If you are looking for an opposites attract, (sort of) sports romance with spicy scenes and banter, a broody but also puppy-dog-like MMC, "When Grumpy Met Sunshine" is the book for you!

I feel torn about how to review this book because, on one hand, I can't stop thinking about it, even though I finished weeks ago. On the other hand, there were parts of this book that simply were not for me. It's not a commentary on the writing itself, but rather on my own tastes in romance.

I don't want to focus on those parts, though. I want to focus on why I can't shake this book from my brain. Stein's two characters seem like they are going to be a bit cookie-cutter, but then... they aren't. Especially Alfie, the MMC of the story. The FMC is great, but it's Alfie's character that I have thought on again and again. I have read sports romance books before: slow burns and love-at-first-sights, but this book cuts the difference in a way that I did not expect. In particular, the ending is what I have returned to over and over again in my mind. The emotional layering of the last scenes is what sells this book for me. In some ways, it was predictable-- in a good way. If you are reading romance, you want a HEA. In other ways, though, it caught me off-guard. It was vulnerable and romantic and passionate. It made me want *more* chapters. Like I said, I am still thinking about it.

I bet you will be, too.

Thank you Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC copy of this book!

This book is not for me. Before selecting it I did not realize a significant portion of the plot was going to include sex scenes or discussions about sex. I got a little halfway through the book and decided to DNF. This is just not the type of book I am comfortable with reading.

DNF at 20%
I thought this would be a 5 star read for me as it has everything I love in a book.
I found the writing hard to follow. I wasn’t connecting with the characters. I would say it could be my mood but I tried reading it several times and it’s just not for me.

This was a fun and light read. The banter in this book is on 10! The writing style brought me back to my teen years and was reminiscent of an older 'Angus, Thongs, and Full-Frontal Snogging'. Alfie and Mabel bring all the rom-com vibes with a ton of heat.

This is my favorite romance book of the year. These characters are so amazing. Their dialogue was creative, hilarious, and engaging. The plot was silly and loveable and I couldn't put it down. The writing was phenomenal. Stein plays with formatting both in sentence structure and in adding snippets at the end of each chapter (news clippings, transcripts, tweets, ect.) to further the story. They also skillfully manipulate the dialogue to show the character's progression both as individuals and in relation to each other. I loved every laugh out loud moment of this book as much as I enjoyed crying with it. And you will cry, because this book isn't just about a silly romance with flat characters. You fall hard for these people and then they will work through real problems like fatphobia, mistreatment of public figures, alcohol abuse, and childhood trauma. This was an awesome read that I highly recommend to you all.

I really enjoyed this book at the start but unfortunately, it started to drag and became a bit unbelievable for me about halfway through. I generally enjoy the grumpy/sunshine trope and I'm always happy to read about a plus-size heroine but this one unfortunately didn't do it for me.

I think the hardest part for me was even believing the Alfie we met at the beginning - the grumpy, brusque, cantankerous Alfie who didn't understand he was engaging in behavior that could be construed as stalking, had no desire to do social media, and made his assistant fax him web pages instead of going on the internet himself - could even be capable of dirty talk, much less the very dirty talk the two engage in. It just seemed like a completely different character to me.

I felt the writing was a bit choppy and too banter-y. I sadly couldn't find either of them relatable and I didn't care that much about them or what happened to them as a couple.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

★ ★ ★ ★ //5

When Grumpy Met Sunshine
by Charlotte Stein

THOUGHTS:

I want to thank NetGalley, the publisher and the author for giving me the opportunity to read an e-arc in exchange for my honest review.

Give me a book with a grumpy/sunshine trope and a fake relationship and I am IN! Throw in some fun banter and one bed in there too…SOLD. This book was so much fun. I loved watching the relationship and dynamic change between Mabel and Alfie. I love that this book is written from Mabels POV through the entire thing as well. Anybody who was a fun read with some spice and banter and super cute characters this book is a must read! I would absolutely read this book over again! I loved it so much!

Fresh off the Ted Lasso finale, this book seemed like the perfect way to fill the Roy Kent-shaped hole in my heart, but I just could not get into it and put the book down after about 20%.

I was really looking forward to this book but I ended up dnfing at around 40%. It just wasn’t for me and I found myself skimming more than normal.

So this book feels kind of crazy and all over the place, but in the best way! I really loved the relationship between Alfie and Mabel - the trope is just as you'd guess from the title! Some parts were a little slow, but, overall, it was a cute and easy read that had me laughing out loud with just the right amount of spice to keep things interesting! This would be a fun romance for a book club and I'll definitely be recommending it to my local one after publication.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’’s Press for the ARC!

“A steamy, opposites-attract romance with undeniable chemistry between a grumpy retired footballer and his fabulous and very sunshine-y ghostwriter.”

This was such a great slow burn romance. Very quirky and charming.

DNF at 12%

I'm sorry. I tried. I just didn't connect at all and was very confused for most of what I did read.

The descriptors were just too much and I kept getting lost

Her describing his legs as "carvery roasts" was just not it.

Thank you for the arc read and I may try it again later, but at this point, it's a no from me.

I am personally a huge fan of the grumpy/sunshine trope so seeing a book with that in the title, it's a must read. This was a cute rom-com. The pacing was a little slow with all the dialogue but I really enjoyed the story nonetheless. Both of the leads were enjoyable and fun to get to know.

Definitely recommend for grumpy/sunshine fans looking for a cute easy rom-com and hey, if a lot of banter is your thing then you'll love this more than I did.

Thank you NetGalley for sending me this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I tried my best to navigate through this book without getting caught in another never-ending banter session. Grumpy-meets-sunshine, a trope I adore, comes to life in the main character, Alfie Harding, who resembles the hottest version of Roy Kent, complete with a golden heart but plagued by social ineptness and anger management issues. Mabel Willicker, the quick-witted and observant ghostwriter, also shines without any reservations.

This was a very slow burn romance between two characters who seem to be hiding their true selves because of what other people may think. Over time they break through each others walls and well the rest is history! I did enjoy the characters and felt they were well matched. There was some good character building. If you are looking for an easy read and you like slow burns you will enjoy this one.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press/St. Martin's Griffin for providing me with a digital review copy in exchange for feedback on this book. I absolutely love a grumpy/sunshine trope so I went into this book very excited. However I agree with several other reviews in that the banter felt repetitive and a bit too much. This story would very much benefit by trimming down some of the dialogue and banter in exchange for plot advancing action. In addition, some of the secondary characters felt tossed in rather than fully fleshed out, I would like to see more dynamics between Mabel and her friends or Alfie and his manager, etc. The spicy scenes, however were fire! The anticipation and build up was so well written I couldn't put it down! All in all, a delightful read but eager to see final edits. (3.5 stars, rounded to 4).

Very cute story! The miscommunication trope is not normally something I like specially with grown adults! In mi head I can’t stop yelling please just have an honest talk instead of making so many assumptions!!!

Having said that the story is still candid and magnetic! You will want to keep readying!

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press for the ARC through Netgalley in exchange for an honest opinion.

I requested this ARC based solely on the title. Grumpy/Sunshine is one of my favorite tropes. I really enjoyed this book. Having funny chapter names and lots of banter is always a win in my book. Throw in fake dating and only one bed and this is a story after my own heart.

This features a ghost writer (Mabel) hired to help a retired footballer (Alfie) write his memoir. They end up pretending to date so no one knows he has a ghostwriter, of course we all know how well fake dating always goes. It was a slow burn but I loved the anticipation.

When Grumpy Met Sunshine is a sweet tale of what happens when a grumpy football player is forced to work with a perky, happy ghostwriter to tell his life story. Mabel is always positive and peppy, while still considering herself to "curvy" for the likes of a handsome man like Alfie Harding. Alfie is retired from football due to injuries and is generally unpleasant to everyone around him. Mabel is challenged by her boss to bring Alfie out of his shell and find out the things that he hides from everyone else. Over the course of their project, Alfie and Mabel are forced into a fake dating relationship after pictures of her leaving his house are leaked to the tabloids. The two make sure to be seen out in public together, including a few moments of PDA. Naturally, will all of this forced interaction, Mabel starts developing real feelings for Alfie, knowing full well that he will never feel the same.

It took me quite a while to read this book. I normally fly through a book in a few days but this one has been going for several weeks. I had a hard time with all of the dialogue. There is A LOT of dialogue. Most of the book is just the witty banter going back and forth between the 2 main characters. Don't get me wrong, the banter is funny. There is just a lot of it. The actual action in this story is minimal because it's mostly dialogue. I prefer books with more of a mixture of dialogue and action so this one was a bit of a struggle. I can't really say much for the story because it almost felt like there wasn't one.

The book was cute and definitely a fun read but I probably wouldn't read it again. If you like fake dating tropes and grumpy-sunshine banter then you will love this book. If not, I would give it a pass.

I can't remember the last time I wanted to be besties with a heroine, but Mabel is definitely a front runner! She is a funny and kind, even while working as a ghost writer where no one knows it's her words. She gets assigned her next job and it's Alfie Harding - a former Manchester United football player. He's gruff and wants nothing to do with creating a book about himself, as he has his own demons to fight. Their meet cute isn't cute at all, but they eventually start to work together and end up in a fake dating situation. I laughed out loud so many times reading this book! I truly loved their romance and how it played out.

Thanks to the publisher for the advanced reader copy - I will definitely be buying this romance!

I just reviewed When Grumpy Met Sunshine by Charlotte Stein. #NetGalley