Wow.
4,5/5
This book was incredible! '
I would say this is a steamy yet cute story of a retired football player and ghostwriter. It has fun inclusivity that I really enjoyed.
It was definitely a slower-burn novel, which I typically don't prefer, was written beautifully and held my attention the entire time. I also LOVED the grumpy sunshine trope which was done great in this book.
Would for sure recommend it to my friends and followers! Cant wait for this to release.

Mable Willicker is a ghostwriter who lands a ghostwriting contract for Alfie Harding, an ex-footballer (or ex-soccer player if you are American). It appears that Alfie and Mable grew up similarly, but Mable is the epitome of plus sized sunshine and bubbly while Alfie is stoic and prone to weird incidents -- like hiding behind a potted plant at a restaurant, appearing randomly at the Starbucks that she frequents, for being said to be a "Duracell Bunny" in bed, and now he has shouted at paparazzi that she is one true love. Can Mable keep her heart to herself while she helps Alfie with his memoir?

The banter in this book is *chef's kiss*. I felt the characters grow closer together with each conversation that they had. Every time, Alfie opened his mouth just the most honest things come out! It was just precious and heartwarming.

The spice was so perfect for this book -- adequately spicy but not losing the characters in the spice (except for when Mable literally lost her thoughts for a hot minute).

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press/St. Martin's Griffin for providing me with a digital review copy for my honest review!

Thank you St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for providing me a copy of When Grumpy Met Sunshine by Charlotte Stein in exchange for my honest review.

Sunshine is Mabel Willicker, who is a happy, curvy, ghostwriter. Grumpy is Alfie Harding, who is an ex-footballer known for his temper on and off the pitch. Mabel has been contracted as Alfie’s ghostwriter on his memoirs. The first meeting sees our sunshine experiencing a stormy forecast in the form of Alfie. She is unsure if this working relationship will bear an actual book especially when everything he says is off the record. But tides turn, and the working tension becomes something more.

I enjoyed this book, but the end felt choppy and a little forced. The character buildup was so wonderful in the beginning. You really got to know both main characters, and rooted for them. But the side characters did not really add to the story.

Overall, a fun read.

Thank you to Netgally and the publisher for this ARC. This was a fun read, I enjoyed that our Characters were a little unusual and wacky. Mabel is a bigger girl and Struggles with feeling worthy of love due to her looks. Alfie is a famous footballer that hates his fame and also is a bit socially awkward. They are thrown together to write his memoir and of course they both fall hard but neither tells the other one. I would say this book is a great representation of the “if they just talked to each other” or miscommunication trope. The end of the story felt a little rushed. But it worked out well for the characters. Definitely was frustrating that the characters could have avoided their own downfall if they were just
Honest with each other, but again a very real life feeling. The author succeeded in writing a story that I believe does and could happen to real life people.

Moving past the absolute absurdity of the title as well as the fact that these are the most sex-crazed characters I've ever read, that ending was sweet enough to make it worthwhile.

I started this when it was featured on the “Read Now;” one because it was the first book I was able to read on her, and two because the cover is super cute!

After reading some of the other reviews I feel a little better about my thoughts. This is my first “not stellar” review. I love the idea of the book and the MCs. This has to be one of my favorite type of books, he falls immediately! But the writing style, 3rd person POV, and narration made it difficult to feel connected to the story.

I had to DNF. The characters were 100% caricatures and not characters that a reader can connect to. It was very messy and tried too hard to be funny without letting it happen naturally. And, no one is that inept with a phone these days.

I'm a fan of the opposites attract trope. Unfortunately, I just didn't love this story. It felt forced and hard to get into. The characters seemed immature and I was hopeful for more. But it may have just been the mood I was in - some witty lines and and banter but not my fave!

I very much enjoyed moments of this, and some of the banter was absolutely hilarious. But I have to agree with other reviewers that occasionally there was just too much bantering. Especially when the two are originally talking. There’s so much, and the author is telling us exactly why they’re saying what they’re saying. It just got to be a lot.
Otherwise, it was extremely enjoyable. I’d give to fans of Talia Hibbert and anyone who is looking for more Roy Kent from Ted Lasso.

Mabel Willicker is sunshine personified, with bright fashion and a brighter personality. Former footballer, Alfie Harding, is as grumpy as it gets. In fact, aside from his stellar skills on the pitch, that's about all he's known for. When the pair teams up to write Harding's memoir, however, we learn that Alfie has a much better, funnier, and charming personality than one would ever expect. When pictures of the two make the tabloids, they decide fake dating is better than bursting Willicker's ghostwriting contract. But, could it be that there's nothing fake in what the two are feeling for each other?

I'll be honest, this was a challenging book to review because I feel like there is a lot to like and a lot to dislike. I'm a sucker for a grump who's a secret softie, and that's definitely Alfie. There is some great banter, though the book is aggressively British in its dialogue (at least for this American reader). The ending is very sweet, as well!

However, I feel like the rest of the book is a bit all over the place. The memoir/writing plot is important in both the first and third acts, but it all but disappears in the second, which means that you sort of forget why the two of them are spending time together. Second, the miscommunication is really popping here and it's just...frustrating. The older I get, the less patience I have for not talking to each other. And these characters are not in their 20s, they are solidly in their 30s! There are also these touches of going deeper into both characters' pasts (they share a history of alcoholic fathers and growing up poor, Mabel struggles with thinking anyone would want her because she's fat), but they aren't fully fleshed out or really explored. I think that's what I ultimately came down on with this book, I was frustrated for most of it. There are flashes of a really lovely story throughout, but it just doesn't come together for me.

* Thank you to St. Martin's Press/St. Martin's Griffin and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest review! *

I enjoyed this a lot!!
Exactly what in needed in the moment I read this.

So swoon worthy chemistry between the characters, so cute!

The spice was just what I look for in books.
The banter was awesome.

Overall loved this. Will be purchasing a physical copy once released

When Grumpy Met Sunshine by Charlotte Stein is a delightful and steamy romance novel that had me hooked from the very beginning. The story revolves around the unlikely pairing of Alfie Harding, a grumpy retired footballer, and Mabel Willicker, a cheery ghostwriter with an infectious sunshine-y personality.

Alfie, our grumpy protagonist, is reluctantly pushed into selling his memoirs, but he's not one to share his emotions or life's secrets. Enter Mabel, a cute and sassy ghostwriter who is determined to draw out every detail from Alfie. But somehow, Mr. Grump confesses his true dying love for Mabel and thus throws them into a fake relationship for the media.

What I loved most about this book was the undeniable chemistry between Alfie and Mabel. Their interactions are filled with wit, humour, and a growing attraction that's impossible to ignore. The slow burn romance between them kept me eagerly turning the pages, rooting for their relationship to blossom. Their fake relationship had me both laughing and swooning. The humour in the book is spot on, and I found myself relating to many of the situations and emotions the characters experienced. I know some readers thought there was too much banter, but honestly I thought it was perfect and made for some highly entertaining moments throughout the book.

Overall, When Grumpy Met Sunshine is a feel-good romance that delivers on both humour and heart. The characters are endearing, the chemistry is electric, and the journey to their fairy tale ending is a delightful ride. I'm giving this book 4 stars because it genuinely made me laugh and kept me engaged throughout. If you're a fan of opposites-attract romances with a good dose of humour, and a one bed trope then this book is a must-read. This is definitely a book in my top 10s for this year and I can't wait to buy a physical book!!

Thank you so much to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for providing me with an Advanced Copy - in exchange for my honest thoughts!

I absolutely loved this book. It was outside of my usual genre but I adored the characters, plot, and tropes. These two characters made my heart so full.

First off, I love love loved our female main character. She’s plus sized, funny, witty, and so relatable. The way she thinks and explains her emotions and feelings of self worth really hit home for me. Second, our male main character, although famous, was simply misunderstood and not in touch with his own feelings, which led to most of the misunderstandings in the book. Watching as the main characters develop, not only their relationship with one another, but as individuals, was probably my favorite part of this book. Not to mention it has some of the best tropes - slow burn, fake dating, and grumpy-meets-sunshine (although I think these two are more alike than it seems.)

With all that being said, a common complaint I’ve seen in the reviews is that it has too much banter. In my opinion, I loved the banter and thought much of it was hilarious. It’s simply an authors choice of writing style, and everyone can have different opinions on that.

Lastly, I would have loved to have seen a spicy scene after they confessed their love for one another. The spice and chemistry was already next level between them… so I feel like it would have been off-the-charts-sexy after they realized their true feelings for one another. Be warned, most of the book is one big tease (hence the slow burn trope) so just be prepared to be edged on for a large percentage of your reading.

I want to end my review by simply saying that I cannot suggest this book enough.

i really, really like this book even though it falls a little short of its title. i don’t t think Grumpy fits Alfie at all. And Sunshine doesn’t fit Mabel. He’s misunderstood, she’s sweet. So, i was shocked to find that the two mains weren’t opposites, but so very similar. That being said, they were endearing. And the sexy scene in the car may well be the hottest, sexiest thing i’ve ever read.
I’m a huge dialogue fan, so this one suited me, but it could be too much for some.

I’d recommend this book all day long (but maybe warn them about the title)

I was confused in the first quarter of this book, I felt like I was just thrown into that meeting with Alfie and Mabel. There was so much witty banter between both MCs (which I loved), the slowest burnnnn, FMC kept putting herself down her inner monologue was totally opposite of who she was. When starting this Mabel was Uber confident in her body and who she was but that is NOT what she represented she kept putting herself down and body shaming herself when she kept telling us(the reader) that she loved herself and she curves (way to go Mabel) but as you read and pay attention throughout the book she keeps putting herself down from her body size, to her looks and how she perceives herself. The 3rd act break up was definitely all on Mabel because Alfie unequivocally loved her but somehow along the way she stoped loving herself. When you thought the MCs were on the same page they both pull stunts to sabotage what they have. In all this book was very good/funny and sassy for sure but has the potential to be better. I know my copy was and “uncorrected digital” so maybe that had a lot to do with it too, but then again maybe its just that the extreme miscommunication trope just isn’t for me, however I did love the 1 year later portion at the end, but really it took a year?!?!

I unfortunately just couldn’t get into this book despite how much I wanted to like it! I love a grumpy sunshine trope but felt that something was lacking.

I just did not feel a connection between Mabel and Alfie. I didn't find either character to be that appealing and I didn't quite see how their relationship developed into something so quickly.

Honestly, this is the third book I've read recently that is basically Roy Kent fan fiction and I'm getting really tired of it. If I wanted to read Ted Lasso fic, it'd be a Jamie, Roy, and Keeley throuple, lololll.

Just really not it for me from Stein on this one.

*Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an arc in exchange for my honest review.

I love when books have plenty of banter that will make me fall in love with the characters. However, this book had too much banter. I know. I know. I just said I love banter, but man! This book has a lot of it and you end up skimming through it when you get bored and want to get to the point.
I started this book with excitement. Grumpy/sunshine books are my absolute jam. I love a good grumpy man who falls to the sunshine girl antics. This one has that and more. I think this is what saved the book for me. I wanted to know how they would end up. Alfie and Mabel are cute together. I loved that they are characters you can imagine in your head easily. Overall, I think it was good and it had the potential to be great with some good editing.

Loved the workplace romance and opposites attract aspect of this book. But there is a such thing as too much dialogue and banter. The characters had potential but the pacing, chemistry and plot fell short. Almost had to DNF this one because of the repetitiveness and lack of plot.

I did not finish this one, it was not for me, I couldn't relate to the characters, and just did not care for the story.