Ignite
Feel good
Light hearted
Heartwarming

Ignite A Grumpy Single Dad Romance (Cloverleigh Farms Next Generation #1)

My new neighbor is a firefighter--and a scorching hot single dad--but I swear I didn’t set off that smoke alarm on purpose. (And I was beyond mortified when he rushed in and saw me naked.) Nothing happened, of course--because I, Winnie MacAllister, romance junkie and owner of a constantly broken heart, have sworn off men for one solid year. Even protective men with chiseled jaws, bulging biceps, and deep brown eyes that make my breath come faster. Even former SEALs with broad chests and strong hands that make my skin sizzle. Even gorgeous, grumpy guys who have their hands full raising two adorable little girls and claim they don’t believe in love. Until Dex kisses me one night, and I drop all my defenses. (Also my underwear.) He says he’s not gentle, and he’s right. He says I should take the dream job I’m offered in another state, and he’s right. He says he’s too old for me and could never be the man I deserve. He’s wrong. Dex and I might be twelve years apart, but the fire between us is the kind that will never burn out. How can I convince him to give happily-ever-after with me a chance?
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Reviews

Photo of Kris Felger
Kris Felger@krisreads138
3 stars
Jul 10, 2024

single, grumpy, hot, father, firefighter. Does anything else need to be said ??? Very cute and quirky, its hard not to fall in love with the characters. A bit cringey at times & it can be hard to tell what the characters are doing in certain moments but its cute & definitely the type of book to bring you out of a reading slump!

Photo of Ilham
Ilham@xaaam_o
2 stars
Jun 8, 2024

2.5⭐️ Disappointed I thought I would love this bc of the single dad trope, I love the kids but the book was not it. I got bored, I took a long time to finish it even though it's not very long. Maybe you'll like it, I relied on the positive reviews but the book wasn't for me.

Photo of Amie Moyes
Amie Moyes@moyesa01
5 stars
Mar 16, 2024

4.5 stars

Photo of Renata
Renata@renata_library
4 stars
Dec 15, 2023

pls- this book was so cute and fun reading for me, the single dad trope; grumpy and sunshine never fail me. with winniedex, i legit had so much fun reading this, and dex’s kids are so so so fun i love them - “But I don’t love you.” She burst out laughing. “I don’t love you either.” - “(…) because I didn’t like things I couldn’t control, including that she was leaving and I was scared of being lost and lonely without her. That I was going to miss her so much it hurt. That somehow I’d fallen in love with her, when that had been the one fucking thing I was so sure wouldn’t happen. That my feelings were building and growing and spreading like wildfire, and I couldn’t contain them.” - “I loved her—of course I did. But that kind of love wasn’t stable or dependable. That kind of love wasn’t a solid foundation. It felt strong, but that was an illusion. What love did was drain your strength and take away your ability to make good decisions. And you couldn’t second-guess yourself.” - “I lied to you.” “What?” “I lied to you when you asked me how I felt. I said I didn’t love you.” - “I loved Winnie enough to take a chance on us. I loved her enough to believe there might actually be a happily ever after.” - “I love you, Winnie MacAllister! I love you, and I’m sorry I didn’t say it before! I was stupid and scared. But nothing is right without you, and if I don’t try to get you back, I’ll regret it for the rest of my life. Please give me another chance!” - “I know you could find someone better for you. But you won’t find someone who loves you more. Or wants to be with you the way I do.” - “You ignited a fire in me I couldn’t put out. I couldn’t control my feelings for you, and I’m someone who likes to be in control all the time. But Winnie, that fear was nothing compared to how scared I’ve been that I lost you forever. I never should have let you go without telling you that I love you, I want to be with you no matter where you are, and even though you were in fucking kindergarten when I graduated from high school, you’ve taught me something incredible.” “What?” she whispered, tears falling freely now. I smiled at her. “To believe in happily ever after.” - “I felt his heart beating against mine and knew I was safe. I knew today was just the beginning of our life as a family. I knew I’d never forget this moment as long as I lived, and it would be a story we told our grandchildren someday. Overcome with emotion, I buried my face in his shoulder and shed tears of joy—I was loved, I was cherished, I was home.”

Photo of Nialani Thompson
Nialani Thompson@nialanireads
5 stars
Dec 14, 2023

I loved it, I loved it, I loved it. Now, I’m a sucker for smut but the book was so good it didn’t need it- when a scene came up I was *pleasantly* surprised. I loved Winnie and the girls’ relationships, I loved Dex and the girls, Ellie and Winnie too- just everyone in this book was amazing and I loved them all. This book is so cute, emotional at points, and a great, fun read. I literally can’t say more besides I love it

Photo of Nouran Hazem
Nouran Hazem@nouranreads
4 stars
Jul 1, 2023

4.5 ⭐️

Photo of Nouran
Nouran@nouran2003
4 stars
Apr 19, 2023

4.5 ⭐️

Photo of Faith Kitowski
Faith Kitowski@faithkitowski
4 stars
Mar 20, 2023

this was literally so cute, ugh single dad romances are just a different breed

Photo of linhie
linhie@hehelinhiereads
3 stars
Jan 26, 2023

3.5/5 ☆

Photo of Jess Griffin
Jess Griffin@jessgriffin
4 stars
Jan 22, 2023

this was so adorable 😭 single dad romances hit every single time

Photo of Anna
Anna @annalou908
4 stars
Jan 22, 2023

4.5 Stars.

Photo of Cierra
Cierra @cierranicolelove
5 stars
Jan 5, 2023

Cutest read ever. Dex was soooo sweet and the story of this was very comforting and sweet

Photo of Kasey Montagnat
Kasey Montagnat@kaseymontagnat
4 stars
Jan 2, 2023

I really enjoyed this book. It was a cute little read and I will forever love the single dad trope where he’s grumpy

Photo of Meghan Thompson
Meghan Thompson @mthomp08
3 stars
Jan 1, 2023

** spoiler alert ** ~went for the romance...stayed for the kids~ I really wanted to like this book. I really tried my hardest. It had all my favourite things -age gap -small town -single parent but for whatever reason Dex pissed me off more than anything. He was acting more like Winnie's age than his own. You would think that if you’re 34 you'd be able to use your words and communicate even marginally. Also he was OBSESSED with mentioning the age gap between him and Winnie and it became repetitive at times like we get she's younger than you but MOVE ON. Also I feel like he wasn't even grumpy man was just rude, flat out rude and people just accepted it??? Also personally I'm not giving up my dream job after you TOLD me to go only for you to expect me to come back now that you've finally gotten your shit together and told me you loved me. This also kinda pissed me off even if she kept saying that she wasn't completely happy there. It felt like she never got the opportunity to be happy but whatever. I'm going to be completely honest I only finished this book because I loved Dex's kids they were the highlight of this entire book. The best part of this entire book was the grand gesture and love confession it really spoke to my romcom movie heart. Also the proposal at their little Christmas thing was genuinely adorable and I may be considering wanting to be proposed to via a cute Christmas proposal.

Photo of kris
kris@krisreads
3 stars
Nov 13, 2022

single, grumpy, hot, father, firefighter. Does anything else need to be said ??? Very cute and quirky, its hard not to fall in love with the characters. A bit cringey at times & it can be hard to tell what the characters are doing in certain moments but its cute & definitely the type of book to bring you out of a reading slump!

Photo of Anna t
Anna t@annalou98
4 stars
Nov 2, 2022

4.5 Stars.

Photo of lilygriffiths
lilygriffiths @lilygriffiths
5 stars
Nov 2, 2022

MY FAV EVER OMFGGG

Photo of Neeky Reid
Neeky Reid@lemonysnicket
3 stars
Oct 30, 2022

Great feel good story. I found the bonds with the kids surprisingly nice and now I don't want to read about kids for a next millennia. Can't say much about the steamy scenes cause I skipped right past them. Nice and homely, I'm sure there are many others who will love it.

Photo of Andrea Rodriguez
Andrea Rodriguez@dreareads
5 stars
Sep 9, 2022

This was such a cute, hallmark-y type read and I absolutely loved it. Best part, there was no cringe like you’d expect with a book like this. I really had nothing to complain about lmao. Now, I really don’t like kids, much less stories with kids, but I had heard such good things about this book and figured I would give it a shot and I am so glad I did because I can’t deny how freaking cute this book was. Also, it was the perfect book to finish up while my brain was complete mush from being hungover af so, do with that what you will lol.

Photo of catia
catia@catiaslibrary
4 stars
Sep 1, 2022

omg i had so much fun with this book aaa, though nothing compares to frannie and mack but dex and winnie's story was so cute and hot and amazing!! the girls too were one of the best parts of the book!!

+7
Photo of elle t
elle t@ellereadz
3 stars
Aug 25, 2022

Matilda by Harry styles fits so well with the relationship between dex and his dad this book was so cute I’m crying happy tears rn omg

Photo of val
val@goaskval
3 stars
Aug 24, 2022

** spoiler alert ** Creo que este será el primer y único libro que lea de la autora; y no por nada malo, pero sencillamente siento que estas historias de amor no son para mí. Literal tiene TODOS los tropes por los que vivo: age gap, neighbors romance, grumpy/sunshine, single dad. obvio, fue un poco (bastante) insta-love y creo que ahí está una de las razones por las cuales no conecté con la historia en sí porque en serio necesitaba más desarrollo entre esos dos. A ver, por un lado tenemos a Winnie. No sé qué pensar de ella, siento que no logré conectar con el personaje en sí o sus aspiraciones en la vida. Y probablemente alguien veng a caerme encima pero… no soy fan de las chicas de 22 que aspiran a estar casada y con hijos. claramente lo pueden desear y tener ese instinto materno desde el primer momento. pero siento que Winnie debió quedarse en Rhode Island, con su trabajo y su gato. por otra parte, Dex es el típico tipo de 34 que se siente viejo y acabado, que es inbécil y gruñón porque supuestamente ha vivido demasiado, y que no cree en e amor no tener algo que ofrecer en plan romántico a otra persona. Además de que tenía todas estas “cargas emocionales” junto con una incapacidad sorprenderte para esconder sus emociones. No se merecía a una chica como Winnie, pero en fin. Las estrellas de este libro fueron las hijas de Dex: Hallie y Luna. Me hicieron reír bastante. Desde sus comentarios sin filtro hasta aquel juego que consistía hablar mal de su padre mientras lo tenían dormido al lado. los demás personajes me dieron igual y no quedé con ganas de saber más de ellos.

Photo of kris
kris@krisreads
3 stars
Aug 20, 2022

single, grumpy, hot, father, firefighter. Does anything else need to be said ??? Very cute and quirky, its hard not to fall in love with the characters. A bit cringey at times & it can be hard to tell what the characters are doing in certain moments but its cute & definitely the type of book to bring you out of a reading slump!

Photo of Catarina Silva
Catarina Silva@catarinafsilva
4 stars
Aug 19, 2022

Cute