I am stopping this book at the beginning. I haven’t seen anyone else mention it but she says in Chapter 1 that she has been a size 12 her entire adult life. THAT IS NOT PLUS SIZE! At her height and weight mentioned, she is plus sized but she wouldn’t be a size 12. A size 12/14 is literally a large and you can find those sizes in almost every single store. I’m ending this before it begins. DNF

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.

This was a fantastic debut! I found the characters so real and like we were real friends. I loved the message, the tone, the story telling, everything!

From the very first page, this book draws you into its world with engaging prose, well-developed characters, and a compelling narrative. The author's storytelling is confident and immersive, weaving together themes that resonate long after the final chapter.

I love a good book that captures body positivity and the power of accepting one's body. This book did just that! It carried so many themes that I thought were powerful, and the characters were adorable. I also appreciate when a book with tough topics handle them with grace, and I believe Sturino did just that!

This book was a light and easy read. I liked the themes of body acceptance and female empowerment. I loved Sunny’s friends and Mr. Postman was my favorite!

I know we’re still far from pub date but believe me when I say this is the PERFECT summer read. If you’ve even fallen victim to the harsh lighting and awkward mirrors in a changing room then this book is for you. It follows Sunny, a plus sized woman (and business owner) after her divorce. She struggles with who she is now and fighting her inner monologue when it comes to body talk.

Sunny is funny and driven. She’s a great person to take you through this story of self discovery and acceptance. The conversations around bodies and the fashion industry were really interesting and well done in my opinion. The author previously has spoken a lot about body positivity/ acceptance (you will see they are different things in this book) and the time she has spent thinking about this really shows.

Talking about women’s bodies without making anyone feel isolated or like they’re under a microscope can be incredibly hard but I feel like this book does it well. She handles the struggles that women of all sizes can have with body image with care.

In the age of social media and our bodies being on display 24/7 this is an important book for anyone who has ever felt like their body wasn’t enough.

Thank you @netgalley and @stmartinspress for this book in exchange for an honest review!

Sunny Side Up is a relatable book about accepting our body and ourselves. It is a book that is funny at times and realistic with the tiggers or situations that can send our emotions into a tail spin. It shows the need to have supportive and encouraging friends who are there for you in the good or bad times, lifting you up when you need a hand, and giving you the push you need in life. Sunny is honest and vulnerable about her body size, experience finding clothes to fit that are comfortable and look good, and her dating life in her online newsletters. She is working on positive self-talk, being comfortable in her body no matter what others think, standing firm in her beliefs and direction for her business. The romance in the book is a little spicy. Overall the book was a fun, enjoyable, and easy ready. This is a good book to read this summer on a vacation or when you are just looking for an escape from the struggles of life. I received an advanced copy of this book from Netgalley for my honest review. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Sunny Side Up by Katie Sturino (out June 24, 2025) introduces us to Sunny Greene, a 35-year-old recently divorced woman facing the challenges of being single again, especially when it means attending her little brother’s wedding solo. Add to that the struggle of finding plus-sized swimsuits Sunny’s life feels like it’s hitting rock bottom. But as she sees it, rock bottom is the perfect place to start rebuilding herself. She is ready to embrace self-love and confidence. Her new mission? To date with confidence, put herself first, and accept her body as it is. The dating scene proves to be tricky though, should she choose Dennis, the down-to-earth mailman, or Ted, the business tycoon who’s eager to help her launch her plus-size swimsuit brand? And then there’s her ex, who unexpectedly shows up, wanting to reconnect.
Many thanks to Netgalley, the publisher and the author for the chance to read this book in advance in exchange for my honest opinion.

"Sunny Side Up" by Katie Sturino (out June 24, 2025) is a story that blends themes of self-empowerment with romantic comedy, but unfortunately, it didn’t quite hit the mark for me. Sunny, a 35 old divorcee, faces body image struggles and the challenges of being a plus-sized woman in a world that often feels unwelcoming. While I appreciate the themes of self-love and body acceptance, I found Sunny's character a bit hard to connect with. At times, her dramatic and self-absorbed attitude made her a bit insufferable. Her journey to embrace her body and put herself first felt a bit forced, and her romantic escapades, torn between a charming mailman and a successful business tycoon, felt predictable. And the return of her ex? It added to the chaotic drama but didn’t add much to the plot for me.
Katie Sturino’s writing does shine when it comes to body positivity, and I think this book will resonate with readers who connect with Sunny’s journey. Thanks to Netgalley, the publisher and the author for the chance to read this book in advance in exchange for my honest opinion.

A curvy divorcee with a business and a plan. Plus two divorced friends all living in NYC. Sounds like an older SATC, doesn't it?
Unfortunately, unlike that iconic show, this book fell far below the benchmark that series set.
While I applaud the writer for her body positivity and writing a curvy girl who likes who she is and doesn't want to change. I didn't like Sunny's behavior all that much. The bed hopping was cringy for me. Really cringy.
The plot kind of fell to the wayside when the multiple guys she kept hooking up with from a dating app appeared.
3 stars. Thanks, Netgally, for a sneak peek, but this one just wasn't one of my favs.

This has all the makings of a progressive and modern day Sex and the City. Based in New York City Sunny is a successful business woman, running her own PR firm and starting a new body positive entrepreneurial pursuit. She has two best friends, who push her to overcome her recent divorce and look for love again - the Miranda, Charlotte, and Samanthas, if you will. There are overdramatized, and icky male stereotypes: the good, the bad, the ugly, and the return of the Ex. While predictable, you do want to find out if she chooses her 'Aiden' or 'Big.'

This relies heavily on the theme of body positivity, which at times takes over the storyline and motives for most of what drives the character and her choices. This makes the outcomes predictable and oftentimes cliche.

I had high hopes for this but I couldn’t even get past the first chapter unfortunately. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for gifting me this arc.

I loved spending my week in Sunny's world! Sunny Side Up is the perfect summer read, following Sunny Greene who is a NYC business woman navigating life post-divorce. Via her newsletter Sunny shares her life updates around dating as well as spreading her message about body acceptance. After struggling forever to find swimwear that she can actually feel good in, her friends support her crazy but not so crazy idea to create her own line. With multiple businesses (and multiple dates), Sunny's world is the kind of chaos that makes for the best kind of rom com. Her attitude is contagious, the writing was so easy to read and I laughed out loud multiple times. An amazing fiction debut!

“Sunny Side Up” is an over-the-top rom-com where everything falls into place a bit too perfectly - dancing to “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” at a wedding? - c’mon. Despite this, the novel shines with its strong body positivity message, which adds depth and relatability to the story. The love triangle introduces an intriguing layer of complexity, keeping the plot engaging. However, the sections about the swim line production felt unnecessary and could have been omitted. Overall, this was an enjoyable read, and I couldn’t help but picture this as an early 2000s movie; it even had the assistant that solved all of the problems. Five stars for the cover art.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to review this ARC.

I’m not much of a romance fan BUT I am a Katie Sturino fan so I was glad to have the chance to read this. I’m also glad to see Katie’s body positivity message in a fresh form. This is a celebration of friendship and new beginnings and there’s a love triangle (square?) that wasn’t as predictable as I usually find such plots. A quick, positive read.

I really wanted to root for Sunny Greene. A curvy, confident, newly-divorced woman navigating dating, self-love, and entrepreneurship? Sign me up. But somewhere along the way, I just... didn’t connect.

Sunny has all the makings of a relatable, modern heroine—she’s vulnerable, driven, and surrounded by a fabulous support system. But for me, she stayed oddly distant. I kept waiting for a moment that would make me feel for her—cheer, cry, something—but it never quite clicked.

The romance didn’t help. Dennis was sweet, Ted was slick, the ex was... well, an ex—but none of the dynamics ever felt electric. There wasn’t that spark or emotional depth that makes you stay up late flipping pages. It all felt a little too surface-level, like I was watching Sunny’s life through a filtered Instagram story instead of really living it with her.

That said, I did appreciate the message. The body positivity, the push to prioritize yourself, and the honest look at dating after divorce were refreshing and important. And there were moments—small ones—where Sunny’s voice really shone through.

This one wasn’t quite for me, but I think others will find comfort and empowerment in Sunny’s journey. I just wish I had been able to love it the way I hoped I would.

As a plus sized girl from wisconsin, this book immediately spoke to me. And knowing that I use Katie’s products already made me an Insta-fan. Sunny Side up speaks to the curvy girls, or the girls who have always felt uncomfortable in their own skin and aims to make us feel comfortable in our skin. It shows us we are not alone. Sunny Side Up is an excellent novel that speaks to a persons soul and has a goal to emphasize that authenticity is more important that your size. Being who you are is more meaningful than what you look like. Solid story here! Would recommend it no doubt. Thanks NetGalley!!

Sunny Greene is a successful entrepreneur, newly divorced, and a “plus-sized” woman living in NYC. While Sunny has tried to maintain her (sunny) attitude about size positivity, sometimes the world conspires against her and she falls back into brutal self criticism and lack of confidence. Her husband of 3 months and boyfriend of 6 years is a cheating, entitled, self-centered creep. He used Sunny’s talents to become a successful podcaster while subtly and overtly demeaning her and kind of gaslighting her to believe that she’s lucky to have a man in her life given her size. Raw from her divorce, she meets 2 other recently divorced women…they bond, support each other and become best friends. While the 3 women are on a “divorcation”, Sunny decides that she, and women like her, deserve to feel beautiful and comfortable in their swim suits. In addition to her successful PR firm, she envisions a line of XS-3X suits beautifully made with luxury fabrics. At the same time, Sunny embarks on a search for a plus one to her brother’s wedding in a few months. She internet dates for a bit and hooks up with good, bad and really bad guys. She also starts to have feeling for her mailman who’s burly, rugged and sexy AND starts a torrid affair with the older investment banker who gives her seed money to start her swimwear line. Will she find a date for her brother’s wedding, will she find love and great sex with one of these 2 men? This fun, charming and affirming book will answer…

I had to DNF this one around the 40%mark. I wasn’t lying the story and couldn’t relate to any of the characters

Overall I enjoyed this book and as an average size female, I definitely appreciated reading from the point of view of a plus size woman. This was a fun read although I really couldn't relate very well with the main characters and the romance just didn't sizzle, imo. Thanks to Celadon Books and NetGalley for an advance copy.