5/5, 10/10 one million out of 10 I LOVED this so much. Cara Bastone is a "ready everything forever" kind of author for me and nobody is doing slow burn like her. By the end you want these two together so badly because what they've built and what they've done together has made such a beautiful and sweet and tender foundation for love. This is a gorgeous portrayal of what happens when you lose a soulmate and have to try, desperate and clawing, to put yourself back together again. I love these two so much, I'm so happy they found each other. Thank you NetGalley for this ARC copy I am eternally grateful!!

3.5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️.✨ This was a tender story of our main character Lenny coming to terms with the loss of her best friend Lou. Lenny as the FMC is a bit all over the place and I know a lot of it is due to the fact that she is grieving but I did find her overly quirky yet messy personality to be a little frustrating. I think because this is mainly a story about grief over her best friend Lou I wanted more flashbacks of their dynamic so that I could feel more connected to their "soulmate" friendship-- definitely would have been great as a dual timeline POV. The romance is more of a subplot but I did enjoy our MMC and what he brought to the story. None the less this was a sweet story and I enjoyed my time reading it! Thank you NetGalley for the ARC :)

3.5 Stars
This is a book about Lenny, a nanny who for the last six months has been grieving her best friend and roommate Lou's death from cancer. When she is hired to babysit Ainsley, she meets Miles, Ainsley's uncle who lives upstairs. Miles and Ainsley's mother, Reese, have a complicated family dynamic. Miles is immediately critical of Lenny, but when he realizes that she has been grieving, he offers to help her if she helps him bond with Ainsley. I actually enjoyed this book, but I could not get past the idea that no one realized how badly Lenny was struggling after Lou's death, and Lou's parents were not at all involved in cleaning out Lou's belongings.

No, but let me tell you about how this book is everything.

Cara Bastone knocks it out of the park with this one: her writing is phenomenal. This book is about friendship, grief and healing, and discovering love along the way. It felt way bigger than a romance book and it's power and meaning quietly snuck on me. You feel every single emotion Lenny feels so acutely and every piece of this novel is stitches together carefully. There were passages that had me in tears and then a chapter or two later, I was laughing out loud.

Lenny and Miles are soulmates in the most perfect sense. They have fantastic dialogue and inside jokes, that create a great layer of their foundation. The way they lean on each other (during the good and the not good) and grow in their friendship first is what dreams are made of. Cara might be the queen of friends to lovers, but I'll have to do more research to confirm. This is a slow burn (brace yourself), but their enemies to friends to lovers arc is so well done that the agony of waiting is so worth it.

While Ainsley and Reese were great additions and essential to Miles' character arc, but they didn't distract from the story of Lenny's grief, which is exactly how I think their characters should've functioned.

Miles has a lot of the characteristics of a golden retriever MMC, but he's also so serious and intentional, that now I'm wondering if a German shepherd MMC is thing? Is there another dog comparison I can make? (I'm open to discussion about this one.)

I don't really understand why the novel was separated in 3 parts and it broke up the flow of the novel, but that seems so trivial in the grand scheme of this book.

This is a heavy book and you really move through Lenny's (and Miles') grief alongside them, so please check the trigger warnings before diving in.

Tropes: enemies to friends to lovers, forced proximity, slow burn, family dynamics, grumpy/sunshine, friendship, grief, and solo POV.

*I received an e-ARC from NetGalley and The Dial Press in exchange for an honest review. THANK YOU FOR SUCH A GIFT

This was such an emotional read, and I can totally see why early readers are loving it so far! Promise Me Sunshine is a beautiful story about finding ways to live again after a loved one passes. Those who have been in Lenny's shoes know exactly how hard that can be, and I found myself crying in several places just because of how gut-wrenching her emotions were.

I absolutely loved how Miles showed up time and time again for Lenny, with everything from lending an ear to making sure she eats. I feel like everyone should have someone like that; someone who unconditionally has your back no matter what life throws your way. Ainsley was so precious, I love her to pieces! Not one side character in this book felt like a side character either. They were all so well developed and they played such important roles in Lenny's journey that they felt like additional main characters.

This was my first book by Cara Bastone, and I look forward to reading her other books! She had such a unique writing style for me. If her other books make me cry and laugh as much as this one did, then I just know I'm going to love her.

Thank you so so much to NetGalley and Random House Publishing for sending me this ARC!

Promise Me Sunshine is a complex love story set in New York City. By complex I mean it’s character driven but well plotted and focuses on more than your basic love story. Lenny is recovering from the loss of her best friend Lou who passes away with cancer before the book begins. Lenny is barely surviving. Not coping with her grief. And spending her nights “sleeping” on the Staten Island Ferry instead of facing going back to the apartment she and Lou shared. The only thing that keeps Lenny going are her childcare jobs. When she shows up to nanny for a new client she meets grumpy, overbearing Miles who ends up being the one to help her deal with her grief and love again. I loved Lenny, she was a force in the book. Miles never really completely came through clearly as a character for me. He didn’t have a lot of personality and just seemed too quiet and dumbfounded for most of the book. I did love their story though and the chemistry between them got better as the book went on. I remember not loving the male main character in Bastone’s first book either so it may be just the way she writes men for me.

Clearly in the minority here but I DNF’d this book. I just couldn’t get into it. I am not a romance reader but if it’s doing something new or different it can work for me. I thought since this was more of a slow burn romance with grief as a major theme it would work for me but sadly I couldn’t connect to the main character and couldn’t get invested in this story. It didn’t seem plausible to me . I think that if you like the romance genre and normally read romances this may work for you because clearly there are a lot of reviewers loving it.

One of my favorite romance writers is back with another gem, releasing on March 4, 2025 🥹

SPOILER-FREE SYNOPSIS:
When Lenny's best friend and soul sister Lou dies after battling cancer, Lenny is completely consumed by grief. She can't eat, sleep, commit to a consistent job, talk to her parents, or step into the apartment she shared with Lou as her roommate. When she gets hired for a temporary gig babysitting single mother Reese's daughter Ainsley, Ainsley immediately takes a liking to her. While working, Lenny notices that Ainsley's uncle Miles is constantly around, but Reese and Ainsley always give him the cold shoulder. When Lenny opens up to Miles about her grief, he admits that he also battled with grief following the recent passings of his loved ones, and he offers Lenny a proposition - he'll help Lenny check items off her "live again" list if she helps him connect with his niece and develop a better relationship with her.

I absolutely loved this book. Grief is such a difficult topic to write and read about, but when written well, it just makes the story that much more impactful. Lenny was such a quirky character ("messy but not a mess," as Miles says), but I admired the way she loved so loyally and fiercely that I rooted for her every step of the way. As I kept reading, I personally felt the weight on my heart getting lighter and lighter as the book went on. Also, MILES. ❤️ Everyone deserves to have a Miles in their life, but everyone should also aspire to be a Miles FOR someone in their life. What an absolute gem of a man.

This book was a wonderful reminder of the importance of self love. I could totally see this being made into a really great movie one day. Also, the mad libs at the end made me cry.

Thank you to @netgalley and @thedialpress for this ARC!

Review: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Genre: adult romance, romantic comedy
Tropes: friends to lovers, slow burn
Trigger warnings: grief, cancer, loss of a loved one, complicated family dynamics

4.5 STARS - I requested an advanced copy of Promise Me Sunshine based solely on my love of the author's previous work - namely her Audible Originals short stories which made me an instant fan of Cara Bastone.

I jumped into this book without reading the blurb - not realizing it's about grief and the loss of a friend - and ended up reading it during an emotional month for me. It's been seven years since I lost my friend Kym to leukemia, so this book hit me hard emotionally.

Promise Me Sunshine is a sweet, slow burn love story with humour and heart that uses the Friends to Lovers and Grumpy vs Sunshine tropes. Miles and Lenny were cute together with Miles being a delightful 'cinnamon roll' of a guy with a grumpy exterior who sees through the facade Lenny puts on and relates to the impact grief has had on her life.

Through Lenny, we witness the complex and emotional journey of someone experiencing grief. We see how she's learned to mask her grief to get through her daily life and the toll it takes on her mental health, relationships and quality of life. Her journey is realistic, relatable and I appreciate that Bastone doesn't offer up an easy fix.

I read parts of this book with tears in my eyes and a huge lump in my throat. But I also found myself giggling because Bastone's sprinkles humour throughout this romance to add levity in a story that is a sensitive portrayal of loss that gives comfort and acknowledgement to people who are on their own grief journey.

Disclaimer: Thanks to Dial Press for the complimentary digital copy which was given in exchange for my honest review.

This review was posted on January 29, 2025 to my blog and social media accounts - including a video review on Instagram.

Beautiful story. Heartbreaking and hopeful. Raw and real- exploring grief. These characters (main and side) were perfect and messy. Loved this!
Many thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing for the advanced digital copy.

After absolutely loving Ready or Not, I requested this book at lightening speed. And as always, I dove in blind. Immediately I knew this was going to be a story I really resonated with. It's a romance story for sure, but I really loved the story of grief and friendship even more than the romance itself. Not only the friendship Lenny has with her best friend but the friendship she grows to have with Miles too. There is so much love here. The beautiful kind, and the painful kind. And even more, Lenny is freakin funny. She had my giggling left and right and the way Miles just folded into her sense of personality just was so good. This book was beautiful and I'm so lucky to have read it early.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for early access!

*Promise Me Sunshine* follows Lenny, who is struggling to cope with the loss of her best friend to cancer. Trying to distract herself with temporary babysitting jobs, she unexpectedly forms a connection with Miles, the uncle of the child she’s caring for. Both grieving their own losses, they agree to help each other: Miles will guide Lenny through her grief, and she’ll help him connect with his niece. This heartfelt story explores the healing power of human connection, blending raw emotion with hope. The slow-burn relationship between Lenny and Miles is tender and genuine, offering readers a touching reminder that even in the darkest times, unexpected bonds can help us heal.

I love this book. It’s incredibly beautiful and I may just cry writing this review because of how truthful her writing is and the beauty she gave the story. And watching the grief unfold and told in such an amazing understanding way. Also!!! It was sad but also SO funny. I love that about Cara’s writing. And the NYC locations and inspiring me go to the MET more and the list and could go on and on. I can’t wait for this to be released

Such a beautiful, impactful book! The writing, the emotions, everything was wonderfully portrayed. A detailed review is up on my platforms!

Lenny has been struggling since her best friend passed away from her long battle with cancer. She has been a nanny, and was recommended by a former client to Reese, and she became the nanny of Ainsley. Her Uncle Miles is there when she arrives the first day, and they get off on the wrong foot. As they get to know each other, they recognize in the other things about themselves, so they decide to help each other. Lenny he knows is drowning in grief, and he has been there, Lenny knows Miles is struggling to learn how to become part of a family. As they help each through what they have going on, it is exciting, inspirational, sometimes rough, lots of tears, lots of laughter, and it went to my brain and my soul, and even I came out of this story a little different. When Lenny finally reached out to her mother again, her mother asked her how she knew she loved Miles. She said, He came to hell and brought me back, one step at a time, to bring me home.
I received an ARC from Dial Press Trade Paperback through NetGalley, and I am going to check out the author and the publisher to discover some other finds.

This gorgeous, gorgeous book!!!!!!!!🥹 This book is exquisite. Bastone has given literature & readers such a gift with this story — the sparkling, truly hilarious banter; the tenderness; the raw emotion; the JOY; and all of it is so beautifully written!!! The line-level writing shines so brightly, nuanced and lovely and never trite. The story comes vividly to life and the emotions are FELT and seen, never told. I loved every single moment, every word. You can feel the care that went into every single phrase. I will be absolutely screaming from the rooftops about this one.

This is how you write a slow-burn romance!

Thank you to NetGalley, Cara Bastone, and Random House Publishing Group for a free ARC in exchange for my honest review!

The Plot:
Lenny and Lou were the best of friends until Lou passed away from cancer five years ago. Now Lenny is left alone, trying to find a way to live again. She takes babysitting jobs to avoid going back to the apartment they shared. This new babysitting job came with an extra uncle, a grumpy man named Miles.
Miles has also dealt with loss and has joined Lenny's mission to live again.

My Thoughts:
There was something about this book that I cannot figure out. The slow-burn was real and complex. The emotions and fears were prevalent throughout the whole book, but in a redeeming way. Each character had a solid identity and we truly got to watch them grow and overcome their obstacles.
It was so well written and I see what all the hype was about. We had two good characters who just wanted to get better and they had to get through real-life issues to get there.
I've been through loss before and those emotions were captured perfectly in Lenny.

I would easily recommend this book to anyone. It is a lovely romance, perfectly paced, and I adored these characters!

“He reminds me of a gravel road. At night. With nothing but headlights to show you what comes next.”

This will for sure be a favorite romance of the year for me.

What I liked:

This book is the slowest burn in the best way possible. We see Lenny & Miles go from strangers to friends to lovers in the most natural way. I typically don’t love a friends to lovers where the main characters are strangers at the beginning of the book, as I don’t feel like we get enough time with them as friends. Bastone wrote this relationship perfectly in a way that I truly believed in Miles & Lenny’s relationship.

The themes of grief and mourning were amazing. How do we move on when our person is gone? This book had me sobbing my damn eyes out.

Ainsley is a fantastic character. I do love a good kid in a book, and Ainsley was perfect.

What didn’t work for me:

Absolutely nothing

Thank you Net Galley, Cara Bastone, and Dial Press Trade Paperback for an E-ARC copy of this book. Friendship, grief, love, finding yourself again, and family. This book has it all! I love Lenny and Miles and from the start of the book, you can tell they will fall in love. Through their journey and how they help each other with grief while finding themselves after tragic losses, is so beautiful and a reminder to keep living through the challenging times. The characters, right to the bellman, are so amazing and all profoundly impact each other. I LOVED this book and can’t wait for my friends to read it!

Thank you Dial Press and NetGalley for the arc. All opinions are my own.

This was such a beautiful story about grief and love, and I enjoyed every minute of it. Cara did such a wonderful job of portraying Lenny’s grief throughout the book, and I loved seeing how Miles helped her throughout this difficult journey. This is a slow-burn, which I can sometimes struggle with, but seeing their relationship progress through friendship made their connection so much stronger. Overall, this was such a heartfelt story and I highly recommend!

My review will be shared to Instagram, TikTok and Amazon closer to release.