5 ⭐️
This. Book.
It’s so well done. It’s quite a skill to write a book that centres around grief and loss which is also funny, but Cara has managed it with flair. Lenny’s journey was relatable and realistic, the progression she makes in understanding, feeling and managing her grief is well well written. Cara does a really good job of showing the heart-wrenching reality of the depths of grief and I especially likes her exploring the guilt which comes when joy breaks through grief, even for a brief moment. The relationship between Miles and Lenny was really well paced, you could feel the tension build through acts of care taking and small touches and looks. The romance felt genuine and I really enjoyed that the story didn’t end with either Miles or Lenny having everything figured out.
Genuinely don’t have any notes on what could be improved, this book both broke my heart and put it back together again.

Thanks to Netgalley, Headline publishers and Cara Bastone for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I think this may have just become one of my all-time favorite romances! The slow burn, the depth of grief, and the process of moving on after the loss of a loved one—it's such a beautiful love story that only a truly talented author could pull off, and Cara does it effortlessly. I need more of her writing, like, right now!

Promise Me Sunshine was both an emotional and romantic read, it was also one I couldn’t put down and I ended up reading it in just over a day. Thoughts 💭
• In this book we follow Lenny, a babysitter who is struggling under the weight of her grief from the loss of her best friend. As you would then expect this is a book that explores grief (and its mental / emotional health) for both main characters; Lenny but also Miles (our MMC). I thought it approached this topic with sensitivity and compassion. It had me crying in first chapter and multiple points throughout.
• Miles helps Lenny learn to live with her grief, but Bastone doesn’t neatly conclude Lenny’s journey with this (which I really liked). There are still things she hasn’t yet done, but I as reader know Lenny will get there eventually.
• The romance was a delightful slow-burn, I loved Miles and how he is eager to learn, supportive, loyal; he is grump with the softest centre.
• I think Bastone is becoming a favourite author of mine. In Promise Me Sunshine she does an excellent job of showing not telling in her writing (I won’t share how in this review because I think it will spoil some of the story). She also writes engaging romances that also discuss the difficulties of everyday life, such as bereavement here or unexpected pregnancy and friendships in Ready or Not.

I suspect Promise Me Sunshine won’t be for everyone, some moments felt heartbreakingly raw, but I’d highly recommend this tender romance.

This book deserves all the stars!!
What a beautiful book with an absolutely heartbreaking but heartwarming story! This deals with Lenny and her grief after losing her best friend aka her soulmate to cancer. When she’s at her absolute worst she meets Miles, who slowly helps her bring herself back to life and they fall in love somewhere along that journey. This book was sad, but also really cute and funny - I adored Lenny and her personality and I was so proud how far she came. I can’t even find words to describe Miles, he was the best!! <3 even though he had been through the worst as well.
I loved all the other side characters as well - Ainsley, Emil, Jericho and the gang - they were the best :)

I know I’ll think about this book for a long time, because it was just soo good and it touch me in so many ways.

Cara Bastone is becoming one of my favorite romance authors. Every book is better than the last.

Lenny lost her best friend to cancer and is in a very dark place. Miles knows grief and offers to help her get back to living if she helps him to improve his relationship with his sister and niece.

This is a book about grief and let’s be honest, it will probably make you cry at some point. However, it’s also a beautiful romance, with wonderful characters, and witty banter, that will make you laugh a lot.

I loved both Lenny and Miles so much. My heart was breaking for Lenny, but she was also hilarious, and her shenanigans added a lot of light and charm to this book. Miles was so sweet and caring! He told her to make friends, to call him in the middle of the night if she needed anything, he made sure she was fed, and even gave her a place to stay so she wouldn’t have to sleep in her empty apartment. In short, a man written by a woman.

I could keep going about how amazing this book is, because believe me, there’s more, but I’ll just say that you have to read it.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

4.5
“Promise Me Sunshine” is about grief and love. But mainly grief.
It's equally sad as it is funny.

Lenny is grieving her best friend and is, at least emotionally, hanging on for dear life.
Then she finds Miles and he, as Lenny later states, “went to hell and dragged her back out”.

The writing is absolutely exquisite and portrayed the emotions and the sudden change in mood very well.
While this book is about grief, the tone is very much not necessarily sad. It is actually more casual and fits the characters & story really well.

The characters were great too. Loooooooooved Ainsley!!
I love me a good grumpy character and when Miles was first introduced, I was sure he’s THE grumpiest of them all. The fact that he’s not made him only so much better.

Cara Bastone managed to find that sweet, sweet spot between a sad book and romcom, where one is crying in one moment and then laughing the next.

I cannot wait to read more from this author!
Very much recommend this book!

cutesy little fun read but nothing out of this world. i enjoyed the characters but found the plot rather slow.

This was my first Cara Bastone book and i will be reading the rest of her books because I loved it so much!

""we stare into one another's eyes absently, almost the same way that two people hold hands as they stroll along"

This may be a top book of the year for me, i will be thinking about it for a long time.

”Lenny, when I look at your face, I feel like I’m finally home after a really long day at work”


OMG this book was so adorable, I could not get enough. I loved every single bit of this story. This book took my heart and then broke it some many times. The grief aspect is done so beautifully that it broke me so many times. This is such a beautiful written story about heartbreak of grief and slowing opening yourself back up and learning how to live your life again without falling into grief.

The friendship that blossomed between Lenny and Miles as they slowly work their way through Lenny list was done so beautifully. They both helped each other through their own grief. The slow burn between them was keeping me on my toes that it got to the point where I was begging them to kiss.

Lenny grief is honestly done beautifully. It showed that it doesn’t matter how much fun you have, grief will hit at the most random times and that it’s okay. I loved how she wanted to prove to herself that she can live and do things by herself. I related to her so many times that I just need to give her a hug.

The things that Miles had done for his niece had me begging for a video clip of him dancing with her. Like please I need to see that video I beg.


Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this arc in exchange for an honest review.

A HUGE thank you to Headline Eternal for approving my NetGalley request and allowing me to read an ARC ahead of [book:Promise Me Sunshine|214269328]’s release date! 💛🧡❤️🩷🩵💙💜

I know it’s not even published yet but can somebody please turn this into a film already!!!!! It’s a want and desperate need. It’s giving strong 00’s Rom-com vibes where NYC is a main character too! From the go I found myself obsessed with Lenny + Miles and I feel like I’ve lived out the entirety of the book with them. I forgot I was reading.

Friends to lovers is so hard to get right but I feel like Promise Me Sunishine got it so so so right, there was no insta love and the slow burn was realistic given the grief Lenny is going through. It was incredibly realistic so much so that you could feel everything both characters was going through. It’s a book that will stay with me forever and I will look back on fondly and look forward to a yearly reread. This is my 6th Cara Bastone book, I don’t know what she puts in her books but I love them all. I recently reread her love lines series and it’s still some of my favourite reads ever. So it will come as no surprise that I’m already counting down the days until I can reread this especially with the audiobook!

Promise Me Sunshine is out on 4th March 2025 and I can’t wait for my hard copy to get here because that cover is ✨everything✨

💛🧡❤️🩷🩵💙💜

“but with you,len, when i met you.... i sort of feel like i met myself”

do u remember when i posted my review of ready or not by cara bastone and wrote that i couldn’t wait to read more by her? well… i was very lucky to read promise me sunshine before its release and i can truly say that cara’s become one of my favourite authors… and u know how picky i could be with my favs!

promise me sunshine’s that kind of book that has its own way to surprise your mind and mostly your heart and trust me because i have felt truly a lot emotions while reading lenny’s story because it’s way more than what it could seem from what have u seen and trust me that’s way better!

lenny’s such a strong character! i wanted to hug her all the times…reading her path to let’s say trying keep swimming (in a sort of way) in life while trying to accepting the changes happened during her existence was sometimes heartbreaking but at the same time was amazingly beautiful because it was so perfectly good written and i’m just so proud of her!!

miles was so good as a male main character… and we aren’t surprised because cara bastone’s the same woman that wrote shep from ready or not and if u know u know 😁 if u don’t just do yourself a favour and go and read that book too u’ll thank me later but returning to our miles he’s that type of person that everyone needs in life because he’s loyal, comprehensive…i could go on and rant about him… but let’s say that if i had a person like miles in my life he would be in my top 5 for sure! Reading about his experiences in life was took the story in a whole new level because it showed even more how everyone in the world deal with things in different ways and that there isn’t a manual on how and do a thing!

there are a lot of aspects portrayed in the story that even if i could write a book about this story it won’t be enough to transmit the feelings i felt and so my best advising it’s to just go and read this story without knowing much honestly because the sensation while reading will be everything trust me and if u aren’t convinced yet… read these quotes please:

“home is where the heart is.my heart died in a cancer ward six months ago."

“grief is a relationship.it's the way we figure out how to keep loving them even though they re gone.and in order to do that we have to keep on going.and going and going.you're not betraying her by healing, you are honoring her.you are learning to love her exactly as she is.as someone who isn't here anymore... that's who she is now.and this journey through grief.. it's what we do for great loves of our lives”

“he treats you well?”
“mom, he walked into hell and dragged me back out”

now that u have read these quotes well go and put this book in your tbr now 🫵🏼

least but last i would like to truly thanks netgalley,headline and cara bastone for sending me the e-arc of this of book in exchange for my honest opinion!

Promise Me Sunshine is the first book I have read by Cara Bastone. I had seen a lot of good reviews for one of her previous books Ready or Not so when I saw this available for request on NetGalley I was very excited to read it. I did not expect to love it as much as I did but I enjoyed every second of this book. This is such a heart-warming, heartfelt read. It follows Lenny as she deals with grief due to the death of her best friend, Miles helps Lenny learn to 'live again' and Lenny helps Miles connect with his niece and sister. This book deals with grief and loss in an honest and emotional way. The development of the relationship between Miles and Lenny was beautifully done, they are great characters who are really entertaining together. I loved their story and I look forward to reading more by Cara Bastone!

What a beautiful, beautiful book. Honestly, this was nothing like I expected it to be.

We meet Lenny not long after the loss of her best friend, Lou, who died of cancer. She is a mess and grieving the love of her love. She doesn’t know her up from down. Until Lenny meets Miles who becomes her co-captain, there to walk her through her grief and be her support system due to having dealt with grief himself.

This is a beautifully written story about two people who come together to help each other live and love after their own individual tragedies. We join them as they rediscover living again with a great found family aspect to it.

The best part of the whole thing is just Lenny and Miles’s relationship and how naturally it flourishes. I want my own Miles. Why are fictional men always the best?

This is going to stay with me for a long, long time.

I think this book will resonate will a lot of people especially those who have been through grief or are currently experiencing it. I was rooting for Lenny the whole time and wanted her to be happy. Miles was such a good companion to her in the beginning as he was someone who when through a similar experience as well and wanted her to continuing living her life to the best possible version of herself. It was very rewarding once Miles and Lenny became lovers and they are both so good to each other. I adored how patient Miles was with Lenny.

Three and a half stars.

Lenny has been a bit of a mess since her best friend, Lou, died from cancer. Best friends since school days and room mates, their bond was closer than sisters. Now she can't face her parents, can't face going back to the apartment they shared, she is barely holding it together and is scraping a living with short-term babysitting gigs.

A plum job comes up, looking after seven-year-old, Ainsley for her busy single mom. Unfortunately, her technique for building rapport and comforting Ainsley when her mother leaves are seen by Ainsley's uncle Miles as irresponsible and immature so he tries to get her fired, arguing that he can look after Ainsley just as well or even better.

Miles too has known heart-breaking grief and recognises it in Lenny, he offers her a step-by-step plan to learn to live again IF Lenny can help him to connect to Ainsley and her mother, his half-sister who he only met shortly before their father died.

I don't know how to review this, I did really like it and Miles is an absolute sweetheart under the gruff exterior - he just wants to make everyone safe, but it was also so very sad. Even now I feel sad just thinking about it!

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley.

Unfortunately, I don’t have much to say beyond that I found this to be incredibly boring and dull.

The book wasn’t what I expected going into it, since it’s pitched as a romance, and instead I’m just smacked in the face with this tidal wave of grief that I found to be handled well at times and then unbearable to read at other times.

The writing was just a bit stilted and lifeless, and I found I had to force myself to keep coming back to the book to eventually finish it.

Just not my cup of tea, sadly, but the cover is lovely.

6 stars

You know that interview of Andrew Garfield where he talks about grief and his mom? This book is about that type of grief. The type of grief that you feel like your heart left with them.
This book is also about how everyone handles a loss differently and how sometimes you don't know how to ask for help when you're "drowning" and that sometimes there are people that come to your life and don't need to be ask to help you "get out of the water".
Miles and Lenny... they connection was beautiful. The slow burn and the friends to lovers were done amazingly. I'd never cry with a first kiss, and theirs did it. It was heartwarming and feet kicking in the air and giggling and blushing type of kiss.... it was magical.
I love this book, as you can see with the rating, but the way this book touched me... my feelings, my heart, my soul! This one will stay with me forever. From now on, this is my comfort read.
This is a book. I'll take zero criticism about it. For me, this book is perfect and you don't like it, that's a you problem.
Cara Bastone has become one of my outbuy authors, and this book is proof of why.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for the chance to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

⭐️ALL OF THE STARS EVERY SINGLE LAST ONE OF ‘EM⭐️

it’s very seldom that I feel this way after a book but this was like a warm hug on a cold day mixed with an absolute gut punch but in the best way?

Sitting down to write this review with my tears drying but also with a huge smile on my face feels like it encapsulates the exact vibe of this book. It was tender, beautiful and achingly real and I don’t think you necessarily have to have felt grief in your life to get why this book is so special because Cara absolutely twists everything into your bones with this story that you just cant not feel it.

Our fmc Lenny is a nanny and is going through it but there’s a real strength there even from the start even if she isn’t the type to admit it. Our MMC Miles is just absolute gold dust and decides to help Lenny get back to “living” while she helps him win over his niece that she babysits.

The writing, the imagery, the tension and the slowburn is just so deliciously well done that I feel like these characters are real. This has the depth that I look for in every romance book I pick up and I’m just in awe with it. No doubt this book will be going on my 6 star reads list.

Yes I did preorder it the minute I hit 50% because I knew it was going to be THAT book for me and finishing it I can confidently say that I was correct, this book is an absolute gem

Thank you to NetGalley and Headline for sending me the arc!

This is such a heartbreakingly beautiful book. Cara Bastone writes stunning romance stories, so I knew my expectations would be met with this one. I absolutely loved Lenny and Miles and the way their relationship evolved throughout the book. There's no better way to describe this book than as a beautiful exploration of grief, love, and friendship that somehow manages to be heartbreaking, funny, wholesome, and romantic all at once. They go from strangers to friends to lovers, and Miles plays such a significant role in Lenny’s journey, always being there for her, supporting her through her grief, and understanding her choices. My heart just barely survived this story.

I didn’t expect to find a new all-time-favourite book when I started this but I did.

I loved Lenny, I loved Miles, I loved all the side characters.
I loved watching these becoming friends and being there for each other. I begged this book to handle my heart with care and it did.

I can’t believe how grateful I am that this wonderful, beautiful, touching book exists.