Mountain Grump by S.J. Tilly

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Tilda
I have a new house. Well, new to me. Just like living in my own place on the top of a mountain, rather than in a city apartment, is new to me. But it’s mine now because my Great Uncle Jack passed away, and he left me his freaking house. In Colorado. On the border of Lonely Peak State Park.
But that’s not all he did.
He also left a series of letters. A scavenger hunt of clues that leads me back to Vegas. To his lawyer’s office. To the reading of his will. Where I learn I must marry in order to keep my sudden inheritance out of the greedy hands of my family. And since they’re the worst, I only have one option.
Ask the grumpy park ranger I just met to be my husband.

Ethan
Jack never lied. Not outright. But he did omit some things. Like the fact that his grandkid Matty is actually a fully grown woman named Matilda. And the fact that she looks like a walking, talking mountain fairy with her long purple hair and a wardrobe of lust-inducing dresses.
He also failed to mention that he was setting us up. That he was setting all of this up. And now, when the woman I unwittingly agreed to watch out for stands before me, asking me to marry her, there’s only one answer I can give…

Mountain Grump

A Grumpy Ranger Worth Falling For

The following ratings are out of 5:
Romance: 💙💛💚❤️🖤
Spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️
Chemistry: 🧪🧪🧪🧪🧪
Story/Plot: 📕📗📘📙
World building: 🌏🌍🌎🌏
Character development: 😋🙂😁😛
Narrator(s): 🎙🎙🎙🎙🎙
Narration type: Dual Narration

Character Backgrounds and Plot Summary

Tilda is still grieving the loss of her favorite great uncle when she inherits his secluded mountain home in Colorado. Just when she thinks she has been given a fresh start, she discovers the inheritance comes with an unbelievable condition. She has to get married if she wants to keep the property out of the hands of her awful relatives. The only person she can think to ask is Ethan, the grumpy park ranger who has already managed to get under her skin after their first silly encounter over the ribbons she tied around the woods.

I loved how their relationship starts with bickering instead of instant romance. Ethan scares the life out of Tilda when he unexpectedly appears while she is fixing up the property, and their arguments over park rules are genuinely funny. Watching Ethan slowly soften was one of my favorite parts of the book. Little moments, like how he immediately regrets hurting Tilda’s feelings after speaking too harshly, reveal that his gruff exterior hides someone who cares much more deeply than he wants anyone to know. Uncle Jack’s letters and carefully planned matchmaking added a fun layer to the story without taking away from the romance.

Highlights and Limitations

The biggest strength of this book is how naturally Ethan becomes protective without completely taking over Tilda’s life. One scene that really stood out to me was when Tilda mistakes a mountain lion cub for an ordinary kitten. Ethan’s horrified reaction was both funny and completely believable, and it perfectly captured how differently they see the wilderness. I also loved how fiercely he stands up for her when her toxic family enters the picture. Those moments made his actions speak louder than any romantic declaration.

The emotional conflict when they traveled to Las Vegas worked for me because Tilda’s reaction made sense given her history. Learning that Uncle Jack had paid Ethan to help her understandably shakes her trust, even though readers can already see Ethan’s feelings are real. I appreciated that Ethan did not try to pressure her into forgiving him. Instead, he accepted responsibility and worked to earn back her trust.

If I had one criticism, it would be that after they leave Las Vegas, the cabin Ethan takes Tilda to in the national park is one that his father and some friends had built. It was illegal to have a cabin or home on national land, but it was so deep in the mountains and forest that they were never caught. Though the description of the interior sounds like a one room cabin with one bed, which is really stupid because if a bunch of guys were building a cabin to go to once or twice a year, wouldn’t they either make a bedroom for each of them or at least have enough beds for each of the guys to sleep in?

Also, I am not a huge fan of the woman being in control in the bedroom, that is one place where I like a dominant man, and Tilda calling Ethan a “good boy” all the time was definitely not my favorite either.

Narration

Erin Mallon and Connor Crais were an excellent pairing for this audiobook. Erin gave Tilda warmth, vulnerability, and just enough humor to make her optimism feel genuine instead of over the top. Connor Crais absolutely nailed Ethan’s personality. I just love his deep, sexy voice, and could listen to him read the declaration of independence (note: I listened to this on on the 4th of July). His deep, reserved delivery fit a man who rarely wastes words, and I could hear Ethan’s growing affection even when he was pretending to stay emotionally distant. Their performances made the playful banter, emotional scenes, and romantic tension feel effortless.

Final Opinion

Mountain Grump ended up being my favorite book in this series so far. The marriage of convenience setup could have felt overly familiar, but Uncle Jack’s elaborate plan, the isolated mountain setting, and Ethan and Tilda’s chemistry gave it its own personality. I especially loved seeing Ethan transform from a man who preferred solitude into someone who quietly built his entire world around Tilda. By the end, I cared just as much about their emotional journey as I did the romance itself.

If you enjoy grumpy sunshine romances with heartfelt character growth, protective heroes, plenty of humor, and a satisfying emotional payoff, this audiobook is absolutely worth picking up. As for myself, I am a huge fan of the mountain man trope, and this was a good one.

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