Grumpily Ever After

By Teagan Hunter

An obstinate ex-NHL player meets his match in a cheerfully resilient wedding planner prone to chaos in this sweet and spicy romantic comedy about game-changing second chances.

Wedding planner Odette Chambers has a knack for ruining every ceremony she touches. But her latest gig could be a curse breaker. The bride is her best friend, Izzy, and the venue is a local cidery with the Pacific Northwest mountains as a beautiful backdrop. The cidery's only rotten apple is its owner, former NHL player Noah Stevens--Izzy's older brother and a recently divorced, fully committed grump who doesn't believe in happy endings.

But Noah can't say no to his hopeful little sister. His decision sends Odette barreling into his life, and she insists on making picture-perfect renovations to his cidery. She's demanding, irritatingly optimistic, and quite possibly the prettiest woman he's ever seen. Noah is turning Odette's head, too, but if she wants a wedding to finally go off without a hitch, he's a handsome distraction she can't afford. Right?

As Noah risks a second chance at love, Odette's luck might change as well. For better or for worse.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1662534051
• ISBN13: 9781662534058
• Release Date: January 2026
• Publisher: Montlake
• Length: 315 Pages
• Weight: 0.70 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 5.5" x 8.4"

Customer Reviews

3.75 Stars!

(I got to ARC read this before release! Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for a complimentary copy of the book for review. Thoughts and opinions are my own.) I liked Odette and Noah's relationship and how it kind of evolved. Like you knew that they both kind of had a crush on the other (Odette a little more than Noah but still), yet they both were operating under the (mistaken) impression that it would be a bad idea. Ironically though, I think both of their impressions were because of Izzy but still. Even though they both had a crush, they both tried to avoid acting on it, but their relationship still grew and I liked the way that happened. Noah was a grumpy teddy bear and honestly I laughed at him from the beginning. I liked how he clearly cared for Izzy and knew that he was going to say yes to her requests despite his best efforts. I did wish he'd held out against Odette's marching in and immediately changing everything around a little bit more (like the fact that she came in going "this all has to go because who wants this?" and Izzy had to say she did, so Odette did give in a little bit, but there was still a lot that Noah did have to change that I felt like could have been worked around instead. But it did allow their relationship to grow, so maybe I'm being too nitpicky). I liked that he wanted to open the rink and how he and Ezra wanted to handle that. Odette was okay and I will admit that I liked the fact that she wanted to plan the weddings. But she also frustrated me a little bit. Yes, she's a wedding planner and has all the visions for things, sure. But sometimes you need to get input from the couple who's wedding you're putting together before you march in and change everything about the venue that's being offered. And the whole curse business was just a smoke screen she hid behind (people have bad relationships, it happens. Doesn't mean you're cursed. Might feel like it, but using it as an excuse is just the cowards way of avoiding pain. And you'll never find it if that's what you do). I laughed at how much she enjoyed needling Noah, even before they started things up. Tootsie and Larry were hilarious and I definitely laughed every time Noah would threaten them. Can't wait to see Ezra's story and I hope Izzy gets one too! She deserves a real HEA! This book releases January 20, 2026