ugh the romance of it all!!! this book was sooooo cute (and had some unexpected spiceeee). i loved alfie and mabel so much. both were just wonderful characters with soft hearts who wanted to be loved. it’s impossible to not want the best, happiest lives for them.

as a side note, there was great representation for plus-sized women, anxiety, and alcoholism in this book that stein wrote really well.

Overall I enjoyed this book.

Pros: Lots of funny banter, I laughed out loud so many times. Great grumpy/sunshine dynamic (duh its in the title!) I liked the plus size rep. Alfie was so awkward and hilarious and sweet!

Cons: Almost too much banter. Sometimes it was repetitive and hard to follow

This book was a miss for me, which truly makes me sad. Because I had hopes that I would enjoy it. But not matter how badly I wanted to, it just fell flat. I couldn’t get into the story itself, the characters or the writing. I struggled to understand and keep up with what’s was going on. Maybe it’s the writers writing style, I’m not sure. It just wasn’t for me.

Thank you to NetGalley for a free advanced e-copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.

This book had so much potential. The premise, a sunshine ghostwriter falling in love with a grumpy ex-soccer star as they work on his autobiography, was a good one. It had all my favorite tropes, heck my favorite trope is even in the title! But, the story felt lack luster to me. The plot was rushed, the writing more dialogue than anything else (and without actions between dialogue so I never knew what a character was doing or, sometimes, who was even speaking). The chemistry was lacking and it just felt like a big jumble.

The character development of Archie was so good. Whether I’d like him or not was a bit up the air throughout the beginning of the book but his growth throughout was so good to see. I ended up loving him. The banter between them was great, too much of it at times. It was a bit awkward sometimes.

The FMC inner monologue felt endless at times but all in all, this was cute.

This was cute with some good banter here and there. Think Roy Kent for our grumpy character. The book started out great but started to fizzle out for me because many of the conversations started to real repetitive and not really moving the story forward.

I never thought there would come a day where I would say the banter was over bantered. I loved the premise of this book. The title, the cover, it was all so cute! The banter just got to be too much for me though and Mabel’s inner dialogue ended up being like nails on a chalkboard to me after awhile. I had to push through to finish it. If the banter was dialed back a tad bit and her inner dialogue curbed a little, “When Grumpy Met Sunshine” has potential to be a great read! Unfortunately it just wasn’t great as it stands now.

I received an Advanced Readers Copy of this book from NetGalley. My review is honest, unbiased, and completely my own.

Cute book, but I had a lot of difficulty getting into it. I ended up liking it, it found it slow at first.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Griffin for the opportunity to read and review this book.

When Grumpy Met Sunshine (I wish it had a better title) by Charlotte Stein made me so happy. I literally couldn’t wait to write this review. I loved this book. Alfie (who is probably loosely based on Roy from Ted Lasso) and Mabel are weird and awkward and filled with self doubt. And 100% made for each other. Fake dating is usually kinda contrived as are the reasons keeping the friends to lovers apart. Not here. The why fake dating tracked more than usual and the characters are complex enough that I was able to follow their logic that was holding them back. The ending was maybe a bit off in terms of the length of time for the third act break up. But other than that the pacing was great. Seriously I am going to deep dive this author’s work. This book definitely made me a fan. (Yes I received an ARC, but I would have loved it even if I hadn’t)

Mabel is hired to ghostwrite a memoir for the notorious recluse and grumpy footballer, Alfie. As Alfie becomes comfortable he starts to share more with Mabel, making her think that perhaps more lies under the grumpy exterior. However, when the paparazzi catch them together they mistake Mabel for his newest fling and the two continue the ruse.
To have a grumpy versus sunshine romance, said grump must still be charming of sorts. This grump was not charming in the slightest. He was actually someone that if a friend of mine had been dating, I’d probably sit them down and stage an intervention. Most of the time he’s mean, and yeah I get it, he’s supposed to be misunderstood. Then he makes it up to her but it comes off as manipulative. He’s a soccer player but clumsy as can be and as a result accidentally puts our FMC in compromising positions in front of paparazzi?

The two have conversations about absolutely everything. Over-and-over again. I never thought I would see the day when I would say the banter was overkill but alas… When several lines were dedicated to a bit about him having a fax machine I knew I was done for. The book feels like it goes in circles. Instead of having the characters interact with their setting or giving them a purpose in the scene, Mabel just drones on in her inner monologue. The couple only exist to each other and I think only a rare few sentences are ever uttered by anyone other than the two of them because they almost never encounter anyone else.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press for providing an early review copy. All opinions are my own.

When Grumpy Met Sunshine was a cute fake dating romance with a grumpy retired football player trying to write his memoir and his adorable and cheerful ghostwriter. Grumpy/sunshine is a favorite trope of mine and it was great to have a plus size FMC. This novel was quirky and fun. Banter is always key and surprisingly I thought there was too much banter at times (which is shocking for me to even write) - the writing was almost too wordy. But I'm glad I kept reading and I ended up enjoying it overall. Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this novel.

Thank you NatGalley,

This isn’t a book I typically pick up but I enjoy it for the most part, I liked both of the two main characters throughout the book overall it was a really great read.

When Grumpy Met Sunshine by Charlotte Stein

Summary: Opposites-attract romance with undeniable chemistry between a grumpy retired footballer and his fabulous and very sunshine-y ghostwriter. 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. 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?

Rating: I love me a grump/sunshine combo! Quirky, romantic and funny. Can't ask for more. Props to the plus size rep!

#NetGalley

I love when there is banter in books that make me laugh out loud. While that is what the reader can expect in this book, I almost dare to say there was too much banter. While I also don't mind spice in a book, I felt like the spicy sections of this book took too long and didn't add to the overall story. I have to appreciate that the author wrote the female character as curvy. In the world of social media and AI touchups, it's refreshing to read a book that you visualize a woman that represents a large population of women. I love the opposites attract/workplace romance tropes, but again, felt like this book could have been shortened by editing out some of the banter and spice scenes. I would definitely give this author another chance in future books though!

When Grumpy Met Sunshine is such a cute fun book. The constant banter had me all giddy and smiles throughout my read of this book. There were a couple of jokes I was confused on due to the English aspect of it and some of the pet names had me cringing a little, but I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The pacing was nice and had me engaged from the first chapter. However, I wasn’t a big fan of the time skip and thought it was unnecessary and unrealistic, but other than that I’m glad I read this book!

I really liked the premise of this story, and the cover drew me in. I'm always a fan of the grumpy/sunshine trope, and the fact that the FMC is plus size is an added bonus. However, the story is very dialogue-heavy, and while I appreciate strong dialogue, there were times when it felt like it was a bit too much by including regular dialogue and a lot of inner dialogue. I'm not a huge fan of rambling inner dialogue. It also switches perspectives, which was sometimes difficult to follow.

Mabel is funny and sweet and charming, and I love her upbeat attitude. She is the total opposite of the grumpy and negative Alfie, who is easily annoyed and more pessimistic. They don't seem like they should work, but they do. I enjoyed their fake-dating, slow-burn, opposites attract, workplace romance love story. They have a lot of chemistry, and their slow-building romance leads to some pretty spicy scenes!

Overall, this was a good read. I liked the characters, body positivity, and romance as well as the messages. Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for providing me with a copy of the book. All thoughts are my own.

I was excited to get this ARC but my review is going to look like some other reviews on here. Way too much dialogue. The chapters were 20-30 minutes of straight dialogue. I kept thinking how they are just standing at her door having this long conversation or in the car. Not enough was actually happening. It would be the two main characters in the car talking for the whole chapter or at one of their houses. I needed other things to happen in the book. It had a cute premise of a ghost writer falling in love with the famous soccer player that she's writing the book for. But it was just all dialogue and not even about his life. That would have made sense. There was one 30 minute chapter of them talking about the one bed situation. I did not feel we needed a 30 minute chapter discussing that. So the book itself was fine but I did skim some. There were some sexy times that were very hot though.

-"I always know everything will be all right when I'm with you."

When Grumpy Met Sunshine is the second book I have read this year and will be staying at the top of my list for a while, I guarantee it. This is a steamy opposites attract romance with a grumpy af footballer and the sweetest ghostwriter ever.

The MC is a plus sized woman with an aura that captures everyone, but also can be entirely too hard on herself. There was childhood trauma that was handled with kindness. I adored the character growth and the endless banter and conversation had me laughing out loud multiple times. I loved how this was written and I can't wait to read more by this author. Thank you for letting me read it early!

When Grumpy Met Sunshine is a single POV opposites attract RomCom. It focuses on Mabel, a ghostwriter who is walking sunshine, and Alfie, the surly retired soccer player who has hired her to write his memoir. When pictures of her leaving his house lead to speculation about their relationship they decide to fake date to avoid revealing her true role in his life.

This book was fake-dating, grumpy/sunshine rom-com heaven. It’s filled with banter and dirty talk, an equal amount of ridiculousness and sexiness, and is just all-around a fun and endearing read.

Thank you to @netgalley , @stmartinspress and Charlotte Stein for a chance to read this sweet and sexy romance

📖 I received a gifted e-book copy in exchange for an honest review ✍🏻


Read dates: 01/06/2024- 01/07/2024
Goodreads review: 01/07/2024
Instagram review: 01/08/2024
Blog review: 02/06/2024

This grumpy x sunshine is done SO WELL in this book! The chemistry was sizzling off the pages, and both main characters were relatable and likable. Really no notes.