The Single Dad's Guide to Recreation

Welcome to Climax, Book 1

De: Karen Grey

Narrado por: Grayson Owens, Carly Robins

He’s the big-city corporate VP slashing costs. She’s the sunny, small-town toddler-whisperer in his crosshairs. It should be easier for them to keep their hands off each other.

The new guy in town may be a hot single dad–we’re talking total, mouthwatering eye candy here–but that isn’t stopping him from shuttering my favorite program here at Climax Parks & Rec.

Nor does it stop me from being blinded by lust and tripping over my own feet every time I see him, even though we’re completely wrong for each other.

He’s all business; my job is to play.
He’s moved upstate from Manhattan; I’ve returned to my small town roots.
He’s overwhelmed by his two adorable kids; doctors told me I’ll never be a mother.

Oh, and did I mention that it’s his job to “re-org” (aka ruin) everything I love about my job?

Despite all this, he’s got me dreaming of something I told myself I’d given up on: a family of my own.

Warning! Do not listen to this audiobook unless you love:

• Uptight heroes who are silly with their kids
• Sunshiny, Cinderelly heroines
• Nosy, interfering, small-town bureaucrats
• Possibly magical clock towers
• Parks and Recreation and Schitt’s Creek vibes

To the listener: my romance novels are all lighthearted and humorous, and the main two characters are guaranteed to find a happy ending. However, they may run into a few obstacles along the way, as well as need healing from incidents in their former lives.

If you’d like content guidance regarding sex/nudity, death, mental health and/or reproductive health challenges, you can find them in detail at karengrey com/contentguidance

©2025 Karen Grey (P)2025 Home Cooked Books

Absolutely fantastic narrators & a great story

Updated for audio: I was beyond thrilled when The Single Dad’s Guide to Recreation was released as an audiobook. Author Karen Grey’s stories are wonderful, amazing, terrific, etc., etc., etc. and as audiobooks – no words. They are just so much fun to listen to. Especially when you have two fantastic narrators. Pace, tone, emotion – all perfect. Carly Robbins’ performance always makes you forget it’s a performance and instead feel like you are just listening to the character live this life. You laugh and cry and just feel like you are right there. Grayson Owens? When you listen to a lot of audiobooks you develop favorite narrators, but then realize while listening to a performance by a different narrator that you cannot imagine anyone else telling you this story, being this character? I’ve only listened to a few audiobooks narrated by Owen (so far) but he is one of those authors. There is just something about his voice that makes you want to listen to the audiobook over and over. He is now on my “search” and “favorites” lists. An enjoyable, satisfying read made more enjoyable and more satisfying by these talented narrators. I both purchased and received a copy of this audiobook. I voluntarily leave this review; all opinions are my own.

The Single Dad’s Guide to Recreation is so . . . so . . . so Karen Grey. If you are a long-time fan like I am, you’ll see it right away. It’s not that all her stories sound alike, they most certainly do not, but it’s an almost indescribable feeling you get. The story just seems to blossom and unfold before your eyes: the setting becomes alive and vibrant, the characters are developed dimension by dimension and the plot just rolls along, gathering emotion, humor, will-they, won’t-they to its very satisfying conclusion.

We come to Climax, New York via author Grey’s contribution to the Bedd Fellows Farm four-book series. Familiar characters and animals and we had just a little peek at Josh Harmon.

Josh’s life blew up about a year and a half ago when his wife Lisa died. He’s still overwhelmed and he’s come to Climax so his parents can help with his two small children. Avery Mills was born and raised in Climax but left to work in the big city. After a brutal betrayal she came back to heal, and when she realized the state of her parents’ health she stayed to care for them. When they meet, it’s typical Grey: touching, sweet, funny. Josh has been stumbling and slumbering through his life, more asleep than awake until the first time he sets eyes on Avery, or more accurately when she literally falls into his arms. It’s like a bucket of ice water to the face – he’s awake now. And Avery? It’s as if she looked up and Prince Charming was standing there, except instead of curtsying like a princess would she tripped and fell into him. One look, and one feel of those arms around her, and her life is suddenly Before Josh Times and After Josh Times. She sees a ring and thinks he’s married, then that he’s still wearing the ring because he’s still grieving, but her pesky subconscious won’t let that attraction go. What is wrong with her? And Josh wonders what is wrong with him. He can’t decide whether to take that ring off or not, but there was a lot of turmoil and sadness in his marriage and these emotions he’s feeling around Avery are new to him. Maybe he has Before Avery Times and After Avery Times?

Josh needs his job. Avery needs her job. And Josh’s job is to get rid of Avery’s job. This isn’t going to be conflict-free, is it?

His job is the only thing Josh feels certain of, capable at, and he needs it to support his family. Avery’s “big city” dreams went away when she decided to stay in Climax and her job at Climax Parks & Rec, her friends, her family are everything to her. And especially important to her is the parent-toddler class called Playgroup, created and run by her mother before she became too ill to continue.

Josh works for Trede Corporation, founded by Elijah Ransom (maybe a little hook there for the next book?) who spent time as a young man in Climax and decided to establish headquarters there and invest in the community, but part of the deal is to upgrade facilities and programs and make improvements to serve the entire community. Playgroup is very valuable and very popular – but serves only a tiny portion of the community, and logically it should be first on the list of cuts. This makes Josh and Avery enemies – but they’re not. Not when those clock tower bells ring whenever they are close together. In fact, they are very, very compatible except for the Playgroup thing.

Grey expertly populates the story with colorful family and friends, relationships that have gone awry, tough decisions that have to be made and with humor and tenderness and a whole lot of spice running through it all. Imagine those bells, Avery’s hilarious word substitutions to avoid using naughty words around the toddlers, an exciting, sexy work trip (yes, you heard me) and scene after scene of pure reading enjoyment. If you can only take one trip this year, take it to Climax. You will love your time there as much as I did. I received an advance copy of The Single Dad’s Guide to Recreation from the author. I voluntarily leave this review; all opinions are my own.

Charming and wonderful

Prepare to be utterly charmed by "The Single Dad’s Guide to Recreation," a delightful small-town romance with the quirky, heartwarming vibes of Schitt’s Creek and Parks and Rec. Karen Grey delivers an engaging, funny, and entertaining story that balances heavy themes with laugh-out-loud moments and sizzling chemistry.

Avery is the quintessential "Cinderelly" heroine—a sunshiny facilitator of a parent-toddler playgroup, a live-in caregiver for her aging parents, and an underappreciated pillar of her community. Her life in the small town of Climax takes a chaotic turn when a giant tech corporation sets up its headquarters, putting her mother's legacy program on the chopping block.

Enter Josh, a handsome, buttoned-up widower who is the very definition of a stoic hero—at least until you see him get silly with his two adorable kids. As the team leader for the new corporate partnership, it's his job to assess Avery's program. Their first meeting is a rom-com classic, involving dropped glue sticks, an electric touch, and Avery trying not to fall on her patootie. Despite the sparks, they seem fundamentally wrong for each other. He's a grieving single dad from Manhattan; she's a small-town girl nursing a broken heart and the belief that she’ll never be a mother.

Yet, amidst meddling family, nosy bureaucrats, and a possibly magical HEA-predicting clock tower, Avery and Josh find themselves irresistibly drawn to one another. Their baggage threatens to create a chasm, but forced proximity on a romantic weekend getaway leads to some seriously steamy moments. Grey writes frankly about challenging topics like spousal loss, parental caregiving, and betrayal without ever dipping into maudlin territory. She masterfully shows how this perfect-for-each-other pair navigates their imperfections to find a future together.

The audiobook experience is simply off the charts. Narrators Carly Robins and Grayson Owens do a fabulous job bringing these characters to life. Their performances capture every nuance of Avery's sunny disposition and Josh's quiet depth, elevating an already wonderful story into a must-listen experience. If you love a heartfelt, open-door romance filled with humor and heat, you must welcome yourself to Climax.

Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.

small town drama

Funny, cute with small town drama. Enemies to lovers with likable characters that banter keeps you hooked. Totally recommend but be sure to read the trigger warnings.
I first read the book, then went back and listened to the audiobook. I loved the audiobook even more. Hearing the characters banter pulls you in so much more.

Great Together

The Single Dad's Guide to Recreation is a small town, widower, steamy romance. Avery & Josh are cute together or they would be if they could get together. This book is an easy listen and very enjoyable. I really like Karen Grey's writing, I've read all her books maybe I'm bias. I'm surprised this book isn't based in the 1990's. I like the getaway, It turns out all funny. Grayson Owens and Carly Robins did an amazing job bringing this world to life. I like they're voices, hope I hear them together again.

Finding Balance

The narrators Carly Robins and Greyson Owens did a truly fantastic performance, 5 stars all the way. I could really feel all the emotions of Josh and Avery. I originally read and reviewed this book and when given the chance to listen to it, I couldn't pass it up. I devoured this audiobook in one sitting. Below is my original review.

This is a wonderfully written single dad rom-com based in the city of Climax. Josh and Avery meet and have this intense, instant attraction when they meet at Climax Parks and Rec. They both have lots of baggage which leads to lots of misunderstandings but it all is very realistic and makes you root for them even more. It is a slow burn but all the characters have depth and the story is pretty emotional at times. I definitely shed a few tears and laughed a lot. Avery has a very creative vocabulary that made this even more enjoyable. Definitely a 4.5 star must read and I can't wait for the next book.

I was sent an advanced copy from HCB and am voluntarily leaving this honest review.

Cute listen

This was really cute book. I enjoy Karen’s writing style. I found this to be easy to read. It was a fun quick read. I read it in just a few hours.

The story follows Avery and Josh.
The are the embodiment of opposite attraction. Enemies to lovers. Josh works for the mayor and is helping to cancel the very program that Avery is struggling to keep going.

Very enjoyable. Lighthearted and funny.

Love it

Avery and Josh

I found this to be cute, sweet, funny and hot. Avery is running herself ragged as she is trying to take care of her ailing parents but also took upon herself to run a lot of the programs at the Parks and Recs. Josh is a single dad of two who moved to town with his parents for a job after his wife's death. I thought their story was cute there is an attraction but for different reasons they try not to act upon it. Josh and his boss are hired to repair Parks and Recs from maintenance to ending some programs. Avery is trying to save her mom's program that seems to be the first to go. I enjoyed the story and the characters and look forward to reading the other authors stories and which characters they wrote about in this series.

"When I’m around you, I feel hopeful.”

A Single Dad’s Guide to Recreation is a heartwarming read, brimming with fun, relatable characters and a charming storyline. Sparks ignite between Avery and Josh the instant they meet, but their situation is far from simple. Josh has been tasked with shutting down the very community program that binds Avery to her mother’s legacy. Together, they embark on a mission to revitalize and enhance the recreation center, striving to prove its value to the community—while grappling with the undeniable pull drawing them closer to one another.

Both Avery and Josh face personal struggles that add depth and complexity to their journey. Watching them confront their fears and find the courage to embrace bravery is both inspiring and moving. Their growth is beautifully woven into a story that had me laughing and feeling all the emotions.

Grayson Owens and Carly Robins deliver standout performances in the audiobook, capturing all the charm, heart, and humor of the story. Their narration truly brought the characters and moments to life, making it an absolute joy to experience the story all over again.

A Single Dad’s Guide to Recreation is a fantastic kick-off to a promising new series, and I can’t wait to explore more of this delightful world.