I appreciated the slow burn of the romance and the Roy Kent vibe the hero had, but I really just didn’t vibe with this book. Just not the book for me I think lots of romance readers will enjoy it.

With my favorite trope in the title, I thought I was sure to love When Grumpy Meets Sunshine. Although the setup was a bit slow, I enjoyed the story line quite a bit until a little over halfway in when things got very steamy in a super cringey way. I don't love much steam at all, but I think this would be way too much for a lot of people. Skip to the epilogue, and the author's talent is very evident with the sweet, surprising wrap up. I think it could have been a great book if there had been more closed doors.

“You’re sadistic, you are. Like an evil Mary Poppins.”

Mabel Willikins knew ghostwriting a memoir for ex-footballer Alfie Harding wasn’t going to be a walk in the park. After all, he’d rejected seventeen other people before she showed up. What she didn’t expect? Blurry photos and speculative rumors flying all over the internet. Rumors about Alfie Harding’s new mystery woman.

Oh my gosh, I giggled so much while reading this book! The ridiculous situations and the banter between Mabel and Alfie were just so delightfully absurd. I think my favorite one might be when he chastises her for diluting pepper spray while his eyes are full of said diluted pepper spray.

Tropes: Grumpy/Sunshine, Fake Dating, Sport Romance, Curvy Girl vs the World, Miscommunication

Side Note: I enjoyed the chapter titles in this book. They’re all snarky little tidbits that give you a brief glimpse of what slightly absurd thing is going to happen next.

I was very excited to start reading this book, as I love the grumpy/sunshine trope, and especially when the MMC is a footballer! However, I found myself having to re-read sections of this book because it seemed the FMC's train of thought keep going off on a tangent. I couldn't tell if this was the author's writing style, or if it was meant to display a neuro-atypical character trait of Mabel. Either way, it took me a long time to get even 25% of the way through this book because I had to go back to keep track of their conversations and banter.. I think the premise of the book is great, and I really do want to find out what happens with Alfie and Mabel in the end, but I'm going to have to DNF this book for now and come back at another time to finish it. Thank you #NetGalley.

⭐️rating: 2.5/5

I was really hoping I’d like this one more than I did, but I struggled a bit getting through it. It was hard to get into and hard to follow sometimes. Part of this, for me, I think was that it felt like I was often reading a stream of consciousness, so it felt jumbly and was hard for me to follow. It probably also didn’t help that there was a ton of British slang that I didn’t know.

The story was cute and I liked the slow burn, though it sometimes felt like the characters or their actions were unrealistic. But Alfie did have great dirty talk, so that was a plus. Also, the jump to a year later at the end was a bit jarring. It was still an alright resolution overall, but I didn’t love that it jumped a whole year when it felt like it didn’t have to.

Overall, it fell far below my expectations cause I really hoped I’d like this one. Since it was so hard for me to get into, I considered DNFing, and that’s why I gave it such a low rating. Maybe others will enjoy this more, but I wouldn’t re-read. The cover, though, is gorgeous! I love Leni Kauffman‘s work.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

A steamy fake dating that hits you in all the feels. Mabel and Alfred have to work together. One as a ghost writer, one a retired footballer that is a known grump and recluse. Their chemistry is off the charts. I loved watching their relationship go from professional and annoyed with each other to can’t leave each other alone! A bit of a slow burn but it just ups the tension!

CW/TW:swears, open door scenes, discussions about being fat shamed.

This book was so slow and had absolutely no storyline. The beginning did have a strong story but that was lost somewhere and just turned to trash. I did not want to finish this book.

Many thanks to Netgalley and St Martin's Press for the earc! This is my honest review.

How can a romance book have so much banter but be paced so slowly? I don't know but this book somehow manages to do just that.

This cover lied to me. I looked and it and was like a cute romance with a rugged grumpy, ex-football player writing his memoir and the cute bubbly ghostwriter that is gonna write it. I'm probably an outlier opinion but I really wish I enjoyed this more than I had. I thought the banter was extensive, like there was so much dialogue it diluted what was happening and I forgot where we were at in the scene. And then there was the paragraphs that went on and on telling everything going on. I hope to all of you that you enjoy this book better than I have.

Unfortunately this one really wasn’t for me. Grumpy/sunshine is one of my favorite tropes but I wasn’t really able to root for these characters to get it together. Their banter felt over the top and forced. I found Alfie to be not a lovable kind of grump but rather one who just seemed immature and childish. Mabel was okay but also not someone I loved. The narrative style of adding in texts and social media at the end of each chapter didn’t really work for me here either. All in all a miss for me sadly.

Okay, so it’s only February—the beginning of February, no less—but this book is already a serious contender for one of my favorite books of the year. It was THAT good.

First of all, it’s clear that Alfie Harding is a delightful homage to a gruff and grumpy ex-footballer who costarred in an award winning comedy on a fruit-based streaming service. So, as a fan of the show, it is such a special treat to get a WHOLE book featuring everyone’s second favorite grouch. (After Oscar, of course).

Mabel is truly an Original, yet her quirks and mannerisms are so relatable. As the title suggests, she is an excellent Sunshine to Alfie’s Grumpy. She is sweet-tempered, but she does go into her ghostwriting experience with preconceived notions on what she expects working with Alfie (and Alfie himself) to be like. Over the course of the book, she is thoroughly disavowed—I do mean THOROUGHLY. The chemistry for those two is off the charts. Good grief! Super steamy!

Do you like tropes? Well, this book is jammed full of tropes, starting with the obvious sunshine/grump. There’s also an element of opposites attract, slow burn, only one bed, and so many more. As much as I love tropes, my favorite element of the book would have to be the little vignettes between chapters, like tweet threads and excerpts from books/interviews. They added an element of depth that would’ve been difficult to replicate with prose alone.

I would absolutely recommend When Grumpy Met Sunshine. This is definitely one of those books I want a physical copy, a digital copy, and the audiobook. It was such a wonderful validating book that’s perfect for people who wish their football had slightly less football. I hope they make this into a series because there’s a lack of football in my life right now. Well done, Charlotte Stein!

I received a digital ARC of this book from St. Martin’s/NetGalley

I was drawn in by the cover, the synopsis, the tropes of this book. However, unfortunately it did not live up to my expectations.

I love a grumpy sunshine book, however, I felt like the grumpy football player in this book too early in the book turned around to liking the FMC/being more sunshiny without much context or plot being given as to the reason for his actions. I really enjoyed the banter throughout the book, however, I felt like the book was set up to be a plot > spice book, and at some point it became almost exclusively spice with very little plot development.

I definitely think of this book could be somebody else’s cup of tea, but I think I went into it expecting something different, and was therefore a little bit disappointed. However, don’t let my take on the book deter you! If you’re interested in the synopsis or the tropes, definitely give the book a try — it might be your cup of tea, even if it isn’t mine!

Thank you SMP Romance for the advance copy.

A ghost writer and a footballer fall in love in this opposite attracts / sports romance.

When Grumpy Met Sunshine started off so strong. The MCs had such amazing banter but then slowly the book lost its way. I don’t even remember half of it and I finished it less than 24 hours ago.

Teetered between 3.5 & 4 stars!

I love a good opposites attract romance and this was a delight overall! Some parts missed the mark but I couldn't quite put my finger on what exactly was missing

Mabel was hilarious. Her internal dialog at times was a little over the top, but overall, she put a smile on my face with her antics. And Alfie was grumpy personified here! But somehow, the two of them work (once they get themselves together!) This was definitely a slow burn tho!

Overall, their witty banter is what I loved most about this book!

Thank you St Martins Press for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

I received a copy from NetGalley for review.

DNF'd at 30%. I really didn't enjoy either of the main characters or the plot line. I'm not sure at 30% I could tell you, outside of some weird tense moments, what the plot was (like I know it's a romcom). I didn't feel like these two should be together and the "ghost writer" didn't really do her job when they were together. Also the pacing was so weird. Like they talked for so long about his lack of furniture in his house? apartment? I don't even know because the author did a terrible job describing scenery.

I guess for those that like football (soccer) sports romances and author romances you might enjoy this, but in my opinion definitely skip this one.

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press, St. Martin's Griffin for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I love a good grumpy MMC and an opposites attract - fake dating trope and I have to say for the first half of the book I found it funny and I laughed at quite a few spots. I enjoyed the banter between the two main characters Alfie, an ex footballer and Mabel, a ghost writer. The chemistry between them was instant. When Alfie is standoffish with every one else he was opening up to Mabel. Then the rest of the book was just SMEXY talk. I don't mind steam in a book but it just felt overdone. oh, and a lot of swearing that I just felt like it took away from the story.

Super cute cover!!! It's what drew me to this book!

This was an entertaining, well-written book. It was fun, sweet, steamy and I didn't want to put it down. I enjoyed this book and will look for more books by this author.

I received an ARC of this book to read through NetGalley, all opinions are my own. Charlotte Steins new book When Grumpy met Sunshine is in a word delightful. It's funny and bubbly, has all the feels, is super steamy and has the most wonderful HEA. Alfie Harding is a retired ex-football player, almost as famous for being surly and grumpy as he is for his athletic excellence. Somehow he got himself talked into writing his memoirs and it really is his idea of torture because he's an extremely private person. At the point we meet him has been through ten ghostwriters. His newest ghostwriter Mabel Willicker is his opposite effervescent, charming, chatty and kind. She is no doormat though and walks out of their first meeting when he shows up as his usual surly self. Their next meeting is not much better as she ends up dousing him with pepper spray when he appears to be stalking her. Wonderful banter, fake dating, only one bed, and chemistry that leaves them both singed made this book so enjoyable to read. One of the things that I loved most about this book is that their outward personas were really reactions, camouflage if you will, to similar childhoods and that they really get each other. I love a romance where it's about finding your person, the one who will always have your back.
Steam Level: Very Steamy Publishing Date: February 6, 2024 #WhenGrumpyMetSunshine #MacMillanPublishers #ContemporaryRomance #NetGalley #bookstagram #bookstagrammer #romancereader #oppositesattract #grumpysunshine #onlyonebed #fakedating

Mabel is brought in to ghostwrite the biography of Alfie Harding, a former footballer. It was an extremely awkward arrangement at first for multiple reasons (and to divulge those reasons would be a bit of a spoiler). Suffice to say that there is a good deal of grumpy and sunshine give and take, until it’s more than a ghostwriting assignment.

The story is a delight and the ups and downs will have you along for the ride.

POV: Single FMC
Spice: 🌶️ 🌶️ 🌶️

This book had me at Roy Kent, and even though I was sad not to have his POV, the author did do a great job with his character as I could literally hear Roy talking whenever Alfie had something to say.

While I love some good back and forth British banter, and this book has a lot of that, it almost just got to be too much, and I would find myself having to go back and reread to try and figure out what was going on or what the character's were getting at.

I loved that this book is way spicier than I would have guessed, and there are some truly fun moments, but I couldn't come back from the communication issues and the way these two broke up, and how mad I was at what happened in the end.

This was delightful! I do not understand all the whining about the banter. I love banter in a romance--it shows humor and intelligence. What I loved most about When Grumpy Met Sunshine was the connection between Alfie and Mabel. It's wonderful when you meet someone completely out of your orbit but find you have a connection, a friendship, a bond. They have this playful relationship and then it gets spicy--real spicy. I understand Mabel's reluctance to understand what is right in front of her--we're all plagued with doubt. But Alfie is genuine and I adore him. The ending is unexpected but fun. This is better as an audio--the narrator was great. Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC/audio format!