DNF @ 25%

Struggled immediately with this one. Despite a solid premise and some of my favorite tropes, I couldn't get past the writing style which felt overly wordy yet also choppy.

Also Alfie was almost too grumpy? But not so much grumpy but confused at the world which felt weird to follow along with.

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Griffin for the ARC.

🌟🌟🌟 3/5 stars

A cute romance about two opposites who fall in love. When Alfie, a grumpy ex-footballer, is forced into selling his memoirs, he has to have happy-go-lucky ghostwriter, Mabel. While working on his life story, they are mistaken for a couple and must pretend to be in love (for reasons).

This was a fun story with plenty of banter and laughs. The romance was cute, but I wasn’t super invested in it. Entertaining, but maybe not memorable.

ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Rating - 3/5 stars ⭐⭐⭐
Date Read - November 4, 2023
Publication Date - February 6, 2024

*I received an E-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review* - Thank you @stmartinspress and @netgalley!

When Grumpy Met Sunshine has a cute start with an email right off the bat. Along with emails, there are also some tweets scattered around throughout the book, which was a fun addition.

Alfie is adorably awkward but I found that most of the time, he sounded more like a boy rather than a man.

If you keep in mind that this book is not meant to be realistic at all, it can be a lot of fun to read. When Grumpy Met Sunshine is truly a series of unfortunate events, with one awkward misunderstanding after the other.

When Grumpy Met Sunshine is an opposites-attract, grumpy x sunshine (obviously) romcom that will leave you laughing, scratching your head and doing some serious face-palming.

I was looking forward to reading this. However until the SMP boycott is over I will not be reading or reviewing this title till St Martins Press takes accountability. Zero hate to the book or author, just unfortunate circumstances.

2.5 ⭐️
Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for this eARC to review!

Alfie Harding - which gives off Roy Kent vibes from Ted Lasso - is the grumpy football player whose life is being ghostwritten into a memoir by Mabel Willicker - who is the exact opposite of Alfie.

First off, as an American the British slang was really hard for me to understand at points during most of the banter. The first half of this book was a struggle for me as it was confusing most of the time with no real progression. However, once the fake dating trope in the second half of the book happened it really picked up. I will say I was not a fan of the really long year later miscommunication re-kindling HEA. It just seems very long to not tell someone how you feel.


This book has a lot of potential - it wasn’t bad but it wasn’t a 5 star read for me.

🌹The Little Fox Lair Spoiler-Free Review
🌹When Grumpy Met Sunshine by Charlotte Stein
🌹Contemporary Romance, Romantic Comedy

A ghostwriter, Mabel Willicker, is paired with an ex-footballer, Alfie Harding, to write his autobiography. On the outside, the pair is as opposite as two people can be, but throughout the story the pair finds unexpected common ground to lay the foundation of a friendship.

The book bears some of the best of the romance tropes–grumpy/sunshine, fake dating, and opposites attract. The bulk of the plot revolves around miscommunication, and although this particular trope can be frustrating at times to readers, it just seems to work in this book. The banter between Mabel and Alfie had me laughing out loud, and it allowed for the slow burn to develop well even through the love interests’ misunderstandings of each other. Stein amps up the spice factor towards the second half of the book, and it is well worth the wait.

This is a witty and fun story, but there are also some deeper themes between the pages of When Grumpy Met Sunshine. The book addresses the characters’ insecurities stemming from their upbringings. It becomes apparent that the hesitancy and awkwardness in their behavior in the relationship stems from their childhood traumas. It makes sense that they both struggle with communication and self-worth given their past experiences. Lessons in self love and pursuing your passions are major themes in this work.

Overall, I really enjoyed this romantic comedy. I appreciated the plus-size representation in the female main character and how Stein wrote Mabel’s inner monologue. Although it was frustrating to read Mabel’s self-doubt at times, I found it to be an honest and authentic take. I also really loved Alfie’s arc and reading how he grows throughout the book. When Grumpy Met Sunshine was a feel-good read for me with a sentimental ending that left me feeling all the feels.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Charlotte Stein for allowing me to read this copy in advance.

🌹TW: Alcoholism, Childhood Trauma, Body Image/ Comments Regarding Looks and Weight, 18+ romance
🌹Tropes: Grumpy Sunshine, Miscommunication, Fake Dating, Opposites Attract

#whengrumpymetsunshine #charlottestein #grumpysunshine #contemporaryromance #romanticcomedy #romcom #oppositesattract #fakedating #romancereaders #romancerecommendations #bookreviews #booktropes #romancetropes #goodreadschallenge #netgalley

I really thought I was going to enjoy this book. Unfortunately, the story seemed very choppy. There wasn't a natural flow to the storyline, which ultimately had the book fall flat for me. The cover is beautiful though.

I typically love fake dating, forced promixity, grumpy sunshine- so I’m not 100% sure why this wasn’t a huge hit for me.

Definitely a few swoony moments but for the most part I didn’t love their relationship.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for a chance to read this book in advance of its February 6th release date!

Unfortunately, I am stepping away from this book at 38% with the hope of checking it back out again at a later date. When Grumpy Met Sunshine follows grumpy ex-footballer Alfie and his sunshiney ghostwriter Mabel.

What was working for me with this book was the concept and the characters' vibes. What was sadly not working for me was the banter replacing actual communication between the characters. I'm hopeful that when I return to this at a later date, I'll get to see what seems to be a cute connection between these two lovebirds whose first interaction had him calling her cute as a cupcake!

I adore the grumpy/sunshine trope and this was done well. Very cute with a bit of spice. The banter was good. Overall would recommend for a fun read.

I really wanted to love this, but I ended up DNF-ing at 31% in. To me, the banter and dialogue was stilted and too much. There wasn't a lot of story besides the banter. I also understand the appeal of writing a Roy Kent romance but this was too on the nose and felt like Ted Lasso fan fiction.
I understand that some people might love this, so I will not be posting my negative review online outside of NetGalley.

3.5 stars

When Grumpy Met Sunshine is a fast-paced sports romance with a fake dating trope. Alfie Harding is a retired football player who meets Mabel Willicker when she is hired to be the ghostwriter for his memoir. Alfie is notoriously private about his personal life, but Mabel encourages him to open up to her. When the press sees them together at Alfie's house, they assume that he is dating her. They begin fake dating in order to hide the fact Mabel is ghostwriting his memoir. I loved the character development and banter between Alfie and Mabel. The slow burn was great, but I felt like it didn't fully payoff at the end. I felt like the book fell apart during the last 20% of the book. I did not care for the "one year later" time jump that occurred towards the end. It made the ending feel rushed and forced. Fans of Olivia Dade and The Wall of Winnipeg and Me will enjoy this book.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the gifted copy.

I'm going to be honest - this book was not for me. I didn't particularly like either of the characters. Their banter was cringy most of the time, and the male MC barely spoke and it just didn't work for me.

DNF at 11%. I usually really like a good grumpy MMC but for some reason this just wasn’t doing it for me. It was literally painful listening to these two (def didn’t seem like 30 somethings). Just not loving the writing style.

I decided to DNF When Grumpy Met Sunshine at 16%. I really wanted to like this book, but unfortunately I couldn't get into it.

Firstly, I found the book itself confusing. The writing felt very long-winded. It was a lot of words that ultimately weren't saying a lot.

I also am not a fan of the Love Interest. I know he's supposed to be grumpy, but he went straight past grumpy into creepy. I understand that what I read so far is supposed to be a misunderstanding, but it just really didn't hit for me and made him seem like a creepy stalker. He's also supposed to be in his thirties but called a smartphone "newfangled" technology and doesn't understand emojis. It's just a weird stance for someone his age to take.

On top of that, the banter between the two felt so surface level that it never went anywhere. I feel like it wasn't really helping to develop the chemistry between the characters or provide any real incite into the characters as individuals. It felt like it was just there to say that it had banter without any real purpose.

Another thing that I had an issue with was the narration style. I found that how the narration would transition from the MCs thoughts about future events into the actual event was confusing to follow.

I wish I had better things to say about this book, and maybe it does pick up later on, but I'm just not invested enough to want to continue reading in order to find out.

[Disclaimer: I was given this eARC by St. Martin's Press via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!]

3 ish stars. At face value, this should have been the perfect book for me. I love the grump/ sunshine trope, love soccer, and love books about books (or that somewhat involve the publishing industry). And while When Grumpy Met Sunshine wasn’t bad, it also wasn't for me. The male lead felt like a character from Ted Lasso, which isn’t a bad thing, but is what it is. The biggest issue though was that there was too much banter. So much so that it felt a little distracting to what was actually happening. I also had a hard time relating to the female lead. She was witty, which I love. But everything just got lost in the dialogue. I’m much more driven to plot than I am characters, but I can also enjoy a character driven romance. However, the dialogue here was just too over the top and repetitive, that everything else kind of got lost in it (and now I’m being repetitive). I feel like this one had a lot of potential, and I can see it working for a lot of people. Unfortunately, it just wasn’t for me.

Thanks to St. Martin's Press, St. Martin's Griffin and NetGalley for the advanced readers copy!

I wanted to love this one but the pacing was a miss for me. The banter was fun but a lot and the internal dialogue was overwhelming. Fun concept but missed the mark for me.

Honestly, this book wasn't for me. I wasn't the biggest fan of its pacing as sometimes I felt the dialogue was too much but then other times I found the internal monologues to go on for too long. I loved the premise though!

This book was amazing! I absolutely loved the two main characters!!! The plus size representation was so good and absolutely everything in this book made me swoon! The only things I would change that kind of deterred me from this book was 1. The name. It’s a little too cheesy. 2. The end being a year time jump. Aside from these the book was so good! I am so happy I was able to get this early because I wouldn’t have picked it up otherwise. I went into it with all these ideas about what kind of book it was and it surprised me.

ARC:

Truthfully, the concept was awesome and I am so grateful that as a PLUS SIZE gal we’re getting representation.

Unfortunately my attention span truly didn’t allow me to fully get into it but what I did read I loved. Hopefully one day I’ll be able to come back to it.