Gosh this was so good! I loved Katie’s firsthand experience shining through on the page and I’m on a mission to find a great luxury swimsuit for the summer after reading this book.

I enjoyed this! A great book about body acceptance (love this idea vs body positivity) and finding yourself. I kept waiting for the other shoe to drop, something major to happen, but this was truly a story about a badass woman finding herself. No major outlandish drama. Felt like it could be real life.

I consider this a 'chick lit' book. although that name does not seem to exist anymore and on top of that, received ba bad name, completely unjustified, as far as I am concerned.

This book is cute. It does feel a bit recybled, but the main character was interesting enough to keep me engag3ed.

We will be getting this book for our patrons - who miss chick lit books.

For the most part, I found this book enjoyable. It was an easy read, and I genuinely appreciated Kate Sturino’s viewpoint on body acceptance instead of merely focusing on body positivity. As someone who has always faced challenges with weight and shopping, I found it refreshing to encounter a character who mirrored those struggles. However, I was surprised when the character expressed distress over being a size 12, which I perceive as an average size—one that I have worked hard to attain. At times, I found Sunny to be a bit entitled and frustrating, yet she was also quite endearing. I truly wanted her to succeed. The story follows her entrepreneurial endeavors and her complicated dating life (Mr. Postman, Silver Fox, or the ex-husband—who will she choose?!). I loved that she was a devoted dog mom to The Golden Girls. Overall, it was a good read, despite the lingering discomfort regarding the sizing issue.

I've been a fan of Katie Sturino for awhile now and was excited to read this book! I like the main character, Sunny, and related to her in some ways. I wasn't a big fan of all the one night stands but enjoyed reading along on Sunny's journey. I loved Sunny's friend group and found their nickname hilarious. It was a cute easy ready and highlighted some of the struggles that bigger sized women face!

Excellent story of Sunny who was just divorced- overweight and successfully living in NYC. Such a great story of finding yourself and the ups and downs with dating. Before Sunny was married she had a blog and her creep of the now x husband talked her into shutting it down because people were joking about her weight. Sunny thought something was always fishy in their relationship and quickly discovered that she was entirely correct in her feelings about Zack and he was always only looking out for himself.
Thank you to NetGalley for ARC of this Fantastic story of Sunny!!

First, I’d like to thank NetGalley, Katie Sturino, and Celadon Books for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I zipped through the first 35% of Sunny Side Up in less than three hours—I simply could not put it down! Sunny's bold and bubbly personality immediately drew me in. I loved her mission to uplift women, her resilience in the face of life’s lemons, and the strong emphasis on body positivity. As a plus-sized, mid-30s entrepreneur, Sunny was a refreshingly relatable main character, and the found family she built with her new group of divorced friends was one of my favorite aspects of the story.

That said, what gave me a bit of an "ick" was the overwhelming number of love interests. It felt like too much and ultimately distracted from Sunny’s own journey of self-worth. At times, it seemed like she was still looking for external validation from men, which undercut the powerful message of self-love the book was aiming to deliver. I also felt that the story lacked a bit of emotional depth or realistic turmoil—it could have benefitted from more struggle to make Sunny’s triumphs feel fully earned.

Overall, this was an empowering and fun read with important themes, and I appreciated its focus on female friendships and confidence. If you're looking for a feel-good, body-positive book with a charming lead and lots of heart, this one's worth picking up!

Remember the fun of reading Lauren Weisberger in your 20's? Stories packed with amazing girlfriends, dating hits and misses, and new careers in the big city? Well Katie Sturino wrote an amazing debut, Sunny Side Up, which has some of those elements but our main character is 35, wooo!! I enjoyed this book so much! Ok let me tell you about. Sunny is 35, recently divorced, and currently crying in a Bergdorf Goodman's dressing room. A horrible swimsuit try on situation I think many of us can relate to. She's the founder of a very successful PR company but after the swimsuit incident she sees a real need in the fashion world: sexy and fashionable swimwear in plus sizes that are actually in stores! Part of our story focuses on that while the other is all about Sunny's dating life. Her brother is getting married and the race is on to find a date for it. She's finally down to two potential choices: the silver fox and mr.postman, who couldn't be more different. This story was so fun while also addressing deeper ideas about body acceptance and self worth. The dialogue was so witty and I genuinely wanted to be friends with these characters! I instantly started following Katie on instagram after because I just love her vibe. Thank you Celadon Books and NetGalley for the gifted copy in exchange for an honest view. This one hits June 24th and will be perfect for summer reading!!

Sunny Side Up is a light, fun read about a woman rebuilding her life after divorce in NYC. Sunny is successful, confident, and curvy—and it’s great to see a plus-size protagonist at the center of a story about self-love, friendship, and dating. There’s a lot to enjoy here, especially the body positivity and the upbeat tone.

That said, the story sometimes feels more like a fantasy than real life. The romantic drama mostly revolves around too many men being obsessed with Sunny, and her sudden leap into swimsuit design while running a PR firm felt pretty unrealistic. The love story also felt a bit rushed, especially with the guy she ends up with.

Overall, it’s a feel-good book with charm and heart. If you're in the mood for a modern rom-com with a strong, stylish heroine, this one delivers—even if it asks you to suspend disbelief more than once.

Thank you to NetGalley, Katie Sturino, and the publisher for the advance digital copy in exchange for my honest review.

I was really annoyed with the MFC for constant talk about her body image and being overweight. This book was hard to be motivated to continue.

I’ve been a fan of Katie Sturino’s for a long time so I was excited to read this!

This was a light and easy read that overall I enjoyed. I liked the New York City setting, Sunny’s drive and her world, and her relatable struggle with her weight and body and the desire to just…stop thinking about it, be included in the world of clothes and swimsuits (and the world at large), and use that energy for good. I like the idea of body acceptance (my body is fine, let’s move on) vs. body positivity (I love my cellulite, it’s so special!). I gasped at some of the horrible things that were said and done to her because she exists in a larger body, knowing as I do that those things actually happen.

Some of the book felt uneven and choppy to me, with more telling than showing, and I especially didn’t fully buy the love story though I liked the pair that ended up together. It felt like it was at times veering toward a modern day Sex and The City but I cringed at some of the love scenes. They just…happened so fast and didn’t seem great and I didn’t buy her emotional response to them. A lot of the emotional parts of the book felt underdeveloped. And, by the end, I kind of hated Sunny?

SPOILER ALERT:
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She promised Dennis from the start that she wouldn’t hurt him…while she was doing all the things she knew would hurt him. Ew! It made her hard to root for. She slept with him when he’d specifically told her why he was taking it slow for sooo long—if she wasn’t actually committing to him she shouldn’t have done it. Gross. If it were a male character doing that to a woman, I wouldn’t be happy if they ended up together. Justice for Dennis! (There also wasn’t any body acceptance for men here? They are all muscley and delicious. Again, if roles were reversed…)

Also Ted was a walking red flag. Hitting on your business partner from the jump? Not hot: gross.

All of that said, I flew through this in a few days, and appreciate this as a mainstream book about some of the issues Sunny deals with. Thank you NetGalley and Celadon Books for the advance copy in exchange for honest review!

A familiar story (post-divorce redemption) that does not cover new ground, but it is told with notable softness and humor. Sturino’s voice is friendly and engaging, the pace is quick and easy, and the messaging is positive and uplifting – resulting in a pleasant and comforting read. I like that it is as much (maybe even more so) a love story of the self, as it is a romance. And with dominant themes of body affirmation, optimism and kindness, this book is a real mental pick-me-up.

I DNF this at around 35%. There was too much "world building" in the first two chapters for me, which feels like a lot for a novel that isn't in the fantasy genre. I follow Katie on social media and love her honesty, but it just didn't translate to fiction for me. I understand this to be loosely based on Katie's own life and experiences but as someone who has followed her career and life (as much as she has shared on socials), it felt too repetitive and I wanted to get to some real conflict.

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.