I am completely WRECKED by this book. I love the premise, truly how emotional it makes me feel, and the love story Cara Bastone weaves in this book. I can't wait to shout it out from the rooftops when it comes out. This book will definitely make a positive impact on readers everywhere when it releases.

This was an enjoyable ready but neither character felt particularly complex. I also think, in this case, it may have been a more powerful message if this book did not have romance. Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers in exchange for an honest review!

I recently listened to Ready or Not and immediately needed more Cara Bastone. Promise me sunshine filled that void so well. Its thoughtful and beautiful look at grief was so powerful. I enjoyed following Lenny’s journey to live again and how it brought her and Miles together. This funny and sweet book is a must-read.

My sincere thanks to Dial Press and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read Promise Me Sunshine by Cara Bastone. I give my unbiased opinion of it in the following review.

After reading and loving Ready or Not by Cara, I was SO happy I got to dive into Promise Me Sunshine not long after. I absolutely love this book! It is about Lenny and Miles who meet when Lenny nannies for Miles' niece Ainsley. Miles is trying to develop a relationship with his niece and finds himself floundering. When he learns that Lenny is also not only floundering but actually drowning in grief following the death of her best friend Lou, he explains to her that he is personally acquainted with grief after losing his mom and cousin in an accident. Miles convinces Lenny that he can help her work through her grief if she will in turn help him relate to Ainsley. What follows is the most beautiful story of two people forging ahead through the things that scare them to emerge on the other side truly energized and ready to take on life.

Cara Bastone's writing in this is absolutely beautiful. I can't tell you how many times I had to read sections over again and sigh with all the feels I was experiencing. We all need a Miles in our lives. The way he just got Lenny... and the way she also got him... I can't even put it into words. Oh, and if you loved Ready or Not, Miles is friends with Ethan, and we get a little peek into how things are going for him. It is so good!

Promise Me Sunshine is set to release on March 4, 2025.

As a huge, HUGE fan of READY OR NOT I was so thrilled to get PROMISE ME SUNSHINE by Cara Bastone. And while the vibe was super different, it really delivered! This was a beautiful portrayal of learning to live again through grief.

Thanks to Random House & Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I found this book to be like a warm hug after a long day. Or after a good cry. It was really beautiful to read about Lenny’s journey. It felt so raw and real, and then so lovely and fulfilling to watch her start to heal. I also loved the slow romantic build of this book. It was refreshing and sweet. The way Miles understood Lenny in a way no one could (after the initial grumpiness of course) was so lovely. And the way he took care of her and had a vested interest in her just simply because he had gone through the same thing just made everything all the sweeter.

Although this book was a journey of grief, it didn’t feel overly sad. I felt like it really highlighted the ways that sometimes we hold on to grief simply because it keeps us closer to the one we lost. But then showed the wonderful ways that we can heal & still remember and love that person all the same.

Overall I recommend this book! 4/5 stars.

I fell in love with these characters more than I thought I was going to. Cara wrote a unique spin on grief that also tied in classic NYC rom-com. Lou and Lenny forever <3

This is the first book I’ve ever read regarding grief and the loss of someone important, so I didn’t know what to except from it. This book definitely turned out to be so beautiful and emotional, and made me feel so many things I’ve never felt and made me see things in a different way. I felt so bad for Lenny and what she was going through and I loved the fact she met Miles when she mostly needed him! Miles was like an angel send from heaven (from Lou) to help Lenny go through her grief and find herself again. There’s so much going on in this book and I loved reading it. I highly suggest it but also check TW before reading the book.

This was a lovely, tender, sometimes gut wrenching story of Lenny losing and finding herself amid the grief of losing her best friend, akin to her soul mate. While the primary arc of the story follows Lenny and her journey back to herself, she is supported by the sweetest, most patient man Miles, who knows a thing or two about grief himself. Lenny and Miles slow burn, friends to lovers romance was written masterfully with a satisfying conclusion for everyone. Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

Promise Me Sunshine is a compelling, heart wrenching, yet gentle story about finding yourself after loss. We follow characters Lenny and Miles as they help each other heal, grow, and develop a meaningful bond. Promise Me Sunshine covers the gradual healing and reality of losing a loved one.

Thank you to the author, Random House Publishing Group, and NetGalley for the ARC.

Oh this was good. I was initially interested in the title due to the author’s other work, Ready Or Not. This isn’t a story about grief. This is a story about Lenny finding herself after and during the grieving process while also gaining new relationships around her. The main character had such a great community and honestly every character was likable. I loved how Miles was always an addition to her life careful not to become her whole world, which is easy when vulnerable. Ugh loved his character!

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Wow! Wow. Wow! This is a heartbreakingly beautiful story about finding yourself and not losing yourself to the grief of losing someone close to you.

Miles is a grumpy main character and Lenny clearly wears her heart on her sleeve and cares so deeply for those around her. I really connected with Lenny as I’ve lost someone close to me and I completely see where she is coming from in terms of grief. I also feel for Miles and understand his loss too, so this book was heavy for me, but healed something in me at the same time.

I loved Reese and Ainsley too. These characters and plot line are so unique and will be deeply personal for so many!

I’ve almost typed “I have no words because this book is spectacularly heartbreaking and healing.” Like 5 times and I think I’m going to end the review on that.

Thank you to NetGalley and the author/publisher for this advanced copy. All opinions are my own.

This Reviewer Received an ARC of this book courtesy in exchange for an honest review. Thank you NetGalley.

THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS

I was so incredibly excited when I saw that I was selected to read this novel. After reading “Ready or Not” I knew this Cara Bastone book would also be amazing as well. Cara has a wonderful complex writing style that takes tough scenarios and turns them into beautiful life lessons. In Promise Me Sunshine we meet “Lenny” a relatable girl who has been though the most devastating loss of her life. After losing her best friend to cancer at a young age, Lenny has lost herself and any purpose she has for her own life. Seemingly drifting through the motions of living she takes on a job as a nanny for a young mother and meets Miles. Miles is the definition of that “looks like he would kill you, but is a totally cinnamon roll.” With his rough personality he finds himself helping Lenny not only back to a normal routine, but also finds she helps him process his own grief and the troubles he faces with his new sister and niece. Reading this story was heartbreaking and heart filling at the same time. Full of love, joy and hopefulness. I want to share my experience, but also don’t want to spoil it. It will definitely leave you in tears.

5⭐️ Wow. What a beautiful book. Everyone needs someone like Miles in their life. Someone to pick you up when you fall, be there for you at your worst, and never fail to look after your best interest. I loved that by the end, you can see that even though Miles was helping Lenny through the toughest time in her life, he was also showing himself that he could matter again and be present in his own life. Grief is universal and we all have experienced or will experience deep sorrow in our lives. “And this journey through grief…it’s what we do for the great loves of our lives.”

Cara Bastone nailed it again. She had real characters, a compelling story, lots of humor (even with all of the tragedy), a beautiful, blossoming romance, and so much heart. I can’t wait to see what she writes next!

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!

I prefer a slow burn to insta-love and this book definitely falls into the former category. Maybe a little too slow of a burn for me as I found myself a bit bored with the slow pace. This book had an emotional and accurate portrayal of grieving and I found it interesting seeing it portrayed in both family and friend situations. I'm intrigued enough to want to check out this author again.

Promise Me Sunshine was a very sweet book. I enjoyed the main character’s journey through grief. I felt like some of the dialogue was cringey at times, and I wanted to have a stronger connection with the characters. I think I went into this book expecting more because I loved Ready or Not so much. Overall, I think a lot of people will enjoy this, but it wasn’t my favorite.

Random House is lucky to have Cara Bastone as an author because this book was amazingggg. Loved, loved, loved this! This book follows main character Lenny in the aftermath of her best friend's death. Barely holding on, Lenny takes a quick gig nannying for a rich mom and her daughter, Ainsley. But Lenny's life (and her grief) are turned upside down when she keeps running into Miles, the enigmatic uncle of Ainsley. Miles offers to help Lenny work through her grief in exchange for her advice on how he can be a better uncle, and the two quickly become inseparable.

I think I love Cara Bastone's characters because they're so quirky and authentic (but not the type of quirky that's cringey!) I actually really liked Lenny and Miles as individuals, working through their own baggage in real ways. But together, the two were amazing and complimented each other so well. I thought they became friends a little too fast at first, but as the book progressed, their friendship made so much sense to me. Miles was incredibly gentle with Lenny and it was adorable <3 I also appreciated the authentic portrayal of grief in the book; that was well done. Overall, the story flowed nicely and I loved it!!

Thank you, Random House and NetGalley, for this digital ARC in exchange for my honest review!

Thank you to Random House Publishing Group & NetGalley for the Advance Reader’s e-proof of this book!!

This is my favorite book I’ve read in 2024. I’ve only had the pleasure of listening to Cara Bastone’s other books so far, and I feel as though I’ve really been missing out at truly grasping the beauty of her writing. While I’ve loved her other stories, I found myself stopping, rereading and highlighting more than I ever have. This book is romance and comedy and self help all mixed into the best plot and characters and banter I’ve ever read. I hope that everyone has a Miles to carry them through grief. And I hope everyone has a Lenny to make their days brighter and infinitely more fun. And I hope everyone has a Lou, a great love of their life. I laughed and cried my way through this book because it was so real- the feelings it gave me and the lessons it taught me. I can’t wait to buy it in hard copy and recommend it to everyone I know. Five stars!!

I cannot say enough about this book! This story was so heartfelt and beautiful! I was nervous to read it at first because I was afraid of being emotionally devastated but it truly was a wonderful journey to go on.

Lenny and Miles are perfect together. They are such whole, believable characters and seeing them grow together was fun, funny, and cathartic. Lenny is reeling after the death of her best friend and isn’t quite sure how to go on living. She meets Miles, the brother of the single mom she takes a nanny gig with. He wants to be a better brother/uncle and she wants to learn how to live again. He helps her get through a bucket list of sorts and she helps with with his family.

Story-5⭐️
Spice-1🌶️

Thank you NetGalley for the arc!!!

I’ve seen a lot of hype behind this book and it is so well deserved. There was such a great balance of grief and some more light hearted moments throughout the book while also making you laugh at times. Sometimes authors don’t do grief justice for characters but this was done so well. There were times when the book did drag but overall I really enjoyed it. Even if it did give me some tears.

Lenny was portrayed so well with the exterior of sunshine all while grieving on the inside. I loved how we saw the good days and bad days shown in the book. It was such a realistic portrayal. I LOVED Miles. He was a character that many times messed up his words because of his tough exterior but he truly loved and cared deeply for this people in his life and it showed. Miles did remind me of Jacob from Yours Truly which I have no doubt will make him everyone’s favorite book boyfriend. He was such a gem and everyone deserves a Miles in their life.

While I wished the romance wouldn’t have taken so long to pick up, I did enjoyed reading about the friendship between Lenny and Miles. The author did a wonderful job and displaying the complement they are to each other.

I cannot wait to recommend this to my friends! Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC copy! Looking forward to it coming out in March 2025!