Thank you to Celadon Books and NetGalley for an Advanced Reader's Copy (ARC) of this book. This book will be published on June 24, 2025.

3.5 stars rounded down to 3 stars.

I will start by saying that I LOVE Katie Sturino and everything that she stands for. I am a long time follower of hers and have been using Mega Babe for years! When I saw that she had written a Romance book, I was super excited to read it.

This book follows Sunny Greene, a recently divorced PR business owner, who is navigating her newly single life in NYC. As she starts to develop a new business idea, she suddenly has three men pining over her. Will she choose Mr. Postman, the silver fox, or her ex?

I would definitely say this book was more women's fiction than romance. It is SUPER HEAVY on the body positivity aspect, which I expected since that is everything Katie stands for. However, I felt like since it was so much about Sunny's insecurities, it took away from the romance trope.

I always worry when someone who becomes famous for something other than writing, writes a book, but I couldn't deny that it was a very well written book. This book will definitely resonate with lots of people and I think that's great. I just didn't connect to it the way I wanted to.

I did love the references to "The Golden Girls" and will absolutely be purchasing a swimsuit from Katie's ACTUAL swim line that was just released. If you're looking for a fiction book that has a strong focus on women's insecurities and how to remedy them, this book is for you.

This book was such a fun read. I connected with the FMC and her process of learning to love her body ~as it is.~ It felt very relatable with a twist a humor along the way. The romance aspect is entertaining, but her friendships are the real winner here. A great book with a needed reminder as we head into the summer months, a time that can be challenging for body image!

This book spoke to me on a level I didn’t know I needed. Katie Sturino’s voice feels like chatting with your funniest, most honest friend who refuses to sugarcoat a single thing. I adored the balance of wit and vulnerability in the writing. Sunny is relatable, flawed, and fierce in all the right ways, and watching her navigate dating, friendship, and self-love felt like a celebration of what it means to truly put yourself first. What really stayed with me was how this story embraces confidence in every shape and size and reminds us that beauty and worth are so much bigger than a number on a tag. It’s a fresh, joyful take on the modern romance I couldn’t put down.

A perfect summer read, that made me LOVE BEING A WOMAN! I truly could not put this down! The characters felt real and relatable and I empathized with her journey. I can’t wait to see what Katie writes next!

This book is perfect for fans of author Jennifer Weiner. Sunny Greene is trying to navigate the NYC as a newly divorced woman and is finally accepting herself as a plus size woman. She's successful in so many ways and lives a fantastic life,, but she's missing love. She wants a new shot at a relationship, and we are along for the ride!
Perfect fluffy summer read with a big heart-I can see this a streaming series in the near future. The author is the founder of Megababe, which I thought was an interesting aside!

Thank you NetGalley for a copy of this fun summer read! I really enjoyed the concept and the execution for this book. It was fun and funny, and I loved all the characters, especially our MVP Sunny. The story wasn't overly complicated but still very uplifting. I found myself chuckling along to some of Sunny's antics but also routing for her. It almost had me wishing that her Substack was a real blog I could follow. I think so much of Sunny's confidence issues really touch on her real self esteem problems that many women face and I enjoyed the wit with which the story tackled something so confusing and overwhelming. I think overall Sunny is relatable and engaging as a narrator and I really loved the addition of her 'blogs' as part of the book.
I think the only part that really bothered me was the extreme internalized fatphobia that the book starts with and I wish there had been a little more lead into that. Although I think it sets the tone really well for the rest of the book which deals with that in its own way.

I adore Katie Sturino and her body-positive messages. I appreciate novels starring fabulous plus-size characters, and I so identified with her opening dressing room disaster that it caused sweaty flashbacks.

That said, I couldn’t quite get a handle on the main character. She is self-flagellating and planning starvation diets in the dressing room, and a few pages later is strutting her stuff naked in front of a construction worker. And I get a little tired of the wildly successful PR mogul character backgrounds as a PR professional myself.

Overall, I’m very glad Katie is writing books and championing plus-sized characters, but I just didn’t find myself reaching for this one as eagerly as I had hoped to.

You can't help but root for Sunny. She is coming into her own, recognizing her mistakes once her marriage fell apart. Now if she can just remember those lessons as the rat tries to re-enter her new wonderful life. Not even considering him, she has two wonderful men in her life that she is having trouble choosing between. Listen to your heart, Sunny!

I’ve followed Katie for some time and was interested when I saw she wrote a book. I thought the depiction of being over weight and dressing room struggles was real. However a lot of the storylines especially those surrounding her love life seemed so implausible. It was well written I just don’t think I’m the target audience.

Sunny Side Up follows the story of a woman navigating life, love, and self-acceptance after a recent divorce. In an effort to regain her confidence and sense of control, she throws herself into dating, casual flings, and self-discovery. Along the way, she faces ups and downs as she tries to figure out who she really is and what she wants out of love, life, and herself.

While I really appreciated the body positivity and messages of women empowerment woven throughout the book, I struggled with the main character’s choices and mindset. She often came across as entitled, and her life felt so unrealistic at times that it was hard to connect with her. I couldn’t help but feel that she would have truly benefited from therapy to sort through some of her emotional struggles, rather than diving headfirst into a series of relationships.

One part that especially didn’t sit right with me was how she put pressure on herself to find a boyfriend within a specific time frame. It felt forced and unnecessary, and it kind of went against the whole “empowerment” theme. Her need for a partner seemed to undermine her sense of self-worth, which was frustrating to watch, especially in a story that aimed to celebrate independence. And when she finally ended up with the guy at the end, the moment fell flat. We barely knew him as a character, so the ending didn’t feel earned or rewarding. Overall, the book had good intentions, but the execution didn’t quite work for me.

Thank you to the publisher for the arc through NetGalley! All opinions are my own honest opinions.

A fun, bring on vacation kind of read! Sunny was refreshingly relatable (who hasn’t cried trying on swimsuits at a department store?) and her group of friends (“The First Wives Club”) was one of my favorite aspects of the story. Such great characters, heart and humor.

Thanks to Celadon Books and Libro FM for the ARC and ALC of this book! I enjoyed aspects of this book, but overall it was not my favorite. The main character was quite likeable and I loved that she was a little bit older. As a thirty something, I enjoyed reading about someone close to my own age. This book was definitely more about self discovery than it was a romance. For me, more romance details would have really enhanced the story. I really loved the meet cute between the two main characters a lot! Overall, this was an easy quick read and the audio was also very well done. There was just something missing that made me like it and not love it. I appreciate the opportunity to both read and listen to it!

This book looked so cute from the cover and I was thrilled to get a copy. THis was a good summer read--quick and light. Thanks so much!

I follow Katie Sturino and her body neutrality ethos- I love her passion and support of all people and bodies. I was excited to see she wrote a novel and in reading it I felt like a lot of her personal experiences went into it. I liked the strong female friendships, finding new love, and building confidence in all things! It was a cute story with a good message.

This is a debut novel following Sunny Greene, a 35-year-old, plus-sized PR mogul navigating life post-divorce in New York City. Facing challenges in both her personal and professional life, Sunny embarks on a journey of self-discovery, body acceptance, and entrepreneurship. There’s a romance subplot (which is cute and charming), but this book at its core is about self-love, friendship, and owning your space in the world—especially when society keeps trying to shrink you.

Thank you to Celadon Books and NetGalley for the ARC.

I loved this book! I started reading it and then turned to the audio and LOVED the audio and recommend it in audio. Sunny is a bigger girl, tall and full sized and she is comfortable in her skin. As a newly divorced woman she met two other divorced women and they formed a close friendship. When they decide to take a beach vacation, or divocation, she has to shop for a swimsuit which comes with all sorts of PTSD. After a disastrous shopping experience she turns to her trusty tailor and together they construct the perfect suit for her of her design. When she shows up on the beach in the suit and is a hit in it and new career starts. Oh, wait, while this is going on her brother is getting married and she needs a plus one, she also hires a new assistant who jump starts her blog that has been missing from her life where she documents her life, including her dating and new venture. This was so much fun and from the silver fox to the postman to the duds, growing with her and all the ups and downs of life had me listening and enjoying this one!

I loved this story, it really meant a lot to me. Sunny was a badass, transformational queen who I adored at any size or shape she could have been! I’ve struggled with my weight almost my whole life and it’s been rough. The world puts so much pressure on women to fit into the molds that we’re given. I loved how she went through her whole arc of misery and stress to acceptance and love. It gives me hope!

"Sunny Greene is thirty-five, recently divorced, facing the looming prospect of going solo to her little brother’s wedding, and currently trying to find anything plus-sized in the Bergdorf Goodman swimsuit department that doesn’t make her want to cry. It’s not going well. But isn’t rock bottom the perfect place to start a climb?

She decides it’s now or never. Sunny has her PR empire, her gorgeous Chelsea apartment, her two dogs, and her loyal best friends. Maybe it's time to just love her body and accept herself for who she is. With a new commitment to confidence, her journey begins. Who says a plus-sized divorcee can’t put herself first, feel beautiful, and date up a storm?

Of course things are never straightforward in the dating world. Is fate knocking at her door with Dennis, the charming and down-to-earth mailman, or should she be with Ted, the business tycoon who seems ready to make her size-inclusive swimsuit brand a reality? And what should she do about her ex, who shows up unexpectedly, eager to reconnect?

With the same candor and confidence her followers love, Sturino brings us Sunny Greene, a Carrie Bradshaw for the next generation, and her journey through the trials and triumphs of dating, friendship, and finding yourself."

I'm a huge fan of Katie Sturino and have followed her for years, so when I heard she was coming out with a fiction book, I was so excited! The book was a really fun escape, and if you follow Katie, you'll be able to recognize inspiration taken from her own life—as a result, it was easy to root for Sunny, and I found her to be very relatable. We all go through periods of starting over and having to rebuild aspects of your life, and it was oddly comforting to walk through Sunny's process of finding herself, new friendships, and dealing with the aftermath of her divorce. There was a lot of body talk, so if there's anyone who has somehow escaped unscathed thus far from diet culture and has a healthy body image, it might be too much, but as a millennial woman who experienced coming of age in the early aughts, it was very affirming and cathartic.

While certain plot points felt a little unrealistic, and there were many of-the-moment pop culture references, those things are also what made the story entertaining and a perfect summer read. It had a great sense of place, and the love for NYC is apparent—it had definite Sex and the City vibes, which was really fun. You never know what you're going to get with debut fiction, but Sturino did a great job, and I'm looking forward to seeing what's next from her!

Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the eARC. All opinions are my own.

3.75/5

This book isn't well constructed. There's nothing to keep me reading, and a lot to stop me: being didactic on fatness and overwhelming on fashion, plus thin on characterization --I cannot for the life of me understand her dating life or tendencies... And I'm just not enjoying it.

Sunny Side Up by Katie Sturino
3.5/5 🌟

Sunny is a bigger gal who at 35 is freshly divorced but has great friends and a thriving career. I really liked how she is a character with so much heart and copes with feelings about her size in healthy ways. I really appreciated her very realistic emotions and the complicated experience of being a woman with a non sample size figure.

A lot of romance and loving yourself and it’s a ridiculously optimistic story!