The Single Dad’s Guide to Recreation is a cute contemporary romance by Karen Grey (3.75/5 stars)

The Single Dad’s Guide to Recreation is a cute contemporary romance by Karen Grey.

Avery took up the helm of playgroup, a parent/toddler program in her hometown’s Parks & Rec department after her mother became ill with long COVID. A corporation comes to town to overhaul the department and its facilities. Josh, a widowed single dad, is a corporate VP who is assigned the project.

This one started out a little on the slow side for me, but I practically inhaled the entire second half on a night where I stayed up pretty late to do so. I also was reading this one in the weeks leading up to the spring full ensemble concert for my orchestra that exclusively plays music from video games. My basement also flooded (for the second year in a row). So take my thoughts on the first half of the book with a grain of salt because it was a busy time and my brain could only handle so much.

There are a lot of funny scenes in this book. I’ve never actually watched either Parks and Recreation or Schitts Creek, the two main comps for this book, but I had a fun time reading it. I especially enjoyed Josh’s children Percy and Mabel. I wish there was more of their little cat, who’s showcased on the cover.

We get some information at the end of this book that makes a lot of sense, but means I definitely need to pick up the next book in the series to see what happens!

Tropes in this book include: small town, opposites attract, single dad, forced proximity

CW: infertility, depression, spousal loss, grief, chronic illness

I received a complimentary review copy from Literary Media Tours and the author. All opinions contained herein are my own.

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