This book was charming and a very feel good read. It has everything you'd expect from the small town, grumpy sunshine, and fake dating tropes. It was overall very engaging and felt like a Hallmark movie. If you're looking for something light hearted and fun, I definitely recommend this!

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC. The opinions below are honest.

I just couldn't get into this one unfortunately. It was a Hallmark movie style of book with potential:
- small town romance
- fake dating
- dramas
I just found it moved a bit slow for my liking.

Thank you NetGalley and Kate O’Keeffe for this ARC!

I am surprised I enjoyed this book more than I thought I would.

This book is such an easy and enjoyable read. I really liked the characters in this book. I recommend reading this book if you’re looking for an easy and cute read!!

This book was such a feel-good book with lots of wit and banter, which is my absolute favorite in a romance novel! Set in the cozy atmosphere of the Pacific Northwest, you get all the vibes of comfort with this one, especially with the Second Chance Cafe! I really enjoyed seeing Harper & Christopher's characters develop throughout the book to become more independent, confident and open to love. While some of the dialogue felt cheesy at times, I enjoyed it! I know "cheese" isn't for everyone, but I thought it added to the story and the sweet kind of love these two have!

If you're enjoy the grumpy/sunshine trope and are looking for a cozy, comfort read, this should be at the top of your list! I would definitely recommend!

I love the books that when he is a man so pathetically in love with her that he doesn't behave normally. AND THIS BOOK HAS IT.

HE IS GRUMPY BUT WHEN SHE IS CLOSE HIS MIND IS CHEF KISS. I LOVED IT

Loved the cover but that's about it.

I'm not sure if the author manages to redeem Christopher/Kit at some point during the book because I'm bowing out at 35% but after the following internal dialogue from the MMC in regards to the FMC:
"... showing off her slim waist and womanly figure. And yeah, I notice. I am a guy"
and
"Beautiful and funny? Can that be called a double threat? If she's smart too, I'm a dead man"

No, thank you.

I also felt uncomfy with the nodding / Japan comment.

Throw in a gerbil named Lady Scrunchy von Rodentsworth and I just don't have time for this.

*I received this as an arc from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Review in progress and to come.

I received a free copy of this book via NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving a review

Cute, flirty rom com!
Harper is living with her high school boyfriend who is an up and coming actor who finally gets a part in a vampire TV show. And promptly dumps her for the costar of the show. And after she's supported him for years! How dare he!
So she moves back home. Disgraced.
But she's also always wanted to be a school teacher at the elementary school where she grew up. And she loves her home town. She just hates that people also remember Dax and that he grew up here too.
Until Christopher moves in. And he's gorgeous. Kinda stuffy in his suit, but that kiss when they first meet! And they decide to fake date for reasons that benefit each of them for their own reasons.
And she discovers he's not quite as stuffy as he appears.
She's gorgeous and beautiful and exactly what he wants but can't have.

Read it and find out if she can reach through to the grumpy guy and if he can determine that he deserves the girl.

This was a fun, grumpy-sunshine trope story. Harper has just been dumped by her high school sweetheart Dex in a very public way. She thought she was going to Santa Monica Pier to get proposed to, but instead, she gets dumped by Dex for his co-star on a popular vampire show. Shocked, she dumps her soda on Dex, and the video goes viral. With that, she decides to move back home to Hunter's Creek, where she meets Christopher, a lawyer from New York City who secretly works to acquire the town's mill. He is quiet and serious, not outwardly appearing to be fun. When he sees Harper, he thinks she's beautiful but has always been goal-driven and decides it wouldn't be wise to pursue anything. In a twist of fate, though, he ends up fake dating Harper but their feelings quickly become real. It's a fun, quirky Hallmark movie in novel form.

3.5 ⭐️ (rounded to 4 on goodreads)!!!

this was a sweet romance (no spice just to let you know) but I wasn’t necessarily looking for that. the combination of sweet & nosy small town vibes was perfection, it gave me all the gilmore girl vibes just as kate said it would!!

I will say that the character development in this book was what I loved most. Harper finding herself & choosing herself first for once after years of people pleasing & saying yes to everyone who asked things of her, but she finds her voice in heartbreak. & Christopher, oh grumpy Christopher. I loved him. he thought he had to keep achieving to be happy all to find complete happiness is the complete opposite place he was looking.

I think what I didn’t enjoy was the timeline of events. certain things just felt too quick or unrealistic. I didn’t love that considering it was a normal sized book it was insta love in some ways. i’m not usually an insta-love person unless it’s novellas.

but overall generally, I enjoyed the book & will definitely be read another of Kate’s books!

4 ⭐️ / 5

thank you so much to Xpresso Book Tours for an ARC of Faking It With The Grump ~ Kate O’Keeffe ( I received an ARC via NetGalley)

i absolutely adore small town and grump x sunshine romances and this combo did not disappoint me one bit! Hunter’s Creek is such the perfect setting for this book!

i instantly fell in love with both Harper and Christopher, and i think their connection is adorable! watching both characters grow and develop made this such a fun read for me!

the book definitely contains a few too many commonly included tropes (fake dating, love at first sight, small town, grumpy x sunshine) and feels like a bit of a movie, but I really enjoyed this combination!

i did not get bored of the book, and read it so quickly!!!

i definitely recommend if you’re looking for a light-hearted small town romance to lift your mood! this is my first Kate O'Keeffe book and I have definitely been missing out!

3.5⭐️ this book was such an easy and enjoyable read. I really liked the characters in this book and would read the rest of the series when they’re published. Topher wasn’t that grumpy in my opinion. I do like the sunshine x grumpy books and this book kinda worked for that genre but not entirely. I would recommend reading this book if your looking for a easy and enjoyable read!!

this is what ive been wanting for! grump/sunshine and a whole lot of spice. I couldn't put it down I absolutely devoured this book.

First of all, the way the book starts will have you hooked so quickly into the plot. I started this one night and then when i couldn't get back to sleep at 3 a.m. I decided I'd read some- well at about 7 or 8 that morning I finished it when the sun was coming up!

This story reminded me of a small town version of The Spanish Love Deception (one of my favorites). I love Harper and her sense of style- she like the PNW's version of Rory Gilmore within her town. Christopher totally falls first and you can feel it from the first moment they (kinda) meet.

Towards the end I thought some of the drama could have totally been avoided but i also recognize then there wouldn't be a book without it.

I was pretty excited for this book as I love fake dating and the sunshine grump trope, but ultimately I do think this book fell short. I was very into it in the beginning and it picked up fast but then it fell off and I struggled to finish it as I think it was a bit lackluster. I think it came down to a lack of chemistry. I still thought this was a cute read but just didn't hit the mark entirely.

Thanks to NetGalley and the Publisher for a copy in exchange for an honest review ◡̈

I loved this! The fun combination of grumpy/sunshine small town and fake dating - Christopher and Harper were the cutest. I really enjoyed how light and sweet this one was! Usually insta-love is a bit too much for me but this was balanced perfectly with so much joy within the characters and great humor in the little town.

Faking It With The Grump was a quick and enjoyable rom-com that featured two of my favorite tropes: fake dating and small town romance. There were definitely some Hallmark vibes here, and that’s a good thing in my book.

We follow Harper and Christopher. Harper returns home to Hunter’s Creek from LA after her long-time boyfriend and popular actor broke up with her and the whole fiasco went viral. Christopher is in Hunter’s Creek from New York. His company wants to buy the town’s lumber mill so he’s there to check if that’s a good idea. He’s only focused on work and getting that big promotion he’s worked so hard for. But when Harper gets a little tired from the entire town pitying her, she makes up a new boyfriend on the spot just so everyone will leave her alone. And said new boyfriend is no one else than new-in-town Christopher. Who is her complete opposite in every way.

While enjoyable overall, I did have some mixed feelings as well. I loved the first half of the story. I loved the set up of both of the characters, I loved the small town vibe that we get in Hunter’s Creek, the variety of quirky town people and their love of flannel and their tendency to name every establishment in town after a bear. Both Harper and Christopher were fun characters and I loved the switching POV’s to get into both of their heads. And I adored their meet cute and the set up of the fake dating hijinks. All the good stuff, all the tropes I loved were there.

But then the second half fell a bit flat for me. The romance went from fake dating to real feelings a bit too quickly for me and I would have preferred bit more slow burn. I also missed some depth in both of the characters, their feelings and even the rest of town people. But what irked me most of all after finishing the book? There is no way you could call Christopher a grump. He was serious and a bit uptight, yes, but he was also a sweet cinnamon roll. Never a grump! So I definitely disagree with both the title and marketing calling this a sunshine/grump story.

Overall, I’d recommend this book if you’re looking for a quick and easy rom-com read with Hallmark vibes and all that small town romancey goodness.

Faking It With the Grump by Kate O'Keeffe is everything a Hallmark movie embodies and more! I love the character development. And the small town vibes gets me everytime! This author was new to me and I cannot wait for book two in this series and her other books!

Was really excited about this book just by the name of the book. As I really love grumpy x sunshine.

First few chapters was honestly pretty good, but as the story progresses, I found that them falling in love was a little too quick(?). But I really like the small town vibe that is going on there and Christopher's decision in the end.

Overall, its okay but did not really pull me into the story.

- Thanks net galley for the ARC copy -

Such a cute book. Small-town romances are on a different level. I love the connection between the characters. I love the relationship between the people of Hunter’s Creek, like one big family. I love the simplicity and ease of this book, the light atmosphere.

I just didn't enjoy how Harper and Christopher seemed to share the same brain. They had the dame thoughts towards one another and I found Christopher to conflict himself quite a lot. It was just annoying to see them battle with their obvious attraction towards each other like primary school students.

Also, that nickname Topher? It was cute but at the same time, kind of cringe.