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Billionaire Dads; Single Dads #2
Surly Romance
Billionaire. Recluse. My new worst enemy.
Darrel Hastings is the sexiest therapist from hell.
Tall. Jacked. Green-eyed jerk.
My mere existence seems to put him in a bad mood.
As hot as he is, I’m not exactly getting warm and fuzzy in his presence either.
So when Darrel mistakenly offers me a decorating job, I turn it down so hard his head spins.
I’m not interested in taming this cold and heartless beast.
Until I stumble on the two little secrets running around his castle.
Turns out, the tin man has a heart.
Why is it always the gruff ones who turn out to be the secret softies?
As we work together, Darrel’s scowls start turning into smiles, and my heart finds a new obsession.
But there’s a reason Darrel hated me on sight, and it goes much further than I’d ever imagined.
When the truth is revealed, can I hold on to my surly beast and his adorable little guests? Or will I lose the little family I’m starting to fall in love with?
Enjoy fierce, determined heroines and flawed, alpha heroes with kids? Then dive in! Every book in the Billionaire Dads series is a slowburn BWWM romance and can be read as a standalone. No cheating, no cliffhangers, and, of course, a guaranteed HEA!
Darrel Hastings is the sexiest therapist from hell.
Tall. Jacked. Green-eyed jerk.
My mere existence seems to put him in a bad mood.
As hot as he is, I’m not exactly getting warm and fuzzy in his presence either.
So when Darrel mistakenly offers me a decorating job, I turn it down so hard his head spins.
I’m not interested in taming this cold and heartless beast.
Until I stumble on the two little secrets running around his castle.
Turns out, the tin man has a heart.
Why is it always the gruff ones who turn out to be the secret softies?
As we work together, Darrel’s scowls start turning into smiles, and my heart finds a new obsession.
But there’s a reason Darrel hated me on sight, and it goes much further than I’d ever imagined.
When the truth is revealed, can I hold on to my surly beast and his adorable little guests? Or will I lose the little family I’m starting to fall in love with?
Enjoy fierce, determined heroines and flawed, alpha heroes with kids? Then dive in! Every book in the Billionaire Dads series is a slowburn BWWM romance and can be read as a standalone. No cheating, no cliffhangers, and, of course, a guaranteed HEA!
448 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 20, 2022
1661 people are currently reading
4621 people want to read
About the author
Nia Arthurs
166 books988 followersFrom an early age, Nia knew she wanted to be a writer and actively began chasing that dream when she was a teenager.
Nia writes interracial romance and contemporary romance with guaranteed happy endings. She loves strong heroines and swoon-worthy heroes, and just enough spice and drama to keep things interesting!
Look for the Taming Series (Taming Mr. Jerkface, Taming Mr. Charming, Taming Mr. Know-It-All, and Taming Mr. Darcy) in ebook format.
And catch up with Nia on Facebook @authorniaarthurs. Happy Reading!
Nia writes interracial romance and contemporary romance with guaranteed happy endings. She loves strong heroines and swoon-worthy heroes, and just enough spice and drama to keep things interesting!
Look for the Taming Series (Taming Mr. Jerkface, Taming Mr. Charming, Taming Mr. Know-It-All, and Taming Mr. Darcy) in ebook format.
And catch up with Nia on Facebook @authorniaarthurs. Happy Reading!
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 250 reviews
May 8, 2023
these are like not great but they’re also like crack.
February 4, 2022
Just OK
I didn't like thus story as much as I liked Kenya and Alistair's story. I even had to force myself to finish reading it. I liked Michael and Bailey and even stuffy Darrel and Sunny and how they carved our singing that worked for them. I liked how Sunny was there for the boys and how she and Darrel started their relationship. I was glad when their shared history was revealed and it looked like that brought them closer together. What I didn't like was Sunny' s mother putting negative thoughts in her head and how Sunny just ran off with that and not asking Darrel questions or as speaking her mind. It was as if Sunny reverted back to being a child and couldn't make a decision on her own. I didn't like Ms. Bennett who seemed to have ulterior motives from the beginning and not considering what was in the best interest of the kids. And the story just irritated me. Darrel was so secretive about everything foe no reason and it was just too long and drawn out. Definitely nor a book to read again.
I didn't like thus story as much as I liked Kenya and Alistair's story. I even had to force myself to finish reading it. I liked Michael and Bailey and even stuffy Darrel and Sunny and how they carved our singing that worked for them. I liked how Sunny was there for the boys and how she and Darrel started their relationship. I was glad when their shared history was revealed and it looked like that brought them closer together. What I didn't like was Sunny' s mother putting negative thoughts in her head and how Sunny just ran off with that and not asking Darrel questions or as speaking her mind. It was as if Sunny reverted back to being a child and couldn't make a decision on her own. I didn't like Ms. Bennett who seemed to have ulterior motives from the beginning and not considering what was in the best interest of the kids. And the story just irritated me. Darrel was so secretive about everything foe no reason and it was just too long and drawn out. Definitely nor a book to read again.
January 27, 2023
4.25 Stars / 2 Steam Fans
Despite some of the hiccups and redundant information, I ended up emotionally connected with this story.
CW: Death, Grief, Guardianship, Adoption, Childhood Bullies, Preservation of Culture, Classism, Enemies to Lovers
Video review available in Week 4: Jan 22 – Jan 28, 2023, weekly book reviews on Steph's Romance Book Talk (https://www.youtube.com/@stephsromanc...)
Despite some of the hiccups and redundant information, I ended up emotionally connected with this story.
CW: Death, Grief, Guardianship, Adoption, Childhood Bullies, Preservation of Culture, Classism, Enemies to Lovers
Video review available in Week 4: Jan 22 – Jan 28, 2023, weekly book reviews on Steph's Romance Book Talk (https://www.youtube.com/@stephsromanc...)
October 30, 2022
I’m really enjoying this author. There’s some thing just slightly off about the writing in this book I can’t explain. Maybe it’s the over the top drama. Or the third act break up where they don’t communicate for a while. Somehow it feels like nothing is well researched. Like she talks about custody battles but it doesn’t feel like she really understands them. Same thing with psychotherapy. The hero doesn’t seem to be a great therapist. In the last book, I thought it was weird that he tried to give his brother-in-law therapy. Seems like that would be too close of relationship. But I still like it and it’s pretty solid.
December 1, 2024
I've read 6/7 books in this series and only 2 of those I enjoyed. This wasn't one of the 2.
This isn't as baffling a premise for a romance novel as Cocky Romance, but it's still so strange to me. The book keeps alluding to Darrel's history with Sunny and his relationship with his old Professor, so you'd think the final reveals would explain some great aspect of his character. Instead, I just became more certain this guy is... kind of an obsessed loser.
As nonsensical as I found the idea of a school giving a student enough time to set up a projector (doubt they commonly used them for pep rallies) and screen a film (who had time to edit that?) humiliating one of the students, Sunny did so because she thought the guy had sent her deranged photoshopped (or simply taped?) pictures with her head on naked bodies. That is plenty creepy. Combined with her history of being bullied, it's not the plot I would come up with, but it makes sense why she wanted to hurt him.
This history being the set up for why Darrel was so awful to her and eventually being the set up for a romance is kinda crazy. There's nothing romantic about that to me. That Sunny thinks Darrel still liking her after that is a sign he truly loves her is a bit delusional. Add to this, Darrel says she's the only woman he ever loved. He really just obsessed over this girl he only knew for part of a semester, a girl he admits to having followed around and spied on, and he never moved on. When he showed up at her parents' house I just rolled my eyes. My guy, let it go.
He’s my chief issue with this book: I never liked Darrel. He also growled so much in the book, it was giving Rottweiler.
Sunny is a character I would've liked more if I didn't think she had this strange desire to mother everyone in her life. When she took care of Kenya, she was the protective mama bear. It made sense because they'd known each other for a long time. In this book, she just leaps right into taking care of Michael and Bailey and then seems completely okay with tying herself to them forever before she'd even gone on a date with Darrel. She's also hellbent on doing things for Darrel after he treated her like shit, told her to go away plenty times, and literally bodyslammed her at the bachelor party. Not super romantic.
Sidenote, didn't think the bachelor party was a cute idea. Not sure why Kenya thought it'd be fun to dance in front of Allistair's friends. Also, made them seem like the kind of couple that didn't want the other to have a party alone.
The only things I enjoyed here were the brief times we see Kenya and Sunny together and some of the scenes with her and the boys. I still think she's weird for basically slipping into that motherly role so quickly, though. I think Darrel's claim he really wanted to marry her (less than like a day after he'd ever even called her his girlfriend, mind you) is reasonably questionable when the book confirms he's completely hopeless at anything that isn't psychology. Most of his "parenting" moments are him reminding the boys to do their homework. He can't even make scrambled eggs properly. There's a vision of his future with Sunny and it's her making him food.
Some random things that were fascinating to me. Kenya mentions running something by her friends: in her book, it seemed Kenya's only friend is Sunny. Sunny doesn't seem to have any friends outside of Kenya. Darrel talks about Max being a jerk but seemed to have spent some time with him. Can confirm, Max is a jerk. The mentions of prejudice and having Sunny defend being rich were choices. Confusing ones to me, but choices all the same. I honestly think social workers get a bad rap in this series. Only once did they do something right and that was in Fiery Romance and that social worker quickly started making terrible, biased choices eventually, anyway.
Of the 6 I've read, it's somewhat more likable than Cocky Romance but only because there's even less of a way to romanticize a romance wherein the male lead first met the female lead when he knocked on her door to pressure her into getting an abortion. That being said, the patterns in these stories are clear to see. All of them involve women taking care of children and only twice was it their own children.
This isn't as baffling a premise for a romance novel as Cocky Romance, but it's still so strange to me. The book keeps alluding to Darrel's history with Sunny and his relationship with his old Professor, so you'd think the final reveals would explain some great aspect of his character. Instead, I just became more certain this guy is... kind of an obsessed loser.
As nonsensical as I found the idea of a school giving a student enough time to set up a projector (doubt they commonly used them for pep rallies) and screen a film (who had time to edit that?) humiliating one of the students, Sunny did so because she thought the guy had sent her deranged photoshopped (or simply taped?) pictures with her head on naked bodies. That is plenty creepy. Combined with her history of being bullied, it's not the plot I would come up with, but it makes sense why she wanted to hurt him.
This history being the set up for why Darrel was so awful to her and eventually being the set up for a romance is kinda crazy. There's nothing romantic about that to me. That Sunny thinks Darrel still liking her after that is a sign he truly loves her is a bit delusional. Add to this, Darrel says she's the only woman he ever loved. He really just obsessed over this girl he only knew for part of a semester, a girl he admits to having followed around and spied on, and he never moved on. When he showed up at her parents' house I just rolled my eyes. My guy, let it go.
He’s my chief issue with this book: I never liked Darrel. He also growled so much in the book, it was giving Rottweiler.
Sunny is a character I would've liked more if I didn't think she had this strange desire to mother everyone in her life. When she took care of Kenya, she was the protective mama bear. It made sense because they'd known each other for a long time. In this book, she just leaps right into taking care of Michael and Bailey and then seems completely okay with tying herself to them forever before she'd even gone on a date with Darrel. She's also hellbent on doing things for Darrel after he treated her like shit, told her to go away plenty times, and literally bodyslammed her at the bachelor party. Not super romantic.
Sidenote, didn't think the bachelor party was a cute idea. Not sure why Kenya thought it'd be fun to dance in front of Allistair's friends. Also, made them seem like the kind of couple that didn't want the other to have a party alone.
The only things I enjoyed here were the brief times we see Kenya and Sunny together and some of the scenes with her and the boys. I still think she's weird for basically slipping into that motherly role so quickly, though. I think Darrel's claim he really wanted to marry her (less than like a day after he'd ever even called her his girlfriend, mind you) is reasonably questionable when the book confirms he's completely hopeless at anything that isn't psychology. Most of his "parenting" moments are him reminding the boys to do their homework. He can't even make scrambled eggs properly. There's a vision of his future with Sunny and it's her making him food.
Some random things that were fascinating to me. Kenya mentions running something by her friends: in her book, it seemed Kenya's only friend is Sunny. Sunny doesn't seem to have any friends outside of Kenya. Darrel talks about Max being a jerk but seemed to have spent some time with him. Can confirm, Max is a jerk. The mentions of prejudice and having Sunny defend being rich were choices. Confusing ones to me, but choices all the same. I honestly think social workers get a bad rap in this series. Only once did they do something right and that was in Fiery Romance and that social worker quickly started making terrible, biased choices eventually, anyway.
Of the 6 I've read, it's somewhat more likable than Cocky Romance but only because there's even less of a way to romanticize a romance wherein the male lead first met the female lead when he knocked on her door to pressure her into getting an abortion. That being said, the patterns in these stories are clear to see. All of them involve women taking care of children and only twice was it their own children.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 20, 2023
this series is kinda so boring, i read it everytime i wanted to fall asleep
May 21, 2025
Surly Romance is a sweet, emotional story about love, healing, and second chances. It follows Darrel and Sunny, two people who have a lot of history and a lot of feelings they haven’t talked about. The book is part of the Billionaire Dads series, and while you can read it on its own, it definitely makes more sense if you’ve read Grumpy Romance first. That’s where you first meet Darrel and get a hint of his story.
Darrel is a tough guy on the outside, but deep down, he cares a lot. He’s quiet, serious, and tries to hide how he feels, but his actions show just how much people mean to him especially Sunny and his foster kids. One of the best parts of the book is seeing how much he’s grown and how much he’s willing to do for the people he loves. His speech in court was so touching, it honestly made me cry.
The romance between Darrel and Sunny is a slow burn. They have great banter and funny moments, but also a lot of ups and downs. There’s a big misunderstanding near the end that feels a bit dramatic, but it still works because you care about them and want them to figure it out. Some parts, like the legal stuff and therapy scenes, didn’t feel super realistic, but the emotional parts were really strong.
The kids were also a big part of the story, and their bond with Sunny was really sweet. The book talks about grief, trauma, and healing in a way that feels real, even if the story is a little over-the-top at times.
In the end, Surly Romance is a heartfelt and funny story with lovable characters, cute kids, and a romance that feels earned. If you like slow burns, found families, and stories about love after pain, this one is worth picking up.
Darrel is a tough guy on the outside, but deep down, he cares a lot. He’s quiet, serious, and tries to hide how he feels, but his actions show just how much people mean to him especially Sunny and his foster kids. One of the best parts of the book is seeing how much he’s grown and how much he’s willing to do for the people he loves. His speech in court was so touching, it honestly made me cry.
The romance between Darrel and Sunny is a slow burn. They have great banter and funny moments, but also a lot of ups and downs. There’s a big misunderstanding near the end that feels a bit dramatic, but it still works because you care about them and want them to figure it out. Some parts, like the legal stuff and therapy scenes, didn’t feel super realistic, but the emotional parts were really strong.
The kids were also a big part of the story, and their bond with Sunny was really sweet. The book talks about grief, trauma, and healing in a way that feels real, even if the story is a little over-the-top at times.
In the end, Surly Romance is a heartfelt and funny story with lovable characters, cute kids, and a romance that feels earned. If you like slow burns, found families, and stories about love after pain, this one is worth picking up.
July 21, 2024
It was kinda cute ig...low-key got bored and forced myself to finish it
May 24, 2023
3.5⭐️
November 2, 2023
The way I wanna kill myself because of that man. The book should have ended at 70% why did he have to go and be an asshole?? I loved him up until he decides to listen to a fucking single idiot and INTENTIONALLY get her high on sex hormones just so she says yes to him proposing to her for the sake of the custody battle like asshole move much
And the way he was so adamant he didn’t do anything bitch please shut that mouth of yours before I shove dog shit in it
And can we talk about how he tried to cozy up to her parents in an attempt to show he cares while he couldn’t fucking cut grass or paint to save his life like ew you’re meant to be this big man yet you can’t even cut grass?💀💀💀💀💀 man is in the words manual labour, what use are you if you can’t even do that? Not to mention she didn’t even know about it until like the end of the book so whatever he was trying to do didn’t show anything. Did he even listen to his assistant’s advice? She clearly said ‘show that you care’ where was the showing? Honey there wasn’t even telling up until he proposed 🙄🙄🙄
And the way he asked for forgiveness mother fucker where is my grand gesture?? Flying to her and booking out a restaurant (for the sake of proposing) IS NOT A ‘FORGIVE ME PLEASE’ grand gesture. Not to mention when her co-worker mistook him for her husband and she was like ‘oh he’s not my husband’ and in he’s internal monologue he was like ‘yet’ 🤮🤮🤮 stfu before I hit you with a pan
The way I loved this man up until the 70% mark, after that every time he opened his mouth I just wanted to shout fuck off or shut up at him. HE TURNED ME INTO A HATER 😭😭😭 I wanted to gouge my eyes out whenever it was his pov like ‘I don’t care about mens opinions unless their fictional’ EXCEPT HIM BECAUSE HE DOESNT DESERVE HER OR A FUCKING POV
When he flew out to see her and then they went on a boat and he was like ‘the boat arrived safely’,
1. I’d fucking hope so, I didn’t read all that for her to die
2. Real shame you made it out alive
3. Lucky for you I wasn’t there or I would have ‘accidentally’ pushed you over board
I tried so hard to pretend that last portion of the book did not happen BUT IT DID AND NOW I WANNA KILL MYSELF BECAUSE HOW YOU GONNA TURN ME INTO A HATER AND HATE LOVE because evey time I see them get cute with each other I just wanted to barf
Anyway it was amazing up until he decided to fuck shit up
And the way he was so adamant he didn’t do anything bitch please shut that mouth of yours before I shove dog shit in it
And can we talk about how he tried to cozy up to her parents in an attempt to show he cares while he couldn’t fucking cut grass or paint to save his life like ew you’re meant to be this big man yet you can’t even cut grass?💀💀💀💀💀 man is in the words manual labour, what use are you if you can’t even do that? Not to mention she didn’t even know about it until like the end of the book so whatever he was trying to do didn’t show anything. Did he even listen to his assistant’s advice? She clearly said ‘show that you care’ where was the showing? Honey there wasn’t even telling up until he proposed 🙄🙄🙄
And the way he asked for forgiveness mother fucker where is my grand gesture?? Flying to her and booking out a restaurant (for the sake of proposing) IS NOT A ‘FORGIVE ME PLEASE’ grand gesture. Not to mention when her co-worker mistook him for her husband and she was like ‘oh he’s not my husband’ and in he’s internal monologue he was like ‘yet’ 🤮🤮🤮 stfu before I hit you with a pan
The way I loved this man up until the 70% mark, after that every time he opened his mouth I just wanted to shout fuck off or shut up at him. HE TURNED ME INTO A HATER 😭😭😭 I wanted to gouge my eyes out whenever it was his pov like ‘I don’t care about mens opinions unless their fictional’ EXCEPT HIM BECAUSE HE DOESNT DESERVE HER OR A FUCKING POV
When he flew out to see her and then they went on a boat and he was like ‘the boat arrived safely’,
1. I’d fucking hope so, I didn’t read all that for her to die
2. Real shame you made it out alive
3. Lucky for you I wasn’t there or I would have ‘accidentally’ pushed you over board
I tried so hard to pretend that last portion of the book did not happen BUT IT DID AND NOW I WANNA KILL MYSELF BECAUSE HOW YOU GONNA TURN ME INTO A HATER AND HATE LOVE because evey time I see them get cute with each other I just wanted to barf
Anyway it was amazing up until he decided to fuck shit up
April 19, 2025
I don’t mind a miscommunication trope but when the WHOLE book is nothing but miscommunications?
September 25, 2024
Ahhhhhh super cute, slow burn romance, since dad kinda. He fell hopelessly in love with her in college and she broke his heart without even realising it. Years later he hates her (well he tries to at first) and she doesn’t know why bc everyone LOVES her.
I love Darrell, I think he’s very romantic, he knew he loved her from the very beginning and he stuck to it, he was an asshole to her at times bc she deserved it ngl. But other than saying some shit, he was basically PERFECT. He’s adopting two kids, he best friends with his ex brother in law, his only other friend is his 60 year old assistant who psyco analysis him bahahah and he’s a rich and hot so that’s a plus xx
The story was going so well, I loved their back and forth bantering and they’re so funny fgs and then boom conflict at 80% bro stfu and kiss each other I don’t have time for this shit. I get Darrel, I really fkn do. He’s so practical and smart like bro knew he loved sunny and he knew he loved his boys and the only way to keep them would be to marry sunny, so he proposes to her and she says no… bc she thinks he doesn’t love her and only doing it for the boys ✨ girl her a grip. And then she leaves for Belize without telling him! Horrible! And then he’s such a good guy he forgives her! And proposes again! Propose to meeeeeee!
‘A random stranger saw my love for sunny faster than she did. Now she’s so blind is beyond me.’ Bro was giving her so many hints and she didn’t take em!
‘Thank you for being sunshine and flowers and a refreshing breeze in the desert of my life.’
‘I hold her hand and I drive to pick up the rest of our family.’ Eeeek their boys!
I love Darrell, I think he’s very romantic, he knew he loved her from the very beginning and he stuck to it, he was an asshole to her at times bc she deserved it ngl. But other than saying some shit, he was basically PERFECT. He’s adopting two kids, he best friends with his ex brother in law, his only other friend is his 60 year old assistant who psyco analysis him bahahah and he’s a rich and hot so that’s a plus xx
The story was going so well, I loved their back and forth bantering and they’re so funny fgs and then boom conflict at 80% bro stfu and kiss each other I don’t have time for this shit. I get Darrel, I really fkn do. He’s so practical and smart like bro knew he loved sunny and he knew he loved his boys and the only way to keep them would be to marry sunny, so he proposes to her and she says no… bc she thinks he doesn’t love her and only doing it for the boys ✨ girl her a grip. And then she leaves for Belize without telling him! Horrible! And then he’s such a good guy he forgives her! And proposes again! Propose to meeeeeee!
‘A random stranger saw my love for sunny faster than she did. Now she’s so blind is beyond me.’ Bro was giving her so many hints and she didn’t take em!
‘Thank you for being sunshine and flowers and a refreshing breeze in the desert of my life.’
‘I hold her hand and I drive to pick up the rest of our family.’ Eeeek their boys!
February 1, 2023
Book two starring Sunny and Darrel. I enjoyed this one too. Although the back and forth was a lot. And it's definitely a slow burn which I don't normally read but it was decent. I like how the kids were in this one a lot more than the first book and how the relationship between Sunny and the children. This one definitely touches on a deeper level of emotions and issues that people deal with. There is mention of trauma and grief so just be prepared if you do read.
December 8, 2023
THE MOTHER MADE ME GO CRAZY WOAHHH I WANTED TO JUMP INTO THE BOOK AND TELL HER MY OPINION BUT I LOVEEEEEED THE KIDS SO MUCH AND IT WAS SUCH A SWEET STORY
October 12, 2024
2.5⭐️
July 6, 2024
Miscommunication tropes make me wanna pull my hair out
June 6, 2023
2.5 stars
February 5, 2023
Dramedy Rather Than RomCom
1. I read somewhere in the description of one of the Blank Romance series books that they can be stand alone books. I don't fully buy that assessment. The characters have more rich backstories in their own stories, but you get a bit of their flavor/are introduced to them from the proceeding book. Sunny and Darrel were introduced in book #1, Grumpy Romance. I read that first and then that led over into this book (which is funny because I was hoping Darrel got a book) as I was interested in his backstory and why he left Wall Street. What I didn't expect, and ultimately came to love is Darrel with Sunny. You'll notice that these stories begin to build on each other and then the Blank Romance family has further expanded. I love when authors world build in this way!
2. I ❤️ the relationship between Dina and Darrel. Darrel is not as hard to understand as he would like himself to be. Because he plays things so close to his chest, that behavior betrays him and gives way to how much he actually cares about circumstances and people.
3. The speech that Darrel gave at the courthouse. As someone who was in foster care, I wish that my own family would have felt that way about me. I was bawling as I read his beautiful words.
4. In Grumpy, the book proceeding this Romance, it did read exactly as a rom-com. I feel like you need to set your expectations to nothing when you move into another book in this series. I think it is a absolute pro, but can feel like a con that each book has its own themes, flavor, and to some degree, genre. This book read as more of a dramedy to me.
1. I read somewhere in the description of one of the Blank Romance series books that they can be stand alone books. I don't fully buy that assessment. The characters have more rich backstories in their own stories, but you get a bit of their flavor/are introduced to them from the proceeding book. Sunny and Darrel were introduced in book #1, Grumpy Romance. I read that first and then that led over into this book (which is funny because I was hoping Darrel got a book) as I was interested in his backstory and why he left Wall Street. What I didn't expect, and ultimately came to love is Darrel with Sunny. You'll notice that these stories begin to build on each other and then the Blank Romance family has further expanded. I love when authors world build in this way!
2. I ❤️ the relationship between Dina and Darrel. Darrel is not as hard to understand as he would like himself to be. Because he plays things so close to his chest, that behavior betrays him and gives way to how much he actually cares about circumstances and people.
3. The speech that Darrel gave at the courthouse. As someone who was in foster care, I wish that my own family would have felt that way about me. I was bawling as I read his beautiful words.
4. In Grumpy, the book proceeding this Romance, it did read exactly as a rom-com. I feel like you need to set your expectations to nothing when you move into another book in this series. I think it is a absolute pro, but can feel like a con that each book has its own themes, flavor, and to some degree, genre. This book read as more of a dramedy to me.
January 16, 2023
“Unless it’s Kenya jumping out of that box, I don’t want to see it,” Alistair announces. “So get them off the freaking stage.”
Who am I kidding?
I’d love to see her, be it for a couple minutes or even just a second.
Geez, she’s hot to the touch. I don’t know if that’s the Caribbean in her or the spice of her personality.
I slant her a dark look. “Can we not fight in front of the kids?”
“We’re not fighting,” she answers back. Then she glances at Micheal and Bailey with a smile that could crush rocks. “We’re not fighting, boys.”
“Whatever.” Micheal plugs his ear buds in.
Bailey looks between us as if he’s not sure whether he should go along with the lie or point out the obvious.
Hello,sexy muscles. Why does touching Darrel’s buff shoulders make me want to forgive him for being rude and overbearing?
Darrel’s bicep is in line with my eyes and if I turn just so I could probably lick his skin. Which is a crazy thought and I hate that I’m excited by it.
“Do you want me to throw you over my shoulder again, Sunny Quetzal?”
“Then I’m not going to stop attending your blind dates with you.” I shrug. “The first one worked out really well.”
“What?”
“Gabor was a nice guy. We follow each other on social media now.”
Her jaw drops. “You didn’t.”
“He shares great farming tips. It’ll help me level up my gardening skills.”
“Darrel.”
“I’m glad we went on that date with him.”
Sunny laughs again. “You’re insufferable.”
“I love it when you show off your vocabulary.”
Who am I kidding?
I’d love to see her, be it for a couple minutes or even just a second.
Geez, she’s hot to the touch. I don’t know if that’s the Caribbean in her or the spice of her personality.
I slant her a dark look. “Can we not fight in front of the kids?”
“We’re not fighting,” she answers back. Then she glances at Micheal and Bailey with a smile that could crush rocks. “We’re not fighting, boys.”
“Whatever.” Micheal plugs his ear buds in.
Bailey looks between us as if he’s not sure whether he should go along with the lie or point out the obvious.
Hello,sexy muscles. Why does touching Darrel’s buff shoulders make me want to forgive him for being rude and overbearing?
Darrel’s bicep is in line with my eyes and if I turn just so I could probably lick his skin. Which is a crazy thought and I hate that I’m excited by it.
“Do you want me to throw you over my shoulder again, Sunny Quetzal?”
“Then I’m not going to stop attending your blind dates with you.” I shrug. “The first one worked out really well.”
“What?”
“Gabor was a nice guy. We follow each other on social media now.”
Her jaw drops. “You didn’t.”
“He shares great farming tips. It’ll help me level up my gardening skills.”
“Darrel.”
“I’m glad we went on that date with him.”
Sunny laughs again. “You’re insufferable.”
“I love it when you show off your vocabulary.”
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 9, 2023
This book should come with trigger warning about parental bullies, I started reading for the romcom but I cant deal with the mother of the female main Character… I can’t. The main character Sunny endures the verbal bullying and the emotional blackmail of her mother. It’s unsettling. No mother that truly loves their child would hammer cultural and racial distinctions as much as in this book. Im from central america and it makes me uncomfortable seen how black people or tan skin people are so traumatized by the cultural and racial divide that they are the first ones to isolate themselves from different cultures. People think black people are the only ones on the receiving end of racism? Right!? Wrong. Let’s talk after you experience bullying and racism for being white, and all of that just because. It’s very unsettling.
Being “mayan” is The ONLY thought of Sunny’s mom. I’ve lived my entire life in the mayan region of Honduras nobody ever calls themselves mayan… there is more to people than their race, their place of origin, and their “tradition” and culture.
Being “mayan” is The ONLY thought of Sunny’s mom. I’ve lived my entire life in the mayan region of Honduras nobody ever calls themselves mayan… there is more to people than their race, their place of origin, and their “tradition” and culture.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 23, 2023
Darell and the boys are great but Sunny was so immature. She acted like a teenager and literally refused to fucking communicate. And how can you not recognize someone who affected your highschool years immensely? I kinda liked her at the beginning of the book but around %80 in I really wanted to punch her stupid face. The story was really good and had real potential but sunny ruined it for me. This book could easily be five stars for me if she wasnt such a bitch. And btw, if you feel so much guilt for what you did, how can you leave him at his lowest because of your fucking delusional ass?? So fucking annoying.
March 20, 2025
Dnf @70%
They got together wayyy too fast . And i feel like there was too much going on with their history in high school / professor stein's kids / sunny’s mom / darrel's father and Sister, just a lot of drama but i guess that’s the point .
They got together wayyy too fast . And i feel like there was too much going on with their history in high school / professor stein's kids / sunny’s mom / darrel's father and Sister, just a lot of drama but i guess that’s the point .
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 31, 2022
She's nearly 30 and shes acting like a teenager, i couldn't get past 60 percent Sunnys character completely spoiled what would have been a great read.
August 18, 2023
fine i guess.
November 29, 2023
This book was truly boring. The storylines are getting to repetitive. I literally had to force myself to finish this read
July 12, 2023
this series is cute i’m gonna continue it now that i read the second book and i’m like ok the author got good writing. i didn’t read the second book right away bc i wasn’t feeling the summary but reading it now it’s so cute idk what about the single parent trope that gets me good but it just eats every time for me. what i’m not the biggest fan is that the main guy in this book and the last one are literally the same guy at the beginning like why all the male leads have to be this cold asshole to the main girl but they end up falling in love w them but end up messing up towards the end like spice it up don’t get me wrong i’m still gonna read that shit but i need some variety if it’s in the same series. same w the main girl too bc they’re the same but they’re best friends so i get why they’re similar bc you’re friends w people like yourself but it kinda felt like reading the same couple but in a different scenario but i’m not complaining yk don’t fix what’s not broken. idk i’m doing such a bad review rn bc i lowkey forgot everything all i remember once i finished this book was that i liked it i cant offer any nuance rn lol. i did enjoy the little past the main couple have w each other and that they knew each other from high school i wasn’t expecting that and not the main girl being a bully to him but it was all bc of a miscommunication but damn that’s a crazy plot line tbh. bro the main girl’s mom annoyed me sm like i do understand her but she was such a hypocrite and hater to my girl and she does have cute moments where i’m like ok i fuck w her but still she’s such an accurate representation of immigrant mom’s it’s crazy. i did eat up the little shit the main guy did to win over the main girl’s mom like that’s cute i will say this guy is way more competent of his feelings and emotions than the last main guy and that’s most likely bc he’s a therapist lol. yeah this is a shitty review i cant think rn so imma end it here but cute book i’m gonna continue the series bc i love a good hate to love single parent book especially w a poc leading character this gets a 7.5/10 it’s good but based on how i’m writing this review it’s not outstanding and memorable it’s gonna blur together w most of the books i read but still would recommend.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 16, 2022
Surly Romance was a book I was excited to read for some time now. The first book in the series was a positive surprise to me and I ended up really enjoying it, so I expected nothing less from the second one. Sadly, it did not meet my expectations.
This book is perfect on paper: opposites attract romance with animosity between the two main characters a single parent trope? These are the exact things that I tend to love in romance. However, in some way that I don’t quite understand, the author did not manage to make this story neither interesting, nor enjoyable.
The biggest problem that I have with this book is that I do not like Darrell at all. This is not something I expected, since after his appearance in the first book, I was looking forward to read his story. Here, he was insufferable. He was rude and snarky to Sunny and the reasons for his behavior were not mitigating at all. He did change the way he was acting after coming to terms with his feelings, but the bad impression he made on me stayed. In addition to being beastly, he simply wasn’t that interesting. I think he had a potential to be this complex, fascinating character, but this potential was not made use of.
Sunny, on the other hand, was a great part of this story (and probably the reason why I am not rating this book one star). She was not only ambitious and hard-working, but also very supportive and empathetic. She had some history of being a mean girl in high school, but I loved the way it was handled: that she grew to understand the wrongness of her actions and toiled away to be a better person. She truly was the highlight of this story.
Sadly, she couldn’t outshine her unlikeable love interest and boring storyline. Though I really liked her character, the rest of the story was bad and it was really hard not to get tired of it.
In conclusion, this book was much worst than the first one. Still, I am going to read the next book in the series, so I can decide whether it was just this time that the author didn’t exactly know where to take the story or whether it was a matter of luck that Kenya and Allister hit hard.
This book is perfect on paper: opposites attract romance with animosity between the two main characters a single parent trope? These are the exact things that I tend to love in romance. However, in some way that I don’t quite understand, the author did not manage to make this story neither interesting, nor enjoyable.
The biggest problem that I have with this book is that I do not like Darrell at all. This is not something I expected, since after his appearance in the first book, I was looking forward to read his story. Here, he was insufferable. He was rude and snarky to Sunny and the reasons for his behavior were not mitigating at all. He did change the way he was acting after coming to terms with his feelings, but the bad impression he made on me stayed. In addition to being beastly, he simply wasn’t that interesting. I think he had a potential to be this complex, fascinating character, but this potential was not made use of.
Sunny, on the other hand, was a great part of this story (and probably the reason why I am not rating this book one star). She was not only ambitious and hard-working, but also very supportive and empathetic. She had some history of being a mean girl in high school, but I loved the way it was handled: that she grew to understand the wrongness of her actions and toiled away to be a better person. She truly was the highlight of this story.
Sadly, she couldn’t outshine her unlikeable love interest and boring storyline. Though I really liked her character, the rest of the story was bad and it was really hard not to get tired of it.
In conclusion, this book was much worst than the first one. Still, I am going to read the next book in the series, so I can decide whether it was just this time that the author didn’t exactly know where to take the story or whether it was a matter of luck that Kenya and Allister hit hard.
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