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.

Will post on Instagram on 9/29/24
I love Lenny! She is struggling with the loss of her best friend, while also trying to work. But she is also very funny with endless banter. Then there’s Miles who just wants to be accepted by Reese and Ainsley. He is also struggling with losing a loved one. Lastly, there’s Ainsley that really just wants to spend more time with her career-driven mom. Everyone is struggling, but they are all trying.
Cara’s ability to make you feel the grief is phenomenal. I was crying for Lenny. She was lost without her friend, and at the same time pushing her family away. I wanted Miles to not only be accepted, but to be loved by his family and maybe even Lenny. The friendship between Lenny and Miles took some time but it was worth it. They helped each other, while learning about one another and it led to a beautiful connection. You could almost say they saved each other.
“He treats you well?”
“He walked into hell and dragged me back out.”

So someone needs to put in a request right this second for this book to be made into a show or movie! It was absolutely DARLING! I could not get over how the characters felt like family, the setting felt like the most special place, and the storyline pulled every heartstring. Just beautifully written.

Thank you to Random House, The Dial Press, NetGalley, and Cara Bastone for the eARC of this lovely book! I recently read Ready or Not and absolutely adored it. So I was thrilled when I was gifted this advanced copy!

When we first meet Lenny she is dealing with grief from the loss of her best friend, Lou, that is so intense she isn’t sleeping, eating, or even going home. The only thing that is allowing her any respite from her grief are the short term nannying jobs she takes on. That’s where she meets Reece, her adorable 7 year old daughter, Ainsley, and Miles. Miles is Ainsley’s uncle but there’s definitely some family drama there. Miles recognizes that Lenny needs help navigating her grief and they embark on a journey of strangers to friends to eventual lovers. With the help of her new found family, Lenny learns to live again and to fall in love for the first time.

I absolutely adored Lenny and Miles! The way Cara handles complicated and serious subjects such as grief is beautiful. This was an easy 5⭐️read as was Ready or Not! I’m ready to dive into her backlist for sure.

Promise Me Sunshine is out March 4, 2025 and I highly recommend you preorder this gorgeous baby right now!

I wasn’t expecting to love this book as much as I did. The way these characters were there for each other really moved me. Highly recommend!

Okay where do I even start with how much I loved this book? Once I started it, I didn’t want to put it down, so I stayed up way too late finishing it.

At the beginning, Miles definitely rubbed me the wrong way, but figuring he was the main love interest, I of course held out. Once you really get into the story, he’s impossible not to fall in love with. Lenny and her grief is so real and raw, and as someone who has never experienced loss like that, my heart truly ached for her. The character development was amazing, and I loved seeing the characters progress in their day to day life, as well as their love life.

This book will definitely go down as one of my favorites reads for the year.

I DEVOURED this book!

This is a story of grief and coming "back to life", of friendship and family, of personal growth and acceptance. It's beautiful.

I was pulled in to the story right away. The characters are well written and while not totally likeable, at first, they aren't unlikeable for no reason. The stories are complex, the side characters are meaningful and add depth to the story.

There is a bit of spice, which doesn't distract from the main story of continuing on after the death of a loved one.

If you have lost a loved one, this may hit hard, but in a sensitive, "seen" way. If you don't know that pain, you will still love the growth and relationships.

I don't read many books twice, but this will be one of them.

Thanks to NetGalley, Random House Publishing Group and Cara Bastone for this eARC.

Thank you, NetGalley and the publisher, for this ARC. In return, I am offering my genuine and honest opinion of this book.

This book made my heart so happy, and I smiled from ear to ear. I wanted more and was heartbroken when I made it to the end. The thought of this story being brought to life on the big screen excites me. I will be so disappointed if they don't make this into a movie. I loved the characters. I loved how Cara Bastone, the author, writes. I want more from her and might even read this book again one day. I loved it so much.

The characters, friendships, love and grief, and storyline made my heart so happy. This book is uplifting, honest, and just like a huge blanket of joy! Don't miss out on this one.