I absolutely loved Ready Or Not and was very excited when NetGalley and PR accepted me to read this ARC. I absolutely loved it. Cara Bastone has become an auto-read author for me.

I’ve read a lot of romance books (hundreds), so I feel pretty confident when I say there are a few things that make a really, really good one.
• characters that are relatable and feel real
• events that are fun/interesting/unique/funny (who wants to just read about people who work, make dinner, watch tv, and sleep like the rest of us?)
• a little angst or drama
This book was super solid on the first two, and a little bit lacking on the last one for me. I loved the characters in this book. They’re quirky, loveable, unique, but so real feeling. Lenny is totally weird and not like anyone I’ve met in real life, and yet she feels like someone I could meet in real life. The things they do in this book are so fun (and sometimes sad or emotional or heartbreaking) and made it feel like I got to experience so many different things as well. I loved how their relationship went from somewhat hostile strangers, to friends, to lovers, and I loved how they took care of each other in so many sweet ways both big and small. The only thing I was missing was a little bit of drama. I just needed a bit of tension in their relationship, because the book started to feel too slow for me. I think the journey of healing from Lou’s death was the “problem” that needed to be solved, and while I liked the progression Lenny made from being swallowed by grief to being able to live with joy and feel like herself again, I just needed a little something more to move the story along. I still really liked it, and I love the way Cara Bastone writes such tender, comforting love stories.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

4.5 ⭐️ for me rounded up. There was some open door parts at the very end of the book that I feel like could have been better if it was closed door. BUT that’s just a preference of mine. Everything else was perfection.

This was my first Cara Bastone book and trust me—it won’t be my last! This story hit me right in the feels, diving into the raw, unfiltered reality of grief when you lose your person. There’s no sugar-coating here; it was heavy, it was real, and I felt every bit of it deep in my bones.

But what really made it special was how beautifully Bastone showed the journey of learning to live again after loss. And don’t even get me started on the romance! It wasn’t just thrown in, it was woven perfectly into the story, making it all the more powerful. I love a good rom-com, but this book made me crave romances with real depth—and boy, did it deliver!

Lenny and Miles had the perfect mix of banter, chemistry, and heart. I cried real tears more than once, and I know this book is going to stay with me for a long time. If you’re looking for a romance that’s got both heart and chemistry, add this to your list!

Cara is such a talented and special writer. The way she wrote this book, it felt like I was inside of her heart. Lenny is deeply relatable and I wanted to take her pain away with each passing page. It's a great writing choice not to have another POV in this, it feels relentless, in an important way. Grief itself is relentless. We will all experience its many waves. Just as we'll experience love. Lenny and Miles' love story is brave and effortless. They are simply present to each other's humanity and in seeing each other so fully they can't help but fall in love. The build-up was done so well, it was a true slow burn. By the time they got together, I was positively GIDDY watching them collide. I am only giving this 4 stars because in my stupid mind, I have to differentiate it from Ready or Not (my favorite book of last year!), which was a full 5 star journey. But in reality, this book defies ranking. It's simply a gift to those who have lost someone or will lose someone. I BIG TIME cried at the end.

Thank you to NetGalley and to those at Dial Press for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

~Contemporary, Romance, Grief, and more!~

Promise Me Sunshine by Cara Bastone follows Lenny trying to navigate life after losing her best friend, Lou. Feeling lost and avoiding her problems, Lenny takes a short-term gig as a babysitter. Faking a smile and pushing through, she babysits for single mom Reese and her daughter Ainsley. What seems to be a normal gig takes a turn when Miles, Ainsley's uncle, constantly hangs around. Lenny can't help but notice the indifference Reese has towards her brother and the distance between him and Ainsley. So when Miles notices that Lenny is concealing her grief, he makes a deal with her. Help him get closer to Ainsley and Reese, and he will help her get through her grief and finish Lou's list on how to live again. After all, who will understand her feelings better than someone who has been through the same thing?

4.5| This was a sweet yet heartbreaking book with grief, friends, family, and romance. The whole book is written in such a beautiful way that it was hard to put down. I loved Miles's character (despite the 2-in-1 shampoo). He was sweet and patient and never pushed Lenny. He understood how people deal with grief differently and was always there for her no matter what. I enjoyed that this book was such a slow burn. While it's typically not my favorite, it worked perfectly here. I absolutely loved Ainsley's character. I looked forward to every scene she was in. It was great seeing her relationship with Miles grow throughout the book. I also enjoyed how she and Lenny interacted. Lenny is a unique character, and unlike one I have ever read before. Throughout the story, I got to see her walls go down as she progressed in her journey with grief. Her internal monologue was great and said a lot about her character. While I am not typically a fan of flashback scenes, the ones with Lou added a lot of context to the story and allowed me to better understand Lou and Lenny's relationship. One of my favorite parts of this book was that Lenny went out and made new friendships. This was an important part of her journey, and I was glad to see it highlighted.

While this was a fantastic book I do wish certain aspects were highlighted a bit more. For example, Lenny cleaning out her apartment. While this was discussed near the end, I wanted to see it happen since it was one of her last big obstacles. I also wish we had seen Lenny visit Lou's grave. Without these scenes it felt like we only got a glimpse at part of her journey without seeing the rest. I did enjoy the descprtions in this book, not only of the scenery but also of who Lou was. The flashbacks were nice, but I loved hearing Lenny talk about Lou. I do wish we had gotten to see the full list at the beginning of the book to get a little more structure on what was happening. Things felt a bit random at times, which, while wasn't necessarily bad, could have been fixed with a little more outline. I also wish we had more of an epilogue in this book to tie everything up. The romance was nice, a little sudden at the end, but it seemed very fitting with Lenny's character, so I didn't mind it.

Overall, this was a sweet and heartfelt read. The characters were great, and the story was fantastic. Lenny's grief was realistic and dealt with in a tasteful way. I loved the side characters and how much they added. Both Lenny and Miles went through tremendous character growth, which was lovely to read. This was a great book that made me cry, laugh, and smile! While I wish some things were wrapped up a bit more, this was an amazing read that beautifully showed and described how complex grief is.

Five stars aren’t enough. I’m becoming a Fangirl of Cara Bastone. She captures how messy real life is, while still giving us a happy ending with a delightfully grumpy but caring male lead.

This review has been published on Goodreads, 25th September 2024.

Grief is such a difficult topic to portray, and I do think Sara Bastone did a fantastic job writing about it. However, although a great story, I found myself with the same problem I had when I read Ready or Not. I was quite hooked at the beginning of the story, but halfway through I found myself wanting to reach the end.

I loved Miles, I loved how he was there for Lenny all throughout her journey, and how he didn’t belittle her feelings, I just wish he wasn’t portrayed in such a perfect way because this way you can see the other characters faults’, which is exactly what happened to me with Ready or Not. I understand what Lenny was going through, but at times I found her just found her unbearable.

The ending was really cute, and again, it was a great story but I found myself a bit bored, which honestly might be just my mood.

Thank you Sara Bastone, Random House Publishing, and NetGalley for the review copy of Promise me Sunshine!

I’m so surprised by this book! I haven’t read a book that oscillated so brilliantly from gut-wrenching grief to utter joy and back again. I feel like the author was able to show that healing is not linear—some days you feel like the world is ending and you’ll never be okay but then the next day turns out to be a damn good day.

The romance in this book was spectacular. I loved Miles so so much and the banter between him and Lenny was so entertaining! They continuously showed up for each other without question and it was a fantastic example of loyalty in a friendship. Highly recommend!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC!

What an amazing book… so well written. Often heart-wrenching and this romcom-loving girl had a couple of solid cry sessions while reading it, but it was also sweet and funny. A good balance throughout.

Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review. Watch for Promise Me Sunshine to come out March 4, 2025.

I was invited by the publisher to review this book. Lenny and Lou were best friends, but Lenny is left empty and without her best friend when Lou dies of cancer. Lenny feels like she cannot feel alive again and avoids her former life. She winds up taking a job babysitting to help a single mom; she babysits Ainsely, but there is one catch - her Uncle Miles seems to be around a lot, and he is not the friendliest person. Miles recognizes grief in Lenny and offers to help her - he wants help to connect with his sister and niece, and in exchange he will help Lenny live her life again. It is through this, that Lenny learns there can be another side and she does have the strength to get there.

This is a wonderful book, despite the heavy element of grief and loss. But the characters of Lenny and Miles were so strong, and their time together helping each other was very realistic; nothing builds a good foundation for any relationship than starting out at the bottom and working to the top. I loved that the characters built each other up. And, despite the heavy element, the book also managed to be light with the chemistry and banter between Lenny and Miles.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group and Dial Press Trade Paperback for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

If you know me at all, you know I loooooove a good romance book that also tackles the heavier themes of grief and loss. So when I got approved for Cara Bastone’s newest release, I put all other ARCs aside to read it. Ready or Not was an easy five star read for me, so I couldn’t wait to get my grubby hands on Promise Me Sunshine.

There’s so much I could say about this story! First off, I just love Cara’s characters. The whole cast weaseled their way into my heart. Lenny was quirky, off the wall, surprising, a hoot, and lovable. And yes, Miles was grumpy at first, but OMG his heart is patient, kind, and attentive. Ainsley was a joy of a seven year old and the rest of the supporting cast also just shined for me!

In addition to loving books about grief….you know I love friends to lovers stories. For me it doesn’t get much better. And I LOVED Lenny and Miles’ story. I really loved witnessing Miles help Lenny process her grief and the two of them fall for each other along the way. It was so so special. Anyone who has ever experienced loss will feel seen and understood through Lenny and Miles fumbling and playing as they heal. It felt like such an honest and realistic story. I loved the happy moments. I loved the sad moments. I love the adventurous romps. And I loved how Miles and Lenny were there for each other 100% through it all.

Read if you like friends to lovers, books set in NYC setting, found family, he feeds her, he washes her hair, matching tattoos, and themes of grief and loss.

Thank you so much to Dial Press, NetGalley, and Cara Bastone for an advanced copy of this special book in exchange for my honest thoughts. I cannot wait for you all to read this when it releases in March!

Thank you to netgalley and Cara Bastone for the ARC of this book. This was my first read by Cara Bastone and won't be my last. The story focuses on the FMC Lenny, who has lost her best friend to cancer, and is now figuring out how to navigate life after loss. She meets our MMC Miles, who strikes a deal with Lenny-a deal that will include him helping her to live again.

Wow this book was very well written. It was simultaneously heartbreaking but tender, poignant but still silly, an exploration of grief but also a love story. I really appreciated the way that the author was able to interweave all these aspects into the plot. The main focus was on Lenny's struggle with grief and processing the loss of the person she was closest to in this world. I liked that the book didn't shy away from giving a raw depiction of grief and what it looks like to carry that around. The descriptions and metaphors about these topics were beautiful and honest. I also liked that the love story really centered on Lenny and Miles bond as two people who'd experienced grief leaning on one another. They became friends, partners, and then lovers. It felt like a real and natural progression.

Overall I highly recommend this book. It was a beautiful story of loss, friendship, personal growth, and love.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an early copy of this book! Below is my honest review.

Summary of the plot:
Lenny lost her best friend to cancer a few months ago, and she's been struggling ever since. She can't go back to the apartment she once shared with her best friends, nor can she confront her parents about how badly she's doing. She loves kids, so she takes on temporary babysitting jobs to stay constantly moving. She gets hired to babysit Ainsley, daughter of single mother Reese and niece to Reese's half-brother Miles. Reese and Miles aren't quite on good terms since their father didn't give them much of an opportunity to know each other until his passing. But Miles is determined to become a family with Reese and Ainsley. Miles enlists in Lenny's help to do so, in exchange, he'll be her support system and help her overcome her grief of losing her best friend. And of course, feelings are developed between the two.

Thoughts on the plot:
I quite enjoyed how this author described grief. It felt very realistic to me. One day, Lenny is okay and living life. The next day, she's struggling to breathe because one tiny thing reminded her of her best friend. The day after, she's doing something to honor her best friend. I felt Lenny's grief and it made me sympathize with her so much. You also get brief scenes of Lenny and her best friend prior to her passing, and it makes it hurt even more. And I so appreciated Miles's way of helping Lenny. He didn't force her to do anything. He was just there, and he showed up whenever Lenny needed it. And I also understood her parents' concern because they didn't hear from her much except for a text here and there. This is all to say that everyone in this book made realistic choices, which is why I deeply appreciate this book.

In terms of the romance, I loved the slow burn. And the slow burn made sense. Lenny kind of comes to the realization that she's in love with Miles because he supported her and dragged her out of hell. And Miles, being the sweet man that he is, was so thoughtful and wanted Lenny to make sure she actually was in love with him and that it wasn't to be confused with caring for him. I loved the connection between the two because everything just made sense and the timing was perfect. (Do you see a theme with my review?)

This is also tiny but impactful to me, but I love how family was incorporated into this book. Oftentimes, family members are just thrown into romance books simply to be characters that propel the romance forward. But in this book, the family members had a roll to play in everyone's character development. Another plus in my eyes!

Overall, I would recommend this book to people, but since this book deals with death, just be mindful of that when you do read it.

I absolutely loved Cara Bastone’s Ready or Not and was ecstatic for the opportunity to read Promise Me Sunshine ARC. It did not disappoint- I found it to be an endearing and heartfelt story about the struggles of grief and the journey to overcome it. It is a slow burn, but I thought that the gradual development of Lenny and Miles’ relationship pairs well with the plot and adds to their character development. I like that you get to see the different stages that they are at, while coping and helping each other on their own journeys. I did find the middle a bit sluggish at times, but I understand what the author was trying to convey by doing so. Overall, Bastone approaches the topics of grief and healing beautifully and with such care. I would definitely recommend this book for those wanting a moving and uplifting read. Thank you Netgalley and Random House Publishing for the ARC.

This book was an absolute 5-star read for me—beautiful, moving, and deeply cathartic. Cara Bastone has this incredible ability to touch on raw human emotions in such a relatable way, pulling you into the characters’ lives while balancing it all with moments of humor and warmth. I laughed out loud, swooned uncontrollably, and cried my eyes out through this entire book.

What stood out most to me was the way she navigated tough topics like grief and depression with such authenticity and care. It’s one of those books that makes you feel seen, reminding you that even in the darkest moments, you’re not alone. Each character in this story was so well-developed, and the way they grew throughout the book felt natural and real. She never shies away from the messiness of relationships—whether they’re romantic or platonic—and it makes every emotional beat hit even harder.

While I loved the romance, the friendships are what truly made this novel shine for me. They’re a testament to how vital human connections are, especially in the face of loss. The bonds formed and tested throughout the story felt beautifully genuine, and they added so much heart to an already emotional journey. The way she weaves new beginnings into the depths of loss is both heart-wrenching and hopeful, a reminder that even after heartbreak, there’s always a chance to start again.

This book left me feeling emotionally spent in the best possible way, and I think it’ll resonate deeply with anyone who’s experienced loss, those darker times or is simply looking for a story that captures the full spectrum of life’s emotions. This beautiful book is a testament to Cara Bastone’s incredible talent and a must-read for anyone craving a heartfelt exploration of love, friendship, and healing. You’ll be just as moved by it as I was!

This book was so beautifully written, I bawled my eyes out multiple times and found myself so invested from the very beginning. I feel like it can be so tricky writing about grief, it’s such a complex topic, but the author did it and did it beautifully, I could almost feel Lenny’s pain, like physically feel it. Miles’ character was also so well written, I loved everything about him, to the point of feeling like I’m going to miss him? 😭
Trigger warnings though, this book talks about profound grief, death by cancer, death of parents/close family and depression.

Thank you NetGalley & publisher for the early digital copy, all opinions are mine and mine only ✨

I loved how the narrative embraces the messiness of life, showcasing Lenny’s struggles while also celebrating the small victories that come with learning to live again. The interactions between Lenny and Miles are rich with emotional nuance, filled with warmth and a touch of wit that kept me engaged. The themes of connection, healing, and the unexpected ways people can support each other through their darkest moments resonate throughout the story. This heartfelt tale reminds us that even amidst profound loss, new beginnings can emerge in the most unexpected ways, making it a must-read for anyone seeking solace and hope in the face of life’s challenges.

Thank you so much to Penguin Random House for this eARC.

This was so much more than I could have ever expected. After loving Ready or Not I knew that Cara was an author I would enjoy forever.

The hearts of the characters she has created are so lovely. The care and love that Miles gives to those around him is beautiful. To have lived through such grief and want to help the people around you get through theirs in their own way, while also sharing what worked for him was amazing.

There were so many lovable characters in this book. The humor and banter of Lenny, the directness of Ainsley as well as the new friends Lenny makes along the way this is such a diverse group that I think so many people can and will relate to.

I am fortunate not to have lost someone so important to me yet in life. I can only imagine the pain. To share the story of not only the character going through the grief but the way it affects the people around them AND showing how different people handle grief…it was just beautiful. I hope someone can find hope and healing in Lenny, Reese and Miles.

This book was easily five stars for me and I cannot wait for the rest of the world to have the opportunity to read it.

Cara Bastone became one of my favorite authors after her previous novel Ready or Not. This new book Promise Me Sunshine did not disappoint. I immediately found myself invested in Lenny's story and her relationships with the other characters in this novel. It's so well written. You'll laugh and probably cry. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

If I loved this book any less, I might be able to talk about it more. Seriously, Cara Bastone is one of my new favorite authors. Her characters feel so real and the chemistry she creates with every interaction is so impressive. I desperately need more from her. Miles and Lenny were everything. Their foundation of trust and support leading to their romantic feeling toward one another made this a true romance and one of my favorite books of the year! March needs to come faster so everyone can experience the joy that is Cara Bastone's writing.

Thank you Random House Publishing Group for the ARC!