“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”

this book!!!!!!!!!!!
i am still crying over this book. the tears began on the first page and they haven’t stopped. i was completely swept away by this book.

cara bastone - thank you for giving me lenny and miles.

“The only way out is through“

this is such a beautiful story of navigating through grief and learning how to continue living, once grief takes over and you no longer know how to live. grief is so interesting because you can experience it in so many ways for so many reasons. and this was such a beauty portrayal of how a support system can lift you up and through grief.

“Do some people slowly fall in love and not realize it? Have I been in denial? … Does it matter when it started? I don't know. All I know is that I've never felt like this before and I'm not handling it well.”
this is such a friends to lovers thing. this was me!!!!!!!!

i need more stories like this. we need more miles’ in the world.
5/5 everything in this book. thank you netgallery for this arc AHHHHHHHHH i stayed here

This is a story of real love.

It doesn't have the unrealistic elements a lot of romance books have, but rather feels like reading about two people who really fell in love. This is very much a story about grief, but also the little good parts that always shine through.

Lenny and Miles are so compatible and want the best for each other. Lenny's eccentric behavior and Miles really being a rock she can just sit on and relax for a bit, is such an amazing dynamic. These characters have gone through a lot of loss, but this story shows how much really is in their lives. I loved the conversations they had with each other, from the really deep ones to the really funny ones.

Such a lovely read!

Infinity stars for this book! This is the saddest, funniest book I have ever read. I loved every minute of it. Lenny and Miles had me laughing out loud and wanting to kick my feet when they weren't making me want to ugly cry. Thank you NetGallery for the ARC!

Thank you to Netgalley for the arc in exchange for my honest review.

At first I was hesitate to keep reading when I realized how emotional this book could be dealing with life after the passing of Lenny’s best friend. But I’m so glad I kept reading. It was beautifully written, and the love story between Lenny and Miles and the friendship between Lenny and Lou were both so beautifully written. I also enjoyed seeing the relationship between Miles and his sister and niece develop as well.

Would definitely recommend. (Some open door suggestive spice fyi)

I absolutely loved reading this arc. This book was so adorable but also has a really good message about grief.

The relationship between Lenney and Miles was so beautifully written. The way both characters helped each other with their grief was amazing.

I related to Lenny so much throughout the whole book and just wanted her to be happy

I’m so happy that this was my first book by Cara Bastone and can’t wait to read more by her


Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the arc

This was a sweet story and I took my time to read it. I enjoy Cara Bastone's humor and it really shines again in <i>Promise Me Sunshine</i>. I think I struggle with rating books like these higher because the plot is so unrealistic. Miles is the anti-commitmentphobe guy we all dream of but the man-savior trope is gag inducing. I found Lenny's behavior as a nearly 30 year old woman annoying. You should want to get better for the sake of your own well-being, not for a man. Girl, STAND UP.

I appreciated the premise and the exploration of grief as it is a different experience for everyone.

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

Publish to Goodreads on 3/4/25

This is an ARC review thanks to Netgalley and Random House Publishing Group - Random House

The way this book had me in a chokehold the whole time-in a GOOD way! Cara Bastone was able to write about a HEAVY subject (grief) in a light, relatable, and realistic way. The story development was chef’s kiss! This is definitely one of my FAVORITE books and will be purchasing once it is published. This books has right amount of EVERYTHING! Funny, heavy, emotional, quirky, cozy…you name it..it has it and even just the right amount of spice🌶️

When I read Ready or Not last year, I knew Cara Bastone would become a favorite author of mine. So, when I was approved for the ARC for Promise Me Sunshine, I was so excited—and it did not disappoint! This book handles love, grief, and healing like a warm hug and a strong hand to hold. You can feel how much love and thoughtfulness Bastone put into this heartwarming book. The characters, the writing, and the pacing were great from start to finish.

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

I received this book as an ARC. I love Cara Bastone’s books and Promise Me Sunshine is no exception! This book explores grief, loss of a best friend/soulmate, and learning to live without the person that completes you. This book portrays grief openly and honestly, focusing on how healing from loss isn’t always linear. Yes, this is a romance novel and the MMC helps the grieving FMC learn to live again. But what really resonated with me was the honesty of how grief can overtake your emotions and seem impossible to escape. Thank you Cara, for this beautiful story.

Lenny and Miles have such an emotional and amazing story. This is a book full of emotion, grief, love, humor and so many other things. Cara Bastone did an amazing job navigating grief and how it effects people. She was able to tell their story and add in so many moments that make you laugh and smile.

Thank you so much to the Dial Press and Cara Bastone for the ARC.

Thank you to Dial Press for providing this book for review via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.
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Wow, wow, wow. How can I manage to sum up how much I loved and needed this book? As someone who’s recently started learning a lot about grief (unfortunately and fortunately), I’ve come to realize how little grief is discussed openly and even when it is, it’s used as a minor subplot in a story — never the main focal point. Lucky for us, Promise Me Sunshine has now arrived to bring that conversation front and center and help readers witness a story of a woman learning how to function and live after the person most important to her dies. I absolutely loved how we got to see the main character, Lenny, at her highest highs and lowest lows. We were also able to see multiple characters handle their own grief and losses in different ways since there isn’t one specific way to grieve.

Miles is absolutely being added to my list of book boyfriend faves because the way he was so open, attentive, caring, and dedicated to showing up for Lenny had me in a chokehold. Their personalities were so starkly different and yet they balance each out perfectly.

I enjoyed every character in this book (especially Ainsley! and I must shamelessly request for a book centered on Reese because she needs her own Miles!) and Cara Bastone truly, truly is skilled with words. I felt like I was highlighting passages every other page. Some sentences were simple yet breathtaking and other sentences were honestly just hilarious. I’ll definitely be locked in for the press tour of this book to learn more about Cara and what it took to write this book. I’m also excited to read through her backlist and any future novels.

All in all, I strongly, strongly recommend this book. Even if it doesn’t turn out to be your favorite love story, the discussion of grief alone is enough to warrant reading this story so that when you or someone you love endures a devastating loss, you'll have at least one thing — major or minor — from Lenny and Miles’ journey that could help you get through to the next day.

I have been meaning to read Ready or Not by Cara Bastone but I got to this one first and now I will need to move that book up my TBR list for sure! This was a story about grief told in such a compassionate and funny way that I just loved this one!

In this book we meet Lenny and Miles. Lenny has fallen apart after her best friend since childhood passed away from cancer. And that is putting it mildly. They lived together and she can't even go back to her apartment to stay. She rides the Ferry and sleeps there when she can get sleep. She isn't able to hold down any long term jobs. She is a nanny so she only takes temporary jobs so that she doesn't have to commit to anyone or get close to anyone.

That is until she meet Ainsley and Reese.....and Miles. Ainsley is a cute kid whose uncle lives in the same building. Reese is his half sister and their family dynamic is complicated. But she ends up talking to prickly Miles. At first they don't really care for each other but Miles has to make sure this homeless looking girl is properly taking care of his niece and one of his only family members so he follows them and tries to hang with them. Then as they start talking more, Miles figures out what has happened to Lenny and he starts to soften.

Miles knows first hand about loss so he tries to help Lenny with her grieving process. Once Lenny finds out that Miles lost his mother and cousin in a tragic accident, she decides not to resist his plan. She realizes that the accident is what lead Miles to discover his half-sister and niece and want to have some connection to family. Lenny lets her vulnerable side show more and Miles becomes her support person.

This book just contains so many emotions! I was laughing and crying and laughing and crying again!! For anyone who has had to deal with grief, this will touch a nerve. I thought the author did an excellent job handling such a complicated subject matter. I felt that near the end, Lenny's grief was going to be never ending, but then things did take a turn. This is one of those books that is comforting but emotionally jarring all in one. This author has such a gift to handle this subject to carefully. If this sounds at all interesting to you, I would recommend this book.

A huge thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group/Dial Press Trade Paperback for providing me with a digital review copy of this book in exchange for my honest thoughts.

This was a cute book. I think it is important for us to realize that even if we have been through different hard things, we can still understand some of the same feelings that others are feeling when they are hurting. I have not had a close family member or best friend pass away, but I do understand loss, loneliness, and depression. We all need each other whether we need someone to lift us up, or we are the person lifting them up.

I plan to share this story on my instagram on Monday, March 3rd at www.instagram.com/robinashleyreads

Unfortunately I had to soft DNF this book. There was nothing wrong with it and I will be coming back to finish it, but I have been in such a fantasy book kick. I could not get into a romance at this period of time and I have been in a bit of a reading slump.

Lenny is reeling from the death of her best friend Lou when she takes a short-term babysitting gig for single mom Reese and her daughter Ainsley. What she doesn't bank on when accepting the job is Ainsley's grumpy uncle Miles insisting on spending every second lurking around while Lenny watches Ainsley. His stoic and judgy demeanor rubs Lenny the wrong way, but she'll be gone soon enough, since she's been hesitant to accept anything long term while she is still thick in the throes of grief. After Miles shows Lenny unexpected warmth and understanding and reveals his own struggle with grief, he offers to help her accomplish the list of things she needs to do to live again after her best friend's passing. The two become companions and soon their bond grows into something more.

Cara Bastone has quickly become one of my absolute favorite authors. She has such range! Her audio-only series with Audible was fun and quirky, but this and her last novel Ready or Not are so deeply moving and beautifully written. This story is a new favorite! Lenny is in the trenches of her grief journey, and anyone who has ever dealt with the loss of someone close to them can relate to her feelings and struggles. Miles became such a pillar of strength for Lenny and I loved how their friendship and companionship grew. Miles really took care of Lenny and wanted nothing in return - may we all be so lucky to have someone like this in our lives while we are dealing with the unimaginable. While reading this warm-hug of a book, I laughed, smiled, and cried along with Lenny and Miles. Lenny's growth throughout the book, along with the same support and care she was able to give Miles, was so beautiful to witness. I can't wait to read more from this author!

TW: Grief, death of a loved one, depression

This book was the perfect emotional rollercoaster of navigating grief and loss. This book cleverly navigates all stages of grief.

Lenny has just lost her absolute best friend ever after her second round of cancer. She is struggling with moving forward and most of the time spends her nights on the Ferry transporting back and forth until it's time to move on with her day. She takes a short-term nanny position for Reece to help with her daughter Ainsley and she quickly befriends Miles, Reece's half-brother, whom she has only known for a short while.

Lenny navigates her grief with the loss of her best friend/sister, Lou. Miles is also navigating grief from the loss of his mother and cousin. Together they help each other face grief and conquer thier fears surrounding those deaths. Ultimately, this becomes a slow burn for Miles and Lenny's romance.

This story is absolutely heart breaking and emotional. This could be a tough read if you've newly experienced a loss, but this book is absolutely worth the read. This is definitely one I won't forget any time soon and I will always have a place in my heart for Lenny and Miles.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing for this eARC in exchange for my honest review.

I absolutely loved this! Such a sweet heartwarming story of friendship, grief and learning to live again after loss.

Lenny is barely surviving after losing her best friend to cancer. Afraid to go home to the apartment they once shared, she gets by doing short term nanny gigs and sleeping on the Staten Island Ferry. Until she meets Miles, the grumpy uncle of her newest charge. When he learns of her loss he strikes a deal with her, he will help her accomplish everything on her “live again” list is she teaches him how to become likable and helpful to his young niece.

They soon forge a friendship like no other. Helping each other through the hard and ugly parts of life. We get to see so many sweet moments as they journey through life together. Moving forward, making new friends, admitting raw feelings of pain, and accepting what the new normal looks like.

I don’t think I can truly express how much I loved this book. It was so tender and emotional, and shows the best side of humanity.

Thank you #NetGalley for the Arc <3

This book deserves more than five stars. I laughed, I cried. What a ride.
I love that the story focused mainly on working through grief and the love just seemed to happen along the way.

Some of the things I loved most:

-When she took him to the Met to meet Lou I couldn't even take it.
-When she went to the hair salon where they got their heads shaved and realized she could donate her hair to locks of love. SOBBED.
-WHEN HE GAVE HER THAT MF LOCKET I SWEAR I COULD HAVE MELTED ONTO MY KITCHEN FLOOR.
-When she puts his picture on the other side of the locket ughhh

I just love this book so damn much.

I took my time with this book because I never wanted it to end, but I also couldn’t stop thinking about it. It made me laugh, cry, and feel everything in between. The portrayal of grief is raw and real—no sugarcoating, just the messy, heartbreaking truth of learning to live with loss. Lenny felt so genuine, facing one of my worst fears, and her growth was beautiful. And Miles? Absolute perfection, another addition to my book boyfriend list.

Highly recommend. 4.5 stars. Cara Bastone does it again!

4.5!

I truly love Cara Bastone’s writing. The relationship between Miles and Lenny was so beautiful to see and grow while he helped her get through the toughest time of her life. Watching them become friends to lovers was so palpable and felt so real.

Lenny dealing with grief was heartbreaking and seeing her grow through that and with someone who understands her was so touching to read and very visceral at those tender moments.

Thank you to Random House and NetGalley for this eARC!