Grumpy Sunshine Romance Books to Brighten Your Day

Grumpy/sunshine books usually have the man as the grouch, but this historical romance (with a twist of fantasy) flips it around! Cecilia Bassingwaite is the perfect Victorian lady by day and a thief by night. Ned Lightbourne is a sometimes assassin who is smitten with Cecilia. It's just a shame he's been ordered to kill her. These enemies are forced to team up and save Cecilia's fellow thieves of the Wisteria Society.

Talia Hibbert’s Brown sisters series is a trilogy of delightful rom-coms centered on clashing lovers who are all wrong but so right for one another. The Eve of the title is frequently described as a hot mess. She's flighty and directionless, and when she meets Jacob for the first time, she hits him with her car! Our hero is a stoic B&B owner unready for the purple-haired heroine, but he might not have a choice.

What could make a grumpy/sunshine romance more complicated? How about magic? Penny wants to be a witch's familiar but nobody's hiring. Willem Sauer is banned from having a familiar, which means he’s limited in what he’s able to do as a warlock. Even if he was allowed one, Penny is far too chipper for him. They clash at every turn, but the magic they create is worth it. Of course, the next spell must be love.

One could argue that Lizzie and Mr. Darcy from Pride & Prejudice are the original grumpy/sunshine pairing. This modern-day retelling of Austen’s classic, set in the Muslim community of Toronto, takes that to the next level. Ayesha dreams of being a poet while working for her boisterous family and fending off prospects of an arranged marriage. Khalid is smart, handsome, and infuriating, and the two immediately dislike one another. But of course it doesn't take long for them to realize how much they've misunderstood one another...

Well, doesn’t the title say it all? Alfie Harding is a former soccer player with a grouchy reputation who is encouraged to write his memoirs. He has no desire to tell all or reveal his emotions, so it falls upon Mabel Willicker, a ghostwriter for hire, to do the job for him. She's perky, positive, and ready to coax every detail of Alfie's life from him, whether he likes it or not. They enjoy their bickering, but when the press mistakes them for a romantic pair, they fall into a faux relationship that the public can't get enough of. If only the scorching hot chemistry was fake too.

The world of sports is perfect for clashing personalities. Chloe Liese's soccer romance delves into that. Oliver is the smiling optimist of his team, which makes him extremely irritating to team captain Gavin, who just wants to finish his soccer career in peace. When the pair are made co-captains, they're forced to hang out more than either would desire, and their coach demands that they get on or lose their jobs. The chemistry is brimming, both on and off the field. Will it end in a team victory?

There are so many stories of legendary actors with scorching chemistry on-screen who hated one another once the director called "cut." On the West End stage in Lucy Parker's sparky novel, Elaine and Richard have no desire to make the professional become personal. But when a tabloid claims the pair are dating, the producers of their struggling show suggest a show romance to help boost sales (and surly Richard's waning reputation.) Are they good enough actors to pull it off or will real life get in the way?