When Grumpy Met Sunshine by Charlotte Stein is a romance driven by an opposites attract trope. Alfie, a famous footballer, is under contract to write his memoir which he is totally unable to do. So he hires Mabel, a sunshiny ghostwriter.. Eventually they end up in a situation where the public believes they are a couple. As this plays out, they develop an actual (and steamy!) relationship.

For me, this book missed the mark. I had trouble relating to the characters from the beginning which then made the storyline improbable.. Although I love a good romance, I would not recommend this one…

This novel packs a punch when it comes to steam. The grumpy meets sunshine trope shines. I loved the plus size representation and I really liked the characters and their witty banter.

The author perfectly portrayed Alfie as the vulnerable type and I can appreciate that — he doesn’t come off rude. I do wish there was more plot development, however the author was a master with the spicy scenes.

Some of the banter almost becomes too much and I feel like I was left wanting with the ending. I wasn’t necessarily a fan of this novel and perhaps it just wasn’t my cup of tea personally.

I enjoy a good grumpy meets sunshine trope and this one didn’t disappoint. Mabel is sunshine and rainbows while Alfie Harding is a brooding ex footballer. Mabel is tasked as the ghost writer for Alfie’s memoir. If you are into opposites attract, fake dating, banter this is for you!

I will say the repetitiveness of “Alfie f*&@ing Harding” almost annoyed me. Also I’m NOT a fan of miscommunication tropes HOWEVER, this one did it well. Normally miscommunication tropes piss me off to no end. This one did not do that to me.

“You told me I was a cupcake”
“Because you seem so sweet i’m afraid of getting sugar poisoning just from looking at you.“

This book was 🌶️🌶️ and made me laugh.

3.75/5

I honestly had to DNF at 23%.

I personally loved the characters! (The MMC is basically Roy Kent and the FMC is the cutest!)

I thought the dialogue was very witty, almost too witty at times, and that was distracting to me while reading.

I also felt that the FMC's inner monologues were entirely too long. It felt a little too unnecessary and took away from the character dynamic between the two characters.

I hope one day I can get through this; however, today is not that day.

If you love Roy Kent but don't mind endless inner monologue ramblings about everything, you might love this.

Thank you SMP romance, Charlotte Stein, and Netgalley for this eARC in exchange for my honest review!

~when grumpy met sunshine review~
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1/5
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i’m a BIG grumpy/sunshine fan so this title intrigued me. and i love plus size rep in romance so i’m so excited to dive right in.
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pros:
+content warning at the beginning!
+plus size rep woohoo!
+fast paced start
+grumpy/sunshine to the extreme
+british
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cons:
-not dual pov
-repetitive writing
-a series of miscommunication
-slightly immature
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okay i wanted to like this so so bad but i just couldn’t get into the writing! it was really putting me into a slump so i had to DNF.

A cute, quick read. Grumpy meets sunshine and fake dating for the win. I was hoping for a bit more character development, but overall was a nice read.

I’m a sucker for fake dating. The banter, the grouchiness, the denial of obvious feelings? Too perfect. I had a grand time reading this story; I fell in love with Alfie and Mabel from the get go. This story had it all- the humor, the grand gesture, the longing. If you like opposites attract and a good helping of steam, this is the perfect choice.

A cross between beauty and the beast and a traditional romance novel but with a twist, she thinks she’s the beast and she knows he’s the beauty. After retiring from football, Alfie becomes a movie star and is pushed to write his autobiography. However, Alfie is reluctant to share his story and doesn’t want to write his story, he will unwillingly employ a ghost writer. In walks Mabel. How does this ghost writer, Mabel Willicker and famous ex-footballer, Alfie Harding fake a relationshipto hide their real relationship, ghost writer and celebrity? And what happens when they do?
Stalked by paparazzi, stalked by fans on Instagram, follow this is a joyous romp of miscommunication and misunderstanding from beginning to end.
I guarantee that there are points at which you will laugh out loud and points at which you want to scratch your head over the levels of miscommunication.
In case you were wondering he’s grumpy she’s sunshine. He hides all his emotions and she’s just way out there and everything is almost ready to be read.
How do they get together and successfully write his life story from poverty to wealth from not knowing where he is to becoming a star. I highly recommend this wonderful light, sexy, romance novel, and I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did.

OK, this book was SO GOOD. I was a little bit worried it might be on the corny side of things but honestly it just worked for me. I loved Alfie and and Mabel so much as characters. This book literally made me laugh out loud multiple times. The ending was also perfection. It took a little bit to get some spice in there, but boy it was worth the wait. This book had it all! I am already recommending this book to my friends so that it's on their radar and they can preorder!

Spice: 2.5/3?🌶️
Rating: 1.5 ⭐️

I had to keep reminding myself this book wasn't YA and was about people in their 30s. That should tell you enough about this book.

The banter was annoying. The characters were very shallow. The plot was predictable. The spice was good though. I might read another book by this author, but as my first by her I'm not loving it.

Thank you so much for this ARC!

When Grumpy Met Sunshine is such a wonderful, squeeee-inducing read. I loved it so much.

Alfie Harding is a retired football hero looking for a ghost writer to produce his memoir. His character is loosely inspired by the Roy character from Ted Lasso (it occurs to me now that I'm not sure if that was indeed Charlotte Stein's intent). His hirsute state and grunting are definitely evocative of Roy, but Alfie is his own character with his own history and personality. Given that the premise of the book is working on his memoir, we delve into his past and how it created Alfie.

Mabel Willicker is the ghostwriter Alfie finally agrees to. She immediately gets under his skin. When they're seen together, many don't believe that she could be the type to attract him. Chapters end with written exchanges, social media posts, or articles that complement what's happened in the story.

The banter, yearning, and absolute hijinks of this book were a delight to read. I had so much fun and frequently found myself cackling along.

I really wanted to love this book. Instead, I lukewarm liked it. I was invested in the outcome as the characters were likable but I couldn’t see myself being friends with them. There was a bit too much banter and snarkiness between the two. I felt there was too much emphasis on the fact that Mabel is not a size 2 woman.

This one just wasn’t for me. I think some people would enjoy it - it is a cute story and characters you can root for - but I just could not take the long circles of banter about the same thing over and over.

And I love Ted Lasso as much as the next girl, but I couldn’t get the image of Roy Kent out of my mind. It was just TOO much of a copy - but then also kind of oblivious?

A lot of this was frustrating, but I still finished it 🤷‍♀️ I skimmed a lot, and the formatting of the dialogue was weird so I probably missed some things.

Overall, I don’t recommend. Which I feel bad about, because I know it’s not easy to write a book and this was def not the worst I’ve ever read. Give it a try if the description really grabs you.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the eArc!

A plus sized ghost writer trying to help a grumpy foot baller (soccer player) to write his memoir. This is British so there were times I didn’t get the slang right away. Someone compared it to Ted Lasso so I kept picturing Roy Kent. I enjoyed the banter and tension between the two but the lack of communication between the two became frustrating at times. Enjoyed the ending.

AHHHH…. i really love a grump/sunshine book. this gave me enough grump to where it was funny and not super rude. and i got enough sunshine where it wasn’t overly in your face positive. it was a good romcom book

DNF’d at 50%
The one thing I can say about this book is that it seems to have positive plus size representations. The banter between the two leads aspires and is cute at first, but as several other reviews on NetGalley have commented it’s just too much. Neither MC was strong enough or likable enough for me to continue reading.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book but it’s a pass from me.

Mabel Willicker's first impression of ex-footballer and notorious grump Alfie Harding isn't good. But when Mabel finds herself working as the ghostwriter for Alfie's memoir, the two are forced together. And then, thanks to a photo and social media, they need to pretend to be a couple. Soon, though, Mabel's is catching feelings for the grumpy-but-sweet, surprisingly funny Alfie. But her insecurities could cause the whole thing to fall apart.

Hallelujah! A writer knows the difference between "grumpy" and "arsehole." It's something I've noticed a lot of authors struggle with. Alfie is certainly grumpy, but not mean or rude. There's a vulnerability to him that I love. I know he's based off one of my favorite grumps, Roy Kent from "Ted Lasso." That's great source material.

The author handled the sex very deftly, too. This is a grown-up book for sure.

While I loved the characters, I wish they'd gotten to do more. The storyline was a little lacking and the book might have been served by a secondary plot or maybe more happening outside of Alfie's or Mabel's homes or even interactions with more characters.

But if you're in the mood for a sweet, sexy romp, this is a safe bet.

The title caught my eye.
The plus size representation? I loved that.
Banter? Always here for it... there was just too much in this. Where it was really funny, it did at times take away the attention from what could have been character development opportunities. A cute read. Didn't hate it, didn't love it. Stein is a good author with a great premise with this book...it has potential to be great

This review leaves me conflicted but I have to start with my disclaimer that this is not a book I would recommend to anyone due to the graphic nature of sex. Before I had to bail for that reason, I was genuinely loving the characters. Witty banter is abundant and amazing. #netgalley

“When Grumpy Met Sunshine” is a rom-com by Charlotte Stein. First - that cover. How adorable is it? I wish that the cover had lived up to the content! The storyline is pretty decent - a ghostwriter is hired to assist a famous metric footballer write his autobiography. They get off on the wrong foot - a number of times. The famous person is awkward, actually making him adorable. One of the tropes I happen to like is the workplace trope - but at times this book just bored me. The banter was good in small doses, but there was a lot of banter … and excessive talking … and lots of repeated information … and, well, you get the idea. I liked the general idea, but this book just didn’t work for me.