I absolutely loved this one!

This story is filled with grief and healing that you can feel and I loved how realistic it felt. Though it’s an emotional read, there are light moments of joy and laughter. The romance feels so believable and Bastone does and amazing job building it up to make it feel real…

I don’t know, this was different, it felt good to just sit in the story and now that it’s over, i miss them.

I enjoyed Promise Me Sunshine. I liked the theme and message behind this book. I thought Bastone did an incredible job showcasing Lenny's grief. Lenny was a layered character. Her character arc was satisfying to read. Lenny was very quirky! I did find her a little hard to connect with at points. I adored Lenny's relationship with Miles. Miles was such a cinnamon roll character. I loved how sweet and vulnerable he was with Lenny. His little Nancy Drew diary was adorable. I liked how Lenny and Miles were there for each other. It was cute watching him become more comfortable with Ainsley. I liked Ainsley and Reese's characters. I liked that there was some resolution with that plot point. I was surprised by how long the slow burn was in this book. I didn't mind it! There were some funny bits in this book. My favorite was the family scene with the grappa. I wish we got to see more of Lenny's family. The only major gripe I had about this book was the ending. It felt very abrupt to me. When I turned the page on my e-arc, I was shocked to find the acknowledgements page. I wanted a few more pages at the end. Thank you to NetGalley and Dial Press Trade Paperback for the ARC.

Heartfelt healing through friendship!

A beautifully poignant journey of two people navigating immense loss in their lives. Through the strength of their friendship, they learn to live again, choosing hope over being defined by their grief.

The audiobook was phenomenal--it perfectly balanced moments of much-needed laughter with the emotional weight of the story, adding depth to every scene. This genuine grumpy/sunshine romance has forever claimed a piece of my heart.

Have you ever read a book that you felt so deeply in your soul?

Promise Me Sunshine by @carabastone was that book for me. I’m so grateful to @thedialpress for my #gifted early copy. This book was like a love letter to my heart. 💌

📌About the Book:
Lenny is 29, single and an absolute mess. Her best friend and soul sister died from cancer and she is floundering. When she takes a short term nanny gig for a sweet little girl, Ainsley, she meets Miles, Ainsley’s grumpy uncle.

But Miles sees through Lenny’s mess. He recognizes her grief and decides to help Lenny learn to live again. Going through her “live again” list, Miles and Lenny cross off one item at a time as they become friends. And as you can predict, they fall in love and it’s absolutely perfect!

💭My Thoughts:
Absolutely. PERFECT. Thanks to my girl Lindsey @tatted_book_babes for letting me spam her texts as I read!! Miles was the perfect man, and the way he let Lenny be herself and didn’t try to FIX her was perfect. As someone who lost their way through grief and forgot how to live, this book spoke to me on so many levels.

This book comes out March 4th. You NEED IT.

Lou is left in shambles after the loss of her best friend. Barley holding it together she meets Miles. The grumpy Uncle of the family she nannies for.
Both Miles and Lou have baggage and the shared trauma of losing a loved one. After starting off on the wrong foot they decide to help each other. Miles need help getting closer to his family and Lou needs help learning how to keep living and accomplish her "how to move on" list.
Together they embark on a journey of self-discovery, love, and friendship.

I truly loved this book for so many reasons. Cara has an incredible talent for melding New York City into a book accurately and so much so that it becomes another character in the story. As someone who use to live there the chance encounters and friendships made along the way are heartwarming and accurate! ALSO, I typically am not a fan of cultural references in books. They typically feel disingenuous, but these characters felt so real, and all of the references were perfect for who the character was (thank you for not mentioning Taylor Swift!).

This was for sure a very slow burn. ALMOST a closed-door romance. But it felt right for the story and the characters, so I didn't mind.

Lenny, reeling from the loss of her best friend Lou, takes a babysitting job for single mom Reese and her daughter, Ainsley, only to clash with the brusque yet grief-savvy uncle, Miles. As they navigate their respective struggles, an unlikely partnership helps Lenny rediscover herself and find love amidst the healing process.

Promise Me Sunshine is the first book I’ve read by Cara Bastone. I have mixed feelings about it. The premise was unique and intriguing. The themes of grief and moving on were portrayed well. Lenny and Miles’s relationship seemed promising. I enjoyed watching their friendship develop and evolve into something more, but it didn’t seem strong enough. The second half of the book took an odd turn. The pacing felt uneven, with some scenes dragging unnecessarily, and some of the dialogue came off as cringey. While I appreciate a slow-burn romance, the way Lenny and Miles eventually came together felt disjointed. Lenny’s grief over her best friend was understandable, but at times her behavior seemed overly immature and frustrating. Her character development didn’t align well with the overall story. As for Miles, I found myself wanting more insight into his perspective as his character didn’t seem like fully fleshed out. In fact, many of the characters felt underdeveloped which detracted from the overall experience. Overall, I found it to be a decent read. People who are fans of friends-to-lovers might enjoy this.

Arc received from Netgalley for an honest review

3.5 Stars

Promise me Sunshine is about Lenny, a woman experiencing the grief of her close friend and doing her best to get through life with that loss lingering within her. It touches on hard topics and beautiful moments that we as reader experience alongside our characters.

Lenny herself is a character I found myself struggling to really love. How she handled her grief gave me no issue at all, since there is no exact way to grieve. It was her personality that was a little bit odd to say the least. She made up fantastical stories of almost every man she saw, going from their wedding day with children, to a bad breakup or divorce.

As a thirty year old who's also a kid at heart, Lenny felt a little too immature at times and I think some may find her unlikable because of that. Even with all of that said, I found Lenny to be a really interesting character, and the way she went through her feelings alongside Miles was heart wrenching and healing at the same time.

Lenny isn't perfect, she may be an odd ball, but she is dealing with something that everyone must experience sometime in their lives. I found her to be a strong character who handled the situation she was in as well as she could, and I really respected her for that.

Miles is the love interest of the story and I adored him. At first, he came off judgmental and rude, but considering his own situation and the way he handled it afterward, I was able to easily forgive this fluffball.

Miles is there for Lenny in a way a lot of us need, especially when going something as difficult as loss. He is kind, understanding, and always there for her. He had my entire heart and I loved the slow build up of romance that stemmed first out of friendship. It felt so real and genuine, which was my favourite part of this novel as a whole.

Miles isn't just there for Lenny, but she's there for him too, and seeing them grow and get close while standing by each others sides, and moving each other forward in life was beautiful to see.

I enjoyed this book overall, though I did feel Lenny's personality made some scenes a little awkward for me. Otherwise, I think this book is really important in regards to the topic of grief and healing after a loss, as well as the beauty of having a support system at your side to help you through it.

This is a very strong, powerful and sweet read for anyone who wishes for a slow burn romance with sweet characters, a little bit of tears, and a male protagonist you'd want to cuddle.

At this point, I’m fairly convinced Cara Bastone and her words exist to fully obliterate my soul and then tenderly hold me until I feel whole again.

If you were wondering if Ready or Not was some kind of fluke and maybe Cara couldn’t make you possibly feel that much a second time, you’re wrong.

Promise Me Sunshine is everything you want it to be and more. I have such a hard time even calling this a romance novel because while, yes, there is a romance plot, there is just so much more to this story.

The friends to lovers plot line is done impeccably. The connection that Lenny and Miles forge- and when I say forge I mean it; I mean hard earned, in front of a blazing fire, sweat-and-blood-and-tears forge, is so deeply emotional and transformative. Miles and Lenny are two very imperfect individuals who are drowning in grief and regret and pain and it’s written with such heart you can’t help but want to be a part of it with them.

I know so many people have raved about Miles as a character and undoubtedly he deserves it all. But I also so, so loved Lenny. I loved her tenacity and her unwillingness to give up. She was drowning, but fighting tooth and nail to keep her head just barely enough above water to keep surviving. And I loved her for that toughness and that determination.

Emotional in the best way. Lenny had me crying to LOLing so many times throughout this book. I love how relatable the characters are. I appreciated how well the author was able to portray the stages of grief. It was an incredible read. This was my first Cara Bastogne book but it will definitely not be my last!

PS we all need a Miles

What an absolutely heartbreakingly beautiful story about grief, love and finding who you are again. This was a stunning grumpy sunshine romance played with so much depth. Lenny is drowning in her grief from losing her best friend when she meets Miles a seemingly opposite person who sees right to the core of her, and he wants to help. These two always stay their most authentic selves with each other and I love that through it all, the good the bad these two will have each other’s back. I love the message in this story that you never truly move on from grief and losing someone but you learn how to live side by side with it. Miles was such a tender and big hearted character under his rough exterior at first, he has such a nurturing and caretaker personality but he also forced Lenny to push through on the days she needed it and held on the days she couldn’t push through it. Lenny’s character was so beautifully written about how the complexities of grief can change us to our chore while also keeping that seed of hope that eventually things will get easier. This story was so beautifully and moving, the slow burn to this romance was at the perfect pace with the plot that I found myself falling deeper and deeper for these and at the end I wasn’t ready to say good bye to Lenny and Miles.

This book was not the easiest read solely because it was about two people learning to live with their grief and learn to live again, but wow this was a great book. Seeing how both Lenny and Miles grew together and learned to be their own people again was so heartwarming, and hopeful. I also loved how the author handled the relationship (and eventual romance) between them. It ended up being a very healthy and adorable romance, and I’m so happy with how it all came together, as well as how it ended. The side characters in the book were also entertaining and well developed, and very likable (especially Ainsley, of course).

Thank you to Random House Publishing Group and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Life is messy. It never goes as planned, sometimes beyond coping or just plain sucks. But if you have a person in your life, that gets it, and gets you, then you do not have to navigate all the low parts alone.

Lenny is a mess. Her best friend passed away from cancer, leaving Lenny grappling with how to cope. She takes on a babysitting job helping single mom Reese in taking care of her daughter Ainsley. Only problem is Ainsley’s grumpy uncle Miles is always around and not kind.

Turns out, Miles can see that Lenny is struggling, and is one of the most kind humans on earth. In this slow burn romance, Miles embarks on a mission to help Lenny complete a live again list while Lenny helps him make amends with Reese and Ainsley.

I loved the cast of characters in this story, they all played a part in the whole unit. Ainsley was innocently delightful, being a kid, never quite understanding all the adult stuff - and that magic was the glue. Take a step back, try a new thing and maybe you will get a fresh perspective. That kid was integral to each character’s arc.

Cara Bastone depicted grief in a different light, normalizing the emotions. It is ordinary to have off days, weeks or mere moments. We are all just trying to get through another day. Hopefully we all have a Miles in our lives. Thank you for this book.

Thanks to Random House Publishing Group for providing me with an e-ARC of this via Netgalley.

I did really, really enjoy this one. I am a huge fan of Cara Bastone’s writing and absolutely loved Ready or Not. There were some things about this one that bothered me, though. Lenny is overcome with grief after losing her best friend. Miles is a bit misunderstood, but he and Lenny develop a friendship in which he helps her deal with her grief and she helps him to build a relationship with his half sister and niece, who Lenny is temporarily working for.

It felt as though Miles and Lenny didn’t do much but drop everything they were doing, no matter the day or time, (throughout the whole book) to help each other when they were going through a tough spot. While I do think having this constant support system is beautiful and realistic, I did not feel as though the fact that neither really had a job that they needed to balance along with their emotional journeys was very realistic. Especially when living in NYC.

It was definitely an emotional read that featured grumpy vs sunshine and friends to lovers. I think lots of people will love this one!

4.5. Absolutely loved Lenny and Miles. Lenny is trying to figure out a new normal after her lifelong best friend has died from cancer. She is going THROUGH it. She takes a nanny job and meets precocious 7 year-old, Ainsley, Ainsley’s boss mom Reese and her grumpy uncle Miles.

Miles knows a thing or two about grief so he agrees to help Lenny work her way through her “Live Again” list that she made with her bestie.

I love their relationship dynamic so much, just swoon. Miles is such a gem. Slow burn romance, pretty minimal spice you could easily skip (some crude language).

You also get a cameo from a character from Cara’s other book, Ready or Not.

Thank you to Random House Publishing and #NetGalley for the ARC. All opinions are my own. #PromiseMeSunshine

Cara Bastone’s latest book, Promise Me Sunshine is as good as her last book. I just loved it. Don’t miss this one.

Promise Me Sunshine
By Cara Bastone

In this romance, Lenny and Miles are dealing with grief. Lenny’s is fresher than Miles and they are helping each other through. Both characters are extremely likable while catching and having feelings. You’ll want to be the friend they are for others. I love how Lenny pictures her make believe romances with every attractive man she meets. I love Miles’ dancing and clothing allowances he makes for those he loves. I wish I had my choice of NY real estate to rest my head which is a super privilege to have when you are struggling or anytime really. The supporting characters are fun and likable. Bastone digs deep here and I am here for it. I even enjoy reading this author’s thank yous and Mad Libs”, ones I want to try. I feel the real. I highly recommend this title and all of the author’s other books. This one may be my favorite but I have said that before. Thank you, NetGalley and Dial Press Trade Paperback for an advance ebook file to read.

This is a beautiful story of grief and healing. Our FMC Lenny meets our MMC Miles on a temporary nanny gig. While their first interaction is rough, Miles soon realizes something is wrong with Lenny and reaches out a helping hand.
I’d categorize the genre of this book as more LitFic or Women’s Literature with a splash of romance. The romance plot is friends to lovers and quite a slow burn. To me the romance plot was in the backseat to the plot of healing and living with grief. This story is well written, captivating and moving. There were moments where I laughed out loud, cried into my pillow and smiled to myself while reading.
I fell in love with both Lenny and Miles and felt proud of their development and growth throughout this novel. I’m so happy I was able to get my eyes on a digital arc.

This book is full of love, grief, healing and finding happiness again even when life feels impossible. Lenny lost her best friend and that loss wrecked her. My heart hurt for this poor girl who is normally full of so much life completely tore down. Never did she think the grumpy uncle to the little girl she is watching to become the light in the never ending dark tunnel. Miles has faced his own grief and can relate to Lenny and what she is going through. Their friendship is very unexpected but these two fit together so well. They agree to help each other in their own ways and it creates a bond like no other. Both of their journeys were perfectly imperfect and they came out on top together. I loved the way they were together and they just got one another without even saying anything. Even with all the grief, Lenny has a sense of humor and brings light to sometimes hard situations. It was a great love story and I’m glad they both got the happiness they deserved!

Oh my heart. I was not familiar with Cara Bastone's writing. I had no idea what to expect but I was given such a gift.

This is my first 5 star read of 2025 and this story has stuck with me. I have already told multiple friends that they need to read this book.

Lenny has experienced the tragic loss of her very best friend. Lou died from cancer and Lenny is unmoored. Miles, a crusty unapproachable man, is the uncle to Lenny's new charge and has offered to help Lenny learn to live again. But how can Miles have any idea how to help Lenny unless he has experienced his own tragic loss?

It is very obvious that Bastone has experienced grief deeply. This is such a beautiful story of grief, healing, love, and learning to live again. But it is also about how one can support someone in their life who has experienced a deep loss. As someone who has experienced a tragic unexpected loss, I found this story moving.

Possible triggers: Cancer, loss, car wreck

This is a minor complaint but the cover art needs to be improved. This is such a wonderfully lovely story that the cheesy art doesn't do it justice. I will be reading all of Bastone's previous and future works.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I. AM. SPEECHLESS. this was amazing. I was drawn in from the very first page. I knew it would be five stars and as I kept reading, I knew nothing was going to change my mind. Lenny was so captivating and Miles, omg, Miles. No words. He is perfect and everything she needed.

I loved the slow burn and how everything played out. It was so cathartic. i teared up so much but laughed equally as much. the banter was unmatched. I just - wow.