A review by bribreez
Brightest Light of Sunshine by Lisina Coney

emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

*Thank you Page and Vine and Lisina Coney for sending me a physical ARC of this book! Much appreciated and as always opinions are all my own.

*Please Check Trigger Warning Before Reading!

5⭐️/ 3🌶️

I remember seeing this once in a video on YouTube and the premise of the story caught my attention. A grumpy/sunshine romance that had age gap, an adorable little kid, the main guy being covered in tattoos, tall, handsome, but an absolute softie for his little sister! There was a lot more that made me want to read this book! This story was about, Grace Allen and Samuel ‘Cal’ Callaghan. Opposites in every way, and yet somehow they managed to find harmony together. This story also dealt with some heavy topics so, please make sure to check trigger warnings before reading! Aside from that, this story had a lot of sweet moments between Grace and Cal to even Maddie (Cal’s little sister) to the romance that progressed between Cal and Grace as well.

Being a young woman in your twenties can be fun and freeing, but for Grace it wasn’t all simple. Due to something that happened to Grace a few years back, it left her hesitant and anxious to be around large crowds and most men. Grace was still getting use to her surroundings and trying to move forward in her life, but sometimes certain things or individuals triggered her anxiety and made her feel like she was backtracking for the progress she’d made. I can’t begin to fully understand what Grace went through, but I empathized with her, and just wanted to reassure her she’d be ok. I also really liked seeing how Grace had a great set of friends and her cousin, Aaron being part of her support system to always have her back. Grace wasn’t by any means a broken person, she was a strong, sweet, kindhearted person who like Cal nicknamed her, sunshine. 

Something about a six foot three inches tall, tattooed, dark, grumpy man just does it for me, and that was namely Cal! On the outside, Cal looked like an intimidating man especially with his body covered in tattoos and his seemingly stoic demeanor, but he was actually a nice man. Don’t get it twisted though because, while Cal was capable of being a soft teddy bear for his little sister, Maddie, he was just as capable of being a scary man you didn’t want to mess with. Cal eventually became just as protective over Grace and a total softie for her too! I liked that Cal was a good mix of tough and sweet, it gave me more to love about him! Also, seeing the brother/ sister dynamic that Cal had with Maddie was SO FREAKING ADORABLE LIKE OMG! I’m not usually one to go googly eyed over a man being sweet with a kid, but the way that Cal was so attentive, loving, and all around loving when it came to Maddie was so heartwarming it made me smile so much. 

GRACE AND CAL WERE SO PERFECT FOR EACH OTHER! I loved seeing how Grace and Cal formed such a strong friendship since it provided the perfect foundation for their romance to later happen. Cal was a very observant and attentive man which, Grace wasn’t use to. Seeing the way Cal became protective over Grace was kind of hot! Omg!Cal was all about making sure Grace felt comfortable and safe at all times which made Grace feel at ease around him. The dynamic that Grace and Cal had through out the story was a mix of understanding, caring, loving, humorous, and lovely. There were plenty of times I was squealing over the amount of cute moments between Grace and Cal. I loved the scene when Grace had dinner with Cal and Maddie at his apartment to when Grace wasn’t feeling well while on her period, and Cal got her food and they hung out together at his tattoo parlor at night. In hindsight, that may not sound overly romantic, but to me the little things that Cal did for Grace spoke to the level of how much he deeply cared for her! 

Another thing I loved about Cal and Grace’s romance was the communication. Sure, at times they may have seemed a bit cheesy, but I was ALL FOR IT! More importantly, I loved the way both Grace and Cal communicated their thoughts and feelings to one another. Avoiding misunderstandings and unnecessary confusion, Grace and Cal established their mutual attraction for each other. Plus, even as Grace was young for being twenty two, she was mature enough to speak to Cal about her fears, insecurities, and Cal was more than happy to make sure he did everything that was needed to ensure Grace felt safe. Especially when it came to the Grace and Cal finally becoming intimate with each other, Cal was beyond attentive and every step of the way made sure Grace always knew she was fully in control over what they would or wouldn’t do. In Grace’s case, having Cal constantly ask if she was ok with moving forward or doing something was hot to her, and quite frankly I found it so attractive as well! A man who ensures constant communication, consent, and has a way with dirty talk, YES PLEASE!

AWWW THIS WAS SUCH A LOVELY BOOK! Grace and Cal were amazing together! Maddie was the sweetest, most adorable little kid that stole the show multiple times, and her personality was so endearing. Despite what Grace went through, she didn’t let it define her, she took the necessary steps in order to move forward, and live her life. I felt like the age gap between Cal and Grace wasn’t weird, in fact there were many times I kind of forgot that they had an eight year age gap. Grace and Cal had a wonderful friendship that perfectly flowed into them becoming romantically involved. The way that Cal and Grace communicated was one of my favorite things about them, aside them being oh so adorably sweet and sincere together! Grace and Cal had a healthy, mature way of ensuring each was comfortable, and safe throughout the course of their relationship especially when things got intimate. This was the kind of story I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect, but with some of my favorite tropes such as, grumpy/sunshine, age gap romance, and a superb male lead like Cal, and Grace being a lovely character as well, this book wholeheartedly stole my heart! I loved the way Cal and Grace ultimately ended their story on such a loving moment, and the epilogues WERE EVEN BETTER! OMG MY HEART WAS SO HAPPY WITH ALL THE LOVE IN THE WORLD! Would totally recommend reading this book! 
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