
Member Reviews

This book was a five-star for me! I absolutely LOVED Cara Bastone's debut, Ready or Not, and I just knew I had to read Promise Me Sunshine. This sophomore book by Cara was SO GOOD. I listened on audio and would highly recommend. Cara and Alex (the narrator) deserves all the stars and need to be a duo forever and ever thanks!

I had high hopes for this one but unfortunately, it fell flat in my opinion.
The FMC was not very likeable, and then the two love interests kind of dance around eachother for an incredibly long time. We are being told about the grief rather than shown it, I think it would have been useful to have some flashbacks way earlier on in the book to make us connect to the FMC. The writing is also very choppy, doesnt flow well at all.

"Every time I fall in love with you there's lightning"
"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."
"But with you, Len, when I met you..... I sort of feel like I met myself"
This book was so devastatingly beautiful. I actually got this as an ARC (thanks NetGalley!) but it took me almost a month to read because death of a loved one by cancer is such a painful topic for me. I’m glad I persevered and didn’t DNF because I sobbed within the first 10%.
Lenny and Miles developed such a beautiful and genuine relationship and helped build each other up. Losing a loved one is such a devastating thing and this book portrayed that so wonderfully. Life and grief isn’t linear and this book made me feel less alone.

Once again, this author has wowed me with a wonderful romantic comedy that has humor, heart and a little spice. While it is predictable (it is a rom com after all), except for an adorable eight-year-old, it doesn't resort to the usual gimmicks you often see in the genre. Instead, this story about loss and grief and learning to live again has a wonderful depth, realistic characters and life lessons. Thanks to NetGalley for the digital advance reading copy. 4.5/5

This book was honestly chefs kiss. I don’t know why but I love a romance book that talks about grief and the way this book talk about it was absolutely beautiful. And the way Lenny was trying to navigate it felt very realistic. I loveeeee that this was friends to lovers but they truly took their time and it wasn’t rushed. I think both Lenny and miles helped each other in different and beautiful ways. This was my first Cara Bastone and I think I’m obsessed now.
Thank you NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read this heart felt romance.

Go ahead and add this to your TBR!! You will not be disappointed. This book is a little different , will it is still a slow burn romance it takes you on an emotional rollercoaster. Have your tissues near by. Promise Me Sunshine by Cara Bastone explores themes of grief, (there was not a trigger warning in the beginning of the book) but she balances that with laugh-out-loud moments and humor. So proceed with caution. This is my second book to read by Cara Bastone, her other book Maybe This Time was adorable so I knew immediately that I had to request this one. The main tropes: grumpy-sunshine and friends-to-lovers. Thank you to Random House and NetGalley for an advanced copy.

This book is everything good in this world, definitely one of my best reads this year.
Ready or not had become an impossible book to beat but I think this is easily by far my favorite Cara book. I am full of emotions and devastated but in the best way possible.

Anything by Cara Bastone is a must read for me! From reading Ready or Not.... this book was an emotional rollercoaster but a good one. I encourage everyone to go read this book!

Learning to live and love again while grieving the loss of one of the true loves of your life is excruciating yet somehow Promise Me Sunshine is beautiful and absolutely perfect.
# Promise Me Sunshine
# 3/24/2025 ~ 3/25/2025
# 5.0 / 5.0

Did I finish this book or did it finish me? Likely the second option. This book just made me believe in the romance genre, and perhaps, maybe even myself? As a person? For once, I’m having a hard time articulating just how much I adored a book due to how close to home it resonated. I was in love with this author’s previous book, Ready or Not, but this was something else entirely. A book about romance, yes, but more importantly, about healing and grief and how the great loves of our lives are not always romantic. A masterpiece. To say I loved Lenny and Miles would be an understatement, and I will read anything this author writes. I can’t wait to reread this one and sob some more,

I truly loved this book, and felt drawn in to the world of love and grief in such a powerful way, it was just very well written, the characters were well developed, real and not perfect in any way. Things were messy but for so many important reasons. It’s hard to describe really how much this book touched me. Essentially it is a story about love and grief but truly love. Lenny loses her best friend and platonic love of her life Lou to cancer before the age of thirty. They were inseparable and now she doesn’t know how to live and go on living without her. What happens next is amazing. Lenny meets Miles who decides that it is his mission to help her through the grief because he has been through it before and has made it out alive. They make a deal that Lenny will help him get to know his estranged niece (who doesn’t seem to like him very much), who she is occasionally nannying for. What seems like a simple deal turns into so much more. Deep and lasting relationships are formed along the way and both (amazing, deep, funny and sad) main characters truly learn from one another how to live again. Please read this amazing novel by Cara Bastone - I know I will be finding more of her books to enjoy as an absolutely loved Promise Me Sunshine.

My absolute favorite book so far this year! I love the FMC and MMC dynamic and the way their relationship grew together as the FMC worked through her grief. This story was raw and real and I loved being able to see the way both main characters struggled with their grief, worked through it but didn’t forget it, and became stronger as a result. I cried so many times and loved the NYC imagery in all the pages as well. No notes - loved every minute!

This book is exactly my vibe! It’s the perfect mix of romance, humor, and banter, with deeper themes that truly resonated with me—particularly the way grief is processed. What starts off as a way to get through a “Live Again List” unfolds into a beautiful friendship and a tender romance. The slowburn, which I don’t always love, was done so well here that I honestly couldn’t get enough! Cara Bastone has an incredible ability to make me fall in love with tropes I usually don’t go for! Miles is a bit rough around the edges, but also gentle, patient, and steady. There’s a quiet strength in him that I couldn’t help but adore. Then there’s Lenny, shaped by grief but still full of life. She’s witty, charming, and never afraid to speak her mind or be herself. She loves deeply and cares for others in a way that feels incredibly real and raw. The two of them together made for such great banter and even better quiet moments. It’s definitely a “you can hear it in the silence” kind of love.And I can’t say enough about ©finkeboutit's narration—it's hands down the best. She brought every moment to life, making the story even more unforgettable. I loved every second of this book, and I will absolutely be shouting from the rooftops about it!

What a beautifully written story about grief, healing, friendship, and love. I loved every single one of the characters, I loved that Cara could infuse laugh out loud moments in between the sad, and I just loved the genuine representation of all of the above through the book. It was raw, it was real, and man, Miles was just written to perfection.
"Grief is a relationship. 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. You’re not betraying her by healing, you are honoring her. You are learning to love her exactly as she is. As someone who isn’t here anymore… that’s who she is now. And this journey through grief.. it’s what we do for great loves of our lives"
Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for my ARC in exchange for my honest feedback!

This was not your ordinary romance read. This book tackled a lot of tough topics,. the biggest one being grief. Promise Me Sunshine is a beautifully written, heartfelt story of grief, friendship, and slow-burn romance, The story is of a blossoming friendship between Lenny and Miles, as they bond over grief and work through a "Living Again" checklist, embraces your heart and stirs deep emotions. With its honest and bittersweet approach to loss and healing, this story is a must-read, securing a spot in my top five romance reads of the year.

4.5 ⭐️
This story broke my heart and then put it back together in the best way. It's a heartwarming story of learning to live again after great loss. It was raw and authentic and I loved every minute of the emotional roller coaster ride it took me on!
I felt so connected to the FMC, Lenny. I’ve been through a loss that shatters your world and leaves you shaken to the core. Her character and story was so well written and her journey felt so realistic.
"Grief is a relationship. 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. You’re not betraying her by healing, you are honoring her. You are learning to love her exactly as she is. As someone who isn’t here anymore… that’s who she is now. And this journey through grief.. it’s what we do for great loves of our lives"
Miles, the MMC, was exactly what Lenny needed. He was loyal, strong and maybe a little quirky, but even though he was dealing with his own heartbreak and family issues- he unapologetically loved Lenny. They slowly pieced together the broken parts that they couldn’t fix alone.
"He treats you well?"
"Mom, he walked into hell and dragged me back out"
Cara Bastone captured the unfiltered reality of grief- it's messy, unpredictable, it's not linear- it’s a mix of ups and downs and she did an amazing job portraying such a heavy topic while weaving in so many funny and uplifting moments. Promise Me Sunshine is a story that shows how even in the depths of sorrow and pain there can also be beauty and joy. I loved this book and can’t recommend it enough!
I loved the audiobook of this story. The narrators did an amazing job of bringing the story to life!

I loved this book! I enjoyed the characters and how much they grew throughout the book. It made me smile. Cara is becoming a go-to read author!

I loved everything about this book. I knew from the beginning that it was gonna rip my heart out (in a good way!) and it certainly did!! I loved little Ainsley and her uncle, Miles of course.
If you’re looking for a slow burn done right, look no further!! After losing her best friend, Lenny comes to nanny Ainsley and it was the best decision ever because it brought Miles into Lenny’s life and that was everything she needed and more.
I knew I was done for right in the very beginning when I read this line. “But the thing about losing the person you love the most on this earth is- somehow- you still have to do the mundane things like tie your shoes and make enough money to continue to exist in this punishing world. So I pad on.”

5 stars! I would love to give it 6 stars. I love the way that grief was approached in this book and the way that the characters bonded through it to learn to manage it. There was so much growth with these characters that they had you emotionally attached. This is a book that I will want to reread every spring.

I loved Ready or Not last year and was very excited to have a chance to read an ARC of Promise Me Sunshine. While I liked this book I found that it was more of a story about friendship and grief around friendships that end (in this case because of death). While there was a love story that was very sweet it definitely took a back seat to the grief that really propels all of the characters forward. Definitely a more bittersweet love story. Many thanks to Netgalley for the chance to read this ARC.