This book has a great premise and a fantastic cover but failed in execution for me. The dialogue is long and becomes a tad repetitive. The plot seems to lose its way, we get bits of information thrown at us that is never really explored. Such as the alcoholic fathers they both had, the impact that took on them, or the other members of their families who never really get explored. .The MMC wasn't grumpy, he seemed moody to begin with but by 20% he seemed to really open up to her and seems like a bit of a cinnamon roll. Just felt like it needed more editing.

It's no mystery, grumpy x sunshine is one of my all-time favorite tropes, and this book by Charlotte Stein promises to be steeped in it from all pores.
Too bad it wasn't.
I found the novel rather flat, lacking in engagement with the reader.
I also found the dialogues quite flat, in short a flatness on all fronts.
Too bad, because the premise was really good.

This was a really sweet and fun grumpy x sunshine. I really loved the premise and the banter between our two leads were perfection!

3.75 🌟

I dipped in and out of this many times in the beginning and then I got swept in by the banter and found that I really liked it.

Firstly I am here for a plus size fmc and Mabel's struggles with her self esteem and image, it felt very relatable. Secondly I am VERY here for the Roy Kent inspired character that is Alfie Harding and the absolute filth 🥵

Whilst the plot was a little bit unrealistic and there was little interaction with other characters that I felt could have really added to the book I enjoyed the the cheesiness of it all. It was classic rom com that Alfie would approve of. I also really like the little tweets and Reddit thread bits and their northern-ness too.

Big thanks to Netgalley & Pan Macmillan for the ARC.

When curvy ghost writer Mabel meets a famous ex footballer Alfie, things take an unexpected turn. Thrown together by work, they enter into a fake relationship, which can only end in tears, or can it? A raunchy, laugh out loud book, if you are offended easily though, watch out fire lots of swearing.

DNF at 11%. Unfortunately despite the gorgeous cover I just can’t continue with this one.

There is so much swearing. I swear, and have no issue with people swearing, but in a novel it just reads as lazy writing. I’ve seen reviews that say this is a Roy from Ted Lasso fanfic and that does make more sense but what works on screen in this case does not translate well to the page.

The writing style is really not for me. It has a lot of short sentences, many of which start with And. The arc formatting doesn’t help this due to random inserts of 0s and 1s to contend with, but I just couldn’t get on board.

I’m also just not interested in reading about men who are ‘scary’. I don’t want any woman to be afraid of a man. I get that he won’t be like that with Mabel, but I don’t even want to work through the scariness to get to that point.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an arc of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I loved this!

Mabel, a woman who's all sunshine and daisies, was being sent to work with grumpy ex-footballer Alfie Harding. Finding it very difficult to work with this man, Mabel sticks to her plan and tries not to let his behavior get to her too much. But after a while, she discovers the Alfie everybody knows, isn't really the real Alfie. They start a fake relationship for the media and from then on things start to change faster.

There's a lot of funny stuff in this book and I loved Alfies character, even though he's such a grumpypants.

I gave the book 4 stars and would definitely recommend it to anyone loving sunshine-grumpy romances.

A great romance book, I really enjoyed the grumpy x sunshine trope and found myself rooting for the couple! Thank you net galley for the review copy!

Thank you NetGalley, the publisher and the author for a copy for my honest review.

I really enjoyed this spicy grumpy sunshine romance. It was fun to see the romance develop between the grumpy retired footballer and his sunshine ghostwriter.

A good read to cosy up with a nice hot drink and devour!

Thank you to NetGalley for an Arc of this book!

Unfortunately this book wasn’t for me.
I found it incredibly hard to follow and read, I was also not a big fan of the main character at all.

It took me some time to get into this book, the pacing was a little off and the chemistry not quite there but I appreciated that the auth was trying to do. I wouldn't write her off and look forward to giving her next novel a go.

This one was not for me at all. I didn't DNF but man was it a struggle.

I don't even know how to write a constructive review on this one so I'm just going to leave some thoughts:
- The dialogue dragged on forever and the banter was WAY too much
- This book relies heavily on the miscommunication trope
- I didn't connect with the characters at all. They felt very immature and it felt like reading about teens
- Mabel is constantly monologuing, and I mean constantly, but there is no emotion or feeling to anything. Even when they discuss their trauma/pasts it felt simultaneously forced/over the top and superficial.
I think this book might have benefited from dual POV
- The last quarter of the book seemed to totally drop any sense of a storyline and was just all spice and then the ending was very rushed
- Listen I'm Irish, we know all about swearing, but this was crazy. I lost track of the amount of times the word fuck was used
- The grumpy x sunshine did not grumpy x sunshine

I'm sorry but this is just an entire book of words that said nothing in the end and it is in dire need of editing. It does have a lot of potential though

Cor it’s been a while since I stayed up this late reading but the hold this had on me!

When reading it I just kept thinking the main male character reminds me of someone and suddenly hit me it’s Roy Kent from Ted Lasso, so of course that was a bonus!

A sweet but spicy read (I mean 3 chilli’s worth - get me some milk - iykyk) with of course a HEA… I enjoyed the narrative but also the little extra information from emails, twitter posts, Reddit forums which added to the story.

4 🌟

I genuinely enjoyed this story and i loved the characters however the writing was very clunky and difficult to follow, which really brings this down for me

Fun, easy read opposites attract romcom with great characters, I just found parts of it were a bit wordy and long winded making it a little hardwork and slow going at times. Overall an ok read.

I unfortunately really couldn’t get into this book. I didn’t love the main male character and I really struggled to get into the writing style, it felt a bit unnatural to read. However it was a fun, cute summer read.

"When Grumpy Met Sunshine" by Charlotte Stein is a delightful romantic comedy that takes readers on a charming journey through the unlikely collaboration between a grumpy ex-footballer and a cheery ghostwriter. Alfie Harding, the reluctant memoir subject, is portrayed with just the right amount of gruffness and vulnerability, making him a character readers can't help but root for. The introduction of Mabel Willicker, the curvy and cute ghostwriter, adds a perfect dose of sunshine to the narrative.

The banter and bickering between Alfie and Mabel are the highlights of the story, creating a dynamic and entertaining relationship that keeps the readers engaged. Stein skillfully weaves humor and emotion into the plot, making the characters feel authentic and relatable. The premise of the fake relationship turning real is not groundbreaking, but the execution in this novel feels fresh and enjoyable.

The pacing is well-balanced, and the narrative flows smoothly, making it an easy and engaging read. While the plot may not be the most original, the characters and their chemistry elevate the story. I rated it 4 stars because it successfully combines humor, romance, and a touch of realism. "When Grumpy Met Sunshine" is a feel-good read that offers a perfect escape into a world where grumpiness meets sunshine, creating a delightful and heartwarming tale of love.

I unfortunately just didn’t love this one. The writing felt felt clunky to me and I couldn’t get into the flow of it. I think the story idea was good but I couldn’t connect to the characters, especially the male character who i felt was just a reworking of Roy Kent from Ted Lasso and I just didn’t love that. I was really hoping to love this one but sadly it wasn’t for me.

A cute smutty rom com for fans of grumpy vs. Sunshine. I liked the banter between the two characters and the build-up of their relationship. There are a few smutty scenes for Smut fans. There were a few laugh out loud moments throughout the book, so a light read with big feelings.

I’ve been looking forward to reading this book for so long and I had great expectations but unfortunately I had a really hard time getting through it.

Both main characters had some insecurities and Alfie especially had spent his whole life hiding his true self and pretending to be someone completely different and seeing Mabel love him exactly for who he was and encouraging to show people who he truly was was lovely! Similarly, Mabel initially had some trouble believing someone like Alfie could love someone who was plus size because he’d only dated slim people in public in the past but he was so in love with her he couldn’t care less what size she wore (as he should). I loved seeing them get over these and find love together!

There was also some huge miscommunication toward the end (which I’m not a fan of) and that one-year time jump really ruined it for me.

Unfortunately, this one wasn’t my cup of tea but I’ll definitely keep an eye out for this authors’ next release.