TY to Net Galley and Random House for the ARC. While I didn't love this story and characters as much as the author's previous book Ready or Not, I still loved this one. The male MC should be goals for anyone! Heavy emphasis on grief.

Overall good read.
Loved Miles character.
Lenny's development & growth was written well
I did not feel Lenny's grief however, and for me there was a disconnect on who her best friend was despite loving a random band and having cancer. I wanted to see more of their relationship, so perhaps more flashbacks would have improved the story for me.

Slow burn romance-which really worked for most of the book (I love a slow burn) but towards the end it felt dragged out.

I had really high expectations for this book after loving Bastone’s Ready or Not, and Promise Me Sunshine did not disappoint. What an achingly beautiful exploration of grief, friendship and love. The romance was so well integrated into the heavier themes. I absolutely loved it and did not want it to end (an epilogue would have been great!).

Lenny has recently lost her best friend to cancer and she's trying to learn to live without her wrapped in grief. She agrees to accept a weekend nanny job to hold her over while she tries to figure out how to move on with her life. When she meets young Ainsley, she's ready to spend the weekend with the free-spirit, lively child and did not realize she'd be doing this job while Ainsley's grumpy uncle Miles watches her every move. But it turns out that Miles has too lost loved ones and knows a little about the grieving process, while knowing absolutely nothing about how to interact with his young niece and her mother, his half-sister. So Lenny and Miles strike a deal - she'll teach him how to connect with Ainsley and he'll teach her how to live with the loss of a loved one.

I loved this book. I went in expecting a fun romance and while it is a romance, it's also a touching story about love, loss, and grief. Lenny's grief was almost palpable, and her storyline is both heartwarming and heartbreaking, with a side of humor. This book made me laugh and cry. Lenny is relatable, silly, and smart. Miles is a grumpy cinnamon roll. The book is a ten.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group – Dial Press Trade Paperback for the free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

One thing I loved about this book is how the MMC looked at love. At one point he talks about how true/real love is something that grows and evolves with the couple. It made me really think about my relationship with my husband and how much we have evolved as we have grown older. Many times romances are about the intense love and the heat. I loved how this was the small things that made a relationship.

I loved Miles. He generally cares and he always makes sure to make sure those around him are ok. The way he showed he cares didn't always look like that to those around him. It is always the small things that they do that I love.

This book is also very raw when it comes to grief and everything that Lenny is going through after losing her best friend. The writing in this book you could feel what she was feeling. Seeing how grief has impacted her so much and the amount of struggle she is trying to overcome. The babysitter's job she got came at exactly the right moment she needed it.

This is a beautifully written book about grief, life, and love.

I fell in love with Bastone’s writing last year after reading Ready or Not, and this next read certainly didn’t disappoint. Highlights heavier topics than most contemporary romances, but that was definitely part of the reason why I enjoyed it so much - it allowed the story to feel truly human. Though the plot is centered around a mostly heavy subject, the story is still full of entertaining comedic relief moments - Lenny’s humor is truly my cup of tea.

This came highly recommended by a friend and I'm so glad I picked this up! Promise Me Sunshine has so many elements I love in my romance - friends to lover, slow burn, heartache in a multitude of senses that causes emotional growth.... So good! I loved Miles and Lenny together as well as individually. Lenny's grief was just so, so real and I'm impressed by how thoughtfully Cara Bastone navigated such a painful subject.

Lenny (Helen) and Miles are the main characters in a story about grief, moving on, friendships and an underlying slow burn romance. This story was SO slow in the first 1/3 of the book. BUT, I knew there was going to be a romance and it picked up the pace along the way.

Miles is a grumpy, cinnamon roll hero who has such patience while helping Lenny deal with her grief in her own way. He handles all of her meltdowns and you can tell when he actually develops more intense feelings for her.

Miles allows Lenny all the time and space she needs to learn to live again.

I really loved Miles. And I loved how Lenny guided him with his family issues.

But this book sparked all kinds of emotions, there was crying, laughter, angst, anger and those were my emotions as the reader.
And the sub characters supported the storytelling.

First of all, this is a grief book. There is nothing wrong with being a grief book, but I think sometimes things get billed wrong and I want to be clear that the romance is very much secondary. This is about loss and grief and getting through it.

Lenny lost her best friend who was her other half. Lenny is absolutely lost. She's no longer going back to her apartment, she's riding the ferry all night and bathing in public restrooms. She is not at all coping. Enter Miles - the stern kind of grumpy uncle to the girl Lenny is a temp nanny for. Miles is like why is this unkempt woman taking care of my niece. And then Miles is like, oh I will help you through grief and make sure you eat and be the person you can call at 2 am to sob to and also use my studio apartment to live in because I know you can't go home because memories. Miles is perfect and I would like one of those too please.

Lenny was fine and trying. I just did not get the quirk they gave her where she sees a man (ANY MAN) and immediately fantasizes a full life with them. Like she stares at length and the men can tell she's ogling them. It was so weird and didn't fit the rest of the book at all.

I have not experienced loss to the level that Lenny has but I know people have and for them this will resonate. The people I know who have experienced loss and read this book *loved* it. I guess I wasn't in a place for such a deep grief journey. But I am always in a place where I can appreciate a Miles.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the review copy.

This was a gorgeous book about finding hope at the other end of loss and grief.

Six months ago, Lenny lost her lifelong best friend Lou, her constant companion, and she is still deep in grief. She can hardly stand to stay in their shared apartment, and to keep busy and try to pay her rent she is picking up short-term nannying jobs here and there. Her latest job takes her to single mom Reese and her daughter Ainsley. The job looks to be easy enough, except Ainsley's uncle Miles insists on sticking around and observing. What a creep, right?

After an accidental backpack spill, Miles discovers that Lenny's carrying around a book about grief and shares that he's read it too. He then offers to help Lenny through her grief and complete the list of things she is supposed to do after Lou's death to help her live again, IF Lenny stays on and works for Reese long term and helps Miles learn how to connect with Ainsley. Reluctantly, Lenny agrees, and a friendship begins to form.

Lenny and Miles's friendship felt very real to me, and though Miles is awkward and sometimes jumps to wrong conclusions, he's also gentle and perceptive to what Lenny needs. I loved the slow buildup to the relationship, and the ways their friendship also influenced the complicated relationship between Miles, Ainsley, and Reese. There was just so much in this book and it was all good.

This is the first Cara Bastone book I've read and you'd better believe I'm adding anything else she's written to my list.

Promise Me Sunshine by Cara Bastone completely stole my heart. It’s the kind of book that makes you laugh, cry, and hug it when you’re done. Lenny is still trying to figure out life after losing her best friend, and then there’s Miles—grumpy, closed-off, but somehow exactly what she needs. Their slow-burn romance is so soft and real, and I loved every second of it.

The mix of grief, love, and found family is beautifully done, and even with the heavy moments, there’s so much warmth and hope. If you love emotional but cozy romances with characters who feel like real people, this one’s for you!

i struggled with this book a lot more than i thought i would. mainly - i thought having to read through the grief of losing a friend would destroy me, but instead my disdain for the main character REALLY made it hard to connect with the book.

the plot of the book was good. the list was a really fun aspect of this and i loved that a lot. i felt lenny’s journey through grief was really well written. i LOVED the pacing of hers and miles. i respect bastone’s understanding of grief enough to know lenny needed to become herself again before jumping into anything.

i loved miles. he was sweet, caring and attentive. he was, again, really well written. his support for lenny was admirable. they way he knew when to push and when to pull back, he was her strength until she found her own.

lenny - i didn’t hate her perse, but she annoyed me. so. much. they way she talked sometimes just reminded me of a toddler. 75% of the words coming out of her mouth had me cringing. at first i thought - maybe it’s just the millennial core that’s driving me crazy? but i think that her personality was a) not for me and b) not that well written.

now - i did love the pacing and lenny and miles’ relationship BUT i wish we saw more progression there. it kind of felt like suddenly they’re in love and need to do something about it. wish there was more a buildup.

also i feel the ending was very sudden. would of loved to see more of them in an epilogue, but im glad that miles at least got to meet lou by the end of the book.

overall - this was a fine read! it was still enjoyable, just a few grips.

4.5 stars
Sex: yes (a scene or two at the end)
Language: yes

It’s been a while since I’ve been sad to have a book end. I stayed up far too late to finish listening to this one. It’s mostly a story of grief and healing. It’s heavy and sad, but ultimately hopefully and really funny. The main character is absurdly quirky, like many of this author’s female leads, but I enjoy it. Lenny’s very best friend has died and she’s just not sure how ANYONE survives something like this. She’s floating through life, shutting out anyone who knows her, and faking it as much as she can, until she meets someone who recognizes her grief from first hand experience and decides he’s going to take it upon himself to coach her through it. There’s tough love and incredible tenderness. Miles offers Lenny a safe space where she can be 100% authentically broken and it was beautiful to watch. Lenny, despite her heart-wrenching sadness, is such a bright light. Thanks to NetGalley for the copy to review.

This slow burn romance is one of the sweetest books I’ve read in a long time. It has to be said the main focus is on grief and grieving & learning to live again after the loss of a loved one, so if you aren’t in the right mental space for this right now, skip it until you are.
From Goodreads: Lenny's a bit of a mess at the moment.
Her best friend, Lou, recently passed away after a battle with cancer, and her death has left Lenny feeling completely lost. She's avoiding her concerned parents, the apartment she shared with Lou, and the list of things she's supposed to do to help her live again. The only thing she can do is temporary babysitting gigs, and luckily, she just landed a great one, helping overworked, single mom Reese and her precocious daughter, Ainsley. It's not perfect: Ainsley's uncle, Miles, always seems to be around, and is kind of... a huge jerk. But if Lenny acts like she has it all together, maybe no one will notice she's falling apart. Miles sees right through her though. Turns out, he knows a lot about grief and, surprisingly, he offers her a proposition. He'll help her complete everything on her "live again" list if she'll help him connect with Ainsley and overcome his complicated relationship with Reese. Lenny doubts anything can fill the Lou has left behind, but she begins to spend more time with Miles, Lenny is surprised to discover that, sometimes, losing everything is only the first step to finding yourself.
While the main focus on this is grief there are several lighthearted moments and quite a few laugh out loud ones. All of the characters, including the side characters, are lovable and really make the book come to life.
The chemistry Lenny has with everyone who comes into her life is truly spectacular and watching her learn to live again is really something special.
Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for an advanced copy of this. Promise Me Sunshine hit the shelves on March 4.

This is a good read about a girl trying to meddle through grief and and she finds someone who tries to help her. Cara touches on some tough topics in her book but she is very meticulous in her writing.

While I ultimately liked this book I had a hard time connecting with the characters. Lenny was a unique character and while I grew to like her there were several times that her traits took me out of the story, especially in the beginning. I ended up really enjoying this book for its depth, but if you've had a personal experience with grief or with cancer there are points that were triggering. While the romance aspect was very realistic and well done there was very little in the beginning and it felt unbalanced - just know that going in!

I did end up listening to half of this book and I think that contributed to my disconnect. I look forward to consuming it in entirety on paper, I have a hunch I'll enjoy it more that way.

Oh my goodness! This book was absolutely everything to me. I read it all in one sitting, and I am already ready to reread this and annotate the life out of my physical copy now.

Cara somehow always weaves just the right amount of reality into the stories to help people navigate real world situations. The topic of grief in this book was so so well done and I really felt like this was a beautiful journey for people to go on. Following two people who navigated their grief so differently and with different supports was really interesting to see. I feel like that was really important to show that is going to mirror another journey.

I absolutely loved that this book showcase not only romantic partnership, but also platonic partnership. This book really encompassed a total human experience of living in the city and navigating a difficult time that can be relatable to so many people. I absolutely love this book and grateful to an ARC!

I loved this book and how much heart it had. Lenny and Miles’s story felt so natural and heartfelt and emotional in all of the best ways. When Lenny felt heartbreak and grief, it felt like I was right there with her. When Miles finally was accepted by his family, I felt joy right along side him. This book made me FEEL. As a couple, Lenny and Miles’s journey from strangers to friends to partners felt so natural and I thought that each stage of their relationship occurred at exactly the right time for them and who their characters were in each moment.

I loved and appreciated that the overall message of this book was that it’s okay to have/ask for/accept help when being pulled back from the depths of grief and the deep heartbreak that comes with losing a loved one. It’s easy to not want to burden your loved ones with your pain but Lenny’s story showed how much better it is to let people in. I loved that while Lenny still had to learn to love life for herself again and not for anyone else’s sake, Miles was always always there to support in whatever form necessary. She never had to go it alone or put the pieces of her life back together on her own. She was given the support she needed to live a full life again through Miles’s love and kindness so that eventually, when she was ready, she could take care of herself again. This book is about finding the light when it seems the furthest away it’s ever been and about the loved ones in our life who would cross oceans just to make sure we’re okay. What a beautiful concept to write about.

This was a truly remarkable book that left me both moved and deeply satisfied. The story was excellent in every sense, offering a perfect balance of humor, heart, and real-world emotions. As a New Yorker myself, I especially loved the setting of NYC. The author captured the city’s pulse so beautifully, making it feel like another character in the story.

The characters were what really made this book stand out. They were relatable, likeable, and well-developed. Each one grew and evolved throughout the story, and it was impossible not to become emotionally invested in their journeys. Lenny, was particularly compelling, and watching her navigate the complex emotions of grief was both heartbreaking and inspiring. The theme of grief was explored in such a realistic way, it wasn’t glossed over, and the portrayal that grieving is not linear felt so raw and authentic.

Despite the heavy theme, the book was incredibly funny and beautifully written. The pacing was steady, which kept me engaged throughout, and the writing flowed in a way that made it easy to read. I found myself both laughing and tearing up, and I loved how the author weaved these contrasting emotions so seamlessly. The banter between the characters was an absolute highlight, it had me smiling to myself more than once. The witty exchanges added a layer of lightness to the story, making it a truly enjoyable experience.

One of my favorite elements of the book was Lenny’s journey to healing, which was marked by the discovery of new love and friendship. Miles was such a standout character, everyone deserves a friend like him. His kindness and support were exactly what Lenny needed, and their dynamic was one of the most heartwarming parts of the story.

All in all, this book was a beautiful exploration of grief, healing, and the importance of love and friendship.

I'm shook that I disliked this one as much as I did, especially after seeing lots of glowing reviews on bookstagram. But I finally had to admit to myself that I just wasn't interested at all and DNFed at 33%. I didn't feel any romantic chemistry between the main characters and the FMC was particularly childish. I understand grief can be all-consuming, but she was utterly incapable of basic tasks like walking into a bedroom and yet she's supposed to be trusted to babysit a kid all day? I also thought the premise of the book was bizarre with the FMC being expected to babysit while the kid's estranged uncle just randomly shows up and hangs out at the apartment at the same time? I feel like that's unrealistic and creepy. I was reading this for two weeks and my desire to pick it up just kept waning until I finally decided to DNF. Thanks anyway for the ARC.