I loved reading Ready or Not and was absolutely honored and ecstatic to receive this ARC.
In Promise Me Sunshine, we follow Lenny's journey through her grief after losing her best friend/soulmate to cancer, with Miles as her guide. This book dealt with a lot of serious topics, namely grief, cancer, and death, and Cara Bastone writes about these phenomenally with a lot of depth. Lenny and Miles' characters were great together, when they were friends and when they were possibly more (banter was A+). They understood each other, were patient with each other, and were always 100% there for each other. I loved Lenny's character, and I admired her humor, resilience, and her determination. While she was suffering, she also had the space in her heart to help Miles with his struggles. It was uplifting to see Lenny gradually getting herself back and opening herself back up to friendship, family, and love. While this book was really heavy and emotional, there was still a lot of instances of funny/humorous moments sprinkled in between. I absolutely recommend this book, and I thought the grief was portrayed accurately and resonated very well.

Thank you to Random House Publishing Group and NetGalley for the ARC!

This was lovely in so many ways. This is an auto-buy author for me. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for gifting me this arc.

I can honestly say this is the best book I’ve read in 2024. I know this book comes out in 2025, but honestly this is complete perfection.

In this novel we follow Lenny who just lost her best friend to cancer and has taken a job as a babysitter. As she’s babysitting, the uncle (only 5ish years older than her) shows up and is a bit judgmental until he finds out about Lenny’s friend. Miles says he will help her learn to live again if she will help him learn to be a good uncle. Together the two embark on a story that is pure love in so many forms: family, friendships, and romantic love.

I mean it when I say I am sort of speechless. This book just hit me hard but I loved every moment of it. I’ve lost many loved ones in my short life, and what Lenny experiences is exactly what it feels like. It’s raw, unforgiving, and just plain old life.

Lenny is a great FMC. I’ve never quite read a character like her. I felt a connection with her immediately. It didn’t take long for me to love Miles. He is so selfless when it comes to Lenny, his sister Reese, and niece. I wanted to hug all these characters because they have been through so much.

Shout out to Jericho and his friends as side characters. I swear, this book was just filled with amazing people. I especially loved Lenny’s mom and dad. They were perfect - I wish we had more scenes with them.

I will say this is a slow burn (think Marianna Zapata level slow). So slow but in the best way possible. It enhances the character development and plot 100%. You really have to earn the love. There is romance, but it isn’t all about kissing and bedroom scenes. No, this is deep “I will do anything to help you get better because you are my soulmate and I want to keep you safe” type of love.

Please read this book, but only when you are ready for a book that is deep and will slightly wreck you. You won’t regret it.

*An ARC was received in exchange for an honest review. These are my own opinions.

This might be my favorite book of this year so far. I finished it in 2 days and couldn't stop thinking about it when I wasn't reading it. It was beautifully written, the pain was viseral. I have enjoyed Cara's books in thr oast but this was next level.

Promise Me Sunshine is another heartfelt release from Cara Bastone, who remains one of my favorite authors of recent years.

This book is more than just a romance—it’s a moving exploration of grief. Bastone offers a raw, honest portrayal of grief with Lenny and Miles. Their shared experience of grief is what brings them together and heals them both.

Read if you like:
🩵 Grumpy x Sunshine
🩵 Found family

Many thanks to NetGalley and Dial Press for an eARC of Promise Me Sunshine. This book is sure to be one of the top releases next March!

This book starts in heartbreaking devastation and slowly transforms to utter joy in a way that is so raw and beautiful and profound to experience.

Cara Bastone creates some of the most vivid, alive characters I’ve ever read. Even in the midst of shattering grief, Lenny is so vivaciously alive. And the way Miles brings her back to the land of the living is so tender and pure.

Everyone deserves someone who understands grief in this way, and since many of us won’t get it, I truly hope this book helps readers process the losses in their lives.

Thank you to Dial Press and NetGalley for providing this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Such a beautiful, tearful read! This book held on tight from the first chapter and all the way to the end! Cara Bastone has once again had me in tears! Each character was described in such a way that I felt like I was walking in this story beside them. Grief is easier when you are walking in it together!

I wasn’t sure anything could top Ready or Not for me. I shouted from the rooftops how much I loved this. And now Promise me Sunshine was even better. Cara Bastones writing style feels like magic. The pain, the grief, the LOVE. Lenny and Miles are going to live in my head and heart for a long long time.

This book was immediately a 5-star read for me. The author captured grief and the process of healing so beautifully. The love story felt organic and genuine I like that there were so many different different of love portrayed. There was platonic love, family love, and romantic love - it was all so wonderfully done!

Wow. I fell in love with Cara’s writing in Ready or Not but it did not prepare me to fall even further in Promise me Sunshine. The depths of character building and shaping the storytelling is done such in a unique way. There was a conscious layering of action and emotions that shape the moral of the story that was beautiful, I have not read grief and loss in a character in such a way that made me understand it so poignantly and such a raw reality of humanity. I read and felt Lenny really struggle and grow to come to terms with grief and become happy again but it touched that she would not always be happy. She would remember the sad moments but she knew how to get herself out of the phase. I saw her become happy.

Just beautiful. I would highly highly recommend this and I cannot wait to get a physical!!

What a beautiful novel about the stages of grief. The author wrote about Lenny and Miles’ grief so vividly; I found myself numerous times in tears. I loved the characters and all the love shown throughout the novel in different ways.

The way that this story went from friends to lovers was also beautiful. It was a natural, flowing progression that I felt was perfect for the tone of this book.

This is must read when it comes out in March!

Thank you to Netgalley and Random House Publishing Group for the ARC of this novel; all opinions are my own.

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.