I like chick lit, but unfortunately I found this bereft of humor or originality. I don’t mind kvetching about clothing sizes or broken hearts because I think most of us can relate, but a writer needs to say something new about well-worn subjects. I DNFd this at 21%.

Sunny is recently divorced, but she made some amazing friends through the process, and the girls are headed to the Bahamas for a girls trip! That requires bathing suit shopping, and Sunny is not thrilled with the three options the store has for plus sized girls like herself. She buys the least horrible of the options, and brings it to her tailor to create something a bit more “her.” When her friends see her however, they convince Sunny that she has to start a bathing suit line that will fit women of all sizes. Sunny quickly begins to wonder what it would be like to find flattering styles for herself in the store, and what it would mean to other plus size girls to find the same. Oh, and she is determined to find a date for her brothers wedding this summer, so add dating into the mix too!

Raise your hand if you have never hated your body while trying on bathing suits. If you hand is up please put it down because I don’t believe you. Even in my high school years as a size freaking two trying on bathing suits made me want to curl up and cry. That may also have had something to do with friends that made comments like Zach does in this book! Thankfully @KatieSturino the founder of @megababe and author of this book introduced me to my favorite @Summersalt bathing suits! That’s beside the point though. I loved this book! I knew exactly how Sunny was feeling while trying bathing suits on in the store, and I knew exactly how she felt when she finally made a suit that she felt good in. What I truly loved though was the confidence that Sunny had! I love a strong, confident female character and sunny had it all! I of course enjoyed her dating adventures and Silverfox vs Mr. Postman as well. I won’t tell you who I was rooting for! And that ending? Chefs kiss!

Thank you to @celadonbooks for my gifted copy of this book!

Thank you to NetGalley and Celadon Books for an ARC of Katie Sturino's Sunny Side Up. Unfortunately, I am only 35% into the book and have decided to walk away from the book leaving it unfinished. As I have said before, as much as I hate to put a book down and walk away from it, I tend to give books 20% and if I am not into the book, I walk away since there are so many wonderful books out there to read. Since I was given an ARC of this book, I gave it a longer chance then I usually do. At 35% in, I don't care about any of the characters or what they mean towards the story. Sunny seems like a lost soul who doesn't care what anyone thinks in one second and then is super insecure in the next. She loves her "besties" but has known them for less than a year. I'm 35% into the book and not much has actually happened. Because of this, I am choosing to walk away from the book and rating it with only 1 star.

Sunny Greene has a great professional life but a lousy romantic one. Her recent divorce has led her to add significant pounds to her already large frame. Now she needs to find a date for her brother’s wedding. Dating apps lead her through a series of unsuccessful ventures. Her friends and staff, however, help her to get through the rough spots and tackle new ventures. Sturino’s novel deals with issues like body image and female friendships. Though this is a quick read, it tackles some serious subjects. It would make a great book club selection. I thank NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this ARC.

Oh my gosh, do not sleep on this rom com. This modern day romance made me laugh, cry and have all the feels. I haven’t enjoyed a book like this in a long time. Sunny Side Up is what the reboot of Sex in the City should be.!

4.75 stars rounded up.

Honestly? This book was as Sunny as the title may suggest. Despite the fact that a theme of society and how it dictates body acceptance may seem like it could be a downer, this book is anything but.

Sunny has struggled her whole life with her size and what others think of it. She loves fashion and she’s got ambition and drive. She’s confident in who she is until she isn’t. We meet her when she’s trying to listen to herself again, when she’s trying to follow her inner self that is happy and whole.

I loved it all. The friendship, the love and the self-love. The body positivity is borderline too much, but in a society that’s constantly telling us to hate ourselves is that really a bad thing?

The audio version of this book is perfection. It’s storytelling at its best.

Advanced listener copy provided by Libro.fm but all opinions are my own.

I received a free DRC of this book through Netgalley. I liked how strong the Sunny character was and her two sidekicks Brooke and Noor were also inspirational with fresh starts after their divorces. This book was compared to Sex and the City in the blurb, but I also think it reminded me a lot of Jen Lancaster who writes with such humor and personality in all of her books. I enjoyed it greatly.

This book was a joy! I'm so glad I was chosen to read this. It was fun and lighthearted and totally relatable! Thank you so much!

What a fun read! The story is light, fast paced and humourous. The chapters vary in length- descriptive and well written. I enjoyed the story. I giggled, blushed (at some parts), and cheered. Sturino is certainly a body acceptance advocate. Bravo!! Sunny Side Up is a perfect summer beach read!
Thank You to NetGalley, Celadon Books, and Katie Sturino for the opportunity to read and enjoy this ARC.
(3.5 /5)

This was such a powerful and uplifting book. Sunny picks herself up and learns to believe in herself and go get the career she wants. I liked all the body positive messages and that it is easy to go down a rabbit hole of comparing yourself to others but we need to be our own best cheerleader. It was easy to relate as she was trying on clothes that just didn't fit or work for her size.

I liked how it focused on friendships and positivity.

Brava to Katie Sturino for crafting a fun summer read. I enjoyed Sunny and her quest for self fulfillment. Loved the up to the moment cultural refs, and the sense of NYC’s excitement. I also loved how well drawn the pain was, of trying on dreadful suits in BIG sizes that aren’t big at all. It’s so shaming, and I love how Sunny came up with a solution not just for herself, but for all women who suffer humiliation at the hands of a judgmental size-obsessed western society. Well done!

This was so fun! Sunny was a great main character and I really loved how her story was not centered around her weight. I feel like a lot ( less now though in 2025) of stories featuring a plus size main character tend to depict weight loss as a goal to achieve. I love how Sunny was working on herself to heal after her divorce, find her community, and continue to excel in her career. The supporting cast was great and I was so happy with the ending and who she ends with. Now where can I get a SONNY swimsuit??

Katie Studio has written the most deliciously delightful book!!! Sunny Side Up is a must read for all women!!! I love how she takes you as the reader and makes you look at your body in through her eyes!! Thank you for letting me enjoy the feeling of trying on a bathing suit and knowing "Sunny" got it! The references of the golden girls for the pups was cute, and her divorced friends and the adventure of dating just so fun. I high recommend this book, read it, enjoy it, laugh along with it.

“Women spend, on average, 40 percent of our day worrying about our bodies.”

Sunny Side Up is the debut novel by the amazing Katie Sturino - body acceptance advocate and founder of Megababe. Sunny is recently divorced and living in Chelsea with her two dogs, The Golden Girls. She is a successful entrepreneur and owner of Le Ballon Rouge, a PR firm, but as a plus-size woman, her body acceptance and confidence can be lacking. After reaching her lowest point (getting stuck in a too-tight swimsuit in a Bergdorf Goodman’s dressing room), Sunny begins the journey of getting her life, image, and confidence back on track. This of course includes finding a date to her brother’s wedding and all the dating fun that that entails!

How REFRESHING! As someone who has gone up and down with my weight (from an eating disorder when I was younger to then having 3 kids and trying to lose weight – which can be a rollercoaster ride) the internal monologues that Sunny has with herself in this novel, and then in her Sunny Side Up newsletter – were something that I absolutely loved reading.

While fiction, Sturino’s vulnerability detailed on these pages about self-acceptance, the difference between body acceptance and body positivity, how women believe that their thoughts, behavior and judgments about themselves and to/about others is normal, and the “[my] body, my business” underlying storylines are much needed and need to be today’s societal norms.

This book has so much going for it: The First Wives Club was incredible! Sign me up for adult girlfriends like that! There were spicy scenes, hot men to think about, and women-led businesses. Plus, all of the “peeks” into the behind-the-scenes fun from the entertainment and fashion world, and cooking industry, was an added bonus.

My main negative is that overall, I feel like this novel is a tad unrealistic (it is fiction! I get it!). Getting a swimsuit – or any fashion company or product – off the ground, with fabrics, production and distribution, would never ever happen within five months. Also, I get Sunny was already successful and already had a following with her newsletter, but it does seem that a lot of things were just handed to her from her rock-bottom bathing suit moment on . . . besides the jerk ex-husband and body issues commentary, of course (and money obviously was never an issue if she is shopping for swimsuits in Bergdorf). Sunny “gets” two extremely hot men, and multiple dating situations, and a new company while successfully running another company, all within a short period of time.

In addition, I wasn’t too keen on the playing/dating two men at the same time while the other had no idea (“not a crime” in NY!) – maybe this was simply because I liked Mr. Postman so much, but I then cringed when Sunny would put too much information about these men into a dating newsletter thinking that that was ok.

I wish this was a picture book with photos of the swimsuits! I would have loved to see all of the designs and the cuts – sounds like a swimsuit brand I would need and buy.

I love how Sturino tackled size inclusivity head on and think that all of my girlfriends should read Sunny Side Up!

To every woman who has had a dressing room breakdown (mine was in a target when my youngest son was 11 weeks old – shopping for a swimsuit for a vacation and I broke down and cried in the dressing room) – this novel is for you!!!!!

4 big stars (only down from a 5 due to what I mentioned above)! Thank you to NetGalley for this empowering ARC! All opinions are my own.

“Your body is not the problem. You are worthy of everything you desire … EXACTLY as you are today. . . . [Y]ou are a whole person on your own, as is. Don’t forget that …”

As a follower of Katie Sturino, even though I haven't read her previous books, I adored Sunny Side Up. I love a character who knows who she is and what she wants but also knows she can change if she wants. This is such a fun but endearing book. The ultimate beach read. All the suns and drinks for this book. I loved the romance parts but I enjoyed the friendship parts way more. I felt like I was in the friend group as we kept up with the friends throughout the book, Sunny never forgot them and they were her number one priority, besides the Golden Girls. I can't wait to read more fiction by Katie!

I wanted to love this book and thought I would based on the description. It had so many good things, especially the over 30 FMC. I just couldn’t connect with it. While it tried to be body positive the way it was done made me uncomfortable. In general, let’s not give an actual tangible size or weight. Once you do the reader will automatically compare themselves to that. If you just explained generally they can draw their own opinions. Just a thought. The readers may really enjoy. Just didn’t work for me.

This was shallow, unrealistic and distasteful. It tried to promote itself as an overweight-acceptance book but thru so much of it, she was ruminating about body-shaming one second, and accepting the next, just to go back again and obsess in detail. It was often played off as trying to be funny but it wasn’t in the least. It just felt depressing.

For unrealistic, I don’t know of too many startups that make it in NYC for a 20-30 something. It seemed like everything miraculously worked out for Sunny and just wasn’t believable.

And thru the whole book, she was basically just interested in one one-night stand after another. Then blogged about her sexual exploits - in a newsletter! - which felt insane and so so cringey. Who does that??

Multiple times I almost DNFd it and should have done it at the first. Really hated it.

Thanks to Netgalley for the advanced copy of this book. All opinions are mine.

This book feels like your favorite group chat come to life—equal parts heart, humor, chaos, and deep support. Sunny is a 35-year-old plus-size PR queen with sharp wit, two adorable dogs, and a life that’s begging for a reboot. After a brutal fitting-room meltdown (we’ve all been there) and a tough divorce, she decides it’s time to reclaim her confidence, curves, and maybe even her dating life.

Professionally, she’s thriving—but personally? Still healing. With the encouragement of her fiercely loyal (and hilarious) friend group, Sunny takes a bold leap: launching a size-inclusive swimwear brand and reviving her old newsletter, *Sunny Side Up*, where she spills all the messy, relatable moments of entrepreneurship, dating, and self-worth in a world obsessed with shrinking women down.

There’s some juicy love triangle tension (mailman or mogul? 👀), but what really steals the show is Sunny’s journey back to herself. This isn’t a makeover story—it’s a celebration of self, with every awkward, empowering, and laugh-out-loud moment along the way.

Mikaela Sturino’s voice is warm, witty, and so refreshingly real. A few parts skim the surface, but the emotional core never misses. Reading this is like sipping mimosas on a rooftop with your most honest friend—bubbly, a little messy, and completely satisfying.

If you're craving a feel-good, body-positive read that’s full of sass, heart, and real talk, add this one to your stack ASAP! 💛📖

First and foremost I received an e-arc from NetGalley. 🙂

I love what Katie Sturino has put together with this novel. People come in all shapes and sizes and should be included in every day life. It’s extremely refreshing to read about it and about the struggles we deal with when it comes to body image. I laughed and got frustrated a few times but it all works out in the end. Good stuff!

Okay so in theory this is all about body positivity and loving the skin your in, but she’s so entitled it’s hard to take seriously. Also, how do all these amazing things happen at once? Idk I DNF’d pretty early on because even as a “plus-sized” women in size 12/14, I couldn’t vibe.