this was a sweet story about overcoming grief. i liked how miles was there for lenny & wanted to support her. the fmc did tend to get on my nerves and i found myself getting bored throughout. overall this one was just okay, it wasn't my favorite.

thank you random house & netgalley for the arc in exchange for my honest review!

First, thank you to Random House and Net Galley for the arc of this book for my review.

Lenny is an absolute mess since the loss of her best friend. She is honestly barely surviving until she meets a stranger that promises to help her begin her life again. The way the author speaks on grief and the difficulty of moving on is so accurate and beautiful. This book honestly healed a sad part of me I didn't even know was grieving in some way. A great read and lovely author I look forward to reading more from.

I am a big fan of Cara Bastone's other novels, so I had high expectations for this book and it did not disappoint! I seriously love her writing style. It was incredibly easy as a reader to feel like I was inside Lenny's head and experiencing these emotions with her.

Lenny is having an extremely difficult time after losing her best friend. When she starts working as a nanny for a new family, the child's uncle Miles starts hanging around which creates some tension for Lenny. Her grief is all consuming, and she is resistant to this new person who starts to feel like a shadow. Miles sees right through her attempts to hide her grief and wants to help her learn how to live again after suffering this deep loss.

This story was extremely well written and didn't gloss over the difficult topic. I felt like I was on the roller coaster that grief can be, and I think Cara Bastone did a wonderful job writing about experiences after a loss that can be both happy and sad. I loved the relationship between Lenny and Miles and how realistic their journey was. I really loved this book and I highly recommend it!

An emotional rollercoaster of grief and learning to navigate your life after such a loss is hard. Add in a grumpy man into the mix who wanted to help and get help in return makes for a good story.

What a sweet and moving story. I loved how Miles started out as a grump, but was revealed to be so much more. I also appreciated how the theme of grief was woven in throughout. There aren’t many books about grieving the loss of a best friend, and I felt this was unique. Some of the writing was a bit too joke-y for my personal sense of humor, but otherwise, sweet romcom.

Hard way or bust, Lenny. The only way out is through.


I’m too emotionally devastated to write a review right now. This one is going to destroy me for awhile. Just read this ok?

My heart is still humming from how much this whirlwind of a book made me feel!!! What’s funny is that it started off, to me, a bit out of pocket at times with certain characters’ actions and/or thoughts….but once I got to know both Lenny and Miles and understand them? Yeah, I fell in love with their story!! At around the halfway mark, this story shifted from just vibes to me being deeply rooted to and rooting FOR them!! Miles is the softest cinnamon roll— he is one of the GOOD ONES! The ease of Lenny and Miles’s interactions and the way they see each other was beautiful to read. I truly loved the writing in this book also because I was dying laughing throughout the whole thing! It was effortlessly funny and all the conversations felt so natural and real, as if I was there with them experiencing everything!! It’s one of those books where I want to read it again with all the knowledge I know now!

What a beautiful book.
Lenny is so delightful, even full of grief. I loved Miles from the first grumpy get go.

I was hooked from the start but melted at Lenny’s thought: ““My heart seems to be running up a hill inside my chest. I wonder what’s at the top” 🥹
You just have to love her and her heart.

This story is full of hope, humor and the love story just squeezes your heart. Loved this one!

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for an ARC in exchange for an honest review

This book absolutely tore my heart into a million pieces and put it back together again!

If you have ever experienced grief, this book will give you all the feels (and even if you have not). The main character, Lenny, is truly in the deep deep whole of sadness after losing her lifelong best friend to cancer. She meets an unexpected companion, Miles, who agrees to be her "grief guru" and help her get through the dark times. What comes next is beautiful and will make you laugh and cry, sometimes in tandem. I absolutely loved Lenny. She hides her depression with a cheerful facade, but deep down, she’s struggling to keep living, to keep taking care of herself. Her journey toward healing felt real—it wasn’t straightforward, it wasn't glossed over, we were IN IT with her. Then there is Miles. Sigh. He was such a green flag MMC, like black lab (darker than a golden retriever, but still so so pure.) His deep longing to care for others was evident—he just needed to be shown how and he had a great example with the loyalty that Lenny shows.

As for the romance, it was definitely a slow burn. It takes over half of the book for the feelings to come and then a bit longer for there to be action behind those feelings. The wait is SO worth it though, in my opinion! This wait, it felt needed, and it felt like it meant something more to the characters and to the readers. This book has a lot of emotional depth for a romance, it has that invisible string, soulmates, fated to be together kind of love story that will stick with you for a long time after you read it.

Cara Bastone has sealed the deal with this book and now is on my auto-buy/auto-read list.

This was such a unique book and I love it dearly. It was hard to read at times. You really feel Lenny’s pain when she’s navigating through grief and I can totally understand giving up on yourself and shutting people out. Bastone’s writing 🫶🏼 new favorite right there! I love her. She just slowly, slowly builds a story and you really get to know these characters. Living in Lenny’s head is hard but you just empathize and love her. When she comes back to life 🥹🧚🏼

Miles, oh Miles 🥺 comes off as grumpy but is loyal, feels like a warm hug and he’ll always always be there for you. I’m almost at a loss for words for how much I love Miles. He’s the kind of person you would truly treasure and want to defend and protect at all costs if you had him in your life. He loves quietly and is so so gentle, while never expecting anything in return. He comes off as gruff but really he can read you like an open book. Swoon 🥰🫠

Bastone makes these characters so down-to-earth and relatable. They’re not all “she had perfect hair and to die for curves and he had rock-hard abs and a chiseled jawline” and I love that. You get to build these characters in your head and love them for their personalities and it’s refreshing 👏🏼

So excited for March 4, 2025 🤠

Thank you so much Random House Publishing, and NetGalley for this ARC!

I have not felt this much emotion for a book in over a year.... Cara Bastone wrote about grief in the most beautiful way possible. I was going from laughing with the MCs then crying with them and then kicking my feet because I was so happy. I will most defiantly tell everyone I know and meet that they NEED to read this book. As well, when this book hits the shelves in March I WILL be buying my own physical copy because I need to own it in real life! Thank you for sharing this with me, I will forever look at life differently after reading this! (also praying everyday hoping I can find my own Miles Honey)

Promise Me Sunshine was an easy 5 star read for me. Cara writes with such honesty and emotional depth while keeping an incredible wit. Her characters feel real and are as hard to stop reading about as they are leave behind. I loved everything about this book and will happily recommend to friends, family, & customers alike.

Wow! Cara Bastone has knocked it out the park with this one!! This book was everything and more that I’m going to try my best to put into words just how good of a book this is!! Easily a new all time favorite of mine!

The topic of grief in this book was handled with so much care and written so beautifully.

From both Lenny and Miles perspectives it really was a glimpse at how grief is not a monolith when it comes to navigating it. My favorite part of this book was Miles being there and showing up for Lenny and being so reassuring on her journey to live again. Even in the little things when getting to know her and showing her in the littlest of ways that he does (swoon!!!) Another favorite part was Lenny letting him in and being open to the journey of getting back to living and figuring out her relationship with her grief and how to essentially start her life again without the one person she loved the most.

I also loved how Miles sweet Miles was able to break out of his shell with Lenny and not hide himself anymore and feeling safe with Lenny to do so. He also was learning how to live again with his new reality with his sister and niece and seeing the growth of both those relationships throughout the book was put to paper so well! Them falling in love in the midst of it all made me all giddy inside reading it and I just had the best time with this book!

This was the sweetest, emotional, gentle, funny friends to lovers slow burn story and I loved every single second of it and one I’ll be thinking about for a long time!!!

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!