This is the book. I loved this book SO MUCH. It was absolutely wonderful and oh so heartbreaking all at the same time. It is so heavy on grief, and it’s not always pretty, truthfully it’s not pretty a lot of the time. But watching Lenny trying how to figure out how to live without her best friend was written SO beautifully. And don’t get me wrong it was ALSO such a good time. It was fun and silly and sad and full of so much love it made my heart ache in THE BEST WAY.

The SLOWEST burn was so good, and absolutely necessary and absolutely perfect. The fact that Lenny was somehow still the sunshine in hers and Miles’ grumpy/sunshine pair was perfection. The fact that Miles needed Lenny’s help with Reese and Ainsley. Everything about this book was perfect.

Miles and Lenny were such a chaotic pair and they needed each other in such a big way and the fact that they found each other made me so happy. I loved how complex and complicated they both were. Neither of their journeys were easy, and even by the end, nothing was perfect but they were better. The romance was also very much on the back burner for a long time. They both had way bigger things to deal with first, and the way it played out was so good.

I love this book so much and I already cannot wait to read it again.

ALSO a little Ethan and Miriam cameo 🥹

Thank you SO MUCH to Dial Press for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!!

Promise Me Sunshine is a story navigating the harsh reality of grief. After losing the closest person to her, Lenny is struggling to live again in her everyday life. During one of her babysitting gigs, she meets Miles who is the uncle to Ainsley the girl she is watching. Seeing through her, Miles realizes that Lenny is dealing with more than she is letting on and makes her an offer: Help him connect with Ainsley and her mother Reece and he will help Lenny navigate through her grief and live again.

This story was so beautiful and touching. Lenny is so consumed by her grief that she will not even go to her apartment unless absolutely necessary. Meeting Miles, they do not get off on the right foot. However Miles quickly realizes that Lenny is in grief. I just adored Miles. He was there for Lenny every step of the way through her grief while dealing with his own struggles with his family. Seeing him there for here over and over again was so touching. I really enjoyed watching Lenny slowly start to move on after losing her best friend.

While I had a hard time fully connecting to this story considering I have not experience the same emotions Miles and Lenny have through loss, I can see how this book could really touch someone that has been through this grief. Overall, I really enjoyed this story and look forward to a reread when this book comes out!

the rom com genre is so lucky to have cara bastone. i really enjoyed this story and think it balances grief, growth and romance very well. her characters are distinct and i loved being in lenny's head. it definitely has heavy moments, but everything was handled with so much care. this book is a hug. looking forward to listening when the audio comes out!

3.25 stars
Thank you Net Gallery and Cara Bastone for an ARC of this book. This book dealt with a lot of grief. I enjoyed parts of this book, and didn’t enjoy other parts of it. Overall, I would say this was an entertaining read.

This book is so heartfelt. For me I feel like loss would be something to write about. I love how Cara Bastone made this into something to smile about. Thank you so much for the ARC.

Cara Bastone, you have to stop making me cry like this. This is now the second Cara Bastone book that has wrecked me this year, and it’s safe to say that she’s officially an auto buy author for me. I truly couldn’t wait until closer to pub date to read this once I got approved for the ARC on Netgalley, and I’m so glad I didn’t wait. This was such a beautiful story about grief and love. These characters have my whole heart, and I’ll probably need a while to recover before I can really coherently write out everything I want to say about this.

Cara Bastone is quickly becoming one of my favorite fiction writers! I had high expectations as “Ready or Not” might be my favorite book I’ve read this year, and Ms. Bastone did not disappoint. Her heartwarming and heart wrenching story about Lenny and Miles is going to stick with me for quite a while. The author’s ability to create vivid characters is one of her greatest strengths as a writer, and as a person with anxiety, I appreciate that her books don’t contain any of the typical tropes that tend to stress me out (think misunderstandings, hiding big secrets/true identities from others, etc.). I will be waiting with great anticipation for her next book!

Heartfelt romance that explores love after a loss. Cara does a wonderful job showcasing the struggles of grief, and just how dark life after the loss of a loved one can be.

Miles helps Lenny overcome grief after losing her best friend, Lou. In the process of this, Lenny falls deeply in love with Miles and his charming characteristics.

This was a beautiful story and slow-burn romance. I plan to check out more of Cara’s work soon!

3.5/5 stars. With her last two books, Cara Bastone is becoming one of my favourite romance authors. I really appreciate books that are able to balance heavier themes along with a romance without bringing either down, and this one does that so well. The romantic development is slow and sweet, both characters complimented each other so well. I like how their relationship was built on a solid friendship first, it made them admitting their feelings that much more satisfying. Lenny's friendship with Lou, and her journey with grief, was also handled with a lot of care and its portrayal felt so real and raw at times. Overall, a lovely read and I am definitely looking forward to Cara's future books.

Oh, my goodness. This story is beautiful! I laughed, cried, cheered. Cara Bastone is a must-read for me now. Great writing and memorable side characters, too.

Thank you, NetGalley and Penguin Random House for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

promise me sunshine (arc)

i was so excited when i got the email saying i was accepted for this arc! i really enjoyed ready or not by this author, so i had high hopes for this one.

at the beginning, i was worried i wouldn’t enjoy the writing—it felt a bit choppy, and the flow wasn’t quite satisfying. it stopped bothering me about 25% in, so i’m not sure if the writing smoothed out or i got used to it.

what i love about cara bastone’s books is the mix of seriousness and silliness. they almost feel more like literary fiction with a strong romance subplot, and i’ve found myself liking that structure, maybe even more than a classic rom-com. the heavier literary fiction vibes give space for deeper emotions and insightful lines, which i really appreciate. while this book deals with heavy themes of grief, they’re balanced with cheesy, silly moments. although the topic is intense, i didn’t feel weighed down while reading, which was nice. at times, our fmc’s grief felt a little exaggerated and maybe not entirely realistic, but part of me thinks that might have been intentional.

miles and lenny were perfect, both as friends and as a couple. i loved the slow burn of their story; before anything else, they were really good friends. i honestly didn’t feel much romantic tension until the 50% mark, but somehow, that made their feelings even more believable and understandable. their story is the definition of a slow burn, but the payoff is so sweet. both characters were equally charming, and their individuality made them easy to love.

miles was honestly ultimate book boyfriend material. quiet in his love and affection but so incredibly reliable, sweet and steady. i cannot describe how endearing his character was.

i was initially worried i wouldn’t enjoy it, but i’m so glad i kept reading, because i really liked this book. it was definitely worth the time, and i found its setup pretty unique.

i can’t wait to get a physical copy to add to my collection when it’s published in march! cara bastone will definitely be an author i read more from!

also a moment for the vibes of this book —> ⛴️🗽☕️📖🛋️🏸💌

4.5 stars

I loved this book. It had such a unique premise and it gave me all the feelings. Lenny is grieving her soulmate and meets Miles, the grumpy uncle of a child she’s nannying. He has experience with grief himself and he proceeds to be the best support system for Lenny. This is slow-burn, friends to lovers perfection. Bastone writes about grief in a simple, matter of fact way, but creates so much emotion in the story. Lenny is truly struggling in her heartbreak and Miles meets her where she is as she learns to live again. The way the author transitions their relationship from friends to lovers was so well done. Yay for realistic scenarios, humour and patience!
This was a solid 4.5 stars for me.

Cara Bastone is fast becoming a must read author for me. Promise Me Sunshine is a positively lovely story about loss, friendship, family and love. It’s funny and heartbreaking and beautiful all at once. The characters are endearing despite their flaws. I can’t wait to see what Cara Bastone has in store for us next.

Thanks to NetGalley, Dial Press and the author for a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Cara Bastone is slowly securing her spot as a top romance author for me. I have loved both her releases and she is so comparable to Emily Henry that it will be so easy for me to handsell her books with this comp.

Her novels have excellent romance, but are also made up of incredible storylines that situate the couple and the characters in a way that feels very human. The grief at the center of this story was so moving and the Lenny's connection to her friend never wavered. And Miles was so careful and motivated to help her.

Even Miles's relationship with his half-sister was crafted so carefully and realistically. I love Cara Bastone!

What a wonderful, deep, experience! Thank you so much for the opportunity to read this advanced copy - moved to tears multiple times!!

I absolutely adored Cara Bastone's Ready or Not, so I was excited to get an advanced copy of Promise Me Sunshine. I did really enjoy this book with its fantastic main characters. Lenny was so believable as she dealt with all the grief from losing her best friend to cancer, and Miles was a swoon-worthy friend/love interest. I will give fair warning that this book is heavy at times and discusses grief quite often. It also is 416 pages, and I thought it could have been at least fifty pages (if not one hundred) shorter. Overall, I found this to be a very enjoyable book.

Lenny just lost her best friend to cancer. She no longer knows her way through life and just doesn’t know how to go about living it. She is utterly broken by grief and just walks through her days like she’s a ghost. Until- she meets Miles, the uncle of the seven year old, Ainsley, that she nannies. First impressions tell you that Miles is demanding, rough, and difficult. But behind the wall that he’s built, you’ll find an entirely different man. One that is just as familiar with grief as Lenny- just has a little bit more time under his belt. He takes Lenny under his wing and vows to protect her and be there for her as she begins to heal from her loss. She just has to teach him how to connect with his niece.

This novel was a real eye opener. One that really shined a brighter light on grief. I mean, sure grief is an underlying theme in many novels, but this one just hits you differently. I could only feel like I was living in someone else’s shoes with how specific every move and event was. After listening to most of Cara Bastone’s light-hearted audiobooks, I was pleasantly surprised at how much depth this had.

The characters are finessed with so much skill. The way they talked, their slightest movements, their history. You really get to know these people and end up rooting for them to get back up when they slip. I can only hope everyone has their own version of Miles.

I really loved this! It’s a slow burn romance that makes sense. It’s sweet and devastating and heart breaking. They heal one another and that’s what really matters. Side note- if you’re looking for something smutty, this isn’t it. Don’t get me wrong, smut is great, but it doesn’t live here.

A great thank you goes out to Cara Bastone, Dial Press, and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Cara Bastone does it again!

Was I prepared to start crying in the middle of a flight surrounded by strangers to the point that a flight attendant came to check on me? No...no I was not. But here we are and I have Cara Bastone alone to blame.

All kidding aside this book was utterly PHENOMENAL. Bastone has this artful way of tackling deeply heavy and emotional themes while mixing in the perfect amount of humor, romance, and setting that it doesn't totally rip you into shreds. While the cover may read as a "fluffy cutesy romance" do not be fooled. Miles is maybe in my top ten book boyfriends of all time!

This book follows the journey of "Lenny" as she struggles to navigate the icy waters of grief after the loss of her best friend in the world to cancer. Lenny is sleepwalking through her life in the wake of this tragedy when she meets Miles (uncle), Reese (mom), and Ainsley (daughter/niece). This unlikely crew of found family, particularly Miles forces their way into Lenny's armored heart and helps her begin to grapple with the death of her friend.

I absolutely loved this book. The author did an amazing job writing hope, grief, solidarity, fun and romance all in one. The characters become my friends and I've thought aby their story long after I finished reading.

I think this cover is a bit deceptive as it has generic romance novel vibes, but in fact it was so much more then a romance novel. It was a story of growth and life after loss that gets into your veins in a profound way.

Well done.

Lenny's lifelong best friend has died, and she is struggling to go on with her life. She takes on temporary nanny jobs so that she can make a living without getting hurt again. Her new charge, Ainsley, is starting to tug at her heartstrings, but she has a very strange Uncle, Miles hanging around. Miles has suffered loss in his life and recognizes that Lenny is struggling. He agrees to help Lenny complete her friend's bucket list as a means of clawing herself back into the land of the living. What ensues is a beautiful story of learning to life and learning to love again.