This had a grumpy sunshine, Ted Lasso undertone, and it was cute, but I don't think this will stick with me very longterm. A cute read, a nice read, but fairly forgettable.

3.75⭐️ this was cute and hilarious.

A quick and easy romcom, I laughed out loud so much while reading this, and the spice was so hot 🥵 the scene in the car slayed me. These two were so cute, I loved Alfie and Mabel was a delight.

I would have liked more of a dive into their pasts. Their upbringings are just kind of glossed over as well as their previous dating lives, that in a huge part molded them into who they are and why they were so reluctant to fully dive into their feelings for each other. Also some of the inner dialogue was a little too lengthy. It was hysterical most of the time but not consistently necessary.

When Grumpy Met Sunshine is a charming and modern adaptation of the classic Cinderella tale that brings to mind the cozy feeling of savoring a piece of decadent chocolate cake, the lovable yet grumpy protagonist, the fabulous yet relatable heroine, and the genuine northern viewpoint all captured my attention. Undoubtedly, Charlotte Stein's talent as a writer makes her an essential addition to any library.

What a wild ride!! The main female characters inner monologue is almost as manic as my own, which at times made my heart race as I felt her anxiety, but in such a good way. Mabel is endearing, and I suspect has more than just a little of the author in her, with her love of the written word. Alfie is my beast in tattered armor, with crusty exterior protecting his warm soul. The characters shared childhood traumas (alcoholic trigger warning) makes them relate on yet another level. Oh, and I haven’t even mentioned the sexual tension… have you ever read so much sexual tension you wanted to scream at the characters to get it on already? If the answers no, you’re about to! I could read this book again, and again, since I didn’t want it to end. Also, I forget if I mentioned there’s quite a bit of sexual tension…

Irreverent. Bantery. British humor. Spicy. What’s not to like?

Very dialogue heavy, which is nothing but a good thing in this case, because I was hooked on the interactions between Alfie and Mabel. These two were an unlikely couple, but so shyly sweet.

Stellar, sweet romance. Enough said!

A classic feel-good romance novel that involves such lovable characters and humor in their flaws. An easy to pick up and quick read.

A relatable heroine and a guy you think is mean, but really a sweetheart in disguise. You can’t help but love these characters and how they come together!

I can’t believe it’s possible.. but this book had too much banter. It just went on and on and on and the main character was sooo furious and Alfie (the guy) about calling her a cupcake, assumed it was about her weight, and then convinced herself that he only came to her to ghostwrite his book so he could make fun of her. I mean… really? Talk about over dramatic. Too bad!! Would’ve been a good concept and Alfie’s pretty funny.

I tried so hard to like this story. It fell flat for me. The premise was good but full of silly angst, for two adults, they just lacked the sense to be honest and upfront. To top it off, they were not even funny. Sad, just sad.

I really wanted to like this book. Grumpy/sunshine is a trope I very much like, but these characters were just not it for me. The writing was decent, though describing someone’s skin as “stark as a January day” is very confusing. I couldn’t tell if I was supposed to think the character’s skin is grey or what. The characters seemed to be somewhat dim but not outside of what you expect in a romantic comedy like this. Overall, I’m not completely writing this author off, but they’re also not on my must read list either.

3.5/5

This book healed a little part of me (I will not be explaining). The British banter was top tier and since I am a soccer fan this is easily one of my fav sport romances tho there is not much sport in it. Both Alfie and Mabel are so relatable and just adored by me. They both have characters traits (flawed or otherwise) that I could relate too and I absolutely loved the slow burn.
Some might say the miscommunication bits of this book is irritating but when you resent yourself so much you truly cannot see the good things that is staring you in the face. I really enjoyed this book, thank you Netgalley for providing me this arc.

I probably never would have picked up this book without it being an ARC. I LOVED it! I truly did. I am not one for romance, let alone a steamy romance, but this book was great fun. I cannot wait for it to be released so I can share it with friends and patrons at my library.

This book was good but dang I got lost a lot because the story didn't flow or maybe going back between the characters was hard? I could have done with less “you could never like me like that” because it was basically a plot point. It might have been a me problem. To me it was pretty darn spicy as well. Alfie reminds me of Roy Kent in a good way. Hard, crabby and off putting from the outside but a big old marshmallow on the inside.

I would like to Thank Netgalley and St Martins Press for allowing me to read the book by Charlotte Stein.

It is titled: "When Grumpy Met Susnshine" .

The two main characters are introduced Mabel and Alfie. Mabel is quite an interesting lady although lady she is not. She has an assignment to ghost write a biography about famous footballer that plays no longer. His fame has driven him to be a recluse and basically a prisoner in his own home due the harassment of paparazzi and relentless fans. Alfie the football star has become grumpy hence the title for him, socially anxious ,socially awkward and hides behind is lack of self confidence. His success as a footballer on the field is a contrast to his socially unaware personality how treat and converse with humans.

Meet Mabel the ghostwriter of his memoirs, She has the assignment to interview and get his story, she has her own backstory of low self confidence due to her personal cross to bear of being overweight. She has preconceived thoughts of how Alfie will view her. The sexual spark when the two meet the first time builds each time they meet. The thoughts they have and the dialogue is like watching a fast moving ping pong tournent or tennis match.
I agree with other reviewers that much of it is Laugh out Loud funny. Other times I thought their thoughts and dialogue with an overuse of the "F" word just tiresome and redundant. There was no point to it just over and over the "F" word. It is so unnecessary really because the description of these two and their mutual social inadequacy while at times because of root causes were sad, it was presented in a light manner and exchange. I couldn't quite get there with the desciption of thighs as a roast.
Thank you for the opportunity to read and review this book.

I had to DNF this one about 30% in. I just couldn't get through it, the main characters were irritating and I found myself being reluctant to pick it up.

I love Charlotte Stein - she writes the most frantically horny weirdos that I can't help but love - and this was no exception. My main critique is that this felt too heavy on the banter, as though the characters were more interested in being witty than actually getting to know each other. Otherwise, a delightful read!

I loved this book. I loved that the female main character was plus sized. Cover was cute that I wanted to read it! Glad I did! Thank you Netgalley for this book.

Mabel is a plump, sassy ghostwriter; Alfie is a grumpy, reclusive ex-footballer reluctantly working on his memoirs. Sparks and hijinks fly from the moment they meet. She disarms him with her gentle snark, and he finds himself revealing truths he’s never shared. When they are photographed together by paparazzi, a misunderstanding leads to a fake relationship…with feelings that don’t feel so fake at all.
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I love Alfie so much. Protect this man at all costs. The ways he describes Mabel are hilarious—“an evil Mary Poppins”— and breathtaking—“Sharp as a knife, but so soft you hardly care if it goes in. You want it to go in.” He is so funny but also so hot (the dirty talk, good lord!) Stein is so gentle with him, subverting the alpha, “I can’t feel feelings” archetype. She shows the traumatic impact that toxic masculinity has had on Alfie, the creeping self-doubt that has caused him to hide who he truly is and the paralyzing social anxiety that has been masked as anger and gruffness. It’s a hard needle to thread and Stein does it so deftly.

She also creates this amazing effect between Alfie and Mabel: from the moment they meet, they have an uncanny, disarming ability to see and understand each other. It’s frustrating, then, that their insecurities create one glaring exception to this magical clarity—their inability to see the other’s true feelings. I had a bit of a hard time with this blindspot and how long it kept them apart, but I still deeply adore this book.

WGMS is hilarious, lots of silliness, banter, and slapstick comedy. Alfie and Mabel are endearingly weird and awkward and charming. I laughed out loud so many times. And of course because it’s Charlotte Stein you know it’s going to have you in your feels. While I did not love the title, I DO love how deliciously trope-y this book is: grumpy/sunshine, celebrity romance, care taking, fake dating, only one bed, get it out of our system, plus a healthy dose of hurt her and die— “I’d fight God if he got in her way”…SWOON.

I received the book as an ARC, but all opinions are my own

This book was laugh out loud funny. Now that being said, I liked Alfie a lot but couldn’t get into mable. So the book went as expected but the laughter is what made the three stars. The writing as some points seemed slow and the ending too quick. Overall a funny cute read

Mabel is an experienced ghostwriter. She has been called in by a publisher to ghostwrite the memoirs of a retired footballer (think Roy Kent in Ted Lasso). They meet and almost immediately begin bantering with each other to cover their mutual attraction. Some of their conversations are laugh out loud funny, some more than a little intrusive to read. Anyone who has read any enemy to lovers novels knows where this is going and would be shattered if it didn’t follow format. The humor and wit alone are enough to keep you reading. Thanks to Net Galley and St. Martin’s Griffey for an ARC for an honest review.