When Grumpy Met Sunshine was a quick, entertaining, laugh-out-loud read. I thoroughly enjoyed the characters, the insertion of news clippings or social media posts in between chapters, and the quick wit present throughout the novel. Alfie and Mabel were so cute together, and I loved watching them get to know one another. My only real criticism is that I strongly dislike the miscommunication/lack of communication trope. Alfie was so obviously into Mabel that I sometimes just wanted to smack her over the head for being oblivious, or having low self esteem, or whatever other ways she got in her own head about things. I think I may have liked this more if it had been a dual POV so we could see what Alfie was thinking as well. I also would have liked to see some time with the two of them actually together rather than pretending and trying to talk themselves out of actually letting things happen. Overall, it was an enjoyable book.

Actual rating 2.5

I was overly geeked for this book, I absolutely love some plus size rep, grumpy x sunshine, fake dating & opposites attract.
Unfortunately for me this one fell pretty flat. It took me months to finish, I ended up having to wait for the audio book to come out on Libby to be able to get through it.. I don’t know if it was the writing or the. Characters but it just felt very.. meh. It just felt like a YA read at times, I felt like most of the book was dialogue that never ended & the miscommunication truly pushed me over the edge.
I do want to make sure that no one takes this reviews & thinks they shouldn’t read it I’m just being honest with MY personal opinion of this read.

Always always remember that reviews are based off of one's own opinion so while this book didn't work for me it could be your all time favorite book!

With that being said, I really wanted to love this one, but it was just so very boring to me. The dialogue never stopped and I honestly couldn't care less for the characters!

While this had its laugh out loud moments and cute moments, it had more bad than good for me.

I absolutely loved the premise of this novel - grumpy sunshine, curvy FMC, Roy from Ted Lasso vibes - all of that pulled me in.

But sadly I had to DNF. And it’s dude to the overly overthinking, ranting, almost self loathing way the FMC was written. I could skim almost the entire chapter and not miss important plot because her inner workings and monologues felt overdone.

Unfortunately, I will be withholding all feedback on its title until St. Martin's Press and its imprints decide that they want to engage with the very reasonable demands of the marketing boycott, and address the racism, islamophobia, and zionism that they are enabling through their continued silence.

This book was very enjoyable! The banter was great and I was very excited by the curvy representation in this novel. I did find the character to be a bit cliche and felt like they could have benefited from more authentic personal growth throughout the novel.

*I received an e-arc via Netgalley from the publisher. Thank you for the opportunity to review. All thoughts are my own*

2.5 stars rounded up to 3

I was really excited to read this one, based on the adorable cover and the premise of the story about a plus sized FMC who is adorable and the sunshine, and an ex-football player that is the grumpy MMC. With tropes that I love, such as opposites attract, when grumpy met sunshine, and fake dating, this romance sounded right up my alley. Unfortunately, this book just wasn’t for me.

I feel like the potential was there, but maybe the book could have used some more editing. I just couldn’t get over the never-ending dialogues between the two main characters, and waiting for something exciting to happen, that just never did. I also felt that some of the sexy scenes and excessive language were cringe. I also wanted to mention that there weren’t really any side characters that we truly got to know either.

As you can tell, I just wasn’t a fan. All books can’t be for everyone, so maybe someone else will enjoy this one.

The wittiest dialogue and situations! Delightful! I went and purchased the audiobook after reading, and I did find the narrator's accent hard to follow at times.

I really wanted to like this book, but I was unable to finish this book because of the writing style. While there were good aspects to the story and I wanted to see how the story unfolded, the writing felt like it was rambling and difficult to follow since it was so wordy.

I wanted to love this more than I did, I had a very very difficult time getting into the story. The tropes felt like they were forced to be there instead of adding to the plot.

In "When Grumpy Met Sunshine" Charlotte Stein offers a refreshing take on the enemies-to-lovers trope with its quirky characters and unique premise. Stein's writing style is engaging and her dialogue crackles with wit, making for an entertaining read.

The dynamic between the grumpy hero and the sunshiney heroine is both amusing and endearing, and their banter provides plenty of laughs along the way. However, at times, the characterization feels a bit one-dimensional, with the grumpiness of one character and the sunshiney disposition of the other verging on cliché.

While the romantic tension is palpable, the pacing of the plot can feel uneven, with some scenes dragging while others rush by too quickly. Additionally, the resolution of the conflict feels somewhat predictable, lacking the depth and complexity needed to fully satisfy.

Overall, "When Grumpy Met Sunshine" is a fun and light-hearted romance that will appeal to fans of the genre. While it may not break new ground, it offers an enjoyable escape for readers looking for a charming love story with a twist.

I truly hate to give a negative review because I know how difficult it is to write a book and get it published, but this one just was not at all for me. I could not get through it, I could not get past the style and the confusing POV. The characters are not capturing me and none of their actions make sense. I think the book will appeal to some people sure, just unfortunately not me

I think I might have to stop reading standard romance novels. I found myself lacking the patience to make it through the banter. It sounded like a cute premise and books about writers are usually a win for me, but this one had too much angst, assumptions, and miscommunication. I had a difficult time looking at the characters as adults. Many people loved the book, it just wasn’t for me.

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press, and Charlotte Stein for the eARC.

Thank you netgalley for this ARC. So I am embarrassed to say I DNFdd this book. I wanted to like it sooooo much. I love a body positive book, I love the inclusivity and the MMC was fine but I just couldn’t connect to the FMC. It’s like the only personality she had was her body and trying to love her body and be inclusive? I’m all for body positivity but isn’t the point that your body doesn’t define you and there’s more to you? But then that’s all she focused on?

This story was good but at times it felt like it took a bit longer to get to the point. A ghostwriter is supposed to write an ex footballers memoir. Throughout this process they get to know each other and start to fall for each other but hit some bumps along the way. 3-3.5 stars.

I've been putting off writing this review because I'm a firm believer that if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all.

The premise of this one was so promising!! The cover, the title, the summary, I was here for it all. Grumpy x sunshine is one of these tropes there is! I love a Heroine that isn't a petite baker! Unfortunately, these characters fell so flat to me. Mabel is a bigger girl, and the representation here felt almost offensive. Alfie was one-dimensional and I didn't feel any giggly-feet-kicking tension. I really wanted to love this one, I just couldn't. I'm sorry.

I did not enjoy this book. The characters for me fell a littl flat and i didnt feel like i could connect to them. that being said i am a mood reader so maybe i just read it at the wrong time. plan to read it again at a later time and see if anything changes.

Man. I really wanted to love this book. I am a sucker for the grumpy meets sunshine trope and for books about writers, so when I read the synopsis I thought this was going to be right up my alley. Unfortunately, it didn’t hit the mark for me. I felt myself dragging and skimming in the first few chapters and ultimately decided this wasn’t the read for me.
For starters, the main character immediately being down on herself for everything and saying this like, of course he wouldn’t be interested in a big girl like me made me both sad and angry. I love the portrayal of bigger girls and shapes of all sizes but come on, let’s do it with positivity.
And then the writing itself to me felt a little childish and I felt really disconnected as I read. I would possibly go back to this book on audio, or give it another shot down the road but for me this just didn’t hit what I was hoping it would.

This was a fun quick read that I enjoyed, I thought it could be a bit more to the point as sometimes it kind of dragged but overall it was still a good read.

Thank you to SMP for this advanced copy, all opinions are my own.

Cute cover but boy was this book is a mess. Mabel is hired to ghostwrite Alfie's memoir, leading to a fake dating scenario between them due to perceived extra-friendly interactions. They grapple with their obvious attraction, escalating to increasingly compromising situations. Here's a rundown:

What I enjoyed: well done plus-size representation and media perception handling by Mabel, Alfie's caring nature towards Mabel and a well-executed final chapter (no epilogue) tying up loose ends.

What I didn't like: Alfie's grumpy persona dissolves upon meeting Mabel. Was this really fake dating? Overbearing banter, poorly development relationship. TOO much inner monologue and yet it lacked emotional depth. The ethics of Alfie's manipulation in orchestrating the fake dating scenario. Minimal focus on the memoir, misleading given the book's title.

In summary, this book is a frustrating read, with disjointed storytelling and unconvincing character dynamics.