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

This is a beautiful and heartfelt story about navigating grief. Lenny has lost her best friend, Lou, to cancer and is struggling to live a normal life without her sidekick. She is a nanny by trade and starts to care for a young girl named Ainsley. Ainsley’s uncle, Miles, comes into the picture and starts spending a lot of time with Lenny and Ainsley. Miles has also been through a lot of loss and can relate to Lenny in many ways. Lenny and Miles embark on a journey of completing Lenny and Lou’s bucket list and are there to offer support in each other’s weak moments.

If you need to read a love letter to those grieving, look no further. ✨🫶🏻

This book was funny -
✨”I’ve had girlfriends, Lenny. Part of having a girlfriend is that she makes you watch The Notebook.” 🤣 FACTS

✨ “Breaking: a man can resist the bend and snap. I know this because I performed one in front of Miles and he only expressed mild concern that I’d just slipped a disc.”

This book offers great advice -
✨”When everything is going dark and you can’t understand why … when the grief catches up to you again … Just remember. Something good for you, something bad for you, and a change of scenery. That’s the winning formula.”

And this book has the sweetest romance (everyone deserves a Miles!!!) -
✨ “If I run up this hill … I want … an afternoon beer. And … sunshine. And … a basket of fried shrimp. And … a view of the ocean.” He blinks at me. And then at the cloudy sky. It’s been a full day since my trip to the Met and the clouds haven’t let up yet. “Well, I can’t promise the sunshine. But I can do everything else.”

✨ He closes his eyes, opens them and there’s his brilliant love. “There’s only you, Lenny. Every time … it’s just you,” he says, muffled as he kisses me. “And you.” He kisses me again. “And you.”

🧡 This one comes out in March and I definitely recommend it!

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!

Cara Bastone takes readers through a grief journey that highlights the strength it takes to continue. Although this book has a heavy topic (grief after loss), it’s also inspiring to see Lenny evolve and find herself, or a newish self again. Miles, oh Miles. 10 stars for that man, what a MMC. His ability to care for and support Lenny was unmatched. Navigating grief after loss looks different for everyone, and Cara’s way of showcasing Lenny’s rock bottom made it retable, but also inspiring as she kept going through the end of the book.

This is a slow slow-burn romance on top. I want more though, when is part 2 coming out?

*+:｡.｡“𝓑𝓮𝓵𝓲𝓮𝓿𝓮 𝓲𝓽 𝓸𝓻 𝓷𝓸𝓽, 𝓲𝓽 𝓰𝓮𝓽𝓼 𝓮𝓪𝓼𝓲𝓮𝓻 𝓽𝓸 𝓽𝓪𝓵𝓴 𝓪𝓫𝓸𝓾𝓽 𝓪𝓯𝓽𝓮𝓻 𝓪 𝔀𝓱𝓲𝓵𝓮. 𝓐 𝓵𝓸𝓷𝓰 𝔀𝓱𝓲𝓵𝓮. 𝓑𝓾𝓽 𝓘’𝓿𝓮 𝓫𝓮𝓮𝓷 𝓽𝓱𝓮𝓻𝓮, 𝓛𝓮𝓷𝓷𝔂. 𝓡𝓲𝓰𝓱𝓽 𝔀𝓱𝓮𝓻𝓮 𝔂𝓸𝓾 𝓪𝓻𝓮. 𝓦𝓱𝓮𝓻𝓮 𝔂𝓸𝓾 𝓵𝓸𝓼𝓮 𝓬𝓸𝓷𝓽𝓻𝓸𝓵 𝓸𝓯 𝔂𝓸𝓾𝓻 𝓵𝓲𝓯𝓮 𝓪𝓷𝓭 𝓷𝓸𝓽𝓱𝓲𝓷𝓰 𝓶𝓪𝓴𝓮𝓼 𝓼𝓮𝓷𝓼𝓮 𝓪𝓷𝔂𝓶𝓸𝓻𝓮. 𝓦𝓱𝓮𝓷 𝔂𝓸𝓾 𝓬𝓪𝓷’𝓽 𝓻𝓮𝓶𝓮𝓶𝓫𝓮𝓻 𝓱𝓸𝔀 𝓫𝓪𝓼𝓲𝓬 𝓽𝓱𝓲𝓷𝓰𝓼 𝓯𝓾𝓷𝓬𝓽𝓲𝓸𝓷. 𝓛𝓲𝓴𝓮 𝔀𝓱𝓮𝓷 𝓽𝓸 𝓮𝓪𝓽 𝓸𝓻 𝓼𝓱𝓸𝔀𝓮𝓻. 𝓖𝓻𝓲𝓮𝓯 … 𝓲𝓽’𝓼 𝓷𝓸𝓽 𝓵𝓲𝓴𝓮 𝓪𝓷𝔂 𝓸𝓽𝓱𝓮𝓻 𝓮𝓶𝓸𝓽𝓲𝓸𝓷. 𝓘𝓽 𝓲𝓼 𝓾𝓽𝓽𝓮𝓻𝓵𝔂 𝓭𝓲𝓼𝓬𝓸𝓶𝓫𝓸𝓫𝓾𝓵𝓪𝓽𝓲𝓷𝓰. 𝓐𝓶𝓸𝓷𝓰 𝓶𝓪𝓷𝔂 𝓸𝓽𝓱𝓮𝓻 𝓽𝓱𝓲𝓷𝓰𝓼.”｡.｡:+*


𝑇ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑖𝑠 𝑜𝑛𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑏𝑒𝑠𝑡 𝑟𝑜𝑚-𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝐼'𝑣𝑒 𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑦𝑒𝑎𝑟
𝑇ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑖𝑠 𝑤ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑤𝑒 𝑐𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝑎 𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑓𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑙𝑦 ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑙𝑡ℎ𝑦 𝑟𝑒𝑙𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑠ℎ𝑖𝑝 𝐼'𝑚 𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑦 𝑠𝑜 𝑔𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑓𝑢𝑙 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝐼'𝑣𝑒 𝑔𝑜𝑡 𝑡𝑜 𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑑 𝑖𝑡 𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑙𝑦

⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚𝕮𝖍𝖆𝖗𝖊𝖈𝖙𝖊𝖗𝖘˚୨୧⋆｡˚ ⋆


𝑀𝑖𝑙𝑒𝑠 𝐻𝑜𝑛𝑒𝑦 (𝑀𝐿): he is the embodiment of a green flag, he's caring, he's patient, he feeds her, he literally left his life behind so he can care for his dying dad and his niece

𝐿𝑒𝑛𝑛𝑦 (𝐹𝐿): she's so witty and funny and really hilarious. She is in a kinda rough patch. I relate to her a lot her grief, her energy she can do no wrong in my eyes

𝐴𝑖𝑛𝑠𝑙𝑒𝑦 (𝑛𝑖𝑒𝑐𝑒): god she's so cute 🥰 kids in books are swoon-worthy

⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚🌶 𝕮𝖍𝖆𝖕𝖙𝖊𝖗𝖘˚୨୧⋆｡˚ ⋆


Chapter 32

⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚𝕿𝖗𝖔𝖕𝖊𝖘˚୨୧⋆｡˚ ⋆

🌸 𝙶𝚛𝚞𝚖𝚙𝚢 𝚇 𝚂𝚞𝚗𝚜𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚎
🌸 𝚂𝚕𝚘𝚠 𝙱𝚞𝚛𝚗
🌸 𝚂𝚝𝚛𝚊𝚗𝚐𝚎𝚛𝚜 𝚝𝚘 𝙵𝚛𝚒𝚎𝚗𝚍𝚜 𝚝𝚘 𝙻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚜
🌸 𝙶𝚛𝚎𝚒𝚟𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝙼𝙲𝚜

⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚𝕱𝖆𝖛 𝕼𝖚𝖔𝖙𝖊𝖘˚୨୧⋆｡˚ ⋆


"But the thing about losing the person you love the most on earth is— somehow— you still have to do mundane things like tie your shoes and make enough money to continue to exist in this punishing world."


“Yeah, that’s right. 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.”


“Home is where the heart is. My heart died in a cancer ward six months ago.”


I ’m convinced some people have all the luck because there’s not really a better explanation for why I don’t have any of it.


“Consider it like you just had a heart transplant. When Lou died, your entire heart went with her. But you have to live, right? So now you’ve got this new heart. And you’re getting used to it. No one would expect you to run up a hill right after a heart transplant. Go slow. Go easy on yourself.”


“I don’t want you to be healthy for me. I want you to be healthy for you. So… if you need to do something you’ll regret… let’s do it. I’m in. Just not your hair.”


“Grief is a relationship,” he continues. “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.”


“If you push him,” I explain patiently, holding my hands out as an example. “Then he pushes back. But if you take him by the hand, he follows you anywhere.”


It’s wild to me how someone who makes me feel more safe than anyone else in the world can also make me so unbelievably nervous.


⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚𝕻𝖗𝖊-𝖗𝖊𝖆𝖉˚୨୧⋆｡˚ ⋆



Guys, guys, guys, guys, I got approved for one of my most anticipated books of the next year. I'm so happy 🔥 *Happy little dance* Thank you, Netgally. Thank you Random House Publishing Group 💕

This book did not disappoint, and there is no better feeling than that for a reader. Miles, the man that you are...they way he cared for everyone is his life, but especially for Lenny. While this book is a slow slow burn, I didn't mind it at all, and I didn't find myself wanting the pacing of their love story to speed up. I think that has to do with the way it was written in a true friends to lovers fashion. Seeing their connection develop, how much they cared for each other, how loyal and protective they were to one another, was really beautiful. Lenny is going through an immense period of grief and it sort of stuck not knowing how she'll move on with her life and be ok without her best friend in her world. And while initially she and Miles don't hit it off, they make a deal to help each other with their current struggles. For Lenny, as mentioned, is learning how to live again after the the death of the love of her life (her best friend), and for Miles it's to connect and build a relationship with his niece (whom Lenny nannys) and sister. Speaking of nieces, I absolutely loved Ainsley! She was such a fun character, who also had her own struggles/feelings towards her moms busy schedule. That time spent with Ainsley is what helps Miles form a relationship with her, with the help and support of Lenny of course. And that time spend with each other is what helps Lenny and Miles see one another in a different light, discovering that there is more to the other person than they originally thought there was. While this book does have sad and painful moments that might be difficult for some readers...it also has beautiful cathartic moments that help the main characters heal. They make new friends along the way, make new memories, have fun adventures, and ultimately fall madly and deeply in love with each other. I loved this book, and would 10 out 10 recommend, 5 stars.

P.S: There is a 'Ready of Not' cameo.

Thank you Random House Publishing Group, Cara Bastone and NetGalley for the advance readers copy!

I really enjoyed this! Nearly want to say absolutely loved it! My rating is probably closer to 4.5 stars. It felt like two different stories. An intertwined story of grief which I absolutely LOVED. And then the romance...which I wanted more of! I could absolutely feel Lenny and Lou's relationship through the pages and was eating up Lenny's character development as she learned to start living again after the loss of her best friend. When it came to Miles, I wish he cracked just a little bit more! That hard exterior just persevered, but his and Lenny's relationship was believable. Overall, another win from Cara Bastone and I will for sure be continuing to read whatever she writes!


Thank you Netgalley and Random House for this eARC in exchange for an honest review!

This is an emotional, heartwarming read that differs from my first read by this author “ready or not”. Both center around family relationships but this book was definitely heavier. The romance is very slow burn as the emphasis is more on the two main characters building a genuine and trusting friendship. Based on this, I would more characterize this as women’s fiction.

If I could give this 10 stars I would. Heavy trigger warning for death of a loved one. This is one of those books that really reaches out to me and touches me. I sobbed and laughed so much reading this book. It was so amazing to hear Lenny's inner monolog and to really feel all her emotions along side her. And Miles! What a soft and sweet friends to lovers book boyfriend. He was perfect in all the right ways. If you love books set in New York you will especially love all the spots these characters end up and I really hope everyone else can enjoy it with me. I want to shout from the rooftops just how amazing Cara Bastones writing is. And I have to say this is my first time crying while ready the acknowledgements. Cara you truly are a mastor of your craft