This book was a miss for me. I love some good banter, but this got really repetitive, and while I think the FMC was supposed to be the “sunshine” I really didn’t get that sunny feeling from her.
Overall it was a struggle to read, which is unfortunate. The premise was really interesting.

Thanks NetGalley for the ARC.

When Grumpy Met Sunshine, by Charlotte Stein, pairs a grumpy ex-football player together with a friendly ghostwriter in what seems to be a no-win situation. Can they work out, or learn to work with their differences? It's easy to keep turning the pages of this novel to find out. Thanks to both NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC ebook of this one.

When Mabel is hired to ghost write a memoir for grumpy football player, Alfie, she struggles to help him reconcile his actual past with the persona that is expected of him. The two end up in a fake dating scheme and now they have that to navigate on top of the memoir writing. Alfie and Mabel must work through how to accept genuine affection from each other as they have never truly received it before.

Alfie gave my Roy from Ted Lasso vibes and I enjoyed the Mabel/Alfie banter!

Overall a fun read but I had a hard time tracking some of the earlier storyline as the story progressed. Would have liked more from his perspective, but overall enjoyed and was very spicy!

The best part of this book is that both main characters are very funny, the rest wasn’t very believable. I had so many ‘why’s’ and had to read the beginning a few times thinking I had missed something about how the guy fell so quickly and for no apparent reason. It just didn’t make sense… but I did laugh a lot, could also be because I’m European and miss home and the type of conversations and thought process the characters had.

Mabel an optimistic, cute,curvy,sassy ghostwriter is tasked with helping “the” Alfie Harding a grouchy, unemotional,hot as ever ex footballer write his memoir. Getting life details out of Alfie turns into hilarious, steamy,emotional banter and sometimes squabbling!

Once the paparazzi catch on, they stumble into a pretend romance that has the makings for sizzling chemistry. Can this be real for such different people?

Mabel continues to doubt her worth, lovable nature and sexiness, while Alfie struggles with opening up to the possibility of a true friendship. True to reality the horrible, evil, judgmental opinions unhappy people have behind the shield of a computer screen is a big topic. The author does a good job showing the effect bullying has on the person being maligned. Will they take the ugliness to heart? Or will they choose to see and accept the good in each other?

Great characters and fun situations will definitely make the reader root for a happy finale.

Thanks @stmartinspress
#WhenGrumpyMetSunshine #CharlotteStein #SMPRomance

I received a complimentary copy of this book, all opinions in this review are my own.

I have to say I am loving all the new books coming out that feature plus size MC’s who don’t HATE their bodies. Yes they may have insecurities (doesn’t everyone) but I have read so many plus size romances where the whole story is spent criticizing the mc and her weight with really fatphobic things. One thing I loved about this story was how from the start Alfie was head over heels for Mabel. Also wow wow wow the dirty talk had me on the floor. Specifically the morning after the bed scene ifykyk….. The only thing I didn’t care for was how the book started, I felt as if we were thrown in and getting us informed on the main plot was really rushed. Otherwise I did enjoy the storyline!!

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with an ARC in return for my honest opinion.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing an ARC. This is my honest review.

The fake dating trope sometimes hits wrong for me, often the reasons for it seem flimsy, contrived or rather selfish. But the reason that Alfie initially gives for why they needed to fake date? So sweet. I nearly melted for this poor exasperated grumpy dummy of hero right then.

As a Canadian, I loved all the talk between the main characters about snogging and wanking. Nobody ever uses those terms here and, maybe I'm a weirdo, but I think both terms are adorable. Anyway, all the scenes with snogging and wanking, dirty talk, and more that happened on page were stellar too. This was a slow burn that turned explosive.

The two main characters were very clearly perfect for each other. I hope the author releases bonus scenes later so we get to bask for a little longer in Alfie and Mabel's HEA.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
I enjoyed this book. I love plus sized main characters. This book had a lot of banter but I am all for it.

🩵💜 When Grumpy Met Sunshine ARC Review 💜🩵

Thank you so much to Charlotte Stein, St Martin’s Press and netGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book!

When Grumpy Met Sunshine is a standalone contemporary RomCom. Mabel has been hired to ghost write the autobiography of a notoriously surly ex-footballer and actor. Alfie Harding is rich, famous and has a reputation for being a bad influence. But what happens when Mabel realizes that there might be more to Alfie than she originally expected??

This book was such a cute read! I loved Mabel’s spunky personality. She was such a fun character who was so perfect for Alfie. And Alfie - secret cinnamon roll! I loved him so much! This was a super cute fake dating story. My only speed bump with this book was the general lack of communication between them…but miscommunication tropes aren’t usually my jam, so that’s absolutely a “me” issue and not a book issue.

Tropes aside, this was an enjoyable read with engaging characters. Overall a four star read for me. While this book is mostly a lighthearted RomCom, it does touch on some heavier topics, so please check the trigger warnings if you’re sensitive. This book was a smidge of a slow burn, but once it got there it had plenty of smut - so overall three flames for spice

If you’re a fan of contemporary romance with grumpy sunshine, fake dating, “he falls first”and “only one bed”, then absolutely pick this one up!

Please note: review will be posted on Amazon upon publication

Grumpy/sunshine is my favorite romance trope so I was very excited to receive an arc of WHEN GRUMPY MET SUNSHINE, but unfortunately I was left disappointed.

I loved the premise of the female MC being a ghostwrite for the grumpy retired football player, but the dialogue proved to be repetitive. And the banter. I love banter, but there is such things as too much.

Even though this wasn’t a win for me, I thank Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for the arc in exchange for my honest review.

Brilliant Writing!!!!

An absolutely Brilliant fake dating romance!

This book was so good!

Storytelling at its Best! This book has it all! Romance, humor and heat! Character development was excellent!

Mabel and Alfie are perfect together! What a journey they take us on!

I gave this book 5 stars! I could not turn the pages fast enough!

This book kept me engaged the entire time! Loved it!

No spoilers with my review!

Well done Charlotte Stein!

This is one of my favorite tropes and for it to be a one star breaks my book nerd heart.

The biggest reason for this one star is the writing. Can a book be too wordy? Too descriptive? Because that what I felt. It just felt like word vomit but without any point. The characters banter but there’s just too much of it and it doesn’t move the plot forward.

I speed read even though I wanted to DNF because my body won’t let me not finish a book I’ve started.

Thank you to Netgally for sending me a digital copy

This was a cute story but the beginning was kinda confusing and dragged a bit.

I hate to say that I lost interest part of the way through it.

Unfortunately this book just didn't work for me-- it's not because I don't ADORE charlotte stein, though. She's such an incredible writer, but I feel like this book suffers from a self-conscious kind of anxiety. the glimmers of her talent are poorly edited and shaped, and there are whole beats that just don't hit for me (the ending??) and dialogue that feels a bit tightly strung and overly considered.

I love a grumpy/sunshine dynamic and this book perfectly fit the bill (obviously, based on the title alone). The author did a really good job of showing how absolutely perfect these two were for each other; as in there is no one else who would ever get them the way they got each other. I loved those moments when you could feel them connecting over something, like when they were talking about their childhoods and truly could understand what the other felt. And what I really loved about grumpy Alfie and sunshine-y Mabel is how fully comfortable they were with each other; they both had times where they let their guard down and were able to be a little lighthearted (Alfie) and melancholy (Mabel).

It was obvious early on that these two were so far gone for each other but neither were great about communicating clearly. I did really appreciate that moment when both Mabel and Alfie revealed their true feelings - it was really quite beautiful. They just adored each other so much. And a special shoutout to those extra swoony moments that really helped make the romance for me - hair brushing, tender touches, holding hands just because. This was a really solid read.

I received an ARC of this book. I'll be honest, the first three chapters of this book had me concerned that I wouldn't like it. But I stuck through and I'm glad I did. Alfie and Mabel's relationship is really sweet, and I really like watching how Alfie's character was fleshed out as the book moved forward. One thing. Clearly this is very much based on Roy Kent. Even the cover image resembles him. I decided to just lean into it and picture Roy Kent as the lead, and it worked out for me.

I really wanted to love this but it just fell short for me ☹️

Mabel is our FMC— she is pure sunshine. She is a ghostwriter who is set to work with Alfie, the grumpiest ex-football player known to man who is looking for someone to help write his memoir. Their banter was a bit too much and seemed a bit too juvenile for 30 something’s. There were a few times it made me laugh, but I really wanted more plot with the bantering. It seemed like there were times that I had no idea what was going on & it was a little hard to get through at times. I did love that Mabel was a curvy lady, and seemed very relatable in so many ways. I really did appreciate that and the ending was sweet!

Thanks as always to Netgalley, St. Martin's Press & the author for this ARC to review 🫶🏻

Upbeat and happy Mabel is forced to team up with ex-football player, Alfie, to ghostwrite his memoirs. Alfie is the complete opposite of Mabel - grumpy, rich, and unapproachable. But as their business relationship grows, it appears Alfie’s first impression is not indicative of who he actually is. And now that business relationship might very well be turning into something more.

Unfortunately I couldn’t finish this one, no matter how hard I tried. I really wanted to like this book and I was excited to dig into it. I’m not quite sure what it was, but I just really struggled to follow along as I was reading. The words and sentences just didn’t flow together. It sometimes seemed like there were extra words in there just to fill up the pages.

I do feel that if everything flowed together better, this would have made for a great read. I always love a good grumpy billionaire story, and Alfie was indeed grumpy. His hatred for technology and his apparent inability to show emotion definitely provided some comic relief in what I had read. And I can imagine it likely continued to get funnier throughout. But unfortunately the small bouts of humor just wasn’t enough to keep my interest.

I’ll be honest, I had an extremely hard time finishing this book. I stuck with it though and enjoyed the last quarter or so of the book. In my opinion, there was just too much back and forth banter in the beginning of the book and it took entirely too much time to get to any real meaning. Allie starts out as being a real curmudgeon and doesn’t really gain any personality until toward the end of the book. Mabel is a very likeable character, but she can’t really carry the plot by herself until Allie comes alive. I sincerely believe f this book was tweaked a little bit more and encapsulated a little more action that it would make for an enjoyable read

Thank you to the publisher and author for the arc,