This book event is through Xpresso Book Tours.
Chasing Mr. Wrong book blitz includes a giveaway Rafflecopter at the end of this post. You can check out the other times I’ve hosted Anne on Frugal Freelancer for The Art of Falling in Love with Your Grumpy Neighbor and Faking the Face Off.

Book & Author Details:
Checking Mr. Wrong
by Anne Kemp
(Love in Maple Falls)
Publication date: August 27th 2025
Genres: Adult, Comedy, Contemporary, Romance, Sports
Synopsis:
Sheās a grump with a grudge. Heās a sweetheart with a slapshot. Sparks were expected, but the fireworks? Pure magic.
Mabel
Returning to Maple Falls wasnāt part of my five-year planāor my backup plan. Or any plan, really. But here I am, back in my quirky hometown, dodging my motherās judgment and trying not to cringe every time someone mentions the viral moment. (Yes, that one. No, I donāt want to talk about it.)
When my editor sends me to cover the NHLās shiny new team, the Ice Breakers, Iām all ināuntil I meet Asher Tremblay. Heās their too-charming defenseman with a knack for wrecking my focus and my sanity. Equal parts infuriating and irresistible, but falling for him? Not on my agenda. Nope.
Asher
Iāve worked my whole life to make it in the NHL. A new team means a fresh start, and I wonāt let anything distract meāleast of all a snarky reporter who seems determined to hate me on sight.
But the more I see Mabel, the more I want to know whatās behind her walls. Sheās fire and chaos, and Iāve spent my whole life playing it safe. Maybe sheās exactly what I need. I came to Maple Falls to chase my dream, but now all I want is her.
***
Checking Mr. Wrong is part of the Love in Maple Falls sweet hockey romcom multi-author series. Itās a grumpy sunshine story with forced proximity in this small town romance with all the sizzle and chemistry, but none of the spice.
Welcome back to Maple Fallsāthe small town where hockey players fall in love! This is a multi-author series of seven full-length books that could be read as standalones, but we think youāll enjoy them best in order.
Fake-Off with Fate by Whitney Dineen
Offside and Off-Limits by Kate OāKeeffe
Checking Mr. Wrong by Anne Kemp
Skating and Fake Dating by Ellie Hall
Goalie and the Girl Next Door by Elsie Woods
Soulmates and Slapshots by Melissa Baldwin
The Icing on the Cake by Grace Worthington
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/239189594-checking-mr-wrong
Purchase:
Amazon:Ā https://amzn.to/45J1iHO
AUTHOR BIO:

Anne Kemp is a bestselling author of romantic comedies. She loves reading (and she does it ridiculously fast, too!), gluten-free baking (because everyone needs a hobby that makes them crazy), and finding time to binge-watch her favorite shows. She grew up in Maryland but made Los Angeles her home until she encountered her own real-life meet-cute at a friend’s wedding where she ended up married to one of the groomsmen. For real.
Anne now lives on the Kapiti Coast in New Zealand, and even though she was married at Mt. Doom, noā¦she doesnāt have a Hobbit. However, she and her husband do have a terrier named George Clooney and when sheās not writing, sheās usually with them taking a long walk on the river by their home.
You can find Anne on her website – come say hi! Sheād love to hear from you: www.annekemp.com
Author links:
https://www.tiktok.com/@annekempauthor
https://www.instagram.com/annekempauthor
https://www.facebook.com/missannekemp
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5805725.Anne_Kemp
SnippetĀ #1: Asher’s POV
āIām Asher,ā I say with a nod, hoping sheāll come to understand that I am not a foe. Not a friend either, yet, but definitely
not a foe.
She eyes me, looking at me as if she half expects me to grab her purse and toss it out the window. āMabel.ā
āNice to meet you, Mabel. You from here?āĀ
She nods. āBorn and raised in Maple Falls.āĀ
She still watches me while I take a pause. The tiniest of jokes pops up like a cartoon bubble over my head. āWait. Youāre
Mabel. From Maple Falls?ā
āI know where this is headed, and youāre not funny,ā she retorts dryly as she shoots another glare my way.Ā
āIs your last name āSyrupā?ā I ask innocently as Joe does me a solid and cracks up from the front seat. āThat would be
hilarious.āĀ
Even when she glares, itās kinda sexy. I keep her pinned in my line of sight as Iām hit with a subtle wave of recognition.
āDo we know each other fromāā
āNope,ā she interjects, looking at me pointedly and still chomping on her ice. The way she gnashes away on it is like sheās
mad at the ice and rage-crunching, but who knows.Ā
āYou didnāt let me finish.ā
āHow rude of me. Please, finish your thoughts,ā she says as her lips form a tight thin line.
āI will.ā Little does my new friend know, but I like the challenge of a sassy woman. āI was going to say that I know you
from somewhere.ā
āI doubt it.ā
But I can’t shake it. āI think we must have met before.āĀ
She snaps her head my way and stares at me. This is the second I truly notice her eyesāthe kind of green that belongs in
legends and treasure chests, brighter and more striking than any emerald Iāve ever seen. āI doubt it.ā
āOkay,ā I say, keeping my focus on her. āWell, when I remember how I know you, Iāll tell you.ā
āSounds like a plan. DM me,ā she says with sarcasm oozing off each letter, and plastering on a fake smile that would make
a Ringling Brothers clown cringe. She tips her cup back and tosses more ice into her mouth, chomping down on it as she puts her
back toward me and faces the window again. Iām still listening to the crunch of her ice when she suddenly stops.
āOh, ow!ā Mabel drops her cup in between her feet, whatās left of the ice spilling on the mat, as she holds her hand to her
mouth. āOh, no, no, no. No!ā
āAll good back there?ā Joe asks from the front.
Mabel looks at me with fear in her eyes as she nods. āUh-huh. All good,ā she mumbles, sounding like sheās shoved a tissue
in her mouth.Ā
I give it a beat. āAre you sure youāre okay?ā
I can see her moving her mouth around as she stares at the back of the seat in front of her. From my spot, I can tell that her
eyes are a little wild; she looks like a three-legged snake just ran in front of the car.Ā
āI think,ā she whispers, running her tongue over her front teeth. āI think Iāve chipped my front tooth.ā
āLet me see.ā She shakes her head, so I do my best to make her feel comfortable. I mean, itās what I do. My dad said Iām
the most people-pleasing of all the Tremblays, so I need to keep my reputation. āIf you let me look, I can tell you how bad it is. I
play hockey, so having a tooth chipped or getting one knocked out is par for the course.ā I point to my two front teeth. āThese
arenāt even mine. I lost them both in the first game I played in college. If you want, I can also pop my bridge out for you, itās
back hereā¦ā
She holds up a hand, genuine worry etched on her face. āNo, thank you.ā
āSo, give me a smile.ā I lean over to her. āI promise I wonāt laugh. But I can tell you how fast you need to make a dental
appointment when you get to Maple Falls.ā
It feels like it takes more than ten minutes to coax her, but she finally rewards me with a teeny-tiny, kinda toothy grin. I say
kinda toothy because yes, part of her front tooth is for sure missing and the woman needs more than a chiclet shoved in there to
make it all better.
āIs it bad?ā she asks, her voice barely above a whisper, like sheās bracing for a hurricane of bad news.
āItāsā¦ā I pause, searching for the right words. What do you tell someone youāve just met who is obviously not thrilled
about losing half a tooth? āItās not bad, but itās not great either.ā
Her face crumples like I just confessed that I let her puppy run away. āWhy,ā she groans, pressing her lips closed and
throwing herself against the back of the seat. Her head tips back dramatically, like sheās auditioning for a soap opera. āNo, I do
not need this right now.ā
I bite back a grin, because this? This is comedy gold. I mean, itās not funny for her, but watching someone overreact to a
chipped tooth like itās the end of the world? Hard not to find the humor.
āNobodyās even going to notice,ā I say, trying to sound sincere but probably failing. āYouāll be in Maple Falls, and
everyoneās too busy looking at the trees and drinking cider to care about your teeth.ā
GIVEAWAY
Blitz-wide giveaway (INT)
Prize: $25 Amazon gift card
Checking Mr. Wrong Blitz
