Melissa Blue

Books: Romance

Grumpy Jake (2019)

Bailey Thorne doesn't have time for Jake the Rake.

He may be a great dad, but she doesn't need to be involved with a parent–and she needs to make sure all the kindergartners in her class are looked after.

So, despite being a serial monogamist, Jake isn't a bad guy.

Bailey knew he was an E.R. nurse at the local community hospital.

And he obviously loves his son Jayden.

One of the strengths of this story was Jayden–both that he was written like an actual five-year-old, and that Jake obviously adored him.

He said to his son, "We are in fact about to see Ms. Thorne."

Jayden kicked his feet, a grin spreading. "Does this mean she likes you now?"

God, he hoped so. "This will help her get past my regular but grumpy face."

Jayden's brows knit. "Are you sure this will be enough?"

I didn't love the Big Misunderstanding in the story. I get that Jake was protecting himself as much (if not more) than he was protecting Jayden, so that was his excuse. But it was still pretty crappy of him.

So, a cute story, but probably not one I'll reread.

Rating: 7/10