Absolute perfection. I read this in one day.
It was so heart-wrenching, the way grief was written so realistically and beautifully.
rtc!

🛳️ Book Review 🛳️

Thank you to Netgalley and publisher for an arc in exchange for my honest opinions.

Publication: March 4, 2025

Rating: I enjoyed it!

This book felt like a big hug! I found myself flipping pages well into the night. I felt that the characters were well flushed out and Cara did an amazing job handling grief. This wasn’t just a romance but watching Lenny (and Miles) navigate grief and those they love.

For fans of:
❤️‍🩹 First person POV
🛳️ Singular POV
❤️‍🩹 Grumpy x grumpy
🛳️ Grieving FMC
❤️‍🩹 Strangers to friends
🛳️ Friends to lovers
❤️‍🩹 Found family
🛳️ Heartfelt story

✨ What to read next ✨
🌟 Me Before You by Jojo Moyes

In the first 25% of this, I knew it was love. This book is compelling and a work of art. Sometimes grief as a theme can slow down books, but this seemed to have good pacing despite the heaviness. I loved the exploring family ties, and how it all began. This book is a 10/10 for me.

Rounding up from 4.5 stars.

I am realizing that it's difficult for me to write an objective review of this book because Cara Bastone's voice just works so well for me that I can too easily ignore things that might not work for me in other books. If you've enjoyed Cara Bastone's other books, I'm confident you will enjoy this one too. While she has a signature formula, the characters and story still somehow feel fresh to me every time. True to her formula, this book is a slow burn between a sweet but messy FMC with a MMC who is cinnamon roll but complex and flawed enough to have the kind of depth that makes him feel more real. More unique to this story: it almost reads like a guide to surviving life through grief and wow did it make me cry A LOT. So, big content note for folks about grief and loss of loved ones from both illness and accident. The other thing that stood out for me about this story (which I loved!) was how friendship was elevated to be just as important as romantic relationships in no uncertain terms. There is one component of the story that I can see not working for some folks and I don't want to spoil it but it has come up in other books discussions recently - related to people's agency and ability to make choices (and mistakes) when they are in a dark place. I certainly felt some discomfort with Miles being frankly overprotective, and that might actually be the reason I'm not giving this a full five stars.

A few years after my best friend died, I started to think that maybe I'd like to read a fictional book about an FMC whose best friend passes away. I thought maybe it would be good for me? I've always had a hard time talking about her death, even in therapy. I spent several years pretending she hadn't died just to survive.

Turns out, reading a book about grieving the death of a best friend is HARD. REALLY REALLY HARD. I loved Ready or Not by Cara Bastone in August of last year, and requested Promise Me Sunshine as soon as I saw it on Netgalley but I didn't make the time to read it until last week. I still loved it, but man, the grief was real and vivid and made my heart hurt. I was so jealous of the FMC for the help she received in grieving. And the love story was so beautiful too. 5 stars for me. So good, so worthwhile. @carabastone I can't explain to you what reading this book meant to me. Also, I will be talking about this book in therapy soon!

Thank you @netgalley for the earc in exchange for my honest review.

Went in blindly and didn’t know this was about grieving a death caused by cancer. I try to stay away from those normally cause of my own life. But I decided to keep reading this one. I liked the story line a lot and the cover is so pretty. The MFC was written trying way too hard to be quirky or different. I mean her man choice of clothing was a Cookie Monster sweatshirt… other then that it was a good read.

This is not a typical romance read. It’s a story about self discovery, friendship, navigating grief, and surviving depression mixed with a slow burn, grumpy sunshine love story. I love how the relationship between Lenny and Mile develops across this story. I also love how relatable Lenny is. She has such raw, human behaviors, and Miles handles her with so much care. What starts as acquaintances by proximity quickly turns into a deep, true friendship. There is a lesson or message for everyone in this book!! Easy 5 star read for me!

<i>Promise Me Sunshine</i> snuck up on me in the best way possible. I had a great time reading this one. I loved getting to know these characters. Both Lenny and Miles have tough exteriors. They first come across as loners, just doing what they can manage to get through the day. Once we start peeling back the layers, we see their grief and desire to love. But they are completely consumed by grief that love seems impossible. Once they trust each other just enough to spend time together, they start learning that maybe life does go on.
As much as there is saddness in this story, there is laughter and fun too. The gray that started this book off, very slowly started to show color.

Thank you Random House and NetGalley for the ARC!

This was truly one of my favorite ARCS I've ever received. It was so stunning in every way. Hopeful, emotional, slow burning - I could go on and on! Cara Bastone has quickly become one of my most favorite authors and I was thrilled to receive this ARC. I loved how layered this book was and I was not expecting tears to fall but boy was I a blubbering mess by the end of it!

Thank you again for the ARC!

Oh goodness! This book was perfection. While it is a slow burn romance, ultimately its a tender, life-affirming novel about grief, hope, and the power of human connection. Lenny lost her best friend to cancer and in the wake of her death, Lenny buries herself in work to distract her from reality. Lenny meets Miles at her babysitting job and the relationship evolves into the most tender, caring, and comforting relationship I've read in some time. The story is warm and hysterical (I was literally LOL'ing), but so, so deep with emotion and healing. Finished it in one day, I was so invested!

Sincere thanks to NetGalley, Random House Publishing Group - Random House, & Dial Press Trade Paperback for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

This book was everything. It was an easy 5 stars for me. The combination of grief and love was unmatched. Cara Bastone’s writing is phenomenal. This was my first book by her and I’ll absolutely be reading more!

Rounding up to 4.25⭐️
This is a great story! But it is heavy and sad. But I liked that about it-a realistic look at grief and how sometimes it’s so bad that it threatens to take you with it.

Cars Bastone is an auto read author for me now! Ready or Not was such a great read last year and this one was a strong follow up. I loved the relationship between the FMC and Miles, he was a perfect book boyfriend!

I've been a big fan of Cara Bastone books for a while now!
I always know I'm in for a sweet story and a swoony romance with her.
This one was no different in that regard. I appreciate the slow burn of this book and that the MC really patiently waited to help the FC work through her grief before jumping into a relationship. I appreciated that there was no "terrible miscommunication" situation or 3rd act breakup.

However, this book did seem to drag on a little more for me than others, not sure why. I don't think I was quite as invested in the conversations as I usually am with Bastone's books. The banter didn't feel as witty to me as her others. Which I suppose makes sense given the subject matter, but it was just harder to get through and I wasn't always super excited to pick it back up. All in all, I don't think this is one which is going to stick with me super long, which is why I've given it 3 stars.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for the ARC of this book in exchange for my review.

Yep, it's clear I love Cara Bastone's writing. I also really LOVE the audiobook renditions of 'Promise me Sunshine' as well as her previous book 'Ready or Not'.

The book is about dealing with and working through grief. Lenny, our FMC, has lost her best friend and she doesn't know how to go on without her. Cue Miles, Lenny's babysitting job tag along Uncle, who steps in to help her check off the things on the 'live again' list. Their friendship turned romance is sweet. I love Cara's balance of fun loving, quirky characters with real- life, serious situations.

I can't wait for another book from Cara. I will read anything she writes!

Cara Bastone does it again with her unflinching look at grief and the strength it takes to build oneself up again after a heart breaking loss. This was a slow burn not only in terms of romance but in Lenny's journey toward healing. And I don't want to be too spoiler-y but I will say that I really enjoyed the terms and conditions that Miles put on their relationship because he understood how important it was for Lenny to be whole.

I am beginning to suspect I would love anything written by Cara Bastone, including her to-do list. The way she is able to weave together intense emotion (grief) and humor is masterful. This book could have easily been really heavy, given the topic, and while it was real, and raw, and emotional, it was also hilarious and fun and a joy! The way Miles helps Lenny navigate her grief was one of the most precious journeys I’ve ever read, and seeing the way both characters developed over the story and how naturally they came together was something that will stay with me for a very long time.

I really loved this!! I was hooked from the beginning solely by Lenny’s personality and after meeting Miles and his lurking I was so invested!

I loved the idea of them going through Lenny’s list together (and doing non list things). The exploration of grief in this was so beautiful and I really just wanted to give Lenny a hug the whole time. The scene with her reuniting with her mom really stuck with me. <3

All of the characters had such unique personalities and thought they all fit each other so well!

I loved reading Ready or Not last year and adored this even more so I’m so excited to see more from Cara in the future!!

This was such a sweet story. I love how her characters are so messy and never have life figured out but always come out better for enjoying the bumpy ride. This one was especially sad at times and even made me tear up, but it also made me laugh.

This is a fairly serious topic (how to carry on through grief) for such a lighthearted genre. I think this is a good book for someone caring for someone grieving.

Thank you for giving me an arc to read an exchange for a review. The chemistry between the MFC and the MMC was there pretty quickly.. Lenny is grieving loosing her bestie to cancer.. miles is trying to navigate a relationship with his half sister after finding out he was the affair child. Miles spends a lot of time with Lenny as she navigates her grief and Lenny is helping him with his issues. Lenny is working as a nanny for miles half sister… such a good read