5⭐️ or maybe even 6 😂
I started this book over a month ago and had to hit pause because, honestly, some of this is really heavy. This book deals with grief like no book I have ever read. It’s raw and incredibly real. If you have grieved a loved one, this one is going to hit you hard, no doubt about it. But it is SUCH a beautiful story of healing and learning to live again after loss. I cried, and I laughed, and sometimes I laughed while I was sobbing. I just can’t express how much I loved this book and its characters. Lenny and Miles are just my favorite 🥹

This is the second book by Cara that I received as an arc, and I have absolutely loved everything by her. She’s hilarious, and she writes with her whole heart. Can’t wait to read more in the future.

Thank you to Dial Press and Netgalley for sending me an arc of this beautiful story.

I have no idea how to move on from this book. Seriously. It completely wrecked me in the best way possible.

At its core, this book is a beautifully raw exploration of love, loss, and trying to find your way through both when you feel totally unequipped. Bastone captures grief and healing so honestly that I couldn't help but feel every ounce of heartache/confusion/guilt right along with the characters. Grief is a great unifier in that way - maybe you won't relate exactly to this sort of loss, but to be human, is to know loss in some way.

Of course, among the heavy, there was light! Lenny and Miles...from strangers to the briefest of enemies(?) to friends to best friends to "oh my god when will they put me out of my misery" lovers; it's a real slow burn treat! Their story is one that sneaks up on you, one that makes you hold your breath, and would probably have even the most stoic of readers kicking their feet in anticipation.

This book is tender, messy(not a mess, IYKYK), and full of so much heart. It’s the kind of story that lingers long after you’ve turned the last page, leaving you staring at the ceiling, wondering how to function. I was an oscillating fan of laughter and tears from one chapter(sometimes line) to the next. There are a few threads I would've loved to tug on a bit more, but that's likely the greed speaking - 400+ pages went by way too fast, and I'd read 400+ more if I could.

All this to say: if you’re in the mood for something that will break you and put you back together, Promise Me Sunshine is a must-read.

*Thank you to NetGalley and RandomHouse for the E-Arc!*

This book was a journey of grief and self discovery. It showed how important platonic love and romantic love is. I am amazed at how Cara Bastone was able to write this realistic characters who feel like real life people. Absolutely ♾️ 🌟. A must read, especially for anyone going through the grieving process. Thank you Cara Bastone, Random House Publishing, and NetGalley for the ARC! My review was posted to GoodReads on 3/10/2025.

Amazing story, loved the friends to lover tropes, had me having a lot of emotions. I just loved it.

Friendship, grief and love are on a date with this book.

I was so pumped to read this bc I loved Ready or Not soooo much. This one felt so different from that one. I don’t feel like this could be considered romance. At its core, Promise Me Sunshine really a story of navigating and learning to live with grief, with a little love story baked in.

It wasn’t a very happy book. It was sad and there are definitely a lot of rough spots which you should be aware of if death/grief triggers you. There were some logistical things that did not make sense to me. Everyone definitely grieves differently and I think this book solidified that for me because the way Lenny handled her grief was very different from how I think I would handle it. So unfortunately, I couldn’t really connect with that. Other than that, I also felt like Lenny was pretty immature and the things she said and did mostly annoyed me.

Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think it’s a bad book! I just don’t think it was for me. Still a very big fan of Cara Bastone and excited to read her next book, The Naked Eye, after reading the teaser!

One of my new favorite books???

I was absolutely blown away by this love story. It's the ultimate friends to lovers.

Cara has a way of writing that feels as if you're listening to someone telling a story.

Thank you to The Dial Press and NetGalley for the early copy.

∞⭐️

This book is just perfect, I loved every page! I laughed, I cried, I swooned, this story is a beautiful story of grief, friendship and love.

Lenny is in the depths of grief after losing her best friend. Miles is the uncle to the little girl Lenny is a nanny for. He recognizes the grief in Lenny, and offers to help guide her through it in exchange for help relating to his niece.

I saw so much of my younger self in Lenny. I have lived that kind of grief and know what it’s like to struggle to put one foot in front of the other. Lenny was so funny, and caring. I would be laughing about something she said or did on one page and then crying on the next when her grief struck. I want to be friends with Lenny.

Cara Bastone can write a book boyfriend and Miles has made it to the top of my list. The way he takes care of Lenny is so sweet, he makes sure she eats, that she’s warm, that she has a safe place to sleep. He wanted to relate to his niece and it was so sweet to see him succeed with the help of Lenny.

The progression from strangers to friends to lovers was such a slow burn and again I loved it so much. I honestly could’ve read another 100 pages of this book.

Thus was such a heartbreaking yet heartwarming story of grief, loss and love after. Cara’s writing is super quirky, relatable and fub. Definitely a slow slow burn but I love that personally.

Tysm @prhaudio for the #gifted listening copy and @thedialpress for the early reading copy

I started this one on a walk last week and I have been OBSESSED ever since. If you can, I highly, highly recommend you read with your ears with this one. The narrator Alex Finke is phenomenal. If i could bold that and underline it I would. She brings the story to life in a way that is so endearing and I felt transformed on into the page with the characters. I have no idea what else she narrates but I will be looking into that immediately!

This is a standalone, slow burn romance that is going to get you in all your feels. It is for anyone that has ever struggled with grief and loss with the perfect balance of light and dark and serious and funny.

Lenny moved up there as one of my favorite characters of the year!

4.5 stars

I knew that after reading Ready or Not, I would pick up any book Cara Bastone writes. I lean towards dual POV romance books with deep character development and have a bit more spice. Promise Me Sunshine is not something I would usually love but once I picked it up, I couldn't put it down.

Lenny's best friend/soulmate Lou passed from cancer and nothing was ever the same. The main concept of this book is grief and getting through it. Enter Miles, who offers to help Lenny complete a checklist that Lou wrote for life after she passed.

Make sure to have a box of tissues when you read the book! This story is beautiful and deep and moving and will have you all in your feels.

Thank you so so SO much to Dial Press Trade and NetGalley for providing me this ARC.

Oh my God. This book had everything. The slow burn is so what I needed and something that I haven’t seen in a book in the contemporary genre in such a long time. The way Cara writes dialogue??? Is truly something to behold. Lenny and Miles have my whole heart, they’re vulnerability, they’re authenticity, their banter????!!! Oscar award winning shit, right there.

Truly, this book had me in tears. I loved seeing the development of Lenny as a character. I loved her relationship with Reese and Ainsley. Don’t even get me started on Miles. He is the perfect man. He is vulnerable. There is no toxic masculinity in that man. I am so happy that they found each other.

This book truly is a top three favorite of the year for me. This was such a delight to read, and I cannot wait to read red or not by Cara and oh my God this was just everything I wanted in the contemporary romance book. It was just this was this was so great. I am truly obsessed And I just I want more!!!

*slight spoilers ahead*

This is, without a doubt, one of the most beautiful books I've ever read. An open lover letter to soulmates of all kind, but specifically platonic. The way Cara writes about grief is just so true to how it's felt for me in the past, that it really did hurt to read, but it was a really nice kind of hurt -- grief hurts, but it only hurts because you remember all of the love you have for the person you're missing and how can love not be beautiful?

Lenny's fear of feeling like she's never going to be able to live again without Lou but not wanting to heal from the grief she feels from her loss because she feels like it means she's forgetting her... ouchie. Not wanting to forget how this person smelled, their quirks, the sound of their voice, the secret jokes between you two, the language you've created with each other. I think the way Cara wrote about healing and how it looked for Lenny, was just so brilliant. It doesn't mean letting go, because I think no matter how much better you feel everyday, grief just sort of becomes an extension of you, but it manifests itself in better ways over time. In healthier ways.

Okay, I feel like I talk about grief a lot here (also, I'm becoming Iqra (my Lou) -- everything I've been consuming is filled with grief), so let's get to the other good stuff about this book: Miles and Ainsley. He learned a choreographed dance for his niece because she was sad her mom wouldn't make it to her event. HE LEARNED A CHOREOGRAPHED DANCE. HE. DOESN'T. DANCE. Do you get it?????? Let's talk more about Miles: His love language is obviously acts of service. Lenny hasn't eaten today? He's feeding her. Lenny can't sleep in her apartment anymore? He offers the empty apartment he still pays rent on, Lenny doesn't want to get off the ferry to sleep in a bed? Well, he's sleeping on the damn ferry too, I guess. Need me a freak like him. #AMEN.

I love this book so much. It feels like it's scrubbed me raw or peeled back my skin and forced me to generate new flesh or like it's broken me open in the best way. Please read it (if you haven't already. Actually, re-read it if you have anyway).

Xo

Literally infinity and beyond stars, I don’t know what Cara Bastone put into this book, but I’m here for it. This was absolutely breathtaking, one of the most beautiful and moving stories I’ve ever read. From start to finish, it was perfection. Lenny and Miles were perfection. I was either crying, laughing, or melting into a puddle on each page.

This book captures the raw, messy reality of grief while also showing that healing is possible, even from the deepest pain. Every page resonated with me, drawing me in with its honesty. The balance between emotional depth and comfort was flawless and executed to perfection.

Lenny’s character was so relatable, and I felt her pain every step of the way. Her bond with her best friend was so strong that I even mistook her for a sister at times. The way Bastone handled grief, giving it the weight and space it deserved while showing the slow process of healing, was beautifully done. Miles, sweet introverted Miles, was such a steady presence. His grief was acknowledged, and his tenderness toward Lenny and his niece was beautiful. The way he helped Lenny find her way back was deeply moving.

The romance was slow burn, tender, and natural. Everything about it was perfect. CHAPTER 32? I highlighted the whole thing. The only thing this book is missing? An epilogue! I need it like yesterday and that ten-years-later scene. Please Cara, Please, I am begging.

This was my first book by Cara Bastone, and I’ll absolutely be reading more. If you're looking for a light, fluffy romance, this isn’t it. But if you want something deeply emotional and healing, this book is all that and more.

This book feels like a warm hug — which feels almost impossible given the heavy topics it tackles. But if anyone can do the impossible, it’s Cara Bastone. She somehow weaves humor and comfort into a story about losing the person you’re closest to in the world, which is something all too many people understand on a personal level. The beautiful prose and imagery — a signature of Cara’s given her poetry background — brings the story to life that much more. Lenny and Miles, and even the supporting characters, all feel so fully formed and downright human. It’s easy to forget you’re reading something fictional when you’re lost in this story, and I found myself wanting to go shopping with Lenny, stand out on the docks near Battery Park with her and Miles, go on camping trips with the whole gang. I can’t say enough wonderful things about Cara and this book. Thank you Netgalley for the eARC!!

It’s an absolutely well written romance novel which doesn’t only dwelled in the love between Lenny and Miles but also Lenny and Lou and all the people she met along the way that helped her live and heal in a way or another. Cara’s book writing ability has made me her fan.

Cara Bastone has crafted a deeply moving and beautifully tender story in Promise Me Sunshine, a novel that perfectly balances grief, healing, and the unexpected ways love finds us.


Lenny is lost in the wake of her best friend’s passing, struggling to move forward while pretending she has it all together. Enter Miles, a grumpy, emotionally guarded man who, despite his initial reluctance, becomes her unlikely companion in navigating loss and rediscovering life. Their deal to help each other, Lenny completing her “live again” list and Miles repairing his strained family relationship sets the stage for a slow-burn romance that is as heartwarming as it is emotionally rich.


A heartfelt, must read page turner! 🩷


Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for the ARC!

I cannot say enough good things about this book. I am a romance lover through and through but I also hold it to such a high standard because I know what an important genre it is and I want it to be used well. This book explores grief, depression, heartache, and loss all while being woven with a beautiful story of friendship, resilience, and, yes, romance.

Romance is such a great catalyst for stories that deal with life‘s harder experiences. So often we are fed the lie that we cannot love another person until we learn to love ourselves. This book is a beautiful example of how caring for another person doesn’t have a prerequisite of caring for oneself. I loved the exploration of relationships not always being a 50-50 split. That we are sometimes so dependent on another person or vice versa that it feels like there’s no effort coming on one end is such a difficult place to be in any relationship. But how beautiful when you can come out on the other side and recognize that depth of love.

Lenny and Miles were the sweetest, most fun pair and their complementing personalities rounded each other out so well. The progression of their relationship was delightful and *minor spoiler* no third act breakup was a breath of fresh air.

Following the death of her best friend, Lenny isn’t following through on her promise to live again. When she takes a temporary babysitting job, the last thing she is expecting is Uncle Miles, who is rather grumpy and seemingly always there. But first impressions aren’t always right, and when Lenny has a bit of a public meltdown, it’s Miles who is there to help her out. Miles has also lost loved ones and he’s willing to help Lenny tackle her learn to live again list if she will help him connect with his niece.

This book was so good. I fell in love with both main characters and, hello, I’m their number one fan. I’m fortunate enough to have never had a loss like Lou, but Lenny’s grief felt so tangible that at times it felt like I had. It actually hurt to read at times. Having to exist following a loss that impacts you so deeply is hard enough, but Lenny fully isolates herself and loses herself in the process. Miles understands what she’s going through and helps her work through her grief. He is encouraging, patient, and just so incredibly kind and caring. Even though this was a heavy book, I found myself laughing more than once. Lenny is just so funny despite her sadness. There were so many silly and ridiculous moments to break up the heaviness and add a bit of levity.

Thank you so much to Dial and NetGalley for a review copy. Please read this book!

4.5/5 ⭐️ Cara Bastone is becoming one of my favorite authors! I loved the banter with the two characters, especially from Lenny. She was so chaotic in the most endearing with. I loved the work they were both doing on themselves before they focused on their relationship. The way they moved through friendship and fell for each other just felt so natural. Cara is a queen when it comes to relationship development! I highly recommend this read.

Read If You Like:
- Slow-burn romance
- Friends to Lovers
- Found family
- Grief and healing themes
- Emotional depth

Lenny Bellamy is drowning in grief after losing her best friend, Lou, to cancer. Struggling to move forward, she takes a job babysitting for Reese, a single mother, and her young daughter, Ainsley. Through them, she meets Miles Honey—Ainsley’s gruff yet caring uncle, who understands loss in a way few others do.

When Miles proposes a deal—he’ll help Lenny complete the “Live Again” list she made with Lou if she helps him reconnect with his newly found family—she agrees, setting them both on a path toward healing, understanding, and something neither expected: love.

This story is such a beautifully written exploration of grief, resilience, and the ways people can pull each other out of the darkness.

Lenny’s emotional journey is raw and realistic, making every step forward feel earned. The way she covers her grief with jokes and distraction but then is slammed hard by the unexpected was such a well done portrayal of the way grief just doesn’t move in a lateral way, but like riding a rollercoaster in the pitch black where you can’t tell what will come next on the ride… which makes the title so much more powerful!

Miles, with his quiet strength and hidden wounds, is the perfect balance to her struggles, and their slow-building connection is filled with tenderness and depth. I truly loved how through Lenny, Miles is able to truly be part of his newly found family of Reese and Ainsley. Ainsley’s presence brings warmth and lightness to the grief both Miles and Lenny carry.

The romance unfolds gradually, as a well done friends to lovers slow burn, truly allowing both characters the space to process their pain and find hope again.

This is more than just a love story—it’s about rediscovering joy, taking chances, and finding people who help you move forward when you’re stuck in place.

Thank you so much to PRH for my gifted eARC and my ALC!