Ok I have officially going my favorite book of the year. This is an amazing love story but so much more. It's about love and grief and coming back to yourself after a death. Amazing!!!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this arc in exchange for an honest review!

3.5 stars! I really enjoyed this book exploring grief after the death of a loved one. Lenny’s quirky personality provided some comedic relief to help with the heavier moments in the book. She meets Miles who is a “grief expert” and he helps pull her out of her grief. The two go from enemies to friends to lovers gradually. This book just felt way longer than it needed to be.

Thank you NetGalley, Penguin Random House, and the author for an ARC copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
Pub Date: March 4, 2025

This book changed me. That’s dramatic but I can’t think of any other way to articulate it. “Something good for you, something bad for you, and a change of scenery.” This will stick with me.

Trigger warnings: this is a book about grieving a platonic soulmate. Grief is the plot. Bring tissues.

It’s been a minute since I fell so deeply in love with book characters. Miles specifically has my heart in the palm of his hands. Lenny has the zainy, quirky, bubbly girl personality but it’s not written in a pick me way at all. She’s a person who wears her heart on her sleeve and feels everything completely. And the way Cara takes you through the emotions? Ugh *slow clap* *wipes tear*

On the romance end of things, oh my god. I am obsessed. It’s a slow burn, the spice is maybe 2 chilis. Descriptive but not explicit. And only happens once. That’s actually my one gripe, that it seemed like Cara was embarrassed to write the smut. Based on word and phrase choices. But the longing. And the eye contact. And the way he takes care of her. UGH.

This book is written indelibly on my heart.

🌟Thank you NetGalley and Random House for the arc! 🌟

This was a beautiful story about loss, grief, healing, and love. Lenny and Miles were such raw, complex characters. Their love story was the slowest of slow burns, in the best way. There were moments while reading this that I felt butterflies. Miles was the ultimate book boyfriend. The way he would do absolutely anything for Lenny was so sweet. Would definitely recommend.

I absolutely ADORED Promise Me Sunshine! This book made me sob & look at my life differently. Lenny and Miles had such an incredible relationship as friends and then as more than friends. This book was a beautiful portrayal of grief, love, and how to live after you’ve lost someone. Cara Bastone absolutely stunned me with this novel, and I’ll be thinking about it for a very long time. Highly recommend! (check TWs)

Promise Me Sunshine was so beautifully written. I felt like I broke into pieces and was put back together right along with Lenny. Using all of her energy to put on a face for those around her while she’s facing grief and depression, but then feeling so drained when she’s by herself again and has no one around that she has to “be okay” for. And then to have Miles step in and say you’re not alone, I’m with you, and it’s okay for you to not be okay with me. He saved her and protected her, but he also made a point of teaching her how to save and protect herself. He didn’t want her to be dependent on him, he wanted her to learn to depend on herself again.

I wish I had loved this one more. I just didn’t connect to the characters. I don’t mind books about grief, but in this case, I feel like the topic of grief took away from the romance.

Friends to lovers. Grief and healing. Found family. Love when you least expect it. Sign me up! I loved the writing style, humor and relatability of Lenny.

First of all... I love the cover so much!!!! It's so pretty!!!! And then I got an Arc from Netgally (I'm so thankful for that! Thank you so much 😭🙏🏻) i just finished read it today and OMG you guys!!! I'm telling you! This! Book! Bring me back to read romance again 🤍 I love this book so much it's kinda sad at some point but along the way is really happy and funny 🥹 I love it so much. Thank you Cara for writing this book!! Please go pre-order you guys! This book will be released on March 4 2025 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Another 5 star for my girl, Cara. She's becoming a new favorite of mine! Brb, on my way to read her entire backlog.

I never wanted this book to end!! I'm so upset it's over!! do you ever read a book and once it's over wish that you could read it all over again for the very first time? That's this one for me.

This book is so much more than a slow-burn romance.It's real life. I'll recommend this to anyone and everyone!! Please add it to your list because Lenny & Miles are some of the best characters you'll ever read.

Thank you to NetGalley, Cara Bastone, and Random House for this advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and Dial Press for the eARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

This is a truly beautiful, moving story that will stay with you long after the last page. It's the kind of book that breaks you down and puts you back together, leaving an unforgettable mark on your heart.

Lenny Bellamy is overcome with grief after losing her best friend to cancer. Despite her pain, she's plasters on a happy facade and takes short-term babysitting jobs, leading her to cross paths with Miles Honey (pronounced Ho-nee), the grumpy uncle. When Miles realizes what Lenny's struggle, he offers to help her heal if she'll help him connect with his niece.

Lenny and Miles are such layered and resilient characters who show incredible growth. Their love story is a slow burn and tender, filled with banter and deep understanding. Lenny's' quirky charm and Miles's gentle, unproblematic nature make them easy to root for. Even the secondary characters shine and contribute so much to the story.

The flashbacks with Lou allow the reader to understand the friendship that shaped Lenny's life and feel the depth of her loss.

This is so much more than a romance. Bastone captures grief and healing in a way that feels real and raw. Your heart will break for the characters, but you'll also cheer for them when they experience little victories. Although the book tackles heavy topics like death and grief, I often found myself smiling or laughing (and highlighting so many passages). Bastone's message is clear: no matter how tough the journey, keep going.

I truly wanted to like this, I have adored this authors work in the past but this particular story did not hook me. 😢😢

I did not feel any real connection between the main characters and although grief comes in many different forms, I did not see a genuine illustration of grief. The grief in this book was portrayed almost in soap opera style, so dramatized that it made it so hard to connect with the story. I also struggled with the content shift of not being ready to move on in life after the loss of her best friend, to being completely infatuated with the mmc. But this is truly just my opinion and many have seemed to love this story, so if the blurb draws you in- give it a try!

Thank you to Netgalley and Random House Publishing Group for providing this ARC in return for my honest opinion!

Promise Me Sunshine is a heavy and beautiful story. We follow Lenny on her journey of healing and stages of grief. We watch her deal or not deal with these in a realistic way and it can be pretty emotional. Miles is there for her and they become a solace for each other in a relatable way. I did enjoy seeing previous characters make an appearance as well.

Thank you netgalley for Promise Me Sunshine by Cara Bastone

Cara Bastone is great at creating highly likeable and relatable characters. Lenny and Miles are definitely that, although to be honest, I found Lenny's flaws both endearing and hard to take a times. Grief is a very hard thing to go through, and maybe I have never lost someone close enough to me to feel this overwhelming loss, but I did feel like she was attention seeking by being so traumatized by her friend's death. A very good friend lost both their partner of almost 20 years and their parent in the same year, and they have not descended into a depression like this. Mind you, I also feel like Lenny has some depression to contend with that is exacerbated by the death of her best friend.

Despite that, I was rooting for her. Rooting for Miles to get through to her, whether it involved romance or not. And rooting for her to stay in Ainsley's life because, well, she was a really cool nanny. A cheeky Mary Poppins? There were some great lines. Some great adventures. And some great characters. All moving the story through to its conclusion. Did I want an epilogue to wrap things up more? Maybe, but it wasn't really necessary either because they came to their happy place without needing to see it all.

This is my second Bastone, and I have not been disappointed yet. Good writing helps a lot to carry a story through that many pages. And yes, it was more pages than I like to "give" to romances.

Wow. This book punched WAY above its weight. I expected a feel-good romance but what I did not expect was the deep dive into grief and forgiveness of one’s self.

Lenny is learning how to exist in a world without her lifelong best friend who recently passed away from cancer. Miles is learning how to exist in a world without his mom and cousin, and how to find his place in his half-sister’s and niece’s world. You can imagine they each have a lot to learn and that they both learn some invaluable lessons from each other. Both Lenny and Miles showed vulnerability and strength, despair and hope, sadness and joy. This book offers what I imagine to be two very realistic and honest perspectives of grief, and highlights how the journey is different for everyone.

I was so pleasantly surprised by this book. It was beautiful. It took a really long time to get to the romance, but it was completely worth it. I’d recommend this book to anyone who has experienced loss. I expect it to offer support and reassurance that there is no “right” way to grieve and no proper timeline.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

With a previous book as delightful and wonderful as 'Ready of Not,' Bastone had her work cut out for her to on her next novel, 'Promise Me Sunshine.'--and she delivered.
Promise Me Sunshine is everything I want in a romantic comedy: fun, sweet, and safe, but containing depth and introspection. This novel deals with grief and companionship following the death of a loved one, and it is about community and self-love as much as it is about romance.
The grief our protagonist felt never felt secondary or cheap; instead, Bastone treats the relationship between Lenny and her best friend as precious, real, and vital.
The romance in this story is careful and safe, and Bastone does Lenny justice by pairing her with a partner who is understanding of her grief, but also attentive and patient enough to walk with her through it.

Thank you, NetGalley for the ARC!

I really enjoyed getting to read this book. This was the first book I have read where the main character had lost their best friend. It was heartbreaking to read how Lenny had to go through every stage of the grieving process. This book definitely made me look at and cherish my own close relationships. I thought the characters were well written. Lenny was quirky and funny. This novel was entertaining throughout but I did feel that the ending was rushed. I would have liked to see the relationship aspect of Lenny and Miles play out for a bit longer. Overall, I would recommend this novel.

What an emotional read! I did not expect to love this book as much as I did. Grief is different for everybody and I loved seeing Lenny's growth. Day by day choosing to live. I also liked Miles' character. He was misunderstood and also had some healing to do. Beautifully written and it makes you want to hug your loved ones.

Ready or Not was absolutely one of my favorite books of this year, so when I saw a chance to get an early copy of Bastone's next one, I jumped at it. Her writing in Ready or Not is so beautiful and dang near perfect. It's hard to capture those early stages of love and the subtle yearning of moving from friends to lovers.

Luckily, Bastone does it again with Promise Me Sunshine. Lenny has lost the love of her life, her best friend Lou, months before she meets Miles, the uncle of her new nanny charge. She's lost in grief, unable to move forward and unable to grasp anything permanent because it feels like she's moving on from Lou. Miles understands, he's dealt with his own complicated grief and is willing to serve as her friend and guide through getting past the worst moments.

The two become friends, turned lovers, but its a slow, sweet, gentle journey. Miles is Shep-levels of caring and compassionate, and willing to be what Lenny needs in the moment, rather than what he might want. There's no unnecessary drama or miscommunication (I recognize those have their place), just two adults trying to do the best that they can for themselves and for each other.

My biggest complaint with the book is its abrupt end. There's no spoilers to be had here, but I got to the last page and thought, "that's it?" It's not an unfulfilling end, by any means, it just stops.

As a bonus, for Ready or Not fans, there is an Ethan and Miriam cameo! We get a little peak back into that world to know how some of the main players are doing about 15 months late.

* Thank you to Dial Press and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for my honest review! *

AHHH. I absolutely loved this book and ended up reading it in under a day, only taking breaks when I absolutely needed to. My only complaint with this book is that it wasn’t long enough! I loved Miles and Lenny and Ainsley and Reese and the ending just fell really sudden and unfinished? And maybe that was the point!!! Because there is not always a neatly wrapped up ending with a bow in real life. But I loved these characters so much and Cara’s writing so much that I could’ve just kept reading about them forever and ever (same with Ready Or Not).

Lenny’s grief over her friend Lou’s passing was really devastating and I just wanted to wrap her up in a warm bundle and give her a hug. Grief is so complex and I think Cara Bastone did a great job putting words to it and showing that it pops up even in your happiest moments. I also thought despite it’s heavy elements that this book was so funny and it had me kicking my feet and giggling often. The relationships and friendships were written so well and I had a few teary moments (Lenny’s mom!!!). Found family is one of my favorite ‘tropes’ and the little group that Lenny and Miles formed for themselves was so great.

MILES!!! I have nothing bad to say about that man. He is an angel. Everyone deserves a Miles who is willing to walk through hell and drag them out. A truly strong and steady character and I adored him and how he knew exactly what Lenny needed when she needed it.

Ready or Not made me an instant fan of Cara Bastone’s but Promise Me Sunshine solidified her as a new favorite author for me. I can’t wait to go back and read some of her older books and I can’t wait to see what else she writes!!

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