There is something incredibly special about this book. Not many books address grief head-on, particularly grief from losing a friend, especially when that friend is like your other half. Lenny is at her lowest of lows- her best friend slash soul mate has just passed away and she can't figure out how to go on with her life. She takes on a job baby-sitting Ainsley, whose own mom is recovering from losing her father. As for Ainsley's hot yet sullen uncle Miles- he's recovering from a whole lot of sadness too.

Miles clocks Lenny immediately as being in need of help and offers his support, sharing his grief along with hers but also helping her learn to live again. After a (very) slow burn, some of those reasons become each other. I'm not usually a friends to lovers stan, but this was so necessary for these characters who needed to learn to trust and love again.

Oof, did so much of this book hit home for me. I lost someone incredibly close to me in my early 20s, and the weight of that grief just stops time. The experiences Lenny and Miles described were so accurate, I am sure they will resonate with anyone who has lost someone they care about. This journey of overcoming loss was especially beautiful and profound. The only reason I didn't give it a full 5 stars is that the middle felt a little repetitive and at times I found the content quite heavy. Still a wonderful read that will remain with me for a while and I highly recommend it.

Thank you Netgalley and Random House for my earc in exchange for my honest review.

I’ve really enjoyed Cara Bastone’s other works, but I wasn’t quite as into Promise Me Sunshine. This is a book and grief and how we move through it, which I think was handled well. My positive-neutral reaction is much more about me not being able to sick in fully than about the book—I would still gladly recommend this to readers who want something sweet and hopeful that still deals with weighty topics.

Lenny is dealing with the aftermath of grief from losing her best friend. She is suffering in a big way when Miles unexpectedly comes into her life. Having navigated his own grief, Miles takes Lenny under his wing and starts to help her find her way back to the land of the living.

This was a really sweet book. Miles and Lenny started out with friendship that developed and grew throughout the book. Miles encouraged Lenny to do new things, to tackle the list her best friend left her and to make new friends.

One thing I loved about Lenny was when she met new men, she would fantasize about a romantic relationship with them. It was a funny little character quirk that made me laugh!!

I enjoyed the book and definitely recommend reading!!

Thanks NetGalley and publisher for and advanced eARC of this book!!

This was such a tender story about grief and loss. There were parts that I really liked and appreciated, like the whole list aspect was really well done. But then other parts fell flat for me. I know we get some but I wish we got more of the “why” On all accounts. For Lenny. For Miles. All of it. This could just be a me problem though with the time of my life that I’m at! I did enjoy it though and think most people will love this one!

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for the ARC!

I enjoyed this book. Promise Me Sunshine tells the story about a girl who is grieving her best friend. Lenny is a bit of a mess. She becomes a nanny and quickly becomes friends with the child’s uncle. Miles helps Lenny work through her grief. I loved this friendship into love story.

My heart!!! This was grumpy sunshine done sooo right because Miles is the sweetest ever!! And Lenny has to journey back to sunshine after the loss of her best friend. 😭 Such a beautiful exploration of grief, friendship, and love. I appreciated the well-timed humor in the midst of a somber topic.

If you enjoyed Ready or Not, you will love this!

-found family
-New York City vibes
-a “bucket list” style adventure

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!!! 🩷

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC!
4.5 stars!
This was a beautiful book about grief, friendship, soulmates (romantic and platonic), living life, and loving yourself. This was so much more than a romance. Miles is the ultimate friend turned lover and I loved seeing our FMC’s growth throughout the novel as she grieves and comes to terms with her new reality. Highly recommend!

What an emotional ride!!! 🎢
Lenny is mourning the loss of her best friend, and Miles understands her pain all too well. Their friendship serves as a powerful reminder that we’re not meant to face life alone and that grief is a deeply personal journey, unfolding at its own pace. While some moments felt overly dramatic and Lenny had a few quirks that I found a bit frustrating, I truly appreciated the depth of the story. It’s a realistic take on grief, friendship, love, and the raw reality of navigating life after loss.

Thank you NetGalley, Random House Publishing Group and Dial Press Trade for providing an advanced reader’s copy 🤎

Book Review: Promise Me Sunshine by Cara Bastone

This one is soaring into my all time fav's.

Promise Me Sunshine is about Lenny, who is walking the road of grief after her best friend Lou dies. She is a part-time nanny and at her next job she meets grumpy Uncle Miles. Miles recognizes Lenny's struggles and vows to help her.

This book was so raw, so heart wrenching... and so beautiful.
How do I classify it? It was so much more than a romance. It was about grief, about friendship.. and yes about love. But love in so many different ways.

The romance was perfection. I read a lot of romance, and there was something so special about the relationship and how real and raw is was.
I will remember this one for a long time.

Thank you to Netgalley and Random House Publishing for this arc. I can't wait to buy my own copy.
Promise me Sunshine is out March 4th!

Cara Bastone did an amazing job at combining those real and painful moments in every day life and adding just the right amount of light and humor. I felt all the emotions throughout this book and didn’t want it to end.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this story of two people finding themselves again after hardship. Miles and Lenny had great chemistry and really balanced each other personality-wise. This was definitely a slow burn, but the tension was on point!

I look forward to reading more of her stories! Thank you Cara and Random House Publishing Group for this ARC.

This story was absolutely beautiful.
You have an FMC who is suffering the loss of her childhood best friend. She is overcome with grief and meets Miles who is grumpy but also the most caring person who has been through grief himself.
He agrees to help her check off a Live Life list created by her best friend if she helps him with something.
The words in this story were beautiful and can be applied to all types of hard situations in life.
I absolutely loved this story.
Thank you, NetGalley, for the ARC!
Cara Bastone, well done!

I loved this book so much! Cara bastone has a way with her words and writes so beautifully difficult situations. I felt the grief so much and it made me so invested.

Lenny is grappling with the loss of her best friend when she meets Miles and the two of them form an unexpected friendship. Lenny helps Miles connect with his niece, while Miles helps Lenny complete tasks on her “Live again list” that her best friend left for her. This books explores themes of grief, love, friendship and family and I loved every minute of it.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for this ARC!!!!

What a beautiful story I just couldn’t put down! Grief after loss and how to work through it is the main theme of this story. It’s the core of Lenny and how she views the world only through her grief stricken eyes. She’s real, raw, and messy, and so dang relatable. This woman, even when in the deepest trenches of her grief, is so dang funny.

She finds her buddy to help through the grief in Miles, who now becomes her support. Watching their friendship grow as Miles becomes her support and also working on building his relationship with his half sister and daughter? Only makes me swoon!

Overall, this book is raw, emotional, funny, and shows the values to reaching out to others when you need support. Please pick this up! It’s so good.

Thanks to Dial Press, NetGalley, and Cara Bastone for an ARC in exchange for my honest review!

“Promise Me Sunshine” by Cara Bastone is a beautiful story about grief and how to move through life after tragedy. This story follows Lenny whose best friend/soul mate died recently of ovarian cancer. Lenny is barely making it through her days until she meets Miles the uncle of the girl she starts to babysit. Miles can see Lenny needs help and he knows about dealing with grief from his own experience. So Miles makes a deal to help Lenny get through her grief, if she can share her child care “tricks” with him.

This description may seem like typical romance plot line, but the slow-burn romance that really takes a back seat for the exploration of grief. Bastone wrote a beautiful story that anyone can relate to because we have all dealt with grief in some shape or form. It may also seem like this book is all about sadness, but I honestly laughed a lot while reading. There is so much heart, empathy, and hopefulness in this story. A must read for romance readers!

5 stars

”maybe I’ve been wrong this whole time and the entire world is not through my eyes. maybe I’ve been trapped in a painting all along. smeared and brilliantly applied. every color is from the eye of someone who knows exactly what the hell they’re doing.


have you ever read a book that felt like it was written for you? Promise Me Sunshine was that book for me. an elegiac story brushed with grief, it was raw, nuanced, and achingly human. I adored every inch of it; the bruised, the unvarnished, the moments that burned with quiet shame. yet, amid the sorrow, there was something soft: the embrace of found family, the slow, delicate blooming of friends to lovers, the tender hum of healing. sunshine pressed against the dark, sadness whispering beneath promises, and I felt every pulse of it.

”but the thing about losing the person you love the most on earth is—somehow—you still have to do mundane things like tie your shoes and make enough money to continue to exist in this punishing world.”


Miles and Lenny were the perfect tandem. I found myself enchanted by their journey; from tentative strangers to devoted friends, helping one another through the darkest of days. Miles was the incarnation of the perfect companion, both friend and love interest. what I adored most was how he remained ever vigilant, attuned to the smallest changes in Lenny’s moods, deciphering each unspoken sign she cast his way and how helpless he was to create a concrete bond with his sister and her daughter. Lenny, however, was so achingly relatable it almost unsettled me. In her, I saw some broken yet radiant fragments of myself. she loved with a boundless heart, yet when it came time to face her own emotions, she stumbled, unsure where to begin.

“I said that you walked into hell and dragged me back out.” something crosses his face.”


their love story resembled a slow waltz, each step tender and hesitant, circling around one another. I devoured every delicate, emotionally intimate moment they shared, each one infused into the pages with a quiet intensity. I couldn’t help but fall for them, their imperfect, bruised love story.

”he closes his eyes, opens them and there’s his brilliant love. “there’s only you, Lenny. every time … it’s just you,” he says, muffled as he kisses me. “and you.” he kisses me again. “and you.”


thanks for the free book PRH International

5 stars won't be enough to rate my love for this book. I will admit I wasn't sure about this book just from the fact that I did enjoy Ready or Not but it didn't blow me away. BUT PROMISE ME SUNSHINE -- whew get ready everyone. This book was healing for me, I saw myself in both the FMC and MMC and they left speechless at every page. I would never change anything about this book at all whatsoever. Lenny's journey to healing, her family, the friendships she builds, her falling in love again - GRAB YOUR TISSUES.

This book connected with me in a time where I am also walking through a season of grief that has started to feel lighter but whew in the beginning I felt the darkness that Lenny felt, the despair, and the utter what am I supposed to do.

Truly Bastone has written a masterpiece that I believe every reader can find something to connect with. ALSO -- spice is very limited!!!

Thank you to NetGalley and Dial Trade Press for providing this DRC for review.

Tender, poignant, life-affirming mediation on life and grief and love. By turns, hilarious and heart-breaking. Real characters, real friendship, real chemistry— ugh, I loved it! If there’s any justice, this will get the same roll-out/popularity level of Ready or Not (of which, in my opinion, it is infinitely superior).

First 5 star read of 2025!! I was so thrilled to have gotten an ARC of Promise Me Sunshine. I knew after reading Ready or Not That I would be reading her next novel. Ready or Not was a favorite of mine when I read it last year, but Promise Me Sunshine is on a whole new level of greatness. It was beautifully written and had me reading at a slower pace just to make it last longer. After reading so many romances they can tend to blend together but I can honestly say this book was unlike anything I have ever read. It was refreshing to have a romance with a unique story line and touch on grief so heavily. Bastone did a great job at portraying the ups and downs of grief. Both Lenny and Miles were top tier characters. I HIGHLY recommend picking up this book on its release date.

This is a slow burn romance that tackles grief and the importance of female friendship. In this book Lenny is overcome with the the grief of losing her best friend, to the point that she can't bring herself to go home to the apartment they once shared. She takes a part-time job nannying for a young girl, but she can't seem to conceal her depression in front of the girl's uncle, Miles, who has experience with losing a loved one. When Miles can no longer ignore Lenny's self-destructive behavior, he offers to be her support system, while Lenny helps him connect with his niece.
The slow progression of their relationship felt authentic to the delicate way their relationship formed. Overall this is a feel-good friends-to-lovers romance with emotional depth.