I tried multiple times to get into this book and just couldn’t. I don’t dislike the grumpy/sunshine trope but I did feel like it was a little forced in the part that I did read.

Honestly this wasn't a book that worked for me. I have never read a book by Charlotte Stein before and won't be closing myself off to future books, but overall this wasn't my cup of tea. I loved the premise and how much it intrigued me, but Mabel as a character felt insufferable at times. I could tell that Alfie really liked her, yet she kept doubting because of her size and that tended to get on my nerves. It had really great potential but overall felt flat and underdeveloped as a story. I wasn't a fan of the lengthy dialogues either.

This just did not do it for me. The cover and premise really pulled me in. But alas, fell flat. The FMC’s inner dialogue killed this book for me. Lots of words. But nothing of substance. It feels like we have to trudge through all the lengthy babbling monologues in slow motion like quicksand, but we all know there is nothing quick about it. Even the spicy scenes..
I also couldn’t connect to the characters. Adults but they acted pretty juvenile.. is there a thing of too much banter? Some of it was funny, but just felt over the top. I cringed a bit. Not a fan of the dialogue. Lots of miscommunication.
And the sentence structure felt a bit choppy.
I really wanted to love it.
But the cover is really cute.

First of all, this cover is perfect. Second, I love Alfie. He was not what I was expecting. This story was fun, cute, and deeper than I thought it would be. I'm beginning to become a big fan of sports-adjacent romances, and this one was the perfect Ted Lass0/Roy Kent combination. I can't wait to read more from Charlotte Stein.

This was a really sweet story. Grumpy/Sunshine, not very friendly to friends to lovers, miscommunication, and a happily ever after. Everything that someone could possibly want in a romance.

I did not like this one at all. I love grumpy sunshine tropes and bigger bodied female main characters but this just did not gel with me. Maybe it was the Ted Lasso type male character or the sudden switch from grumpy to all over each other but I didn’t love it.

Mabel Willicker is a ghostwriter with so much sunshine and cheer that she feels she can crack the nut that is grumpy ex-footballer Alfie Harding and get him a best-selling memoir full of details. But when their business arrangement is mistaken for a real relationship, the pair puts on a show for the public. Is their budding romance just for show, or could there be something more to their story?

I love a good grumpy to sunshine trope. Throw in a fake relationship and you have romance gold in my book. There were some really fun and engaging parts, but it was chock full of dialogue that made reading feel clunky and exhausting at times. I wish that the author did more showing than telling through drawn-out internal and external dialogues. I think that would have helped me to engage more with the characters. Because of this, I stopped reading at 42% in the book. I wanted to keep going but struggled to stay invested. As such, I will not be posting my review to my Goodreads account.

Thank you to Charlotte Stein, St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for an e-copy of this book for an honest review.

This was adorable. I eyeball read this and then did the audiobook when it was released. I really enjoyed this story. It was surprisingly funny, and very sweet. Alfie is just clueless about so many things, but he's willing to step outside of his comfort zone over and over again for Mabel. I love Mabel! She's adorable and honest and takes way too long to understand what's happening between them, lol. I get super heavy Ted Lasso meets Fake dating romcom. This was my first by Charlotte and I really enjoyed her writing style. I'm also glad I followed it up with the audio when it released. Sometimes I struggle with 3rd person POV in romance, but the narration really helped me connect with the characters and I enjoyed it more the second time through.

When Grumpy Met Sunshine
⭐️⭐️⭐️
Author: Charlotte Stein

I requested a digital advanced readers copy from NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press and Macmillan Audio and providing my opinion voluntarily and unbiased.

Synopsis: 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 is this sizzling chemistry just for show? Or something so real it might just give them their fairytale ending?

My Thoughts: This was a cute story that I enjoyed. It took a little bit to get into but when the story really begins to meld, it is explosive. Ex football legend gets roped into selling his story. He does not exposing his flaws for the world to see and does not believe he could do it justice so he wants to hire a ghostwriter. Enter Mabel who loves life and is the has a positive outlook on everything. When their business relationship is mistaken for a romantic relationship by a noisy paparazzi, they have to pretend to be in a relationship to keep his visibility in contact. But does it feel like a fake relationship when the chemistry is off the charts? Or is it something real that could be a fairytale ending? This follows the tropes of grumpy/sunshine, forced proximity, opposites attract, miscommunication, and fake dating.

This is narrated by Mabel, solely in her POV. I think the story would have evolved more if we had a dual narration. We just did not get enough of Mabel’s backstory to appreciate what she has been through; there is definitely some type of trauma there. Mabel is presented as a cheery, full of life character that exemplifies sunshine. Alfie is a grumpy exterior, but a softie once you get to know him. The characters were portrayed with witty banter, dark humor, and chemistry. The author’s writing style was complex, steamy, spicy, and intriguing. The dialogues were drawn out and often repetitive hurting the overall premise of the story. I think if we trimmed off some of the repetitiveness, and shorten some of the dialogues, even at the expense of cutting pages, it would really elevate this story to the next level. The bones are definitely there, it just needed some fat trimmed.

This sweet story between a ghostwriter and an ex-football star holds no bar with explosive steamy scenes encapsulated with sweet heartfelt moments. I had the pleasure of having the digital and audio versions. I really struggled with the digital version, but was able to listen to the audio version. The narrator(s) were awesome, had excellent voice variation with character distinction. The pitch and flow worked well and I was able to listen at 2x with no issues following along. My main issue with the book is some of the banter was a bit immature and at times, while the narrator was great, it was hard to follow the dialogue sequence. There was a fair amount of miscommunication as well, even more so than for a typical miscommunication trope. The narrators moved this from a 2.5 ⭐️ to a 3 ⭐️ read for me and I was able to push through some of the parts due to them.

Thank you, Netgalley, the author, and the publisher for the gifted e-book! ❤️ #gifted. My review is comprised of my honest thoughts.

I could not take this seriously. I tried. It reads like some sort of fanfic. I am not a fan. You may like it.

This charming romantic comedy follows Mabel (which I loved because this is also my name), a cheerful ghostwriter, and Alfie, a retired football star seeking help with his memoir. Their lively interactions as they delve into Alfie's life lead to unexpected feelings when their fake relationship is exposed to the public.

As a big fan of Roy Kent, I had mixed feelings...

While I enjoyed every moment of this sweet romcom, I found the writing sometimes too wordy and hard to follow. Still, I was captivated by the genuine banter and growing bond between Mabel and Alfie.

Also, the sudden one-year leap at the end felt rushed and out of sync with the rest of the book, leaving me wanting more. Despite these issues, I genuinely liked the story and look forward to more from Charlotte Stein!

I did not finish this book at 50%. I alternated between the physical and audio versions to see if I could make it through but was unable to. I considered DNF at around 20% but wanted to give the book a fair shot.

I love a grumpy/sunshine trope and was really excited about the ghost writing aspect.

There were some funny parts. I appreciated the Pretty Woman reference, and there were some tender moments, but I found myself overwhelmed by the dialogue.

Reasons I did not finish this book/couldn't get into it.
The dialogues were lengthy and dragged on.
There was a lot of internal dialogue mixed in.
It was often hard to follow the conversations, I thought switching to the E-ARC might help with this, and it made it more clear, but dialogue and internal dialogue dragged on.
The internal dialogue felt excessive and forced. Like the reader must know every single thought Mabel was feeling.

Since I did not finish this book I will not be reviewing it on Goodreads, and have provided a 2 star rating for the purpose of this feedback, but will not be posting this on my platforms.

This book was just okay. I liked parts of it, but I wasn’t a huge fan of the dynamic between the main characters. I know others who read this and loved it, but it just wasn’t something I enjoyed

This book was so fun! The banter and tension between the two main characters was absolutely top notch.

It took me a bit to get into it but once I was invested I did not want to put it down.

I would recommend this f0r anyone who is a fan of banter, tension, and friends to lovers.

Hey friend! Guess what? I just finished When Grumpy Met Sunshine, and I've got to spill the tea—it was a total delight! Picture this: a whirlwind romance, a sprinkle of humor, and just the right amount of heart. I was hooked from the get-go! The characters felt like old pals, and the love story? Well, let's just say it's giving me some serious relationship goals. Bottom line: if you're in need of a pick-me-up, this book is it! I'm already eyeing up more gems from Charlotte Stein. Can't wait to see what they've got in store next!"

*wipes eyes*

This book was absolutely beautiful.

The entire premise hooked me and then seeing it executed so perfectly in the overall story, just made this hit so hard with my own feelings.

Mabel is hilarious, smart, and one horny lady (can you even blame her?). Alfie is the typical retired footballer who is very quiet and tends to hide his feelings.

The undeniable chemistry these two have and the slow burn that occurs is satisfying and written so well.

This grumpy vs sunshine story was such a fun and cute read. I very much enjoyed the sports romance, paparazzi shenanigans and quirky main character vibes of this one. I also like that it balanced the sweet and spicy moments quite well. So if you are a big fan of of all of this and characters like Roy from Ted Lasso- this is definitely a read for you.

I absolutely love this cover! It gives off fun opposites attract vibes. I also liked the premise of a ghost writer falling for her client. Unfortunately, the story itself was lacking the fun banter and charm I was expecting. Alfie was just miserable & Mabel did not come off as a happy sunshine character. The last half of the book was just them being horny & talking about what they would do to each other. I had to skim through a good portion of it because it was so repetitive. I never thought I would have a word I dislike but I have found it with this book. Slick! I will forever be cringing.

This book just didn’t resonate with me. The writing style was clunky and the characters didn’t have any chemistry. I can handle miscommunication, but not this much. I am sure others will like it, unfortunately this book just wasn’t for me.

When Grumpy met Sunshine by Charlotte Stein is an opposites attract rom-com.

Mabel is a plus-sized ghost writer who has been paired with Grumpy retired football (soccer) player Alfie to write his memoir.

While heavy on the dialogs, this book has a good premise and cute cover.