This book was an absolute delight. I adored Sunny and all of her dating and career adventures. The audio was well done and it was a fun read.

Sunny Side Up by Katie Sturino is bold and body-positive—just like its heroine. As a plus-sized woman, this book felt like a warm hug and a rallying cry at the same time. Sunny Greene is thirty-five, recently divorced, and navigating life, love, and swimsuits in a world that doesn't always make space for bigger bodies—and wow, did I see myself in her.

From the opening scene in the Bergdorf swimsuit section (an emotional minefield if there ever was one), Sunny’s story feels painfully relatable. Her voice—brought to life by narrator Yael Rizowy—made me laugh, cringe, and nod along in solidarity. Her journey through the messiness of body acceptance, dating again (a lot of spice), and launching a size-inclusive swimwear brand is chaotic in the best way.

Now, I’d be lying if I said everything added up. The whole 275 lbs and a size 14 thing? Ma’am. That math is not mathing. As someone who is a size 12/14 and 180 pounds, it took me out of the story a little, because those of us actually living in plus-sized bodies know the difference. Still, I appreciate that Sturino tried to write a character who defied the sad-sack fat girl stereotype—Sunny’s not hiding or shrinking; she’s taking up space and refusing to apologize for it. Do some of Sunny’s wins come a little too easily? Yeah. She hits rock bottom and bounces back into morning show interviews and retail success. But even when things got a little too fairytale, her emotional journey—especially her struggle to love herself consistently—felt real. That’s the part that stuck with me. Confidence isn’t linear, and Sunny’s setbacks made her feel human. NOW. The spice? It’s there. Was not expecting THAT. Open-door, multiple partners, and a lot of it. If that’s your jam, this will hit the spot. If not, maybe skim and stick to the heart of the story: a woman rebuilding her life and learning that her size doesn’t determine her worth—or her options.

Bottom line: Sunny Side Up is messy and fun—just like real life. If you’ve ever cried in a dressing room or felt like your body made you unworthy of a happy ending, this book might feel like the pep talk you didn’t know you needed.

Sunny Side Up by Katie Sturino was a quick read/listen.

First off, Yael Rizowy nails it as Sunny. Her narration brings warmth and personality, though I did raise an eyebrow at her Bronx-y take on Dennis. A bit much? Maybe. But I haven’t personally spoken to a lot of native New Yorkers, so who’s to say.

Now, let’s talk about Sunny herself. She’s described as 275 pounds and very tall, yet also a size 14. I’m sorry, what? A size 14 isn’t plus size in any meaningful way these days—especially not at that weight—and definitely wouldn’t need a seatbelt extender or struggle mightily to find a swimsuit. That math ain’t mathing. The author, who is a gorgeous size 18 and body-positive icon on Instagram, might have accidentally blurred the line between fiction and aspirational reality. It’s not the end of the world, but it did pull me out of the story.

That said, the book is fun. It’s a solid summer beach read, and Sunny’s circle of friends is an absolute delight. I couldn’t stand her dynamic with her ex (boundaries, girl)—but I’ve made some questionable relationship calls myself. The emotional toll of existing in a larger body is real and complex, and I appreciated how honestly that was explored. Some readers seemed annoyed that Sunny wasn’t “over it” by 35 or that her confidence wasn’t constant. But honestly? That’s real life. Confidence is not a switch you flip once and keep on forever.

All in all, I’m glad Sturino gave us a bigger-bodied heroine with nuance and I'll be checking out her other books.

This was such a good audiobook - think modern day
Bridgette Jones meets Sex and the City. Sunny is so funny, smart, and most importantly... relatable. She's just a girl in a big world, trying to survive and struggling to find the acceptance she wants and needs. This is a very body positive and empowering story. It's also fun, full of banter, funny thoughts, and real life situations. And of course, there is love.
True love. Macmillan Audio always knocks it out of the park with audiobooks. The narrator, Yael Rizowy was the perfect person to portray Sunny. Thank you Macmillan Audio for an early copy of Sunny Side Up. This is a wonderful debut novel from Katie Sturino!

Surprised by how much I loved this book! What a great story about a normal sized woman living in a world that wants to minimize her. I saw a lot of myself in her struggles, and have definitely experienced some of the same challenges as the main character, Sunny. I was surprised by the spicy romance, and delighted by the various elements of her glamorous New York City life. My one critique would be the amount of detail in the somewhat non-important element of the plot. Descriptions of outfits, decor, and locations were a bit overly expressive at times. I would absolutely recommend this story.

3+ rounded up

“I didn’t just want a different type of romantic relationship, I wanted a different type of relationship with myself, with my own body. I never wanted to feel helpless or at the mercy of someone else’s opinion again.”

Debut novelist Katie Sturino is a former publicist and present day entrepreneur and fashion blogger focusing on inclusive sizing. Her new novel is way out of this 60 something’s wheelhouse, but I found the content and messaging to be fun and sweet and hopeful.

Sunny Greene is a 35 year old divorcee with a successful PR firm and a lot of emotional baggage. A classic bathing suit try on meltdown opens the door to her creativity and an emotion-led opportunity.

The series of spicy (open door) romantic connections with wildly different outcomes was like a current day game of Mystery Date, but Sunny embraces each one and eventually gets a peek from the other side of the door. The growing popularity of her re-released newsletter reflects an adoring fan base with similar body positivity and inclusivity thoughts. I expect there will be strong feelings about this issue, but the novel addresses this with candor from the opening chapter. The themes of self discovery and confidence building will appeal to all sizes!

Narration by Yael Rizowy was well done and her characterization of Sunny herself was particularly polished.

Many thanks to Macmillan Audio for the early copy in exchange for my honest review.

Sunny Side Up
by Katie Sturino
1 out of 5 stars
To be published June 24, 2025

When Sunny's marriage ends after only three months, she finds herself trying to decide who to bring as a date to her brother's wedding. She is also building a business and launching a line of bathing suits, focusing on plus-sized women.

To be honest, there is nothing I can say I like about this book. It was a DNF for me at 79% because I absolutely could not stand one more disgusting description about sex. The "spice" level of this book is 4 out of 5, and it seems the plot is only there to drive to the next sex scene. This book is going nowhere and is WAY too long.

Other topics I did not enjoy include excessive use of swearing, particularly the "f" word and pot smoking. I actually had to look up a couple of the acronyms because I am not familiar with the slang.

I would not recommend this book to anyone, but I'm sure there is an audience out there who will enjoy it.

I received a review copy of this book from NetGalley and Macmillan Audio in exchange for my honest opinion.

This was the story I didn’t know I needed to hear. Loved it! Thanks to NetGalley, the author, and Macmillan Audio for the ARC.

#SunnySideUp #NetGalley

Fun, light, engaging romance! It was a fast read (especially on audiobook) and I really enjoyed it! I loved the themes of empowerment, body acceptance/neutrality, female friendship, and going after what you want! Sunny stands up for herself and what she wants and it made for a great read!

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC of this great audiobook!!

2.5 rounded up
I picked up this one when I read the blurb about a thirty five year old successful business women starting a company selling size inclusive bathing suits as well as a blog for women of all sizes to feel good about their bodies In the novel Sunny Green is recently divorced but has a successful career with her own PR company representing women owned businesses, has a supportive family, two great best friends and a great apartment. When she has trouble finding a bathing suit to fit her plus size body she feels she has hit rock bottom and decides to get her tailer to fit the bathing suits she has to buy on line to her body and dress them up a bit. This in turn gives her an idea and she ends up creating the bathing suit business for women of all sizes.

I was all in for that part of the book, and for Sunnys positive outlook about her body. But in the course of the book Sunny sleeps with quite a few men, seems to have business opportunities falling into her lap, and her vision of rock bottom seems awfully privileged to me. As soon as she resumes writing her blog, she has tons of followers and is mentioned on all the national morning shows. Before you know it her brand new bathing suit line, which only took 6 months to get off the ground, is in all sorts of popular stores as well as online. The unrealistic nature of all of this as well as the dating story line just did not work for me. I am also guessing that for other readers who are looking for a light beach read and are not sensitive to those issues it will be an enjoyable read, it just was not for me.

Thank you to Net galley and Macmillan Audio for the audio version of this book. The audio production was great, and the narrator, Yael Rizowy, did a great job with all the voices, including an Irish accent and a male New York City Queens accent that was very believable.

3.5 Stars – Sunny, Sizzling, and Slightly Too Saucy for Me

Sunny really lives up to her name—bright, bold, and completely impossible not to root for. I adored her confidence, her humor, and her unapologetic presence on the page. If Sunny Greene ran a TED Talk on how to own your life at 35, I’d sign up in a heartbeat.

I listened to this one on audio, and let me just say: chef’s kiss. The narrator brought Sunny to life so well, I half expected her to jump out of my earbuds and offer me a glass of wine and life advice.

Now, I’ll be honest—the spice factor was a bit much for my taste. I like my eggs sunny side up, but my books a little more over easy on the heat, if you catch my drift. Still, that’s just me and my delicate sensibilities.

Overall, a great read with a fabulous heroine and a lot of heart. Just maybe have a fan nearby for the steamy parts—or, like me, fast-forward and let Sunny work her magic elsewhere.

Thank you so much to Katie Sturino, Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for the chance to listen to this ALC. So much of this was so relatable to me. I've always struggled with accepting my body and been hit hard by comments people would make... I remember being in high school and someone asking another girl why the guy I was dating wold ever date a fat girl like me when he had so many other options. I wasn't skinny... but I wasn't what I'd look back on now and think someone would call fat. But, that destroyed me. That, and the toxic comments from relatives really ate away at me. Forget bathing suits... they were a NIGHTMARE. So to listen to this book was really quite refreshing. I loved that the MC really not only became accepting of herself, but also accepting of the perceived flaws of her eventual love interest. While some characters were AWFUL, I think that was very much intentional.

I just finished a wonderful audiobook. Sunny Side Up by Katie Sturino is coming out next month and it is one you won’t want to miss.

This book was not a fun romance but a depressing romance with literary fiction elements. I did enjoy the setting though, it was entertaining to me.

Alright, this is a bit of a bummer, but this book didn't totally work for me. I'm all about supporting entertainment with plus-sized characters, but there are some issues with this that tempered my enjoyment.

I liked the FMC well enough, but it's critical that you love her character to enjoy this story. No one else is really developed and the romance is a B plot at best. And for her character, yeah, she's quirky and amusing, but her emotions are all over the place and she's kind of shallow. She talks sooooo much about fashion. Like listen, I've been working from home since 2020 and now exclusively wear leggings and hoodies. Reading paragraph upon paragraph about what she's wearing was a little tedious for me. So if you don't care about her character, you're not really going to enjoy her journey.

The overall arch didn't make sense to me either. Or at least her emotions. Maybe this is indicative of the author's background, but each chapter reads like a personal article. There's a situation that's usually related to her being fat, the character feels badly about the situation, she has some kind of inspirational "call to action" moment, overcomes the situation, and then all of that is undone in the next chapter when she mentally starts over with the next situation.

The narrator was fine. Didn't add anything, didn't detract anything. No issues with her. She did a good job with the quirky.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ALC.