I'm always on the fence about books with plus sized characters because being fat becomes their entire identity. This book has realistic moments of insecurity, but ultimately ends up being about empowerment.

Sunny Side Up is a great read about body acceptance and the difficulties experienced by being plus-sized in NYC. In this way, Sunny was a very relatable character (we have all had that moment where we have gotten stuck in clothes in a dressing room, right?!?). But, other than that, I found Sunny's life to be a little too easy-if that makes sense. She wants love-she has two men in love with her. She wants friends-she immediately finds a two best friends to travel with. Business success? Check. Tons of adoring fans? Done. She really seems to have it all.

I received a copy of this book free from NetGalley in exchange for my honest and unbiased opinion.

A fresh New York City based Romcom that feels like reading the diary of Carrie Bradshaw’s cooler, realer cousin who holds nothing back!
SUNNY SIDE UP breaks the mould with a candid body neutral protagonist in the familiar world of PR, cocktails, female friendships and tall handsome love interests.
The blog entries will appeal to fans of Gossip Girl and fashionistas will enjoy the designer fitchecks.
If you’re already a fan of Katie Sturino, you won’t be disappointed! A perfect summer read.

Loved this book ! Sunny is the main character we need to see in romcoms. This book is a perfect little beach read and a delicious treat.

Thanks to NetGalley and Celadon Publishing for my ARC in exchange for my honest review.
I was intrigued by this after several bookstagrammers I admire teased it and I was familiar with Katie Sturino’s body positivity brand, but unfortunately this missed the mark for me. They say write what you know but so much of this book felt like copy from her brand. The characters lacked dimension and the chemistry felt forced between Sunny and any of them men. I appreciate representation and diversity of MCs obviously but the writing was cringy IMO.

I just finished “Sunny Side Up” by Katie Sturino and I enjoyed it very much! It’s a novel about a freshly divorced New York City plus sized fashion publicist gal. Think of Sunny as the American version of Bridget Jones. From her dating escapades to shaper-wear mishaps, you will find yourself chuckling along with Sunny.

Her struggles and sadness trying on swimwear at a department store definitely resonated with me, being plus sized myself. Sunny’s story is raw and real, where you have to kiss a few frogs to find your Prince Charming. It’s a wonderful love story, but even more of a story of learning to love and accept yourself as you are.

This book earned 4 stars from me! Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the Advanced Reader Copy in exchange for my honest review. This book publishes on June 24th. Go read it!

#NetGalley
#SunnySideUp
#bookstagram

A wonderful read!
This novel drew me in from the very first page and kept me hooked until the end. The characters were vibrant and relatable, the writing was engaging, and the story had just the right balance of heart and humor. Highly recommend!
Many thanks to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for my ARC. All opinions are my own.

I’m so excited for you all to read Sunny Side Up.

Katie Sturino’s novel takes place in New York City where we meet Sunny Greene, a 35 year old woman having a crisis in the dressing room of Bergdorf Goodman’s while trying on a truly terrible and ill-fitting swimsuit. She’s going on a “divorcation” with her friends Brooke and Noor, who are all ready to move on with their lives post-divorce. Sunny is already the owner of her own PR firm and owns the Chelsea apartment of her dreams, but she struggles with her body image and loving herself for who she is. With her brother’s wedding looming in the distance, she’s ready to get back out there and find a new love to bring as her date. While on vacation, she also comes to the realization that if the stores won’t create beautiful swimwear accessible in all sizes, why not do it herself? With some words of encouragement from her family and friends, Sunny is ready to put herself back out there in her professional and personal life as she moves towards a journey of self-fulfillment and acceptance.

I really adored this novel. Sure, it’s cheesy at times but I loved Sunny and her life! I also love that this story is a romance/self-discovery story with a female main character over the age of 35 who is plus sized. There isn’t enough of that in this sphere and it’s really refreshing. I loved her friends, her assistant and her love interests. It is a bit obvious who she’ll pick in the end. I also love the sections of her newsletter that we received every month. It was a fun demonstration of the character and who she presents as versus how she feels in her inner monologue.

This is a (mostly) lighthearted summer read that would be perfect for sitting by the beach!

Thank you to Celadon Books and Netgalley for this advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

Body acceptance. Female empowerment. Sex, fashion, dating...this book had it all. It was like if Sex and the City starred Melissa McCarthy instead of Sarah Jessica Parker. You couldn't help but root for the main character, while of course hating half of her choices. One of those books you just can't put down!

☀️Book Review - Sunny Side Up 👙

Body dissatisfaction is a common issue that I have never seen discussed in a book in detail quite like this. For it being such a hard topic, we do not talk about it enough as we should due to the negative impacts it can cause on our mental health. I thought this book did a fabulous job at explaining the various aspects of body dissatisfaction to the point where readers would gain an understanding of whether or not they suffer from this mental disorder. Anyway, enough about body dissatisfaction, and more about the book! Do you just love when you are from the same state as the main character of a book?! Well, Sunny and I are both from Wisconsin, so I instantly felt some type of connection to her. She is also someone that I would want to be friends with. Actually, I want to be friends with First Wives Club (even though I am 21 years old and have never been divorced). There were different aspects within the plot such as the development of a swimwear line, previous relationships, new relationships, an upcoming wedding, and the list goes on. One major downfall of this book was that the banter between Sunny and the guys is cheesy and unrealistic. This book did not have a lot of dialogue between characters. Along with this, so much happened in the past, that I felt the author spent a majority of the book “playing catch-up” trying to inform us of what happened to Sunny before the start of the book.

Thank you to NetGalley, Celadon Books, and the author for the opportunity to read an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Rating ⭐️: 3/5

Read if you like:
- The Golden Girls
- Sex and the City
- Love triangles
- New York City
- Body positivity

#sunnysideup #katiesturino #bookreview #romancebook #romance #bodypositivity #nyc #lovetriangle #kindle #netgalley #book #arc #advancedreadercopy

What a fun, fun read!
It is so nice to read a book with a main character who is 'Everywoman'- just out there trying to do her best, and love and value herself in the face of messaging that love needs to be earned in a variety of ways. No, we are inherently lovable and we all belong, regardless of size, shape or anything else. GO SUNNY!

Enjoy!!

Thank you to Netgalley and Celadon Books for an ARC of Sunny Side Up in exchange for an honest review.

Sunny Side Up is a breezy, cheerful read that tries to deliver an empowering message about resilience and self-love. Katie Sturino’s voice is friendly and relatable, and there’s a real charm to the book’s upbeat tone. It’s the kind of story that’s easy to pick up when you need something light and positive.

However, while the positivity is infectious, the novel often stays at the surface. The characters felt a bit one-dimensional, and the plot moved predictably without offering many surprises or emotional depth. At times, it read more like a series of inspirational posts stitched together than a fully developed narrative.

That said, for readers looking for a feel-good, no-drama escape with an affirming message, Sunny Side Up delivers on its title. It’s pleasant—but if you're hoping for a story that really sticks with you after the last page, it might leave you wanting a little more substance.

Super fast and fun read for summer, a rom com with a deeper message that should resonate with so many women. This isn't my preferred genre, and it didn't quite transcend its genre for me, but I appreciate that it is focused on empowerment and positive cultural change.

I have been following Katie Sturino for years and have always loved how honest and real she is about body acceptance, fatphobia, diet culture, and how messy the body positivity conversation really is. She has never sugarcoated it. She always tells the truth, even when it is uncomfortable, and I have always appreciated that. So when I found out she was writing a novel, I could not wait to get my hands on it. Sunny Side Up gave me exactly what I needed.

This book feels like a big, slightly chaotic, ridiculously heartfelt hug. Sunny Greene is thirty-five, newly divorced, standing in the Bergdorf swimsuit department trying not to lose it. Watching her start over and figure out who she wants to be, without shrinking herself to fit someone else’s version of "good enough," felt so real and hit me right in the heart.

Her dating life? A whole adventure. Dennis the sweet postman, Ted the business mogul with big dreams, and of course the ex who cannot seem to stay in the past. But the best part is that it is never about who she ends up with. It is about Sunny choosing herself, again and again, even when it is messy and hard.

Katie’s writing feels like the best kind of group text with your best friends at two in the morning. Honest. Funny. Fierce. Full of all the complicated feelings that come with loving yourself in a world that keeps telling you not to. Sunny’s journey is about building a life that actually fits her, not one that tries to shrink her down.

If you have ever had to start over, or if you have ever looked around and realized you deserve more, this book is going to feel like a deep breath you did not know you needed.

Thanks to NetGalley and Celadon Publishing for my ARC in exchange for my honest review. This book will published June 24, 2025.

This is the first book I’ve read by this author. I didn’t realize she was a body-acceptance advocate who raises awareness of size inclusivity. This is a prominent theme in the book as the main character Sunny tries to find a bathing suit to fit her plus-size body. .

It was a quick and fun rom-com but I would have liked it better if Sunny didn’t have so many one night stands. I also felt like she lacked judgment by posting her personal dating experiences on her newsletter Sunny Side Up. This ultimately brought my rating down from 4 to 3 stars.

That being said, I knew she was headed for trouble when she was juggling Ted (the investor), Dennis (the mailman) and Zack (her ex-husband). While the ending was predictable it was still a good story about being true to yourself and your values.

Loved the group of best friends (the First Wives Club) and especially Avery.

A refreshing novel of women of strength bonding together to support each other. Sunny, 35, extremely successful, recently divorced and overweight is living her dream life in NYC. She experiences the ups and downs of dating while trying to accept and love herself. The storyline is relevant for so many women despite how thin and gorgeous or heavy and beautiful because it shows how women strive to be perfect as well as how many times women put themselves down no matter how perfect they are because so many don't feel or have been made to feel unworthy at some point in their life. This book gives a big shout out to women everywhere to change the way they talk to themselves and never give up hope on your story. So gratifying to finally read about a plus sized character that is both sexy and funny, creative as well as strong. Sunny is very likable and would love to be her friend and doesn't everyone need an Avery. Avery what a friend and supporter. Really enjoyed and would love to see more from this author. Many thanks to the author, publisher and Netgalley.

This wasn't a horrible book (it was well-written grammatically, but unbelievable), and it may help women with body acceptance, but the main story was beyond plausible. This book held my attention, but I found myself rolling my eyes throughout.

This is a 35-year-old woman who has a breakdown after trying on swimsuits in a high-end store. Mind you, this woman is 35 (I think) so she has had years to come to accept her body, and she has the maturity to understand that you should give a poop about what anyone else thinks.

Sunny thinks she has to bring a date to her brother's wedding, so she starts dating using various means. To me, her "dating" two men at the same time while writing about it on her blog was the tackiest thing I've ever seen, and advertising it, although she did use code names, was the most immature thing I've ever heard of.

Now, while all of this is going on, she is running her own very successful company, although I can't for the life of me remember what the company did since she basically ignored it while opening up another company. One that created top-of-the-line luxury swimsuits for those who don't fit the sizes typically shown in high-end stores. Which I find challenging to believe still happens.

Everything has been pretty much handed to Sunny on a silver platter - not literally, but in the book, she really doesn't work too hard for what she gets. She has mindblowing sex with two or three hunky men and one idiot and she didn't have to work too hard to get any of them.

I don't know; I really can't explain why this book irritated me so much. But it did!

*ARC: Supplied by the publisher Celadon Books, the author, and NetGalley.

I was initially drawn to Sunny Side Up because it seemed like frothy New York lightness I needed. While I enjoyed Sunny’s perspective most of the time, after a while it began to grate on me. I think because all the main characters were so high energy, all the time! It just missed the mark for me, though I appreciate what the author was trying to do for body acceptance and positivity.

stop this was adorable!
A very easy read and I was glad to see it wasn't a typical main character we usually read about!
I can't wait to have my friends read it when it is released!

Thank you NetGalley for the arc!

Sunny Side Up is a new novel by Katie Sturino for all the second-act ladies out there. Sunny is trying to find her mojo after a divorce from a marriage that only lasted a handful of months. She's put on weight and lost a lot of confidence, but she's determined not to let that d*ck of a husband have the last laugh. I thought this book was funny, reflective, and actually quite stressful to read, though it wraps up nicely in the end.

There is a lot of body positivity here. Sunny is a plus sized gal who works in PR and the fashion industry. For too long she's seen brand after brand compromise in the wrong direction on size distribution and availability. Encouraged by her friends, Sunny is inspired to start a new swimsuit line of her own with the goal of getting size-inclusive suits in brick-and-mortar stores for women like her to finally feel good about flaunting swimwear. At the same time, she's getting back out there, hoping to wash the grime of her ex-husband out of her intimate memories. She gets a little narrow focused on herself in that pursuit and as the plot thickens, it is more than just her own heart on the line.

Though I could feel the tension brewing early in this book, and saw the big conflict in the end coming from a mile away, I really enjoyed the story. It has many important messages including but not limited to:

There is life after divorce

Plus sized women also need clothes, brands...listen up

You don't have to compromise your values to be successful

It's okay to explore to figure out what it is you really want, but...

Be clear about where you're at with other people! They have feelings too!

This book felt more realistic than a lot of the 'typical' romances I've been reading lately. Though Sunny is making good headway on her dreams, she also finds herself getting increasingly tangled in other situations she didn't mean to find herself in at all. From her own perspective, the whole thing makes so much sense, and who hasn't found themselves in some situation in life that went too far (romantic or otherwise).

This is the kind of book that really helps build empathy in the reader. I understood Sunny. I saw her. I wanted to have a girl's night with her and point out some of the things she wasn't seeing so clearly in the thick of it all. She's a lovely girl doing her best, and she'll be a great companion for anyone looking for a great summer read.

Note:: I received an early copy of this book from the publisher through netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.