Grumpy x Grumpy Romance: Give Me A Shot by Gia de Cadenet
A blacksmith and an archer find love on the way to a Renaissance Fair.
Hi Librarygoer!
You know those memes that talk about romance readers recounting the story of the saddest, most emotional book that made them you ugly cry to their friends and then turning around and recommending it as a five star read?
That’s what I’m doing today by recommending Give Me A Shot by Gia de Cadenet.
In all honesty, I think this is the first Gia book that I did not cry but I still spent the entire book holding my breath waiting on the next sentimental passage that made me fall deeper for the couple falling in love.
This is the kind of story you read when you want to block out the world and feel the emotions of the characters like you feel your own breath. Sometimes those feelings hurt, sometimes they heal, but at all of the time you feel.
I hope you enjoy this one!
-Aleia
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Thank you to Dell Romance for this advanced gifted copy.
If You’re Into These Tropes, Keep Reading
Black author
Love after grief
Love after divorce
He’s a grumpy teddy bear
She’s a grumpy archer
Neurodivergent rep
French/Algerian MMC
Slow burn (that turns to scorching hot fire!)
Single dad x single cat mom
Renaissance Fair Vibes
He cares for her when she’s sick
Strong female friend group
Official Back of the Book Blurb
Sparks fly between an amateur blacksmith and an outspoken professor with a passion for archery in this heartfelt contemporary romance from the author of Getting His Game Back and Not the Plan.
Mo Sarda carefully guards his peaceful life from other people’s messy feelings. He co-parents his daughter with no drama, sits quietly at family gatherings, tends to his beloved plants, and volunteers to teach blacksmith skills at the local Folk School. No one seems to get him, except for his family, and that’s completely fine with Mo—there’s no one else he needs. Then along comes Jessica Anderson and her damn crossbow.
After the unexpected death of her sister, Jess has made new roots in Michigan to move forward with her life. Her grief still stings, but she’s excited to start her professorship job and continue pursuing her passion for archery. Luckily, her new town has a Folk School with ample practice space. Then Jess has a combative run-in with Mo and all her plans to avoid complicated feelings start to crumble. No one should look that hot banging an anvil.
Before long, the two are drawn to work together to save the beloved Folk School from closing its doors. The heat is on them to plan a Renaissance Faire to raise the much-needed funds, but the more worthy pursuit could be the fire growing between them—if only they would be willing to give each other a shot.
About the Series
I love Gia’s books because all of the men I’ve met from her are these amazing brothers who are deeply emotional men with women who have to slow down to enjoy them. And once those women get on the ride, they cannot get off.
I love all three of these books so much. You can absolutely read these books in any order but you’re going to get so many similar feels by reading Mo’s brother’s stories.
Getting His Game Back
Khalil, a barbershop owner and Vanessa, a Black woman with a low fade in need of a new barber. She’s also the owner of a multimillion-dollar tech company working to make it in a world that doesn’t respect her race or gender. She doesn’t want to get distracted by a relationship but when Khalil hires her to do a job she absolutely should delegate, she feels drawn to stick close to him and do it herself.
Khalil is newly back to work after having a rough emotional time and struggling with handling his mental health because of toxic masculinity. He’s not necessarily toxic (and absolutely not in how he interacts with Vanessa) but how he feels about having depression and going to therapy is formed by society. Not by what he actually needs. They both have big walls up blocking them from one another but what we get is a beautiful story of two people working through defining their own self-worth and opening themselves up to love.
Not the Plan
This is the story of two rivals serving two larger rivals in California politics. Isadora is a veteran in the world while Karim is just stepping into it. A delightful meet cute shows some initial sparks between them but when Isadora realizes Karim is (unknowingly) Chief of Staff to the biggest scumbag in California’s senate, someone who can take anything from her, she deems him off-limits. Their chemistry however has something else to say.
Where Mo is grumpy and solemn, Karim is a puppy you just want to scoop up and cradle. Some of that is just his nature but some of it is a result of a harmful marriage he’s still recovering from. In this story, we get to see them work through their emotional baggage and work towards one another. 10/10! Content warning: Domestic violence (not between MCs)
Why I Loved It:
Content Warning: Domestic violence (not between the main couple, mentioned)
Gia De Cadenet writes male MCs like no other and I’ve been itching for a story from her for a while. I know she’s going to make me feel so deeply for this man and then pair him with a woman who falls in love with him accidentally yet soundly.
Mo and Jess literally meet on opposite sides of her crossbow, setting their tension immediately. She doesn’t want to trust him and he doesn’t want to scare her. That dynamic repeats for a few chapters until he realizes, and she realizes, that she understands him in a way that strangers don’t normally get. For Mo that makes him want to know her more and Jess likes being part of his safe place.
Mo introduced a new form of neurodivergence to me, HSP or Highly Sensitive Person. I really appreciate the care the author gave in explaining HSPs and how external stimuli affects Mo. He comes across as grumpy or sullen when in actuality he feels every emotion around him and internalizes it. When Jess clocks his emotionality within minutes of their second meeting, Mo breaks down and explains it all to her in more words than he normally uses in a month. Then she researches it, takes notes, and studies them before their next meeting.
How can you NOT fall in love with that?
I love Mo’s straightforward nature and inability to let foolishness go when he encounters it. There’s a moment where one of their coworkers says something sexist and instead of making the women in the room defend themselves he just says one word, “Sexist.” which forces the coworker to take back his words. Because Mo speaks so rarely, when he talks, everyone listens.
Mo’s HSP is a direct foil to Jess’s nature to attempt to force down every emotion possible. She’s grieving from the passing of her sister and estrangement from her parents. Her grief is manifesting as physical pain that she tries to ignore to no avail.
I find it ironic that they have opposite methods of approaching emotions but feel like puzzle pieces of one another. I love how they care for one another and how we get to feel the emotions they are feeling, or fighting, at the moment.
I felt this book in my chest with every page. Mo and Jess have a love story that spans so many emotions but leaves you in a place that makes every bit of pain seem worth it.
Have you read Gia de Cadenet before? Who is your go-to author when you’re looking for an emotional story.