Stud in the Stacks

by Pippa Grant

• ISBN10: 1940517532
• ISBN13: 9781940517537
• Publish Date: 1 June 2019 (first published 3 July 2018)
• Publish Status: Unknown
• Imprint: Pippa Grant
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 272
• Language: English

Reviews

[Canadian Girl Book Blog]

Stud in the Stacks is a standalone, fake fiancé romantic comedy that is told in the first-person point of view of Knox and Parker

Knox loves his job a the library and helping recommend romance novels to everyone and when he is not working at the library he is writing his Mr. Romance blog. Knox loves his romance novels and it helps him in all aspects of his life as well as being the perfect fake boyfriend/fiancé/husband but he is still having fun and does not want a serious relationship or marriage. When Knox’s friend convinces him to do a bachelor auction for charity he agrees and breaks out his Tarzan loincloth for the superhero auction.

Parker’s boss, Chase, wants her to attend her high school reunion to try and talk to Randy Pickle about selling his organic hops to Crunchy. Parker does not want to go back to her high school or have her secret outed so she convinces Chase to give her money to bid at the auction for a fake fiancé for her high school reunion. When she loses the bid after the auction Parker begs Knox to consider going with her.

As Knox and Parker start spending time together things always seem to get in their way of spending time together like Knox’s Nana and Parker’s brothers. When both Knox and Parker’s jobs are put on the line they manage to get behind each other and help the other get through the rough patch and both come out stronger on the other side.

Stud in the Stacks was another laugh out loud read for me. I think I have found another new favourite author that I can not put the books down. Parker got a little on my nerves with the whole “oh whoa is me” attitude that nothing she does is good enough. After Mister McHottie, I pegged her to be a little stronger. I fell in love with Knox and his all-knowing of romance and his Nana is the BEST! I recommend this novel to all romantic comedy lovers.

Check out more of my reviews at:

[Eve1972]

NOTE: This coming year I have set a challenge for myself of reading one book a week that takes me out of my comfort zone. A book that may include one (or more) tropes (scenarios) that I avoid like the plague. Cheating. Older women/younger man. OW drama. Just to name a few. Nothing is off limits. I am taking a HUGE step out of the box I usually live in and charting a course into the unknown (HaHa). My reviews for these books will differ from my usual as I will focus more on whether the author wowed me despite it having content I avoid. That said, I will go into each book with an open mind and an open heart and who knows, maybe I will discover a new favorite author on the way!





So honesty first. I had NO idea when I signed up for this one it involved an older woman/younger man plot. Had I known I would never have signed up. I wish authors would make a note in their blurbs when a book contains a trope that isn't the "norm". Just a quick **this is an older woman/younger man story** would go a long way in helping readers avoid things they have no interest in reading. This would be especially helpful for ARC readers since we don't have the benefit of reading reviews before we sign up for a book. OK, public service announcement over onto the review...


~THIS BOOK INCLUDED THE FOLLOWING TROPES (SCENARIOS) I USUALLY AVOID~ (don't click if you don't want the book spoiled!!)
-- Older Woman/Younger Man  


~WRITING - PLOT - PACE~
I found this one to be very well written. It was perfectly paced. The plot was engaging and kept me turning the pages. It was SUPER hilarious as well. That said, I think this book would have worked better had less time passed. Twenty years seemed a bit long for a grown intelligent woman to have bully hangups from high school. I also think it would have worked better had the heroine been the same age as the hero. Obviously, the whole "babysitting" angle wouldn't have worked, but it would have made the heroines behaviors less eye rolling and head scratching. 


~HERO~
The hero of this book was PERFECT. He was sweet. He was sexy. He was funny. He was smart. He was kind. He reads romance novels. He lives with his Nana. He wasn't a manwhore. He was just a totally lovable and endearing hero. I wish romance books had more heroes like Knox. He carried this book to a 3.5-star rating that is for sure.


~HEROINE~
I didn't hate Parker TOO much. That said, she acted a bit bipolar at times. One minute she was a babbling idiot and the next she was a straight up bitch. The fact that she was eight years older than our hero would usually have me not finish a book lickidy split but Parker acted WAY less mature than our hero. That made it easier for me to pretend they were at least the same age (lol). Although I didn't find her overly annoying, I did find her insecurity a bit confusing. The woman is thirty-eight years old but is still hung up on things that happened two decades ago? Not to mention her reasons for not wanting kids?? Let us just say she came off a bit mentally challenged at times and leave it at that.





~SIDE CHARACTERS~
There was a nice cast of secondary characters. I assume some from previous books. I loved Parker's friends and Knox's Nana. I also really want Parker's brothers to get books of their own.


~HEAT LEVEL~
Low to medium. No sexual intercourse until 60% in but there was good sexual chemistry and the sex scenes were suitably hot.


~ANGST LEVEL~
Low. I didn't find this very angsty and there was no OW/OM drama.



~IN THE END~
I enjoyed this one overall. Like I mentioned above the hero and humor carried this book to a 3.5-Star rating. The age difference didn't overly bother me as it wasn't talked up a lot and the heroine acted younger most of the time which made it easier to pretend she wasn't eight years older. Unfortunately, the heroine of this one was also a pretty big disappointment. She came across like an immature idiot half the time and an over the top bitch the rest of the time. Still, I enjoyed it enough I will give this author another chance to WOW me. So this one ended up being a bit of a mixed bag.