Promise Me Sunshine is a beautiful story about grief and healing. Loved the development of Lenny and Miles's relationship from friends to lovers, but also individually in their journeys of dealing with pain and loss, This is the second book that I have read by Cara Bastone that I absolutely loved. She writes great characters who are real and messy and lovable. She also writes a great romance (slow burn, friends to lovers, grumpy/sunshine if you're looking for the book's tropes). Can't wait to read whatever she does next. Thank you NetGalley and Random House for the ARC!

Cute book! I appreciate a romance novel that doesn't involve a stupid fight or misunderstanding. I also love when a book references a character from a previous book! I loved how real the. Characters were. I thought that Lenny's habit of making fantasy lives with men was great. My only complaint was that the book was a little slow for me..I read a lot and I need to be able to get through books pretty quickly.

Cara Bastone has truly solidified her place as one of the authors I will always read from! The way this story explores grief and its impact on not only the individual but also the people around them is a wonder to read. Please make sure to have tissues handy because this is a true tear-jerker and will pull on the heartstrings.

I received a complimentary copy of this book and all opinions expressed are mine.

This is a book about grief and how grief cripples and the healing that can occur if you believe. The book follows Lenny who is grieving her best friend she lost to cancer and she figured the best way is to avoid everyone she loves. Her outlet is temp jobs she does until her new job leads her to
Miles who strikes a deal she cannot resist. This is a story about healing; grief and compassion at its best.

I fell in love with Cara book with Ready or Not and I was super excited when I heard about Promise Me Sunshine. I was kind of iffy when I read the synopsis of the book, but I am so glad I picked it up. I don’t know how Cara does it, but I feel all the emotions when I am reading one of her books. I usually do not cry when I am reading but this book hit me hard. I actually felt the pain right alongside Lenny as she grieved at her best friend. Miles were wonderful if not a bit awkward. At first, I was not sure about Miles but as the story progressed, I got to see how much he struggled with connecting with the people around him. I loved how patient and caring he was with Lenny, and I felt for him especially because he was so misunderstood.

“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 […] And this journey through grief…It’s what we do for the great loves of our lives.”

A beautiful story about grief and how to navigate through it - would definitely need a box of tissue

☀️💛 Book Review: Promise Me Sunshine by Cara Bastone 💛☀️

A warm, feel-good romance that’s all about hope, healing, and finding light after the darkest storms. Promise Me Sunshine is the perfect read to remind you that love can shine through even the toughest times.

What it’s about:
After a painful loss, Becca returns home determined to rebuild her life—and her heart. When she reconnects with Sam, her childhood best friend and forever sunshine, old sparks reignite, showing her that sometimes, the brightest future is one you never saw coming.

Tropes You’ll Love:
🌻 Friends-to-lovers
💞 Small-town charm
🌈 Healing & second chances
☀️ Uplifting & heartwarming
✨ Sweet, emotional romance

Cara Bastone crafts a story that’s tender, authentic, and impossible to put down. If you love romances that warm your soul and make you believe in second chances, this one’s for you.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

#PromiseMeSunshine #CaraBastone #FriendsToLovers #HealingRomance #SmallTownLove #FeelGoodReads #Bookstagram #RomanceReaders #BookReview

I would give this book a million stars if I could! I think about these two constantly, even months after reading. Lenny and Miles were truly everything together. And I love the roles Ainsley and Reese played in their story too. Cara Bastone talked about grief in such a real and moving way in this book. I'm simply never getting over this book and I know I'll already be doing a re-read soon!

4.5 Stars
After loving Ready or Not last year I was excited for this one and it did not disappoint. I liked that both characters at the beginning were a little bit frustrating and not entirely likeable. They both were hiding themselves from the world in their own ways as they tried to work through their grief. Both characters were so well written, and you could feel the pain they were feeling. I enjoyed their journeys of working through their grief so much. I like that Bastone didn’t follow a lot of the typical romance tropes! I can’t wait to see what she writes next.

Thank you net galley for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

I am a huge fan of Cara Bastone. These characters in the beginning weren't entirely likable and both were hiding from the world in their own ways but through working through mutual grief they were able to be found and move forward. The author never writes typical romance and while the characters do engage in a fair bit of that, there is always so much more to them. I will be thinking about Lenny and Miles for a long time. Both characters were so well written they made you feel like they were real people in your life. And hallelujah for not following the typical romance tropes!!!!! I would not change anything about this book, no notes, read this book if you havent. I can not wait to see what else the author writes

This book was a great read about how to overcome grief after losing a love one.... made me very emotional... this is my second book i read from Cara Bastone and i can't wait for a next book release ❤️

The perfect book. It took me the longest time to read and the longest time to review and it is 100% because it destroyed me in the best way possible.

Promise Me Sunshine deals with grief in the most beautiful way. I haven’t lost a lot of people in my life, and it is one of my deepest fears to have to go through such heartbreak. I can only hope to find a fraction of the support Lenny gets from Miles. The story is filled with so much love and hope. They both had their issues and still tried to help the other as much as they could. I loved how Miles also encouraged Lenny to make new friends and to not only depend on him, the way he was always there for her while also making sure she could regain her independence. Their relationship developed so naturally, and they were so good at pushing each other while respecting the limits.

Read for:

💗Strangers to friends to lovers
☀️Grumpy x Sunshine
💞Loss of a best friend and grief
❤️‍🔥Slow burn

✨ I absolutely LOVED Promise Me Sunshine! ✨
This heartfelt romance about grief, healing, and newfound love had me laughing and crying. Lenny’s journey to complete her “Live Again” list and Miles’s gentle, grumpy-sunshine presence made for a beautifully emotional slow-burn. Bastone’s writing is tender, real, and full of warmth. A must read if you love friends-to-lovers stories with depth and soul.

if you’ve known grief, this book will wrap itself around you and squeeze you into a hug. grief is the hardest and most complicated emotion i’ve ever grappled with, and this book did a great job at showcasing every face it wears. the days that brushing your teeth is a battle, the angry days, the hopeless ones, the days of guilty joy.

as i was reading, i was so grateful that lenny had miles holding her hand through the grief of losing her best friend, making sure she ate, didn’t sleep on a staten island ferry bench all night (omg??), and tackled the bucket list she carried in her pocket.

mark my words: @carabastone is the one to watch. i’ve loved her books these past two years, and i think her voice is observant and funny and raw in its honesty. add her to your tbrs!!!

What a gut punch, in a genuinely gorgeous way. This book is barely a romance, but it is something much better. It's a story of healing with someone who cares for you and wants to see you grow by your side. Lenny and Miles are so built out and feel so real, I loved them both. The tears were so real.

Tropes include: friends to lovers, grumpy/sunshine, SLOW BURN, found family. This had all the ingredients for a yummy read.

I'll think about this two months from now, ten months, two years from now. I could be sitting on my couch, a re-run of Modern Family probably playing in the background somewhere, and I'll still think about this book and weep all over again. Cara Bastone packs a punch straight into your gut but at the same time, she manages to cool it off with the sweet, utterly gentle love story spread throughout Promise Me Sunshine. Lenny, our female main character, was a hot mess at times but she was MY hot mess and manages to encapsulate the turbulent emotions within grief's territory.

If your love language is acts of service, or you're someone who values words of affirmation and appreciates a partner who notices the smallest details of you, I give you Miles. He is the epitome of my perfect man. My standards have never been higher so thank you Cara.

This is a book to be remembered until the end of time.

Thank you to Random House Publishing Group and Netgalley for the ARC.

I loved this!! I picked this up on my self proclaimed lazy Sunday and could not stop reading. It was beautiful, sweet, honest, and heartwarming. The romance was slow which was much needed because this book thrived showing grief, friendship, and self-discovery. I cannot wait to read more by Cara Bastone. I highly recommend picking this one up!

If there is anything I learned through the years is that grief is different for everyone and is very personal. This book tore me open and then stitched me back together. A beautiful story of grief and loss and how that never really goes away but you learn to live with it and still allow yourself to thrive and love and live. Everything about this book was perfection. I really can’t think of anything I would change.

Thank you so much @prhaudio for this gifted audiobook!

“You need strong. You need someone who can stop you from fighting large men on the street. You need someone who can wade in and pull you out of the swamp if you need me to. And I can be that person.”

Review Title & Vibes:
I’m calling it - this will for sure be in my top reads for the year! I lost count of how many times I laughed out loud or how often I swooned/cried. I’m completely captivated by this beautiful story of love after loss.

Lenny is wildly hilarious with a crazy imagination. She’s faking it with no hope of being while after her best friend’s death. She bumps into Miles (the world’s biggest jerk) while nannying for Ainsley, his niece. They end up falling into a grief-companion/bucket-list meets help-with-becoming-a-better-uncle relationship. He pulls her from the depths of despair, and she gives him purpose.

The tension is delicious, and moments of pure delight as they conquer grief together. All of our side characters are gold, parents who smother with love and food, banter friends, forgiving sister, and perfectly adorable niece - I loved them all.

Everyone should read this story (but check your triggers)

Audio Notes:
ALEX FINKE IS A GENIUS! This performance was flawless! Every line, every character voice, every emotion - I have no notes. This is MUST LISTEN!

Rating: 5⭐️ | Spice: 3🌶️ | Audio: ♾️🎙️
What to Expect:
Friends to Lovers Grumpy Sunshine
Forced Proximity
Slow Burn
Hurt x Comfort
Cinnamon Roll MMC
Found Family
Exploration of Grief
Healing Journey
Single POV

Recommended to...  
EVERYONE who wants to laugh, cry, swoon, and melt - everyone who wants to add a book to their top reads of the year.

Narrated by @finkeboutit
Produced by @prhaudio