It's been awhile since I read the book, I'm little late with my review writing lately. So this review will shoe how much I remember from the story and my reading experience, which I think will tell a lot about the quality of the book and how much it affected me. Also, I see that this was the book that gently moved me into direction of food and eating related reading.


Let's get to the book. It's a story of a YouTube amateur cook Sunshine. We meet get on a day when her life falls apart, because of the truth about her is revealed to the public. She is not a genuine amateur cook, she can't even cook. She is a careful product of former food network producer. Her online work is a lie... and because living a lie is hard, with a time she accepted the lie as a truth, and her personal life suffered because of this.

The book presents a great story of living as a celebrity on internet. In time when it's so easy to destroy someone with just one tweet. In time when people become internet famous and are expected to be perfect all the time, to sell a perfect life that all the followers could envy. It was great to read about this culture of a person that was internet famous and was fake, she was the 'bad one' in the story. She even warns us about it at the beginning. But I wasn't able to hate her. I felt her pain and struggle to keep her life and lie.

It was a great, light read that will also give you something to think about. Definitely a summer read - it even takes place in Hamptons.

I had heard good things about this book and while it was o.k. it didn't grab hold of me and keep me interested enough to not want to put the book down. I thought some of the characters were really superficial and others had some depth, but there weren't any that I could really get on board with and root for. I wish I had better things to say. I'm sorry.

My thanks to Simon Schuster and NetGalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

4 1/2 stars

Another wonderful book from Laura Dave! Hello, Sunshine explores what happens when a life lived and and curated for the digital world meets the real not so perfect world. Sunshine McKenzie has a great career as a YouTube star food star and is about to get a TV contract. Her Instagram is a wonder to behold and she has thousands of fans. She has a great career and great marriage...everything is perfect, until she is hacked.

The hacker exposes the real Sunshine Mackenzie, and she realizes nothing was really as fabulous as she presented it. She goes on a personal journey to find herself and get back to the truth, regardless of the consequences.

This book was hard to put down and I read it in a day. The writing is very good, funny and well paced and the plot really drew me in. The characters were interesting and real, and the setting was great. I liked the theme of digital celebrity, and the differences between what we see on "curated" social media versus the reality of someone's life.

However, the identity of the hacker surprised me, and I thought the motive didn't completely explain the hacking. I also thought the ending was a little unsatisfying after everything that came before it.

I really enjoyed this book and highly recommend it. It will be a great book club or beach read. A must-read!

To a certain extent, we all reinvent ourselves frequently. But when you change every truth, you are bound to get caught in a lie sooner or later. Sunny lets little lies take over life but a series of events forces her to examine herself to find the real Sunny.. Along the way she discovers a way to have a relationship with her sister and her neice. As Sunny prepares to bring a child into the world,, she embarks on a new invention of herself, but this time with absolute truth guiding her.

REaders of Eight Hundred Grapes and The First Husband will not be disappointed in this wonderful story!

Everything seems to come up sunshine for Sunshine Mackenzie. Her husband’s architecture career is thriving. She is surrounded by assistants and promoters as she hosts her cooking show. While she didn’t create the mirage around her, it will be Sunshine who must pay for the deceit. A hacker, waiting in the shadows, revels in exposing Sunshine's secret. The unknown villain uses social media to illustrate who Sunshine is, and who she is not.

As Sunshine explores the person behind her Sunny persona, she uncovers a piece of herself, lost in the spotlight. Reminiscent of the twists and turns Laura Dave created in Eight-hundred Grapes, Hello, Sunshine delivers an interesting cast of characters and unexpected escapades.

I started reading this book before bed and ended up rocketing through until I reached the last page. Hello, Sunshine is a fun read about a young YouTube chef who isn't who her viewers think she is. It all falls down around her when someone hacks her accounts and unleashes a secret that destroys her aspiring celebrity career, her marriage and leaves her homeless. It's a fantastic story of discovering authenticity in a world ruled by social media where appearances seem like they are everything. A good one to tuck into the summer beach bag.

I gave up on this after reading 1/3 of it. I was willing to suspend my disbelief at first (really? a completely fake identity and no one would say anything?) for the sake of a fun read, but it wasn't clever enough to justify it.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I read it on Mother's Day, and I'm so happy I did! Sunny is an amazing character who really is the definition of ups and downs. I really love her writing style and all of the depth of characters which you can vividly picture in your mind as you plow through this book! Great for summer!

When I saw this title, I was so happy to see it was by the author of "Eight Hundred Grapes." I loved the cover, and I love the current plot...You Tube "star," branching into Food Network...but how much of what they post/we post is really true...really showing ourselves? Sunshine Mackenzie has a YouTube cooking show that is super popular, and getting more so. Life seems good...until someone decides to show the world that it's all a carefully orchestrated lie. Sunshine has to lose everything to find out what is really what she wants. Thank you so much to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster for this ARC. All opinions are my own.

I was immediately attracted to this novel because of the title and the cover art. Right away I have high expectations and then I start reading. YouTube, food, and drama? I’m in.

Sunshine Mackenzie has it all. Her own cooking show, numerous cookbooks, a successful architect for a husband, and adoring fans. When she becomes a public figure, she became a target like any celebrity and all those secrets she was tucking away were exposed with a stroke of a key. When faced with dire circumstances we see Sunshine rise to the occasion, but it’s an uphill battle. As she searches for a game plan to move forward she must go backward and make amends with the past. That means going back home, the place she vowed to never return.

I like strong, independent women as main characters and Sunshine is just that. Her transformation through the novel is sensitive, forgiving, and triumphant. Take this on vacation, take it to the beach, take it on the bus, but wherever you take it, enjoy the sunshine.

Laura Dave is a new author to me. I thank NetGalley and Simon Schuster for the opportunity to read this novel.

On my goodness, I LOVED this book! I was riveted from the first sentence. I cheered for Sunny the whole way through.
Make sure you pick up this book!

When a story opens by interweaving the history of writing a rock music song, I'm hooked. It is hard to pull off first person narratives, characters and actions the readers may view as unlikable, but Laura Dave's writing is simply that good.
Sunshine Mackenzie is a YouTube sensation on her way to a Food Network show, has loyal fans, a loving husband, and is living her dream. Her world comes crashing down in a single day as her Twitter is hacked, outing her as a fraud, and publicly shaming her. The attacks are so precise, so devastating, designed for maximum damage and no return, she goes the one place she never wanted to...home.
As Sunny wrestles with unpacking the reality of what happened, where she is, and how she got there, the brilliance of Laura Dave's writing shines. We don't like Sunny at times, we don't like her decisions, we want to write her off as the 'bad guy'. The subtle shades of grey are layered such that we can't get off that easy. The parallels of a 'curated life', an image made for social media, and it's steep slope, how small omissions, even lies, snowball, are not so different from what normal people do every single day on social media. The novel isn't as 'warm and comfortable' as some of her previous ones, however not all books are intended to be. I think it is particularly well suited for bookclubs and would especially recommend it for that as there is great potential for discussion here.
I received an advanced reader copy (eGalley) from Simon & Schuster through NetGalley. This review reflects my honest and unbiased opinions.

I enjoyed this light, summery read that speaks to authenticity in the digital age. The main character immedately establishes herself as an unlikable character at the outset, but also sets out to redeem herself both for the other characters and the reader. Laura Dave did a wonderful job of making her sympathetic and yet own her flaws. Release date July 11, 2017.

I really enjoyed this book. It was fast paced and an easy read that I couldn't put down. I totally got sucked into the story line and began rooting for the main character, Sunshine. I will definitely recommend this book to others.


Special thanks to NetGalley for allowing me to review this book.

Fantastic book. I have really enjoyed Laura Dave's work in the past and this was no exception. Very quick read--I couldn't put it down and was done in a day. Definitely worth one's time.

3.5 stars

This novel is narrated by Sunshine, a social media celebrity chef with a seemingly perfect life. We quickly learn that all is not as it appears, and follow Sunshine on her journey back to happiness.

Overall, I liked reading this and looked forward to picking it up. The themes of celebrity and self in the social media era were thought-provoking. The writing moves at a comfortable pace.

There were some things I didn't like about the novel: the characters often felt underdeveloped, and with some of them I wasn't sure why they were there at all (Violet, Ethan). I don't think the conclusion was very natural - it came suddenly, in contrast to the dragged-out commencement.

My main problem was with Sunshine herself. She did not seem to accept much responsibility for the choices she'd made, instead ascribing them to influential men in her life, or social media image. Actually, she did have options throughout her brief career and she didn't seem very contrite or self-aware.

I'd recommend this book for a quick read, but it's not one that will stay with me.

I received an uncorrected proof copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

A special thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Sunshine Mackenzie seems to have it all and is truly living the perfect life. She has a successful YouTube cooking show, a series of cookbooks that would rival any lifestyle celebrity's, a devoted husband, and millions of followers. With a name like Sunshine, she radiates kindness; in actual fact, she is hiding who she really is. After a few tweets, Sunshine experiences a catastrophic fall from grace. She is left to pick up the pieces and reconnect with who she really is.

I really liked this foray into the effects of social media on one's life, and the pitfalls it can have on your social standing. Without giving a preachy commentary about how toxic social media can be, a lighthearted chick-lit novel is just the remedy one needs to remind themselves that everyone's life is not as picture-perfect as Instagram and Pinterest would lead one to believe.

My only criticism is with the actual characters themselves. Although Dave pens them as complex, there aren't any redeeming qualities, and the likability factor just wasn't there for me. For a novel that was about the superficiality of social media, I expected more.

The pace was on point, I was drawn in with her effortless writing style but was left unsatisfied by the ending. That being said, I would definitely pick up another book by Laura Dave.

Hello, Sunshine was such a great book that made you think about how much you would give up for fame. Based around Sunshine, a YouTube sensation who is getting ready to start her own cooking show on the Food Network when someone topples her world by hacking her twitter. As she navigates a divorce, cancelled show, and friends who turn on her she finds her authentic self. author Laura Dave wrote a great book that I could hardly put down! A great addition to your summer reading list! Thank you NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for the pre-release copy.

HELLO, SUNSHINE is a novel about social media, the lies we tell ourselves and the world and how to find our way back to truth. It was a well-written, entertaining read with an unconventional ending. I thoroughly enjoyed it.