I had high hopes for enjoying this book, given that the grumpy to sunshine trope is one of my favorites. Unfortunately, it fell short, and I ultimately didn't like it. The banter among the characters felt excessive, occasionally veering into immaturity. The writing style proved challenging to embrace. I frequently found myself confused about the ongoing events, uncertain about the speakers, and struggling to discern narrative elements..

I want to thank NetGalley for this eARC in exchange for my honest review

Lovely premise and cover which drew me in, However, it took me a longer time than usual to read this book, I wasn't even sure I was going to finish it, because there was excessive details and descriptions that kept taking me out of the story and I'd lose track of what the situation is often. This is the reason for my low rating because it was incredibly hard to enjoy the story this way. The story itself was overall solid, but at time the miscommunication was quite frustrating.

Thank you to NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for my honest review. #NetGalley

I love grumpy/sunshine romances, and I really l0ved this book. It was steamy, hot, and very fun. Their banter and fighting was done so well, and their eventual coming together was great. This book also includes a fake relationship which is another one of my favourite tropes and one that was done very well also.

I devoured this book in a day. I loved the banter and the characters shared childhood experiences. The only hard part was suffering through how much these two clearly liked each other and neither having enough self-confidence to notice it! I would have liked to see more of the story after they finally got together - how her friends reacted, what Alfie is doing now, etc. But it was an adorable story with some great spicy scenes with fake dating and grump-sunshine tropes. Definitely recommend

While I wanted to enjoy this, the characters fell flat, the romance was... not very romantic, and the extensive dialogue was distracting. And it felt like Roy Kent had been plucked out of Ted Lasso, dropping into this book without any of his charm, brilliance, or warmth. Great plus size rep, but that was it's shining point.

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Somehow, this was the first contemporary rom com I’ve ever read! I found it mostly enjoyable. There were some lines that had me literally laughing aloud and I enjoyed the progression of Mabel and Alfie’s relationship. That being said, I did sometimes lose track of who was talking and what exactly was going on due to the rambling of the narrator. The banter just felt a bit too drawn out and borderline ridiculous. Overall I give the book a 3/5 stars!

Follow the adorable banter & miscommunication adventures between <b>ex-footballer Alfie & ghostwriter Mabel.</b>

This book had soooo much potential!!! I loved the premise and the adorable cover & title. But the book fell so short for me and I’m upset! 😢

Let’s start with the writing style…I mean…I had to re-read every 4th sentence and I’m generally a fast reader. The sentence structure was confusing and I was skimming long descriptive paragraphs that were summarizing conversations between main characters. Why not write the active dialogue? Unfortunately, it was not a smooth read which is the main reason I didn’t enjoy the story.

The book had some amazing banter between characters. But at times I felt like that was all it was. <b>Banter. Banter. Banter.<b> Definitely a slow burn but when the spice does appear 🌶️ we discover Alfie is actually very very filthy. That guy has a way with words reminiscent of Mr. Darcy <b>“You are a painting of a wild stretch of moors.”</b> *swoon*

I LOVE the grumpy x sunshine trope! However, in this book I felt like the trip was overshadowed by deep insecurities (from both characters) constant miscommunication. At times I just wanted to shake them and scream SNAP OUT OF IT!! You are worthy of love!!!

I think this book could be so much shorter by polishing off the banter & condensing the plot.

grumpy x sunshine (obvi)
fake dating
slow burn
miscommunication 😭

Thank you to the publishing for kindly offering me the ARC!

Ever since reading The Hating Game I look out for a workplace romance that will fill the void. When Grumpy Met Sunshine did not come anywhere near as close as I anticipated. There's a song about a little less talk and a lot more action, that is the basis of this book. I think I skimmed more than I read.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Normally I'm all for the Grumpy-Sunshine trope, but this was harder to read than normal. It felt like the banter went on longer than it should have. Overall, it was a cute read.

From Mabel’s perspective it was so aggressively commenting on her body and being plus size. I hate when that becomes the whole focus of a book. This was a pain to get into.

DNF at 22%

I was so excited for the concept of this book, but it just didn't end up being what I was hoping for.

This is a tough review, the cover for this book is soooo cute and the premise is great! But, I just didn't find myself connecting with either of the main characters, and didn't find the dialogue realistic between a 33 year old and 38 year old.

In 9 chapters all I really got was that the MMC Alfie isn't truly "grumpy" he just enjoys a nice relaxing life style, and has major anxiety and trouble saying no. Their was lots of banter, okay ... a bit to much banter. I found that after reading Mabel's pov of what was happening, I'd already forgotten what the two were bickering over.

This book had so much potential, but to me fell flat. Overall, I think the premise would have worked better if the characters were a bit younger and if it were dual POV so we could see a bit of what Alfie was thinking vs what Mabel thought he was thinking. Thank you so much to the author, ST Griffins Press and Netgalley for an early E-ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review 💗

I wasn't sure if I was going to finish this one - I think this one had just a bit too much banter for my liking, it just felt very insecure for the ages of the characters and it took me out a bit and therefore I was unable to develop any sort of connection. I also don't believe we have a true "grump" in this grumpy x sunshine; the MMC just seemed a bit misunderstood instead?

I kept hoping for that spark to ignite and it just didn’t.

I love a good Grumpy x Sunshine trope but, this one just didn’t pan out in the way I would’ve liked. The characters themselves felt rather cardboard, the dialogue didn’t come off as realistic, I wasn’t really understanding the setup, and it just felt like I was having to suspend disbelief just a little too much.

We have our writer and our ex-footballer who seems more rude than grumpy. He has turned down multiple ghostwriters and a short interaction with her has him semi-stalking her to get her to write his book. She’s hung up on being called a cupcake due to her weight (in her mind that’s where it was directed) and avoids him. His phone calls. His trying to catch her attention at a coffee shop. This all leads to my next favourite trope — fake dating! All of this actually seemed right up my alley but unfortunately try as I might, I couldn’t connect and you know what? That’s okay.

We all like different things and just because this didn’t work for me doesn’t mean it won’t work for others! I do say try it for yourself because it could exactly be your cup of tea.

Thank you St. Martin’s Press for the chance to read early.

Omg this was so cute, loved this book so much, one of my favorite tropes grumpy and sunshine's, this was fun and fresh. Definitely will get more from this author

This was cute and I love a grumpy male character and when you make him an ex-footballer you have me sold!

Thank you to NetGalley + St. Martin's Press for the eARC in exchange for my honest review.

I wanted to love this more than I did, but it wound up being just average for me.

I think the lengthy banter was just a little too much for me, and just seemed to drag on...making the book a less than enjoyable experience. I found myself skimming through a good portion of the book just to get to action sequences. I also wasn't a huge fan of either main character, which made it hard to root for them. But the smut aspect was definitely a win.

I would scale back on the banter and tighten up the writing to make the story flow better.

When Grumpy Met Sunshine is a banter filled ride between sunny Mabel and grumpy Alfie. After a disastrous first meeting to determine her suitability as his ghostwriter, a crazy series of events lead them directly into the fake dating trope. While the banter was enjoyable,at times it was a bit much. While it moved the relationship forward, it didn't do much to move the plot forward. I love the plus size represetation and how the ugliness of socal media was incorporated into the story. The constant inner monologue was a little bit of a downner and I often didn't like how both characters thought of themselves. I wish there were more things they loved about themselves that were highlighted.

Overall a good read of you are into grumpy/sunshine and/or fake dating tropes. If excessive banter and inner monologue is not your jam I'd give it a pass.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

I’ve wanted to read Charlotte Stein ever since one of my favorite podcasts, Learning the Tropes (it’s awesome, you should listen!), did an episode on one of her books and the way one of the hosts, Erin, described Ms. Stein’s writing style really made me want to read her. If you know anything about me though, you won’t be surprised that it took me until just now (years later) before finally picking up one of her books and I’m so glad that the book it happened to be was When Grumpy Met Sunshine! Because let me tell you, I absolutely loved this book — it was just so amazing!

First off, it was so very funny and had me laughing my butt off more than once and just laughing out loud the whole time. It’s definitely one of the funniest books I’ve read in quite awhile and I just couldn’t get enough! A big part of that was obviously Mabel and Alfie, I loved them so much! Mabel is bright and sweet and so lovable, but I have to be honest that it was really Alfie that took the cake for me. That man is just so adorable and sweet and tender and funny and protective and so much more that I was utterly smitten with him. He completely stole my heart and I’m just totally gone over him!

When Grumpy Met Sunshine was such a wonderful book and I had truly the best time reading it! I expected that I would like and enjoy this book, but I had no idea how much it would blow those expectations right out of the water. It’s for sure one of my favorite reads of this year and I will definitely be reading Ms. Stein again — I really can’t wait!

A good, if very standard, romance novel. Not as engaging and enjoying as I wanted, and relies a bit too much on the grumpy/sunshine trope instead of building out its characters. Would recommend for a lover of the trope who needs a little brainless fun.

This book had such a fun premise. Unfortunately, it was not for me. I personally was not a fan of the way the dialogue was written. DNF'd at 15%