When Lenny is faced with the task of carrying on after the death of her best friend, Lou, she finds herself avoiding her parents, refusing to step foot in the apartment she and Lou shared and feeling generally unsteady. She begins nannying for a single mom, Reese, and her daughter Ainsley, as a way to keep her mind busy during the day and avoid grieving. But while she thinks she's found the perfect solution to avoid her problems, she's soon introduced to Ainsley's uncle, Miles, who makes it clear off the bat that he's not fond of Lenny.

Pretty soon through, it becomes clear that both Lenny and Miles completely misunderstood each other, and it's not long before he's making a deal with her - he'll help her work through her "live again" list if she can coach him on how to become closer to Ainsley and Reese. As the two start to spend more time together, Lenny learns not only how to live a life without Lou, but also how wrong she was about Miles initially.

This was the second book from Cara Bastone that I read and I loved it just as much, if not more. The way she wrote the dialogue and the banter between the main characters sucked me in and made it hard to put downLenny and Miles felt so real and as if I was right there living this story with them. While the storyline was sensitive and wasn't always filled with flowers, I appreciate how she showed the real parts of grieving and how it's not a linear journey. I would without a doubt recommend this to anyone and look forward to reading more of her books in the future.

This romance book is a very emotional story about both romantic love and friendship. The female main character, Lenny, has recently lost her best friend, and her grief is crippling her. She cannot bring herself to face the apartment they shared, and she cannot move forward with her everyday life. Miles enters her life at exactly the right time to help her learn how to live with her grief and function in the world again.

I liked how this book approached the subject of grief. Unfortunately, it was not a good time for me to read this because of experiencing fresh grief myself. That is not the book's fault, though. I think if I read it at a different time, I could have loved it.

Ilike Miles a lot because he is so compassionate to those around him, even though he seems grumpy. He doesn't seem like a real person, though. He's a bit too perfect. Lenny, on the other hand, is difficult for me to like. I empathize with her grief, but I can't relate to her personality. I find her quite immature. Her internal dialogue seems much younger than her age.

Overall, Ilike this book just fine. I would recommend it to romance readers who don't mind some heavy, emotional situations.

A very emotional read! This book is mostly about Lenny learning to live again after the loss of her childhood best friend and it was written beautifully.

The romance was so sweet! I love Lenny & Miles for each other. There is something magical about the way that Cara Bastone writes friendships, my favorite scenes in her books are often just 2 people or even a group of people relaxing together.

Highly recommend!!

This book was amazing. It was funny and raw and relatable and I absolutely loved it. I was nervous going into it expecting it to be sad or sullen based on the description (don’t get me wrong, I definitely cried more than once), but I found myself smiling and laughing a majority of the time.

Lenny and Miles were unique characters with their backgrounds and personalities and that coupled with the plot really made this a standout read. It was a slow slow slow burn but so worth it in the end.

It would have been no more than a 3 star if I finished

DNF @ 57%

I just don’t think this author is for me. I tried her other book Ready or Not and didn’t care for that one either.

I couldn’t connect with the characters and the storyline wasn’t that appealing overall. I’ve had some great losses in my life but this book isn’t really hitting me with the grief aspect either.

I honestly never wanted this book to end.

We meet Lenny after she experiences a huge loss and we go on the grieving journey with her in all the big and little ways. This book really nailed how losing someone affects you and continues to affect you. I wanted to give her a big hug, but she has Miles, which is even better. He helps by pushing her out of her comfort zone, learning to truly live again, while supporting her the whole time in all the ways she needs. In return, Lenny, babysitter extraordinaire, helps Miles with Ainsley. The relationship between the three of them is adorable.

Promise Me Sunshine is a beautiful love story between Lenny and Miles, but also a story about finding yourself again after a life-altering loss.

I gave this one a 3.5 stars. Cara Bastone writes great books but the slow burn is toooooo slooooooooooooow for me lol. The portrayal of grief and the journey losing someone takes you on is so well done. The how do I go on without my person, who am I without them and how does any of this make sense was so raw and real. Have tissues with you while reading because the emotions are written in such a way that anyone who has ever experienced any kind of loss of a loved one will say yep, I know how this feels and feel it right along with Lenny. While the book has some funny moments, it is overall quite heavy and I would urge you to be kind to yourself while reading because Cara will put you through it.

This was so heartbreaking and so beautiful all at the same time. I absolutely adored the characters and the way that the story developed. I loved being able to see the female main character grow and learn how to live with her grief. Although, it was terrible sad, the relationship between the female main character and main male character was magical. I loved watching them grow their friendship and how that developed into love. It was all so perfect. Highly recommend!

Cara Baston is an absolute master of her craft, and I’ll be first in line for every one of her releases. Promise Me Sunshine is a stunning portrayal of loss, grief, and the journey to rediscover yourself when it feels like the darkness will never lift. I loved every aspect of this book, and as someone who has experienced the loss of a loved one, it resonated deeply with me. I went into it expecting to cry more, but surprisingly, I found myself laughing out loud several times, with a big grin on my face during many of the interactions between our FMC and MMC. Watching Lenny and Miles evolve from strangers to friends to lovers was such a joyful experience, even as they navigated the process of moving on and reconnecting with the people they cared about.

There was a found family aspect to this story that I also found to be really lovely. Lenny forms new friendships that help fill a void she thought could never be healed, showing her that there is so much more for her to experience when she lets the people who love her guide her. On the flipside, we see Miles trying to connect with a family that he only recently found out about. I loved seeing the way he figured out how to open up to his niece and in turn gain a connection with his sister.

Honestly the only thing I would have maybe changed was just leaving Lenny and Miles as friends. While I did love seeing how they ended up together I was also very happy with them having this unique experience where they tried to help each other while also helping themselves. I, of course, still love them as a couple but definitely would have been satisfied either way!

Thank you Dial Press for the ARC!

4.5 stars

Promise Me Sunshine by Cara Bastone is a beautiful book. A beautiful book that handles the hard topic of grief in a beautiful way.

Lenny (Helen) Bellamy lost her best friend, her "one true love", to cancer a couple of years ago. As a result, she cannot face going back to their apartment, has a hard time going to their favorite spots, doesn't sleep, won't answer her mother's calls or texts, can't eat, and has a hard time caring for herself in general. She will often get on the ferry after work and just ride it until the morning. She will go to an all night dance club just to avoid going back to their apartment. She's running herself ragged and it's a cycle that she is having a hard time ending. Lenny is a nanny, and hasn't worked a long term gig in a while, opting for short term nannying opportunities like taking care of seven-year old Ainsley for the weekend while mom Reese travels for work. While she's there, she meets Reese's stepbrother Miles (who lives in the apartment upstairs) and finds out he is NOT excited for a stranger to be caring for his niece. As Lenny becomes closer to Ainsley and the weekend gig becomes an on-call situation and then a permanant, long-term nanny position, she grows closer to Miles. He's going to help Lenny take care of the items on the "keep on living" list that Lou gave her before she passed and Lenny is going to help Miles become closer to Ainsley and, in turn, Reese. Little did either of them know that they would help each other take care of themselves and learn to live again.

As someone who recently lost her person, I am currently working through a lot of the same things that Lenny was dealing with. I often find myself shying away from books that deal with grief because they are just...off. Not this one. Cara Bastone takes the grief of losing someone incredibly important in your life and makes it relateable and believeable. While it's true that not everyone grieves the same, reading about Lenny's journey was very emotional and relateable for me. Thank you, Cara! I felt like I was right there with Lenny, holding her hand, walking through the highs and lows and figuring out how to keep going.

And Miles - let's just say Miles is everything. He was selfless, caring, understanding, and was Lenny's biggest cheerleader through it all. The fact that he was keeping a list of his own to make sure that Lenny learned to care for herself before taking their relationship to the next level was absolutely perfect. He was there like a rock for her no matter how messy or complicated a situation was for Lenny.

I don't often cry when I read, but this one had me crying buckets. And it felt good! The audiobook was also phenomenal - I often found myself stopping to just stare while listening because I felt like she was me and I was her. I will definitely revist this book again in the future. Having loved Ready or Not so much I had high hopes for this one and it exceeded my expectations. Thank you Cara Bastone for a beautiful novel. I can confidently say I will pick up any and all future books you publish.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest thoughts.

Lenny has been drifting through the days since her best friend Lou's death. Finding it difficult to function, she was forced to take a temporary nanny job in order to pay the bills. Who knew she would find a kindred spirit in the child's grumpy Uncle Miles who committed to helping Lenny complete Lou's "Live Again" list.

I had no doubt I would enjoy this book because Cara Bastone wrote it, but this was something special. I had so many empathy for Lenny from the very beginning. She lost her platonic soulmate, the love of her life, her best friend. Lou was such an important part of Lenny's life, and Lenny was there with her until the end. I know! Queue the tears! I loved hearing about their friendship. It was sad that Lou was gone, but the lasting impression and the memories she left with Lenny were priceless.

Lenny had been going through the motions, and now had to get her act together enough to be a caretaker for Ainsley. I adored that kid, and she was definitely a bright spot in Lenny's life. She made me smile too, but it was Miles who would end up helping Lenny "live again".

Miles knew about grief, and he also knew how to be an incredible friend. He knew when to push and when to stand down. He knew when a distraction was necessary and when Lenny needed to face her grief. He was gentle with her while also helping her process her emotions. His support was such an important part of Lenny's healing journey, and it helped Miles worm his way into my heart. I am not usually one for a slow burn romance, but Bastone crafted a beautiful story that held me captive.

This book was lovely, emotional, funny, sweet, charming, tender, touching, and I just loved it! I felt every sort of emotion as I read this story with hope dominating them all. I had so much hope for all these characters, and I was grateful for the opportunity to accompany them on their personal journeys.

Thank you Berekly and Cara Bastone for an arc in exchange for honest review.

Woo this one was a doozy! I would rate it 3.75-4 stars.

Overall, this was a heavy but beautifully written exploration of grief. I usually don’t love slow burn or friends-to-lovers tropes, but the author did a great job of keeping it engaging without feeling repetitive. The portrayal of grief—watching your world stop while the rest of the world keeps spinning—was incredibly well done. Im also loving more authors gearing MC's in their 30s ! :)

That said, I found Lenny a bit draining. Beyond her grief, she often came across as immature and codependent. The sex scene, in particular, was so cringeworthy I got secondhand embarrassment. On the other hand, Miles was fantastic. Learning more about his family background and the grief he carried made his support for Lenny, Ainsley, and Reese feel even more meaningful.

If you enjoy
Friends to lovers
Close promximity
Grumpy x sunshine
Slow burn
Heavy Grief

You should check this out!

Oh my gosh, I loved this book. I really liked that it had an underlying theme of slow burn romance and friends to lovers, but it really focused on showing love, friendship, and support, in uncommon ways. It was a beautiful understanding of grief and ways to work through it. Although Miles POV is not shared, it was also a great display of how to be that person to lean on and guide someone.

At times this book had me mad on one page, sad on the next page, and laughing on the next page after that, and I found that to be a beautiful and realistic way of displaying grief and how we often experience it.

I just love all the multitudes of Lenny we are treated to as a reader. And to learn, and grieve, and love along with her. Miles is also such a treat and extremely insightful.

Love the Live Again List and the inspiration to create your own list from that the author included at the end!

4.5 stars. This was so good!! I was worried it was going to be a bit depressing the whole time, discussing deaths of loved ones. But as the story unfolded, I couldn’t put it down. So many tears at the end.

I was looking forward to this since Ready or Not by Cara Bastone. Both really well done.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for an advanced reading copy.

Our FMC Lenny has lost her best friend and soul mate Lou, and she is overcome with grief. Our girl Lenny is in survival mode. Our MMC Miles is hard to like at first, but he becomes more likable as he opens up to Lenny and we learn more about him and his own journey through grief.

“It’s hard-won wisdom. A formula I figured out in my dark days. One I still need sometimes. When everything is going dark and you can’t understand why…when the grief catches up to you again…Something good for you, something bad for you, and a change of scenery. That’s the winning formula.”

The relationship is such a delicious slow burn, so when the intimate scenes take place, that’s exactly what it feels like: intimate.

“His shoulder muscles whisper secret things to the palms of my hands. I try very hard not to listen.”

Man. This book was like a warm hug. It is—without a doubt—my favorite book of the year thus far. This is my second Cara Bastone book (the first was Ready or Not—a friends-to-lover romance with a surprise baby that I really enjoyed reading). This one is all about finding love and friendship through—or in spite of or even because of—the shadow of grief. Guys. I felt all. the. feels.

I tried to read this book for a few weeks now and I just can’t get into it… going to be DNF this book, I don’t think the writing style is for me unfortunately.

Promise Me Sunshine is a slow burn (like veryyyy slow burn), strangers to friends to lovers romance, where he falls first, and deals with lots of grief/loss and healing. I’d say this very much straddles contemporary romance and women’s fiction, similarly to this author’s previous book Ready or Not.

The story starts following Lenny, who has lost her best friend and is grieving and lost with what to do with herself. She ends up getting a temp job as a part time nanny where she ends up meeting Miles, the uncle of the young girl she’s watching. Miles is always around (in a good way) and trying to form his own relationship with his niece but has no idea where to start. He recognizes the grief and hurt that Lenny is going through, having suffered loss in his life as well, and wants to help her any way he can.

We see Lenny and Miles make a pact to help one another out and truly be there for one another during the highs and lows of life and grief. The healing was so beautiful and tender and the slow burn of the relationship just worked so well. Lots of rawness and emotions that made this book feel so real and genuine. I do think the heroine was a bit too messy/manic pixie dream girl vibes (and like I get why but it was a bit too much at times). Anyways, I always have a great time overall reading this author’s books and will continue to pick up her new releases.

I received an ARC from the publisher, all thoughts in this review are my own.

This is an emotional story with an HEA. I felt Lenny's pain throughout the book, even cried with her when she broke down. I personally have not experienced losing someone I'm close to but I imagine I would feel like Lenny did. It was nice to see how Lenny and Miles helped each other overcome obstacles that held them back in their lives. Ainsley was a ray of sunshine! How could you not love her personality? I loved seeing how she helped Lenny and Miles in unexpected ways. 

Overall I would recommend this book but don't expect romance to be the main focus of the story. It's more about grief and processing it with the help of an unexpected friend.

This was absolutely phenomenal. The first chapter really threw you into the book, so I was initially a little hesitant, but when it starts picking up, it starts picking up. It was just so completely romantic. And for a book that isn't really about the romance while being completely about the romance, it was great. The pining elements and the general respect and waiting was just amazing. I stayed up two nights in a row reading this and am so glad I did, I can't wait to read future books from Bastone.

Best romance of 2025 so far! This romance was so tender and sweet and also so full of grief, loss and heartache. My favorite kinds of romances blend depth and heaviness with love and warmth, and this one did it perfectly. Friends to lovers continues to be one of my favorite tropes!