Thank you SMPRomance and Netgalley for my gifted audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

This was a cute story, but I wasn’t super invested. There is plenty of steam and fun moments. The audiobook was done well, and I enjoyed the narrator. The representation in this book was good. Overall not a bad romcom, but nothing memorable.

3 stars.

"When Grumpy Met Sunshine" by Charlotte Stein boasts one of my favorite tropes, grumpy x sunshine, with a (obviously) Roy Kent-inspired slant to the main male character. I loved "Ted Lasso," so I was excited to see what Charlotte Stein could drum up with a Roy Kent-y sound-alike and a plus-sized female character. While Alfie f**kin' Harding is sufficiently grumpy, and Mabel Willicker is a fat ray of sunshine, unfortunately, the ball (heh) gets dropped when it comes to this story's execution. Mabel is interviewing Alfie so she can ghostwrite his memoir, and in the process, they banter their way from "enemies" to friends to "ehh, let's just bang and get it out of our systems" to "oopsie, I fell in love." This is all well and good, but there's only so many ways an author can say the same thing over and over before it gets boring. Alfie is hesitant to tell her the truth about his life, and Mabel uses her sunshine-y ways to extract information from him, even though he says she can't use it in the book (but we, the readers, know that this won't be the case at the end because it's *so* *freaking* *obvious*). I should mention that I really did love the banter between the two characters. This book is full of British humor and wit. I like how Mabel and Alfie bond over their shared childhood traumas. I liked the level of spice, which I did not expect (not sure why I thought there might not be any, but I was pleasantly surprised to see several sexy scenes). I love how Alfie always says he likes Mabel's body just as it is, even though Mabel assumes she is too fat for him because.... why?? Because he's famous? Because of who he has dated in the past? Yuck! You can't expect to have a positive plus-size representation and then have the fat character make assumptions about how people hate her/judge her/don't like her simply because she's fat! The two do not mix! So, while we're here, here are my other complaints. First, this book feels way too long and is much too repetitive. Second, I don't like how many miscommunications there are between Mabel and Alfie, especially when the miscommunications are rooted in Mabel's own "insert opinion here." It feels like they don't communicate about anything *at all,* and when they do, their conversations are riddled with ERROR 404. I am not the type of reader who *needs* to see a dual POV, but this is the kind of book that could have benefitted from two points of view. We only get to see things from Mabel's perspective, and she is constantly proven to be someone who blows things out of proportion or sees things negatively (which, same sometimes!), but that makes Alfie seem almost worse because of it?? *spoilers* I also hate the one-year time jump at the end of the book. Alfie literally ghosts Mabel with little to no fanfare and never reaches out! I was so angry about this! It feels like the author didn't know how to end her book, so she inserted a massive time jump instead of coming up with any other discernable plot. Yikes! I really did not like this. We eventually got an explanation for what happened, but it didn't feel good enough for me, and it didn't make me feel good. We're just supposed to root for them as a couple after that?! Uhhh, no thanks. Anywho, this book was a mixed bag for me. I did like Emily Spowage's narration. I especially think she brings the banter to life with her narration.

Thank you to NetGalley, Charlotte Stein, and Macmillan Audio for the complimentary ALC of this book. All opinions are my own. I was not compensated for this review.

I got tired of her making comments about how different they were and how rich he was and how they have such different lives. I think the shining part of Roy Kent was that Keeley was also rich and famous on her own merit and could take everything he gave without flinching, while sending it right back.

There was also wayyyyy less buildup to him actually being a nice guy, which destroyed the tension for me. He liked the heroine from the start, was a little bumbling and misguided, and seemed like a decent person. Roy Kent was scary and yelly and unapologetic lmao. The hero apologized several times within the first few chapters! I get that he’s “different” around the heroine, but I want to work for that a little.

The book itself, for the twenty percent I read, felt repetitive and didn’t hold my attention. And frankly, the constant Roy Kent comparisons in my brain were detrimental. I’m focusing a lot on Roy Kent because this book was literally pitched in Publisher’s Weekly as Roy Kent inspired!

I liked the narrator, but she didn’t really differentiate between voices. The hero and heroine’s speaking voices sounded the same.

I DNFed because I just don’t think this book was ever going to surpass 3 stars for me and I just didn’t want to waste my time. I was reading for an hour and couldn’t even remember the heroine’s name.

Thanks so much to the publisher for an ALC via NetGalley. All opinions are honest and my own.

This one started out strong for me but then about 75% through I started to lose interest. The story line started to get a bit repetitive and felt like it was dragging on. I think if the book were a bit shorter I could have rated it higher.

I usually enjoy this type of trope love/hate, grumpy/happy but this just did not do it for me. The banter between the characters Mabel and Alfie was clever but not as funny as it could have been. I just did not fall in love with them and could not root for their romance. The premise was a good one, ghost writer for a famous athlete but it just fell flat. Others might enjoy it more. I do really like the cover art, very cute.

Thank you Net Galley for the opportunity to listen to the audio book version of When Grumpy Met Sunshine.

This book had a lot of tropes I love, like fake dating and one bed. Plus it had little news snippets, emails, twitter messages in between some of the chapters which I adore! So from the start it had a lot going for it. I liked the story of bubbly Mabel being a ghost writer for a grumpy former soccer player Alfie. While the ghost writing has to be kept under wraps and they are seen out together, fake dating ensues! This one definitely had some spicy to it and I think I have decided I am more of a closed door romance gal. I’m not into reading the play by play of people’s love lives. Overall I enjoyed this one and recommend it you are looking for romance with some spice to it.

Okay, so I was excited when I read the synopsis for this book, it sounded like everything I loved all in one book grumpy meets sunshine is the actual title!!! I was hoping for a Book Lovers type dynamic but unfortunately it did not achieve that high standard.. I pushed through hoping that it either of the MC would grow on me. He came across as so stupid and cardboard with zero concept of how to live in the world without a quirky upbeat writer with curves. It was a bit much for me to accept. The man got swindled out of all of his furniture and tv and just sat there like oh okay until she pointed it out?!?!?! cmon. I would not say it was horrible i just couldn't connect to it, maybe its better as British chick lit than American chick lit. I'd say 2.5 rounded up to 3 because it wasn't for me but it may be for someone else.

Thank you NetGalley for granting me this advanced access to this audiobook in exchange for my honest review.

When Grumpy Met Sunshine
Charlotte Stein
Alfie Harding is a retired football player. He’s grumpy, very grumpy. He’s been asked to write his memoirs, but he knows he isn’t a writer, and he likes being private. He’s looking to hire a ghostwriter. Mabel Willicker applies for the job. Usually, she knows just what to say and how to say it to gently pull information from her clients. Her sweet sunshine mannerism has a different effect on Alfie. They have to pretend to be a couple which is easy for they are falling for each other.
I love this book. It is fun and filled with love unfortunately it needs a lot of editing. I would like to give it a 5 but it gets a 3 because it needs so much work.

DNF at 16%. I wanted so badly to like this one - Alfie seems like a Roy Kent inspired hero who is unfairly characterized as a grump when he seems more shy and awkward than anything. I also intrigued by the plus size ghost writer. There seems to be lots of British banter and if that’s your thing, give it a go! However, there was just way too much inner monologue from her end, and I decided I was likely finished when they referred to something smelling nice as if an “angel had farted.”
Thank you Netgalley & St. Martin’s Press for the eARC, and Macmillan Audio for the ALC.

The cover was so cute and the concept was right up my alley, but unfortunately it missed the mark for me. I didn't seem to like the characters and wasn't invested in their love story.

I really wanted to enjoy this, but sadly it just failed to pull me in, so I decided we are better off parting ways. There was no objective reason why this was, and I'm sure many romance readers would enjoy it, but alas, it was not for me.

There was so much potential! I went into this with a lot of excitement and high hopes for a cute fun read, not what happened at all.

This ended up being one of those reads and listens that I just wanted to get over with. I tried to speed up, slow down, exclusively reads, and try to focus on just the audio. This book just was not for me. The characters did not interest me even though the plot of the story was amazing. I felt disconnected and bored and really wanted to invest in the story. Unfortunately, it dragged out too long. I felt the main character was cringey and the MMC was uninteresting. And the random attempt at spice basically at the end.. unnecessary.

Thanks so much NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the audiobook.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐

"When Grumpy Met Sunshine" is a light-hearted romantic tale that brings together two seemingly opposite characters. The storyline is sweet, and the writing style is engaging enough to keep readers interested. The author successfully creates a charming world where grumpiness meets sunshine.

However, despite its enjoyable moments, the plot feels somewhat predictable, and the character development lacks depth. The chemistry between the protagonists, while pleasant, doesn't quite reach the level of intensity found in other romance novels. Additionally, some of the supporting characters could use more fleshing out to add complexity to the overall narrative.

In conclusion, "When Grumpy Met Sunshine" is a decent read for those seeking a quick and cheerful romance. While it may not be a standout in the genre, it delivers a satisfactory dose of warmth and humor.

Thank you NetGalley, Macmillan Audio, and St. Griffin got my advanced copy and the chance to review it honestly.

I received When Grumpy Met Sunshine as an ALC and I was able to listen to it pretty quickly. I thought the narrator did a fine job but unfortunately I didn’t LOVE the story… I liked it but I wanted to love it. I usually love the grumpy/sunshine trope and back and forth banter but this time it felt like it was too much and ended up taking away from the book. The one had potential but it missed the mark. I still plan on checking out more books from this author and try again! When Grumpy Sunshine is out 2/6/24.

Happy reading!

This was a cute fake-dating, celebrity romance set in England. It had a good bit of slang that I didn’t always understand, but that was part of the charm for me. I loved the openness and vulnerability that Alfie and Mabel had with each other from the very beginning.

As many others have noted, this novel stars Roy Kent from Ted Lasso (not actually, but the same vibes). I loved the premise and story of an ex-footballer/ghost writer. The banter was funny and sweet, the mmc was near perfect, and the spicy-ness was good. Mabel had a lot of potential, but could have been developed more as a character. The narrators voice was great, but it was hard to distinguish between characters at time. I would definitely recommend to friends who wanted to enjoy a few hours with a little quirky humor and heartwarming story.

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

2⭐
Genre ~ romantic comedy
Setting ~ England I think
Publication date ~ February 6, 2024
Est page Count ~ 329 (27 long titled chapters + one year later)
Audio length ~ 9 hours 17 minutes
Narrator ~ Emily Spowage
POV ~ single 3rd
Featuring ~ characters in their 30's, ex soccer player, plus size woman, fake relationship, opposites attract, slow burn, some steamage, EXCESSIVE swearing, no communication

*possible spoilers ahead*

Content warning from the author ~ brief references to parental abuse, childhood poverty, and alcoholism, and an incident that includes fat-phobia, plus brief mentions at a few points of the effects that fat-phobia can have.

Mabel & Alfie
Mable is ghostwriting Alfie's memoir, but then they find themselves in a fake relationship and obviously fall for each other.

Have you watched Ted Lasso? If not, here's your chance to meet one of the characters, Roy Kent, because I totally believe Aflie is based on him and you can't tell me otherwise. I didn't really find him to be overly grumpy though. I liked how he defended Mabel right from the start when people were talking about her weight.

But...Mabel, really? I'm kind of tired of the whole 'he'll never love me because I'm fat' crap. I could see he was genuine all the way over here in the USA, so open your eyes girl! Yeah fine you're in a fake relationship, so you think he's faking it, but for the love of all that is holy why can't grown adults communicate?! They are in their 30's for Pete's, not F's, sake!!

Okay, so listen, I've been known to swear a time or two or 16, but for the F word to be used 253 times is just overly excessive to me for a 329 page book. Over excessive even if it was a 1,329 or 3,290 page book. It just really turned me off. I did primarily listen to it, so maybe it wouldn't have been as noticeable to me if I had read it.

There were some funny bits, but even the banter got to be too much and I didn't really care for it. There was too much inner monologue and the repeating of phrases was really annoying ~ 'and she laughed, she did laugh,' 'like he had said he would, like he had told her,' 'even though he wasn't, he wasn't at all'...just to name a few.
The whole grand gesture was fine I suppose, but one year later....nah, too far in the future.

In conclusion, I wasn't a super big fan if you couldn't tell.

I had both a kindle and an audio copy to review.
Narration notes:
I guess she was okay, but again when someone is swearing in your ear a bunch you tend to get bugged with them.

Side bar ~ the cover is super cute.

5 stars
This book was absolutely amazing, the narration was incredible, and the dynamic between the characters was phenomenal. I love this book so much; I can't wait to own a physical copy of this book. I can't wait to read whatever she has planned next.

(Goodreads review added to because I read the ebook previously)

Addendum for audiobook - the narrator in general was excellent, but I'd only give the audiobook 4-4.5 stars because her decision to not do voices (bar doing an excellent American accent for Mabel's agent) married with a lack of dialogue tags made who was saying what in a lot of the banter between the main characters confusing.

This book was full of funny, cheeky quips that had me laughing out loud a few times. The main trope was miscommunication and it's not my favorite. They go the whole book just ignoring their chemistry. The grumpy football (soccer) player wasn't too grumpy, just misunderstood. He's really a cinnamon roll who was dealt a tough hand in life. The spice was good and steamy!
I struggled a little with the narrator. It was really hard to tell when it was switching characters and who was talking. At one point the literary agent had an American accent but that seemed lost later in the book.