Blog Tour + Excerpt + Review: "Resisting the Grump" by Ashley Munoz

Today, I'm pleased to join the blog tour celebrating the release of "Resisting the Grump" by Ashley Munoz, book #1 of the Mount Macon series.

 

As a teenager, Raelyn Jackson had a massive crush on Davis Brenton, but she was sure he didn’t know she existed until the day she received a note inviting her to a secret rendezvous in the town library. She expected a romantic declaration of his feelings for her; instead, she arrived to find him hooking up with someone else. Heartbroken, she headed off to college and tried her best to get over him. Four years later, Rae is a recent college graduate living in New York City. She's struggling to make ends meet and her social life is basically nonexistent, so when her parents admit that their diner is in trouble and ask her to come home and help them launch a new local delivery service, she does. The last thing she expects is for them to have befriended Davis in her absence, or for him not to recognize her as the awkward teen who followed him around years ago. 

 

For the most part, I enjoyed this steamy small town, age gap romance. Davis and Rae had fantastic chemistry and the sparks between them practically flew off the page. That said, some of the steamy scenes seemed kind of strange to me, in terms of location, timing, and other factors. (A hookup in a hen house? Did I accidentally start reading farmer porn? To each their own, I guess.) Also, while the book is marketed as a romantic comedy, there was some genuine angst to this story, particularly having to do with Davis's past and family situation. It was a lot more emotional than I expected based on the description and to me didn't fit the classic definition of a rom-com, but that, as with most things, is subjective.

 

More importantly, however, I felt as if there were a few plot threads left dangling at the end of the book. For example, it wasn't clear to me what motivated the person who sent the note to Rae asking her to meet Davis at the library when she was a teenager. There were times throughout the story when it seemed as if that person had a vendetta against Davis, but the reason behind it was never explained. Further, I didn't entirely understand why the rest of the town disliked Davis so much. Did they blame him for the same thing as his parents did, or was it just because he was so grumpy and anti-social? 

 

Despite those frustrations, I would recommend "Resisting the Grump" for fans of angsty/emotional contemporary romance and plan to pick up the next book in the series. The brief introduction to Rae's best friend Nora and her neighbor Colson in this story was a lot of fun, and I can't wait to read more about them. 

 

*Review copy provided by the author via Social Butterfly PR. All opinions expressed are my own.

 

About "Resisting the Grump"

Resisting the Grump, an all-new small-town romantic comedy full of heat and humor from bestselling author Ashley Munoz is available now!

Stalking the town recluse wasn’t exactly wise.

Davis was five years older than me…antisocial and temperamental. And there was the little fact that he didn’t know I existed.
Still, I gave him my heart, and he crushed it.

So I picked up the pieces and ran away to New York City. I had a plan that kept my heart intact for four years.
But one phone call changed everything.

Returning home meant facing the past…and the man who ruined me.
I had hoped that the mountain had swallowed him whole. Alas, as I set out to help my parents, I discover he’s not only alive and well, but that they apparently love the jerk.

He has no idea that we have a past, which is both a relief and salt in the wound.
I promise myself I’ll ignore how his eyes linger on me, or the way his touch feels like a live wire, and I’ll remember that once upon a time he broke me and for that I refuse to fall for him again.
But I can’t control that he seems to be falling for me this time.

 

 

Read an Excerpt from "Resisting the Grump"

“Can I kiss you, Rae?” he whispered, moving along my skin.

Shaking my head, my throat bobbed. “No.”

“You don’t seem like the kind of girl who likes to be asked, so I’m just going to do it.”

“Try it and see what happens,” I smiled wickedly.

He stared at me, a tiny smile lifting in the corner of his mouth. “You can’t resist me forever.”

“Watch me.” I glared defiantly, hating that he’d called out something that simmered so close to my core.

His body pressed against mine for a second longer then it vanished. “I think I’ll kiss you when you’re least expecting it. Maybe in church or something.”

“Why bother with this ruse? I overheard you talking that night in the garage. I know my dad asked you to place the order, and I know you think I’m too much work to befriend.” My palms went flat against the brick, so I could somehow find balance.

His stormy glare cut through me, as if I were a cold stick of butter and he was the searing knife, just pulled from the fire.

“You misheard…or at least misunderstood.”

Tilting my head, I asked, “Did he tell you to place the order and lie to me?”

Without a single hitch in his voice, or flicker in his gaze, he answered. “Yes.”

“Then I don’t know what’s left to—”

His grip returned to my waist as his body pressed into mine, pushing me tighter against the brick at my back.

“You misunderstood…I don’t want to be your friend, Rae, and you are a lot of work, but if you haven’t noticed, work doesn’t scare me off. I like work. I like trouble. You’re a fucking delicious mixture of both, and please understand me when I say this”—he lowered his head, his lips just barely a breath away from mine—“I like kissing you.” 

 

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