Ok this was fun and super easy to listen to. Had a lot of fun with it. Loved Tempest and Flynn. The way the story develops is so funny and the whole donkey situation was extremely hilarious . I do like how Flynn gets vulnerable and growths thru the book. I do enjoy too how Tempest stands up for herself and follow her dreams . Overall easy read and fun.

I do really enjoy these silly cozy books, and this one was no exception. Really adorable animal (rescue of course) & lots of punny name ideas for the cutie pie donkey. Amy Award has a great sense of humor for sure! Sexy scenes ensue between the two main characters that are very body positive and consensual. I also loved that this book was about a female writer of romance books, so cute! Highly recommend if you like some silly mixed up with your sexy! This book can also be read out of order in my opinion.

This year hasn't been the best reading year for me and turns out, I just needed a romcom. A lot in this book was kind of predictable but I still enjoyed it a lot. The Jack*ss in Class is the fifth book in the Cocky Kingmans series but you can definitely read the books as standalones. You will be spoiled a bit when it comes to the relationship constellations but I will probably have forgotten about it once I'm reading the other books in the series.

Tempest is a best-selling author but only her best friend knows about it. It's important to her, to keep her life private. It's not that easy, when she has to hide a baby donkey in her dorm and meets the footballer Flynn. They're forced into a tutoring program and have to spend time together. Flynn is cute but also annoying and how can Tempest hide her secret from him?

I really liked Tempest as the main character. She was strong and writes books about people like her, curvy and not perfect. And also a bit spicy. I would love to read her books.

Flynn is the typical love interest you would imagine in this story. His Pov was also nice to follow and didn't felt cringe or like a red flag.

Both of the narrators did a good job. It was a nice listening experience.

Thank you to Netgalley for this audio-arc!

Story Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (0-5)
Narration: 🎧🎧🎧🎧🎧 (0-5)
Overall: 4.5/5
Steam: 🔥🔥🔥 (0-5)

What I'm Starry-Eyed Over:
🤩 Cheers to the toast in the epilogue: "To stories," . . . "The ones we read, the ones we write, and the ones we live."
🤩 Vanessa Vasquez & J.F. Harding are perfectly cast for the personalities of Tempest & Flynn!! They have gorgeous voices and are such a treat to be entertained by. I appreciate the Latina representation in the writing nad the beautiful narration.
🤩 New adult--last year in college and making plans for after.
🤩 Fabulous chemistry and banter!!
🤩 Relationship averse playboy falls first and fast!
🤩 I love everything about Flynn Kingman & his Queen. "The only crown I care about is having the queen."
🤩 Tempest Navarro is a virgin FMC, and Flynn loves doing all the firsts with her.
🤩 The secret romance author plot line is fabulous, especially the mystery leak.
🤩 So much real emotion and love. Plus all the other feels and lots of laughs!
🤩 I cried over a draft pick (who even am I?) but I loved being part of all the action.
🤩 I adore the Kingman family. They love and care and protect so big. "You don't need to fight someone's battles for them. Just make sure they don't fight alone. That's what Kingmans do."

What I'm Wishing/Dizzy About:
💫 We needed two or three more actual steamy scenes rather than just mentions of spicy times. One steamy scene just wasn't quite enough. Although it was pretty great—storm, only one bed, and a very interested virgin FMC! ⛈️ ⚡️

5 ⭐ 3 🌶️ 5 🎧

This has been my favorite Kingmans story yet. I absolutely adored Tempy and Flynn; they were so dang sweet together. And I really loved her character development as she learned to let her secret author side in the light, even more so when she handled the third act with confidence and strength.

The audio was great. JF Harding and Vanessa Vasquez were both fantastic. They brought these characters to life so wonderfully and I really enjoyed this listen. Thank you so much RB Media for the advanced copy!

I was not expecting to be sobbing during a Kingman story! When I say this one hits all the feels, I mean it. I laughed, I cried, I cheered. This quickly escalated from, I’m really liking this one to my absolute fav Kingman story yet. To start, I loved seeing the 2-week playboy fall first. Flynn falling head over heels for a bookish girl who couldn’t even be bothered to look up from her book. It was hilarious! But seriously, Tempest spoke to me in so many ways. This is where the tears started, I felt seen in so much of her character. She truly is that character that makes you believe in yourself, helps you accept yourself. The struggle she felt within her family to be ‘respectable’, to succeed, it is what so many of us face everyday. I have always loved the body positivity within Amy Award’s writing, she is a champion for us plus-size girlies but this story went above that to learning to love yourself as you are and let yourself take up space. The themes of sisterhood, family loyalty and being true to yourself are a gift to read in this story. Words cannot express what this story meant to me. It is definitely going on my forever shelf.

Vanessa Vasquez and J.F Harding were such a joy to listen to. The accents were perfection, the tone spot on for every scene and the emotion drawn out to get every last bit.

The Jack*ss in Class by Amy Award
The Cocky Kingmans series #5. NA sport romance. Can be read as a stand-alone.
Tempest Navarro is keeping a baby donkey in her sorority house room. He’s for emotional support of course, though he’s not technically allowed in the rooms. When the donkey gets loose at the football field, the Kingman brothers come to the rescue.
Flynn Kingman is happy to help catch the baby donkey and is instantly smitten with Tempest. She’s a little cool with him but he’s willing to sit through study sessions with her for her company. She’s not used to total acceptance given her curves, past experience and family negativity but Flynn is all in. Can he be for real? Is she brave enough to try?

🎧 I listened to an audiobook version narrated by Vanessa Vasquez and J. F. Harding. Both narrators did an excellent performance making emotions clear and helping the characters come to life.
I listened at 1.5 and slightly higher to better match local conversation speed.

The donkey is amusing. The falling of Flynn is swoon worthy. The draft and Flynn’s thoughts during the event - amazing. His acceptance of her is beautiful. Her book popularity is awesome.

I received a copy of this from NetGalley and publisher Dreamscape Media.

Thanks to NetGalley and Dreamscape Publishing for the ARC in exchange for my honest review! *The Jack*ss in Class - the fifth Cocky Kingmans book - is a swoony, laugh‑out‑loud college football rom‑com that grabbed me from the moment NFL‑bound linebacker Flynn Kingman chases a runaway baby donkey across campus into the orbit of Tempest Navarro, a curvy, anxiety‑prone sorority senior secretly penning bestselling romance novels. What starts as forced‑proximity tutoring and verbal sparring soon blossoms into undeniable attraction and genuine emotional depth as Flynn breaks his “no girlfriends” rule and becomes Tempest’s biggest cheerleader. Amy Award creates a warm found‑family vibe through the Kingman siblings, quirky sorority sisters, and even the donkey, while weaving in powerful themes of self‑acceptance, body positivity, and following your dreams despite others’ expectations. It’s fun, heartfelt, and confident—a perfect mix of spice, humor, and heart.

I really loved this one! I’ll be honest—the title The Jackass in Class totally threw me off at first, and I wasn’t sure what kind of vibe I was walking into. But once I started reading, I was hooked.

The story was fun, fast-paced, and way sweeter than I expected. I loved the banter, the tension, and all the little nods to Shakespeare sprinkled throughout. It gave the book this unexpected charm that totally worked for me.

If you’re into enemies-to-something-more with a sharp edge and a soft center, I definitely recommend picking this up. Such a fun surprise!

Thanks to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for an advanced readers copy of this audiobook.

To say I'm a sucker for this series is an understatement. After each one gets more and more ridiculous, I tell myself it's the last one... that I won't read the next one. Then the next one comes out, and you betcha, I just can't help myself.

This story might be one of my favorites of the series. The tension between FMC/MMC was just the right amount, and the tone/voice made it easy to fall back into the Kingman's world. I just love a series that intertwines all that came before and lays the groundwork for what is to come. (I see you, Griffin Kingman.) I also felt like the author used the FMC's storyline to air some of her own personal traumas with being a spicy author. Well done!

The audio narration (duel) was great. Both narrators did an awesome job, and with it being duel narration, it wasn't cringy when either of them would do alternate voices.

📚Trope(s): He falls first, Reluctant love (not quite enemies to lovers), Jock himbo / Book girlie, Forced proximity (only one bed!!)
What you get: 🏈🫏👩🏽‍💻🤐
⭐️Plot: 4/5
🔥Chemistry: 5/5
🌶️Spice: 4/5

I love this series so much! It's light, hilarious and heartwarming. Plus Amy Award always hits the perfect balance between story and spicy scenes.
The love between Tempest and Flynn is a slower burn than some of the other Kingman novels but it's SO worth the wait. When these two finally get together you'll be sweating from the heat and sobbing from the tenderness between them.

Another thing I really love and appreciate about Amy's writing is that even though the FMCs are plus it isn't a sole focus. They're confident and beautiful and don't apologize for being curvy. It's refreshing and SO appreciated!

Narrators Vanessa Vasquez and J.F. Harding were great on audio. I thought they both did a fantastic job of voicing male and female characters without it taking away from the story or distracting from that main character's POV. I highly recommend this series on audio!

Thank you to NetGalley, Dreamscape Media and Amy Award for an early listening copy. These are my honest thoughts.

Amy Award killed it again. If rom-coms are you thing do yourself a favor and download this audio. Vanessa Vasquez and JF Harding does such a great job bringing this story to life and leave you wanting more! Also I live for all the cute animal scenes that Amy always delivers on. If you like football romance, a plus size FMC, and an all around good time with a crazy big family on both sides...be sure to check this one out! Thank you netgalley and Dreamscape for the ALC!

Thank you Netgalley, publishers and Amy Award for allowing me to listen to this AUDIO ARC in exchange for my honest review. I will start off by stating the narration of this book was fantastic. Both narrators did an excellent job in portraying the multiple characters of both male/females! I absolutely loved this book. Tempest is one of my new favorite FMC - I love everything about her, especially her growth. She is strong, family loving, loyal, plus sized and smart! Flynn was the perfect MMC, and despite his outer shell, he is a golden retriever! I just love that the plot was bookish. It is heavily focused on family dynamics, which I love! I felt like I was reading Amy are you Tempest? Tempest are you Amy? This book was perfection and I enjoyed every chapter of it! I was fortunate enough to meet Amy in person after receiving this AUDIO ARC, and this book convinced me to purchase ALL of her books! 5/5 for me!

This was a really cute read and one of my favourite from this author. The donkey was an absolutely adorable addition. My favourite aspect of this book though was the secret identity and how it is all handled near the end. Overall a fun book and would definitely continue the series!

🫏 Bookish Thoughts
Hot damn, this was hilarious. I was in desperate need of a lighthearted romance and this delivered.
Tempest is curvy, a bestselling author, anxious, and somehow has a baby donkey in her sorority house 🤣🤣 I related so much to her struggle with family expectations and cultural identity. Her family put a lot of pressure on her. Cries in generational trauma—signed, a Mexican American with a big family and not enough boundaries.

And Flynn? He was everything. A bit of a himbo, but he was so tender and adorable with Tempest. I especially loved how he showed up with her family. Total green flag energy.

Was the ending a little cheesy? Absolutely. Did it make me love the book even more? Also yes. Definitely recommend the audio for this one.

🏈 What To Expect
• Enemies to lovers
• Grumpy x sunshine
• Forced proximity
• Jock MMC
• Bookish FMC
• Curvy rep
• Family expectations
• College football
• Emotional support donkey

🎧 Audio Score: 5 Stars
🎙️ Narration Style: Dual
📅 Pub Date: July 15, 2025
Thank you to Dreamscape Media and NetGalley for the advanced listening copy. All thoughts are my own.

I love this series. I’m drawn in with the cover and the title and stay for the story and romance. Great characters, great families and lots of great banter. Cute Shakespeare references. Loved the narrators!

I received an arc from netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Absolutely loved it. The donkey, the romance, the tension. 10/10 no notes. Amy Award is such an amazing voice and I love her books.

2 stars ⭐️⭐️

Pros:
- I think this book is well suited for those who like Hallmark movies.

Cons:
- I understand that this book is fiction, but it was just too unrealistic (and cringy) at too many parts.
- The plot wasn't very cohesive and kept being switched around just to make a conflict, but it just felt dragged.
- I hated how the Tempest's family members were so stereotypical. The main characters were also sort-of bland.
- I also kept forgetting these people are supposed to be college students.😭

Thank you to the authors and publishers for the audiobook arc.

The Jack*ss in Class is the fifth romance in The Cocky Kingsman series. Tempest Navarro is a college senior, but she’s loving a double life as a best selling romance author. No one but her best friend and agent knows who she really is and she wants to keep it that way as long as possible. Keeping her loved separate is getting harder and harder by the day and the last thing she needs thrown into the mix is a love interest outside of her books, but Flynn Kingsman is hard to ignore. When a baby donkey introduces them everything is changed. There is no going back to before she knew Flynn, now can Tempest manage to juggle a budding romance, her college classes and her secret identity or will she crash and burn?

I have read a few other books in this series and have enjoyed them, but I think this is my favorite yet. I really liked Tempest and through she and Flynn were great together. I loved the vibe Tempest had and the inspiration that came from her character. She is a great role model and I loved the message she was putting out there in her books. Flynn was such a teddy bear when it came to Tempest and I loved this side of him. The chemistry between them was amazing and I loved the humor in this book. This was a great read and I loved the audiobook version.

What’s It About: Flynn Kingman plans to spend his senior year having fun and preparing for the NFL draft. However, his life is turned upside down when he meets Tempest Navarro. Tempest is living a double life, keeping her career as a best-selling romance novelist. The two are thrown together, and sparks fly. Can they find a future together?

Good: Award is a master at creating strong plus-size female main characters. Her characters are a perfect representation that beautifully integrates into the story. Fylnn is a swoon-worthy love interest. His scenes with Tempest are sizzling. Also, the story is addictive; I found myself compelled to keep reading.

Bad: The book is fun and fluffy, but it feels a little surface-level.

Bottom Line: A steamy romance that doesn’t dive too deep. It’s a fun fast read perfect to take to the beach.