This book will forever have a special place in my heart🥹😭 If I could give it 6⭐️ I would. As a matter of fact I’d give it ♾️⭐️.

This is one of the most beautifully written books I’ve ever read. The depiction of grief is so so real and was hard to read at times because I was able to immerse myself completely into the book (because of the writing style). It felt like I was living it. Like I was Lenny and was experiencing my own grief. But in the other hand… I was also seeing Lenny from on outsiders perspective and watching her grow immensely. It was beautiful. Not only is her character growth astounding but, so is Miles. Honestly… every person Lenny and/or Miles has contact with was impacted by them. They had this way of healing people while also healing themselves (and without even trying to).

I highly highly recommend this book!

☀️☀️☀️☀️☀️
I loved this book so much it might be one of my favs from the year omg
It’s such a cool story and it’s unlike anything I’ve ever read. It follows Lenny and Miles as Lenny is healing from her best friends death (not a spoiler it’s in the summary). Lenny in the beginning of the story is kind of just floating through life after this tragedy. She was surviving, but not really living, and her best friend had made her a Live Again list that Miles began to help her with. He was so patient and helped her with all her problems, her meltdowns and all the messy stuff in between that’s involved with moving on from grief. Every time they talked about grief it was put so well and I was worried the grief storyline would be depressing, but it really wasn’t. It was sad, obviously, but it was also hopeful as she starts to build her new life after what happened. I also thought that since they were such good friends their romance would be kind of sudden, but it’s really not. Lenny slowly realizes she loves him and he’s loved her all along and it just makes sense. I literally loved them so much. I loved all the characters and everything about this. Promise me Sunshine is one of the maybe 2 books I’ve stayed up until 2 reading (granted I went to bed at 12:30 but still). Now I must go figure out how to move on from this incredible read. If anyone has any recs after a rly good read lmk!
Thank you NetGalley for this Early Release Copy of Promise me Sunshine! 🫶🫶

Cara had done it again. I cannot put into words how much I loved this book. Such a beautiful exploration of grief and how to live again. Miles is on the top of the book boyfriend list. He is just so incredibly caring and he does so in a way that is quiet and thoughtful. I really fell in love with each character in this book. I laughed, cried, and swooned throughout this whole book. Truely incredible writing! This is a must read!!! Thank you netgalley for the arc!

I loved the idea of this book as well as the characters. I feel this story had such great potential, but the writing felt off to me. As a reader it did not flow. I would have to reread sentences numerous times as there were very unnecessary amount of details in it. I also did not care for how dragged out the story was. It was a new chapter, yet it was like 5 minutes later.
I was very excited for this book after reading Ready or Not, but this one fell a little flat for me.

This book healed a little piece of me that I didn’t even know it could be healed 🫂

I absolutely *loved* watching Lenny’s relationship with Miles develop. The way their connection slowly grew from strangers to friends to lovers is honestly one of the best I’ve ever read. Both of them had something they needed to heal and it was so beautiful to see how they helped each other reach that goal. Another thing I adored was the side characters, both the friends they made and each of their families. Every time one of them showed up it instantly made me happier (hello Ethan’s cameo!!!)

I think it would’ve been 5 star if it were just a bit shorter (50-60 pages less would’ve been perfect) but other than that I loved everything from start to finish.

DNF at 30%. You really have to suspend belief for this one. The premise was a little too dramatic to be realistic. I’m pretty bummed because I adored READY OR NOT - I thought the trope and plot were so unique and raw in that one and so was hoping for the same with this one. Instead, this trope felt so familiar - the grumpy neighbor is actually a good guy and helps her cross off her bucket list. By 30% I felt like the plot wasn’t picking up and you obviously know the exact ending so just don’t feel like I need to keep going.

On purpose, I'm not reading my previous advance reader review of Cara Bastone's book "Ready or Not" until I've written this one because I don't want to just repeat the same thoughts. As I've experienced in her other books, Bastone does an amazing job of tenderly introducing many aspects of her characters so that you celebrate their wins and feel for their losses. Her stories are heartfelt and lovely and I find I'm always sad when they end. She also does a wonderful job of using the setting of NYC as a character, which I always appreciate.
I would highly recommend this book to others, keeping in mind that it deals with loss and grief. I would also recommend it to readers that enjoy Kate Clayborn. Both authors are must reads for me due to character development that helps you get swept away in the story.
Many many many thanks to Net Galley for the opportunity to read this one early.

Cara Bastone does it again! Simultaneously heartbreaking and uplifting, Promise Me Sunshine is a great follow-up novel to the author's debut, Ready Or Not. Excited to see what Cara Bastone will do next

I really liked her first book and enjoyed this one just as much! Sweet, touching, and kept me wanting to read.

thank you so so so much to netgalley and random house for this ARC.

i don't even know where to start, this book blew me out of the water. lenny's best friend has passed away from cancer, and she is drowning in grief. miles offers to help her through it. lenny helps miles connect with his niece, ainsley and his sister, reese.

lenny and ainsley were so cute. lenny really did seem like someone that kids would like. this book had the perfect balance of talking about lenny's day to day with ainsley, so that we understood what her life was like, without it feeling like we were just reading a list of everything lenny had done that. ainsley is a young side character, but she felt pretty fleshed out. i did think it was interesting that ainsley/reese barely talked about reese's dad dying, especially because ainsley was presumably with him for considerable amounts of time.

lenny and miles made me want to die. miles is so patient with her, and he is just there in whatever way lenny needs it. i loved that they didn't get together for awhile, and that this wasn't instalust/love. their relationship felt developed. i think that i could have read many more pages about them.

finally - lenny and lou. the flashbacks were so beautiful. this book made me think of my best friend and our relationship over and over. i shed a LOT of tears reading about lenny's grief. this book is going to stick with me for quite awhile, it was truly stunning.

Lenny's best friend passed away and she's really having a difficult time. She gets a job as a nanny and the uncle of the little girl she watches is a fixture in the house. They get to know each other and start to confide in each other. Miles has been through a big loss too and he seems to know just what she needs. She has a list that she and her best friend made before her friend passed that is supposed to help Lenny to live again. Miles helps Lenny cross things off the list.

I fell in love with Miles before Lenny did, or at least before she realized it. The way he's there for her, asking and expecting nothing, but helping her ❤️swoon❤️

They don't kiss until about 70% in and sex is probably at the 80% point and the door is only partially open (more sweet than steamy).

I’m not sure how to accurately convey my feelings about this book. I loved it so, so much. The writing is beautiful, I was 100% in the story from the very beginning and didn’t want it to end. While it centered around the heavy topics of grief and loss, it also had so much warmth, humor and purpose. This was both heartbreaking and full of joy. I cried, I laughed. I will take this story with me for a long time.

"Home is where the heart is. My heart died in a cancer ward six months ago." *cue the tears*

Sometimes you just need a good cry—and Promise Me Sunshine drop-kicked me straight into my feels. This book is a heartbreakingly beautiful exploration of friendship, love, and the all-consuming grief of losing your BEST friend.

Lenny and Miles completely worked their way into my heart with the way they showed up for each other in every moment. Miles’s quiet but fierce care for Lenny—ensuring she took care of herself, and stepping in when she couldn’t—absolutely melted me. His love was steady, patient, and deeply selfless.

While this story had me sobbing at times with its unflinching portrayal of grief, it expertly balanced those heavy moments with humor, warmth, and the profound connection of a soul mate in a best friend.

The pacing was spot-on, the story was unputdownable, and the friends-to-lovers was executed perfectly. It made Lenny and Miles’s relationship even more poignant. Every single character felt like a living, breathing person—I wanted to hug them, laugh with them, cry with them. This book is truly something special.

Thanks to Net Galley and Random House Publishing for the ARC! I’ve been a fan of Cara Bastogne since finding her short stories on Audible. I tend to get sucked into the banter and chemistry of her characters and this one did not disappoint.

I appreciate the added complex storyline of grief that you don’t always find in this genre. It was well written and enhanced the storyline.

Loved the sneak peak of a Ready or Not character in this book!

i can’t remember the last time i read a book in less than 24 hours but i simply devoured this one, sobbing the entire time. this is a beautiful story about processing the grief from the death of a loved one- a soulmate. and about finding an anchor who will help bring you back when you’ve unraveled and become lost. i absolutely devoured this book and have never cried so much reading something. this was a beautiful story with valuable lessons that i will take with me throughout my life. i’m very grateful for the ARC from netgalley and random house.

Thank you for the ARC of this book. I read Cara's debut earlier this year and was obsessed with Shep. I did not think Cara could top a better character from that book but oh my gosh, I am obsessed with Lenny and Miles. Lenny with her raw feelings of loss and grieving her best friend. I felt that in my soul. The connection that her and Miles make and how they are always there for each other. Oh I felt that. I loved it. This was a hilarious and heartfelt story that I already can not wait to re-read in the near future. I need Cara Bastone to write several more books because I love how I feel while reading them. The tears, the many laughs and the good feelings. So amazing and I can not recommend her enough. Please read both her books and you will love all her main characters. Thank you for another amazing 5 star read!

The only way out [of grief] is through [it], they say. And boy, does this book put you through it. But Cara holds your hand through it all, gently yet firmly. She is kind, careful, and graceful in her words, but lovingly hard when needed. It’s raw, emotional.

Reading this book was cathartic and healing. I’m so grateful this book exists in this world. 🧡

4+/5 ⭐️, 1/5 🌶️, 2/5 💧

🗽 Grief/Loss of Loved One
🗽 Complicated Family Dynamics
🗽 Friends to Lovers
🗽 Slow Burn
🗽 Single POV

There is a quirkiness to Cara’s writing and her characters that sometimes works for me and sometimes feels a little bit like it’s trying too hard. But ultimately the story worked. It does a deep exploration on grief and how it can look different on everyone.

In this case, both main characters have strengths that they lend to each other to help each other grow, and the main character takes you along with her on this journey.

Some really realistic moments regarding relationships, personal growth, and falling in love give this book the charm. Many emotional, many laugh out loud.

If you’re looking for something different in the romance realm, with a highlight on navigating grief and personal growth with some very emotional moments, this would be a good choice for you.

Promise Me Sunshine was a fantastic contemporary romance from Cara Bastone. Having read Ready Or Not rececently, I had high expectations going in to this book and it did not disappoint!

Since this was an advanced reader copy, there were some grammatical errors but nothing that made following the plot challenging or was distracting from the storyline.

The characters in this novel were wonderfully relatable. I think everyone has at one point, or will at one point, be both a Miles and a Lenny. Life is extremely messy and this novel captured that essence very thoughtfully.

I enjoyed the way that the grief was truly personified in this book - without having experienced something of a similar magnitude, I found it very applicable to many facets of life besides the death of a loved one.

The slow burn of this novel was a refreshing breath from many of the contemporary romances that seem to have the main characters end up together very quickly in the story line. By setting the stage with such a strong bond of friendship through a horrible point in life, it made the timeline and ultimate resolution of their relationship make sense, given then situation.

I truly enjoyed this book and can't wait for more to come from Cara. Very enjoyable read that had me tearing up at times from the wonderful way the human experience was described.

Thanks to NetGalley for the Advance Reader Copy! Was stoked for my first ARC and thrilled it turned out to be a great one!

3.75 stars. a beautiful romance and a beautiful story on grief. a more extensive review to come closer to release day.