Unfortunately I had to DNF this book. The narration from the FMC was like being in Lorelai’s Gilmore head. Lorelai was a charming character who talked a lot and talked very fast. There was so much description from the FMC that it just ended up being too much. Maybe if the book was dual POV.

I really wanted to love this book, I really did. However, it just didn’t cut it for me. I liked the idea of the plot, and the characters were well developed. What I think stopped me from really getting into the book was the miscommunication. I hate that. It is probably my least favourite trope, and it did not serve well in this story.

There wil definitely be people who read this book and love it, as it had its romcom moments. However for me, I don’t think I would pick it up again.

Thank you St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for my Advanced Reader Copy, in return for an honest review.

Overall: 3.5
Spicy: 2 peppers

This book was a little confusion because of the titles of the chapters, didn't necessarily match what was happening in the book. Also jumping from present events to the different email conversation, if you weren't paying attention you would get lost. Loved the witty banter from the start and the chemistry between the FMC and MMC was obvious from the start. It reminds me of written version of Big Bang Theory. I loved how the book addressed fatphobic comments and the FMC didn't allow it to bother her. Quick read, but you need to give this book your full attention of you'll be re-reading several parts.

This was such a cute, fun book! It took me a bit to get past their speech as I'm American and some of their inside jokes kind of went over my head, but once I got the hang of it, they were hilarious! I loved their banter and the chaos of their first few run-ins. Alfie was so obviously gone for her and Mabel was just an adorable, oblivious sunshine woman who didn't think he could ever be into her. I loved how protective he was right from the start which led to the whole fake dating scenario they had to concoct. Mabel and Alfie had great chemistry and when they finally turned the heat up, oh boy was it good! Thanks to SMP & Charlotte for the ARC of this one!

Thank you to @netgalley @stmartinspress and @macmillian.audio for a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

The whole time I listened or read this book, I could only picture the MMC as Roy Kent from Ted Lasso. Now maybe that is what the author was going for. But I like Roy. I did not care for Alfie. The relationship seemed very disjointed and unnatural. The banter felt immature. Also, I can’t stand unnecessary miscommunication.

The spiciness of the book and the narrator were the saving graces here.

2.5 stars

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3 / 5 stars. thank you netgalley and the publisher! the premise of this book really called to me. i adore body representation in romcoms and wish it was something we got to see more of, especially if executed correctly. that gave this book an automatic +1 in my eyes.

things that worked:
- the tropes (hit the nail on the head for all that's popular right now)
- plus size female main character
- beautiful cover art
- the spice

things that didn't work:
- the writing style
- character development
- the third act break-up that wasn't actually a break-up

also, the mmc was giving way too much ted lasso... which seems to be a consensus amongst reviewers

5 ⭐️ / 4 🌶️

Charlotte Stein has quite literally written one of the funnest books ever! Tropes: opposites attract, grumpy x sunshine, faking dating/relationship & extremely steamy scenes. Still, there is also love, finding ways to express such love & doubting the love of someone else.

The banter between Mabel & Alfie is great. Charlotte Stein is a master of one liners & hilarious situations. As Spowage was narrating the book I wondered how many times she had to start certain scenes over because of the humour from both what Mabel & Alfie say out loud and what runs through their heads!

I loved this story and the characters! This book is a must read!!

This book sounded super interesting, as the last book about a celebrity and their ghost writer I read was exceptionally good. Also, it’s the grumpyxsunshine trope which is one of my superior tropes. Also, it was kinda sports romance which I also love. The long and the short of it is, I was super interested in giving this book a read.

When I first started, I was a little unsure. I felt that the characters and writing took a bit for me to warm up to them. But, once the chemistry between the two started to heat up, I think the story really took off. I think one of the things that threw me at first was I was so unsure with how old Aflie was. His behavior, mannerisms, and inability to use technology had me pegging him at 80 years old. But, as we later learn, he is not. I’m pretty sure he’s actually in his 30s. All and all, Mabel was a pretty enjoyable character.

As I stated earlier, once they had chemistry is when they really started taking off. The mouth on Alfie was TO DIE FOR and the chemistry between the two characters was exceptional. By the end of the book, I was rooting for them so hard. Also, the spicy scenes were on point.

Overall, this was a 3.5 star read for me, mostly because it was pretty slow to start.

There were some thing I loved, like the plus size FMC, seeing Alfie come out of his shell more, and some of the banter was funny!
Unfortunately this just wasn’t for me, the banter felt immature most of the time and forced.. I also felt like the miscommunication just really wasn’t needed. For them to have a year long separation and then come back together, that felt rushed and I just didn’t like the way it all played out.
I also felt like the plot fell off after they started being intimate.. a rom-com without plot is just smut.. throw on the miscommunication with the missing plot and it really fell flat.

Thanks to St. Martin's Romance for a copy of When Grumpy Met Sunshine by Charlotte Stein.

I love opposites attract romance and the synopsis of this book sounded so fun, but unfortunately, this was not the book for me. The characters were too immature and I couldn't finish this book. I DNFd at 20%

I genuinely love a good grumpy/sunshine trope, however, this one fell a little flat for me. I didn't really connect with either of the MC's. Their chemistry seemed a little more awkward than undeniable and the miscommunication was just way too drawn out.

The plot itself was a cute concept - grumpy athlete + sunshiny ghostwriter but the writing seemed a little bit all over the place with the first 60% filled with sort of nonsense to get to know the characters and the last 40% consisted of ALL spice and a rushed ending.


Read If You Like:
Grumpy + Sunshine Trope
Plus Size Rep
Miscommunication
Awkward (Humorous?) Banter

Thank you to NetGalley and St Martin's Press for a galley of When Grumpy Met Sunshine.

This book was not the right fit for me. I am not a fan of the miscommunication trope and wow was it prevalent on the pages. Overall, the title tells you what you need to know about the characters. But the plot itself and the character development left something to be desired for me.

This was more of a slow burn than I usually like. Overall it was a cute story, but it didn't quite catch my interest the way I was hoping hit would.

thank you NetGalley for this eARC

oh dear, where do i begin, there's mabel our sunshine ghostwriter hired to write the memoir of legendary GRUMPY footballer alfie harding, but of course the entire internet sees them together and so the fake dating begins.

to put it simply, this book wasn't for me even though i really really wanted to love it. the first 60% or so of the book is filled with a bunch of unnecessary and frankly slightly confusing dialogue, the next 40% is JUST spice, that's it, nothing else (not my cup of tea at all), and then there's a whole YEAR time skip in the last 10% with an extremely rushed ending that doesn't tell you all that much . . .

2.5 stars

This is a rom com between a footballer (grumpy) & his ghostwriter (sunshine). They kinda gave Roy & Keely -if Keely were plus size- vibes if you're familiar with Ted Lasso. Alfie is an ex footballer looking to write his memoir, and Mabel is the bubbly ghostwriter who's going to help him do it.

The potential of this book was there, the synopsis won me over so quickly but, it was just a bit flat for me and truthfully just for personal preference reasons. I wanted a bit more from it than the miscommunication & fake dating tropes that missed the mark a bit for me. Also, I think I'm really not a fan of msgs and/or articles within the chapters making up a chunk of them.

However my feelings are, I do think this is going to be a big favourite for MANY given the ex soccer star falls for plus girl rep and just the overall story, the spice was well written, it just wasn't for me!

Could Mabel fake date Alfie?

Retired footballer Alfie Harding knew he needed finally get a ghostwriter for his memoirs after pledging the money from them to charity but he never expected Mabel Willicker to be the ghostwriter with a NDA because didn’t really want to talk about his life.

Mabel knew that working with Alfie would be work but she didn’t expect that people would think that she was his new girlfriend because she didn’t fit the mold of his former girlfriends. Would fake dating help writing his memoirs especially if it was actually true.

When Grumpy Met Sunshine is less on the romance and more on the banter between Mabel and Alfie when they start to become friends while working on the book.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book from the author and NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I SPENT THE WHOLE BOOK LAUGHING. I quite literally read whole chapters out loud to my husband while we both cackled. This book somehow fit both of our sense of humors completely to a tee and it was immediately perfection. Will this work for everyone? No, there is a LOT of words and half the dialogue only barely makes sense but that's what I found so entirely captivating and hilarious. I highlighted basically the entire book I swear, and I've gone back and read certain parts over again just to send myself into tears again. The hands down, absolute, funniest book I've ever read in my life and I only wish I could be a literal part of the book - that's the only way it could be better.

I really liked the idea of this book and always love a curvy mfc but this book sadly didn’t work for me.

2.5 stars

Mabel Willicker is to be the ghostwriter for Alfie Harding's memoir. I agree with other reviewers about Alfie giving off Roy Kent vines, but other than that, I didn't get a good picture of what he looked like. Mabel is a plus size woman who thinks someone like Alfie wouldn't be interested in someone with her body type. There's a lot of miscommunication involved between the two of them.

This book felt way too long for a romcom that basically only had two characters in the whole book. There was way too much banter and parts just dragged. It needed a little more action to move the plot forward since it was so long.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for an advanced readers copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Mabel is Alfie's ghost writer for his upcoming memoir. As a former footballer he has quite a reputation for being standoffish, grumpy, and closed off. Mabel could not be more opposite. Every thought she has comes out which leads to a lot of banter and silly flirty conversations. When they are spotted together, it leads to a fake dating lie. As the two of them spend even more time together because of the lie, Mabel gets to know the real Alfie that he has kept hidden from everyone. With Mabel, she has low self esteem and can't believe someone like Alfie could truly like her. This is the basis for the very tired lack of communication trope that causes our conflict. The weakest part of the story was this part of the story, but that is a personal opinion. I appreciate our plus size heroine, but it would be nice if it wasn't always the cause of her insecurities.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced reader copy. This is my honest review.