Thank you for the arc!

3 stars

This was a cute book. I love grumpy sunshine tropes and this one did it so well!

Alfie is our grumpy ex football player and Mabel is a sunshine ghost writer. Mabel is self conscious about her size and constantly puts herself down which got to me after a while.

The banter was a little too much at some points but overall it was a quick and easy read

I STRUGGLED with this story and I came in with such high hopes because the summary sounded right up my alley. However, the writing was choppy and lacked flow which took me out of any possible immersion into the story. I also found the Alfie to be less grumpy and more cruel which made it very difficult to root for Mabel and him, honestly. I think this has so much potential but sadly fell flat

A super cute romcom filled with laughs, banter, and a sexy/sassy relationship to boot. Perfect for a weekend (or afternoon, I gobbled this one up!) read.

When Grumpy Met Sunshine is the perfect RomCom, show me a cute title and some cartoony cover art and I want to read it right away

When Grumpy Met Sunshine by Charlotte Stein is a very steamy, often hilarious romantic comedy featuring my favorite trope – fake dating!

“When grumpy ex-footballer Alfie Harding gets badgered into selling his memoirs, he knows he’s never going to be able to write them. And so in walks curvy, cheery, cute as heck ghostwriter Mabel Willicker, who knows just how to sunshine and sass her way into getting every little detail out of Alfie.”

And I absolutely loved it for the first half? 60%? But then there was SO much steam that I didn’t feel like moved the plot forward. Strong writing and very funny banter, just a bit too much steam for this reader.

While I was excited for this book, it unfortunately fell a little flat for me. I enjoyed the representation, the banter and the dialogue but I felt an overwhelming sense of a lack of chemistry. While this didn't work for me, I know others will absolutely love it.

DNF at 15%. I’ll admit that I read this book because I had heard it had a Roy Kent-like MMC and I’m here for that. I could definitely see the comparison but this one just wasn’t working for me. Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the free ebook to review.

This book was not for me at all. The amount of F-bombs on a single page was a bit uncalled for in my opinion, other than that this book was a bit cheesy for my liking.

THANK YOU TO NETGALLEY AND ST. MARTIN'S PRESS FOR AN ARC OF THIS BOOK IN EXCHANGE FOR AN HONEST REVIEW!!!!!!!

I really wanted to love this book and was so excited but I truly could not get into it. I stopped and started multiple times and tried the audiobook as well to no luck. I hope this book finds its intended readers even if I didn't love it because it has so much potential.

I felt this one wasn't super easy to follow, it didn't have a good flow to it. Maybe it was the narrator or even the speed I listened to it at, but I did slow it down.
I didn't really like how much the size of these characters was described, I didnt feel like that was relavent to who they were or the story. Not because they're "bigger" but even when someones tiny size is described, im not a fan of it. Then there was SO MUCH focus on her size throughout the people finding out that they were "dating", why does it matter.
I, again, didnt read the summery of this one, so I didn't expect for this to be a sports romance.
This couple had an interesting dynamic. I did like the MMC, found him to be unexpectedly sweet.
I thought the tweet were a fun addition. And then fake dating, that's always fun.
This one wasn't really memorable, in my book. It was rather boring and I didnt really want to finish it. I think the slow burn aspect really threw me off. Two stars seems harsh, but this one just wasnt it for me.

*Thank you to the publisher and Net Galley for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was a hard one for me to get into. It really just didn’t do it for me. Dialog felt really long at times. It did feel like the main male character was Roy Kent from Ted lasso, which I liked but that was about it.

Another DNF for me @21%. Again, the writing style didn't work for me. The author loves to use colons, and it's overdone to list things out when we're reading from Mabel's single POV. And maybe it was the formatting but every paragraph seemed to have a break where there were short sentences as if they're carrying you through the page but just reiterate the previous point.
"But he did exactly that.
He marched right to it.
Went right through it.
He didn't even say goodbye."

It's a rhythmic choice but interrupted the flow of my reading, and it's unnecessary, imo. From what I can tell from other reviews, people are calling this style a "string of conscience" narration, and yeah, I agree. If you've read Mariana Zapata's books, I would say the style is similar.
I really wanted to love this! Grumpy/sunshine with a fat FMC, plus a cute cover? Others have said the MMC is inspired by Roy Kent and I wasn't getting that but not in a way where I was constantly comparing Alfie's character to Roy's. It was more of a reference point for me, and it didn't matter it wasn't a direct copy. Alfie was his own character and I wish this was dual POV so I could see more of his pining for Mabel since it seems like he likes her from the start, and her constant teasing flusters him!

This was my first ever Charlotte Stein and my GOODNESS am I sold. Banter, swoons, and dreamy sighs abound,

This steamy rom-com centeres around a retired footballer (the grump) and his effervescent ghostwriter (the sunshine). Initially their personalities clash and tensions ride high. This ultimately breaks and leads to plenty of witty banter and light-hearted bickering. I appreciated the honest mental health representation; however the overall tension fell flat for me and often felt contrived and immature.

Sincere thanks to St. Martins Press & NetGalley for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

I was really excited and looking forward to this. Grumpy sunshine? Plus size FMC? Banter? Yes yes and yes!

However i fail to truly enjoy it. I’m not sure if it was the lack of chemistry between Mabel and Alfie. It felt forced and no true emotions came out to make me feel warm and giggly. Or maybe it was the 3rd POV. I am not a fan of 3rd POV.
Thank you Netgalley for a copy of this book.

Mabel is a ghostwriter who has been hired to write Big Bad Football Legend Alfie Harding’s memoir. When they first meet, Alfie can’t imagine how this “cupcake” of a woman could work with him; Mabel takes that to mean he’s judging her body so she storms out of the meeting. Alfie then has to find a way to make it up to Mabel if he wants her to help him write his book.

The banter was fun and consistent and there was lots of cursing (so if that isn’t your cup of tea you def won’t enjoy this book). My biggest irks were (1) the lack of communication between them and the hinting at issues w their families but never going in depth, (2) no actual writing was done after like a week lmao, and (3) the overbearing need to describe him as a “”dArK aNd BrOoDy MaN””. Example: “Now they were going to kill him, before he could infect everything with his aggressively dark clothes and his furious eyebrows and his obvious discomfort at having to be around softness and color.”

Overall though, a solid read and I would recommend it to folks who enjoy a miscommunication // opposites attract trope.

Thank you for the ARC!!

When Grumpy Met Sunshine by Charlotte Stein

This was my first read from this author; it was a quick, easy, and cute weekend novel. I enjoyed the chemistry between the MC’s and the premise of a ghost writer was a really interesting addition, it set the story up beautifully. I think it makes for a decent romcom to read this year, and I look forward to reading more from Charlotte Stein.

'When grumpy ex-footballer Alfie Harding gets badgered into selling his memoirs, he knows he’s never going to be able to write them. He hates revealing a single thing about himself, is allergic to most emotions, and can’t imagine doing a good job of putting pen to paper.

And so in walks curvy, cheery, cute as heck ghostwriter Mabel Willicker, who knows just how to sunshine and sass her way into getting every little detail out of Alfie. They banter and bicker their way to writing his life story, both of them sure they’ll never be anything other than at odds.

But after their business arrangement is mistaken for a budding romance, the pair have to pretend to be an item for a public who’s ravenous for more of this Cinderella story. Or at least, it feels like it’s pretend—until each slow burn step in their fake relationship sparks a heat neither can control. Now they just have to decide: is this sizzling chemistry just for show? Or something so real it might just give them their fairytale ending?'

Fun and witty, this is surely one to add to your romantic comedy collection to enjoy! I had a blast while reading this and adored the representation of a curvy woman and a socially awkward professional athlete!

This is the first book I've read from this author and now I'll be on the lookout for more. When Grumpy Met Sunshine is a banter-filled romcom following Mabel, a bubbly and bright ghostwriter, and Aflie a famous retired football player in need of help writing his memoir. When the two get close while detailing Alfie's life, they find themselves falling for each other further when their relationship is discovered by the public and the two are forced to pretend to be a couple.


I love the secret to real relationship troupes and this book had it all!

Oof. I really wanted to like this book, because I thoroughly enjoy a good grumpy sunshine set up… but this book was atrocious. I was very close to DNF-ing this book, which is not something I ever do. The only reason I kept going is because I wanted credit for it on NetGalley.

I think my biggest problem with this book is that the female main characters only personality trait is that she’s fat. I hated that so much. It’s 2024. You would think that we are past that kind of issue in books, but apparently not. Aside from this disgusting factor, the story was just really boring. The main character was not all that impressive. The banter was not witty. It was just gross.