Promise me Sunshine is about dealing with grief and learning how to live (and love) after!

Lenny lost her other half- in best friend form- to cancer. She’s barely going through the functions of daily life, barely surviving. But she promised her best friend she would at least try. She’s in between jobs when she gets a babysitting gig for a weekend where she meets miles.
I love Lenny 😂 the way that she imagines an entire future at the drop of a hat as soon as she just GLANCES at a man. She’s 5 foot but her attitude is 7 foot 5” 🤣


Miles is the uncle of the child Lenny is babysitting. When they first meet, Lenny is imagining her future (like she does with many me) with miles. However, Miles is super skeptical of this woman that looks like she’s been living on the streets, and addicted to drugs.
I love miles because he went from not trusting Lenny to doing the absolute most for her. It’s amazing for someone to be dealing with grief and teach someone how to get through it.

After the weekend is over, they strike up a deal, a win-win situation. Miles gets closer to family and Lenny gets help keeping her promise to her best friend. But that’s not the only thing that they achieve!!

I loved this book. It made me hurt for Lenny and Miles but it also warmed my heart in the most beautiful way, warm, gooey ways. After the trauma they both went through, they got the ending they deserved!


*Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing for this eArc.*

Is there a button to give books infinite stars??!! I need you to know the five star option isn’t enough because books like this EXIST.
My God, this story was absolutely, without a doubt, soul crushing, mend me back together while I’m laughing out loud PERFECTION.
No notes. Perfection.

4.5 stars

I absolutely devoured this book. It was unputdownable.

The whole book is about grief and it was so heartbreakingly beautiful.

I love the bond that Lenny and Miles form and what it transforms into. That they are both helping each other through things. The friends to lovers aspect is done so well!

I also loved the new friendships formed as well. All the characters were amazing. Definitely shed some tears through this emotional ride!

Thank you for the ARC!

I ABSOLUTELY loved this book so much. It made me cry, laugh and swoon. The relationship between Lenny and Miles developed so organically and so beautifully. I loooooved Lenny so much, what she was going through was so rough but she was still herself in midst of it. I also loved all the additional characters like Ainsley, Jericho and Lenny’s parents. What a lovely book, can’t wait to get my hands on a copy when it gets released

This one had me in my feels from the very beginning and made me feel incredibly grateful for my friends. I cried from sadness and sweetness, I laughed, and I pondered. I feel like I would be in the same position as Lenny if that ever happened to me, so I can only pray for a Miles to come along when dealing with so much. The journey through grief that Lenny experiences is heartbreaking, but Miles’ care for her is so incredible and tender. I really loved this book!

*only one spicy scene

This could be one of my top favorite books of all time. I could have lived in Lenny & Miles’ raw, emotional, and hilarious world forever. it felt so real, so intimate, and just so darn endearing. I adored every single character in this book. I will miss them all now that I’ve finished. 5 big, beautiful stars.

Thank you to Random House Publishing Group and Netgalley for sending me a copy of this e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

This was the first book I read by Cara Bastone, and I enjoyed it. It had a strong message about overcoming grief after a loved one's passing. It packed an emotional punch and I felt the love between Lenny and Miles. I seem to have a lower rating on the book than others. That may be because we waited so long (about 85%) to see Lenny and Miles admit their love. I wish we would've gotten more of the book seeing them together. There were some parts in the middle that I felt could've been cut to give the characters more time together.

Overall, it was a sweet and emotional book. I would caution people to read trigger warnings, as this book goes through the stages of grief.

This book was such a fun adventure. It dealt with love, loss, and friendship, and did not skip over the messy parts of grief. It is a great story for anyone who has lost someone close to them, and definitely helps you see that there is no right or wrong way to feel it, and while it may seem impossible, you can feel alive again. Great characters and great relationships. This book will have you laughing and crying throughout the whole thing.

Promise Me Sunshine
By: Cara Bastone

Ok Cara Bastone. I have a bone to pick with you. STOP writing perfect (for me) books. I seriously can't get anything in life done when you have a book released.

I fell in love with everyone in Ready or Not. Then I went and read your backlist. I finish Promise Me Sunshine and think, "Ok, I can now resume regular life" and BAM, there is the sneak peak of your next book.

Seriously, I need to work and stuff.

Once again, you have created characters I fell in love with, caused me to laugh out loud, have tears, and made me sigh a happy sigh when I finished the last page.

A beautiful and heart wrenching story of grief and the aftermath of losing a loved one. I laughed and cried and felt all of the feelings.

Thank you @thedialpress @prhaudio for a copy of this book.

Bastone knows how to write an emotional read and she got me going through all the emotions with Promise Me Sunshine. This book is about Lenny who ends up nannying a sweet girl and her uncle, Miles, lives upstairs. They form an unlikely friendship and Miles helps Lenny navigate through her grief.

Their friendship is a lot of fun and I loved the slow burn with their turn to lovers. Despite the story's focus on grief, there's so much hope and joy in the story. All of the supporting characters added so much depth.

Alex Fink knows how to turn up the emotions and I got teary a couple of times. I highly recommend this on audio.

This book was incredibly moving! I felt the depth of grief and the suffocating Lenny was experiencing. It was so well written and so deeply felt. The hope and redemption was poignant! I loved the development of the characters. I loved the friends to lovers development. The slow burn was perfect for this story!

Promise Me Sunshine was such a healing book. In the beginning, Lenny is reeling over the loss of her very best friend, Lou. Miles has experienced loss of his own, as well. He meets Lenny when she starts to nanny for his niece. He sees a kindred spirit in Lenny. They strike up a friendship where her becomes kind of like her grief coach. Over the course of the book, Lenny becomes stronger and comes to a place where she can love again. It’s beautiful & heartfelt & though it deals with heavy subject matter, it felt like a really cozy, soft book .I really liked it!

This romance was top tier! I loved the setting s as d the banter so much! It was cozy and so sweet! I adore this couple and the way the author translates emotions on page!!! Easy 5 stars!!

I loved this book. The relationship between Miles and the main character was so tender and sweet. I liked the yearning near the end. I will read everything this author writes.

I’d give this book 4.5 stars if Goodreads allowed half stars.

Thank you to NetGalley for the arc.

I really enjoyed this book. I don’t always love a really slow relationship build but it worked for Lenny and Miles. They had such a sweet relationship and everyone grieving needs a Miles buddy.

This book did leave me wanting more Ainsley and Reese though. And I know it’s not their story, but I think if we had had more of them and their relationship with Miles, I may have given this book five stars.

I enjoyed all the side characters, from Jericho to Lenny’s parents to the doorman - they added a lot to the story.

I always love Cara Bastone’s stories, especially her characters. This was a touching a story about a woman finding the meaning of life again after loosing her best friend. Miles was so patient and understanding of Lenny with all of her ups and downs. I really appreciate how well this book handled the topic of grief and how it truly is a roller coaster. A very enjoyable read.
Thank you to Netgalley for this arc copy! 🩷

I LOVED this book and didn’t want it to ever end! While very predictable, the way the characters were developed literally sucked me in from the beginning. I could literally feel the real, raw emotions being experienced by the characters the way this was written. I do feel the book ended slightly abruptly, and wish there was going to be a sequel!!

I could not put this book down! There were so many times I wanted to reach into the book and just hug the heck out of both Miles and Lenny. Their story is told in such a beautiful but relatable way, and is still one I think about almost daily weeks after finishing it. Finding a new normal in grief is incredibly difficult, and Bastone delivered spectacularly in showing just how layered that can be.

Lenny and Miles' story will really tug at your heart strings and you'll be rooting for them all the way to the end of the book! They are both dealing with grief, although Miles is farther along in the process than Lenny is. They meet about 5 years after her best friend Lou passes and she's still struggling. Miles is the sweetest guy to her and really helps her along. It was fun to see how they completed the list Lenny had and the humor throughout made me smile.

I read/listened to the audio and loved every minute of it! I love Cara Bastone's books and Alex Finke did a wonderful job narrating.

Many thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review. All opinions are my own.

Publication date: 4 March 2025