So nice to see Charlotte Stein with a new release this week! Her unique voice and stories have been missed in the romance world by this reader. Mabel is Aflie's ghost writer and she's got her hands full with Mr. Grumpy. He's ditched multiple ghost writers before her so she's got her work cut out for her.

While romance readers won't have any surprises while reading this, the story is cute with its banter, plenty of steamy moments and typical romance ending. I did think the beginning was slow and I struggled with that a bit, but things did pick up in the last half. Overall, this is a cute romance that satisfies if you are looking for grumpy - sunshine characters. This is Mabel's POV and we get a lot of it. I did like this story, but there were some things that a good editor could have made better in this romance from Charlotte Stein.

Title: When Grumpy Met Sunshine
Author: Charlotte Stein
Genre: Romance
Rating: 4 out of 5

When grumpy ex-footballer Alfie Harding gets badgered into selling his memoirs, he knows he’s never going to be able to write them. He hates revealing a single thing about himself, is allergic to most emotions, and can’t imagine doing a good job of putting pen to paper.

And so in walks curvy, cheery, cute as heck ghostwriter Mabel Willicker, who knows just how to sunshine and sass her way into getting every little detail out of Alfie. They banter and bicker their way to writing his life story, both of them sure they’ll never be anything other than at odds.

But after their business arrangement is mistaken for a budding romance, the pair have to pretend to be an item for a public who’s ravenous for more of this Cinderella story. Or at least, it feels like it’s pretend―until each slow burn step in their fake relationship sparks a heat neither can control. Now they just have to is this sizzling chemistry just for show? Or something so real it might just give them their fairytale ending?

This made me laugh several times, but there seemed to be an unnecessary amount of profanity in this. And some of Alfie’s impulses/reactions were…completely nonsensical and random. I enjoyed the humor and the snark, and the slow way Alfie warmed up to Mabel, but I did not get the why behind the year-long gap at the end of the novel. Still, this was a fun read.

Charlotte Stein lives in West Yorkshire. When Grumpy Met Sunshine is her newest novel.

(Galley courtesy of St. Martin’s Press in exchange for an honest review.)

(Blog link life 2/13).

When Gumpy Met Sunshine is full of adorable twists, cute men who are just too innocent for this world, and relationships you are rooting for yourself!

When Smitten met Silly more like. When I started this book, I was full of high hopes. Adorable British MMC?
Check.
Sweet, bubbly FMC with self-image issues?
Check.
EVERYONE IN THE WHOLE WORLD WATCHING THEM FALL IN LOVE? (I'm looking at you, Mulan Grandma)
Check.
But you see, it takes more than just a great premise to make a good novel.
Actual plot?
Gone.
Antagonist?
.....no.
ANY ACTUAL SIGN THIS IS MORE THAN JUST A COLLECTION OF CUTE RETORTS AND KISSES?
Yeah.....no.
I adore romances, especially between grumps and cuties who they just can't help falling for. But when it's just a string of constant miscommunications created to drive you mildly insane? No. Alfie was great at first, and I couldn't help but squeal over his grumbles and glares. Until it became ridiculous. There is a HUGE difference between someone old-fashioned and someone who's an idiot. And he was so crazily flat. It's like the author tried to make the perfect guy, then make him a romance MMC. I don't WANT to read about a perfect guy. They annoy me because it's so obvious they will never actually exist. The MMC needs actual flaws, some problems that they need to work through. Instead, it was just....nada.
And Mabel.....she had the personality of a maple donut. Which is an insult to maple donuts. Alfie was so obviously falling for her, and she him, but instead of confessing and saying, "I love you," she breaks things off BY TEXT and doesn't talk to him for....a year? Wow, way to be an adult. There is a difference between self-image issues and self-abuse. She said that she is okay with her weight, then spends about sixty percent of the book moaning and groaning about how she could never fit in with his glamourous, thin, girlfriends, all of whom never lasted longer than a week or two dating him. Great models, honey. Real great. The only character I loved was her new boss, who was so adorable with his southern words and attitude. And after the whole internet began saying Alfie was a terrible kisser because he ran away from Mabel right after, he sent Alfie flowers and said, "I'm sure you're a great kisser." Like, OMG, I was just getting these amazing vibes from him I couldn't help but laugh. He was just like, "Mabel, honey, give me a minute, I'm saving your relationship with crazy-hot over there." And he was so supportive! Most bosses would have advised her to break things off with Alfie, that it might send the wrong image for the company but he was just like "NOPE! Girl, if you want to date the footballer, we are all behind you, and I will personally kick someone to Nebraska if they try to hurt you in any legal way, got it?"
Mabel barely seemed to register how rare it was to have such an amazing boss, another point against her. Also, there were a lot of issues with sentence addressing, because one minute, it says Alfie's talking, then "he" said something, and two seconds later, they're laughing because Mabel actually said that. But she's a girl...I have nothing against people who switch, but if the author established Mabel as a girl who does not change gender, then we have to assume these are spelling errors. It could get confusing because I would have to guess who was speaking when I really should not have had to.

While this book had some adorable rejoinders, funny characters, and some good laughs, there was no real plot to move the book along. Mabel is supposedly a ghostwriter, but they mention her job about three times at the beginning, then once at the end, and that's it. I mean, just because they spend most of their time making out and denying they're attracted to each other, doesn't mean she doesn't have a job. And Alfie's job, despite it being the reason for the whole memoir, is mentioned only to help support his complaining. Did he retire? Was he fired? Why does he never have to go to games, or show up at public team events? The author didn't acknowledge anything except their relationship, so the book fell even flatter than it could have been. While it might be a fun read if you've exhausted your TBR pile, I wouldn't expect too much. The miscommunications became ridiculously out of hand, and estranged them for a year. The length between when she broke things off and when she saw him again was implausible, especially considering she had barely seemed to miss him while he TITLED HIS FREAKIN' BOOK AFTER A SINGLE CONVERSATION WITH HER BECAUSE HE THOUGHT SHE WAS THE MOST IMPORTANT THING IN HIS LIFE?!?!?! The daddy issues were annoying, because we just hear them blame their fathers for everything, and they are both dead? How convenient...
A 2/5 stars, not a book I would read again. But if you do choose to read it. you have been warned.

I was really excited when I read the synopsis! I love a good grumpy x sunshine, opposites attract, fake dating story! Unfortunately the story fell short for me. The dialogues seem to drag out and I despise the constant miscommunication that was happening. I know others will enjoy! Don’t let my review steer you away! Give it a chance!

Thanks SMP for lending me an ARC through Netgalley.

This is my honest opinion.

I'm an absolute fan of Grumpy x Sunshine so this book looks divine to me. And it was. I loved it.

What was amazing to me was that their personality was in fact a defensive mechanism. They share a similar story but they dealt with it differently. It brought so much more depth to this trope. I was speechless.

The dialogue and banter was good and I laughed out loud many times. The only thing I wish there was more is "beef" along the story. It's like we only have the characters but not enough of their friends and life. It felt more like a novella than a book to me.

But the Spice at the end was Incredibly hot. The tension was so intense, I almost combust at some point. The dirty talk was out of this world.

Read if you love ;
✨ Novellas ;
✨ Grumpy x Sunshine;
✨ Curvy FMC ;
✨ Dirty talk;
✨ Spicy 🔥.

I really really wanted to like this book but the pacing really just made this book hard to keep interested in. This book follows Mabel a ghost writer who got a job to work with famous footballer Alfie (think Roy Kent from Ted lasso) who is notoriously cranky. After the first meeting ended in disaster Mabel thought that was the last she see of Alfie that is until she kept noticing him showing up when one day he follows her to apologize and she accidentally maces him thinking he was stalking her. After the misunderstanding Alfie hires Mabel to write his book to throw off the reporters Mabel ends up having to fake date Alfie.

This book was really cute I loved the characters and some of the rom com scenes had me chuckling out loud. My biggest issue with this book was the pacing. I started out thinking I would fly through this but instead often struggled to get back into this book because it felt so long for a rom com. With that being said I am interested in reading more from this author in the future. I would like to thank NetGalley and the publishers for a chance to read this book for an honest review.

This book has a very unique style of writing and I'm not entirely sure that I connected with it. The 3rd person POV made it feel like there was more distance between me (as the reader) and the characters in the story than I usually enjoy. I definitely got the 'grump' factor from the MMC, but the FMC felt a little flat - was she sunny? or just nice and standing up for herself? The fat-phobic/focus on fatness was a big theme in this book and there were times that I thought it could have been handled a bit better.

I enjoyed the mixed media aspect of the ending of each chapter. That added an extra element to the story that I found entertaining. I lost a little of it in translation on the audio version, but I followed along in the eARC for some parts and so I was able to see the formatting and it made a bit more sense. The narration was very well done - it made a lot more sense to hear the British humor/references in a voice with the appropriate inflection and accent.

Overall, there is humor and heart in this storyline. There is some banter that I found to be pretty endearing and amusing. The fake dating took me a bit by surprise and the shift into a sexual relationship seemed to progress very quickly and then overtook the storyline for longer than I was expecting. There's definitely more of a spice factor in this one! I adore the cover - Leni Kauffman is one of my favorite illustrator and so I'm very excited to add a physical copy of this book to my shelf as another example of her artwork.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC to read and review!

I absolutely adore amazing banter, and this book definitely had it in abundance, with a dash of British humor as well. Curvy girl meets hot footballer, fake dating, and some crazy, steamy foreplay make for a good rom com, although there were also some serious elements. The story did, however, feel overly long and repetitive. I found myself skimming parts of the book to get to the meat of the story.

I loved this book and the banter! It was cute, it was funny, it was quirky. Oh boy does this retired footballer have a dirty mouth on him 🥵. I adored Alfie and his adorable instinct to defend Mabel, even against herself. It’s a slow burn but you can feel tension building. And the spicy scenes are sexy.

There’s so much depth to both our main characters, how they’ve essentially created their grumpy and sunshine masks to navigate a world that has preconceived notions of who they should be. People are not tropes and therefore cannot be all grumpy or sunshine all the time; it’s a spectrum. And we see that in our characters. I wish there was more exploration of the side characters as well, that we’d seen Mabel interact with her friends more.

There is miscommunication but it makes sense that Alfie and Mabel struggle to be vulnerable with their hearts when they’ve faced so much rejection in the past for being themselves. But the biggest gesture of all was worth the temporary heartbreak.

ARC Review ~ When Grumpy Meets Sunshine~

*******************************************

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I am always a sucker for the grumpy/sunshine trope and this author brought it in a fun way. The awkward banter was right up my alley and if I hadn’t needed to sleep I likely would have finished it in one sitting. I loved the addition of fake dating and while there was a bit of miscommunication it was solved it such a unique way!

Features:
*Grumpy/Sunshine
*Body Diversity
*fake dating
*He falls first
*Unique way of showing the MMC POV

Thank you NetGalley and St Martins Press for this ARC!

I loved this rom-com! Lots of great banter, interesting characters and the concept of a grumpy soccer player (footballer) who doesn't actually like the game trying to write his memoir with the aid of a cheery ghost writer is new and unique. While the grumpy/sunshine trope is familiar, I don't think I've seen a hero quite AS grumpy as this guy (though he has good reasons). I loved how the couple gets to know each other and their fake relationship (yet another familiar trope) turns real. It's a bit of a wait for the happy ending but it's a really sweet one.

I normally love a grumpy/sunshine and fake dating was one of my favorites, so I was excited for this one. The premise was good and it was enough for me to finish.

But sadly it just really wasn't a love it for me.

There was so much dialog that I would have trouble following.

Had it's cute moments. Someone else will probably love it!

Many thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

When some people are asked to write their memoirs, they know they can’t do it on their own. That is the case of grumpy Alfie Harding, and ex-football player so Mable Willicker, a ghostwriter has come for the challenge but will she be up to it. I just couldn’t get into the story.

Cute! I think I would have enjoyed it more on audio but the cover was so perfect I had to eyeball read it. Not a new fave but a solid, enjoyable read.

I thought that this was a cute read. Sometimes funny and sometimes emotional, Alfie and Mabel's story kept me entertained and engaged. I thought the chemistry was good and they generated some wonderful heat and sparks.

Alfie Harding is the known celebrity for football, and being a grumpy, ultra-private, S.O.B. However, his agent believes that a memoir is exactly what he needs to be better understood. After going through 17 ghostwriters, enter Mabel Willicker. Curvy, cheeky, cute as button, and not willing to be pushed over Mabel. She’s sunshine and sassy enough to get Alfie out of his comfort zone.

Unfortunately, things take a wide left turn when one of their meetings is misconstrued by the press as a romantic entanglement. In order to protect Alfie’s privacy and Mabel’s reputation, the duo agrees to “fake date”. Because what could possibly go wrong?

Things I liked:
Grumpy character meets a bubbly character and fake dates. Again, what could possibly go wrong?!
An ACTUAL footballer, and not a football player. If you know what I mean, then we can be friends.

Things I did not like:
The EXTREMELY LENGTHY internal dialogue.
The over-the-top bantering which bordered on making all of scenes feel forced.
The miscommunication. I mean really these people didn’t have friends or family who could assist them with interpretation.
And the fact that there seemed to only be two characters. Others were mentioned but they didn’t have much “screen time.”
The last two chapters. Not quite sure what happened. I thought at first that my e-book was broken.

Overall, I rate this novel 2 out of 5 stars.

When Grumpy Met Sunshine by Charlotte Stein

This book was hilarious and exactly what I was looking for. I was lucky enough to get the audio and ebook of this one, and the narrator stole the show.

Was it extremely cheesy? Yes. The situations convenient and a tad unrealistic? Absolutely. Did the steam get carried away so much in the second half so I actually missed their personalities? 100%. But most of all it was hilarious.

The banter was well scripted, and the narrator delivered it perfectly. I busted out laughing more times than I can count because of amazing wit and utter honesty. The characters held nothing back and it created a refreshingly fun story.

Highly recommend if you need a steamy easy romcom.
Thank you to @stmartinspress and @macmillan.audio for my copies!

#netgalley #ebooks #audiobooks #audiobooknarrator #emilyspowage #whengrumpymetsunshine #reading #bookish #booksbooksbooks #booksta #read #book #book #readromance #canadianbookstagram #bookstagrammer #bookcommunity #bookreview #bookrecommendations #audiobookrecommendation

Thank you Netgalley for sending me this E-ARC in exchange for a honest review.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️


💗Alfie and Mabel💗

Alfie a retired footballer and notable grump seeks a ghostwriter to assist him in writing his biography. Mabel is hired to take on the job. She is a curvaceous, sweet but able to hold her own bombshell (even though she considers herself plain) who is ready to drag information out of the tight lipped Alfie to make his book a success. Somewhere along the line they began to become friends through playful banter. Shortly after paparazzi catch Mabel with Alfie and their only way to stop the drama is just to play into it and act like a couple.

This book was funny, sweet and had the perfect Roy Kent style sexy footballer MMC. I loved the curvy girl representation and the fact that Mabel was able to be sweet and fun and still get down to business.

I received When Grumpy Met Sunshine by Charlotte Stein on NetGalley at the end of August, but finally had time to read it this week and read it today in a few hours. In this book we follow retired footballer Alfie Harding and the ghostwriter for his memoir, Mabel Wilicker as they embark on the journey of writing Alfie’s memoir. As they begin working Mabel tries to break Alfie’s cold exterior. The line about Gaza was very distasteful

This romance has some of my favorite tropes like opposites attract, fake dating, forced proximity and of course, grumpy/sunshine.

I really liked the characters; Mabel is a curvy and fun ghost writer. There’s something about her that makes people open up and tell her their darkest secrets. She’s ghostwriting a book for Alfie Hardy, a famously talented English footballer notorious for his grumpy personality. He doesn’t want to do his memoir and has rejected other writers.

They have to spend a lot of time together working on the book, and the press corps that follows Alfie around reports that he and Mabel are in a relationship. They decide to pretend they’re dating, but are they really just pretending?

I felt that the book is too long. It’s very dialog heavy and that makes reading it go slowly. The first half was all talk talk and suddenly the last half turned very steamy without a good transition.

I liked the banter between the characters but in smaller doses. 3 stars.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed as in this review are completely my own.