Despite the clunky title and awkward first few chapters, I really enjoyed Charlotte Stein's When Grumpy Met Sunshine. Despite being obviously inspired by--if not complete fanfiction of--Ted Lasso's Roy Kent, after a few chapters, Alfie Harding comes into his own as a character. It helps that Mabel is very much her own character and a really well written one. The latter half of the book gets very steamy and that was very, very well done. Absolutely one that went on my to-buy list as soon as I finished it.

Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press, St. Martin's Griffin for the ebook ARC. All opinions are mine alone.

This was a cute story And I really liked the idea. The miscommunication was not frustrating an vs over the top. The writing also felt a little scattered.

This one didn’t work for me but that ok! I think this book will definitely have a target audience so I still recommend you pick it up if you have an interest based on the synopsis. There is definitely a lot of banter and spice if those interest you pick it up asap!😊

DNF at 27%. I really tried to continue reading this even though I wasn't enjoying it because I wanted to read it so bad. However, I couldn't connect with the characters. I also felt I was thrown into a random scene in the beginning of the book that set the scene for the zero plotline this book had. The banter is straight up annoying. And I still am questioning what the hell was happening in this book because I really have no idea.

First I would like to thank NetGalley and St Martin’s press for the opportunity to read this arc in exchange for an honest review.


While I didn’t finish this book I wanted to write a review for what I did finish. I made it to 33% before I stopped reading this book and even went back 2 other times to pick this book up trying to give it a fair chance. This book was just not for me. I felt as though the author tried to hard to create fights within the characters so they would hate each other one second but then the next second it was as though she gave them a heart and was making their hearts slowly melt which kinda gave me whiplash because it was happening so fast. She focused on weight of the character with class which I commend. It was lovely reading about a bigger girl for once. I don’t feel like the characters were a good build and maybe that happened after I stopped reading but you didn’t know why the mc was the way she was and you didn’t know why he was so grumpy all you knew was that they wanted to bicker which was over played.

I found this book very hard to follow based on the writing style half the time I had to reread what I just read to figure out what was happening.

I cannot honestly give this book a star review because I didn’t finish it.

What I did love about this book was the fact the mc was a bigger girl which you don’t see much of and I loved the cover.

I wanted so badly to love this book. I am typically a big proponent of the grumpy x sunshine troupe so I was really excited for this one from the title alone, but that excitement lasted as far as the first chapter.

Banter can be adorable and fun but this book sadly proved that you can have too much of it. The amount of dialogue versus the amount of action driving the plot was imbalanced greatly. I found myself having to force my way through scenes of dialogue because the sheer amount of back and forth between the two characters was so slow.

The characters also didn't quite align with the grumpy x sunshine troupe as the title would leave you to believe. While Alfie is undoubtedly meant to be a Roy Kent clone (although not quite as smart as Roy typically is), Mabel isn't quite what I would call a sunshine. She does help Alfie come out of his shell and break away some of his "grumpiness" but she has a lot negative persepectives in her own right, in particular in regards to her self-worth and physical appearance. As a plus size women myself, this was rather disheartening.

Admittedly I found myself skimming instead of truly reading the last 25% of the book because I wanted to at least see Alfie and Mabel's ending but I was perturbed to find a time jump right at the end which is never my favorite way to reach the climax of a book.

I will say I appreciate the. concept of this book, and I think it has a lot of potential, but mainly with the help of a great deal of editing and a lot more action woven through.

Thank you to St Martin's Press and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC!

Sadly this was a miss for me. I was so excited by the premise & love this trope normally. But the writing style didn’t hit for me. It was very stream of consciousness which became frankly annoying and made it hard to see beyond it to the actual plot. There was also too much dialogue and not enough action.

DNF -- i couldn't connect to the characters which makes me so sad. i love this cover art and it made me so excited, unfortunately it was just a miss for me

Grumpy/sunshine is one of my absolute favorite tropes, and I was looking forward to this book. It was a struggle to read this one though because it felt way too long. I love banter, but there was just too much of it! It seemed to never end, and it made the story drag on.

I think that there were still some parts of the story though, and I would still recommend it.

I did my utmost to navigate this book, hoping to avoid being entangled in yet another interminable exchange of banter. The classic "Grumpy-meets-sunshine" trope, one I usually relish, is vividly embodied in the main character, Alfie Harding.

With dialogues that repeat themselves endlessly and a conspicuous lack of action or narrative progression, I rolled my eyes. I skimmed through certain sections in a desperate attempt to hasten the story's conclusion.

In the end, this book fell short of my expectations. The characters lacked depth, the dialogue between the protagonists in their thirties felt somewhat immature, and the narrative style alienated me from the story. Reading it was a struggle, and the last 40% of the book felt like an entirely different story, which did not aid matters.

I was very excited for this book as I thought the premise was super adorable. Initially, I loved the banter/stream of consciousness type of thoughts from the main character. However, as it went on, it became a little too much for me. It became difficult to discern what was actually happening, what was dialogue and what was in the main character's head.

I enjoyed the premise, enjoyed the initial intro to the main character and enjoyed some of the banter. I even enjoyed the ending. It just felt like I got bogged down a little too much with the banter. Overall, a good read but takes a little more brainpower than the normal cutesy romances I read.

This book was a bit of a slog for me. I liked the trope and found a lot of the dialog witty. I struggled with what felt a lot like stream of consciousness narration that was written in the 3rd person. Yet there wasn’t a lot of explanation as to what sparked the initial attraction and the internal dialog seemed endless. The Internal musings seemed realistic, just a lot to work through.

I would like to start out by saying I love when a writer's MC is a writer. But it's a heck of a bonus that she also represents the curvy community. Alfie and Mabel's banter is everything in this book. My only dislike is the amount of internal dialogue. I would absolutely highly recommend this book!

dnf at 13% I just couldn't get into the book. The characters felt too stiff and unnatural that I couldn't continue

I loved this book the first time, and when I went back to check my highlights to prep the review, I got caught up in it again and ending up bingeing the whole second half.

I'm a character reader and the character development is always a crucial factor in my enjoyment of a book. Mabel and Alfie are just fantastic; I was cheering for them and crying for them. Stein did a great job in selling the 3rd act breakup, and why the characters did what they did.

It's single POV, which is a good choice for the story, though we do get Alfie's thoughts because we get excerpts of his writing.

I was surprised some reviews said "too much banter" because all that banter is actually the two people getting to know each other, coming to trust each other. It's "look over here! (and don't look at my heart)". I guess if a reader isn't paying attention to the details (which I've been guilty of) or wants a faster romance arc (fair) this wouldn't be to their taste. But it definitely was to mine.

In summary: I love these characters and am going to reread this yet again.

I got a copy from netgalley; opinions are my own

I made an attempt to navigate through this book, steering clear of falling into another endless spiral of witty exchanges. The classic "grumpy meets sunshine" trope, which I have an undeniable soft spot for, comes to life through Alfie Harding, our main character. He's a charming blend of the hottest Roy Kent, complete with a heart of gold, yet plagued by the challenges of social ineptitude and anger management issues. The quick-witted and observant ghostwriter, Mabel Willicker, also stands out as a shining star in the story.

Regrettably, the narrative becomes bogged down by excessively long dialogues, they seem to stretch on for an eternity. These extended exchanges, to my dismay, persist throughout the book, leading to frustration and impeding the overall reading experience.

Repetitive dialogues and a lack of significant action or plot progression led me to roll my eyes and, admittedly, skim through certain sections just to reach the story's conclusion.

In essence, this book brims with potential, weaving together the "opposites-attract" and "workplace romance" themes. Nevertheless, it could significantly benefit from more rigorous editing to trim down the protracted banter and infuse more action into the storyline. As a result, I can only bestow a three-star rating, despite my earnest efforts.

This was a fun grumpy/sunshine read with some other tropes thrown in (including only one bed!).
I enjoyed it overall, but it wasn't among my favorites. The banter was fun at first but got old after a while. I was also annoyed by the miscommunication/misunderstanding throughout. I understand the motives behind why it was hard for them to share and believe each other, but it isn't usually my preference for a romance novel. I did love the depth of the characters and was happy I read the book in the end!

Thank you to St. Martin's Press/St. Martin's Griffin for the ARC!

I really struggled getting into this one :( I wish I could put my finger on why, but it never quite grabbed me :(

When Grumpy Met Sunshine is not going to be the book for everyone, but it sure was the book for me! I picked this book up when I really needed something light and fluffy, and this book perfectly fit the bill!

So let’s talk about what this book is about, to start with. In this story, we follow Mabel as she’s chosen as a potential ghostwriter for a memoir that famous footballer (that’s a soccer player, for all you confused Americans) named Alfie. Everyone knows Alfie as a grumpy giant and a man of few words, but after several first meetings gone wrong, eventually Mabel and Alfie start working together, and things just spiral from there, because eventually fake dating gets involved, just as the two are becoming friends.

Now, if you like banter, this is the book for you! If you don’t like banter, stay far away! This book is 80% banter as the two form relationships and figure out how to talk around the different situations they encounter. There is barely any plot, so you really have to root for these two and their relationship to enjoy this book. Thankfully I did root for them, but even I got a little lost at some of the rambles and thought processes that we follow as readers. It didn’t help that this book is extremely British, and I’m not sure all the lingo and turns of phrase translated for me.

Interestingly, part of the reason I liked this book is because the characters are pretty introspective and talk out a lot of their emotions, which helps their relationship build. However, I didn’t love that it didn’t leave anything for the reader to understand, favoring spelling everything out clearly instead. I think a bit more credit could have been given to the reader, where not every emotion needed to be discussed by the characters themselves, for the reader to understand how they were feeling. In general, while I think this helped the relationship, I do think it made the actual characters themselves suffer, since if they weren’t talking to one another, you didn’t get much depth from the characters.

But the relationship cuteness just about made up for it, in my eyes. These two are fantastic as friends, and even more fun as something a little more, even when it’s fake. I cracked up from the ridiculous antics and shenanagins these two encountered, I smiled at their cuteness, and I kept reading to finally get to the two of them reaching a happily ever after.

While this book is by no means perfect, and there are just as many people that I’d steer away from this book, as those that I’d recommend this book to, it made me so immensely happy that it couldn’t not get a 4 star rating from me. If you’re a fan of rom coms with lots of banter, hijinks, and ridiculous scenarios there just to force the characters into absurd and fun situations, this is the book for you. And if not, I hope you find a book that makes you just as happy as this book made me!

| ARC review |

the whole misunderstanding at the beginning of the story was so trippy but real because I can understand letting your insecurities get the best of you. and it was needed for the two to get out of their heads and just start to be comfortable with each other and trust that they aren't out to get each other and are honestly just good people
cause once they got that trust things got hot real quick...
also all the little like reddit and twitter after thoughts at the end of the chapters are hilarious sometimes because it's the totally opposite of what really was happening between Alfie and Mabel like the concert chapter... yeah uhu they were totally 'fighting'