4.5 — this book took me a minute to get into but I’m so glad I stuck with it. It’s as beautiful and layered and really hopeful.

Sometimes in a book like this, I feel like events take over character and the story stalls but the characters in this book were distinct and complicated and really thoughtful. I found both the MMC, FMC, and the side characters really easy to root for.

I particularly loved Lenny’s voice and her infusion of irreverent humor in complicated situations. It made the portrayal of grief feel more nuanced and real.

The book struck a good balance of grief and hope and reading those final chapters got me a little misty-eyed in the airport.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.

Oh, I love a Cara Bastone book.

Her books bring heart, romance, and tears.

In her latest, "Promise Me Sunshine," we again meet someone in the throes of grief in their life. It's a recurring theme in her works, but just as effective.

From my experience with grief, Bastone effectively describes the paralysis and panic that can come from the calmest of moments and send you into a tailspin.

Lenny is in that mess. Her best friend of life died, and she's in the process of trying to 'live again' as she and her friend planned. But it's a long process. It's not going well, and then she meets Miles.

Together, they find a way to help each other—he is tasked with helping her live again, and she is tasked with helping him interact with people.

Through the journey they grow and evolve, and the audience can learn from their lessons. And swoon in the appropriate places.

A heartwarming and endearing story of grief and loss of a loved one and the journey of healing. Loved how well written each character was and how they both had struggles even though it was written in one POV. I laughed, and cried - sometimes in the same chapter. It was one of those books I couldn’t put down once I started. Can’t wait for the release to own a physical copy.

DNFED at 18%. I just couldn’t get into it and the grief felt unrealistic and just odd to read. It was tedious to read and I didn’t find myself wanting to pick it up and read anymore. It’s definitely good for somebody else but that person isn’t me

thank you netgalley + publisher for this arc read!!!

ok so, i had to sit on this read for a few days. i really went back and forth on whether to do 4 stars or 5 stars. and here i am, doing 4 stars and not quite sure if i’ll change it later hahahah.

let me start by sharing what has me conflicted- i really cannot decide if some of the writing is juvenile or just intended to be written like a journal, therefore the writing was meant to feel more off and personal. the jury is still out for me.

ok let’s move on. this book was tragically beautiful. the grief was so palpable. the dynamic between miles and lenny is raw, painful, and healing all in one. there were countless times i caught myself crying, because the way lenny’s grief is portrayed is uncomfortably real.

watching lenny come back to life, step by step, felt like personally finding healing from my own hurt and hardships.

having a person in your corner hold you accountable, be present, and be your emotional support when you cannot support yourself is incredibly invaluable. BUT, to be that person for someone who feels like they’ll never reach the bottom it’s just a continuous drop is tragically beautiful. seeing both sides come to life was such an honor.

genuinely, i am so excited for the publication. this book is going to touch lives.

Having recently read this author’s previous saccharine-ass novel, I figured I’d get this one from NetGalley and keep the sugar high going. For the holiday season.

She: lost her lifelong best friend recently. He: volunteers to be her ‘grief wingman,’ after they meet when she babysits his niece, in exchange for her helping him with his relationship with said niece.

It’s cute. They bond over grief and hang out and become friends and then more and it’s not really super-depressing. It’s a slow-AF burn though. Like, Christ… but watching their relationship develop was cute. This author is good for sappy-ass golden-retriever-energy rom coms. Sue me.

Cara Bastone does it again!

In short, I love, love, loved this! You can definitely tell it's her voice (which I love) but these characters felt new & unique. I would say the only warnings I would give are the strong depictions of grief surrounding the loss of a loved one.

Our male lead was everything I wanted him to be: kind, patient, and grumpy. The characters are realistic and charming, I loved every moment with them! Their growth as individuals, friends, and lovers was magical to watch. There were so many scenes that felt straight out of a rom-com.

Clearly, I highly recommend this read. If you want to read a mature romance with fun sprinkled in every chapter - pick it up! I know you won't be disappointed.

Thank you to Netgalley and Random House for this arc in exchange for my honest review!

Thanks to NetGalley I received an advanced electronic copy of the book to read and provide a review.

For a story about grief, I sure smiled and laughed a whole lot. Lenny and Miles are beyond perfect alone and together. Their story was a fantastic portrayal of mourning and the rawness of life after losing a loved one. Everyone gets through the first year (plus) differently, but Miles’ lived experiences and own losses made his support of Lenny all that much more perfect.

There’s the help you think you should give and the help the person actually needs. This book is a love story on showing up and being what the love of your life needs.

I laughed, I cried, I ugly sobbed. This book gets my heart even if it’s quirky and silly at times. My one pet peeve is no amount grief would have me paying rent on an unused Brooklyn apartment in this economy!

Annnd now I’m crying. Miss Cara Bastone, thank you for coming into my life.

First and foremost, I must sincerely thank NetGalley for allowing me the pleasure of reading this book early. Cara Bastone has quickly jumped the mantle to be one of my favorite romance authors. She writes such delightfully quirky, irreverent female leads and precious, most endearing male leads. I’m just in love.

I felt that Cara put her soul into this book. And while I am going against my rules a little bit (just a little), I couldn’t not rate this 5 stars. There were times where I felt the transition scenes might have been too quick and other times where I wished we could’ve sat in the moment a little longer. And yet, I devoured this book like my life depended on it.

She handled the grief storyline with the respect and attention it deserved. While at its core, it is most definitely a romance, she took her time, allowing the story to unfold.

It was just so beautiful and when it ended, I wished there were 100 pages more.

This was delightful, very funny while showing people in the messy throes of grief and finding their way out of it. I think the over the top mess of a main character was a great way to show how grief feels—we may not all spend the night at all-night dance parties just to avoid going home to our empty apartments—but we might wish we could. I really liked the dynamic the main characters had together, and how their relationship blossomed.

Thank you to the publisher for an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

Lenny’s a bit of a mess at the moment. Ever since cancer stole away her best friend, she has been completely lost. She’s avoiding her concerned parents, the apartment she shared with her best friend, and the ever-laminated “live again” list of things she’s promised to do to survive her grief. But maybe if she acts like she has it all together, no one will notice she’s falling apart.

The only gigs she can handle right now are temporary babysitting jobs, and she just landed a great one, helping overworked, single mom Reese and her precocious daughter, Ainsley. The only catch: Ainsley’s uncle, Miles, always seems to be around, and is kind of. . . a walking version of the grumpy cat meme. Worse – he seems to be able to see right through her.

Surprisingly, Miles knows a lot about grief and he offers Lenny a proposition. He’ll help her complete everything on her “live again” list if she’ll help him connect with Ainsley and overcome his complicated relationship with Reese. Lenny doubts anything can fill the void her best friend has left behind, but between late night ferry rides, midnight ramen, and a well-placed shoulder whenever she needs it, Miles just won’t stop showing up for her. Turns out, sometimes your life has to end to find your new beginning.

Oh, my heavy heart. This book hit me in the feels. Tremendously well-written exploration of grief and coming back from the depths of it. Kudos to the author for writing about such a heavy subject and excelling at it. Get out the kleenex. This one is lovely. Definitely one of the most memorable books I've read this year!

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the advanced digital reader's copy (ARC) in exchange for an honest review!

This is the easiest five stars I've ever given. Cara Bastone is a must read for me, and I am continually blown away by her writing. Her characters are so real and raw that it feels unreal. I cannot say enough good things, I just want to live in this book. Dare I say it's perfect!!! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this eArc in exchange for my honest review, I am so lucky!!

Cara has a special ability to hook you in from the first chapter and keep you there until the very end. This book was so beautifully written I found myself laughing and crying at 3am! That doesn’t happen often. I knew midway through that this book just became one of my favorites ever. Lenny and Miles finding love through their grief was so well executed.

This book is such a beautiful depiction of grief with a love story mixed in. One minute I was laughing and the next minute I was crying my eyes out. Ready or Not was one of my favorite reads this year and I was worried that this book wouldn’t compare, but it definitely did! Cara Bastone has a way of making her characters feel so raw and real. The relationship between Lenny and Miles is the perfect slow burn and is also very natural and believable. The side characters are also very well written and hilarious! There is a scene with Lenny’s parents that had me laughing out loud. I definitely recommend this book to anyone who likes romance with a lot of emotions and deeper themes mixed in.

Earlier this year, I read Ready or Not by Cara Bastone. I'm not a fan of the pregnancy trope, so I didn't expect to like it, but it was a five star read and possibly my favorite book I read this year. Any author who can write a trope I have always hated and make me love it is now an auto-buy.

Thanks to Netgalley, I got to read an arc of Cara Bastone's upcoming release, Promise Me Sunshine. This book follows Lenny as she navigates grief after the loss of her best friend. As part of this journey, she meets Miles who has his own experience with loss, and they make a deal to help each other. This book had a great romance, and despite dealing heavily with the loss of loved ones, managed to be laugh out loud funny in parts. I would definitely recommend this book

Lenny is struggling to live again after the death of her best friend Lou to cancer, when she accepts a temporary baby sitting position for Resse and her young daughter Ainsley. She arrives for the weekend to find Reese’s hovering, grumpy brother Miles. Miles, a self proclaimed grief expert, agrees to help her with her grief and her ‘live again’ list if she’ll teach him how to connect with Ainsley.
This was a beautiful novel about grief and survival after losing loved ones. I absolutely loved watching their friendship grow and the story along the way. It was so beautifuly written and I couldn’t help but cheer for these two to find each other in the end. A great slow burn!

I love Cara Bastone so much that I am always a little nervous starting a new book of hers because what if this one just doesn’t measure up?! Nothing to worry about here because I adored everything about this book. Grief, friendship, care, and compassion and a hero that made me put my Kindle down in order to loudly declare my love for him more than once. More than twice if we are being honest. This was a book that makes you feel all the feelings and laugh and cry and just wind up thankful for the journey as you read the last page.

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

Cara Bastone is one of my few auto-buy authors, and this one may be my favorite yet. I cried like a baby, then laughed, then cried again, throughout the process of reading this. It gets heavy, since the plot is so grief-focused, but stunning.
Lenny’s experience with grief wrecked her, and Miles stepped in to save her. This was a slow slow slow burn, as they grew together close as friends first then fell in love.
Lenny is such a joy, and her grieving process felt so realistic. It’s so difficult to be seen as this ray of sunshine, quirky person, and knowing you’re falling apart and there’s nothing you can do about it. Watching her grow throughout this novel was so tender and touching. Miles is so thoughtful and caring, using his own grief journey to guide her. They both went through a journey throughout and perfectly balanced each other.
Frankly, every character here is just so endearing, even the side characters. While the book initially starts with the premise of Lenny helping Miles bond with his niece, Ainsley, her appearances throughout the novel weren’t excessive and she was such a realistic, funny kid. Lenny’s parents are hysterical. The true star of the show is my guy Emil the doorman.
Thanks to NetGalley and Dial Press for the ARC!

Amazing!!! This book had me laughing and crying and reflecting on life all the same time. Lenny and Miles' story both individually and together show themes of love in all different forms and it was just so beautiful seeing their interactions with everyone. I feel like this book just encapsulated what it means to be a human and go through life and feel things so deeply all the time.

I enjoyed the side characters just as much as the two leads and felt they were so important to the storyline. In this book, Seeing the way Lenny experiences grief and how to she handles it was frustrating and not pretty at times but it felt real and made you root for her each day. Miles is one of my favorite characters ever he was so kind and patient and truly wanted to be there. Their relationship reminds me a bit of Alex and Poppy from Emily Henry's People We Meet on Vacation if you enjoyed that type of dynamic.

I am so incredibly grateful to have been given the opportunity to read this ARC. I haven’t shut up about this book since I started reading it, I ate it up so quickly and I think my friends are waiting for release of this book simply so they understand what I’m yapping about 24/7 😂. The writing is beautiful, the plot is beautiful, the cover is beautiful, the characters are beautiful. This book is beautiful. The grief felt raw and so real, and while that hurt to bring up my own grief while reading it was comforting knowing I wasn’t alone in my thoughts and feelings. The slow burn mixed with raw emotions was everything to me. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to read this one. I’m forever grateful