Big Pickle

The Pickle Family #1

by J.J. Knight

He’s kind of a big dill.
An enemies-to-lovers, secret boss, gut-splittingly hilarious rom com from USA Today bestselling author J.J. Knight.

They call me Big Pickle.
It’s not what you think.
(Although that’s true too.)

I happen to be the oldest Pickle in the family deli business. And we have the best salami.

Take that one however you like.

But when my father announces the franchise will go to the most profitable of the three brothers, I learn that even though I’m the biggest Pickle, I’m dead last.

I hightail it to Texas to see what’s happened to my restaurant, only to find a sassy little spitfire named Nova Strong in charge.

She’s amazing. She’s sexy. She’s perfectly happy to call bullsh*t when she sees it.

But despite the way we nearly melt the permafrost in the industrial freezer, I have to control myself. Nova thinks I'm a new employee. She has no idea I’m only there to spy.

Or that I'm her boss.

As I get to the bottom of why my franchise is failing, I desperately need to know one thing:

Is Nova Strong everything wrong with my deli, or everything right for me?
___

Big Pickle is a full-length, 300-page standalone romantic comedy full of pickle jokes, giggle-worthy references to male anatomy, and more salty language than a jar of baby dills.

Genres: Romance, Contemporary Romance, Contemporary, Rom Com, Enemies To Lovers, Romantic Comedy, New Adult

310 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 1, 2020

About the author

JJ Knight is the Kindle All-Star and USA Today bestselling author of romantic comedies and sports romance. She’s a fierce mama bear for all the humans under her care: biological, adopted, and those in need of mom hugs. Her books portray characters who learn to push through hardship to find love and belly laughs. For more information visit www.jjknight.com.

THE PICKLEVERSE OF BESTSELLING ROMANTIC COMEDIES:

- Big Pickle: Secret Boss
- Hot Pickle: Brother's Best Friend
- Spicy Pickle: Fake Engagement
- Second Chance Santa: Pickled Holiday Rom Com

- Royal Pickle: Marry a Prince in 7 Days
- Royal Rebel: Princess and Guard Secret Love
- Royal Escape: Secret Identity Princess

- Tasty Mango: Billionaire and Single Mom
- Tasty Pickle: Billionaire Opposites Attract
- Tasty Cherry: Boss and Intern

- Juicy Pickle: Stranded on an Island
- Salty Pickle: Surprise Baby
- Hold the Pickle: Unexpected Roommates

- Wicked Pickle: Bad Boy Biker Bar
- Tricky Pickle: MC Club

ROM COM DUETS:
- The Wedding Confession
- The Wedding Shake-up

- Single Dad on Top: Billionaire Surprise Dad
- Single Dad Plus One: Billionaire Secret Baby

ROM COM STANDALONE:

Not Exactly a Small-Town Romance: Sunshine-Sunshine Work Besties to Lovers

- The Accidental Harem: Yup, what it says. It's...a lot. I went nuts.

SPORTS ROMANCE SERIALS:
Grab individually or in boxed sets.

COLT AND JO
- Uncaged Love 1
- Uncaged Love 2
- Uncaged Love 3
- Uncaged Love 4
- Uncaged Love 5
- Uncaged Love 6

COLT'S FRIEND PARKER AND MADDIE
USA Today bestselling series
- Fight for Her 1
- Fight for Her 2
- Fight for Her 3
- Fight for Her 4

JO'S BROTHER HUDSON
- Reckless Attraction 1
- Reckless Attraction 2
- Reckless Attraction 3

Reviews

[Blair Babylon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh, wow. I totally needed a funny, spicy book like Big Pickle. This is the cure for what is ailing me.

Jace Pickle is in a jam.

The problem? Smack-talking Nova Strong, who is either everything wrong with his deli, or everything right for him.

Big Pickle is one of the cutest, spiciest books that I've read in ages. I could make all kinds of puns in here about how Jace is one spicy pickle, or this book is a big dill! but the book is just funnier than anything I'm going to come up with.

JJ Knight is simply a treasure. (She also writes under the pen name Deanna Roy.) She's one of the nicest people I know. She's one of those people who, if you're in pickle, you call her. (Dang it, I did it there.) Please take a look at her book, because it's as funny and sweet and hysterical as she is.

[Ashleyjo · Rating 1 out of 5]

Ehhh, by 25%, I haven’t laughed once, which isn’t a good indicator for a ROM-COM.

The writing itself is very vanilla. No personality. Wordy. It often takes an entire page to convey one thought of little substance. The first quarter of this book could’ve and should’ve been condensed to ONE chapter at most.

MMC is the eldest pickle bro and in a competition with his other bro’s to take the family pickle franchise over. His store has been neglected… by neglected, I mean that his manager is still on payroll as she has been on six month sick leave in Hawaii.

^^^ No business owner is that damn dumb.

Meanwhile, one of the employees (FMC) just steps up to be the manager six months ago when the employees were abandoned by the manager. No pay raise. No instructions. She just takes it upon herself to f’ with the store money, orders, etc. <<< Again, who would be that damn simultaneously giving and dumb.

Of course, the dunce MMC still thinks the FMC is to blame for all his business’s failings even after discovering his business has been paying a manager that hasn’t even been there in six months.

Unrealistic is the theme. Unrealistic is fine in the right vein, but this book tries to be serious in talking about all the business problems as it has a step in manager telling off the owner’s secretary and saying what she will and won’t do. It just doesn’t work. Be serious. Be outlandish. But mixing both up like a pickle smoothie just don’t work.

If this was written a couple decades ago… it may be slightly believable. Still boring… but maybe believable at least. Today, business simply isn’t operated this way. Hell, the damn country gas station 30 miles from civilization in rural Mississippi has f’ing security cameras. All the “problems” here could easily be investigated with software and security feeds. It’s trying for undercover boss, but that’s for internal quality problems, not the financial problems this book portrays.

Aside from all the unbelievable BS business problems, there’s zero romance going on in this novel. He notices her boobs and she notices how good he smells and some spark when she touched him chopping onions. Wow! Hold the swoon back *insert sarcasm*…

The last straw is chapter 8 starting like this is a different f’ing book. She goes from hating him and wanting him gone after spending ONE DAY with him to arriving the next day and pondering out of the blue why the deli is so different without him there. Dude spent one day chopping onions and being hated, and now she misses him. Huh?

Dull and boring.

SAF plot.

Characters have zero personality. None. Robots. I’ve seen more dimension from cigarette ash.

Romance? What romance. There’s no chemistry in sight.

Laughs? I didn’t even break a smile.

Dead in the water, and this pickle doesn’t even float.

DNF @ 25%.

[Michele McMullen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Big Pickle is a great start to The Pickle Family series!
Jace is in quite the pickle. His father put each of his brothers in charge of one of their sandwich shops. When his store is coming in on the low end, he is off to Texas to find out the problem and hopefully get them on the right pickle path. He is going in like undercover boss!
Nova is the manager of a sub shop, she is sassy, smart and tells it like it is. When her boss sends her a new employee to train that is the last thing she really needs right now. So, when a handsome handful of man shows up and knocks her off her game is it time to show them who is the boss!
This couple is fun, sassy, have great witty smart banter and oh yes, they have quite the sizzle and it is not coming off the sandwich grill!! With a little bit of digging and a lot of super sleuthed spying they soon realize that they have more than downward trend on sales! Get ready for a laugh out loud adventure in the sandwich world with Jace and Nova!
~~Michele McMullen ~~

[Lynn Raye Harris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this story! Just what you want when the world is scary. Funny, romantic, sexy, sweet. And lots of pickle jokes! J.J. Knight wrote a real winner! I can't wait to read about more Pickles.

Put this book on your TBR today and get it when it comes out in April!

*I got an ARC but this is my genuine opinion. Loved it!

[Melody Cox · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found I didn't care much for this book and had a difficult time hanging in their. I finally had to give it up and take a DNF (Did not finish.) I just couldn't hack it any longer.

I may give it a go at a later date. I usually struggle when the hero has been a 'playboy' 'manwhore.'

[Ronie Reads · Rating 3 out of 5]

Don't worry, nothing unfortunate happens to the pickles. Unless you think deep frying them or stuffing them with a cream cheese mixture is in the realm of laws against nature. It's a story of a deil and one owners absence. Until a contest between franchise owners comes into play.

I gave it a mid score. Well ya know all romance has that incident that breaks them up. What I like to see...is how the couple finds their way back to love.

[Julia Kent]

BIG PICKLE starts with one heck of a "meet-cuke!"

When you find a book that lets the characters themselves tell you their unique story, it's such a joy. BIG PICKLE invites you into the inner workings of a deli, the store itself becoming a character in JJ KNight's newest romantic comedy. Nova and Jace are well-developed people who find their way to love, one perfectly-chopped onion at a time. JJ Knight has another hit on her hands!

[Preri · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book. It was an absolute blast.

And I'm out.

[J.J.]

Big Pickle is here!

Find it on Amazon!

[Savannah · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars!

I stumbled upon this book in one of my eBook deal newsletters and sent a screenshot to my group chat because the title is, well, hilarious. I was subsequently peer pressured into downloading the book (it was free!) and tasked with providing a full review. So Meredith, Nicola, Presley - this is for you.

Big Pickle is a dual POV romance that follows Jace Pickle, the oldest brother in a delicatessen dynasty and the franchise owner of Austin Pickle (the Texas location for chain), and Nova Strong, the stand-in manager of Austin Pickle who is really just trying to do her best. The Pickle family is hosting a competition between the three franchises owned by each son, and Jace decides to go Undercover Boss style to Austin Pickle to figure out why his franchise is dead last in the competition. Jace and Nova discover their undeniable chemistry as they try to catch whoever is funneling cash out of the deli.

Honestly, this book was enjoyable! It was funny and charming, and has plenty of pickle puns. My favorite would be the specialty bread the deli serves with chopped up pickles in it, the Dill Dough. I loved Nova as the female MC, and Jace grew on me by the end of the book.

The other two books in the series follow the other two brothers in the Pickle family, and they have some of my favorite romance tropes, so I might just be tempted to finish this series out.

[Zen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Wasn't a big fan of either of these MCs, tbh. The whole business thing was handled a little off, too. Employees taking money from the till as a cash advance. Sex on surfaces at a deli. At least the horrid business practices distracted me from the unprofessional boss/employee relationship hiding another boss/employee relationship.

[Coco.V]

🎁 FREE on Amazon today (2/21/2022)! 🎁

[Jooke · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5*

[Caitlyn Davis · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was definitely a book!

[Melissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 Stars

I thoroughly enjoyed this story. It was light hearted, sweet, sexy and funny. Perfect reading to distract from what’s going on in the world today. Jace/Jason is an irresponsible playboy who has spent most of his life living it up. His father wants to retire and gives his three boys a challenge, the owner of the most profitable deli at the end of the year will take the reigns of the business. Jace is shocked to learn that his deli is almost bankrupt. He has never really paid attention to the business and it is now showing with the evidence before him. Nova is a great heroine. She was strong, feisty and no doormat. She disliked Jason from the moment he opened his mouth and refused to go easy on him. She made him work hard and didn’t immediately fall for his charms. These two spent a lot of time together and let their walls down, they became comfortable with each other and let their real selves shine through. I liked the affect Nova had on Jason. He became a better man, he matured and started to appreciate all he had in life. I really enjoyed everything about this story. It was humorous and filled with extremely likeable characters.

Safety and Spoilers
Completely safe. No ow/om drama, other drama. H does lie to h about his identity in order to catch who is stealing from his business. He knows he needs to tell the truth but he is scared to lose the connection they have. H is a huge playboy who spends his days doing nothing but partying. I am thankful it isn’t brought up that often and their are really not a lot of details about that part of his life. h has dated, obviously not as much as the H but she’s definitely not a virgin. I was a little bummed out that the H left after their separation and didn’t fight for the h. He went back to his old life and old friends but couldn’t relate to them anymore. Both remained celibate during their separation. No abuse.

[Norma · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm still laughing! This is a funny, sexy, crazy good read. Jace Pickle and Nova Strong are the best thing to come to (or in) a deli since sliced bread and dill. J.J. Knight "dill"ivers the biggest laughs we've enjoyed since we last read her Single Dad On Top.

[Judy Lewis · Rating 5 out of 5]

ROMANTIC COMEDY AT ITS BEST!!!
Title: Big Pickle
Author: J.J. Knight
Designation: Full-Length (Approx 300 pages), Standalone, NO Cliffhanger #contemporary #romanticcomedy #secretboss #wealthyplayboy
My Rating: Five Outrageously Cute and Oh So Sexy Stars*****

Oh my! I loved, loved, loved Big Pickle by J.J. Knight! If you're a diehard rom-com fan like me, you probably already know that J.J. Knight is only one of the pen names for the very talented Deanna Roy. She writes romantic comedy and MMA sports romance as J.J. Knight, angsty contemporary romance as Deanna Roy, sweet smalltown contemporary romance as Abby Tyler, and sexy romantic suspense as Annie Winters. But it matters not what name Knight uses since everything she writes is magically delicious, and Big Pickle is no exception. And no, there's no actual magic, just good old-fashioned and very well written contemporary romance with the perfect blend of humor, heat, and heart with a light sprinkle of angst. Without a doubt, Big Pickle is one of the most entertaining books I've read this year. I was completely hooked in the first chapter and couldn't flip the pages fast enough. I snickered, snorted, chuckled, giggled, and outright belly laughed through the entire book. It was fabulous! And folks, this has certainly been the year from h*ll, so I think we all could use a good laugh, right? And you get plenty of those in Big Pickle! But for those folks who like specifics, let's talk a few details.

Big Pickle is a fast-paced, easy to follow, fun-filled, exceptionally well crafted and edited, full-length, stand-alone contemporary romantic comedy filled to the brim with witty dialogue, cutesy one-liners, laugh-out-loud humor, a cast of engaging and endearing characters, a little angsty drama, a few spicy secrets, heartwarming romance, and an attraction that won't be denied. The narrative is beautifully written in the first person with clearly defined his and her perspectives from the two protagonists, clueless, absent deli owner Jason Packwood aka Jace Pickle, and beautiful, hardworking, a little quirky, and very spunky stand-in deli manager Nova Strong. These two characters were total opposites, one a wealthy, entitled, 30-year-old playboy and the other, a hardworking college student. But it’s a match made in heaven. Their chemistry was off the charts, and they complemented each other brilliantly. The dialogue is smart, snappy, at times outrageously funny, and flows effortlessly. I was immediately smitten with Jace Pickle aka Jason Packwood, eldest of the famous Pickle brothers and owner of Austin Pickle in Texas. His store had been a gift from his father while attending college in Austin. His dad, Sherman Pickle, owner of Manhattan Pickle and chairman of the Pickle Deli franchise, did the same for his two younger brothers when they left for college. Max Pickle, the middle sibling went to school in Los Angeles and now owned LA Pickle, and the youngest, Anthony Pickle, was now proud owner of Boulder Pickle. Their Grammy Alma started the ball rolling many years ago, when she opened the original store, Brooklyn Pickle. Jace was living large, jetting around the world, and living the life of a wealthy playboy but at the ripe old age of 30, I think Jace had become a little lost and bored with life in general. He'd pretty much left his deli to run itself. He hadn't even looked at a financial statement for his store in at least a year, not knowing it was on the verge of going belly up. But now that his dad was ready to step down and wanted one of his sons to step up and take over Manhattan Pickle along with the entire franchise, he’s more than a little surprised to learn that the brothers and their stores would actually be competing against each other for the position. And his store was already dead last! What?!? Jace returns to Austin to find out what's wrong at his deli and meets sassy Pickle employee Nova Strong. Nova was the bomb - smart, capable, hardworking, spunky, and gorgeous! But poor Nova! She went from being a part-time employee to the kinda, sorta, stand-in honcho for Austin Pickle after the head manager of the store went on unexpected and very sudden medical leave, causing most of the employees to quit and leaving Nova with the most seniority. So, she became store manager by default and was stuck doing the manager's job, but without proper excess to store records, operations, and suppliers, and with NO raise in pay. Unfortunately, she’d never met the owner, Jace Pickle, and had been unable to even get him on the phone, despite having tried many times! And this is where the magic between Jace and Nova begins! Their meet-cute was hysterical! Jace walks into his own store and is NOT recognized. In order to ferret out the problem, he decides to apply for an in-store advertised job opening and gets grilled...um, interviewed by Nova. Obviously, he doesn't use the name Jace Pickle, but his real name Jason Packwood. Nova has no idea who he is. And folks, these two are at each other's throats immediately, resulting in outrageously cute antics and dialogue. Jace suspects Nova of wrongdoing and possibly responsible for the problem at his store. Nova doesn’t trust Jason and thinks he may be a spy or has some sort of ulterior motive for being there. Their witty banter, sassy comebacks, and pickle puns are absolutely hilarious and keeps you entertained from the first page till the last!

Did I like this book? No, I LOVED it! Would I recommend it? You bet, and I am but only for adult readers since it does contain some steamy love scenes! If you want to read romantic comedy at its best, this is the book for you! Will I read this author again? Absolutely! J.J. Knight is an automatic buy for me, every single time! And finally, was I entertained? Completely! Fabulous entertainment and an awesome read!

[ButtonsMom2003 · Rating 5 out of 5]

So funny and yet a touching love story.

Big Pickle is a really funny romantic comedy full of double entendres and witty repartee between the two main characters, Jace/Jason and Nova. It's told in first person POV, alternating between Jace and Nova.

Jace is the owner of a deli franchise owned by his family. Nova has been working there part-time for a few months when the manger goes off on sick leave never to be heard from again. She's been holding things together the best she can.

When Jace's father challenges him and his brothers (who also own franchises) to see whose store can make the most profit by the end of the year, Jace is startled to learn that his store is in last place. He's been totally hands-off at the deli, living a playboy lifestyle, but decides he better visit his Austin Pickle store and find out what's going on.

Jace and Nova work together to figure out what's happening to the profits of Austin Pickle. They also give in to the sparks between them and boy are the sexy times HOT. There's just one problem, Nova doesn't know who Jace really is.

It will come as no surprise that when she finds out things blow up between them but getting to that point is a rollicking good time. One of the funniest things is a specialty bread the deli sells called the Dill Dough. LOL

I've not laughed so much while reading a book in a good while. Of course, I'm brought to tears when things go south but I knew that JJ Knight would give me a happy ever after. The ending and epilogue were perfect.

Jace has two brothers that play minor roles in Big Pickle. I wonder if we'll get to hear more from this family? 😊

[Pelusa Rivera · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first time that I have ever read from this author..I truly enjoyed this book. We meet Jace who is a spoiled brat, but on hearing his father make a competition to give the reigns of the company to him or one of his brothers, he got a little afraid that he would lose where his money is coming from and when he sees what bad shape his store is in decides to do something about it. He comes to find Nova running the ship since his real manager is know where to be found..Grab a copy and Enjoy! I hope we get more from the rest of the brothers.

[Whit · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute, Humorous and Sassy!
Sherman Pickle wants to retire. So he sets up a competition between his three sons to prove who can turn the biggest profit in their individual Deli business. Two of the brothers are hands on, but Jace has neglected his Deli, wasting time on whiskey, women and parties!
So he travels to his Austin Texas deli where talented and beautiful Nova has been holding down the fort. And she is not about to let all of her hard work go down the drain. Really funny!

[Gina *loves sunshine* · Rating 3 out of 5]

kinda cute - the name is definitely racier than the book!! It was a good listen and I liked the narrators they kept it somewhat interesting! I actually found all the details about running a delicatessen the best part of the book. Otherwise this was a cute contemporary romance, tiny little mystery, very predictable but obviously a seasoned writer.

[Ann Hupe · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great romp in the deli world where a family legacy rebel gets a chance with a real romance.

I needed this book. I needed something to pull me out of my current book funk, and I realized I had bought this pickle which has been sitting on the back burner, waiting for me to chance a peek inside.

I'm glad I did.

I've read JJ Knight before, so she's no stranger to me. However, this light "comedy" romance was new to me, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Sure, it contains plenty of pickle puns and deli jokes every time you turn around, but at least I haven't heard these joke yet! I love its main characters — and they're not just the hero or the heroine, folks — and I appreciate seeing that as both a reader/writer/editor/publisher. Sure, we have a romance subplot wrapped around another subplot where someone is embezzling the deli, not to mention a contest between the Pickle Brothers on whose store could earn the most (the reward would be the entire Pickle Empire!). Very enjoyable.

I appreciate the fact that this IS a novel with plenty of room to do the storyline justice. Better editing this time than in the Billionaire single dad duo. I took a peek on Amazon to get an idea on what the other two books in the series was all about, and I think it's worth purchasing the next book in line just to see how the series goes.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very cheesy. Helped pass the quarantine time

[BayLee · Rating 3 out of 5]

"pickle" is mentioned 303 times

[Lisa Mandina · Rating 5 out of 5]

So this story had me laughing out loud from the very beginning. I mean obviously with that title, you know it’s going to probably have a lot of play on different types of risque jokes you can make with pickles. And this had all of them, and then some that I’d never thought of! For instance, they had to name all the things in the deli something to do with pickles, I mean that was the “family” name. So the new bread type was called “Dill Dough”. LOL! Now when we talk about the family name, actually, the real one was worse. At first, I read it, Packwood, and was like, well, that’s not that bad. Until the jokes came, about packing wood.

The humor was great, and the characters were all really fun, even the side characters added so much to the story. Of course the one thing that always annoys me is not telling a secret, one that probably won’t make that big of a dill (okay, I couldn’t help but throw one of the jokes in myself) in the long run.

Of course it all worked out in the long run, because we have an HEA. I was kind of surprised that we did find out who won the competition between the brothers, because in my mind, I’d assumed maybe we were going to get a series with each of the three brothers having their own book. However I don’t believe knowing who wins will ruin anything. I’m hoping the author will still go back and give us Max and Anthony’s stories as well! I have to say I’ve also now found a new author that I will be checking out as many more books by her as possible in the future!

Review first published on Lisa Loves Literature.

[Jen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was pretty good for a 'new to me' author. It was funny and I loved the play on words. The biggest issue I had was the whole 'sleeping together on the clock' deal. I mean Nova is supposed to be a manager for the store and Jace is the freaking owner, yet they both have little trysts in the office in the middle of the work day when things aren't so busy, all with employees outside working at a sandwich shop. It just rubbed me the wrong way with someone who was getting paid to do a certain job taking those liberties. And because of that, I had to deduct a star. I get the chemistry and liked them together. I just didn't think it was very professional in a fast food setting and was more of what you'd expect from an actual office romance.

[Cris · Rating 2 out of 5]

**Unpopular opinion**

So I read this book because it was super recommended, they told me I was going to laugh my ass off... but nothing happened, I didn't even chuckle so I'm not sure if we read a different book or what but this is a big fat no to me.

[lind · Rating 1 out of 5]

worst book ever.
0,5/5 stars.

[Debra Johnson]

Purchase Amazon Feb 21, 2022

[Kasandra Setrakova · Rating 3 out of 5]

היי חברים וחברות,
ראיתי פירסום אתמול על הדואט הזה..
למרות שזה לא דואט, כי כל ספר הוא על אח שונה...
לא משנה.... אני בתקופה שאני נהנת מספרים.. מוזרים אז.. כמובן שישר התחלתי אותו 🤣

אז ככה.. ניקוד~
הראשית~ 🥒🥒🥒🥒
הראשי~ 🥒🥒
כתיבה~ 🥒🥒🥒
פלוט טוויסט~🥒🥒🥒

ציון ספר= 🥒🥒🥒

סה"כ ספר לא רע, הזכיר לי מאוד את להסתבך איתך, רק שזה היה מוצלח יותר.. כאילו הבחור פחות יהיר.. הבחורה חזקה יותר...

הסיפור פה על בחורה עצמאית, שמוצאת את עצמה במצב לא קל... אבל היא לא מוותרת ומתמודדת עם זה בגבורה... אפילו אחרי ש'מקבלת' מתמחה חדש לעבודה..

ובחור עשיר יהיר ומפונק... שסוף סוף מתחיל לעבוד.

אז יש פה סיפור על על בחור, שמשפחה שלו בעלת רשת מזון.

🥒I’m the eldest of all the cousins. I’m the big Pickle.🥒

הוא מגלה שיש לו בעיות בעסק שלו... ומגיע לברר את העיניין

🥒Nova Strong. I sure didn’t expect her. Tiny as a mite. Sparkling brown eyes. More personality than a Saturday morning cartoon. And apparently, running the place.🥒

ו.... הבחור המקסים שלנו מתחזה לעובד חדש, כדי לתקן את הבעיות שיש לו בעסק.
מנסה....

🥒“You know what,” she says, “that’s it. You’re out. Jace Pickle can shove his pompous rich protégé right up his ass.”🥒

והאחים שלו ממש תומכים בו 🤣

🥒“Did she fire you already?”
“How did you know?” “I was expecting that call yesterday.”🥒


בזמן שנאווה מאבדת את זה

🥒“I’m with you, but—” “No! You are not with me. You’re not here. Having to deal with him. He can do his internship somewhere else. Not a store where we don’t really have a manager. I can’t even figure out how to stop the cheesecakes from coming. We’ve got the wrong pickles. And I don’t have access to any ordering or delivery systems. Do you realize when I need more pickles, I have to pay in cash? I’ve got stupid sticky notes everywhere to keep track. This is no way to run a business. The last thing I need is a snot-nosed MBA coming in here and trying to tell me I’m doing it wrong. I know I’m doing it wrong. I don’t have a choice!”🥒

ומר מלפפון חמוץ שלנו, מגלה שהוא חרא של בוס

🥒“Wait. What does the freezer have to do with Jace Pickle?” He takes his time screwing the lid back onto one of the yellow buckets. “You don’t get it? We named the freezer JP after the son of a bitch who left us out in the cold.” Point taken.🥒

עם הזמן... הוא מבין דבר נוסף

🥒As I chop the pickle for the Dill Dough, I realize I need to ask myself the question: Why am I still here? But the answer comes easily. I’m not ready to leave Nova Strong.🥒

המצב בינהם מתחיל להתחמם

🥒I’m so fucked. “Jason, you’re strange. Do you have a librarian fantasy or something?” Mostly a Nova fantasy, but I can’t say that. “Maybe.”🥒

ואז בוווום

🥒“Is Nova here?” I ask. “I told that girl you would break her heart. I had no idea it would be like this.” Lamonte’s withering expression could peel paint off a wall. “You didn’t answer the question.” Lamonte is undeterred by my attitude. “Nova isn’t here. She called me, and I got the keys. I’m taking over the role of assistant manager until she can finalize it, I guess with you.”🥒

וכולנו יודעים מי היא הדמות האהובה בסיפור

🥒“This is my deli. I could fire you.” “You assume we even want to work for you anymore? This is about Nova. She’s got dreams, mister. She needs this job for those dreams. So, you get on out of here and let her live her dream. Let her make her money and go back to school. She doesn’t need you, or anybody else to get it done.”🥒


כי ג'ייס... לא אחת דמות החזקות שיצא לנו להכיר...

🥒I thought two weeks on the Riviera would be amazing. A return to my old life. The beach is just as white. The water is blue, and all the old cronies I always hang with are there, ready to party. But none of it works. You’re all saying, “I told you so.” I know. The refrain of all your disapproving🥒

אבל הבחורה אוהבת אותו, והוא כן עושה דברים נכון..

🥒Nova is still fiercely independent, paying for her mother’s apartment as well as school. I love this about her, but I’m constantly trying to think of ways to help. But readers, I have a secret in my pocket. No, it’s not a pickle. You guys are hilarious. I think you know what it really is. I can count on you to keep quiet, right?🥒