Grumpy / Sunshine trope with a twist

[Dahrose]

I love the Grumpy / Sunshine trope - but am a little over the stereotyping of gender that seems to be inherent in the trope. So have gone trolling for the She - Grumpy. He - Sunshine and managed to come up with some awesome reads.
Though if you know of more I totally need to know about them

Isabel Jordan has created an awesome mature grumpy superheroine for Caped and Dangerous And the Hero is determined, nice and supportive or potentially a supervillain. Read it to find out.

Jane Cousins has two books in her Southern Sanctuary Series that fit the bill.
Book 7 To Shackle A Shrew gives us Devon, former mean girl and still a bit of a bitch but you can't help but love her. Liam is her perfect opposite, determined to protect her and clearly falling for her snarky, snarling ways.
Then there is the beyond awesome book 12 To Handle A Hellcat All series the author has been building Darcy's arc and this does not disappoint as our favourite sociopath with good intentioned homicidal tendencies is forced to partner up with cheerful & majorly hot Declan who can't seem to keep his t-shirts from getting constantly ripped to shreds.

So if you know of any stories where SHE is grumpy, and HE is the sunshine factor please let me know. Thanks

[꧁༺ L̴E̴X̴I̴E̴ ༻꧂]

I like this trope with a twist. I can't really think of many books that have that reversal where she's the grumpy one and he's the sunshine one. These might come close.

[kittykat AKA Ms. Tortitude]

Dahrose wrote: "I love the Grumpy / Sunshine trope - but am a little over the stereotyping of gender that seems to be inherent in the trope..."

I'm very much the same with regards to many tropes in romance in general TBH.

I have read quite a few where the dynamics are what you are looking for, but most are contemporary rather than fantasy or sci-fi romance. I can let you know which ones if you are interested in those.

[Rye]

Dahrose wrote: "I love the Grumpy / Sunshine trope - but am a little over the stereotyping of gender that seems to be inherent in the trope. So have gone trolling for the She - Grumpy. He - Sunshine and managed to..."

I LOVED Jane Cousins To Handle A Hellcat
Though I think it worth reading the entire series - as you catch glimpses of Darcy and Declan throughout and their story just builds and builds. So funny, and HOT!!!

And yes, the dynamic of her being grumpy (psycho) and him being cheerful was awesome and kind of perfect. But how interesting that this reverse on the trope doesn't seem to happen very often in PNR, Urban or Sci-fi reads but appears to be a contemporary niche. I'm pulling a blank other than the ones already mentioned in this thread.

[KarenMac]

What about the Immortal Empire series by Kate Locke? Her h, Xandra, is all kinds of snarly and grumpy (yet kick ass capable) and Vex, the werewolf Lord chasing her is rather sweet and supportive.

Think they might - just - fit into the sunshine / grumpy trope.

Start with book one - God Save the Queen

[Fee]

I love the idea of this trope but in reverse - yet am also drawing a blank other than the excellent books mentioned above.

special shout out to Jane Cousins To Handle A Hellcat The best grumpy psycho heroine EVER!!! Who meets her match in Declan, a cheerful hottie who can't keep a t-shirt on to save himself. Loved it.

But seriously - here is a major opportunity for pnr/urban romance authors out there. More grumpy heroines and sunshiney heroes - please.

[kittykat AKA Ms. Tortitude]

this one does it really well.

[Cheesecake]

well, this scenario isn't really my jam, so this was all i could find from my shelves. But, I loved both books!
I don't know if he's totally 'sunshiney', but he'd definitely sunnier than her ; )
not sure how good it would be as a stand-a-lone though.

[kittykat AKA Ms. Tortitude]

Cheesecake wrote: " I don't know if he's totally 'sunshiney', but he'd defi..."

I second that! In fact, many of SL's couples fit the bill, not sure why I didn't think of them before considering that's one reason I love her books so much!

Miss Congeniality in this bind up. Irene & Niles
Gwen & Lock
Dee-Ann & Van. She is probably THE grumpiest of all the ladies!
Livy & Vic
Charlie & Berg. These Badger Chronicles are far less romance-y though - and the best IMO.

All of these couples are the grumpy female, sunshiny male dynamic to some degree. There are a couple of others in the Smith's Shifter World, that might come close, but these are the ones that I would say def fit the bill.

If these interest you, I would advise reading them in order of the world as SL has a very chaotic signature style where she has characters popping in all the time in subsequent books once they are introduced.

Neecy & Yager. There is also this one which is a standalone as the series was never completed although there is a Crows trilogy (that I've not yet read) but there is no character or location crossover from what I understand.

[Cam]

Hadn't realised how much I like the switched around trope of Her Grumpy and Him Sunshine until I read this thread. Because I've read a heap of the above books and they are some of my faves.

And the reason I like them? Cause the heroines are the grumpy, snarky ones and the men are the cheerful, determined, I'm going to make this woman love me - kind of guys.

My jam.

Love, love, love, Jane Cousins She can not write fast enough for my liking.
Same goes for Shelly Laurenston and her alter ego G.A. Aiken

Their heroines are just so relatable, fresh and feisty.

More recommendations in the PNR/Urban genre would be helpful.

[Katie]

kittykat AKA Ms. Tortitude wrote: " this one does it really well."

New to me author - thanks for the heads up!

[BJ]

Katie wrote: "kittykat AKA Ms. Tortitude wrote: " this one does it really well."

New to me author - thanks for the heads up!"
Oh, I think you should start the series with the first book Radiance .
This is a wonderfully different romance with 2 fantastic people who don't suit at all. It is very highly rated fantasy and the world building will help understand following stories.

[Katie]

BJ wrote: "Katie wrote: "kittykat AKA Ms. Tortitude wrote: " this one does it really well."

New to me author - thanks for the heads up!"
Oh, I think you should start the se..."


Have already gobbled down book 1 Radiance - what a romance. And have dived into book 2.

Must say, given how talented the author is, I can't wait for book 3 where the leads shift - and she is Sunshine and he is Grumpy.

[Book]

Love a grumpy Her, and a sunshiny Him.

And totally agree the PNR/Urban/Fantasy genres are very light on in regards to delivering this representation.

Still, I managed to find another Shelly Laurenston offering, in the anthology Belong to the night

The novella- The Wolf, The Witch, and her lack of Wardrobe - by Laurenston - features witch Jamie, and laid back wolf Tully.

They are definitely grump meets sunshine material - in reverse.

[Book]

Struck me the other day as I was re-reading the 'In Death' series by J.D Robb that my fave couple kind of fit this bill.

Eve is sullen, grumpy, focused and rather no nonsense

Roarke is charming, supportive and best of all doesn't want to change Eve.

So another one for the HER - Grumpy. HIM - sunshiney

[EmmaMay]

Book wrote: "Struck me the other day as I was re-reading the 'In Death' series by J.D Robb that my fave couple kind of fit this bill.

Eve is sullen, grumpy, focused and rather no nonsense

Roarke is charming, ..."


Good catch.

[EmmaMay]

Jane Cousins book 2 in her Vexatious Valkyries series - the awesome pairing of a grumpy/bloodthirsty Valkyrie together with a chatty, flirty, always dimpling Demon (Though he's alpha yummy goodness under that disguise)

A Demon is forever


Think it could be read standalone but you'd be mad not to read book 1 - What's up, Buttercup?

Snark, banter and sizzle - no one does it better than this author

[Rye]

EmmaMay wrote: "Jane Cousins book 2 in her Vexatious Valkyries series - the awesome pairing of a grumpy/bloodthirsty Valkyrie together with a chatty, flirty, always dimpling Demon (Though he's alp..."

Oh, the snark was strong in this one
A Demon Is Forever

A cranky valkyrie forced to team up with a flirty chatty hottie of a demon - so much to love.

[Rye]

I love me a snarly heroine and a sunshine hero - sticking to the pnr/urban genre please, even Sci-fi would be okay - anyone got any more additions?