The Pucking Grump

By: A J Summers

Narrated by: Martina Ciccia

What do you do when you find out your step-sister is taking “something borrowed” to a whole new level by borrowing your groom for a quickie?

What any other rockstar in her right mind would do. Run out on the wedding, slamming right into a six-foot-three solid wall of muscle.

Blake White. Pro hockey star. The kind of hot that scrambles your brain and the kind of grumpy that flash freezes the sun.

Reluctantly, he agrees to give me a hiding spot in his remote cabin.

I don’t want to end up in one of your sappy love songs, he warns and tries to keep his distance.

But again and again, he fails miserably.

Soon enough, we’re spotted by the paparazzi. And when all hell breaks loose, he offers me a way out.

I’ll be your fake boyfriend. But as far as I’m concerned, we’re already as real as it gets.

I just have to figure out a way for him to admit it.

©2024 Attraction Publishing (P)2024 Attraction Publishing

Standing up for one self.

Before you can truly find love you have to know your self. We see a person who being control by her father; who show his true color when she catch her step sister Diana with her groom Ben. Faye runs and runs into a guy and her takes her away to his cabin, While with Blake who is a hockey player, she tries to come to turn with what happen at the hotel. Her father doesn't stand up for her. Blake has his own demons to over come and can his sister make him see what has happen in his pass, /it a good story, but have sex area.

The Pucking Grump!

This is an interesting story that starts off with a life changing event and revelation. The story is about Faye, a singer and star, and Blake, a professional hockey player. She is about to walk down the isle when a startling discover is made and she runs. Blake, attending the wedding to see his agent, witnesses a runaway bride. He helps her escape and they go in hiding. Blake, does not believe in love, even though his bet friend fell hard for Blake's sister. He and Faye do not get off on a good start but as they slowly get to know each other things change. Then a fake relationship begins which back fires. The story is full of drama, family issues, secrets, freedom, passion, love and more. I could not believe her father's actions or those of her other "family". The audio version is even better. The narrator did a great job bringing the characters and story to life.

Engaging story

“The Pucking Grump by A.J. Summers”
The characters are likable and well-developed, featuring a tough yet endearing hero and a strong female lead. Hot chemistry and engaging story full of emotional twists.

I’m fairly new to audible books but a veteran text to speech kindle reader/listener. I don’t like the reader speaking in a deeper voice to imitate a man.

The perfect love can find you

The narrator did a wonderful performance. I really felt the emotions of Faye. Faye and Blake meet under the most awful circumstances. Blake is not a fan of hers but can' t turn down a woman in need. This book is full of witty banter, angst and lots of spice. Two people so opposite in their views and lifestyle come together and have an amazingly intense spark. I love A J Summers writing style and look forward to reading more of her work.

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

Story better than narration

Audiobook review: I enjoyed the story a lot. I’d give it 4/5. But I’d give the narration a 2/5. The voice actor’s tone was flat and kind of robotic, particularly when narrating the FMC’s thoughts. And she doesn’t do a good job of the different voices. Not impressed with the narrator.

Story review:
Cat’s Stats
MMC/FMC- Blake (pro hockey player) and Faye (a singing star)
Genre- Hybrid Contemporary Romance (Sports and Rockstar)
Length- 25 chapters and an epilogue
Heat- 🌋🌋🌋🌋🌋 and their chemistry is insane
Series? Y
Safety? Y
Triggers- Explicit erotic content, gaslighting, paparazzi
Tropes- Runaway Bride, Groom-Cheating-With-The-Bridesmaid Trope, Fake Relationship, Grumpy/Sunshine, Enemies to Lovers, Relationship Shy, Dysfunctional Family FTW

Mewsings
A couple of weeks ago, I read Britney Spears’ memoir. So it was interesting to me to read this book, with a pop star FMC whose father is her manager. Especially when he set her up and made her look mentally unstable. So that if she fired him, he would control the narrative and could potentially get legal and practical control over her through a conservatorship. This really resonated with me because of Spears’ autobiography and how it happened to her (her father alleges that Spears is mentally ill while Spears maintains that, although she had postpartum depression, she is not and has never been mentally ill. She alleges that her father used her postpartum depression to get control over her in a conservatorship which lasted 13 years). This made Faye’s actions understandable. I really felt for the character. And I was rooting for her for the whole book. This was a good book because it kept me interested, connected me with the main character, and made me think. The only thing I didn’t like about it was that Blake’s resistance to love made him pretty unsympathetic and difficult to empathize with. I liked the ending, though, and Blake did redeem himself somewhat.

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

Faye and Blake

This story had me on a roller coaster of emotions. I laughed and teared up in all the right places and even some I probably shouldn't have. Would definitely listen to again. The narrator did and great job.

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

An Entertaining Hockey Romance

I loved this hockey romance. The storyline is intriguing, emotional and spicy. Blake and Faye are fire together. I loved the character development especially for Faye. She goes through so much on her journey of self growth/discovery. I loved that in the end she didn't let her career derail her from letting the world know her truth. I thought her message that you don't need some great love to define who you are was beautiful. In the end Blake and Faye were exactly what each other needed. What a fantastic quick and steamy read!!

Martina Ciccia did a good job bringing the couples to life.

A Grumpy Hockey Player and a Pop Star!!

A pop star running away from her loveless wedding and a grumpy hockey player who grudgingly helps her run away!

Faye has lived a lie most of her life, from her "great" love for her fiancé to her bubbly love songs that top the charts. Though, when she sees her fiancé and step-sister in a compromising position (and her father glossing over this incident), she finally decides to take control of her life. This takes her on a one-way collision course to run into a certain hockey player who doesn't believe in love (and who finds pop music annoying).
Faye was a fun character to get to know. She had her life managed by her dad, so she's on a journey to get out from under his oppressive thumb. She has a hidden strength and I loved when she finally showed the world her true stuff!
Blake played the part of grump well! He was unhappy, abrupt, and didn't shy away from cutting remarks. There were times where this did get a little tedious, but it's definitely worth persevering through. I do like his character growth in the story more than Faye's, probably because he has more baggage to overcome.
I really enjoyed Blake and Faye together! They had fun banter and some great chemistry!

This story gave of Taylor and Travis vibes with a dash of Britney and her dad as well. The conservatorship addition seemed a little weird since it'd take more than running away from your wedding to have someone be put in charge of your life/welfare. I liked the Taylor/Travis vibes because they were done better in the story.

This book is actually in a series and I didn't know that going in, but it didn't detract from the story and I was able to enjoy it all on its own. I wasn't confused by any characters and had fun listening to it.

I liked the narrator! She is a new-to-me narrator and I'd definitely listen to other books by her. She did a good job differentiating between the different characters. The story is told in dual POV, and she differentiates her narrating voice from Faye's chapters to Blake's chapters, and I quite liked that because it was an obvious indicator of whose chapter it was. I listened at 1.2x speed.

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

Great listen

Sometimes, running away from a large lavish and over the top wedding is the right choice.

When you are a Pop star, sometimes your life isn't your own.

That sure is the deal with Faye and the relationship she has with her family and the man she was supposed to marry.

Meanwhile, Hockey player Blake doesnt believe in love and despises Faye.

This is definitely an opposites attract situation.

I enjoyed how AJ wrote this book and the narrator that played the parts was perfect!

Another great listen from AJ.

Truth in Lies

Popstar Faye is constantly in a state of various emotions and the narrator did wonderfully in expressing them. Her performance of Blakes constant stoic sound was spot on with how I read his POV, which was great. I really enjoyed listening to this story.

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