Thanks to Dial Press/Random house for providing me an ARC. My opinions are 100% my own.

I thought I was a fan of Cara Bastone’s writing after reading “Ready or Not”, but this book destroyed me. Be prepared to laugh, cry, and swoon. Perfect for fans of friends to lovers and slow burn tropes.

Bastone is a master of the book boyfriend, and writes relatable stories of love and loss. May we all find our Miles in this world.

Promise Me Sunshine is absolutely beautiful. My heart was in pieces for Lenny. ((I cried multiple times I fear)) Cara Bastone does an incredible job of portraying the journey of grief and mourning while learning to live again.

This was the first book I've read by Cara, and it definitely won't be the last!

Thank you to Netgalley and Random House Publishing Group for providing this e-arc in exchange for my honest opinion.

Thank you to NetGalley and Cara Bastone for providing this book in exchange for an honest review.

In this heartfelt story, Lenny, grieving her best friend, meets Miles, the grumpy uncle of the girl she's babysitting. They agree to help each other: she helps him bond with his niece and half sister, and he helps her complete her "live again" list. Their unexpected friendship blossoms with humor and emotion as they navigate life, loss, and love.

I have so much to say about to this book, but I’ll try to keep it as short and sweet as possibly..this book was everything to me and I just couldn’t put it down. First off I just want to say I love Lenny and Miles the friends to lovers was done so well, their relationship was so pure and beautiful. This book really just hit the spot for me, I seen so much of myself in Lenny and related to her journey with grief so much. Cara Bastone handled the topic of grief so well. I am now counting down the days until I can buy the physical copy in stores so I can annotate the crap out of this.

ARC provided by The Dial Press in exchange for an honest review. Thank you very much!

Promise Me Sunshine had potential but unfortunately, this was a middle of the road contemporary romance for me. I loved exploring Lenny's journey through her grief in losing her best friend — it was a realistic depiction of how unexpected and messy it is.

I didn't necessarily see the chemistry between Miles and Lenny; however. The progression of their relationship was a little too rushed and didn't feel particularly genuine. As much as this is a romance, I wish Lenny could accept that while it's necessary to find support in her healing, you have to find it in yourself to find life worth living again.

The loss of Lenny's best friend additionally took a backseat almost as soon as Miles and Lenny grew their budding relationship. I think just a little more backstory between Lenny and Lou's friendship would have made the loss all the more impactful.

I don't have enough words to describe how much I loved this book. Grief was a main character in this story but the way it was navigated was beautiful. Like if I ever lose a loved one like this, I know there is wisdom hidden in this book on how to live beyond it.

The writing was excellent.
The story was chef's kiss.
Lenny and Miles were perfection.

This book was such a cute romance book! It also touches on grief which I feel like is so unique in a romance book. Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Random House | Dial Press Trade Paperback

My heart, this book 🫠🫠🫠 absolutely in love!

Lenny is grieving the loss of her best friend and takes a job nannying Ainsley. Unfortunately, along with Ainsley comes her uncle Miles who proves to be a thorn in her side. Trying to move through her grief, Lenny realizes she cannot do life alone.

At first I was slightly annoyed with Lenny and her character but just like Miles, I’ve grown to love her and her quirkiness. The way that she and Miles move through grief is so lifelike and relatable, my heart was breaking alongside Lenny’s.

I absolutely loved the romance and the way that Lenny and Miles worked through their grief towards each other. I want a Miles in my life 🥹

I cannot wait to read this book again, thank you Netgalley for this ARC!

I was very excited to read this because I have seen so many raving reviews and one of my friends highly recommended it. Unfortunately, I just felt ehh about it.

I wouldn't necessarily call it a rom-com because it deals with a grief storyline which takes up the majority of the book. I feel bad for saying it, but Lenny was annoying pretty often and I wanted to quit so bad about 65% through, but I had to keep trucking along. I didn't necessarily see chemistry between Miles and Lenny either, so the progression of that was weird and too cheesy.

Maybe I'm just not a rom-com girl. It was too saccharine sweet, over exaggerated, juvenile, and eye rolling. I feel bad saying that, but I really don't understand all of the 5 star reviews. Maybe it's just not for me.

Promise Me Sunshine was so well done! I’ve read Cara Bastone’s book before and I love her voice. Miles and Lenny were dealing with grief and what the reader walks away with is an understanding that grief is personal There are no right or wrong ways to grieve ….i loved this book! Lenny and Miles were multi dimensional interesting characters and their journeys were both heartbreaking and beautiful. Five stars from me!

the portrayal of grief here is what makes the novel, not the romance. bastone just understands that grief isn't something that follows a five step plan. grief is often unexpected and messy and when people go through grief it's not fun to be around them and even though it's hard, the ones that stick by are the ones that you should want around (however, the love interest in this sense felt too perfect in a way). i especially loved how bastone talked about the memories associated with the places and the things that a loved one left behind. it's something that evokes more than just one sense and there's a beauty in that i think that is understood when you go through grief yourself. (3.5)

First off…I’m committing this book to memory! Cara Bastone has a way of writing that pulls her readers into the most achingly raw emotions we experience in life. But, then turns around and shows you how to make it through. The only way out is through.

Lenny is at the bottomest bottom. She’s just lost her best friend (if that can even describe their relationship) to cancer. Lou has left her a Live Again check list, but she’s spiraling and just barely living everyday. Until one day she meets Miles, the grumpy uncle of the girl she’s nannying. He sees her. He sees her pain and he knows first hand what she’s going through and offers his hand to pull her out off of the bottom. And, he offers to help her work through that checklist.

There’s never been a more solid MMC than Miles. He’s slowly showing her the path through. Minute by minute and day by day through. She’s showing him how to be part of his new family. All done with humor, snark and little bit of flirting. I laughed out loud so many times! The slow burn, the little moments and the realization of their feelings for each other was beautiful. The “oh” moments ❤️

I honestly was left wanting more. I did not want this book to end. So here’s my plea, PLEASE PLEASE give us an epilogue!

Thank you NetGalley, Random House Publishing Group, and Cara Bastone for allowing me to read an advanced complimentary copy of the book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

So good!

Lenny is in a cloud of grief from losing her best friend. She can’t commit to working long term jobs as a nanny so she takes short term jobs. She takes a job for a sweet girl named Ainsley and her single mother and learns Ainsley’s prickly uncle Miles has been hanging around.

Lenny and all learn that Miles is more than meets the eye and that he is specially qualified to help Lenny get through a list of items to do to live again.

This was the sweetest book. I love how it balanced the heaviness of loss and grief along with the friendship between Miles and Lenny. I loved this and immediately went to download “Ready or Not” by the author to follow it with.

Thanks so much to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

Lenny’s best friend Lou has recently lost her battle with cancer and Lenny is lost without her. She is avoiding her parents, her apartment and her life as to not face her grief. She takes a temporary babysitting job with a single, overworked mom, Reese and her adorable daughter, Ainsley. But it also comes with Ainsley’s grumpy uncle, Miles, always hanging around. At first, Lenny doesn’t get why he’s always lingering but when Miles offers to help her with her grief in exchange for her help with his strained relationship with Reese and Ainsley, she agrees.

I absolutely LOVED this book! All the feels! It is a sweet, heartbreaking, slow-burn, heartfelt romance. It takes a very honest, realistic look at grief but the quirky characters and the banter is absolutely hilarious and will have you laughing out loud. This book will make you laugh and cry and uplift you! The perfect grumpy x sunshine, friends to lovers romance. I can’t recommend it enough!

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for the opportunity to read this ARC of Promise me Sunshine in exchange for my honest review.

This is a beautiful story about two people who find each other during difficult times in their life, are fiercely loyal and get eqch other through their bad days. The themes of grief in this story are profound and so accurately represented. I was blown away by how Cara was able to communicate grief and the feelings associated with it through Lenny so accurately. The tenderness and care that Lenny and Miles give each other through forming their friendship is deeply moving. They trust each other from the start and continue to be there for each other.

This is one of the most moving friends to lovers that I have read and highly recommend if you are looking for an emotional and moving story!

Thank you NetGalley and Random House for this ARC!

Promise Me Sunshine was a stunningly beautiful portrayal of grief, family dynamics, friendships, and relationships. First with Ready or Not, and now with Promise Me Sunshine, author Cara Bastone has proven her ability to write a well-rounded, deeply emotional, and moving story.

Thank you to NetGalley, Random House Publishing Group - Random House, and Dial Press Trade Paperback for an advanced copy of Promise Me Sunshine in exchange for my honest review.

4.5 stars
SUCH a cute slow burn grumpy x sunshine romance. when lenny's best friend dies she finds herself in a very dark place. unable to face her grief she picks up short term nannying jobs to keep herself some what afloat. when she goes to her new job she meets the grumpy uncle. miles becomes her grief wingman in helping her to heal and of course their attraction to each other is undeniable. this book highlights the stages of grief so perfectly and everyone deserves a miles in their life. my only beef with this book is it took them SO long to actually admit their attraction to one another.

Couldn't put this book down. Love love loved. I am a sucker for an emotional story. And this was it! This was only my second book from Cara and I am a FAN!

I want to share the things I loved most but they would be spoilers so I will contain myself.

Grief is a heavy theme but done really well and seeing one go through the healing journey was wonderful.
Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!

This was an empathetic and unvarnished account of Lenny's journey through grief. I felt a strong sense of connection with her as she navigated this difficult process. Her story of finding the strength to rebuild her life is truly inspiring.

Nobody does friends to lovers better than Cara Bastone! This book touched on tough topics in such a deep way, but did so with incredible humor and levity. I loved her last book, Ready or Not, and Promise Me Sunshine was such a great follow-up. I was rooting for the main characters the whole time!

This book was VERY millennial. Too millennial for this Gen Zer, even though I tried so hard to get into it. I got further than I thought I would, and there was definitely some promise, but I just could not get over the cringiness that seeped on to every page.