The Art of Falling in Love with Your Grumpy Neighbor by Anne Kemp: Book Review

 ** ARC received for consideration. All opinions are my own.

The Book

All’s fair in love and war…ESPECIALLY with your grumpy, smoking hot, former football-superstar neighbor.

Bex: Expecting solitude from my new home shouldn’t be the exception. But when you move next door to the grumpiest human on earth, what’s a girl to do? Austin Porter may be a former football star, but this man does not have an attitude of gratitude.

When the strip of land that divides our properties becomes a literal bone of contention, we finally find something we can both agree on: war. Only, I don’t want to fight. I want to show this man that sometimes, the greatest comebacks happen once you’re off the field.

Austin: Was I defined by the game I played? Probably. Judging by the darkness I seem to be most comfortable sinking into, the memory of days now gone by is a weight that threatens to drown my soul. Then she moves in next door.

I never expected a woman like Bex to appear and get me so fired up, but I can see a beacon of light for the first time in a long time. She’s everything I’m not––warm, caring, full of life. And I’m pretty sure I’m falling in love with her.

The Art of Falling in Love with Your Grumpy Neighbor is a closed door, enemies to lovers, grumpy sunshine rom com with no third act break up. Like all of my books, there are super swoony (steamy adjacent!) kissing moments, tension, and plenty of chemistry in this small town romance!

The Author

Anne Kemp is a bestselling author of romantic comedies. She loves reading (and she does it ridiculously fast, too!), gluten-free baking (because everyone needs a hobby that makes them crazy), and finding time to binge-watch her favorite shows. She grew up in Maryland but made Los Angeles her home until she encountered her own real-life meet-cute at a friend's wedding where she ended up married to one of the groomsmen. For real.

Anne now lives on the Kapiti Coast in New Zealand, and even though she was married at Mt. Doom, no…she doesn’t have a Hobbit. However, she and her husband do have a terrier named George Clooney and when she’s not writing, she’s usually with them taking a long walk on the river by their home.

You can find Anne on her website - come say hi! She’d love to hear from you: www.annekemp.com

On Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Pinterest: @missannekemp

On TikTok: @annekempauthor

Book Review

The Art of Falling in Love with Your Grumpy Neighbor is the sixth book in the Sweetkiss Creek series. While those who have read the previous books will appreciate seeing some familiar characters, this could be enjoyed as a standalone as well. 

Oh what a fun book this one was! When the story starts out, Austin has turned into quite the grump after an injury has kept him sidelined from his NFL career. Bex was certainly the sunshine to his grump, but I also loved that she absolutely would not take any of his crap. The banter and neighbor war between the two of them was absolute perfection and had me laughing out loud more times than I could count. The only thing better than the banter between them was the chemistry... those first kisses were sizzling! I loved seeing Austin come out of his funk and become the more loveable character that we'd seen in previous books. As someone who deals with chronic pain and illness myself, I really appreciate the chronic illness rep we have with Bex who has Graves' Disease and the 'he takes care of her' moment that comes from that--- which just so happens to be one of my favorites. Throw in some great fall vibes, a cast of quirky side characters to keep things entertaining, and some fun Easter eggs for existing Anne Kemp fans, and I couldn't help but fall in love with this story. 

The Art of Falling in Love with Your Grumpy Neighbor is a closed-door romance with kisses only. It does have a bit of minor language. 

You can purchase your copy here: https://amzn.to/4ev1TOK