A Very Grumpy Father’s Day by Kayley Loring

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

What’s the actual last thing you’d ever want your spouse to see you doing when you’ve been trying to get it on for weeks? Dancing around your baby’s room to “Come and Get Your Love” like Star-Lord in Guardians of the Galaxy—in an Elmo costume? Yeah. Me too.

And yet, here we are.

This isn’t even the most humiliating thing I’ve done lately.

The first was leaving drunk messages when I was out partying with my cousins.

The second was trying to seduce her on the Staten Island Ferry.

The third was so terrible, I’m not even going to tell you about it.

I need to pull it together before the hot, busy, suddenly grumpy mother of my child forgets why she married her sexy, brilliant, occasionally infuriating former boss in the first place.

This is just how it goes for the men in my family. We get knocked down…but we get up again.

And nothing’s ever going to keep me down when it comes to my wife.

A Very Grumpy Father’s Day

Hot Dogs, Hangovers, and Heartfelt Moments

The following ratings are out of 5:
Romance: 💚💜💙❤️
Heat/Steam: 🔥🔥🔥
Chemistry: 🧪🧪🧪🧪
Story/Plot: 📕📗📘📙📔
World building: 🌏🌍🌎🌏🌍
Character development: 😋🙂🤨🤣🥰
Narrator(s): 🎙🎙🎙🎙🎙
Narration type: Dual Narration

🛡️ Audiobook Review: A (Very Holiday, #3.5)

Author: Kayley Loring
Genre: Holiday Romance Novella
Narrators: Connor Crais, Mackenzie Cartwright

👫🏻 A Charming Follow-Up for Fans of the Series

This novella is best enjoyed after reading or listening to the first three books in the series. Those earlier installments do a wonderful job of establishing the characters, their quirks, and their relationships—so by the time you reach this story, you’re already invested. This book serves as a direct follow-up to Maddie and Declan’s story from A Very Bossy Christmas, and it includes several delightful callbacks. Long-time fans will appreciate references to inside jokes such as “that Chumbawamba song” and the infamous naked dance to the tune Star-Lord grooves to at the start of Guardians of the Galaxy.

One of my favorite recurring elements from the earlier books is the cast of wonderfully eccentric side characters. Maddie’s now-sixteen-year-old niece Piper continues to shine with her blunt commentary and her uncanny ability to insert herself into adult conversations, offering unsolicited (but often hilarious) observations about the romantic chaos around her.

👩🏻‍❤️‍👨🏻Plot & Character Moments

The story opens with Declan attempting to recover from a wild night out with his Irish cousins, Nolan Cassidy and Billy Boston. He has spent weeks looking forward to reconnecting intimately with his wife—only for their baby girl to interrupt every attempt. Maddie, ever the playful partner, decides to start the morning by treating him to a dramatic reenactment of the previous night. She plays back every voicemail he drunkenly left her, which includes:
• a spontaneous trip to the Hamptons,
• a piano duet of “Heart and Soul” with Jon Bon Jovi, and
• a borderline-melodramatic panic about people stepping on a hot dog that fell on the ground.

It sets the tone for the rest of the novella perfectly—equal parts funny, chaotic, and heartfelt.

This story acts as a cozy interlude in the series as we watch Declan and Maddie adjust to life with a newborn in their new family condo in New York. Between the move, demanding work schedules, constant family involvement, and baby Kira’s impeccable timing, their attempts at intimacy feel cursed. To make matters worse, Kira seems to cry every single time Declan picks her up, leaving him adorably devastated and more than a little insecure.

The plot isn’t high-drama—it’s a light, sweet snapshot of two characters we’ve grown to love as they navigate the messy, exhausting, and beautiful early days of parenthood. The tone is cute, warm, and reliably entertaining.

🎙 Audiobook Narration

Like the previous books, this one is told in alternating points of view and narrated by Connor Crais and Mackenzie Cartwright. Their performances continue to be a highlight of the series. It’s a real testament to their skill—and the pleasant, natural quality of their voices—that I can listen to four books in a row performed by the same duo without feeling fatigued. They handle humor, emotional beats, and romantic tension equally well, elevating the story and giving each character distinct personality.

💭 Final Thoughts

This novella is a delightful bonus for fans of Maddie and Declan. It’s humorous, heartfelt, and perfectly paced for a quick listen. If you’ve enjoyed the earlier books in the series, this little slice-of-life continuation is absolutely worth your time.

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