I had such high hopes for this book, it seemed to have everything i enjoy in a romance novel: slow burn, adorable characters, wholesome story, some spiciness as well, but it fell a bit flat for me, in hindsight I shouldn’t have read others’ reviews before reading it and just letting myself be surprised by the story. So word to the wise, only read the reviews if you don’t get overhyped and it ruins your enjoyment of the book. It’s very hallmark movie esque though, so it wasn’t too bad just not my preferred cup of ea.

Charlotte Stein’s When Grumpy Met Sunshine is a charming and fun romcom. This novel is a slow burn romance between an ex football player and his ghostwriter. Although the title suggests a very clear trope, I found that it did not fully give the proper expectations for the dynamic between the hero and heroine. Stein’s writing is fun and full of banter and sensual and steamy when called for. The concept for this novel was definitely a big draw for me and it was fun to see Stein’s version of this story!

Thank you to NetGalley for an eARC, all thoughts and opinions are my own.

4.5/5 stars

Thank you to Netgalley, the publishers, and Charlotte Stein for allowing me to read and review this book.

This was such a funny romantic book that contains the tropes: opposites attract, grumpy x sunshine, fake dating, forbidden romance, ex-jock x plus sized girl, and slow burn. This is a very steamy romance.

The characters are so well written and the plot is very interesting. The main character is accepting a ghostwriting position for an ex-football player that is supposed to be writing his biography. After many wrong turns, they end up fake dating. However, sparks start flying almost immediately and they start having more and more trouble staying away from each other when they are not in front of the public.

I highly recommend this book to anyone looking for a spicy romance. especially one with grumpy x sunshine and plus-sized female main characters.

"When Grumpy Met Sunshine" by Charlotte Stein is a delightful and unconventional love story that is sure to warm even the coldest of hearts. Set in a quaint small town where everyone knows everyone else's business, the story follows the unlikely pairing of the grumpy and reclusive Daryl and the endlessly sunny and optimistic Sunshine. Stein's writing is as quirky and endearing as her characters, drawing readers into a world where opposites truly do attract. The banter between Daryl and Sunshine is both hilarious and heartwarming, and their journey from reluctant acquaintances to unlikely friends to something more is a joy to witness. But beyond the romance, "When Grumpy Met Sunshine" is a story about the transformative power of love and acceptance, reminding readers that sometimes the most unexpected connections can lead to the greatest happiness. With its charming characters and feel-good storyline, this book is sure to leave you with a smile on your face and a warm, fuzzy feeling in your heart.

I really wanted to like this, but could not get into it. Had to DNF. Great concept of a book, but just wasn't intriguing enough from the start to pull me in and hook me.

The blurb sounds hilarious and something I would dive head first for in terms of storyline and tropes. The title itself had me rushing to get this book. The cover is also adorable and really drew me in. I would pick this book up without reading the blurb truth be told. However it did sadly fall flat quite quickly for me. I understand many people love this book and I am an outlier. I found the miscommunication and immature conversations to be too much for me to enjoy. I ended up feeling frustrated for what I read of it. I thought perhaps an audio version of this book would bring the characters more alive for me and be more entertaining. I found that to be the opposite in my case. I had a hard time listening with the accents and dialects.

I will absolutely try other books by this author, but for me this one didn't quite work out. Some people love the drama of miscommunication, but I find it to be a cheap distraction and not an enjoyable book escape.

Many thanks to the author, publisher and netgalley for the opportunity to read and review. Due to the mostly negative review I have decided to not share reviews publicly on multiple locations.

I really was not a big fan of this one - the dialogue was rambling and I had a hard time caring much about the MCs.

Fake dating trope, grumpy sunshine trope? SIGN ME UP. I absolutely loved the start of this book, I thought it was funny, and was definitely my vibe. Things changed a bit in the second part of the book, specifically after things get heated.

I wish that this had stayed strong throughout, but this is not enough for me to say goodbye to reading Stein's books. Great first entry to this book, ready to read another!

First of all, this book is hilarious. Retired football player, Alfie Harding, is know as being a grumpy taciturn man, gorgeous, but grumpy. He has been coerced into writing his memoir, but hasn't been able to satisfactorily put pen to paper, so plump but cute, cheerful ghostwriter Mabel Willicker is hired to help him. He is drawn to her and her cheerfulness from the start, but he is also extremely awkward with people, so she doesn't pick up on it. As they start to work together and he opens up to her as he never has to anyone else, they find they both strangely have a lot in common, alcoholic fathers and inferiority complexes. Because of the NDA, they are forced into a fake relationship which turns really, but Mabel's fears push him away. Are they meant for each other or not?

The characters are well developed, each with their own foibles. The dialogue between them is hilarious. However, I took off 1 star because I didn't understand the British slang and didn't care for the foul language.

I read an advanced readers copy provided by the publisher via NetGalley.com. this is my unbiased and voluntary review.

Sunshine and grump is one of my favorite tropes, so this was one I just had to request! While the story was cute, it didn't stick with me long-term. I read it in March (it's the beginning of May now) and I can't quite recall enough to write a helpful review. I do think the memorability of a book is helpful for future readers to note, though.

I do remember that these two characters had fun chemistry from the start, and I loved their awkward getting-to-know-each-other interactions.

I love most of the book, the tropes were spot on for me - I liked the banter, but felt at some points it was off. While I found it fun and enjoyable, Alfie and Mabel were adorable, but the writing felt choppy at points and the time skip threw me off. Overall, it as a fun time (my #1 requirement) and I look forward to reading more by this author!

The book is worth a read for a fun, enjoyable, cozy read - and the spice was wonderful! It's a great book to cozy up with - like a fun lifetime movie!

I usually love a good enemies to lovers trope but this one fell flat for me. Mabel and Alfie were totally oblivious and half of the story wouldn’t have happened if either of them just said how they truly felt in the first place. Honestly, the characters annoyed me and I was counting down until it was over.

Super sweet contemporary romance. I disagree with the Cinderella comments in the marketing, but love the characters.

The title is a bit on-the-nose, but overall a light, fun and enjoyable read. Sports romance is having a bit of a moment, so if you're hooked on the sub-genre this is a solid option.

I loved everything about this, from the start I was hooked and laughing out loud. Alfie and Mable are just the cutest ever! I really liked how raw and real this felt, it was like a fairytale but with real life moments. As much as I love to read romance fiction, I also like to read realistic romance in fiction books, this was full of second guessing, emotions that are hard to handle for both main characters and so much doubt which is so real in life.

This was such a fun, fluffy romance that had me laughing, crying, hoping and dreaming. I loved the so much.

I felt like these characters were kind of chaotic, which made reading this very difficult for me. I actually DNF’d this!

This book wasn't my favorite but I really enjoyed the audio! The narrator made the book fun and enjoyable!

Thank you to the publisher for the e-copy.

An opposites attract romcom between a retired soccer player "footballer" and his ghostwriter. Lots of banter, spice, and the use of the F word.

I really wanted to like this one, but honestly it was just okay for me. I don't really know what else to say. I loved the plus size rep, but the whole book is from the FMC POV and it gets to be a lot. I do think this author has potential, but this book just wasn't great.

This book had me along the roller coaster of emotions as I laughed, cried and got just as hot and bothered while I too fell in love with both Mabel and Alfie as they discovered their similarities hiding behind personas that they didn’t particularly like. I envisioned Mabel being played by Nicola Coughlin of Derry Girls and Bridgerton fame. She just like Mabel are adorable and funny, like a cupcake as Allie had once described Mabel. I’m not sure who would make a great version of Alfie but he reminds me of a bear, a big teddy bear, who looks scary at first but really a softy at heart. The author’s writing pulls you right in with Mabel’s doubt and fears and inner turmoil, I felt like I was Mabel. I absolutely adored this book and look forward to seeing what else the author has written.

“When Grumpy Met Sunshine” is exactly what you’d expect, a grumpy character meets a sunshine character.

Between fake dating and accidental unrequited feelings, this book has everything. There is also plenty of spice, much more than I expected from the cutesy cover.

If you are a fan of banter and fake dating, this is the book for you.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for this advanced copy. I enjoyed it.