Grumpy Darling

The Darling Devils #2

by Alexandra Moody

Alexandra Moody's BookTok sensation continues with Darling Devils #2: Grumpy Darling — perfect for fans of Hannah Grace, clean romance, and slow-burn fire on the ice!

She's never been kissed. He's never felt this way about anyone.

Paige has ticked off everything on her senior year bucket list except one tiny thing — she’s never kissed anyone. And her best friend, Grayson Darling, is to blame.

Grayson is the school hockey team’s notorious enforcer, and he’s been scaring away any eligible bachelors that so much as look in Paige’s direction. With time running out, she demands that Grayson stop defending her honor. Instead, he’ll become her dating coach, training her to win the guy of her dreams.

But Grayson has plans of his own. He’s been in love with Paige since they were kids, and his clock is running, too. Coaching Paige might be his last chance to show her how good they’d be together. After all, practice makes perfect.

Genres: Romance, Sports Romance, Friends To Lovers, Hockey, Sports, Hockey Romance, Young Adult

400 pages, Paperback

Published June 5, 2025

About the author

Alexandra Moody is an Australian author who writes romance novels for young adults. She lives in Adelaide with her husband, three children and naughty dog. When she’s not busy writing, you’ll find her reading or spending time with her family. She loves to travel, is addicted to caffeine and has a love/hate relationship with the gym.

For more information, visit: www.alexandramoody.com


or follow Alexandra on Instagram or TikTok: @amoodyauthor

Reviews

[Eden!]

THIS BETTER BE GRAY AND PAIGE!!

[madi [semi-ia] · Rating 1 out of 5]

dnf at 52%
clearly this series isn't for me 🧍‍♀️

₊˚ ‿︵‿︵‿︵୨୧ · · ♡ · · ୨୧‿︵‿︵‿︵ ˚₊

𐙚⋆°｡⋆♡ pre-read ♡⋆°｡⋆𐙚
⤷ idk why i’m doing this to myself 😭 but i’m br this with my fav girl har!! 💌 love you endlessly 😽 hopefully this book is good

[har ౨ৎ [semi-ia] · Rating 1 out of 5]

dnf @ 50% i couldn’t take it anymore

── .✦pre-read ⊹ ♡

idk why i’m reading this but i am! buddy reading this with my forever twin madi! 💌 hopefully we both don’t get traumatised with this…. but anyways i love you sm angel 😽🌷💗

[JudgyNerd · Rating 5 out of 5]

Called it. I loved Grayson like an unhealthy amount im so excited.

Friend: What r u thinking abt?

Me:


I can’t quite explain how much I loved this book and definitely need to properly review it!! But that scene where Grayson was all moody before the big game! Ugh 🤌

[Belle₊˚⊹♡ (semi-hiatus) · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 stars! 🌟🌟🌟
(Spoiler-free)


This book was so cute and fluffy, but took me a good while to get into 😭 The pacing for this book was quite slow at times, which is the only reason why I’m giving it a 3 stars 🤫

There isn’t that much to say on this book other than I would definitely recommend this to younger readers! 🙂‍↕️


⭐️Rating: 3/5
📚Age rating: 12+
🔥Spice: 0/5 (clean 🐵)


🎧Songs:

~Out Of My League~Fitz and The Tantrums

~From The Start~Laufey

~Falling Behind~Laufey

~the perfect pair~beabadoobee

~Glue Song~Beabadoobee

~You Belong With Me~Taylor Swift

~Jump then fall~Taylor Swift

~Sparks Fly~Taylor Swift

~Paper Rings~Taylor Swift

~So High school~Taylor Swift

~Close to you~Gracie Abrams

~Risk~Gracie Abrams
________________________

⛸️💗Preread:

Okay my rating for Rival Darling wasn’t the highest but I really enjoyed the characters and the setting of the story, so I’m intrigued with what she does for this book 🤭 I’m a sucker for Grumpy x sunshine so I have a feeling I’ll like this one!

[saisha⊹{bad slump} · Rating 3 out of 5]

3✧!!
╰grayson and paige my loves<3 mini review down below!🫶🏻

🎧 ~ fifteen+you are in love
“you can hear it in the silence
you can hear it on the way home
you can see it with the lights out
you are in love
true love”

“why would i kiss someone else, when i was waiting for you?”

⊹my thoughts!🩵

this series has been so adorable so far- which is NOT what i was excepting at first bc it’s supposed to be hockey romance lol but i still enjoyed this nonetheless!! grayson and paige were so cute in book 1 and i really was excited for this🤍 i wasn’t the biggest fan of the plot- bc grayson was ‘helping’ her get another guy which was lowk kinda weird when i was reading his chapters loll but it was cute nonetheless! paige definitely was a lil quirky but she grew on me as the book went on! and grayson ahh- what can i say??! he was so cute and it was funny seeing him get flustered around paige his bff!! speaking of which i rlly liked the best-friends to lovers in this it was done rlly well! and ofc seeing reed and violet🤭💐 i didn’t like this as much as book 1 but it was still fun! can’t wait for parker’s book next👀 xx hope ur having a great day and that all ur reads are serving💗

love,
saisha

- - -
⋆·˚ ༘ * ⛸️┆ pre-read!
book one was so cute aw! onto grayson and paige’s book im so excited💐🤍

[julia ⊹ [ ia ] · Rating 3 out of 5]

⟢ 3.5 stars ┊- no spoiler review ⋆
⤿ nobody gets me by sza
i don’t wanna see you with anyone but me?
nobody gets me like you..

⊹ “i’d already found my soulmate, but it was hard to pinpoint the exact moment i realized paige was it. perhaps i’d always known. when it came to paige, it had never just felt like her and me.
it had always felt like us.”

⫶ ⌗ ⛸️┊my thoughts -
⟡ this was so much better than the first one. since i didn’t feel connected with violet and reed in rival darling, i didn’t have high hopes for this one. i‘m glad i was wrong. this was super cute! grayson and paige were super cute. knowing grayson was obsessed with paige the whole time and seeing them develop feelings for eachother was adorable! 🙂‍↕️
grayson would actually do everything in this world for paige! he yearned so bad for her, this man waited 12 years for his first kiss so it could be with paige - payed attention to every little thing about her. i mean their first date was all the things she loved. now that i‘m kind of looking through the book again and seeing my notes i wanna cry, grayson is such a sweetheart. 🥹

⟡ i mean this book definitely isn’t world changing and the writing isn’t super insane but it’s nonetheless fun and cute.


🩰 - quotes

“we were only seven, but even then i’d been so struck by how pretty she was, i could barely speak”

“if it weren’t for my skills with a puck, i often wondered whether anyone would even know i existed. but i never felt invisible when i was around paige.”

“sometimes, when you stop looking ahead and focus on what’s right in front of you, that thing you’ve been looking for all along finds you.”

“it had come straight from my heart, where i usually kept all my secret feelings for paige locked tightly away.”

“the way i yearned for his smiles, how i relished his scowls, how i admired his strength of heart, and how i adored his quiet kindness.”

“my life simply wasn't complete without her.“

“perhaps that’s why i was so in love with her. i was like one of those stone gargoyles perched on the walls of old churches. an impenetrable statue glaring down at the world. but the second paige shone her light on me, i shed my stony exterior and came to life.”

“i was always more relaxed when grayson was near.”

“you don’t look at her like she’s just a friend.”
“of course i do.”
“no, grayson. you look at her like she’s everything.”

“i wasn’t sure if it was fate, luck, or destiny. but it felt as if the stars had granted me a whole sky full of wishes, because paige was finally mine.”

“but somewhere along the way, you became much more to me than just my best friend. i get butterflies when you enter a room and sparks on my skin when we touch. i’m happiest when i’m with you.”

“my feelings for grayson had grown roots. before i knew what was happening, they’d anchored firmly within me, knitted into the very fabric of my being.”

[ray ౨ৎ · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.75 stars 💌
ya contemporary romance┆13+┆mild language

⛸️ … mini review ᝰ.ᐟ
at first, i thought this was gonna be a solid 3 star read but the further i got into it the more i was frustrated with the characters being seniors and keeping secrets, annoyed by the repetitiveness, and the slow pacing. on top of that, i predicted most of what happened towards the end since it was so unrealistic. i do not seeing any of what happened in this happening irl. however, i did appreciate how the author has researched hockey since the disaster rival darling was, but that still doesn’t really matter if i didn’t care ab the characters at all, esp after that ending

⤿ like the first novel, this book felt very trope-y and longer than necessary. it was 405 pages on my kindle but if grayson admitted his feelings he’s had since elementary school this book wouldn’t exist

💗 friends to lovers
🏒 he gives her love advice
💗 hockey romance
🏒 clean ya
💗 miscommunication
🏒 grumpy x sunshine
💗 he’s scares everyone (…)

[EmG ReadsDaily · Rating 4 out of 5]

A deeply romantic, slow-burn, hidden feelings, friends-to-lovers story.

“I flirted with her and now I’m her flirting coach!”

Yearning. Flirting. Brooding. Jealousy. Playful banter. Simmering tension.

Grayson is often mistaken for a brute, due to his size and strength, although he is remarkably kind-hearted and thoughtful. Paige is driven and has ticked off everything from her senior bucket list, except for having her first kiss. Grayson has loved Paige since they were kids, although it takes Paige a little longer to realise what her feelings mean...

This is a sweet sports romance story, in a high school setting, written by Australian author Alexandra Moody.

If you are in the mood for straightforward romantic tension and playful banter, then give this a read!

This is the sequel to Rival Darling, the first story in The Darling Devils series.

[Emma (always clowning) · Rating 1 out of 5]

dnf.
no. freaking. thank. you.
having and RBF should NOT be your personality and having a best friend with one should not be yours!!! idc if you’re so sweet and small and petite and lovable SO PLEASE STOP MENTIONING IT EVERY PAGE. Anyways…. life’s too short to keep reading a book you’re not interested in so ✌️

[thea. · Rating 3 out of 5]

⤿ 𝟐.𝟓𝟓 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐬 ✩.⋆

This woman. This woman was torturing me exactly 80% of my ebook. EIGHTY PERCENT of i-love-her-but-i-can’t-tell-her AND i-love-him-but-i-can’t-tell-him. Istg the only two reasons why are you not reading a one star review are bc of the banter between the characters and the last 20% of the book (which were very bingable🤭).

Honestly i think this book could be definitely shorter - pace was really slow and the whole plot was basically set on him teaching her how to flirt and stuff and it was all just so repetitive there were definitely the parts that i enjoyed like playful arguments between brothers or their whole family watching a hockey game - as i said the banter was bantering but the whole plot was just kind of drab and monotonous.

ᝰ.ᐟ„No, Pidge. That was my first kiss too.” “But . . . What? Who?” She blinked. “How is that possible?” “Why would I kiss someone else, when I was waiting for you?”

Paige was such a sunshiny character sooo positive and kind and her friendship with violet was theree (i love how the whole series is interconnected) and she was in a phase of life when she didn’t know what she wanted to do in future, what path in life to take, which college to choose, in what she excelled at and that was so relatable😭 - I have the same issue and i could at least a bit relate to her which made her character development slightly better.

Grayson aww he’s our classy grumpish softie - such a gooey marshmallow under that Devil Darling grumpy cover and i just loved him but overall i didn’t felt that alexandra gave us a lot of character development or personality and it felt like i was being told what are they doing and not like i was right next to those characters and I was experiencing both happy and sad moments of their lives with them.

┆ ⤿ 💌 ⌗ romance
⟡ i have to admit that this part of the book was actually really cute and those last 20% were amazing - and the fact that it was still ya and still a hockey romance? That takes a hell of a talent to write WITHOUT SMUT. Nothing groundbreaking but if i was reviewing those last twenty percent it would definitely be a (by far) higher rating.

——
Ngl i was ready to hate it but… it wasn’t THAT bad :) RTC
——
I was manifesting theirs book through the whole Rival Darling book (… uhm, more details = my review💀) and i’m manifesting ever more for this book to ACTUALLY HIT - so honey please don’t let me down😙

[ella (locked in) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kinda like Better Than The Movies but cringier 😭😭 but it gave me all the feels and I binged it on my flight so it wasn’t all that bad I guess :) it was cute, light, and easy to read which is just all you need sometimes! I love the romance but their flirting is soo cringe I’m sorry lol.

3.5 stars

[⋆⭒˚.⋆ Eloise⋆⭒˚.⋆ · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a cute fluffy read, i liked it a lot and it was a good time 💞

[Bella · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the best YA romcom series. I loved Rival Darling and I was super excited when I found out there was going to be a second book in the series. I read this book in 2 days. Grayson and Paige’s story had me feeling all the feels I was giggling and smiling the whole time I loved reading how their friendship developed into something more. The humour in this book is golden particularly the Operation Shrek group chat and the GP nickname iykyk.

[Xaina&#x1f577;️ · Rating 5 out of 5]

cant wait to read!

[zoey · Rating 5 out of 5]

love this book! it was so cute how gray was so head over heels for her!

[Raven Bork · Rating 4 out of 5]

As someone who’s currently struggling with figuring out my path in life, Grumpy Darling hit way closer to home than I expected. From the very first chapter, this book had me hooked. It gave me everything I love in a YA romance: best friends to lovers, slow burn tension, swoony hockey boys, found family vibes, and SO. MUCH. PINING.

I didn’t just read about Paige — I was Paige. Her uncertainty about what she wants to do, the pressure from her parents, the feeling of being behind while everyone else seems to have their life sorted out… I felt every bit of that. And watching her try new things, even if they didn’t go as planned (RIP muffins & possibly a mouse 😭), reminded me that it’s okay not to have it all figured out yet.

Grayson is this grumpy, broody, emotionally constipated hockey player who is secretly soft only for one person — Paige. And Paige? She’s sunshine personified — chaotic, sweet, a little bit of a disaster in the kitchen (RIP to that poor mouse), and the literal definition of golden retriever energy. Watching her move into Grayson's house and turn his world upside down was hilarious and heartwarming.

What I loved most was how Alexandra Moody captured the depth of a longtime friendship teetering on the edge of something more. The way Grayson protects Paige — even from afar, even from himself — ugh, it HURT in the best way. Their banter was adorable, the tension was chef’s kiss, and every glance, every almost moment, made me SCREAM internally.

Also, shoutout to Parker for being the absolute best chaotic little brother who calls out everyone’s nonsense while secretly being the biggest softie.

This book made me feel seen and gave me so much comfort, not just with the romance, but with where I’m at in life right now. So if you’re figuring things out, doubting yourself, or need a best-friends-to-lovers story with all the feels, Grumpy Darling is for you. 💌

[Juliana Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

dove head first into my YA era this week🤭🤭🙂‍↔️

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.75⭐️

Grumpy Darling was such a fun read and the cutest time. Friends to lovers is not a trope I usually enjoy, but I was pleasantly surprised while reading that I actually enjoyed Paige and Grayson going from friends to lovers. Of all the books I have read with this trope, Grumpy Darling did it the best. I read this book in one sitting, and like the first book in the series, it gave me everything I wanted it to. It was cute, it was refreshing, and there were honestly quite a few times where I internally screamed over how sweet Grayson was to Paige.

- friends to lovers
- dating coach
- grumpy sunshine
- don’t hurt her
- hockey romance
- first love
- bucket list

[avi ౨ৎ · Rating 2 out of 5]

╰┈➤ 2.5 ✰


she was the girl i wanted in my life forever, and even if that was only as a friend, it would have to be enough for me.



tropes
𝜗ৎ .ᐟ friends to lovers
𝜗ৎ .ᐟ hockey high school romance
𝜗ৎ .ᐟ dating coach mmc
𝜗ৎ .ᐟ force proximity
𝜗ৎ .ᐟ found family
𝜗ৎ .ᐟ grumpy x sunshine



･ ⟢ ⋮ summary+thoughts ゛༝.
grumpy darling is a high school romcom drama. staring at our main characters paige who still needs to know what she wants to do for her future. she made a whole list of activities to try out and see which one she likes. but on this list is an item so close to her heart that she needed one of the notorious darling devils to help her. grayson darling has been in the friend zone with paige for so long that he thinks all hope is lost to ever change her mind to see him as more. but when paige comes to him in questioning for help with the one item close to her heart, he seizes the oppretunity to do so.


if your a fan of un-swoon worthy main characters, horrible writing, and a nice slow bad read. then i totally reccomend this book to you. if you expected something better and amazing from rival darlin? then hahaha jokes on you🤡 this book could not have been horribly executed. this book was trying so hard to be an elle kennedy hockey romance book just clean and for young adult reader? well that backfire instead you got a book that seen no editing ever, and a 1 star wattpad read. am i disappointed? yes especially after reading rival darling.


࣪𖤐┆paige

⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀risk by gracie abrams
paige had no good qualities besides that all she was, was a sunshine main female character that we always get in books. i'm really mad because in rival darling she appeared to be an amazing character and i was so excited to read her story. but nope we just got doubts, upon doubts all in her inner dialogue. it felt like one of those y/n wattpad story reads. and that just wasn't what i was personally looking for.



࣪𖤐┆grayson

⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀he never will by alexander stewart

he had so much potential. i saw and read the only most stereotypical grumpy broody male character for an high school romance story. "oh he's only soft for her" or the "stop let paige calm him down she can do it" type stuff that just gave me the biggest ick. overall I saw nothing eye catching in him like I did with paige.


࣪𖤐┆ grumpy darling (paige+grayson's ver)
➪ we can't be friends by ariana grande
➪ Starboy by the weekend
➪ betting on us by jessica baio
➪ daylight by taylor swift
➪ ribs by lorde


ִ ࣪𖤐┆quotes

⤷ "i don't know what you're talking about. i loved them." technically, that was true. i loved everything about paige, even her crappy muffins. apparently, love wasn't just blind, it also had no sense of taste.

⤷ "probably because dinner was spicier than mom's dirty books."

⤷ all i could think was that i'd happily put up with terrible cooking every night for the rest of my life if it meant i could be with paige.

⤷ except it had never been us three amigos. there has been Paige and him, and paige and me. three was a crowd.

⤷ gray: just wear what you had on at the game. you looked perfect.
me: I was wearing your jersey.
gray:like i said...perfect.

⤷ my heart was breaking for her, and in my mind i was practically screaming that i wanted her i'd always wanted her.

[Ari · Rating 2 out of 5]

je vais pas mentir je mets 2 parce que je me sens mal de mettre 1 en fait

[Katie Howes · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 🌟 this was quite literally everything, back to my roots which is YA romance. This was so freaking cute!!! I will always be a sucker for friends to lovers and this was done SO well. Gray and Paige captured my heart, this was so pure and sweet, I love every single page of it!

These two kinda gave me Wes and Liz vibes and I was so here for it!!!

[jocelyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

”“Don’t stop chasing your dreams until your legs fail, your arms give in, and you can’t even drag yourself toward them anymore.””

”“But somewhere along the way, you became much more to me than just my best friend. I get butterflies when you enter a room and sparks on my skin when we touch. I’m happiest when I’m with you, and when I’m sad, you’re the person I want by my side.””

this was soosoososososo much better than the first one the dynamic felt so much more real. grayson and paige had so much more character to them and the childhood best friends to lovers felt so genuine and not rushed. i wish they communicated a little better but besides that this was definitely an improvement on the first one!

4/5 ⭐️

[Summer Hathaway · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow was this great. I read it in two days and let me just say, while this trope and some of the microtropes in the book are so overdone, its still a classic. Grayson and Paige’s relationship and how they dealt with there feelings made this book enticing, comfortable, and so so so romantic.
In order for me to cry, get butterflies, or in general be happy with a book I have to be connected to the characters. Moody resembled this perfectly in such a way that I liked this better than the first one. Paige is someone I find so enjoyable to read about. Whether she is the POV or simply just around. She has a calming presence that makes her feel safe.
From past experiences with different book boyfriends, I know I could simply not have as successful of a relationship with a black cat over a golden retriever. Noah (from Weybridge Academy) showed me this because as much team Noah I am for Isobel, Wes is simply perfect for me. Grayson however is the perfect in between. He’s charming, funny and undeniably sweet and caring, but still has a soft spot in the middle for the people he cares about. Compared to Noah however, he lets his emotions come out a little more.
While I am not a huge slow burn fan, this book proved to me how much a slow burn is just good for the soul. In order for a slow burn to be entertaining for me it has to be fast paced, and lets just say this book did it. As someone who has been in a bit of a slump recently, this book never had a dull moment. I’ve now understood how just the simple things like back and forth banter, charming smiles, and stolen glances mean more in a relationship than people would originally think.
The only reason this book isnt a five star is because I don’t think I would ever reread it. While I loved the experience, I am glad to see how Paige and Grayson’s relationship has started and can’t wait to see how it goes on in the next book..(maybe 2🤞)??
In all seriousness though aside from the main characters, the secondary characters in the book make it more of a dynamic read. Watching how each character is effected by one another (especially the brothers) gives a more real tone to the story. (and god knows we need it due to the unrealistic standards we’ve set for ourselves now through books).
Finally thanks for reading this long and ranting review of this great book. I have a friend who hasnt read it yet so I am itching to talk about it with someone. Alexandra Moody, as painful of a wait it was for this story to come out, congrats on getting published and I cant wait to see what you do in the future! See you in Parkers book…. or maybe Cammies?!?! Lol we’ll see when the times comes.


4.5 ⭐️’s

[Em · Rating 5 out of 5]

adorable

[Judy&#x1f352;&#x1faa9; · Rating 1 out of 5]

Dnf at 35% life is too short to continue books you don’t like:)

[Clara Andersen · Rating 4 out of 5]

it was really predictable but I loved every second of it. The main character Paige was so sweet and I think the author did a very good job of portraying her as a sports enthusiast without making her seem like a pick-me. Grayson was such a well-written character also. I sped through this book so fast!
anyways lol I think you should read it

[Sarah Hansen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Literally the cutest book I've read this year 😍😍

[nat!!(johnny kavanagh’s version) · Rating 3 out of 5]

this was really cute! i picked it up at barnes and noble because i read the first book on my kindle last winter and i was excited to get back into this world, and it didn't disappoint! i do wish that they would have gotten together sooner and stopped running in circles around each other but its ok because it worked out in the end.

grayson was such a cutie under his mean exterior and i loved getting to see everything he was doing for paige! they had me literally giggling and i loved getting to read about all of their funny dates and "practices"

i also obviously loved the hockey aspect of it because well duh and i loved getting to read this while tanning at the pool ofc

[Larrisa Crary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love me a grumpy sunshine trope, but he's only happy around her, and it's so cute.
Not spicy, but such a good read! ☺️