oh dear lord this may just be my favorite read of the year. It is utterly and sometimes unbearably devastating, but somehow still captivating and full of love. I found myself with a constant stream of tears running down my face from about 40% onward, but I would gladly emotionally suffer all over again to spend more time with these characters.

I can see those who have experienced the loss of someone close to them connecting to this book in a way that those who have not experienced deep grief before are not able to. I think my experience with grief attached me to Lenny and Miles from the beginning, but it’s having read nearly 1,000 books in the past 4 years that made me know fully aware this one is a good one, plain and simple. The perfect balance of darkness and warmth. It was a joy to see Miles love Lenny back to life.

Big thank you to Netgalley for the ARC.

I'm not sure I have the words to describe how much I loved this book. It's such a beautiful, real, and raw portrayal of grief and learning how to be alive again. It has the most delicious slow burn romance between a very quirky FMC (but not manic pixie dream girl) and a grumpy with a heart of gold MMC. Loved the very natural friends to lovers dynamic and how much time was actually spent building intimate moments between them.

One of my top books of the year and I had very high expectations after reading Ready or Not last year. I'm already anticipating her next release (Hoping for an Ethan book next).

* I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley. Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for this book. All thoughts are my own.

I read Ready or Not last year and it ended up being one of my top books of 2023, so I was thrilled when it was announced that Cara Bastone had another book coming out!

I don’t think I could even begin to describe how much I truly loved this book. Lenny is grief is very raw when she meets Miles, and he helps her work through it throughout the book since he’s been through it himself. The author does such a great job with writing rhetorical characters emotions so that the reader can truly feel them - I found myself crying more than once while reading. I also just love Lenny and Miles together.

Would definitely recommend!! Not a light read by any means but so worth it.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the early chance to read and review “Promise Me Sunshine.”

I *LOVED* this book. Once I got started reading, I could not put it down. This is an emotional story of characters dealing with extreme grief. However, the author manages to treat these issues so sensitively and also imbue moments of joy and laughter, throughout the sadder moments, The characters were wonderful - I loved Lenny’s spirit and the way she treated her baby sitting charge and Miles was the absolute perfect book boyfriend. Their progression from friends to lovers was very sweet and emotional. I whole heartedly recommend this book to readers of contemporary romance - its a 5 star read for me!

This is the equivalent to a hug in book form. I loved the story and the way the author framed grief. Miles was the perfect broody MMC who cares for Lenny in such a deep way. Lenny deals with the loss of her best friend and takes the journey of moving through grief and falling in loved. I adored this book and am so glad I got an ARC.

I‘m committing this book to memory!

This book broke my heart and put it back together. I loved they way both mcs were 100% there for each other. Through everything. The way they became friends and got each other through hard times while also experiencing happy moments with each other was so heartwarming. I laughed and cried with them and I‘ll definitely will be rereading this book next year! Also the sneak peek at the end? Can‘t wait for whats to come!!!

The characters, the setting, the friendships, the love and grief and absolutely everything about this was utterly perfect!

The biggest thank you to netgalley and the publisher for this arc! I found a new favorite for sure!!

4.5/5 ⭐️
Release Date: March 4th, 2025

Promise Me Sunshine is a compelling story of what it’s like to live while dealing with unbearable grief. Lenny has been grieving the passing of her bestfriend for months when she takes up a weekend nanny job. While there she meets the broody uncle Miles. Over time they build a friendship that leads to him helping her with a list that was created by Lou and her to make sure she continues to live. While the topic is heavy the storyline does a great job of balancing the sadness and the joy Lenny experiences. There is depth to the story but not so deep you end up crying the whole time. I loved the development of romance that occurs. It felt very natural and you could feel the connection throughout the story. My only complaint is that it wasn’t longer. I do wish there was an epilogue in the end as I felt the ending wasn’t complete. That also could just be a me thing.

Thank you NetGalley for a complementary copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

i am so disheartened to say that i will be dnf’ing this one for now, i got a solid 20% into it and am completely emotionally feeling it. from the get go, the plot felt very jarring and i was confused as to where and how our story was beginning. the characterization had little context and while i now realize it was all for a reason, thar dissuading me early on from continuing. i absolutely adored her debut and would consider giving this another shot, but it is not quite what i’m looking for at the moment

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Lenny lost her best friend, Lou, and she’s having a hard time grieving the loss. She’s barely getting by and rides the Staten Island ferry at night to avoid going home to their apartment. In between nannying gigs, she agrees to nanny a young girl for the weekend while her mom is away for work. It’s there she meets Miles, Ainsley’s surly uncle with an overprotective streak. The two butt heads at first, but when he discovers her book on coping with grief, he decides to help her accomplish the tasks on the live again list Lou created for her. The two grow closer as they run around NYC marking off tasks on her list leaving Lenny to wonder if she can find herself and love again.

This book destroyed me in the best possible way! It’s a beautiful love letter to those we’ve lost. Lou is very much an important character in the novel, and we get to see her through a series of flashbacks as well as through Lenny’s eyes. It’s heart wrenching, raw, and beautiful to see the impact she had on Lenny’s life. While our loved ones may be gone, they are never forgotten and Ms. Bastone does a lovely job of honoring Lou’s memory.

I loved the slow burn and felt that Ms. Bastone handled the subject of grief with care and sensitivity. Despite the heaviness of grief, there were so many moments of levity and she did a great job of balancing the two.

Miles. Oh boy, Miles! When we first meet Miles he’s a bit of a grump. Having just met his half sister, Reese, two years prior he’s trying his best to be a part of her and her daughter’s life, but he doesn’t quite know how to fit in. Reese’s father was a musician who had an extra marital affair that resulted in Miles, so their relationship is rocky to say the least. Underneath the grumpy exterior, he’s a sensitive guy who’s experienced grief himself, and when he discovers that Lenny has been grappling with the loss of her friend he volunteers himself to be her companion.

The more tasks they complete, the more the intimacy between them builds. Their relationship develops organically. He’s her rock, and he doesn’t shy away from the ugliness of her grief. He embraces it and gently supports Lenny without telling her how she should behave or trying to fix her. He accepts her as she is. He guides her gently through it, never judging her.

“Look,” he says low. “Consider it like you just had a heart transplant. When Lou died, your entire heart went with her. But you have to live, right? So now you’ve got this new heart. And you’re getting used to it. No one would expect you to run up a hill right after a heart transplant. Go slow. Go easy on yourself.”

“Talk about her incessantly. Let’s say … two hours? That should be enough to get us started at least. If you need more time, we can add some. Tell me anything you want, in as much detail as you want. And you don’t have to worry about pleasantries or asking about my life or checking to see if I’m bored. For two hours, I’ll listen. No strings.”

“When a wolf is howling at the moon, it’s not actually because it’s lonely.” “Really?”“Yeah.” He nods. “It’s sort of a location technique, for when members of the pack get separated and they need to find one another.” “Oh.” I brush the happy tears away. “So when you hear a wolf call, and then in the distance, you hear another wolf call back, do you know what that can be roughly translated as?” “What’s that?” “The first one saying, I’m here! I’m here! And then the other one says, Me too! Me too!”

Though this story deals with grief, it’s also full of hope, laughter, and love. I was moved to tears by this novel. It was absolutely stunning.

I absolutely enjoyed this book! I feel like it is so hard to talk about grief and how losing someone you love makes you lose yourself. What a great theme. The writing was enjoyable. The banter between the two main characters was entertaining and kept me rooting for them, as well as the FMC to take charge of her life and become independent once again. In terms of romance, the slow burn was slow-burrrnnniinnnggg (which I greatly appreciated) and showed how mature the characters were. 5/5!! I would recommend this book to my friends :)

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for this arc!

This book was great! I did have a hard time getting in to it but about 20-25% in to it I couldn’t stop reading. I loved the writing style and I loved the characters and their chemistry. I loved Lenny and how silly she is. Grumpy X sunshine is one of my favorite tropes!

Cara Bastone’s Promise Me Sunshine is a heartfelt journey that captivates from the very first page.

In this beautifully honest book, Lenny is navigating the grieving process after losing her best friend. Enter Miles—a brooding grouch with a big heart beneath his tough exterior. Their unexpected friendship unfolds in the most delightful way, blending humor and poignancy as they explore life, loss, and the messy territory of love.

Lenny is a refreshingly quirky character whose antics had me laughing out loud—she's unlike any character I've encountered before. The chemistry between her and Miles perfectly captures the grumpy x sunshine dynamic, and Miles, with his sweet, genuine nature, has completely stolen my heart. This book is a must-read for anyone craving a story that’s uplifting and real!