Mabel Willicker becomes the ghostwriter for ex-footballer Alfie Harding’s memoirs. However, the public misinterprets their business arrangement as a romance, so they pretend to be in a relationship in Charlotte Stein’s When Grumpy Met Sunshine.

While I’m all about fake dating, grumpy x sunshine romances are relatively new reads for me. Stein wonderfully blends these two tropes with a touch of enemies-to-lovers. If this is what I have to look forward to, all I can say is sign me up. It’s one of the most hilarious and sexiest romances I’ve ever read and the best Grumpy x Sunshine romances. I love it so much! Stein perfectly balances the humor, steam, and slight bit of angst. I cannot tell you how often I went from laughing my head off to fanning myself to clutching my heart at these two silly people who just couldn’t get it together. Despite their best efforts, things continuously steamroll into the hottest messes. I can’t with them!

From the very first scene, Stein drew me in, and I couldn’t put it down. Stein’s writing and storytelling, with vibrant and detailed descriptions using all the characters’ senses and superb world-building, make you feel like you are with the characters in each moment. She excellently develops her conflicted, complex, relatable, and likable characters that you can’t help but love. Her colorful, hilarious, and natural-sounding dialogue perfectly suits her characters, setting, and theme.

A grumpy ex-footballer who is averse to emotions and can’t stand revealing anything about himself, Alfie gives in to pressure to sell his memoirs. However, Alfie doesn’t believe he can competently write his memoirs himself. So, his publisher hires sunny and bright ghostwriter Mabel, who somehow can effortlessly talk and charm all the details of Alfie’s life from him. Complete opposites, Mabel and Alfie, quarrel, banter, and talk their way through writing Alfie’s life story. The whole time, neither believes it can possibly go well.

Then, when the public mistakes their association for a potential romance, Alfie and Mabel pretend to be in a relationship to satisfy their appetite for a Cinderella story. What begins as fake and pretending soon begins to smolder into an all too real passion that combusts out of their control. Will the fiery chemistry that sparks between them stay pretend, or has it grown into something genuine that leads to Alfie and Mabel’s fairytale ending?

Stein develops Alfie and Mabel’s relationship and transitions it from reluctant partners to friends to lovers through hilarious, snarky banter and sweet, sexy, steamy, and intimate interactions and love scenes that reveal and evolve their characters and further the novel’s plot.

An angry, literal, weird, technophobe, talented athlete, and fan favorite who tends to get into fights, Alfie is much more complicated than first impressions and outward appearances show or what the world knows about him. Mabel discovers that Alfie is practical, intelligent, and so much more. A curvy, cute, cheery, soft-hearted, sweet, and surprisingly sassy ray of sunshine, ghostwriter Mabel wears protective, bubbly girl armor to shield her from the judgments and criticism she’s learned to expect from the world. Mabel’s so relatable. But like Alfie, she hides a depth of emotion and personality behind her façade. Interestingly enough, Mabel is truly as adorable as she appears. I love Mabel and her inner voice and how freely and naturally she gives Alfie a hard time.

I love how Mabel and Alfie effortlessly talk to each other about everything and the comfort level that so spontaneously develops between them once they start working together. These two people, whom no one would believe could ever have anything in common, deeply connect and unexpectedly share so much on many levels. No one is more surprised by how compatible and deeply they fall for one another than Alfie and Mabel.

Stein flawlessly shifts between the novel’s tones—hilarious one moment, intimate and steamy the next, then intensely emotional—without affecting the fantastic pacing. Sweet, steamy, hilarious, sexy, emotional, and fast-paced, When Grumpy Met Sunshine is an unexpectedly and beautifully romantic and hot AF romance perfect for fans of fake dating, opposites-attract, grumpy x sunshine, and humorous, steamy romances. Stein explores self-discovery, self-esteem, self-expression, writing, sports fandoms, social media, falling in love, friendship, facing fears, taking risks, following your dreams, being comfortable with yourself, and being comfortable with your sexuality.

Advanced review copy provided by St. Martin’s Griffin via Netgalley for review.

Content warnings: brief references to parental abuse, childhood poverty, alcoholism, and an incident of fatphobia and its effects.

Mabel is a ghost writer and has been asked to meet with footballer (soccer for us Americans), Alfie Harding, who has already rejected around 17 others to work on his memoir. He is known as a grumpy guy who does not say much. After an initial misunderstanding, they slowly began to work on the book. Initially I just thought the book was salty and it made me think of Ted Lasso, but it turns very steamy, which to me overtook the plot for a while. Overall, I liked the storyline and how it ends plus that the female protagonist was not a skinny little thing, but it was too steamy for me, so I would give it 3.5 stars.

2.5 stars rounded up.
When I saw the title and read the synopsis, I thought that this would definitely be a fun, light-hearted rom-com that I would love. Unfortunately, When Grumpy Met Sunshine was one of the more uneven books I have read in a long time, with parts that worked and were wonderful, and others that just did not gel.

I liked the characters quite a lot, and like other readers felt that the Alfie characters was very Roy Kent adjacent. Mabel's character was a bit less identifiable, except that she was a curvy woman who had not had great previous relationships. My favorite parts of the book were when the characters were talking about their childhoods or other aspects of their lives; you could just see them falling for each other. I was less fond of the section of the book as they started to become physically attracted (and acting on it). I felt like the book completely lost focus and was intent on being as smutty as it possibly could. Perhaps that is the audience that the book is intended to appeal to...it just isn't my taste.

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the digital copy of When Gumpy Met Sunshine by Charlotte Stein. The opinions in this review are my own.

Grumpy ex-footballer Alfie Harding is convinced to sell his memoirs, but he knows he can't write it himself. He hates revealing anything or dealing with emotions, so he meets curvy and cheerful ghostwriter Mabel Willicker. She tends to sass her way into getting those details out of Alfie, and the banter is mistaken for a budding romance. This makes for great publicity, but it soon feels like a very real slow-burn romance.

The meet-cute at the start isn't cute; Alfie is gruff and Mabel is sure he insulted her size by calling her a cupcake. His attempts to correct that impression are hilariously wrong. He is often surly and grumbling, literally responding to comments, and sure that rapid-fire conversation is a way to insult him. The two have an easy camaraderie and similar backgrounds. They get along very well and desire each other, so they lean into the media's assumptions that they're a couple when Alfie defends her to a bunch of random men putting her down because of her weight. Both assume the other doesn't really love them, so it takes the grand gesture to clear the air and allow the happily ever after. I thoroughly enjoyed the story and spending time with Mabel and Alfie.

You know that feeling when you close a book and it’s like your whole body lets out this sigh of contentment. Like your heart is full and sad at the same time. That’s how this book made me feel.

Alfie and Mabel won me over very early in the story. Alfie is that surly, impenetrable hero that I just can’t get enough of and I knew from the second scene he appeared in that he was going to be so much more than what he seemed. Mabel was the most relatable heroine and a lot of the time I really felt like I was reading my own thoughts. Together they were just…everything.

I won’t lie, the dialogue in this story was, at times, hard to follow along with and I found myself needing to go back and reread parts to fully grasp what was going on. It might seem weird or wrong to say but the book is just very British and finding my footing in the cadence of Mabel and Alfie’s conversations took a minute. It didn’t, however, take away the butterflies I got throughout the book or the way I laughed out loud at their banter and sheer ridiculousness. For this reason, I know that a lot of people might give up on this story or not enjoy it the way it deserves but this is absolutely going on my best of list for 2024.

*I received an early copy from NetGalley for voluntary review

I had really high hopes for this book. I loved that there was a plus sized FMC, the Ted Lasso vibes, fake dating… but it just did NOT work for me. I didn’t think it was possible to have such a thing but there was too much banter.
Mabel didn’t stop talking about how different they were, like… we get it. Stop making it a big point. But the one thing I never want from a plus size FMC is to hear her talk about how fat she is.
I understand Alfie is a Roy Kent knockoff but the use of the f word was excessive. And I use it a lot. But this was overboard.
This wasn’t a good reading experience for me.

Slow burn romance, with a lot of banter! I'm usually not a slow burn type of reader and it makes me extremely anxious to read books like that but this one didn't disappoint!

While this book did have funny parts, great spice after a good slow-burn, and a MMC that definitely was my vibe, I couldn't get into it that much. There was just something off for me and I cannot really pinpoint what.

I love fake dating and a big part of this book was just it but even though I could enjoy the tension and all, it always felt like nothing made the character's relationship evolve into something. It was always really surface level and they both kept assuming stuff instead of talking, which after a while was really bothering me. They did have pretty great banter and interactions which made up for it a little.

Overall, the book felt like a big miscommunication trope all along, and well, that's far from a favourite for me. I wasn't really a fan of Mabel, and while I usually enjoy being in people's heads, I was tired of being in hers (sorry). The way she was thinking annoyed me a little if I'm being honest. That being said though, I liked Alfie A LOT. There was just something about him and I wish we had more of him. I would have killed for his POV. It felt like he did everything right but somehow Mabel couldn't see it, so yeah, annoying.

And while the ending was great, the big time gap felt unnecessary (gosh I hate those, and it was a little bit too much of a grand gesture for me. I KNOW, I'm that crazy person who hates grand gestures, sue me. But yeah, I still think this book is worth a read if you don't mind miscommunication and might connect with the MC. It's fun, light, and like I said before, pretty good spice in there so, give it a try and see for yourself!

Note: The audiobook was fun, but at times it could be hard telling who was who... I wasn't a fan of the chapter endings. Not sure if I would have felt the same while reading but it always brought me out of the story for the 1-2 minutes that part went on and then back to the story.

Thanks to the publisher for the eARC. All opinions are my own.

2 Stars
This was cute and the concept sounded really intriguing to me but the plot of this book was a bit boring, not enough really happened. The banter is fun and a lot of the writing is humorous but there is just too much of it. The potential is there but this ultimately fell a bit flat for me and I didn't really care for the characters because of it.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC!

A steamy opposites-attract between a retired footballer, Alfie Harding, and a sugary sweet ghostwriter, Mabel Willicker. What begins as a professional relationship helping Alfie write his memoir somehow turns into fake dating after paparazzi captures Mabel leaving Alfie’s home. Surprising heat and attraction simmers between them and lines become blurred as they both stumble through this fake relationship. If they both fight their fears and live their life authentically they might be able to get their own happily ever after’s.

I thought this book was cute, but it was a bit hard to read in some places. 🤷🏻‍♀️This one focuses heavily on their differences and miscommunication which distracted from how sweet they were together.

Outside of that, her bubbly sassy personality against his gruffness was so cute. We love a woman who can tame her man with just a touch. And also two people who are clearly compatible and when they finally accept it it’s so good. 😮‍💨

I also really enjoyed the body positivity for both genders! It’s so nice to read about the average woman’s body type in a story.

I wish I could give this 6 stars. This will probably be one of my favorite reads of the year and will probably be an all time favorite read. Alfie might just be the best man ever written. Mabel and Alfie’s story filled my heart up like a balloon - pricked a hole in it so that it deflated (loudly and violently) - then patched and filled it up so it was stronger and more buoyant than at first. I just wish we got more of them together in the end. This was actually one of my most anticipated reads ever since I learned about it quite a while back, and not only did it not disappoint, it stuck the landing like Simone Biles.

𝚁𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐: 3⭐️
𝙶𝚎𝚗𝚛𝚎: Contemporary romance 📚

𝙼𝚢 𝚃𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚐𝚑𝚝𝚜:
An okay read, it was funny and sweet but definitely not my favorite

𝚁𝚎𝚊𝚍 𝚒𝚏 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎:
Grumpy/ sunshine (super shocking right?!)
Football(soccer) player & ghostwriter
Witty banter
Fake dating
Forced proximity
Romantic comedies
Slow burn

𝚃𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚜 𝙸 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎𝚍:
The cover is adorable
Alfie is so sweet and thoughtful
Plus sized rep

𝚃𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚜 𝙸 𝚍𝚒𝚍𝚗’𝚝 𝚌𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚏𝚘𝚛:
I wish there had more about the book
Miscommunication
All the lengthy (& repetitive) inner dialogue
There was almost too much banter
The steamy scenes seemed a little out of place IMO
I hate that there was a year gap before they connect again

This was a light, cute read. As a sucker for fake dating tropes, this one had a different twist to it that I liked. I thought the plot was something different. the character of Alfie reminded me a lot of Ted Lasso's Roy Kent. At times I felt the banter was a little too over-the-top and would have enjoyed more tender moments of conversation between Mabel and Alfie. All in all, it was a fun, lightread and I would recommend it!

I am so sad to say this but… DNF @ 30%

I hate, hate, hate to DNF books, but unfortunately this one just isn’t for me. It follows Alfie and Mabel; Alfie is an ex-soccer player and Mabel is the ghostwriter tasked with writing his memoir. To do this, she has to get every nitty gritty little detail about his life — and spend time with him! Problem is that Alfie is a HUGE grump and not the most willing to give up those juicy details that make for a great book. Mabel, his opposite in every way, is not one to give up on a challenge and she’s determined to break through that hard exterior. Let the banter and bickering begin!

The reason why I could not finish this book didn’t have to do with the storyline – in fact, this is exactly the kind of book I love to read – but rather with the writing style. I struggled to break into the story and the characters. Some of this had to do with the choice for 3rd person POV. I’m not typically one to care too much about what POV a book is in… I like them both. But I think this book would have been benefitted from 1st person POV. The characters feel too far away in 3rd person. Speaking of the characters, their interactions felt so odd and unbelievable. He’s a star soccer player with no phone besides a flip one? How has he survived in his career? The two jump into long banter sessions from the get-go and it was just weird. It didn’t seem like something that would actually happen and that’s all I could think as I was reading and it took me so far out of the book that I just couldn’t continue.

That being said, just because this book didn’t work for me doesn’t mean it wouldn’t work for someone else. And I love that it’s body positive. I hope someone else reads this and loves it!

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for granting me access to this book in exchange for an honest review.

Five stars for the first half of the book and then... it just stopped working and felt awkward to read and not in a good way.

I loved the story of Mabel and Alfie at first. It was a little cheesy and over the top, but it worked for me. He was a famous retired football (soccer) player and the was a ghostwriter for his book. Obviously, they start to fall for each other when she is an explosion of rainbow sunshine, and he is just an angry man.

The thing that put me off was when the sexual tension began to rise. The witty banter was just weird and hyper focused on them accusing the other of wanting to "please themselves" and on at least 2 or 3 occasions they did so... near each other and continued to joke about it. None of it felt realistic. Overall, when things heated up, it got uncomfortable spicy rather than good spicy and I felt more like secondhand embarrassment.

Around the same time as the uncomfortable sexual tension started, so did the "woe is me" attitudes and the wild non-communication. The whole second half of the book just completely missed the mark for me because the two main characters were not behaving as adults.

I loved this book and had a hard time putting it down! "When Grumpy Met Sunshine" by Charlotte Stein is a romance book, with some very steamy sex scenes. I was rooting for Mabel and Alfie to get together the whole time. I loved the character development of both of them.

When Grumpy Met Sunshine by Charlotte Stein was such a fun and relatable five-star read!
This book was such a delight to read, featuring a well-rounded cast of characters who are impossible not to fall for.
The characters felt so real and I couldn't stop myself from loving them!
Mabel and Alfie had the absolute best banter. I was hanging onto their every word.
This warm, witty, laugh-out-loud, opposites-attract rom-com was everything I was hoping for.
Overall: perfect chemistry, so smart, so humorous, so entertaining, so heartfelt!

Thank You NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

The grumpy/sunshine trope is my absolute favorite trope so I was so very excited for this one! But so much of this book fell flat for me. Both main characters were so immature which made the banter between them cringy. The writing style was unbearable.. Mabel's inner monologue was so so annoying along with alll her inner thoughts. All around, this was a total miss for me.

Alfie is a grumpy retired footballer, Mabel is a bubbly ghostwriter hired to write his memoir. At first glance, it looks like a recipe for disaster but Alfie and Mabel have more in common than you would think. This was cute and I enjoyed reading it. There were some spicy bits, but some of them were cringy to read which is why I gave it three stars.

The perfect balance of swoony to steamy in this Grumpy Sunshine fate-dating novel by Charlotte Stein. The contrast between Alfie and Mabel was terrific, and the banter for the day made me smile. I loved that it gave me Ted Lasso vibes with the dry humor. Fake dating with the touch of sports is becoming really popular, and Charlotte did a fantastic job with this one. I recommend this one to anyone currently in the romance sports era.

Tropes:
-Grumpy/Sunshine
-Close Proximity
-Fake Dating
-One Bed
-Slow Burn
-Plus Size Heroine


I was provided an ARC from the publisher but have purchased my own copy of the book.