Until the following items are met by the SMP team, I will be withholding any promotion or review of any St. Martin's Press titles (including SMP Romance and Wednesday Book titles):

1. Address and denounce the Islamophobia/racism from your employee.
2. Offer tangible steps for how you're going to mitigate the harm this employee caused.
3. Address how moving forward, you will support and protect your Palestinian, Muslim, and Arab readers, influencers, and authors in addition to your BIPOC readers, influencers, and authors.

The author couldn't have been more obvious they're a fan of Ted Lasso if they tried. This was clearly a Roy Kent-esque character with very little room for imagination. I DNF.







I received an advance copy. All thoughts are my own.

I did DNF however I read enough to have an opinion. I want to start by saying I started this as an ebook but couldn't get into it so I tried it as an audiobook. Honestly, there is nothing the narrator could have done to save this book.
There's is nothing that makes giggle like a school girl like great banter. In this, the banter gives me the ick. To add more damage to injury it was too wordy. The inner dialogue did leave me confused at times.

Thank you so much to @netgalley @macmillian.audio and @stmartinspress for the ARC and ALC!

📚 𝙈𝙮 𝙏𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙨 📚
This story is about a ghostwriter Mabel and ex-football player Alfie. Alfie is looking for a ghostwriter for his memoir and has become pretty particular about choosing one. He insults Mabel at their first meeting and she’s sure she could never work with him. However, things change and she agrees to do the job, and Alfie’s fans are wondering who the lady is that he’s hanging out with. To keep the ghostwriting a secret, they decide to fake date and all kinds of funny situations ensue!

I really liked the idea of a ghostwriter storyline in a book, so that is what drew me into this one initially. I had a hard time connecting with the characters in the book though, as I thought their chemistry seemed just physical until the very end. The story is very dialogue heavy, and there is a lot of banter back and forth between the two. I enjoyed the end when the book gets published!

🎧 𝙉𝙖𝙧𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 🎧
Emily Spowage does a nice job narrating Mabel and Alfie’s story. Emily had the right accent for the characters and the slang they used throughout the book. I thought her tone of voice was perfect for Mabel’s character, and I was able to speed it up to 1.5 and still follow along with the story.

🎧 𝙔𝙤𝙪 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙗𝙤𝙤𝙠 𝙞𝙛 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚:
🩵 Grumpy/sunshine
🩵 Social media gossip
🩵 Curvy FMC
🩵 Retired football (soccer) player
🩵 One POV / 3rd person
🩵 Lots of Banter

Emily Spowage narrates Charlotte Stein’s When Grumpy Met Sunshine, in which Mabel Willicker becomes the ghostwriter for ex-footballer Alfie Harding’s memoirs, then his pretend girlfriend. Alfie, who is averse to emotions and loathes revealing anything about himself, gives in to pressure to sell his memoirs. However, Alfie doesn’t believe he can competently write his memoirs himself. So, his publisher hires sunny and bright ghostwriter Mabel, who somehow effortlessly talks and charms all the details of Alfie’s life from him. Complete opposites, Mabel and Alfie quarrel, banter, and chat their way through writing Alfie’s life story. The whole time, neither believes it can possibly go well.

However, when the public mistakes their association for romance, Alfie and Mabel pretend to be in a relationship to satisfy their appetite for a Cinderella story. What begins as fake and pretending by Alfie and Mabel soon begins to smolder into an all too real passion that combusts out of control. Will their sparks and fiery chemistry stay pretend or develop into something genuine that leads to Alfie and Mabel’s fairytale ending?

Spowage’s vibrant, expressive narration from Mabel’s first person POV drew me into Stein’s steamy, captivating grumpy x summer romance and kept me avidly listening as the novel flew by. Her voice and narration perfectly fit Alfie, Mable, and the secondary characters, capturing Stein’s vibrant and dynamic writing and storytelling style, the characters’ voices and personalities, and the novel’s shifting moods, tones, and depths of emotion that fill each scene. She becomes each of the characters, regardless of age or gender. Her English and Scottish accents are fantastic. Spowage’s narration differentiates between the characters using pacing, intonation, inflection, dialects, and emotion to give them distinct voices. She expressively breathes life into Stein’s characters, making it difficult to imagine anyone else narrating better.

From the first scene, Stein drew me in, and I couldn’t stop listening/put the novel down. Stein’s writing and storytelling, with vibrant and detailed descriptions using all the characters’ senses and superb world-building, make you feel like you are with the characters in each moment. She excellently develops her conflicted, complex, relatable, and likable characters. Her colorful, hilarious, and natural-sounding dialogue suits her characters, setting, and theme. Stein develops Alfie and Mabel’s relationship, transitioning it from reluctant partners to friends to lovers through hilarious, snarky banter and sweet, sexy, steamy, and intimate interactions and love scenes that reveal and evolve their characters and further the novel’s plot.

An angry, talented athlete, and fan favorite known for getting into fights, Alfie is much more complicated than first impressions and outward appearances or what the world knows about him. Mabel discovers Alfie is a practical, intelligent, literal, weird, technophobe, and so much more. A curvy, cute, cheery, soft-hearted, sweet, and surprisingly sassy ray of sunshine, Mabel wears protective, bubbly girl armor to shield her from the judgments and criticism she’s learned to expect from the world. Mabel’s so relatable. But like Alfie, she hides a depth of emotion and personality behind her façade. Interestingly enough, Mabel is truly as adorable as she appears. I love Mabel and her inner voice and how freely and naturally she gives Alfie a hard time.

How Mabel and Alfie effortlessly talk to each other about everything and the comfort level so spontaneously develops between them once they start working together is delightful. These two people, whom no one would believe could ever have anything in common, deeply connect and unexpectedly share so much on many levels. No one is more surprised by how compatible and deeply they fall for one another than Alfie and Mabel.

While I’m all about fake dating, grumpy x sunshine romances are relatively new reads for me. Stein delightfully blends these two tropes in one of the most hilarious and sexiest romances I’ve ever read and the best grumpy x sunshine romance. I love every moment of it! Stein perfectly balances the humor, steam, and slight bit of angst. I cannot tell you how often I went from laughing my head off to fanning myself to clutching my heart at these two who couldn’t get it together. Despite their best efforts, things continuously steamroll into the hottest messes. I can’t with them!

I started reading the e-book for When Grumpy Met Sunshine but then switched to the audiobook. I did rewind and listen to some scenes over again because they’re just too hilarious not to. And maybe some of the intimate scenes, too, because they’re phenomenal! This book is worth so many re-reads/re-listens.

Stein flawlessly shifts between the novel’s tones—hilarious one moment, intimate and steamy the next, then intensely emotional—without affecting the fantastic pacing. Sweet, steamy, hilarious, sexy, emotional, and fast-paced, When Grumpy Met Sunshine is an unexpectedly and beautifully romantic and hot AF romance perfect for fans of fake dating, opposites-attract, grumpy x sunshine, and humorous, steamy romances. Stein explores self-discovery, self-esteem, self-expression, writing, sports fandoms, social media, falling in love, friendship, facing fears, taking risks, following your dreams, being comfortable with yourself, and being comfortable with your sexuality.

Content warnings: brief references to parental abuse, childhood poverty, alcoholism, fatphobia and its effects

Advanced listening copy provided by Macmillan Audio via Netgalley for review.

This was one of the funniest books I’ve listened to/read in a while! The misunderstandings, the grumpy mmc, the thicc fmc, I loved it alllll. The writing was amazing and I loved the connection between the 2 main characters. The ending was very organic for me and not forced. Love love loved everything about this book from the cover to the ending.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy!

Thank you to Netgalley for the advance listening copy of this romance audiobook.

This story got better as it went along. In the beginning, it seemed as if the author was doing more "telling" than "showing", and this took me out of the story. Once Mabel and Alfie started spending time together, their slow-burn, but increasingly spicy, romance full of stumbles towards their happily-ever- after became livelier and more fun.

Alfie is a famous former footballer who likes a quieter life than is portrayed in the media. Mabel is a writer, who is ghostwriting his story. She is a little heavy and when social media finds out they are spending time together, they assume she is his girlfriend and some ridicule her for her weight. It is a pretty simple story, and the type of story that reads like a simple romance movie. Alfie is as grumpy as advertised, but Mabel seemed less sunny than I thought she would be, a little snide.

Narrator Emily Spowage did as much as she could with this story. Her character portraysls were
subtly varied, and she treid to bring out the humor.

"I'd fight God if he got in her way."

The very British comedic romance When Grumpy Met Sunshine by self professed naughty rom com author Charlotte Stein is steeped in steamy European romance and smart comedy.

Footballer (soccer player) Alfie needs a ghostwriter for his bad boy memoir. Enter curvaceous Mabel, suffering lingeringly pain from body shaming exes and school bullies. He hates most things, she sees him as a Neanderthal but time together changes minds and hearts. When the press sees them together they fake date so no one knows she's his ghostwriter.

Reading and listening to narrator Emily Spowage spew the quick witted banter is highly entertaining for this fan of all things British. I do prefer dual POVs but Mabel's thoughts are hilarious and often endearing as her insecurity lessens and her love for Alfie grows. When these two meet as lovers there's only sunshine.

I received a free copy of this audiobook from Macmillan Audio via #NetGalley for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.

This was a cute story. I loved the banter between the main characters. It was fun. Overall an enjoyable read.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the E-ARC. And to Macmillan Audio for the ALC.

All thoughts and opinions are honest and my own.

The title really says it all. The book is a little Ted Lasso, if Roy Kent met Keeley while was writing a memoir instead of while she's dating a different footballer. I loved this book aside from that vibe though because the characters just fit together so well and helped each other in such kind ways. I love how the whole book ended with each of them being so much stronger. The lot of it made my heart happy reading.

#arc
#netgalley
#whengrumpymetsunshine

5⭐️

book blurb:
Alfie, grumpy retired footballer, needs a ghost writer for his memoir. Mabel, bubbly loveable ghost writer, might just be the one to help him write it. But the public believes they’re dating after seeing them together and an altercation that has Alfie declaring Mabel to be his “true love.” So they have to fake date while Mabel finishes ghost writing his book.

review:
When I say this book sucked me in, I mean it SUCKED ME IN. As soon as I started listening I couldn’t stop. I would have finished it in one sitting if I didn’t have two kids ready to wake me up at the butt crack of dawn. Fake dating is forever one of my favorite tropes. Along with one bed, which this also has. Alfie had me cracking up from the beginning with not being able to communicate well to Mabel. Mabel brings out Alfie’s true self if he’ll only decide to be it. I loved their banter. They had me laughing through the whole book. And the sexual tension was 💯 Loved the spice in the book. I will say when there was a year time jump I was mad. I wanted them be together immediately. But Mabel reading Alfie’s book had me so in love with it even more. Well done Charlotte!

💙 Fake Dating
💙 One Bed
💙 Grumpy/Sunshine

#contemporaryromance #fakedating #charlottestein #bookreview #bookstagram

Entertaining, escapist, and expertly narrated. (More northern narrators please!!) A recommended purchase for collections where romance is popular.

If your favorite character in Ted Lasso was Roy Kent, this is for you!

Loved the banter between our main characters and the spice level was perfect.

I really loved the fat representation. Mabel is an awesome character.

4/5 stars Roy Kent fan fic mixed with. a Talia Hibbert level of humor, but with less character development, story, and inner growth. I appreciated the book and look forward to the author’s next attempt at contemporary romance. Hopefully, it has a bit more plot, and maybe a chapter or two in the other POV. It made the book a bit thin that the author is doing a job and in very little of the book is the work being done. It’s a shame because the writing of the book together could have been really cute in itself without the contrivance of fake dating. It’s like two books in one where neither actually gets realized. I also appreciated the male character understanding consent, but the bar is in hell if that becomes a turn on. Same with his “kink” being a turned on woman. I understand what the author is getting at in the zeitgeist, but it is stated rather than developed. I think Rachel Lynn Solomon does & Talia Hibbert & Julie Murphy have done this with a bit more finesse and success. Enjoyable on the whole.

I absolutely loved the fake dating romcom When Grumpy Met Sunshine by @charlotte.stein. It came out last week and I would recommend it to anyone looking for a fun, steamy romance. I’m so grateful to @stmartinspress for an advanced e-copy and to @macmillan.audio for an ALC.

Ghost writer Mabel Willicker isn’t sure she’s the right person to write grumpy ex-footballer Alfie Harding’s memoir, and their first meeting doesn’t go well. He calls her a cupcake, and as a plus-sized woman she doesn’t take it well. But after rejecting lots of ghostwriters, Alfie wants Mabel. No one can know what they’re working on—since he’s supposed to be writing the book—so when they’re photographed together the press screams Cinderella story romance. The only logical thing for them to do is pretend the relationship is real, right? But the more time Mable spends with Alfie, the more she realizes there’s a lot more to him than he shows the world.

Okay, this one did have the miscommunication trope. Or more specifically, the not communicating trope, but I understand why it happened and even though it was frustrating to watch, I bought it. The most important thing was I loved both these characters. They were incredibly endearing, easy to root for, and so, so funny. When they did communicate with each other—because they had a lot of amazing conversations—it was insanely swoony.

I was really surprised by the steam in this book. It wasn’t a five eggplant book (I don’t even know what that means), but there was a lot of dirty talk and definitely an open door. I think I’ve become so used to books set in England being more closed door. Is that even true? I feel like there are a ton of very sweet British romcoms that I’ve loved, and so the first time this one crossed over the sweet, closed door line, I wasn’t expecting it. But the steamy scenes were really well done.

I loved listening to this book. The narrator did a fabulous job immersing me in the setting. I absolutely got into Mabel’s head and it’s always more fun to listen to books set in England in a British accent. This was the exact book I needed and it would be a great February listen.

Thank You NetGalley for an advance copy of When Grumpy Met Sunshine by Charlotte Stein in exchange of an honest review.
I recently read the book 'When Grumpy Met Sunshine' by Charlotte Stein and I was so impressed by it! It is a heartwarming story about two people who are complete opposites, but somehow manage to find a way to make things work between them. The main character, Grumpy, is an introverted man with a dark past that has left him scarred and jaded. He meets Sunshine, a lively and optimistic woman with a bright future ahead of her. Despite their differences, they are drawn to each other and learn to accept and even love each other.

The story is told in an engaging way, with alternating perspectives from both characters. It is easy to sympathize with both Grumpy and Sunshine and the journey they take together. The characters and their relationships are believable and realistic. The plot moves along at a steady pace, and the ending is satisfying and believable.

Overall, I was very impressed with the book. It was a pleasure to read and I would definitely recommend it to anyone looking for a sweet and enjoyable romance story.

This book has a very unique style of writing and I'm not entirely sure that I connected with it. The 3rd person POV made it feel like there was more distance between me (as the reader) and the characters in the story than I usually enjoy. I definitely got the 'grump' factor from the MMC, but the FMC felt a little flat - was she sunny? or just nice and standing up for herself? The fat-phobic/focus on fatness was a big theme in this book and there were times that I thought it could have been handled a bit better.

I enjoyed the mixed media aspect of the ending of each chapter. That added an extra element to the story that I found entertaining. I lost a little of it in translation on the audio version, but I followed along in the eARC for some parts and so I was able to see the formatting and it made a bit more sense. The narration was very well done - it made a lot more sense to hear the British humor/references in a voice with the appropriate inflection and accent.

Overall, there is humor and heart in this storyline. There is some banter that I found to be pretty endearing and amusing. The fake dating took me a bit by surprise and the shift into a sexual relationship seemed to progress very quickly and then overtook the storyline for longer than I was expecting. There's definitely more of a spice factor in this one! I adore the cover - Leni Kauffman is one of my favorite illustrator and so I'm very excited to add a physical copy of this book to my shelf as another example of her artwork.

I normally love a grumpy/sunshine and fake dating was one of my favorites, so I was excited for this one. The premise was good and it was enough for me to finish.

But sadly it just really wasn't a love it for me.

There was so much dialog that I would have trouble following.

Had it's cute moments. Someone else will probably love it!

Many thanks to Netgalley and MacMIllan Audio for an ALC in exchange for my honest review.

Looking for a hilarious rom com to read, then grab this book. Although, I have to say, the audiobook is even better as the narrator really brings the thoughts, feelings and events to life even more thoroughly! We all have doubts about ourselves whether it be our appearance, size, abilities, talents or something else that we have to overcome to be the best self we can be. This book laughingly brings the doubts and miscommunication between the main characters fully to life in an entertainingly heartwarming way. A bit of friends to lovers mixed with close proximity and opposites attract are all woven into and throughout this fun plot. Again, if you are looking for a delightfully fun rom com, then this is definitely the book for you! I highly recommend it and can't wait to read or listen to more books from this author in the future!

When Grumpy Met Sunshine by Charlotte Stein

This book was hilarious and exactly what I was looking for. I was lucky enough to get the audio and ebook of this one, and the narrator stole the show.

Was it extremely cheesy? Yes. The situations convenient and a tad unrealistic? Absolutely. Did the steam get carried away so much in the second half so I actually missed their personalities? 100%. But most of all it was hilarious.

The banter was well scripted, and the narrator delivered it perfectly. I busted out laughing more times than I can count because of amazing wit and utter honesty. The characters held nothing back and it created a refreshingly fun story.

Highly recommend if you need a steamy easy romcom.
Thank you to @stmartinspress and @macmillan.audio for my copies!

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