This type of pairing came up during my fantasy romance panel last weekend when we got on the topic of tropes. Where are all the grumpy pairings in romances?!
Sarah: Grump + grump will yield some really fun books I think.
I’m thinking there’s a Talia Hibbert that fits but I can’t place which one.
Amanda, wouldn’t some of the Kresley Cole Immortals After Dark fit?
Amanda: Hmmmmm maybe? It’s been so long and some things blur together. The evil sorceress/demon king one could fit
Sarah: No Rest for the Wicked ( A | BN | K | G | AB | Au | Scribd ) might work – grumpy ass vampire plus Kaderin the Cold Hearted.
And Kiss of a Demon King, too, yeah
Ellen mentioned the Lady Darby series in our Broody Heroines Rec League and they’re both kinda grumpy. Veronica Speedwell ( A | BN | K | G | AB ) isn’t herself really surly or grumpy, but she doesn’t tolerate foolishness and is perceived by other characters as brusque or fearsome so that also might fit.
Tara: Hotel Queens by Lee Winter ( A | BN | K ) might work. It’s an ice queen/fire queen pairing, so one icy who quietly pulls people apart vs one who blows up.
Which grumpy romances would you recommend?
Bite Me by Shelly Laurenston which is book 9 in The Pride series has a grumpy badger shifter heroine and grumpy bear/tiger shifter hero.
Big Sky Dog Whisperer by ML Buchman – retired Navy Seal and a female Special Forces dog handler. I’d definitely label some of his heroines as intense if not brooding. I still remember the chills I got reading his short story “NSDQ” about 8-9 years ago. Other than Suz Brockman I didn’t read much military/romantic suspense and “NSDQ” was an absolute eye opener for me. I dove into his backlist like a fox into a snow bank.
On the lighter side, Agnes and the Hitman by Jenny Cruise and Bob Mayer.
His Grumpy Childhood Friend by Jackie Lau isn’t Grumpy-Grumpy but subverts the typical grumpy/hero sunshine/heroine trope.
@Sarah. I just checked out Big Sky Dog Whisperer and found the cover hilarious. The dog certainly looks grumpy! I’m looking forward to reading this one. Thanks for the rec.
ONE DAY TO FALL by Therese Beharrie was specifically sold to me as double grumps.
Probably my all-time favorite Kate Canterbary book, FAR CRY: Prickly heroine & grumpy/gruff hero. The wonderful thing about the book is that the MCs don’t suddenly become sunbeams of joy because of luuuurve. They become better selves, but their basic personalities remain in place.
What about Earth Bound by Emma Barry and Genevieve Turner? He’s an especially prickly engineer, and she’s more of an ice queen engineer during the 1960’s space race. They fall in love because they both love work more than anything else.
If I may submit one of my own: C’s Comeuppance is book 2 in the Texoma Series. She’s running a real estate business, trying to keep out of the way of an interfering mother, and at odds with the real estate guy next door. He’s a rock star with a chip on his shoulder, jealous of his twin brother’s new found love and peace and out to make the heroine’s life miserable, even though he finds himself attracted to her.
The closest grump-grump pairing that I like off the top of my head is from T.Kingfisher/Ursula Vernon’s Clockwork Boys and its sequel The Wonder Engine. He’s a paladin who was imprisoned because he was possessed by a demon and she’s a forger who recruits him to go on a suicide mission with her. So yeah, not a happy bunch of would-be adventurers. Recommend the books, but the author’s got a style of writing the characters’ thoughts that can get pretty annoying. Not sure if I’m being nitpicky though.
I would say Kate/Curran and Hugh/Elara in the Ilona Andrews books are pretty grumpy.
I feel like A Heart of Blood and Ashes by Milla Vane fits this description. They are both hella grumpy really for most of the book. Trigger warnings abound so proceed with caution.
@SB Sarah, the CREXI and Dixie ads are annoying.
The Hate Project by Kris Ripper (mm queer romance) has this dynamic. Two grumpy acquaintances have pity sex, become frenemies with benefits and then develop inconvenient emotions.
(Read the sample – it’s written in first person and being in our narrator’s depressed, anxious headspace is a lot.)
I second rec “The Hate Project”. Oscar (the grouch) can be pretty unbearable and grumpy and Jack is particularly annoyed by Oscar through a lot of the book. I loved the snark in this one as well.
It’s not a romantic relationship, but ART and Murderbot are pretty grumpy.
I am not sure if you will agree this fits but Linda Howard’s book “Open Season” has some of my favorite bickering between the hero and heroine. He is definitely grumpy at first (and bossy) and she is offended by his rudeness and gives him a hard time back.
It’s one of my favorite novels but it has quite a serious human trafficking crime story running through the background so TW for that.
I have been trying to decide if Rachel Reid’s Heated Rivalry fits. I remember both Shane and Ilya glum/grumpy for much of the book.
As I recall, the first two books of G.A. Aiken’s (aka Shelly Laurenston) Dragon Kin fantasy series feature grumpy/grumpier pairings. In the first book, the heroine is Annwyl the Bloody and the hero is Fearghus the Destroyer, while the second book features Fearghus’s arrogant brother and a witch who takes no guff from anyone.
I think some KJ Charles might fit. Like A Seditious Affair, which I believe is the one between the grumpy political agitator and the perhaps more wounded than grumpy government official. And Gilded Cage, with a jewel thief and a female detective who are both pretty rough around the edges.
PS, the ads that come out around the edges on my phone are really interfering with my ability to get the text boxes to take text.
I think I’ve seen this more in m/m romance though having troubling thinking of suggestions. Maybe The Queer Principles of Kit Webb by Cat Sebastian? Kit is definitely a grump. Percy isn’t necessarily grumpy, but Cat describes him as bratty, and I would also say prickly, definitely not sunshine.
I wonder if Roy Kent has inspired an uptick in interest.
@Kat:
I wondered the same thing. And I think the writers are completely aware why the audience loves that character if last week’s episode is any indication. There’s a great verbal gag/running joke I don’t want to spoil.
Regarding ads, I’m glad the website is built in such a way that I don’t absolutely get stuck in them. I’ve been on other big websites, where the ads take up so much space, and I really can’t get around them to get to the rest of the content, which is extremly annoying from a screen reader user’s perspective.