Lenny is drowning in grief after the death of her best friend, Lou, to cancer. She's avoiding everything from her life before Lou's death - including her mother and her apartment. But she's holding on tight to a list she made with Lou of things to help her live again. She's taking on temporary nannying gigs, where she meets Reece and her daughter Ainsley. And Ainsley's uncle Miles who is always lurking in the shadows. Turns out Miles recognizes Lenny's grief and he offers to help her tackle her list if she will help him make a connection with Ainsley.

Seeing how I've luckily never had to deal with the grief that Lenny and Miles have experienced, I felt sort of disconnected to parts of the story. However, I love a story where he falls first and it becomes obvious pretty quickly that Miles is developing feelings for Lenny beyond trying to pull her through the grief. Given the nature of grief, it should be obvious but this is a heavier romance read and an emotional journey. I enjoyed the reading experience but not as much as "Ready or Not" which I found to be utterly charming. This one is a solid pick for those of us who like our romances to have depth and flawed characters.

Overall 4/5
Spice: 1.5/3

With an introduction to Cara Bastone's work like Ready or Not, I wondered if there was any way her second book could live up to my expectations. But oh boy, it can. I can confidently say that even though it's only early February, any book will have a hard time knocking this down from the podium of Favourite Read of 2025.

A beautifully written story of love and grief, this is a must-read for any romance fans who have lost someone close to them. A gut-punch in the best way.

This book was so beautifully written. I loved how the focus was on overcoming the grief that all of us will experience at some point in our lives. I love that Lenny goes through this journey and we get to see Miles help her through. My favorite line in the book was "he walked into hell and pulled me back out" I think we all need to find someone willing to do that. I love it.

After losing her best friend Lou to cancer, Lenny stopped living her life. She can't go anywhere that reminds her of Lou, including the apartment they shared. When she takes a new nanny job, her path crosses with the grumpy Miles, uncle to the girl she's nannying. After catching Lenny riding the Staten Island Ferry all night instead of going home, Miles realizes that Lenny could use some help with her grief. Lucky for Lenny, Miles is an expert. Together, they start crossing items off Lou's "Live Again List". As Lenny slowly learns to live again, can she also learn to open herself up to love again?

Okay, I'm officially obsessed! This was a beautiful story of grief and love. The way Miles is just there for Lenny, supporting her, even if it's just sitting with her while she cries 😭. I don't often give out 5 stars, but this one absolutely deserves it. Side note: no third act breakup and just one brief 🌶️ scene.

I'm going to need a trophy copy on my shelf of this one. Pub date is March 4th! 😍 Thank you to @netgalley and @thedialpress for this ARC in exchange for my honest review

Promise Me Sunshine is by far my favorite read of 2025, and maybe ever? It covers grief in ways most books don’t, and if you’ve ever lost a loved one, this one will hit you where it hurts but also give you such great insight while also being so funny. If you’re looking for a new read 10000/10 recommend this one.

"Every time I fall in love with you, there's lightning"

Ugh, I adore this book. I adore these characters. I adore this story. I loved Lenny's personality and humor - I truly wish she could be my IRL friend. And Miles? He walked into hell and dragged her out. May this love find me!!!!

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨ (4.5/5)
Spice: 🌶️
Tropes: friends to lovers; grief and recovery; nanny romance (he’s the uncle)

Content Warning: this story starts after the death of a best friend. Please carefully consider if this is a topic for you.

Lenny immediately imagines her love life with every man she makes eye contact with and hilariously theorizes their relationship from start to finish. She does this when she meets Miles, the uncle to the little girl she’s nannying. We don’t see her prediction come to fruition, but instead see a beautiful, evolving relationship as he helps guide her through her grief.

This book is the epitome of why I read romance, and I truly don’t want to give reveal more of the plot because it is perfect. From their first night on the ferry to their camping trip, I was waiting with bated breath for what will happen next.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for access to this e-Arc in exchange for an honest review.

DNF @ 45%,
I found myself bored and not fully in the story, I can see the potential for a good read.
It’s not the right time for me.
I think my mind just isn’t in it right now, I’ll potentially read it in the future and grab myself a physical copy!

Thank you for the arc

Thank you to the publisher for the arc of Promise Me Sunshine.

This book!!!! This was my first book I’ve read by this author and I am wholly impressed to say the least. This was the perfect length to have a fully developed plot and characters that had building chemistry!! This is how you write romance!! Loved it.

This book lives in my brain in the moments I was not reading it. I absolutely fell in love with Lenny and Miles. I loved Lenny’s banter and the way Miles took care of her throughout the book. This book also shattered my heart. I would give it more than 5 stars if I could.

3.75 stars. Ready or Not by Cara Bastone was one of my favorite books from 2024 so Promise Me Sunshine was one of my most anticipated this year. This book didn't totally drive it home for me but I enjoyed reading Lenny's story progress and how her relationships developed with Miles and Ainsley.

Things that kept me from rating higher:
*The pace was a bit slow for me
*I wish there were more flashbacks to times with Lou
*I honestly felt Miles and Lenny would be better as best friends than lovers

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing for this advanced copy in exchange for my honest review. Promise Me Sunshine publishes on March 4, 2025.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Pub. Date: 3.4.25

When a story hits so close to home… I absolutely sobbed.

I love that this book is so much more than just a romance. It’s raw and heartbreaking, and then it puts you back together again. Cara Bastone does a beautiful job describing the complex journey of grief and healing.

I will be back closer to publishing time with a longer review. If this book isn’t on your list, it should be!

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

Thank you so much for this incredibly beautiful book. It was so comforting to read through a particularly tough time. I'm so grateful for the opportunity to have had an ARC and would give this book more than five stars if possible.

It’s taken me a while to write this review because there has been so much going on in the world. I will say, this is one that helped me escape for a bit but brought on some deep emotions. This book is incredibly beautiful and the growth of the two main characters is so lovely. It truly warmed my heart. I don’t know if it’s the fact that reality feels dark right now, but as I read this it felt like one of the most beautiful books that I have read. The story feels so real, and deals with deep connections through the grief process. If you only buy one book this year, this would be the one to get. I can’t wait for it to come out so we can all share the love for this wonderful book.

Thank you NetGalley, Random House Publishing Group, and Cara Bastone for an advanced readers copy for an honest review.

Pub Date: May 4, 2025

What's the Story?

Lenny, a born-and-raised New Yorker, is drowning in grief months after losing her best friend to cancer. She scrapes by with short-term nannying gigs, which is how she ends up looking after Ainsley—a precocious 7-year-old—and meeting her broody, socially awkward uncle, Miles. Miles is blunt, neurotic, and painfully bad at small talk, but after noticing Lenny’s grief support book, he makes her an offer: He’ll help her complete the list of challenges her best friend left behind to push her out of her grief—if she helps him bond with Ainsley.

What follows is a heartfelt journey of healing, human connection, and more than a few tears (fictional and mine). The Titanic scene is reenacted. Impulsive decisions lead to spur-of-the-moment tattoos. Heated traffic confrontations happen—because, NYC. And as Lenny takes on the city one challenge at a time, she starts to rediscover the joy in simply being alive.

My Thoughts: 5 Stars, No Notes

This was my first Cara Bastone book, and I’m officially obsessed. Her writing is effortlessly charming, balancing humor and gut-wrenching emotion in a way that feels so relatable. One minute I was laughing out loud; the next, I was ugly crying. It was that good.

The banter? Fantastic. The characters? Complex and deeply human. Lenny is a messy, grieving 20-something, and Miles is a broody, painfully literal overthinker who struggles with social interactions but means well. His love language? Acts of service. And damn, does he deliver.

The romance is a slow-burn, dislike-to-friends-to-lovers masterpiece, and I ate up every second of it. But beyond that, both Lenny’s journey of finding herself again and Miles’ attempt to build a relationship with his niece and half-sister were so well-developed and emotionally resonant. Just chef’s kiss, no notes.

Bottom line: This book is everything. If you love heartfelt, character-driven stories with humor, depth, and a slow-burn romance, Promise Me Sunshine needs to be on your radar. Releases March 4—don’t sleep on it!

Thanks to @NetGalley and @TheDialPress for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Live again. 😭

I’m over here still trying to contain my tears because this made me feel it all and then some. I was expecting some angst but truly did not expect to have my heart ripped out the way it. A story about grief, learning to push through life and finding joy again.

The friendship that begins between Lenny and Miles is so beautiful. A grumpy/sunshine kind of relationship that will pull you in and make you giggle at their banter. The way Miles just helps Lenny in completing the Live Again List while also honoring Lou and knowing how to approach Lenny was just everything. Top tier book boyfriend. I loved Lenny’s quirky personality and found the way she grieves to be relatable. Seeing her bloom again was just…everything. It fills you with hope.

Some favorite moments: the camping trip, getting their tattoo, the Disco bar, the talent show, when they finally are ready to proceed in their relationship, the first grappa dinner, the cameo from Ready or Not, Lenny living again, the FINALLY scene between them at the end. JUST EVERYTHING.

Thank you so much NetGalley and Random House for the ARC in exchange of an honest review!

ARC Review. Thanks to NetGalley and Random House/Dial Press for providing me with the advanced copy.

Our FMC Lenny has recently lost her best friend and is going through life by simply surviving. Almost a ghost herself, floating around from one short term nannying job to the next. At her most recent job, we meet our MMC Miles, the grumpy uncle of Lenny’s latest charge. By chance, Miles sees Lenny carrying a book about grief and he proposes a plan, he’ll help her learn to live again if she’ll help him get closer to his niece.

This was a beautiful and poignant story about learning to live again after an unspeakable loss. The depiction of grief and heartbreak was so emotional that I’ll be thinking about this book for a long time to come. I wish everyone had a Miles in their life.

The found family and relationships in this story were perfection. I can’t wait to read even more from this author.

This book is a hug. I think at some point, we have (or will) all experience a grief so deep that it physically hurts- so badly that you have to teach yourself how to live again. This book expresses this EXACTLY. Lenny is beautiful. Miles is beautiful. Their honesty and ability to speak each others’ language of grief was so wholesome and so real. This was everything I wanted it to be and more. This book is HOPE encapsulated.

This book was everything I wanted it to be and more. I fell in love with Cara Bastone’s writing in Ready or Not and somehow, this book was even better. I loved Lenny and the flashbacks of her relationship with Lou. I loved a female friendship being the first soul mate and a love story to follow with Miles. I loved how grumpy Miles was. I loved how much grief was present and raw and real. I felt like I knew these people.

5 shimmering golden stars🌟

this is easily one of the best books i’ve ever read. i thoroughly enjoyed it from the very start all the way through to the very end. cara bastones writing is so beautiful and she has the best way with words. i felt every single emotion you could possibly think of while reading this. i giggled at how hysterical lenny is, swooned at literally all things miles, and cried during some of the heavier parts. this book is very much so centered around grief, which is never an easy subject, and yet cara bastone executed all discussions surrounding it beautifully. getting to see both lenny & miles heal parts of themselves made my heart glow.

seeing some of lenny’s tough moments allowed me as a reader to fully comprehend what she was going through and how she was feeling. and seeing her be able to grow through those moments and find her sunshine again was so special. miles truly helped lenny through the toughest version of her life and was able to promise her sunshine on the other end. just like lenny was able to heal parts of miles he had locked and stored away and help him connect with his family.

i could talk about this book for hours i love them and everything about it so much🧡

What an emotional read. Lenny, our fmc, is grieving the lost of her best friend. Miles has promised to help her through her grief. Miles was that amazing mmc, I really wished we would of got some of his pov in a few chapters. While this was a great read, and since it was emotional read, I really wish when they did end up getting together, the romance was more closed doors. I feel the little spice that was shown almost ruined the book. 4 stars.