Reviewed by Sadonna
TITLE: Kiss My Axe
SERIES: Axford Brothers
AUTHOR: May Archer
PUBLISHER: Self-published
LENGTH: 366 pages
RELEASE DATE: October 28, 2025
BLURB:
Living in a treehouse? Unavoidable.
Falling for the grumpy lumberjack hottie next door? Unthinkable.
After a viral PR disaster torpedoes my marketing career, I flee Manhattan. The only place left to land? A fairy-tale treehouse in a pickle-obsessed Vermont town, left to me by an uncle I barely knew.
Yes, I said pickles.
No, I’m not okay.
But I’m only here temporarily. Just long enough to regroup, let the notoriety die down, and figure out my next steps in peace.
Unfortunately, my new neighbor has other ideas.
Beckett “the Axe” Axford–cranky local heartthrob and unapologetic tree-murderer–claims Uncle Jim made him promises about the forest around the treehouse, and he’s none too pleased when I won’t take his word for it.
Unfortunately for him, I’m done playing by other people’s rules. I’m not backing down just because some sexy–I mean grumpy–lumberjack says so, and I can handle whatever he dishes out.
Tree climbing? No problem.
Pickle festival popularity contest? Sign me up.
Kissing my unexpectedly-tender, flannel-clad nemesis in the woods after dark? I can take it, bro. And take it. And t– Ahem. You get the picture.
I’m tired of losing, so I’m not giving up my inheritance or my heart without a fight.
And if Beckett thinks differently, he can kiss my axe.
REVIEW:
Griffin has building his life and his whole career towards this moment! He’s going to get the promotion, the corner office and he will be set. Marketing is his game and he’s really good at it. That is until the giant billboard reveals shocks everyone at the launch, but most especially the tightly wound conservative client. He’s been set up and is publicly and spectacularly fired on the spot.
Griffin needs to get away from New York. In yet another unexpected turn in his life, he gets notice of an inheritance in Winsome, Vermont that includes a house and land. He grasps at the lifeline. Nobody in New York will touch him, so he is going to go lick his wounds in Vermont while deciding how to mount his comeback. It’s a tough drive with his best friend Milo, but he finally makes it to a – treehouse? That was not on his bingo card.
The next morning, he wakes to a LOT of noise outside his house and someone threatening to move his car. He runs outside in his underwear, threatening a full grown lumberjack. And thus begins his complicated tangle with Beckett Axford, grumpy, scowling local lumberjack, oldest of five, practically small town royalty. Nobody in town knows that Jim is gone and that Griffin is now the new owner of the Griffin Mercer trust and this property and house.
Turns out that Beckett and Jim had a “gentleman’s agreement” that Beck could access his land via Jim’s driveway. Um, not on Griffin’s watch. Great. Just great. As if Beck doesn’t have enough on his plate trying to get the family business out of the hole he inherited when his dad went down with a heart attack. UGH! And this city boy is going to be the death of him. When he finds him about to fall out of a tree or accidentally saw himself in half trying to open a door, he keeps Griffin safe. Oh and of course Griffin is the hottest thing on two legs he’s ever seen. And somehow every time he saves him, the sparks between them get fanned just a little higher.
Griffin discovers something about Beck and Winsome that piques his interest. There is a contest for something called the Big Dill. Apparently there was once a big pickle processing establishment at the edge of town and they have continued to pay homage to pickles to this day – including pickle drinks, pickle forward foods, etc. Too bad Griffin HATES pickles. But whoever is the Big Dill gets the deciding vote in any disputes before the town council that are deadlocked. Griffin wants that so he can keep the “gentleman’s agreement” from being an actually legal agreement.
Beck’s mother “reverse psychology” goads him into also running for Big Dill. But more times than not, he and Griffin end up competing together. This feeds into their burning attraction. And the more time they spend together, the more each of them realizes that this hook-up stuff is actually a lot more. Uh-oh. Nobody was supposed to be catching feelings here. Griffin needs to get back to his life in New York. Beck needs to save his family legacy. But maybe, just maybe, there is a way for everybody to get what they want??
OMG! I absolutely loved this new start to a new series. Beck is adorably grumpy. Griffin is keeping a low profile after public humiliation. Beck’s entire family is conspiring to get them together. Griffin’s lesbian mothers have kept something important from him. Milo, his bestie is doing his best to keep his spirits up and support him. There are family dramas and dastardly business plots and loads of fun, humor, surprises and of course heat! These two burn up the sheet with their hot as fire chemistry – even when they weren’t sure they even liked each other 😉 Griffin brings out all sorts of protectiveness in Beck. But he knows that Griffin is brave and strong – he just needs some support and a safe place to land. I adored this entire town. There are so many laugh out load moments here. And yet the relationship between Beck and Griffin is sweet and quirky and spicy! There are loads of townspeople and siblings and I can’t wait for the next book. I’ve been a fan of this author since the Love in O’Leary series and this does not disappoint! Its a fabulous tale and I highly recommend this sweet, sexy rom-com that takes two unlikely men that on paper have nothing in common and shows how you should never judge a book by it’s cover 😉
RATING: 
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