3.5 stars
This is a fun, entertaining read. Mabel and Alphie are interesting, intriguing, entertaining, relatable, fun characters. I enjoyed their path to happily every after and that we got to see so much more that the surface character. The writing is easy to read and get into.

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

Sad to say, that I am DNFing this book. The premise seemed super cute but after trying to force myself to read it more than, once I can't get more than 20% in. The characters feel like they were dropped completely out of nowhere. I felt I got no premise of what was happening or why and it got a little lackluster. It was all banter and dialpgue with no development or understanding. Also Alfie was too literal of a grump, and I didn't get sunshine from Mabel, I just got irritated. Thank you to SMP romance for sending me an e-ARC to read and review.

Thanks to Net Galley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC of When Grumpy Met Sunshine, a horribly titled book, so I was surprised when I liked it so much. A curvy, insecure woman is hiding behind being a ghostwriter. She gets offered to write the memoir of a footballer (definitely inspired by Roy Kent, only more phsyically impressive). During the process they realize they have more in common than they thought and understand each other through, almost all, of their bravado and banter.

The banter was laugh out loud funny and sexy; it was easy to see how their insecurities were at play. Backstories were fully fleshed out and pivotal to understanding the need for all the banter. Author really understood what it's like to date as a woman who is working towards body and self acceptance. Just the right amount of spice.

I would give this 4 stars. A quick read, that had way more depth than the title let on.

This was unfortunately a DNF at 25%

i had high hopes as I LOVE grumpy/sunshine but I struggled with getting into the story & the banter.

Thank you NetGalley and St Martin's Press for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley for giving me an ARC in exchange for an honest review. I am not finishing this book. DNF. This book is not for me. I’m only reviewing and rating so it doesn’t hurt my feedback ratio.

Thank you to Charlotte Stein, St. Martin's Press, and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

I love this cover so much! But I wasn't a fan of the book. It dragged and was repetitive. I couldn't connect to the characters.

I love banter, and I never thought I would say this, but this book had way too much of it. It also felt forced at some points. Also, there was too much of Mabel's inner dialogue.

A perfect Rom-Com! I loved the story and the characters. The book was very well written and fun. The characters were relevant and believable. The dialogue was brilliant. It was smart, witty and steamy! Great book! Thanks #NetGalley #StMartins #CharlotteStein

Sometimes there's a little thing called too much banter.

Look, I'm a big fan of the grumpy/sunshine trope and the banter that inevitably comes along with it. It makes things fun and it builds the tension and then we slowly see two people fall in love who seemed like they really disliked each other or just had two very different personalities and believed they couldn't work out when they actually have more in common than they think. But honestly, this was just too much banter. It was back and forth on EVERY. SINGLE. PAGE. and it took away from the story and the characters and their burgeoning love for each other. I was sitting there reading and thinking, "Enough already!" I get it, the author was trying to show us how different they were, but it made me not care about them or the book in general because it was just way over the top. It was really juvenile and immature and it was painful to read. I really wanted to like this one (because Alfie is supposed to be like Roy Kent, and who doesn't love Roy Kent?!) but wow, it was neverending torture to get through. I would stay away.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the eARC of this book.

I did not enjoy this book but the concept is nice. The writing is just hard to follow and there is a lot of British slang that makes it hard to understand. I did not feel connected to these characters and it felt rushed. If the writing was cleaned up it would be a good story.

I received this as an ARC from St Martins Press and also NetGalley. I was very hopeful for this novel. Did I love the premise and the story line?! Yes! However I felt that the banter in this was overwhelming, too much and took away from the story way too much to be fully enjoyable.

This was such a wonderful read, the sweet and tender relationship between Allie and Mabel was beautiful to watch unfold. And their banter had me laughing out loud multiple times! Two souls struggling with their place in the world and how they see themselves. I admit to have cried tears of heartache and joy while reading, seeing how unaware these two were of each other’s feelings and the final realization that they were each more than enough for one another. Beautiful work, can’t wait to read more from this author!

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC so I could provide my honest review!

I tried to read this one but I realized it wasn’t for me. I didn’t what to leave a review on GoodReads so it negative impacts the author. Best of luck to the author.

When Grumpy Met Sunshine is a laugh out loud, quirky, entertaining Rom-Com of a book, and I am here for all of it! Alfie and Mabel are hilarious as they navigate how to interact with each other and write a book together. If you are jonesing for a funny, contemporary friends to lovers romance, with a bit of an age gap, some sports, second chances, a curvy heroine, and an awkward grump for a hero, grab this book and spend the day getting your fix. 4 Stars!

First off, thank you to St Martins Press and NetGalley for the eArc of this! Unfortunately it did not end up being for me.

From very early on. I founs the banter aspect of this story to be not just overwhelming and over the top, but actually detrimental to the story. The characters begin bantering so quickly that there is nothing between them that makes sense, including their decisions and impressions of one another. It also all moved so fast that very basic aspects of the story are not explained.

At about 25% of the way in I decided I needed to call it. I also don’t enjoy this brand of “grumpy,” as is giving actual old man who is out of touch with the world, as opposed to young LI who is begrudgingly like able and misunderstood. Again, maybe these things would not be bothersome for some folks, but I was so disconnected from the story that it didn’t make sense to continue.

. I wanted to love this book, but I didn’t really connect with the characters until the very last half of the book. Hard to really root for Alfie when he first calls Mabel a human cupcake. I stuck with the story, but it took awhile to see them as a couple. Their banter is written well and that is what specifically kept me reading. By the end I felt content with the couples trajectory and could believe their relationship 3.5 stars

DNF'd - I think this book just wasn't for me. I gave it a good go but ultimately wasn't excited to pick it up and couldn't see the spark between the main characters.

When I first saw the cover of this book I immediately thought of Roy Kent vibes and I was so right! The grumpiness really fit those vibes to a tee. And then you've got the FMC that is curvy, witty, and hilarious and there we go the perfect recipe for a rom-com full of hilarious banter! I really enjoyed the romance between these two and just wanted to read more and more of their banter as I went along. A solid, rom-com from Charlotte Stein who I'll definitely keep my eye on for the future!

When Grumpy Met Sunshine most certainly does deliver what the title promises. I did find it written for the tropes, rather than having good developed writing and characters with trope elements. The writing was best when showing the banter between the two romantic leads. But the writing was a little choppy at times which made the flow and pacing a little difficult to follow.

When Mabel was asked to ghostwrite about famous Alfie Harding, she was a bit starstruck.

Mabel finds grumpy. Alfie really is kind and has so much held in.

Mabel is able to help Alfie let go and start to enjoy himself. When they start to fake date, Mabel is not sure but finds that the chemistry is so hot.

When Mabel finds it all too much, she tells Alfie she needs a break. Alfie lets her off the hook and disappears. Mabel is lonely and confused but finds comfort that Alfie is doing ok.

When Alfie surprises Mabel and all the pieces come together, it is magic.

When Grumpy Met Sunshine is such a cute read. Its laugh out loud funny, full of banter and spice! I loved that the main female character was plus sized, it was a nice bonus to see some diversity in body types that you don't see as often as we would like. I really enjoyed the fake relationship trope and it was well done. Although, some times the chapters seemed to have a lull and felt like there was some unnecessary parts, but overall was a good and light read!