If you’re looking for a brooding leading man retired from football to grunt and raise his bushy dark eyebrows through London you’ve found the right book. If that character sounds familiar to you then you better BELIEVE (maybe even put it on a sign above your office door) this book is for you. This grumpy man has a FOUL mouth in a variety of ways (IYKYK) and truly uses it to the best of his ability.

The pacing of this book is a little off and I felt like I was getting a direct line to the characters internal monologue which at times was hard to follow. I valued the representation of a plus size FMC and at times her anxieties felt so incredibly honest, almost too much for the romcom I was expecting.

Overall this book was reminiscent to me of the stories I loved when I discovered fanfic websites in the best way.

The plot has promise. I love a good misunderstood grump and lovable sunshine. I love a good “forced proximity” (made to work together) or “fake relationship”
It was just hard to get into the book. The intro to the characters was not well formed. Something felt rushed or not planned out

I received an advance copy of When Grumpy Met Sunshine in exchange for my honest review. My honest review is that this book was not a winner. It had all the makings of a cute rom com with a very Roy Kent like main character, but it just never really got off the ground. It felt very surface level (with an unnecessary/uncomfortable amount of spiciness). Almost DNF’d since I never got particularly invested or interested in the characters or the outcome - although I made it through and the ending was as predictable as expected. Pass on this one.

I wanted to love this. I'm a big fan of the grumpy x sunshine trop, and I love a good love story about a plus sized gal, but this kinda dragged on a bit.

While I did quite enjoy some of their banter, it felt like there was more than necessary. It went on and on and on. In the beginning, I wasn't sure how I felt about the writing style, but it kind of grew on me. I found it more unique than most books I read, and I read a lot of contemporary romance/rom-coms.

It was a fun read, and the dirty talk and smut was pretty fantastic, but otherwise, it was just a bit too repetitive with their conversations/banter taking up so much or the story.

Thank you, Netgalley and St. Martin's press for providing me with an e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

The writing isn’t the most polished, and it doesn't feel like they were choices done for voice. I wasn’t the particularly gripped and stopped after chapter 2 (4%). I can see this being a “liked it” with the target audience.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC.

I wanted to like this book, but it just didn’t happen unfortunately. It just missed the mark. I couldn’t really get into it and found Mabel a bit irritating

I loved every second of this book! It was sweet, funny, and loving. Watching Alfie and Mabel fall for each is hilarious and painful at points because it's so obvious to everyone but them. They are both conditioned to believe certain things about themself and it gets in the way of how they feel about each other. I think the story is written in a way that is as realistic as a fictional love story can be.

I love it when an author really loves their characters and has a great time writing about them together. However when the writer cannot edit it down, even the best banter becomes stale and stalls the pacing of the story. Unfortunately it feels as if that is what happened here.. I went from charmed and chuckling to skimming to see if anything would ever happen. There is a cute story in here but the telling of it didn’t work for me.

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

4 stars

I loved so much about this book. I could relate so much to Mabel's feelings of inadequacy. Alfie was one of my favorite male characters in a long time. The only things I didn't like were 1) translating English into American. I'm pretty fluent in English, but there were some slang and pop culture references that left me stumped. 2) The spice level was a little more than I like. Still, I loved the story, although sometimes the whole miscommunication trope gets on my nerves! "Just say what you're thinking!"

Anyhow, thank you so much to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the digital ARC in return for an honest review.

Grumpy-sunshine is probably one of my all-time favorite tropes. Alfie and Mabel are opposites in that regard, but discover they have way more in common than you would think for a famous footballer and a shy writer.

Absolutely loved their banter! There were moments I actually laughed out loud during this book. So funny. Also, pretty steamy, if you are looking for a sexy read.

Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review. Watch for When Grumpy Met Sunshine to come out February 6, 2024.

I freaking loved this book. I could not stop laughing and raving about it. The scenarios that these characters get into is absolutely relatable and yet completely ridiculous at the same time. This book has it all smut wise.....👀 and yet it just makes this book even better. Definitely going on my top reads of the year.
 
Tropes: grumpy-sunshine, fake dating, banter, one bed, Rom-Com, plus size FMC

I liked the funny moments. I struggled a bit because most of it came off a bit jumbled and confusing.

*Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC*

This was such a fun and steamy read. I devoured it in one sitting. I loved the grumpy/sunshine characters but at points the dialogue was a bit too much for me.

I really wanted to LOVE this book, it had so much potential to me. And while I enjoyed it well enough, I didn’t love it. Mabel came off irritating to me and I just wanted to smack her through like 80% of the book.

This is a slow-burn, super steamy, heartfelt novel about two good people who’ve been hurt by others finding the love and acceptance they desperately seek. It has brilliant character development. Charlotte Stein absolutely nails the characters of Mabel and Alfie (so much voice!) and they are perfect for each other! Heck, Alfie is the perfect book boyfriend with some hilarious lines. But this is not a novel for those who like action because it is just the two of them talking to each other for the majority of the book. For me, I like a little more action and plot development, but I still enjoyed hanging out with Mabel and Alfie.

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC!

I will always give a book with a plus size character a shot and this did not disappoint. It had me laughing, giggling, and kicking my feet. I loved everything about Mabel because she was so cute. Alfie gave very much Roy from Ted lasso vibes and I was completely here for it. So happy that I was able to read this book!

3.75/5
I found this book to be an okay read. The characters were good and I did enjoy some of the banters and their playful arguments but at times I felt like it was all too much. Loved the ending and character development and twists. Thank you for giving me a chance to read this! :)

As a Ted Lasso fan, I had high hopes for this light hearted romcom about Mabel the memoir ghostwriter for retired famous footballer Alfie. While this book ate up the grumpy/ sunshine, fake dating, and one bed tropes, I just couldn't connect with the two main characters as I had hoped. Their story is full of comedic banter and teasing, but I just wanted more depth and a little less insta-love. I also could not stop picturing Alfie as Roy Kent from Ted Lasso - and come to think of it, Beck (editor) as Ted himself. These truly are not issues, just personal preferences. Nonetheless, there were quite a few things I liked about this book:
• A curvy girl as our FMC. Yes we need more of this!
Self discovery and pursing your dreams theme. Despite the romance as the main focus of the story, there is some appetizing character development
The general mood and ending was uplifting. I love a good happy ending
This book releases Feb 6th 2024, and I totally recommend you check it out for a fun, uplifting read!
Thank you @netgalley and @stmartinspress for an eARC in exchange for this honest review

I don't have any words at this moment to talk about how good this book is. I cackled so much and also cried towards the end.

Mabel is my precious angel. She literally was so funny. She had some lines that were GOLDEN. Normally, I hate the third person narration, but it worked really well for this book. I still felt like I was in her head. And what a fun place to be. She was so sure of herself and knew what she wanted, even if she didn't follow through. I just love her. SO MUCH.

Their banter was SO GOOD. They literally clicked so fast, and their chemistry was other worldly. I genuinely gasped so many times throughout this book.

Alfie made me want to cry multiple times. He's definitely making the list of top-tier book boyfriends, but not for just the popular reasons. He was so attentive and patient, and he knew Mabel so well. His whole plot and story were entertaining and moving, and sweet. I loved watching him find himself and be okay with who he was.

Overall, I loved how fun this book was. There weren't many side characters, but the ones we did have were so good. I was immensely entertained. I will be absolutely recommending this to literally everyone.

My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC. This is my honest review.

I was so intrigued by the premise. I enjoy a grumpy vs sunshine trope, as well as forced proximity and only one bed tropes too.

This was an opposites attract, grumpy/sunshine romance with a HEA. Alfie is a superstar footballer with a reputation as a total brute and Mabel is the writer who's picked to ghost write his memoirs. They don't hit it off at first sight.

I enjoyed the start of the book. Alfie is definitely grumpy and also a bit of a knob, but his character arc and what he slowly reveals to Mabel about himself was great. He's funny and vulnerable, caring and observant, clever and quite lyrical when he chooses to actually speak. I loved getting to slowly see this other side of him, the one he's had to keep hidden for so long.

Mabel is the sunshine, which is a bit of a cover for her own back story and vulnerable nature as well.

Their initial interactions were a bit the worst of both of them and Alfie certainly didn't come off looking so great but as the layers peel back we see a lot more depth to both of them. Their banter is enjoyable and funny. The progression as they start getting to know each other and work on the book to the progressive flirting and ratcheting sexual tension worked well.

I've seen some reviews be a bit negative about the banter. Yes, there's a lot of it, but I found it entertaining and fun.

The smut scenes to me were the weakest part of the book. They were explicit (and I do read explicit romances, so this was not a first for me) but they were somewhat cringe inducing and felt somewhat out of place in the story. I don't know what else to say other than they didn't work for me. They may well work for others.

I thought the ending was sweet and the big reveal was as well.

It was great to see physical representation that is outside the typical--a huge, hairy, grumpy MMC and a curvy, short, happily-dressing-in-fun-ways FMC.

Overall I'd say I enjoyed the idea of the story and the banter and progressive intimacy and vulnerability the two characters exhibited but I could have done with less as far as the sex scenes.