I’m a little in love with the sheriff. There was something going on though in this book that I didn’t understand. There was a lot not being said, profound things that I just missed. Was it cultural to Tennessee? Was it just how the author spoke? I’m not really sure but overall, there were a lot of I knows that I just did not know.
The author has an unusual writing style, which I enjoyed at first, but it got quite tedious after a while.
Unfortunately it’s in a desperate need of an editor. Both in copy editing and proofing. There were a number of inconsistencies in the storyline which cheapened the story. On top of that the editing for grammar and punctuation for this was poor and a lot wrong with punctuation. I could have overlooked the writing style if the punctuation had been corrected.
I really wanted to like this book, I tried to finish it but the grammar or editing make it seem like it’s AI. There a more than a few unfinished sentences (ex)where a character goes to introduce themselves and the whole sentence is “ I am.” That’s it multiple times. Timelines do not add up. I couldn’t force myself to move past the parts that didn’t make sense.
The premise of the book was excellent. Small town sheriff meets big town baker. I liked both characters and the sister. My issues came when instead of would the word was will, instead of could the word would be can. Also, I don’t think the author has ever heard of contraction. There wasn’t a single one in the entire book. She also didn’t know how to properly use quotations.
4 stars instead of 5 because the dialog is written and punctuated in a way that often makes it difficult to determine who is talking.
I love the story and the characters. I love the small-town gossip circle. There's no kidnapping, hostage situation, bombs, or terrorism; just the real drama of real life.
Except for the girls issue, really well written and very well done.
I really liked the premise of this story, and the fake marriage/grumpy sheriff concept had a lot of potential. Unfortunately, I found it really difficult to get through. The writing didn’t flow well for me, and the dialogue often felt awkward or didn’t make much sense, which made it hard to connect with the characters. I kept hoping it would improve, but it never really clicked. Sadly, this one just wasn’t for me.
Started off good, funny and then it just went down hill after the fourth chapter. The storyline became stiff, jumped all over the place. The use of their names when talking to each other all the time was like the characters had no connection. I read six chapters and then skipped to the last chapter and that was written equally bad. Definitely would not recommend this book
Too many inconsistencies. People who were dead in the beginning but alive later in the story. They stayed at her apartment in one part of story and later he had never been there. First marriage was in the yard and later in a chapel. Etc. is no one checking for accuracy? I am being a little picky but it was obvious. Story was good. Wonderful love story. Did not like the repetitive lines, however it was still a good read.
Please for the love of sanity, use contractions! Dialogue without contractions comes across as uncomfortably formal and stilted. It’s unnatural and unpleasant to read when you just want the dialogue to flow in your head. This is supposed to be a fluffy romance, not a formal essay. I wanted to enjoy this so badly because I am a sucker for a small town, grumpy sheriff, but I got 13 pages in and couldn’t take it anymore.
Great idea and story line, however it is written poorly. So many things are repeated in a row or so many time throughout the whole book. Some chapters switch POV’s without warning which makes it confusing to understand who’s saying what. Overall didn’t even make it half-way through the book.
It was a cute story line but so many inconstincies throughout the story. It was also repetitive at times. And I didn’t like that there were multiple lines for a statement and it didn’t say who was speaking. Feel like it all made it hard to get through. Okay if you just want a light read
This is a beautifully tangled, definitely non-linear, love story about two people who accidentally fall in love and can’t seem to tell each other. Both have baggage and carry a lot of fear and spend a lot of time getting it wrong before they get it right. Good book!
The book started out with Riley having a specific way of talking. 1/2 way thru everyone around her was speaking in those same simple short sentences which made me laugh. I adored the family relationships and it made me wish I’d had a grandmother like Nana. I did think Riley was a bit too stubborn but I got my HEA along with a baby so I am happy!