First and foremost thank you to netgalley and the publisher for the chance to read and review. All thoughts are my own.


This was such a beautiful story about grief and learning to live again without having to forget. Grief is something that most of us has experienced at least once in our life and in my experience grief is not linear, this story shows that. I loved seeing the growth in the main character and I really resonated with her journey throughout the story. The romance was just an enjoyable added bonus. I loved this book it was beautiful, it was complex, I laughed and I cried. I can not say enough good things, Please add this one to your TBR.

Goodness gracious. My heart has been ripped from my body. What is this feeling I am feeling?

Thank you NetGalley, Dial and Random House for the arc, out now!

One of my favorite things about romance books is the way everything comes together so beautifully. How through all the hardship and fallouts, there's that one person who will find you and keep you afloat, because they never want someone to experience that terrible thing again.

Lenny had the best character dialogue. I felt so seen and I laughed alongside her insane thoughts and sarcastic/dry humor. She was going through it. She really was. She lost her best friend, her soulmate, the one who was always there for her. How does one return to their previous life without their partner, without their life buddy? You kinda figure it out through the most absurd ways. You meet a man when you begin a babysitting gig, he ends up following you one day and finds out you have been sleeping in random places, and he cares for you in so many ways emotionally and mentally before anything else.

Miles made me question a lot. I truly loved his character like no other. He offered himself as Lenny's "call-at-anytime friend, because I went through grief before and it is heartbreaking, and if you don't have someone to pull you out, you will stay stuck," in exchange for Lenny teaching him how to be a better uncle to his niece (who Lenny is babysitting) and brother to his sister (his niece's mom). Shouldn't be too hard, right?

Grief isn't linear. You can't follow steps you see online, you can't follow a timeline, because truly it's going to hit you whenever it wants. Life truly sucks that way. I struggled a lot reading this book. I, like Lou, also had a best friend who passed from Cancer. However, I rarely had any time with my best friend, we were girls who met in VPK and she passed in 6th grade, a few years after we lost touch. Lou said and did so many things because it's the only thing her heart could trust.

"He walked into hell and dragged me back out," do you know how in love you have to be to do every single thing to ensure your partner doesn't harm themselves? Miles picked Lou off the ground, dusted her off, and handcuffed himself to her, because he didn't have anyone there for him when he was on the ground.

Another thing I adore about romance books? When the cover/title has so much meaning to the book and makes you gasp. Promise me Sunshine. A book about grief and finding the light at the very end of a dark tunnel. Anytime Lou was falling into a thunderstorm of emotions, Miles was her sunshine, making sure she stayed dry.

Cara, while this is my first book by you, I hope you know you've automatically become an auto-buy author. I am in awe of your writing and the way you write emotion. I can not wait to go back and read your other work <3

Absolutely loved this book - so funny and emotional, and I'm in awe of Cara and her writing!
Cannot praise this book enough.

Lenny and Miles had my heart in their hands and I could not put this book down. So much emotion and emphasis on grief and trauma and overcoming it. I particularly enjoyed the fact that love did not fix everything, but that it helped the both of them mend.

☀️ Promise Me Sunshine ☀️⁣
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⁣Genre- Contemporary Romance. ⁣
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⁣Length- 416 pages. ⁣
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⁣When was the last time you finished a book and went- “well that’s going to a favorite of the year?!” Because that’s exactly what happened to me last week when I finished this beautiful little book! ⁣
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⁣Promise Me Sunshine is my favorite kind of romance- highly emotional with a strong backstory that isn’t just about falling in love. Lenny, our main character, is struggling with life after her best friend passes away. Miles, our quiet and broody male lead, knows a lot about grief and decides to help Lenny learn to live again. ⁣
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⁣I laughed, I cried and I completely devoured this book! Read it please! ⁣
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⁣Five stars! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⁣
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⁣Thank you to @netgalley and the publisher for an ARC of Promise Me Sunshine. This one is out now!

I really loved this grief-tinged romance that’s all about healing while remembering. Cara Bastone does a great job at balancing the melancholy and sadness with humor and love.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher and NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

3.5/4 stars!!

absolutely loved this!! the way grief was explained and handled was so realistic.

thank you so much for my arc <3

This was my first book by the author but I feel like I can say this is her at her peak. I mean with lines like “He treats you well?” “Mom, he walked into hell and dragged me back out.” I mean, swoon. Lenny was such a well thought out character. The way she was written-there were so many layers to her and the portrayal of the depth of her loss of her best friend was so real and raw it was absolutely guttural. Lenny got to a place where where she didn’t feel like living anymore because she couldn’t deal with the absence of the person who was such a major influence on her life.
Then came Miles, our MMC. He’s cute, smart, wears glasses, is an introvert and is super kind and genuine. He’s the kind of person you want in your life because he’s loyal and dependable. And Miles was grieving someone too and he helped Lenny deal with her loss while walking through his.
Despite the topic being heavy, the banter between Lenny and miles was light and fun and the way their romance slowly weaved it’s way throughout the story was so satisfying because it didn’t feel like it was just thrown into the mix. It felt like they were each others saving grace.
If you don’t read this one this spring, you’re missing out on something special.
Thanks to Dial Press Trade and NetGalley for this eArc in exchange for my review.

🌞Book Review🌞
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Thank you so much @prhaudio for the advanced copy of Promise me sunshine. I’m a big fan of her writing, and I was so honored to get an advanced copy! This book was super sweet but it wasn’t a perfect read for me! I wanted to fall in love with Lenny and Miles, I thought he was a total dream boat. I wanted more of Miles story and less of Lenny, I unfortunately didn’t love her character. Lenny was a bit insufferable but this one had a really deep premise. Just missed the mark on the character development for me a bit.
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Rating- ⭐️⭐️⭐️
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Summary- Lenny’s a bit of a mess at the moment. Ever since cancer stole away her best friend, she has been completely lost. She’s avoiding her concerned parents, the apartment she shared with her best friend, and the ever-laminated “live again” list of things she’s promised to do to survive her grief.

The only gigs she can handle right now are temporary babysitting jobs, and she just landed a great one, helping overworked, single mom Reese and her precocious daughter, Ainsley. The only catch: Ainsley’s uncle, Miles, always seems to be around, and is kind of. . . a walking version of the grumpy cat meme. Worse – he seems to be able to see right through her.

Surprisingly, Miles knows a lot about grief and he offers Lenny a proposition. He’ll help her complete everything on her “live again” list if she’ll help him connect with Ainsley and overcome his complicated relationship with Reese. Lenny doubts anything can fill the void her best friend has left behind, but between late night ferry rides, midnight ramen, and a well-placed shoulder whenever she needs it, Miles just won’t stop showing up for her.
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In the book, Lenny’s go to spot was the Staten Island Ferry.
QOTD- what’s your go to comfort spot ? For me it’s the park, my garden, a bookstore, or TJ Maxx/Marshalls/Homegoods 🤣.

Thank you to the publisher and netgalley! This was a hopeful story of finding yourself after grief. Lenny is grieving after the loss of her former Lou. When she takes a short term nanny position she has no idea how much it will change her life.

This book was literal perfection. I’ve always been a friends to lovers enthusiast, and this book is proof of why. It also deals with grief in such a beautiful way.

More than anything in this book, I loved Lenny. She’s fun, loyal, and understanding. She is definitely eccentric, but in the best way possible. You don’t know how many times I burst out laughing because of something she said or did 😂. And despite her fun personality being displayed so well, the grief of losing her best friend is so obvious in Lenny’s behavior. Seeing her grow and learn to work through the grief had me completely rooting for her.

Miles was also such a lovable character. He’s introverted and awkward, so when he meets the fun, outgoing Lenny, we get to see a lot of his personality. Miles is also someone who’s experienced grief, and I love how he and Lenny showed that people deal with loss differently. And I absolutely adored his relationship with Lenny. They were constantly there for one another and knew each other so, so well. They were the definition of “to be loved is to be known.”

The side characters were also lovable. Ainsley was the cutest, and I loved Reese’s growth. Lenny’s relationship with her parents was so sweet 🥹. Jericho, Rica, and Jeffy were such fun and loving friends to both Lenny and Miles.

I cried while reading this. You would think I cried in a very, very emotional scene, likely with Lenny and Miles. Wrong. Very wrong. It wasn’t even a SCENE that made me cry. It was literally just a moment where I realized how Lenny was feeling and who she would want to talk to about it. Yes, there was a scene involving the other person afterwards, but the actual scene didn’t make me cry 😭. I can’t say more without spoilers, but 70% of the way into the book, I put the book down and cried. If I am emotionally invested enough in a book to cry, then that’s a great book.

Overall, this was such a well-written and beautiful book. I loved it so much and will definitely be reading Cara Bastone’s other works.

PROMISE ME SUNSHINE by Cara Bastone ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ @prhaudio and @netgalley review! Wading through grief, friendships, and moving on.
Phew! This was lovely, albeit a few unbelievable parts. I think going into this knowing it's less of a romance and more about a girl figuring out how to love after she loses her best friend to cancer. Bring tissues, especially if you plan on doing the audiobook! The narrator really plays into the emotion in her voice.

Lenny is a bit of a mess, she's avoiding her apartment, her parents, and anything that will remind her of her best friend Lou. Lenny's life is turned upside down when she meets a grumpy stranger who swears he can help her live again.

Perfect for you if you love...

•books that make you cry
•exploring grief
•NYC bucket list

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Spice: 🌶️🌶️ slow burn
Mood: 🍫

#bookstagram #bookreview #audiobook #ro

I gave this book 3.5 stars! The main character, Lenny, annoyed me so much. I’m sorry to say! She was suppose to be quirky but just felt like she was obnoxious most of the time. I liked Miles, but didn’t believe that he really fell for her that fast and wanted to help her out of her grief, despite him having his own troubles. I loved the relationship between Lenny and Ainsley. I loved the friends, Jeff’s, Jericho and Richa. Wish we had more of them. I would recommend this book and will read more from her.

This book has firmly established Cara Bastone as an automatic-buy author for me. I knew this one was going to hurt—and it did, but in the best way possible.

After losing her soulmate and best friend, Lenny is struggling to piece her life back together, with no clear idea of how to start. Consumed by grief, she’s overwhelmed and uncertain of how to move forward, questioning whether she’s capable of living without Lou.

While taking on odd babysitting jobs to pass the time, Lenny meets Miles, the uncle of one of her nannying clients. Like Lenny, Miles has also experienced profound grief. Further along in his own journey, he sets out to help Lenny process her loss while gently guiding her toward the possibility of living again. Miles helps Lenny face her emotions head-on by sharing his own experiences and, more importantly, by showing up—every single time. Though I’m not typically a fan of slow-burn romances, the care and respect Miles demonstrates in pursuing a relationship only when it’s right for Lenny is simply heartwarming.

This book is beautifully crafted. The way it captures Lenny’s alternating moments of joy and overwhelming grief, guilt, and sadness is written with such sincerity and depth. It challenged my perceptions of what it means to "move on." How does someone survive in a world without their person? How do you explain the love of your life to people who never met them? How can you navigate a city full of people having their best days while you’re enduring your worst? How do you keep going when you feel like you shouldn’t even be here? And how do you do it day after day with no reprieve?

This book was gut-wrenching, yet also incredibly funny. Lenny’s internal monologue and her banter with Miles were hilarious and provided moments of much-needed relief.

BRB, going to tell my best friend soulmate how much she means to me.

A huge thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing for the advanced copy of this book!

I was on the brink of tears multiple times throughout the book. A great book on grief and finding a way to live after losing someone you loved. I loved everything about this book.

Thank you Penguin Random House for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Ready or Not was the first book of Cara Bastone I've read, and it was an easy 5 stars for me, so I was super excited to read this. This book covers the heavy theme of grief (loss of best friend, off page but heavily focused on) but, it's handled so well. Lenny is struggling with the loss of her best friend from cancer. She takes a short term nanny gig and meets Miles. He is standoffish and rude, but she can't quite figure him out. He ends up offering to help her with her "live again" list if she can help him connect with his niece, Ainsley. Slowly, Miles and Lenny develop a friendship as they both begin to work through their grief.
This is my favorite friends to lovers I have EVER read. Lenny is a quirky, but real, FMC and Miles has a grumpy exterior but underneath- a heart of gold. This book is heavy, so I recommend going into it when you are in a good place, but it is absolutely fantastic.

Cara Bastone is officially an autobuy author for me. I bought a trophy copy!

"Every time I fall in love with you, there's lightening"

I don't think this book was for me. I'm just not a fan of the author's writing style, I think. It very much read like "this happened, and then this happened, and then this happened, and here's our texts." I didn't feel any chemistry between the FMC and MMC either. There was just something about the premise that wasn't believable to me. I ended up not finishing it.

I don't know how it was possible, but this book was a joy to read even though the central theme was grief. Cara Bastone has the incredible gift of creating a strong female lead who is honest, hilarious, and complex. Paired with Alex Finke's vocal talent, the audiobook is perfection. This book took me on an emotional roller coaster paired with humor and I loved it. Switching back and forth between the audio and digital versions was a treat, and I highly recommend any version of this story!

Quick recap without spoilers:
Living in NYC and making money as a babysitter, Lenny floats from one job to the next, trying her hardest to avoid returning to her apartment. When her best friend and solemate, Lou, died of cancer, Lenny couldn’t bear returning. After accepting a job with an adorable first grader living with her single mom, Lenny meets Miles, the almost-live-in grumpy uncle. Sadly understanding Lenny’s grief, Miles suggests he become her grief counselor and sidekick. The rest is romance history.

Thank you to Random House Publishing Group and NetGalley for the advance copy. I will place my review on my Instagram page and Goodreads.

Oh Cara Bastone, never stop writing PLEASE. I absolutely adored this book. Lenny's exploration of grief was so well written and I loved the way Miles was supporting her through it. I have found that some romance books tend to lean a lot into women's fiction because they do not balance the romance into the book as well as I would like. I was so happy that this romance perfectly balanced Lenny's journey and the romance between her and Miles. His way of understanding her was truly beautiful. I also related heavily to his bluntness and the way that he shows that he cares. I would absolutely recommend this book.

I fell in love with every character in this book! Cara Bastone has beautifully written an emotional and sweet story. The moments of grief shared between the characters were so tender and I felt myself tearing up on numerous occasions. And Miles, the man that you are!! This book was equal parts heartbreaking and hilarious and I loved every second! Favorite romance book so far this year! 5⭐️

Thank you NetGalley for the E-Arc in exchange for an honest review!

People will pick this up and think it's a cute romcom...which yes it is, but honestly it's mainly a book about grief and it's BEAUTIFUL! Cara Bastone has hit another homerun with book! If you like your romance books with a dose of heavier topics this is perfect...because of that I think this would be a good book for someone who wants to try the romance genre out for the first time! Shout out to netgalley for the ARC!