I loved this!! I picked this up on my self proclaimed lazy Sunday and could not stop reading. It was beautiful, sweet, honest, and heartwarming. The romance was slow which was much needed because this book thrived showing grief, friendship, and self-discovery. I cannot wait to read more by Cara Bastone. I highly recommend picking this one up!

If there is anything I learned through the years is that grief is different for everyone and is very personal. This book tore me open and then stitched me back together. A beautiful story of grief and loss and how that never really goes away but you learn to live with it and still allow yourself to thrive and love and live. Everything about this book was perfection. I really can’t think of anything I would change.

Thank you so much @prhaudio for this gifted audiobook!

“You need strong. You need someone who can stop you from fighting large men on the street. You need someone who can wade in and pull you out of the swamp if you need me to. And I can be that person.”

Review Title & Vibes:
I’m calling it - this will for sure be in my top reads for the year! I lost count of how many times I laughed out loud or how often I swooned/cried. I’m completely captivated by this beautiful story of love after loss.

Lenny is wildly hilarious with a crazy imagination. She’s faking it with no hope of being while after her best friend’s death. She bumps into Miles (the world’s biggest jerk) while nannying for Ainsley, his niece. They end up falling into a grief-companion/bucket-list meets help-with-becoming-a-better-uncle relationship. He pulls her from the depths of despair, and she gives him purpose.

The tension is delicious, and moments of pure delight as they conquer grief together. All of our side characters are gold, parents who smother with love and food, banter friends, forgiving sister, and perfectly adorable niece - I loved them all.

Everyone should read this story (but check your triggers)

Audio Notes:
ALEX FINKE IS A GENIUS! This performance was flawless! Every line, every character voice, every emotion - I have no notes. This is MUST LISTEN!

Rating: 5⭐️ | Spice: 3🌶️ | Audio: ♾️🎙️
What to Expect:
Friends to Lovers Grumpy Sunshine
Forced Proximity
Slow Burn
Hurt x Comfort
Cinnamon Roll MMC
Found Family
Exploration of Grief
Healing Journey
Single POV

Recommended to...  
EVERYONE who wants to laugh, cry, swoon, and melt - everyone who wants to add a book to their top reads of the year.

Narrated by @finkeboutit
Produced by @prhaudio

"Grief is a relationship. It's the way we figure out how to keep loving them even though they're gone. And in order to do that we have to keep on going. And going and going [...] And this journey through grief...It's what we do for the great loves of our lives."

This book was beautiful from start to finish, and it left a mark on my heart. This isn't just a love story. it's a story about loss, grief, healing, and the quiet, powerful ways love can still find us-even in our darkest moments.

I will definitely be reading more from this author.

This book was quite an emotional ride, but I absolutely loved it and felt completely absorbed in it. It was SO SO SO good and the progression of the characters' friendships felt natural and wonderful and sweet and Cara Bastone DEFINITELY knows how to write. This will absolutely be one of my top romance reads of the year, and I especially loved that it was set in NYC. :)

An amazing book! Cara Bastone is becoming one of my go to authors. I can't wait for what she writes next.

Promise Me Sunshine was such a sweet and tender take on grief, healing, and rediscovering purpose. Lenny’s journey after loss is emotional but beautifully hopeful—watching her find her footing again, slowly letting the light back in, was touching in all the best ways. Her growth felt real and earned.
Miles? Hilarious. The banter between Miles and Lenny had me smiling so much. They were that chaotic yet endearing duo you root for from the jump. Their dynamic gave the book this bright, funny energy, even when heavier moments hit.

The found family theme added so much heart. Everyone around Lenny—supportive, quirky, loving—played a part in helping her feel again. It was that perfect mix of laughter, love, and late-night heart-to-hearts.

In the end, this book reminded me that even in the hardest seasons, you can still bloom.

This book didn't have the same magic for me as Ready or Not. While I enjoyed the banter between Lenny and Miles, sometimes I struggled with Lenny. I thought Miles was the perfect male romantic lead though, he was the right mix of grumpy sunshine. I struggled with Lenny though. I understood what the author was going for but instead of quirky Lenny just came across are borderline weird/crazy. I know everyone deals with mental health differently but sleeping on a ferry and completely ignoring your parents isn't very healthy and I didn't like how it was celebrated in the book. Like oh that's just Lenny being quirky and grieving.

Maybe I'm too critical but the character of Ainsley also bothered me. I'm not sure if Cara Bastone has ever met a 7 year old but that isn't how most of them act/speak. She was written to be more of a pre-teen then someone who is likely only in grade 2. I did like the character of Ethan appearing in this book and the mention of his daughter though. Overall this book made me smile many times and maybe even laugh once so in my book that is still considered a win.

This story is heartbreakingly beautiful.

Grieving the loss of her friend Lenny is just barely keeping herself alive. That is until she accepts a temporary job and meets Miles. At a time when she wasn’t looking for a friend he becomes that person she can lean on and carries her through the pain. He keeps showing up and without even asking always knows what she needs even when she doesn’t. I found myself tearing up so many of times and yet the author was able to weave in so much humor into this story.

I loved this story.

Please check trigger warnings.

"He treats you well?"
"Mom, he walked into hell and dragged me back out."
Cara Bastone is one of my favorites. Her characters are so fun yet flawed. They deal with real issues in unrealistic ways.
Promise Me Sunshine is another win. Miles and Lenny are wonderful. Lenny is so lost in grief she can't take care of herself. She can't go home much less commit to a job. Miles is socially awkward & has no clue how to connect with people, but he knows grief and how to get to the other side.
Bastone handles the heavy topic of losing a soulmate delicately while injecting humor to keep the storyline from being overwhelmingly sad.
I always love picking up a new Cara Bastone. Thank you Netgalley and publisher for letting me read this one on you.

Cara Bastone has a way of creating deeply real characters who are flawed and emotional but still makes the plot light hearted. Loved how this story unfolded and these characters.

"𝗚𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗳 𝗶𝘀 𝗮 𝗿𝗲𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽. 𝗜𝘁'𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗮𝘆 𝘄𝗲 𝗳𝗶𝗴𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗼 𝗸𝗲𝗲𝗽 𝗹𝗼𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗴𝗼𝗻𝗲."

𝕋𝕙𝕖 𝔾𝕚𝕤𝕥:
Lenny is lost and barely holding it together after the death of her best friend Lou. She begins taking on babysitting gigs to avoid facing her grief. When she starts working for single mom, Reese, and her spirited daughter, Ainsley, she also meets Miles—Ainsley’s blunt, frustrating uncle—who sees right through the wall she has built. Miles, dealing with his own grief, offers a deal: he’ll help Lenny work through her “live again” list if she helps him bond with Ainsley and mend things with Reese. As they support each other, Lenny begins to realize that healing, connection, and even love can come from the most unexpected places.

𝕋𝕙𝕖𝕞𝕖𝕤 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕋𝕣𝕠𝕡𝕖𝕤:
❤️‍🩹 𝘎𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘧 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨
🤭 𝘚𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴
🫶🏼 𝘍𝘰𝘳𝘤𝘦𝘥 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘹𝘪𝘮𝘪𝘵𝘺
🥹 𝘌𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭
❤️‍🔥 𝘚𝘭𝘰𝘸 𝘣𝘶𝘳𝘯
📝 𝘓𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘴

𝕄𝕪 𝕋𝕙𝕠𝕦𝕘𝕙𝕥𝕤:
𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗺𝗶𝘀𝗲 𝗠𝗲 𝗦𝘂𝗻𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗲 is a beautiful story about loss and love and all the messy bits in between. Cara Bastone tackled the topic of life after loss so well. She had me experiencing every emotion possible as I read- I laughed, I cried, I giggled, I felt frustrated, and I fell in love with Lenny and Miles and the family they created.

Miles deserves a round of applause for being one of the best book boyfriends I have encountered. He was perfectly broody on the outside, secret softie on the inside, emotionally intelligent, caring, and loyal. I feel like their friendship and relationship developed in a very authentic and genuine way, and I adored reading it.

Please judge this book by its beautiful cover, have your tissues ready, and give this a read. It’s a beautiful story that deserves more hype.

𝕄𝕪 ℝ𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕟𝕘:
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 (𝟰.𝟱/𝟱)

𝕊𝕡𝕚𝕔𝕖 ℝ𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕟𝕘:
🌶️ (𝟭/𝟱)

I enjoyed this more as a contemporary fiction story of Lenny working through her grief. The romance at the end somehow felt cringe-y to me, though I did enjoy the dynamic throughout the majority of the book.

Cara does it again!! I love how these characters were developed, independently and as a couple, giving us time to really connect on each level before their romance started. This however did make the first half of the book slow and took time to get through, but so so so worth it in the end. I loved seeing Miles be able to hold space and guide Lenny through everything, after experiencing it himself and how gracefully grief was handled. Every emotion was felt, seeing it on the page vs just the explanation felt great as a reader to connect to and find ourselves in each character.

I read 'Ready or Not" by Cara Bastone shortly before picking up 'Promise Me Sunshine' and I can confidently say that after finishing "Promise Me Sunshine' she's made it to one of my top romance authors. I enjoyed Lenny's and Miles love story so much I wish I could relive reading it again for the first time. I think Lenny's friendship with Miles was so impactful to her growth in finding how to live life again after the loss of her best friend.

Absolutely amazing, emotional read. Slow burn at it's finest! The author does an amazing job tackling a serious subject (grief) with heart and humor. I didn't want the book to end, but wanted to keep knowing Lenny and Miles. This one will stay with me for a while!

I am not sure what I expected from this book, but it was absolutely wonderful. Bastone did a phenomenal job representing grief and all its ugly stages throughout this book. I love how she showed how grief can be different for everyone through Miles and Lenny. My heart shattered for Lenny through every ferry ride, and was healed a little bit through every interaction with Miles. There were so many layers to this book and I feel I could have buried myself in them for many more pages. I can’t wait to read Cara’s next work of art!

Cara Bastone has done it again. This book will rip your heart out and also put it back together. Grief is woven throughout the whole story, but it is also so filled with hope and kindness and grace. The romance is a slow burn, but worth the wait. Our lives can be shattered by the loss of one person, but they can also be rebuilt with the help of someone persistent, yet patient. I loved the other secondary relationships in the book. I laughed, I cried, and I hugged the book when I finished.

Very much a warm coffee / hug type of book, the MC's healing character journey was so careful and wholesome ❤️ every single relationship in this book was frickin perfect

-- ty to the author, the publisher and Netgalley for an advanced copy!

Wow this book is beautifully written. I love Miles. Omg. I cried so many times especially in the last chapters. I loved that the romance was a slow burn but the way the grieving process was approached was also slow and tender. I really enjoyed this.