An absolute return to old Bastone form. I loved everything about this book! It dealt with grief so well and the romance was awesome. I heartily recommend and can't wait to read the next.

Huge thanks to NetGalley and Random House for the ARC

♾️⭐️

This book is the definition of smashing your heart in a million little pieces and slowly putting it back together in the most loving and beautiful ways. This is another book that will stay with me forever. 🤍

This book isn’t just any romance book. Yes, there is a definite slow burn that happens. And while it is so magical to read about and is so swoon worthy the best of ways. This book is about grief, healing, self discovery, & navigating relationships. The way Cara writes in about grief in this book is truly phenomenal. It’s so raw. And so real.

Lenny and Miles were both 2 grieving souls who truly helped each other in the best of ways. Miles helped Lenny heal, grow and find herself again. MILES WAS THAT MAN. 😍“Mom, he walked into hell and dragged me back out” I mean..this man was a man of his word and always showed up. No matter what! Lenny helped Miles with his own grief while also navigating new relationships with his family. She was everything he didn’t know he needed. The way she was always there for everyone but yet waited u til she was alone to grieve again. I just wanted to give her a big hug through the whole book. 🥹

Seeing the growth in these 2 even without the romance was remarkable. Add in the slow burn of their romance and this book was pure perfection.

Listen, just go read this book asap!

Thank you so much Dial Press, Net Galley and Cara for the arc!

Pub date: Mar 04 2025 (Goodreads /Instagram)

Cara Bastone is my personal discovery of the year. Her books are so cozy, emotional, captivating, and lifelike. There are no wealthy millionaires or Instagram models here — just stories about ordinary people who love, lose, and find the strength to rise and live on.

This book is about loss and overcoming grief. It makes you laugh one moment and cry the next. This story makes you fall in love with itself and its characters. I was deeply engaged watching the characters interact and grow as individuals.

Tropes:
- grumpy & sunshine
- slow burn
- strangers to friends to lovers

Triggers:
- loss of a loved one (off-page).

4.5 ⭐️
The audio narrator, Alex Finke, brings this story and its characters to life x10! I highly suggest listening along while you read.
This turned out to be such a sweet slow burn romance. Lenny is grieving over the recent loss of her soul sister when she meets Miles who will stop at nothing to help her through it. He has gone through grief himself in the past so he recognizes it. The process of healing after a loss is not a straight path but more like a roller coaster with its ups and downs and the author portrayed it in her character’s perfectly.
I love the connection and banter between the two MCs. Lenny doesn’t even really question why Miles is so socially awkward which is GOLD. She just accepts him for who he is and when he asks for help she gives him advice and nudges him in the right direction. & Miles is such a sweet protective golden retriever. I love that for them. 💕
Sometimes it felt like Lenny was in her early adult years instead of 28 but I loved her all the same. Her personality is so lively and wild and carefree. Cara really knows how to write likable characters. The side characters were the perfect cherry on top.

“You call this swimming? This is called slowly perishing”

This book was lovely and I really appreciate how/what Cara Bastone writes and how she explores more serious topics within a more classic romcom book. Miles was so kind and I can appreciate how someone demolished and made helpless for a time by grief would then want to step up when he sees it happening to someone else. Lenny stuck a little bit less for me - she had one habit/quirk that, while I understand in hindsight was a way of coping with grief, really took me out of the story every time I read it. And, obviously, trigger warning for loss of a best friend to cancer. Liked it!

WOWOWOWOWOWOWOW

This book was....amazing. I am forever changed by Lenny and Miles. While the book is a romance, it is about grief and I think Cara navigated this sensitive topic which such ease, grace, wit, humor, aka all the adjectives.
I'll admit I was a bit hesitant going into this book because I didn't LOVE Ready or Not, but I had heard such great things about Promise Me Sunshine so I was like ok let's give it a spin. AND BOY AM I GLAD I DID.

Starting off strong, Lenny is literally just like me fr, and I think I love books even more when I relate so strongly to the characters that I'm like: was the author in my brain when writing this. Because same. Lenny was just so damn relatable and funny and- I could go on but you just have to read for yourself and see :)

Anyways, to conclude I thoroughly enjoyed myself and can't wait to see what Ms. Bastone cooks up next:)))

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing for an ARC in exchange for my honest review!

After being invited to read this in (9/24), I finally decided to read this - 2/26/25. It sounded so depressing and I did lose a best friend in 2003 and didn’t want to brought down to the level I feared this book might take me to.

But I loved this, I loved Lenny, Ainsley, Miles, Reese, Lenny’s new friends, Lenny’s parents ❤️. This was beautiful and poignant, showcasing raw grief, as well as lasting love.

Full recommendation from me.


**Everytime I read the name “Jeffy”, I was transported back to the 80’s, reading the comics in my parents’ daily newspaper subscription, The Family Circus, to be precise.



Thank you to Dial Press Trade Paperback and NetGalley for the DRC

4.5⭐️

What a beautiful, heartbreaking story, in the BEST way possible. I remember reading Ready Or Not last year and being so peacefully consumed by Cara’s writing. She is able to write deep, meaningful stories that feel like healing. You can’t help but plant your feet next to these characters and embark alongside them on their journeys. And this book does it so perfectly.

Grief is such a universal feeling, yet different for everyone. I found it so strikingly beautiful how these characters, Lenny & Miles, balance each other out and showcase all sides of grief, the good, the bad and the in-between.

“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 going and going.”

I wish I could articulate in more words how impactful stories like these are and how IMPORTANT it is as well. Not only because of the romance but because of the relatability of it all.

If you love slow-burn, friends-to-lovers, and the occasional, out of pocket one-liners, this is an amazing love story and I highly recommend. Note: this book contains grief involving the death of a best friend but is also about the love between these friends and how that carries on even after death.

I’d like to thank NetGalley & Dial Press trade back for the ARC in exchange of my honest review.

RUNNING to the bookstore literally right now (because it’s finally out) and because it’s just too beautiful of a cover to not have displayed on my bookshelf.

📖 Title: Promise Me Sunshine-a standalone

✍🏾 Author: Cara Bastone- I read Ready or Not and gave it 5 ⭐

📅Publication date: 3/4/25 | Read 3/4/25

📃 Format: eBook 416 pgs.

Genre:
*Contemporary Romance
*Adult Fic

Tropes:
*a pact-"live again" list & connect w/ sister and niece
*friends to lovers
*found family
*family drama
*forced proximity
*slow burn romance
*grumpy H
*mental health

👆🏾POV: 1st person-Lenny

⚠️TW: grief, death of loved ones, ovarian cancer-not h/H

🌎 Setting: New York

Summary: Lenny is just existing after her BFF's death six months ago. She works as a nanny and takes on short term jobs to keep herself afloat. At her new assignment, Reese-a single mother with a daughter Ainsley, she meets Reese's half-brother Miles. He quickly identifies her hurt and grieving and becomes her support system while he gets to know his sister and niece.

👩🏾 Heroine: Helen "Lenny" Bellamy, 28

👨🏾 Hero: Miles Honey

🎭 Other Characters:
* Lou Merritt-Lenny's BFF (deceased)
* Reese-Miles half-sister-they have the same father
* Ainsley-Miles's niece
*Carp Hollis-Miles and Reese's famous musician father

🤔 My Thoughts: This was a highly emotional story that hit close to home. I am a cancer survivor who still struggles 4 years after my diagnosis. I went through all the emotions, listened to my family and friends concerns, and battled getting out of bed every day. I wish I had a Miles in my life like Lenny to bring me back from the edge. Even though sad, I enjoyed this book, 5⭐ for sure!

Rating: 5/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

🙏🏾Thanks to NetGalley, Random House Publishing Group- Random House| Dial Press, and Cara Bastone for this ARC! I voluntarily give my honest review, and all opinions are my own.

5 shining stars for this perfect book! I am absolutely obsessed. The portrayal of grief was so good- and from a different viewpoint from what I have typically read. The best friend connection was a great change from a romantic connection. Lennie and Miles— I adored them both! Especially Miles. The way he scared for her— swoon worthy. 10/10 read this one!

Whew. I had a time reading this book. There was just so much emotion packed into it. While it's a little whimsical and romantic like the other Cara books I'd read this one dealt with a much harder topic as well. Grief.

Grieving the loss of her best friend, sweetheart Lenny takes a small babysitting job. It's perfect, Lenny doesn't have to totally commit to. Because committing to something so big right now is just too hard. Going back to the life they shared? Incomprehensible.

With this new job also comes the uncle, Miles. Who's immediately wondering where Lenny came from and if she's even right for the job... since Lenny is by all accounts looking like a mess.

Before he knows it though, Miles sees the real Lenny. And offers to help her out. Can he though, when Lenny's heart is gone?

As someone who's also suffered some grief this book is spot on. I felt as Lenny felt. I hurt when she hurt and I cheered when she started feeling some light. Cara grasped what it means to feel loss really well. Too well, I felt so emotional reading it!

But while this is a book about overcoming loss, there's also a lot of levity too. Lenny is a free spirt sweetheart who flips straight laced Miles on his head. I enjoyed the closeness, the banter and the falling.

I hope to read more in this tiny universe she's created!

Wow, I wasn't expecting to love this book as much as I did. Cara Bastone strikes the perfect balance in romance for me: there's humor and romcom vibes, but also deeply personal growth with both heavy and heartwarming moments. I love a romance that can make me laugh and cry in the same chapter.

The main character in this book is unique, quirky, and funny, but also emotionally intelligent and aware. I loved her journey through grief with Miles’s help. I think their relationship developed realistically with not instantly falling for each other, but instead relying on each other through their friendship and becoming closer and closer. We don't all need (or have resources for) a therapist to help us through grief. Sometimes the most important, impactful people in our lives are friends and loved ones. This book is truly a new favorite for me because it felt so meaningful and realistic.

Writing Aesthetic/Style: 5
Plot/Movement: 5
Character Development: 5
Overall: 5

Thank you, Random House, for the arc!

Content: open door (one detailed and the rest vague)

if you are looking to experience grief, love, and healing while learning to find the meaning in life then this is the book for you

the journey that Bastone takes us on is not for the faint of heart but what I enjoy about her writing is her ability to take the mundane, most human moments in life and make them a song

this story was grief and love and healing all wrapped up in one

and when I say Cara Bastone is one of the great poets of our generation I hope you know I mean it with my whole heart

Obsessed. I LOVED EVERY PAGE. Truly, this book was so good. The quirkiness of Lenny paired with the dry seriousness of Miles worked perfectly. The grief representation was so well done and it's one of those books you read and feel like you have a better understanding of people around you who may be having a hard time and a reminder to stay patient and to just be there. The growth we see from Lenny's character is so special and being able to watch the two of them go from strangers to friends to maybe more than friends to falling in love...it was one of the more fun reading journies I have ever been on. Cara Bastone has absolutely, 1000% become an auto-buy author for me.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

I had no idea what I was getting into when I started "Promise Me Sunshine", but it was exactly what I needed after losing my Grandpa earlier this year. Cara Bastone beautifully envelops grief and the power of friendship in a season of deep loss. I laughed. I cried. I swooned. What a fun day-in-the-life of a woman grieving the loss of her closest friend and a man finding his place in his family. The strongest part of this story is how Lenny and Miles connect through incredibly vulnerable moments and selfless love for the other person. Another wonderful experience from Bastone.

This book made me feel all the feels. Lots of books don't fully get how grief really is but this one hit all the marks. I fell in love with the relationship between Lenny and Miles. Everyone deserves to feel seen and understood while going through a tough time. And what a way to fall in love.

4.5-5 ⭐️ Lenny, coping with the grief of her best friend’s death, takes a temporary babysitting position for single mom Reese and her daughter Ainsley. But Miles, Ainsley’s uncle, is always lurking. When Lenny falls apart one day, Miles is there to pick up the pieces having experienced his own bouts of grief. As the two become fast friends, and Lenny begins to process her grief, she realizes life does in fact go on.

This is such a slow burn romance, but in the very best way. When we meet our MCs, they are complete strangers, each suspicious of the other. But the build from acquaintances to friends to more is deliciously sweet as Miles helps Lenny not only cope with her deep seated grief, but also shows her how much more to life there can be. And as she slowly opens up to new friends, she finds herself surrounded by those who accept her just as she is.

🎧 This is absolutely terrific on audio. Alex Finke was one of the most entertaining narrators I’ve ever encountered. It was screwball comedy for the ears as she brought every single character to life. I will definitely be adding her to my favorites list.

Read if you like:
▪️friends to lovers
▪️forced proximity
▪️grumpy x sunshine
▪️cinnamon roll hero
▪️found family
▪️slow burn
▪️stories about surviving grief

Thank you Dial Press and PRH Audio for the advanced copies.

Slightly spicy, male female, 1st person single point of view, contemporary romance. I was hooked immediately! I thoroughly enjoyed this author's writing style. I loved every character and their interactions were funny, lovely, heartbreaking, and believable. I will definitely be reading more by this author.

Thank you so much to The Dial Press for the ARC!

Wow. I am obsessed with this book. I love it so much. First of all, these characters. I adore them. Lenny is such a wonderful character. She's so real. She's dealing with the grief that comes from losing a best friend. She's adrift in life and doesn't know what the future holds for her, or if she even wants a future without her best friend. It's so heartbreaking to watch Lenny grieve but I so loved those moments because it made me care for this character a lot more and sucked me even further into the book.

Miles. Oh my. What a man. He is amazing. The way he cares for Lenny was so sweet. He brought her back to life. I loved watching them fall in love. It was definitely a slow burn but it was so worth the wait. The way Miles loves Lenny was so pure. There was just so much genuine love there. He loved her for who she was and loved her at her lowest. It's so inspiring to read, knowing that even when you're grieving and at the lowest point at your life, someone can still wholly and completely love you, exactly as you are.

This book was just perfect. I'm absolutely in love with it. Cara Bastone, the woman that you are. You tug at my heartstrings. You break my heart and put it back together again. You make me fall in love with words on a page. Please never stop writing. I will read anything you write, even your grocery lists.

I don’t think I’ve ever read another book so deeply personal and so heartbreakingly true about death and loss. The process of grief is never linear and days can be good and bad at the same time. This book shows exactly that.