I wanted so badly to love this book as grumpy/sunshine tropes are my favorite, but unfortunately it fell short. I’m a huge fan of witty banter while flirting but this just seemed too over the top for me. I will say that the dirty talk and smuts were top notch.

“See, I knew this would be a mistake. I could tell you’d be all insufferable with me, saying all your cute things until I’m completely turned around. Well, I’m not having it,” he said all in a big, angry, frustrated rush.

When Grumpy Met Sunshine was a story about a retired footballer, Alfie, and a writer, Mabel, who is hired to ghostwrite his memoirs. Alfie has built a reputation as a gruff and grumpy guy and has went through seventeen ghostwriters already. At the meeting to see if Mabel should be hired on, the two banter, leaving Alfie drawn to Mabel and Mabel thinking Alfie insulted her weight. After a little stalking on Alfie's part, Mabel realizes that Alfie's comment wasn't saying what she thought it was and she agrees to help write his book. They then are caught by media and social media hanging out a lot and the speculation becomes that they're dating and to shut down some not so nice comments, Alfie blurts out they are dating and the trope fake-dating starts. As Mabel and Alfie pretend to be in love, the attraction between them builds and eventually Mabel is scared that she might have actually foregone the fake part.

she was enjoying unravelling him.

This story was written in all first person point-of-view from Mabel and in a stream of conscious narrative with short choppy sentences, this, personally, is a very hard writing voice for me to get into and I struggled mightily with being able to lose myself into the story and follow along with what was being said. A lot of this story is talking back and forth between Mabel and Alfie, the sense of setting is them talking in the car, in a house, and a random quick moment at a Beyonce concert. There were also end of chapter additives from various social media sites, Twitter/X, Reddit, etc., to try and help bring the outer world in but they also didn't work for me, I'm not a big social media person, so I think I missed some of that connection and the funny and/or cuteness it was supposed to bring. With only getting Mabel's voice, Alfie came off very unclear to me as a character, and for being late thirties, pretty immature. Mabel, I had a better understanding of but her constant misinterpreting Alfie's comments and actions began to feel a little forced as, you can take into account her insecurities lying to her, but his words and actions really gave no reason for her to think he thought negatively about her weight.

But there was something underneath it, she suspected.
Something else they were saying without really saying it.
About alcoholic fathers, and the effect they could have on you.
Sometimes they turned you to the drink.
And sometimes you went the other way.

The above quote gives some of that lovely connection between characters, they shared a painful childhood trait of having alcoholic fathers but the way it's laid out, short and choppy, imagine the whole story written that way, it just kills the flow for me. (another example:
His hair seemed newly trimmed.
She suspected he’d brushed his beard.
Or that someone had brushed his beard.
Most likely a barber who cost more than she spent on rent per month.)
I also am not sure I fully understood or went along with why they had to start fake-dating at just before the midpoint of the story, it just didn't make sense and felt like a forced popular trope thrown in.

Because yeah, you weren’t supposed to want violence. But god, sometimes it was good to know someone thought it should happen on your behalf. That you weren’t just weak or nuts or exaggerating. Something didn’t just deserve pity, or whatever else she usually feared she would get, if she dropped some of her Bubbly Girl armor. It was bad, and they would do things about it, if they could.
Things that made her want to do good by him, in return.

The second half was more talking with adding in dirty talk and some open door scenes but since I had issues with the style, and therefore couldn't connect with the characters, I wasn't feeling the chemistry between them and it all just ending up feeling like more words on the page I was struggling to read. There was a moment of sweetness I liked between these two, Alfie brushing Mabel's hair, but the writing style didn't allow the characters or me the reader to slow down and sink into it, I wanted Mabel to simply breath for a second so we could feel the moment. The last twenty percent had Mabel admitting to herself that she loved Alfie but then getting scared he didn't feel the same way, so after she's done writing the memoir, the story has them parting for a year. The very next chapter is the book launch, which brings them together and misunderstandings are talked through when Mabel reads a passage in the memoir that Alfie wrote himself and she sees his actions and feelings in a different light to deliver the HEA.

“I am happy, hanging around with a grumpy arse like you. Because you’re not that. You’re sweet, and kind, and most of all, I trust you. So you know what? If we have to kiss, we have to kiss. I know it’ll be all right. I always know everything will be all right when I’m with you,” she said.

I've read in some other reviews that Alfie seemed based off a tv show Ted Lasso character, I've never watched the show, so I could be missing some connection there and like I said, the narrative style of a character speaking in written word how people talk/think (stream of conscious) is a personal hard style for me to get into, I had to go back and reread so many passages to try and understand what was going on. A personal dislike and some writing that I think needed to be cleaned up, along with talking seemingly ninety percent of the three hundred and twenty-nine pages, made this a story that I could never get into.

Overall I enjoyed the story and would definitely would read more by this author. I love the body positive representation and this book and generally love writer/ghostwriter tropes. Some parts felt awkward and clunky but it really picked up for me about 50% through

I was super excited for this one! It's full of tropes I love and romance that has a plus-sized main character is dear to my heart. The idea of it is so sweet but I think the execution missed the mark. As a lover of Emily Henry, I never thought there could be something as too much banter, but this book managed it. The banter is over-the-top and, unfortunately, too immature to be cute anyway. The internal monologues and constant miscommunication were also very frustrating after a certain point.

I hope to see more from an author who is writing romances with fat characters, but I think a little more time needed to go into this one!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my ARC!

This title is really out here doing ALL the characterization for the grumpy/sunshine trope. Really, it’s an insightful look at the book, because if it’s not some of the worse dialogue I’ve ever suffered through in my life, the prose literally has never heard of show don’t tell. Who even is the sunshine, not the pepper spraying, insult-your-place-the-first-time-I-see-it, Peppa pig mug drinking MC right? He honestly seems positively delightful in comparison to her. So you would think this would be fine for a younger audience, maybe those who think falling over a banana peel just isn’t going far enough—but it has an impressive amount of swearing for a romance and then it shifts and you get some super spicy scenes. So I give up trying to guess whom this is for.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for access to this arc.

The story is told completely from Mabel’s POV so we don’t know what’s going on in Alfie’s head until right near the end. Mabel’s belief that Alfie could not possibly love her could have been annoying I suppose. It was, essentially, what was keeping them apart. But I understood it. Alfie Harding is a superstar. He’s rich, famous and yes, he usually does date supermodels. Mabel is a normal person who does not move in Alfie’s usual circles. Her whole life she’s been told, by various men, that she’s not good enough and not deserving of their attention. As a result, she’s built up a thick armor. It’s really no wonder that Mabel tries to protect herself or that she takes a lot of convincing that Alfie does in fact love her to the moon and back.

I laughed out loud so many times as I read. Actual guffawing and snorting occurred. Mabel and Alfie have such a delightful dynamic. Both of them are head over heels for the other but neither can or will believe it is possible for the other to feel the same so they are constantly at cross purposes and constantly trying not to let the other know what’s really happening.

It’s not all laughs. Over the course of the book, Mabel finds she recognises in Alfie things that resonate with her own experience. She finds out who the real man is and he’s not very much like the public persona at all. There’s a reason he’s so angry all the time. And, he’s never angry with her. (Occasionally frustrated and yes, grumpy, but not angry.) Alfie is much more than a “football guy” in the public eye who gets in trouble a lot. There’s far more to him than that and Mabel, for her part, appreciates what it means that she gets to know the real him.

Even though I understood Mabel’s fear and belief, I did wish she had been a little braver near the end. I did wish that they didn’t have to spend so much time apart (in terms of temporal-time if not page-time). (I was reading an ARC which was clearly not the final version so I’m not exactly sure if the time frame I read is what’s in the published book. Still, I can only review the book I actually read.) Perhaps it is a sign of the book’s success with me that I reacted so strongly to things going pear-shaped. As it was though I experienced quite the disappointment.

Of course, this is a romance novel and things turn out right in the end. Just… did it have to take them so long? They were miserable for too much time!!

While my overwhelming memory of the story is laughing at how great they were together, there was no lack of the more earthy kind of chemistry either. Mabel is delighted to find that the tell-all stories from former girlfriends are all completely true: it’s huge and yes, he can go all night.

But, what sticks in my mind the most is how charmed I was and how much I laughed.

I always love a grumpy character so I was excited to dig into this read. The ghostwriter angle was an enjoyable premise and I enjoyed the read and their banter.

This was a quirky British rom-com that had a great deal of spice. I loved it! My heart felt for both characters, as the miscommunication trope was strong.

When Grumpy Met Sunshine by Charlotte Stein is currently scheduled for release on February 6 2024. 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 decide: is this sizzling chemistry just for show? Or something so real it might just give them their fairytale ending?

When Grumpy Met Sunshine is a contemporary romance. I have to admit that this is a hard review for me. I adored parts of this book, so much. I am a big fan of the grumpy/sunshine and the fake romance tropes so there was a great deal that I enjoyed. But there were other parts that just felt a little off for me. I loved the premise, and was highly entertained by some of the interactions. There were moments that I could picture the moment and laughed, and felt some second hand embarrassment and awkwardness. However, there were a few times that I had absolutely no idea what was going on, so went back to reread a passage, still had no idea so just shrugged and moved on. I thought the sexy scenes were never going to happen, but when they did they were plentiful and very well done. I liked the resolution to the issues at the end, but was less than thrilled with some of the in between moments. The whole book ended up with moments that were absolutely spectacular alternated with moments that just okay. I think the great moments just made them less wonderful moment just stand out that much more for me. That being said, there was some really great writing here and I will be looking for more from the author because I think they have a lot of talent.

When Grumpy Met Sunshine is a romance with a little bit of everything,

When Grumpy met Sunshine is an adorable, funny, romcom that leans into favorite tropes - fake dating, he falls first and harder, taking care of her, witty banter - and adds in healing and acceptance with your soulmate. I actually laughed out loud, teared up, and swooned multiple times. This was a quick and fun read, set in England, and has a good amount of spice in the third quarter.

Mable is a plus-sized ghostwriter trying to help Alfie, an ex-footballer, write his memoir. My initial impression was Keely x Roy from Ted Lasso, which I was excited for, but it also brought in Jamie’s rough childhood and became so much more. As they got to know each other, they realized that they came from the same background, and had always tried to hide things about themselves or make themselves fit other partners, but from the beginning they were both able to be open and honest and accepting of all of each other. Soon those feelings turned much bigger, and as they were forced to fake-date to save Mable from the influx of paparazzi, their fast friendship quickly turned into more.

Thank you to NetGalley and St Martin’s Press for providing and eARC for my honest review.

Currently looking for the right words because this book made me feel all the feels and it’s like it stole the words from my head in the process.

Mabel, meet Alfie.
Athlete, handsome, grumpiest man alive.

Alfie, meet Mabel.
Sweet, curvy, cupcake of a human.

I am a sucker for this specific trope, but when I tell you it’s like every single one of my favorite RomComs rolled into one, and made better… I mean it.

It had me giggling out loud.
It had me holding my breath.
It had me feeing rather flushed on more than one occasion 🔥

Hands down one of my favorite reads, ever. Thank you thank you thank you!

DNFing this based on the writing style and miscommunication trope. Just not for me. I read it for the first 10% and could not get into it. Sad because I love the grumpy/sunshine trope.

This was quite cute. I like the curvy representation and it's nice to see that's something that slowing coming into more books, at least the one's I've seen. It was interesting and kept me engaged, but the dialogue also felt clunky at some points and I hate unnecessary miscommunication.

I enjoyed this book. It's about a retired, famous footballer and the woman who was hired to ghost write his biography. He's terrible with technology, awkward, and has little personal self confidence. He's dated supermodels. She is comfortable with her talents, but hasn't had good luck with love and she's quite a round girl so she has little confidence.

Each of them is attracted to the other, but having such low self confidence, they agree to a fake romance for the paparazzi and other social media critics. It certainly sets the stage for an unusual romance between parties who have trouble sharing what they are really feeling.

This book made me laugh out loud in quite a few places. However the book is very "British" and there are phrases that are unusual for American readers, even those who read a lot of books set in England.

I'd recommend this book for readers who are looking for a different kind of romance, one where neither of the lovers is gorgeous and comfortable with themselves.

This was a such a hard read for me. I found it was choppy and almost confusing. I had to go back and reread pages because I just couldn't figure out what was happening..

3.75 stars. Thank you Netgalley for the E-ARC. This was such a cute literally LOL book that my son was giving me that side eye and asking whats so funny. I love everything about Alfie his humor how his actions it was all super cute. Mabel was a hoot as well and I loved their vibe.

This book was such a fun read, one of my recent favorites for this the fake dating grump sunshine tropes. Both characters are really funny and cute and adorably awkward. They’re kind of forced into the fake dating scenario, and it goes just as awkwardly and uncomfortably as it might if this happened in real life - they’re both unsure of themselves, struggling to communicate clearly, and generally bumbling through life - in the most fun way.

The book is also surprisingly spicy - I wasn’t expecting as much spice as this book had, but it felt very natural and not at all forced, like many other books in this genre end up feeling.

**Spoiler ** My only complaint was the classic miscommunication / third act break up, which I felt like could have easily been replaced with many other conflict options. There’s also an abrupt jump forward a year, which was confusing.

*Title: When Grumpy Met Sunshine-a  standalone

*Release date: 2/6/24,    Read: 1/28/24

*Author: Charlotte Stein, 1st time author for me

*Book cover: loved it! Alfie was definitely Roy Kent

*Format: e-book 

*Page Count: 329 kindle

*Setting: UK

*Genre: Contemporary Romance, Adult Fic, Women's Fic

*Tropes:
 plus sized h , grumpy/sunshine,  sports,   fake dating,  slow burn romance,  opposites attract,  celebrity

Look out for:  fatphobia, alcoholism, parental abuse

*Synopsis: Mabel is tasked with ghostwriting Alfie's memoirs. He's a famous retired footballer who doesn't show his emotions and values his privacy. They are complete opposites but learn they have more in common than they thought. When the press speculate about why Mabel is around, Alfie agrees to follow the narrative and make Mabel his fake girlfriend . Mabel is thrust into a new world of fame and constant judgement, while trying to get Alfie to open up. 

Characters:
Mabel Willicker- a people pleaser, insecure about her figure
Alfie Harding- retired footballer doing his memoir and needs a ghostwriter
Connie-Mabel's BFF since college

*Review: This was a bit boring because there wasn't much action or intrigue. Alfie was Roy Kent from Ted Lasso, and Mabel Cinderella. I didn't connect with either of them but thought their attraction was sweet.

*Rating:3/5  
*Spice level- 4/5

🙏🏾Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for this ARC 💙 ! I voluntarily give my honest review and all opinions are my own.

I liked this book, I really did with Alfie Harding, reminding me of Roy Kent from ‘Ted Lasso’ and Mabel Willicker just being a cupcake in human form 😉. The storyline was captivating, and I found it truly delightful. However, this book gets 3⭐️ from me, mostly due to the confusing dialogue. There were times throughout this book that I had struggled on who was talking and getting stuck on the inner versus spoken dialogue. Despite the conversations seeming to be straightforward, there seems to be miscommunications that come from mistrust and insecurity. Those elements contradict the core personality traits of Mabel's secureness in herself, and Alfie’s straightforwardness. Finally, I was a little disappointed in the rushed ending, as it seemed that their year apart could have been easily avoided just by one or the other sending a simple text.

~Thank you to NetGalley and author Charlotte Stein for the ARC in exchange for an honest review~

Unfortunately, I ended up DNFing this one at 22%, which is a shame because I love a grumpy-sunshine romance. The premise is a good one, too: an adorable and sunshine-y ghostwriter working with a grumpy ex-athlete. That felt original while still employing romance tropes many of us readers know and love.

But I had to stop reading this one because I did not enjoy the writing style. It felt very clunky to me — primarily because there was a lot of “telling” vs. “showing.” I also thought the banter between the main characters was a bit much and pretty corny.

Overall,‘ I couldn’t get into this one, but other romance readers who love the tropes in this one (grumpy-sunshine, workplace and opposites attract) should still give it a shot and see what they think.