I have never read a romance book with a character grieving for a friend! I loved loved Miles and Lenny. I worried it would get old with how sad she was, but Bastone does an AMAZING job with filling the dialogue with laugh out loud lines.

My heart broke for both characters, and I loved how they took care of each other.

Thank you Netgalley for allowing me a copy of this book!! I enjoyed it so much!

What a beautiful and silly and life-affirming exploration of grief, as told by an FMC with a unique and memorable voice.

It’s hard to write grief in realistic and genuine ways - in this book we got 2 different but equally rich and real portrayals of it in Lenny and in Miles. I left the book laughing with tears in my eyes.

I don’t know if a can properly communicate how importantly beautiful this story is. Grief is the hardest weirdest maze, and this novel articulates that so well.

I reviewed Bastones previous novel, Ready or Not, and emphasized how well she writes love in all ways, and she solidifies that praise in this book. Family, friend, and romantic love are written so beautifully and understood so well.

I am in awe of this book and this author.

Thanks to Netgally and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for honest review!
Yall. This book is EVERYTHING. Seriously. I laughed so much because Lenny is incredibly funny and her personality makes me wish I knew her in real life. Lenny is also dealing with some extremely heavy grief so I also cried a lot throughout this incredible story. I honestly wish I could read this for the 1st time all over again. Lenny and Miles were both absolutely perfect. I love Cara Bastone's writing. I know this doesn't come out until March of next year but I'm already anxious for her next book.
You need to read this book. Trust me on this one.

4.8⭐️ 1.5🫑

Cara Bastone is officially an auto buy author. Ready or Not was pure perfection and now this one?! Amazing. I would like to formally request that the next book be about Ethan and Reese, PLEASEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!

This book is so much more than a romance, it’s an exploration of grief and a journey of healing - that just so happens to feature a perfect man who helps her along the way. I cried so much and my heart felt so full when I finished.

And I laughed out loud a LOT. The banter is perfect. The side characters are ones I wish I could make my BFFs. the found family is pure gold. and the MC’s feel real and relatable.

The MMC has one flaw and it’s that he uses 2 in 1 shampoo - seriously, that’s it, he is otherwise perfect. BUT the man has LAYERS, like an onion, a blooming onion - he’s just self-aware and that makes me love him even more.

The ONLY reason i’m not giving this a perfect 5⭐️ is bc after all that talk about movie scene recreation and waiting (see GR for spoiler). It felt like a missed opportunity, but I’m a fan of grand gestures.

🫑 - a couple scenes but all non-explicit and non-specific - stuff I'd be fine with my teen niece reading.

Thank you NetGalley and The Dial Press for sending this book (eARC) for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

Loved this heartbreaking and hilarious book! Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for an advanced copy!
I loved Ready Or Not by Cara Bastone, and this one was just as wonderful and unique.
The story centers around grief and is one of the most honest and spot-on portraits of it. You can tell the author knows deep loss and wrote it poetically.
The main character, Lenny, is hilarious and so unapologetically herself. She goes back and forth in being funny and drowning in grief, which is extremely relatable. There were so many profound quotes on life and loss. It was so well-written.
Miles, the main male character, was exactly what you want in a partner and friend. I loved the other characters, Ainsley, Reese, and Lenny and Miles' new friends.
I loved the short glimpses of Lenny and her best friend Lou. It added to the depth.
The story is a friends-to-lovers story and a slow burn. It has swoonworthy moments, moments where you could feel Lenny's pain, and also moments of happiness and possibilities.
I absolutely adored this book, and I can't recommend it enough! I'm excited to read more by Cara Bastone!

It’s been a while since I’ve been genuinely shocked by a book but this one definitely did just that. I read ready or not a few months ago and didn’t really like it so I was worried about this one, but I loved everything about it. The exploration of grief in this book was so well done and the slow burn friends to lovers had me waiting in anticipation. Miles is definitely being added to the list of book boyfriends, because the way this man cares for the people he loves had me tearing up.

4.5⭐️ I really enjoyed this book. It had me smiling, laughing,
and sad. I've learned so much about grief. I loved Lenny's character and her funny make believe stories (reminds me of something | would do) The story line was dragged out a bit and the ending felt a little rushed but overall enjoyed it. I love the lessons taught in the book and the Live Again List at the end was the cherry on top!
Thank you NetGalley for letting me read my first ARC!

This book was incredible! It is so important, especially for those grieving a loved one. This book followed Lenny, devastated by the loss of her person. She meets a lovely family,Ainsley and Reese, and their neighbor-- Ainsley's uncle Miles. It turns out Miles was exactly what Lenny needed-- especially having him as someone who has experienced grief before. Lenny was powerful and SO funny. Miles was there for her every step of the way, and this included ways that were just for Lenny. Seeing him love her was really well-written.

Overall, I loved this book-- how it navigated grief, self-care, and included a love story! Thank you for the advanced copy!

This was such a great story. A novel about grief and friendship. I loved Lenny and Miles relationship and rhe banter they had. Also love how they had a slow build of sexual tension.

This was a pretty good book! To me it felt a little bit like the television show New Girl. It had the quirky main character with the grumpy guy she falls for. It was definitely a bit cheesy at times, maybe even too cheesy, but other than that it was a sweet book and I enjoyed reading it!

Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for this complimentary ARC in exchange for an honest review!!

Thank you NetGalley, Random House Publishing and Cara Bastone for the ARC! Set to release in May 2025!

5 stars! ⭐️

It was such a beautiful story showing the journey of grief! As someone who has gone through some hard time as far as grief goes I sometimes have an hard time with books that address it; but not this one! It’s a beautiful story of how you can find healing through immense pain and still end up happy. Miles and Lenny who are both drowning in an ocean of grief find a way to help each other; and it’s seriously just beautiful!

I will be will buying this book come May as a trophy for my shelf!

I want to get my primary complaint over with out the gate because it has nothing to do with the story itself: I found this book extremely hard to read due to grammatical errors. There were so many fragments, comma splices, and ellipses, and the sentences were often so short that it lacked continuity and readability. Cara Bastone has a no-frills writing style which is perfectly okay, but there needs to be more thorough editing to avoid being taken out of the story due to choppy writing. For example:

“He reminds me of gravel road. At night. With nothing but headlights to show you what comes next.”

“But…in reality. In the world that doesn’t have an actual plan... I still haven’t been to Lou’s grave.”

As for the storyline itself, I have mixed feelings. There is so much nuance when it comes to the grieving process, and to me Lenny’s experience felt like an overdramatized caricature of grief. Maybe I’m just jealous of the way she had the option to spiral her life out of control and somehow still stay afloat, but nothing about her situation seemed plausible. When you lose someone, life goes on, and for our main character her life simply doesn’t. She hasn’t been home to her apartment in months, works odd babysitting jobs for income, and sleeps on the ferry most nights while thrifting new clothes when she needs to change. Most people don’t have that luxury to untether themselves to any responsibility; they have to find a new normal while the world keeps turning around them. Furthermore, there was a complete lack of self-awareness which often made her character seem very self-absorbed to me. I just couldn’t find myself rooting for her, as much as I hate to say it.

I also had a really hard time buying into the romance because any character development we saw in Miles seems to be conveniently placed in order to help Lenny work through her feelings. His character felt very posed as a result, and this was on ongoing theme of the character’s development feeling like plot devices to progress Lenny’s storyline. I also found the sudden jump in the lack of romantic tension in part one, to the constant butterflies in part two, and the immediate “take me home and do me” (that’s an actual quote) mentality of part 3 to be incredibly jarring. I felt like the storyline moved from her living in intense grief to a sudden infatuation with Miles in a transition that was not very natural.

I am interested to go back and read Ready or Not, as this seems like a narrative where Bastone’s writing and characters might work better for my reading tastes, but this book fell completely flat to the point where I was dragging my way through it by the end. However, if the summary of Promise Me Sunshine sounds like something that might interest you, then I do urge you to give it a try as it may resonate with you more than it did me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

this book ripped my heart out in the best way possible. it was such a beautiful depiction of grief, I don’t think I’ll ever get over it.

I loved LOVED THIS BOOK. PERFECT COZY CUDDLY WARM. A FOREHEAD KISS. A SNUGGLE WITH A PUPPY. PERFECTION. THANK YOU CARA BASTONE.

I am truly honored to have received an advanced reader copy of this book, set to be released in May 2025. From the moment I learned that Cara Bastone was publishing a new book, I was filled with anticipation. I dove into the story blindly, unaware that one of the main themes would be grief.
As someone who is all too familiar with loss, I can say that the topic is handled with sensitivity and grace.
I could totally relate to Lenny; Miles' character was absolutely surprising—he was so gentle and wise. As usual, NYC plays its own role, and I really enjoyed how it’s described because it feels very real.
Even if you are going through a difficult grief process, I would absolutely recommend this book. I both laughed and cried, finding moments of joy and sorrow.
Beautiful book!

5 beautiful 🌟. I thought this was a beautiful story showing the journey of grief and finding out you can heal through immense pain and be happy on the other side. Miles and Lenny both were dealing with their own grief journey but their friendship was so sweet. Miles is the definition of a grumpy teddy bear and I was here for it. Lenny is quirky in her own way but breaks Miles down bit by bit. One of my favorite lines from this book was:
"Because making someone believe they're home is so much better than being told I'm pretty" ugh stoppp
Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for the ARC.

Hmm. I’m not sure on this one. It is a pretty sad set up. Lenny is deep in the throes of grief over the passing of her best friend. She is taking short term nanny jobs to stay afloat. She is nannying for Mile’s niece. Miles is grumpy and somewhat estranged from his sister and niece and trying to get to know them. Miles agrees to help Lenny with her list of things to live if she can teach him how to be around his niece. The story drags along as Lenny tries to be human again. I think my main concern is Miles. It almost comes off as a savior complex and the whole story feels unnatural. By the time the hope and joy section came around, you’ve been trudging in the depression and misery of the story for so long, it was hard to appreciate. At best this is a library rental if you don’t mind being sad.

Thank you Random House Publishing Group for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

4.5 stars rounded up. I HIGHLY preferred this to Bastone’s previous book, Ready Or Not. This one felt
more like an actual romance, and the kid in this— while older, which is usually not my favorite— was great! This was just… so good. As someone who has gone through an insurmountable amount of grief this year, there’s something so special about reading books that have characters who get you. Grief is a part of love, and those who grieve deserve to have love. I loved this book and I can’t wait to get a physical copy ❤️

I’m not sure I’ve ever read a book that made me cry and laugh in equal measure. What a punch in the gut with such realistic displays of moving forward after grief, alongside fun chemistry and hilarious banter. I loved everything about this book and, while I read an e-ARC, I intend to purchase a copy for my “favorites” shelf.

Thank you, NetGalley, for the advance reader copy.