Here is what you need to do before you start this book: you need to picture Roy Kent in your brain or watch a few Roy Kent vids on TikTok or an episode or two of Ted Lasso. Now dive in and picture Alfie as exactly that. *Chefs Kiss!*

While this book could have used some editing and doesn’t need to be quite as long - I felt it was a very enjoyable listen on audio.

When Grumpy Met Sunshine by Charlotte Stein
Genre: contemporary romance
Rating: DNF (did not finish)
Format: ebook (eARC)

-grumpy x sunshine
-opposites attract
-plus-sized rep
-U.K. setting
-books about books (writing, authors)
-slow burn

I wanted to love this book because it has so many things I enjoy in a romance, but at the end of the day, I couldn’t connect with the characters. I DNFed at 33%. I thought it was fun that the MMC gave us big Roy Kent vibes. I just wanted more out of these characters. I needed a little more dialogue to get to know them better and a little less of the FMC’s inner dialogue. I just found her inner thoughts to be very lengthy, and because of this, I wasn’t pulled in.

I think there are many people who will enjoy this book, but it just wasn’t for me.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Griffin for my eARC in exchange for my honest thoughts! I won’t be sharing this one on my bookstagram.

DNF at 26%

Alright I tried but unfortunately this wasn’t for me. The characters fell flat and the banter was annoying and immature especially for the ages of the characters. It all felt very forced and was awkward most of the time. The covers cute though!

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC

Ooh. One fact about me- I LOVE a good grumpy × sunshine romance. Add in a plus sized FMC and a brooding British ex-footballer MMC, and this is my perfect recipe for a gold medal romcom.

However, this book completely missed the mark for me. Told from ghostwriter Mabel's POV, the story starts off by throwing the reader into the deep end as the major conflict occurs within the first two chapters. The pace then slowed down but I struggled to get invested. The writing was messy and frenetic, with too many sentences staring with 'because', 'and' and 'but' (seriously, who edited this? It can't be stylistic). The banter sessions were multiple pages long and over the top. Alfie, very obviously based on Ted Lasso's Roy Kent (at least to me) was almost like a caricature- his grumpiness was so supreme it was actually unbelievable (favourite time of day: when it's night; favourite food: something burnt). Mabel's sunshine was also over exaggerated (her home decor is everything pastels and all she has to drink is pink lemonade and hot chocolate). There was also an unexplainable Notting Hill-esque fake dating plotline thrown in nearly halfway through the book and the time jump ending seemed a little disjointed

There were some sweet undertones and once the characters loosened up, they became less caricatures and more like people I would want to read about it in a love story. Good premise but the could have used more editing/refining. Maybe if I had read this as a Roy Kent fan fic I might have enjoyed it more.

I should have DNFed this one but I kept skimming and flipping the pages to get to the HEA. Two and a half stars rated down to 2 stars for me.

Real Rating: 3.5* of five

Mabel and Alfie, whose names sound like an English music-hall duo, also sound like an English music-hall duo while they bicker and banter. This is an uncomplicated, pleasant iteration of the evergreen romance trope, executed without unnecessary fuss and with the panache one expects from an experienced practitioner of the Art of Romance. The only minor whinge I have is that the pace of this story is not as snappy as the copious dialogue...really more like exchanged monologues, if I am in full-disclosure mode.

If you like your romance reading without male knuckle-dragging, female high-horsing, or mutual sexist disrespect...as I do...you will very likely enjoy this read.

I have to admit that it took me quite awhile to really get into this story. I think it stemmed from the fact that I'm American and struggled to follow the British dialect in the story, not the actual storyline itself, because I got the biggest kick out of the voice of Mabel as she second and third guesses herself as she's figuring stuff out. I can just see me trying to talk myself into actually committing to put myself into an unusual or uncomfortable situation.

I love them both! Mabel and Alfie are so perfect for each other and it takes quite awhile for Mabel to overcome some of her hangups and let herself become some sort of comfortable with Alfie but some of the quirky scenes that she finds herself in as we work towards that end had me laughing out loud. The author did a great job of working to unveil some inner depth of both characters and used that to bring us through the story while not giving a whole lot away in the process.

I received a free advanced readers copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

I read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
So.... the angst and chemistry is hot in this story. It takes a while to get there... but it's definitely present in the last quarter. The book only lost a star because the third person perspective made it feel like it wasn't happening in that moment. It made me, as a reader, a bit disconnected.
Besides that, I loved the two main characters together. I enjoyed their conversations, and they really made me believe that these two opposites could make it work.
Didn't love that they had so much time apart at the end, but that happens sometimes I suppose.

Before I give my overall impression of the book, I want to emphasize how much I appreciated the plus-size representation within this story. I thoroughly enjoyed the characterization of the FMC!

That being said, I felt that this book just wasn't for me. I liked the story the author was trying to create, but I felt like it lacked balance. The banter felt overdone at times and the ending felt disconnected from the rest of the story.

Thank you Netgalley for granting me access to this early eARC!

I requested this particular book because the tropes and story seemed like the perfect read for me. Who can resist an opposites attract, grumpy x sunshine, rom-com? Unfortunately I feel very conflicted after reading it. I want to note that I didn't realize this was a third person POV and I tend to stay away from these because I find it hard to get into the story as fast as I can with first person POVs.

Mabel and Alfie do have some truly hilarious moments, for example I laughed over him calling her a "human cupcake" in the beginning! The interaction gave me more hope towards the rest of the story. The characters were charming, sarcastic, and of course humorous throughout. However, in my opinion, the dialogues seemed to drag on more than necessary. The chapters were very lengthy and I found myself constantly checking on how close I was to the next chapter. Editing down just a little bit would definitely fix some of slowness I experienced.

While this read wasn't for me, I would not go so far as saying it is a bad book or discourage others from reading it themselves.

Let me start by saying overall - I had a good time reading this book. I love Mabel and Alfie as characters especially Alfie who is just an all around weirdo despite being a famous person. What's keeping me from giving this one 4 or 5 stars is the pacing. We got very little of Mabel and Alfie actually being together and the reason for their break up just wasn't spelled out enough for me. They stop talking and the book abruptly ends with a one year later epilogue.

Between Mabel and Alfie hooking up finally, breaking up and getting back together - there is not a lot of emotional pay off for the reunion. There's plenty of build up to their first kiss and everything else (nearly half the book) and that's worth it because we see Aflie grow and become more open. Mabel, at least to me, stays largely the same. A good time for her to have had character growth would have been after her realization about loving Alfie. But there is no time between her ending the relationship and the epilogue for that happen.

It's a solid romcom, but it's lacking a bit in really developing it's main character and setting a comfortable pace for the plot.

This started out interestingly enough, but the longer I spent with the story, the less I wanted to pick it up. I feel like the writing kept me distanced and I didn’t actually get to know these characters. I get the vibe the author was going for, but it just didn’t work for me.

I really wanted to like this book because the premise seemed promising. I really hated the writing style of this book and didn’t really care for Mabel or Alfie. I feel like the book was more focused on the banter but we never really saw any real feelings between the characters. It just fell short for me.

Thank you NetGalley,author and publisher for this book. Alfie is just the sweetest gruff man mixed with Mabel’s bubbly disposition. Such a great romance read!! Alfie + Mabel = Forever!!!

This book is quirky, fun and heartfelt all in one bundle. Alfie and Mabel are opposites on almost all fronts, and on paper shouldn’t work together well, by any means. But by breaking through barriers layer by layer, they find that they’re more alike than either of them ever could have imagined.
Stein writes in a way that allows the reader to be in the shoes of her characters. Maybe I don’t personally picture myself as a 6’1” soccer player, but insecurities are never lonely and one can always relate in one way or another.
I enjoyed this book. It was just what I needed to end a really long and dreary work week. I’m looking forward to reading more from this author.

I really enjoyed this story! I loved the FMC and her personality! She was not afraid to give it to Alfie. Alfie was the sweetest. Their banter was my favorite. I thought I was gonna freak out if the epilogue wasn't included. They are supposed to be together! But a year later epilogue. Oh my heart was freaking out!!

I was curious about this book because I wasn’t sure what to expect. I thought I might learn a bit about the behind the scenes of the ghost writer lifestyle but that’s not really the case. We are in Mabel’s head for this book and while at first it’s interesting it sort of feels like being on a Ferris wheel. It’s interesting the first time up but after two more times you realize this is all it’s ever going to be. Mabel going over all her insecurities over and over again. Worse is the fact that somehow through all that inner dialogue, and there is a lot, we still don’t learn all that much about her. She brings up interesting things about herself you want more detail about but she continues on back to her self pitying thoughts and after a while I just got bored. He’s the usual sorta dumb, hothead athlete so the story wasn’t offering too much depth. By the time the story closes I had lost interest. Not a read for me.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc.

2.5 ⭐️

The premise of this book sounded like everything I love, but sadly it wasn't for me. I didn't understand where it was going and the character dialogue changed so abruptly that it got confusing. I did laughed a couple of times and the cover is very pretty.

Thanks NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC.

Stars: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ out of 5
Spicy: 🌶️🌶️🌶️ out of 5

If you love Roy Kent you will love the MMC in this book! Grump, silent, surly British Footballers are definitely our cup of tea! The story is a contemporary RomCom of two unlikely people who fall in love. Alfie is a famous surly Ex-Footballer and has a bad reputation but deep down is the sweetest man ever. Mable is a spunky, plus size, gorgeous woman who works as ghost writer and was hired to write Alfie's autobiography.

We loved the story, it is your classic grumpy/sunshine, but it adds other tropes and representation that make the story great. In the mix that makes the story fun, you have fake dating, opposites attract, and forced proximity, plus size rep and some trauma rep. Alfie meets bubbly Mabel and their wildly fun and entering story begins. The banter is amazing, we love some good fun British banter, it is just different, charming and honest in our opinion.
If you are looking for a fun read, pick up this book!
If you love ROY KENT, pick up this book, because that is the vibe!

Tropes ✨
◾Fake Dating
◾Grumpy vs Sunshine
◾Opposites Attract
◾Witty Banter
◾Workplace Romance
◾Plus Size Representation
◾Forced Proximity
◾Trauma Rep
◾One Bed
◾Ex-footballer


Thank you St. Martin Press and Netgallery for the ARC of this book!

Mabel is hired to be a ghost writer for famous athlete, Alfie, and his upcoming memoir. Mabel is sunshine and pleasantness while Alfie is the classic grump. These two work together to write the book, but also form a bond that turns romantic.

I wanted to love this story since grumpy/shy shine and enemies/lovers are two of my favorite tropes. I wasn’t sold from the beginning on these two characters, though, and I have no idea why, they just didn’t jive with me. I love how Mabel isn’t the classic “skinny” character, and I appreciated her anxieties and inner monologue over how she feels about herself. The steam came off the pages, and I was almost shocked at how we got there, it was like I didn’t see it coming and maybe that had something to do with not being invested in the characters.
The audio was done really well, and otherwise I’m not sure I would have continued.

Summary: Grumpy ex-footballer Alice Harding has been strong armed into selling his memoir, but writing it may be a problem after the reviews he got for the prologue he came up with for a coworker and friend. Sweet ghostwriter Mabel Willicker didn’t know what she was expecting, but it certainly wasn’t everything she discovered throughout the process of getting his life story and it absolutely wasn’t a fake dating situation when their work partnership is mistaken for the real deal. Are the feelings real, or is this truly just a fairytale?

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (4.75)

A Few Notes: First and foremost, thank you so much to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Griffin for the opportunity to read an advance digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Secondly, please pay attention to the content warnings mentioned at the beginning. Charlotte Stein does an excellent job depicting the realities and cruelties of people in a myriad of ways.

Review: For a book that mentions childhood abuse and fatphobia, I didn’t think I would laugh so hard, but I absolutely should have expected the tears at the end. Charlotte Stein is a master at addressing intense real-world topics in a book that doesn’t hesitate to embrace the romance tropes, genre, and lighthearted tone and completing it all with a grand gesture that makes a heart absolutely sing.

Her sense of humor is stunning. So many lines were genuinely funny, and the whole novel is threaded through with the most gorgeous balance of reality and a sense of whimsy that romance just needs to be as bingeable as this was. Mabel and Alfie were so easy to root for and their antics were fun to experience. The lack of secondhand embarrassment in here alone is a star on its own.

I loved everything from the writing to the development of the characters and their relationship. There were so many sweet moments elevated by the fact they were supported by just how awful people had been and continued to be. And, people were cruel in a realistic way. Stein’s characters didn’t experience over-the-top or unnecessary levels of trauma to make a point or force readers to care without developing who Alfie and Mabel really were.

Character development starts from page one, and the whole book is a hard-to-put-down adventure of shenanigans and unexpected feelings.

For my spicy friends, or those wondering if it does get there: the spice in this one goes from zero to sixty in a flash. There’s a lot of amazing buildup and then the spice hits hard. The set up works so well for establishing the possibility, the will-they-won’t-they, and for who they are and where their relationship is in every stage.

When Grumpy Met Sunshine is an absolute must read if you like tropes, actual sunshine, and joy. The best way to describe it is cute, quirky, and fun.