Reviews with content warning for Child abuse - When Grumpy Met Sunshine

Reviews tagging 'Child abuse'

When Grumpy Met Sunshine by Charlotte Stein

18 reviews

rachminick's review against another edition

funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted relaxing medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

I received this audiobook through NetGalley and though it too me a few months to come back to it- I really enjoyed the story and the characters. I wished for more of the relationship and felt the abrupt third act conflict came out of left field and felt rushed. Overall, I liked the story and felt the narration added to the experience nicely.

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kshertz's review against another edition

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funny lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

I read this book in 2 days! I love a plus sized character and I love when a person can’t resist them 😍. It was awesome to follow their journey of fake dating and watch them grow and make each other better. Smut was excellent but was at the VERY END so can’t give 5 stars. But highly recommend as a great romance book that hits all the tropes for a happy ever after

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susanpevensie's review

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emotional funny reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

“You are lovely, Mabel. And not just lovely in your soul, neither. No, I mean lovely like a painting of someone important from a long time ago, reclining on some fancy thing with their thighs all soft and their shoulders all round and everything so plush it makes you ache to touch it. Lovely like the bit of moorland I used to go to near me, all wild and free, with that tangle of hair down your back and those eyes that sometimes seem brown and sometimes seem green and always, always feel like they see right into you. Sharp as a knife, but so soft you hardly care if it goes in. You want it to go in. You say thank you when it does. Because Lord, it feels so good.”

alfie made me wish that men were real.

anyway, it’s been a while since i last picked up a charlotte stein book. to my best recollection, her books were always considerably dark. so when i found out she was releasing a romcom, i simply had to pick it up. and i’m glad i did because i enjoyed it a whole lot.

alfie can be a bit bizarre at times; the things that comes out of his mouth get me shaking my head in laughter. not to worry though because mabel is just as bizarre as her. together, they make the perfect pair. they simply clicked and it’s fun to see how their brain works—especially their banter and all their back and forth. i thought to myself, “god they’re crazy because who says that??!”but of course alfie and mabel would.

at some point, i’ll admit i got frustrated with the both of them because goddamn, these two yap so much. just two yappers in love. i almost wanted to slap their mouth to make them have sex because it was taking way too long! they talked so much! and this is saying something considering i’m a slow-burn, yearning kinda girl.

but overall i enjoyed the book and would recommend it to the people who enjoy grumpyxsunshine romance (of course), intelligent banters, and occasional unhinged leads.

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katelynnelawson's review

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funny lighthearted slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

While the first half is slow, the banter is ON POINT and once things pick up, they pick up 🥵 Mabel is a sunshiney ghost writer working on Alfie’s memoirs. Alfie is a grumpy former footballer who has his guard up, but it ends up he has a lot in common with Mabel. The two end up fake dating to hide the real reason they’re meeting, but the chemistry is unreal and it turns out Alfie is a talented writer who just needed someone to see that in him.

The first half feels slow as Mabel is very in her head, but the banter kept me going. However, that dialogue grew tiresome in the finale. While the steamy scenes and the eventual slow burn resolution are amazing, the Mabel and Alfie have pages of dialogue in the finale that sure, THEY needed to have, but contain information the reader is aware of. (Yes, y’all were idiots, now kids already!!) Definitely could’ve been shaved down.

Overall, this is a swoon-worthy, steamy, cheeky romantic read!

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the_rabble's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Fucking flawless. Immediately endearing tale of two cheerfully loveable characters.

Single POV, spicy, upbeat. Protagonists in their 30s, one is fat, both are very hot.

[ 🌌 Bisexual Reader Seal of the Double-Crush Achieved ]

I've never read Stein before, but am adding her to my list of romance authors to devour a back catalogue.

I had such a good time with this book. You're in it from jump. The banter pops. The ending is well done- despite pulling off some trickier choices

(a time jump)

that have challenged other authors. Endings are hard and she stuck the landing- so good. 🙌

Halfway through I had to go, "wait, is this single POV?" bc Stein fleshes out and communicates Alfie's actions and motivations so clearly. Sometimes there's a deficit in progressing emotional intimacy without dual POV- it's so artfully not the case here.

Narrator: Emily Spowage killed it. She skipped doing voices for the most part on dialogue, but the read on the plot prose and internal monologue was perfect.

Also, some of the hottest sex scene reads I've heard. Which is a hell of a vibe switch from the pitch perfect bouncy rom-com prose she nails mere seconds prior.

Who I Wouldn't Rec This Book To: I love it. It hit me perfectly and has an excellent message. So it's a short list.

The only reason not to read it would be if you had an issue with some set dressing around celebrity culture or extreme wealth - our boy Alfie is a soccer boy with a brawler history, and paparazzi do show up for a scene or two.

Typically, the wealth & spectacle are turnoffs for me but you end up loving these characters so fast, those factors barely register.

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garbage_mcsmutly's review against another edition

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emotional lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated

4.0

Didn't love the narration, it was hard to tell who was talking when. And there were some points in the text that were almost too awkward to live through. But there was steamy stuff and decent jokes and fat positivity and a HEA.

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3readingcircus's review

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Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Loved the first 2/3 but the end was just not it for me

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idktheyear's review against another edition

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emotional funny lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Tropes done well, soooo well. I enjoyed the banter and there are so many lovely tropes that were executed well. The declaration of love at the end of the book was adorable. Main characters are well developed, but the side characters fall a little flat- when you even get to see them.

I rated it less stars because sometimes the pacing felt off and things wrapped up a little too rapidly for my taste. Also, it was very British in terms of dialect and writing style, so at times I had to reread dialogue or internal monologue to get the intended tone and such.

It's a very enjoyable read if you like tropes and storylines that focus solely on the two main characters.

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allingoodtime's review

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emotional funny hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I want to start by saying this is not a romantic comedy. Luckily I didn’t go into this one thinking that way, but I’ve seen a lot of people calling it that. Sure, it has funny bits and is very witty, but it’s not a comedy and shouldn’t be judged as such.

Speaking of witty, boy does this book have banter. I know that’s not everyone’s thing, but I love it! Of course, sometimes it slowed me down because I’m from the U.S. and the characters are British so I would have to think about what was being said to follow it correctly. I didn’t mind, though. Mabel and Alfie are both brilliant, tender, and (surprisingly) have low self-esteem. As the reader, I could read so much more into their banter than they were reading into what was being said because of their self-worth issues. It was beautiful and gutting at the same time.

This story is the type of romance where she is THE ONE in his eyes. She calms him with a look and reassures him with a gentle touch. He makes her feel safe to be her true self, good and bad. Alfie and Mabel become friends; good, trusting, ride-or-die friends. This story has a slow build, but it’s delicious because their friendship is everything. And once that slow build catches fire, it is an inferno. Holy cow, these two are filthy in the best way.

At the beginning of this book, I thought I was going to miss having a dual POV. We only have Mabel’s POV and I desperately wanted to know what Alfie was thinking. At some before even getting a quarter of the way into the story, I realized it was important to not have his POV. I’m not someone who can explain this sort of thing, but it seemed to me to be very intentional and important to the reading experience for the reader to unravel Alfie at the same time as Mabel was unraveling him. But in the last few chapters…phew! It was hard. The final chapter makes it all worth it in the end. I promise. It’s sublime.

Sandwiched in between the initial meeting and the swoony ending is so much growth for both characters. Both have to find what makes them happy. Not just what they’re good at, but what they want to do. Their relationship ultimately forces them to do so.

**I received an ARC of this book courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher. All opinions expressed in this review are my own and given freely**

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natashaleighton_'s review against another edition

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emotional funny lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Sizzlingly swoon-worthy, fabulously entertaining and full of northern charm—When Grumpy Met Sunshine is a banter filled (and heartfelt) Rom-Com that I loved from start to finish.

It follows Mabel a sunshiny, plus sized ghost writer who’s been brought in to ghostwrite the memoir of famously grumpy footballing Legend, Alfie Harding (who has already rejected the previous sixteen writers!) The pair clash a little at first, but after Mabel gives Alfie a piece of her mind they soon find common ground—which leads Alfie to opening up about his life, in ways he’s never done before.

But, after Mabel is papped leaving the ex-Man Utd player’s house (in an innocuous but oh soo secret writing session) rumours start to circulate about their supposedly blossoming relationship. With the need to keep up the pretence that Alfie is writing his own memoir (or risk kissing her job prospects goodbye) the pair have no choice but to fake date… at least until the book is released.

However, what started as a reluctant (but mutually beneficial) arrangement is slipping into something far more serious (and steamier) than Mabel had ever anticipated, and as her feelings for the short tempered sporting legend grow, so too does her uncertainty over what is real and what is fake.

This was such a deliciously addictive and humorous read that I (a self confessed Grumpy x Sunshine fanatic) couldn’t get enough of! The writing was incredibly engaging, and the characters all soo wonderfully witty and nuanced —especially Mabel and Alfie (though Alfie’s assistant and Mabel’s best friends were also rather entertaining.)

Mabel, our overly cheerful protagonist was an engagingly endearing character and I loved getting to explore her sensitive, yet heartwarmingly complex nature. I also loved the depth we see in her inner thought processes and feelings surrounding her struggles with self worth, which, as someone who is also plus sized felt incredibly relatable.

Though much as I loved Mabel, it was our misunderstood cinnamon roll of a love interest, Alfie that stole my heart. His adorably grumpy (and socially awkward) interactions were soo endearing—in a heartwarming, Nick Miller meets Roy Kent kind of way. Despite his own hang ups and trauma, Alfies’s unwavering support and trust in Mabel had me rooting from the start.

Though as entertaining (and swoon-worthy) as Alfie and Mabel were together, I have to warn they do curse up quite a storm—which, I know may be off putting for some readers. Personally, I thought their creative use of swears worked well in breaking the tension between them, and helped bring a sense of normalcy (and relatability) to an otherwise uncomfortable situation.

Overall, a deliciously fun, laugh out loud Rom-Com that fans of Grumpy X Sunshine or opposites attract romances are sure the enjoy.

Also, a huge thank you to Chloe at Pan MacMillan for the finished copy.

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