Cute but nothing super exciting. The opposites and fighting/banter was too much at times. There is a lot of internal dialog that is hard to fully follow.

When Grumpy Met Sunshine was my first 5 star read of 2024. This book had me SWOONING over Alfie and completely invested in his and Mabel's relationship. Alfie, a retired pro-football player is grumpy and secretive while Mabel is a sunshine-y ghostwriter with enough sass for the both of them. When Mabel is hired to be Alfie's ghostwriter, but is then seen with Alfie, the two must fake-date in order to keep Mabel's ghostwriting a secret.
This book is full of slow-burn banter with some seriously spicy scenes. With both MC's fighting their attraction while having to put up a facade for the public eye, sometimes chemistry can't be denied.
I really enjoyed this book and found myself unable to put it down and constantly looking forward to reading more. I loved Mabel and Alfie both as separate characters as well as how they are constantly making each other better. This book is perfect for anyone looking to read a grumpy x sunshine and fake dating story filled with banter and spice!

DNF @ 36% - I just could not buy into this story or these characters at all. I usually like banter but this was just all banter and not much else? I don't think this writing style is for me.

When one of your favorite authors has a new book coming out, you immediately add it to your TBR. Even if that book doesn't seem to be quite like her others. I may be a bit of a judge a book by the cover kind of person, so before diving into When Grumpy Met Sunshine I adjusted my expectations from erotic romance to steamy contemporary romance. And that was just the thing to do! If you've been reading Charlotte Stein for years, I definitely suggest you do that before diving in. Picking up a book in the right mood with the right expectation is always key.

I'm a sucker for soccer romances! The hero of this story is a retired soccer star, extremely grumpy, and in need of a ghostwriter to write his memoir. Enter our sassy heroine. She can do this job with her eyes closed and hopefully get her writing career in the right direction. But as they have to spend time together and are caught by the paparazzi, the best way to throw them off the scent of the upcoming book is to fake a relationship.

This book is contemporary romance tropey heaven! Sports romance, opposites attract, grumpy/sunshine, fake dating and I could go on. As you can expect from a Charlotte Stein book, not only does it deliver the steam but also delves deep into some more serious topics like fat phobia. I love that the heroine is still extremely confident and strong. And as far as grumpy heroes go, you'll fall quickly for Alfie.

If you are a fan of Tessa Bailey and Talia Hibbert, you'll want to pick this one up.

When grumpy met sunshine is an adorable romance with bits of billionaire hero, fake relationship, and forced proximity. Mable was resigned to be ghost in her own life, a ghostwriter by trade, and just a side character in her own life. Alfie was thrust into fame, success, and wealth almost without his consent that made him hesitant to trust, love, or be vulnerable to anyone. Slowly their walls come down and a lonely romance blooms. Emily Spowage adds another fabulous layer to this wonderful story.

🎧/📱ARC from NetGalley and MacMillan Audio

I went back and forth between audio & ebook on this, but ended up stopping the ebook altogether because the writing was awful. It was definitely easier to ignore with the audio, but still not great. 90% of this book is inner dialogue, and the audio did not do a great job of distinguishing between the FMC, MMC, and inner dialogue of the FMC. There was an insane amount of vulgar language for this being marketed as a romcom. There was maybe 10% plot, but I think that may be a little high. I would have DNF’d this if I didn’t have it in 2 formats that would have tanked my feedback percentage on NetGalley.

I will not be posting this on my Instagram or Amazon.

Listened to this on audiobook, and I wish I wouldn’t have. I’ll plan on rereading this because I think this could be really good! This is a great example of grumpy/sunshine! She’s supposed to be his ghost writer but I can’t think of a more then 1-2 times they talk about the book.

The story was good but I didn’t like the narrator at all. It took me a long time to get through this.

I received an arc of this title from NetGalley for an honest review. The title of this book is not great, but the story is much better. I liked the two characters and how Sunshine was able to connect with Grumpy so quickly. Nice story.

This story sounds so cute and has a few of my favorite tropes, but it was a little long-winded for me. The audiobook was a hard to follow despite listening to many British accented English audiobooks and I had to slow down the speed. The banter was somewhat immature and I couldn't get into the characters. It has a lot of potential just didn't work for me.

This story is adorable! While I found the UK lingo a bit challenging, the slow burn paid off when things got spicy – that really grabbed my attention. The humor throughout had me chuckling, and the plus-size representation was appreciated. Although it took a while for the story to fully engage me, the overall plot is charming.
As for the narrator she was hard for me to understand at times. I’m sure it was my own fault because I am not used to the UK accents. But it was hard for me to stay interested at times.
Thank you for MacMillan Audio and Charolette Stein for providing the audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan audio for an advanced copy of the book that comes out on February 6. I loved the title and cover art is real life. I thought I was getting a rom-com with a premise that would fit my book challenge prompt of a book written by a ghostwriter but this one just didn’t do it for me. A former football star hires plus sized woman to write his autobiography as a ghostwriter. I am glad I stuck through to the end because the “One year later” was all I wanted it to be but there was too much graphic sex, foul language and fat shaming for me.

A rom-com of grumpy meets cute is my favorite types of trope. I am a sucker for this genre and I honestly have mixed feelings about this book.

First off, this is not for the weak of heart. The only reason I am not giving this book a higher rating is that it turned out to be trashy. The author could have left some to the reader's imagination. It is extremely over the top graphic and it was off putting to me which was disappointing because I loved the banter between Mabel and Alfie. The narrator's voice was perfection.

I received an ARC of this audiobook from the publisher and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own

My second ARC from @netgalley was When Grumpy Met Sunshine by @charlotte.stein. This was my first soccer romance and it was really good. I love a good pretend romance with obvious tension and desire. ⚽️🏟️😍
•••
This audiobook is being released on 2.6.2024 and I couldn’t recommend it more to anyone who connects with the above statement!

Read if you love…
Ex-footballer (soccer)
Ghostwriter
Forced proximity
Only one bed
Dirty talk - if this is your kink, enjoy!
Words of affirmation
Top tier banter
British humor

TW: fatphobia, alcoholism

Ugh. Sucker for a British accent. I loved the narration. I have to imagine this could be a difficult read based on the UK culture and phrases alone throughout the book. I however, loved it. I found myself laughing out loud throughout this book due to the British humor.

Mabel is so easy to fall in love with. She shows up as herself over and over. She is authentic and can’t help but love her quirks. Mabel’s struggle with her body image hits home. Being a short curvy gal among thin average to tall height friends always made me feel self conscious. I don’t love how the author explored her body image. I hated how Mabel put herself down frequently based on her body size. Her inner and outer critic took away from this story for me. My new cute curvy overlord: Mabel.
There are so many other aspects of this story that made up for this.

Alfie fucking Harding is Roy Kent. You cannot convince me otherwise. Right down to the pronunciation and elongated fucks weaved into his dialogues.
The “coincidental” stalking (not in a dark/thriller way) scenes were incredible.

Random musings and moments that had me laughing and then sighing at their connection:
From pepper spray to Peppa Pig. Just picturing Alfie drinking out of a Peppa Pig mug at Mabel’s house.
Like an angel had farted.
The way Mabel throws Alfie off and into circles and forces this tight lipped, stoic man into an expressive one.
A man who can manage curly hair?! And plait your hair like Princess Leia?
Alfie describing Mabel like a Renaissance painting, it was like feeling the sun on your face for the first time. My lanta.
Love language of gift giving. Getting Mabel a lil loveseat and end table the benefited her writing.
Fucking cinnamon roll.
I’m sorry. Post Beyoncé concert?
A lusty octopus.
The dirty talk needs not one, but two call outs here because 🥵
Just going to crash and burn… a ‘just get it out of our systems’. Oh Mabel, Mabel, Mabel.
Like Mabel, I am a weird neurotic gremlin.
Alfie cutting off all communication from Mabel and finishing his memoir alone… gutted. I really despise a miscommunication trope.
“The only other person at the school assembly.” 😭

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

This book has it all! The title will tell you the biggest trope in the book, Grumpy/Sunshine Trope. This book also has one of the sweetest compliments I've ever read (read it and let me know if you think you can figure out which one).

The story follows Mabel, our plus size female main character, who is navigating the ghost writing world. She gets contracted to write for a grumpy ex-footballer, Alfie, who is notoriously hard to work with. As they begin to write a memoir the paparazzi seem to misunderstand the dynamic and rumors fly.

This book has a misunderstood grumpy man, a plus size sweet woman, fake dating, and self discovery. I LOVED this book. By far it was one of the best books I've read in a while. I could not put it down. You root for the couple and want them to be happy. This is the perfect book to pick up during this Valentines Day time.

I would recommend this book to anyone who is looking for a sweet feel good romance novel. Thank you so much NetGalley for the ability to read this story.

I was quite looking forward to this storyline - but it wasn’t quite as good as I was hoping… it was about a 3.5 star (rounded up to 4). I found I was left wanting for so much more as I read and listened, but it was ok.

I liked it well enough but did not love Mabel and Alfie’s story about a ghost writer who was forced into writing the autobiography about a reclusive, grumpy former footballer… seen together and forced into a public relationship so that her role in his life as the author wasn’t found out. As a plus sized woman, her character and image were torn apart online and in the media - which really rubbed me the wrong way.

She started out sunshine and he was very grumpy and their relationship made them both more neutral, until the writing relationship (and friendship) just ended…. Unsatisfying as a reader when the “miscommunication” is just completely cutting ties like this to pick up way down the road.

The audio was narrated by Emily Spowage, who was a new voice to me. She did a fine job, but could have made some more distinction between characters and more inflection. Otherwise, she was fine. She couldn’t save the story, sadly.

I received an advance copy from NetGalley, St. Martin's Press (St. Martin's Griffin) and Macmillan Audio, and this is my honest feedback.

I adore the grumpy sunshine trope so I had to listen to this one! I did really enjoy reading about Alfie's grumpy moments. There were times this book had me laughing hysterically!

I will start by saying this book is very British. I have read a lot of books set in the UK and usually, I don't feel like it isn't meant for me as a US reader, but in this case, I got that feeling a bit. There were some jokes and references to regional differences I didn't fully get.

I did like Alfie and Mable's connection. They were both people who were often misunderstood and I liked watching them open up to each other. I do have a soft spot for heroes who come off as grumpy but are actually really sweet. Alfie is totally this! His inability the understand technology was especially funny. This book was also steamy and the spice is well written!

What didn't fully work for me was the miscommunication. Mable had such low self-esteem that it constantly got in the way of her realizing Alfie might have feelings for her. It also caused her to be mean to him when trying to hide her feelings. I would have also liked to know a bit more about both of their pasts.

I recommend this one if you are a fan of British humor and don't mind a couple that is a bit awkward and unable to communicate their feelings.

🌶️🌶️🌶️- There are several detailed spicy scenes in this one as well as a lot of sexual tension.

🎧🎧🎧 - I thought Emily Spowage did a fine job with the narration. There wasn't a lot of distinction between different characters and the spicy scenes were a little underacted for my taste at times. She is a new to me narrator and doesn't seem to have experience with other romance titles.

Unfortunately, this book just wasn’t for me. I listened to it as an audiobook and made it 85% through before I decided I just could not finish it. While I enjoyed the premise at the beginning, it just felt never ending and could not keep me engaged. The dialogue between the main characters seemed a bit over the top and immature and the characters were just not intriguing. Based on the description of the book, I thought I’d really enjoy it and I tried but was unsuccessful.
*ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was a cute story, but not my favorite. The miscommunication trope is not my favorite and I think it is over used in a lot of romance books today, but overall I liked the story and can't wait to see more from this author.