Only Alfie could accidentally stalk a woman.

When <i>When Grumpy Met Sunshine</i> was interesting, it was impossible to put down. Conversely, when <i>When Grumpy Met Sunshine</i> was boring, it was impossible to pick up.

Charlotte Stein put her own twist on the grumpy/shine trope in the way that Alfie was not so much a grump as he was flustered and misunderstood. He was always kind and quick to correct a misunderstanding (respectful king). The man we read about in the interviews at the end of the chapter does not match him at all. Perhaps it’s because around Mabel, he’s different and being more himself.

One thing that frustrated me was how closed-off Mabel was about her attraction to him. Alfie would be like, “I’m so sorry I know you find me ugly and fake dating me is the worst thing ever.”

And then instead of reassuring him, Mabel would be like, “I never said that.” LIKE CAN YOU PLEASE JUST TELL THIS MAN YOU CARE ABOUT HIM AND FIND HIM ATTRACTIVE?

That being said, the strongest parts of this book is definitely the tension. As always, the steam was top tier. I do wish it happened earlier in the book so there was more, but honestly, it works best that it happened in the last parts of the book.

Personally, I found the banter was hard to follow. I always felt like I was accidentally skipping a page because much of understanding what’s going on is listening to what Mabel is saying about it, which duh, but then I would forget what was actually said/what they were talking about.

I won’t lie, I did almost give up on this book. But I’m glad I didn’t. I found so many little moments of true enjoyment. Maybe the romcom genre just isn’t for me anymore. Anyway, if there’s one thing to take away from this: Alfie is babygirl. Thank you.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press & NetGalley for this ARC of <i>When Grumpy Met Sunshine</i> by Charlotte Stein in exchange for an honest review.

This one surprised me! It started off a bit slow, trying to get a sense of these two character's motivations. Closer to the 1/3 mark their chemistry really started to blossom and I just fell in love with them together. Alfie is this adorable blustering bear of a man, beautifully flawed, so gentle and kind (but with such a dirty mouth omg!), and Mabel is a genuine, sweet, soft-hearted person with a charming disheveled home life and a relatable fear of being loved or being unloveable. These two characters are so perfect for each other. I flew through the second half. Such a cute, sweet, and spicy read! I would definitely recommend this book.

Before all else, I want to sincerely thank NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

And to be honest, this book was not for me. I very nearly DNF at about 30%; the only thing that kept me going was my sense of duty to NetGalley and the publisher. It was a chore to finish.

There was far too much banter. Even if it had been hilarious and witty, which it mostly wasn’t, it still would have been in excess. This book could have easily been 100 pages shorter.

Though I often like the grumpy x sunshine trope, I did not like the can’t-use-a-cell-phone trope, the miscommunication and third act “breakup” trope, or the I’m-too-large-to-possibly-be-attractive nonsense. (This book was also workplace romance, fake dating, celebrity x civilian).

While I appreciated the representation in the FMC and the character development of the MMC, that’s about all. [Even if the whole time I pictured Alfie as Roy Kent from Ted Lasso because that is the exact character portrayed.]

This is a super cute story. It was a bit long and the dialogue was often repetitive. I liked the resolution and thought the character development was strong.

This book has a fun high concept: think a Ted Lasso Roy/Keeley story, if Keeley was a fat ghostwriter rather than a thin model/publicist and hired to write Roy's autobiography. As someone who's been reading Charlotte Stein for many years, I can say that it has everything that's good about her writing (original voice, great humor, and the ability to write intense sex and delve into where characterization meets kink), as well as suffering from all the same weaknesses (difficulty with structure and pacing, especially at longer lengths, and a self-indulgent tendency to spin out dialogue for pages). I'm happy to see her getting picked up by a big 5 publisher because I think she's an author who deserves a wider audience, but really wish she had been much more ruthlessly edited for her trad pub debut (which isn't to say I can't tell this book was edited, because it definitely seems like it was... just not as much as it needed to be). But I am glad to see her work out there at this level regardless.

When surly footballer Alfie shows up for a meeting to meet Mabel, the potential ghostwriter for his memoir, he's so insufferable she leaves. But then he shows up at her dinner with the editor. And then again at the Starbucks she's at. And when she confronts him for stalking her, they finally have an actual conversation--which leads to her officially becoming his ghostwriter.
In public, Alfie is gruff and kind of terrifying, but when they're alone together, he opens up--about his rough childhood and about his interests. And it turns out he's funny. And sweet. So when the tabloids get a picture of the two of them and tell the world they're dating, it's easy enough for Mabel to go along with it. After all, it does provide the perfect cover for why they're spending so much time together.

It took me a little while to get into this book, but I ended up really loving it. There was a LOT of banter (sometimes verging on too much, but the banter was fun), and the spicy scenes were different than I'm used to seeing in a romance. I really loved the characters' dynamic, and found this a very fun read overall.

Truly enjoyed this book. Forced proximity, the back and forth banter. And I love a female character that doesn’t hold her tongue when society (men) expect her to. Thanks netgalley for this arc!

Thank you for the opportunity to read this book. This book was not for me. I struggled to get through it and follow along. I felt like it was all over the place and difficult to read. I did finish the book but I didn't find it got better at the end.

I loved the idea of this book, but for some reason I could not get into the first 100 pages or so. Ovbiously I pictured Roy Kent as this footballer, but somehow that made me less inclined to get into it? I think maybe I just wanted to know more about him sooner.

However, when that smut hit it was just *chef's kiss* delightful.

Thank you to Netgalley and publisher for an arc in exchange for my honest opinion.

Publication: February 6, 2024

Rating: 2 stars

I requested this book because the synopsis sounded like something I would enjoy plus the grumpy x sunshine romance trope is one of my favorites!

I tried really hard to get into this book but I really struggled. I didn't think there was a thing as too much banter but I think there was in this plot. There was a lot of internal monologues plus with it being written in the 3rd person, I struggled to keep track of characters.

Overall, not the book for me. If you enjoy: third POV, a lot of internal dialogue and banter that begins to feel repetitive- then this book will be perfect for you!

This book made me LOL and snort-laugh so many times. The banter is ridiculously clever and NON-STOP. It felt a little like Gilmore Girls banter meets Bridget Jones’ shenanigans and British vibe. Fake relationship. One Bed. GrumpyxSunshine. All of my favorite tropes!

WHAT I LOVED MOST:
Alfie was so adorably grumpy. After just a few interactions with him, it was easy to see through his cranky facade and into his socially awkward, poetic soul. Plus he knows how to braid, ya’ll! That is some sexy sheeesh.

Mabel was quick witted and learned quickly that banter was the way to break down barriers with Alfie. I thought this was so unique. She met him at his grumpy and pulled him into the sunshine. Bravo, Charlotte Stein!

Fat rep. I will always appreciate authentic, relatable fat representation. Mabel didn’t dwell on her size, but it came to play in certain areas and situations and it felt very genuine.

The chapter titles were a hoot!

FAVORITE QUOTES:
>>>copy and pastes entire book<<<
Just Kidding! (kind of)

“Probably the bloke in there was busy snorting coke off an endangered animal steak while smuggling blood diamonds across borders manned by the mafia.”

“He’s the other kid with you in the assembly.”

“No, I mean lovely like a painting of someone important from a long time ago, reclining on some fancy thing with their thighs all soft and their shoulders all round and everything so plush it makes you ache to touch it.”

“I’m not crying. My eyes are just annoyed.”

“Oh shush. They are not attacking your face. They are being very calm, in fact. They just also appear to have gained about five hundred percent extra boob somehow, when I wasn’t looking.”

I raved about this book the entire time I read it. It’s a must read for anyone who wants to laugh their butts off and appreciate two silly, but brilliant dumdums who fall in love.

Thank you to Netgalley and Charlotte Stein for the e-ARC. I appreciated the opportunity to read this book and give an honest review.

This was a cute, if not a bit clunky book. It started off a bit rocky, with the conversations being difficult to follow and the storyline being hard to get in to, but once it got going it had a lot more depth than previously seen and I was glad I didn't give up on it! The characters were likeable, and the blurbs at the end of each chapter were really fun additions, overall a pretty fun read!

First,
thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review!
This was not for me. I normally like some rom com banter but this was too much. I found it to be exhausting and not very funny, to be honest. The plot suffered because the characters had way too much juvenile back and forth. Also it was obvious to me that the MMC was modeled after one Roy Kent. Maybe a bit too obvious. Anyhow, it was a no for me.

Oh Alfie!!! I love him. Where can I find a man like him? This story was so good! Can I be a ghostwriter for a famous hot guy? lol
The bantering between Alfie and Mabel was very entertaining. It could be a little wordy at times with all the back and forth but the storyline made up for it. I related a lot to Mabel. I’ve felt a lot of the things she has. I really liked reading about a character that reminded me of myself.

An enjoyable ending and a slow burn but a lot of the references were not relatable so took me quite a while to get into. Loved the dirty talk but wanted more from the main characters, the friends and assistant felt like an afterthought

I have to admit.... this book took a few chapters for me to get used to the writing style. I think that a lot was happening at the beginning and I didn't quite understand at first, but once I did it was all uphill from there! This book had me absolutely giddy. The chemistry and humor between the main characters is absolutely amazing- they grab your attention and keep it the entire book! This is a grumpy sunshine romance with a man (Alfie) that used to play football and a ghostwriter (Mabel). Mabel has heard about Alfie's infamous temper- he's known to not talk to anyone. So when she is asked to ghostwrite for him she assumes her naturally sunshine demeanor is not going to be a good fit. And she is so wrong. Alfie finds himself unable to hide anything from her. She asks and he just opens up with dry humor that only she finds charming. Given Alfie's history, no one assumes Mable is a ghostwriter visiting Alfie- they assume she's his newest love interest. And Alfie all but confirms that theory when he lunges to defend Mabel to the media. Thus, they are thrust into a fake dating situation that Mabel never thought she would be in, nonetheless with Alfie Harding. As the rouse continues Mabel begins to realize that it may not all be fake after all... and she has to decide if Alfie feels the same way while making sure her head doesn't interfere with her heart. This book will have you laughing AND blushing. I never wanted it to end and cannot wait to see what Charlotte Stein writes next! #NetGalley #NetGalleyARC #ARC #Romance #NetGalleyRomance

This book was SO GOOD!!! It has literally everything you could want. It was so FUNNY, and heartwarming! And the SPICE!!! 🥵 I can’t wait for this book to be published so I can buy my own copy!!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Repetitive dialogues, i was skimming through the book a lot of the time.
i did enjoy that the fmc was plus sized. her character felt real and i loved the representation. she also felt more like the grumpy one rather than our mmc.

I think that this was a great book. I really enjoyed all of the characters and the storyline. I will definitely be telling my friends about this book.

Was an enjoyable book overall. The character development was great but, I felt it could have been better executed.