I loved this book. It had such a unique premise and it gave me all the feelings. Lenny is grieving her soulmate and meets Miles, the grumpy uncle of a child she’s nannying. He has experience with grief himself and he proceeds to be the best support system for Lenny. This is slow-burn, friends to lovers perfection. Bastone writes about grief in a simple, matter of fact way, but creates so much emotion in the story. Lenny is truly struggling in her heartbreak and Miles meets her where she is as she learns to live again. The way the author transitions their relationship from friends to lovers was so well done. Yay for realistic scenarios, humour and patience!
This was a solid 4.5 stars for me.

Cara Bastone is fast becoming a must read author for me. Promise Me Sunshine is a positively lovely story about loss, friendship, family and love. It’s funny and heartbreaking and beautiful all at once. The characters are endearing despite their flaws. I can’t wait to see what Cara Bastone has in store for us next.

Thanks to NetGalley, Dial Press and the author for a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Cara Bastone is slowly securing her spot as a top romance author for me. I have loved both her releases and she is so comparable to Emily Henry that it will be so easy for me to handsell her books with this comp.

Her novels have excellent romance, but are also made up of incredible storylines that situate the couple and the characters in a way that feels very human. The grief at the center of this story was so moving and the Lenny's connection to her friend never wavered. And Miles was so careful and motivated to help her.

Even Miles's relationship with his half-sister was crafted so carefully and realistically. I love Cara Bastone!

What a wonderful, deep, experience! Thank you so much for the opportunity to read this advanced copy - moved to tears multiple times!!

I absolutely adored Cara Bastone's Ready or Not, so I was excited to get an advanced copy of Promise Me Sunshine. I did really enjoy this book with its fantastic main characters. Lenny was so believable as she dealt with all the grief from losing her best friend to cancer, and Miles was a swoon-worthy friend/love interest. I will give fair warning that this book is heavy at times and discusses grief quite often. It also is 416 pages, and I thought it could have been at least fifty pages (if not one hundred) shorter. Overall, I found this to be a very enjoyable book.

Lenny just lost her best friend to cancer. She no longer knows her way through life and just doesn’t know how to go about living it. She is utterly broken by grief and just walks through her days like she’s a ghost. Until- she meets Miles, the uncle of the seven year old, Ainsley, that she nannies. First impressions tell you that Miles is demanding, rough, and difficult. But behind the wall that he’s built, you’ll find an entirely different man. One that is just as familiar with grief as Lenny- just has a little bit more time under his belt. He takes Lenny under his wing and vows to protect her and be there for her as she begins to heal from her loss. She just has to teach him how to connect with his niece.

This novel was a real eye opener. One that really shined a brighter light on grief. I mean, sure grief is an underlying theme in many novels, but this one just hits you differently. I could only feel like I was living in someone else’s shoes with how specific every move and event was. After listening to most of Cara Bastone’s light-hearted audiobooks, I was pleasantly surprised at how much depth this had.

The characters are finessed with so much skill. The way they talked, their slightest movements, their history. You really get to know these people and end up rooting for them to get back up when they slip. I can only hope everyone has their own version of Miles.

I really loved this! It’s a slow burn romance that makes sense. It’s sweet and devastating and heart breaking. They heal one another and that’s what really matters. Side note- if you’re looking for something smutty, this isn’t it. Don’t get me wrong, smut is great, but it doesn’t live here.

A great thank you goes out to Cara Bastone, Dial Press, and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Cara Bastone does it again!

Was I prepared to start crying in the middle of a flight surrounded by strangers to the point that a flight attendant came to check on me? No...no I was not. But here we are and I have Cara Bastone alone to blame.

All kidding aside this book was utterly PHENOMENAL. Bastone has this artful way of tackling deeply heavy and emotional themes while mixing in the perfect amount of humor, romance, and setting that it doesn't totally rip you into shreds. While the cover may read as a "fluffy cutesy romance" do not be fooled. Miles is maybe in my top ten book boyfriends of all time!

This book follows the journey of "Lenny" as she struggles to navigate the icy waters of grief after the loss of her best friend in the world to cancer. Lenny is sleepwalking through her life in the wake of this tragedy when she meets Miles (uncle), Reese (mom), and Ainsley (daughter/niece). This unlikely crew of found family, particularly Miles forces their way into Lenny's armored heart and helps her begin to grapple with the death of her friend.

I absolutely loved this book. The author did an amazing job writing hope, grief, solidarity, fun and romance all in one. The characters become my friends and I've thought aby their story long after I finished reading.

I think this cover is a bit deceptive as it has generic romance novel vibes, but in fact it was so much more then a romance novel. It was a story of growth and life after loss that gets into your veins in a profound way.

Well done.

Lenny's lifelong best friend has died, and she is struggling to go on with her life. She takes on temporary nanny jobs so that she can make a living without getting hurt again. Her new charge, Ainsley, is starting to tug at her heartstrings, but she has a very strange Uncle, Miles hanging around. Miles has suffered loss in his life and recognizes that Lenny is struggling. He agrees to help Lenny complete her friend's bucket list as a means of clawing herself back into the land of the living. What ensues is a beautiful story of learning to life and learning to love again.

This was so good. Everyone deserves a Miles I swear he was perfect. I do wish his relationship with Reese was a bit more tied up. I felt like it was a bit of a loose end, I wish we’d gotten a glance at their conversation about him moving. Otherwise this was basically perfect.

I will be thinking about this book for years to come. What a ride. Grief is a beast, and Cara captured it perfectly.
I have not cried that hard in a long time, and it did something to me . I feel like Miles is the perfect sidekick for Lenny, and I absolutely loved how their story unfolded.
Cara Bastone has become an auto-buy author for me and I absolutely cannot wait for more.

Also can we talk about how funny Lennys parents are? I love her Dad, and the whole Sunday Dinner situation.

This book was the perfect bled of absolute heartbreak, earth-shattering grief, found family, and romance. 10/10.

A few words I would use to describe this book:
- devastating
- hilarious
- hopeful

Though yes, this is in part a romance, I think it's important to note that this is first and foremost a story about overwhelming grief after a loved one dies. I saw reviews mention that the portrayal of grief seemed like a caricature, and I can see how someone would feel that way. However, I believe that it's important to remember that no two people will experience grief in the same way, cope in the same way.. so I tried to keep an open mind while reading this story.

Promise Me Sunshine follows Lenny after she loses her best friend, and in the wake of that life-shattering loss, she is barely holding on. She is deep in the throes of grief, and depression when she begins working as a nanny for a new family. There she meets Miles (the kids uncle), who sees how badly she is struggling behind the mask she puts up, and he offers to help her through her grief in exchange for Lenny helping him connect with his niece. Miles is such a steadfast, and supportive presence in her life! He was gentle when needed, commanding when necessary and overall just such a lovely character. I loved that the author chose to write this as a true slow-burn, so that Miles could be what Lenny needed. The romance was soft and sweet and I loved every moment these two shared.

If you've read the authors debut, Ready or Not, you are familiar with her quirky and funny writing style. This book was no different. She balanced a truly heavy and heart breaking story with levity and humor that at times bordered on ridiculous but in a way that fit the story so well.

Grab a highlighter, romance lovers, and circle March 2025. Your pre-order for Promise Me Sunshine will arrive after March 4th.

I enjoyed Ready or Not but Promise Me Sunshine is another level. I absolutely LOVED this book. Lenny is grieving the loss of her best friend and roommate Lou. Grieving might not be the best word because she is destroyed.

Working as a Nanny she comes across Ainsley, Reese and Miles. Miles, the ever attentive uncle, notices that Lenny is struggling. He offers to be her “grief guide” and help her complete the “live again” list that Lou left with Lenny to help her dig herself out of the grief hole she currently resides in.

The relationship that blossoms between Lenny and Miles is fantastic. They have great conversations that really cut to the core of grief but don’t depress the reader while doing it.

Spice level is 3/5.

I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Cara Bastone, Dial Press and NetGalley for allowing me to read an advance copy. Opinions are my own.

OH MY GOSH!! The easiest five stars I’ve ever given for a romance book. It’s like a 2000’s dream come true. It’s uptown girls, but the banter of Anna Ferris and Chris Evan’s in what’s your number, but also Patrick Veronas level of sweetness when it comes to Kat in 10 things I hate about you!

Reading this book was a rollercoaster I never wanted to get off! I laughed, and cried, and ached, and smiled, and swooned all in the span of devouring this book. Yes, it was romantic, but it was also so much more. Grief is a huge theme in the book but Cara dealt with it (and her characters) so tenderly.

And speaking of tender - Miles and Lenny. I can’t really think of a book that I’ve read recently where there were two characters that just needed each other as much as Miles and Lenny did at that very moment in time, that I cheered for them to stand on their own as hard as I did when they came together.

This being my first book by Cara aside, it didn’t take me long to get into the book and Cara’s writing has such a gentle movie quality about it. I loved everything about this and can’t wait to recommend to anyone who would listen.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this advanced copy.

This was a slow burn of swoon. And heartbreak. I saw a review that stated this book was a caricature of grief and I take offense. As someone who, even three years later, is still navigating the grief waters after losing my dad, I think this book is a very accurate portrayal of the grief process and how overwhelming and overpowering it can be.

I am very much into these books where the main character needs to be taken care of by someone. This gives me so many Nobody Wants This vibes (watch it if you haven’t) and I was utterly smitten with Lenny and Miles. Actually, I was smitten with all the characters. But back to the slow burn of swoon. Holy heck, Miles. He was so wonderful and I know there are probably plenty of people who would say his character isn’t realistic, but who the hell cares. He was beautiful and sweet and swoon-worthy. I loved the banter between his and Lenny. The whole build up to the end was just lovely.

This was a super cute slow-burn romance! Lenny and Miles are the sweetest!
The way that the author addresses grief in this book is amazing. She does such a great job taking us through Lenny's journey with grief after losing her best friend.
This book was so down to earth. Miles seemed like he could be a real guy I could meet and date, not some fictional man that doesn't really exist in real life.
I really enjoyed this book and I'd highly recommend it especially if you enjoy a good slow burn!

*Thank you to NetGalley and the Dial Press for this ARC in exchange for an honest review*

Firstly, I want to address the grief in this book.

Reading a story like this a couple months after my father passed away was both cathartic and devastating at the same time. I have to say I really resonated with Lenny at different times with how her grief hit her. I think a lot of people handle grief differently but this book gives a good point of view on how wrecked your life feels afterward. You still have to continue to work and put on a good face around you but on the inside your a complete mess. I think the author did a great job of describing Lenny's struggle with that. Lenny touches on how this time period in a persons life feels FAKE. Like this part of your life is a dream, its not real. There is no way that this person that was so important in your life is just gone. Time is such a weird concept when you're grieving. It feels like the days are just moving and moving and you are just stuck. The author does a great job at depicting that through Lenny's struggles with trying to pick herself up when everything hits again.

Now, the romance? That was also a hit for me! I love Miles. He had so much patience with Lenny. I love that he took her under his wing and helped her navigate the immense feelings that come with losing someone. And I love that Lenny was also able to help him connect with his family. You can tell that Miles cares deeply for the people who are close to him. Watching him step up and take the cues that Lenny provides for him to open that space to have a good relationship with his sister and niece was so satisfying. Good feels all around reading the relationships in this story develop.

Thank you to Netgalley and Penguin Random House for the arc in an exchange for an honest review!

The first half of this book did tend to lose me a bit. Grief is such a heavy subject that is hard to tackle. Especially because grief looks different on everyone. I saw so much of myself in Lenny that it was hard to judge her and her response to things. I felt so seen by this character. I loved how patient, understanding and mindful Miles was towards her. He really gave her the space to grow and heal without being pushy. The way the book started off and she left so alone to the end where she has all these new people in her life and also is being mindful to reach out to the people who have always been in her life. Cara Bastone really did amazing with this book. The slow burn was SLOW, but so worth it in my opinion. The second half of this book is where I really felt all these new people magic and the spark between Lenny and Miles. Their journey together both healing and helping each other really pulled at my heart. I love them

Wow, this book really deserves all the hype it has been getting so far!
It was beautifully written and I was completely moved by the story. I thought the author did an amazing job of balancing the heavy topic of grief with the lighthearted moments. The book kept me interested from beginning to end.

As for the characters, I adored the protagonist Lenny. She puts on this sunshiny persona, but in reality, she is drowning in grief after the loss of her best friend. Her healing journey was depicted realistically. It was not linear and we got to see her experience good days and bad days after her loss. Every day she was trying her best and, little by little, she starts learning how to live again. And Miles! He reminded me so much of Jacob from Yours Truly. He was the sweetest and has the best intentions, but sometimes his actions and his words don’t come off that way because of his gruff exterior. He cares deeply for others and just needed some help in showcasing it better.

The romance was a slow burn for sure. It doesn’t really kick in until the last third of the book, but there were subtle hints here and there. It didn’t bother me too much because I loved reading about Lenny and Miles’ friendship. They understood and complemented each other so well.

All in all, this was a great read and I will definitely keep an eye out for the author’s next release.

Thank you to NetGalley for sending me an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

(A review will be posted on my Instagram @aghopelessromantic on release day as well)