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romancingthereader 's review for:

Promise Me Sunshine by Cara Bastone
4.5
emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-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

Youโ€™re going to have to be in JUST the right mood for this one. Let me explainโ€ฆ

๐Ÿ“• ๐—•๐—ผ๐—ผ๐—ธ ๐—œ๐—ป๐—ณ๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐—บ๐—ฎ๐˜๐—ถ๐—ผ๐—ป: Promise Me Sunshine by Cara Bastone

๐Ÿ“™ ๐—ฆ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐—ถ๐—ฒ๐˜€: Standalone

๐Ÿ“— ๐—ฅ๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐—ฑ๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด ๐——๐—ฒ๐˜๐—ฎ๐—ถ๐—น๐˜€: E-book on Kindle. Borrowed from Libby app.

๐Ÿ“˜ ๐—š๐—ฒ๐—ป๐—ฟ๐—ฒ: Contemporary romance

๐Ÿ“” ๐—ง๐—ฟ๐—ผ๐—ฝ๐—ฒ๐˜€: Grumpy/sunshine, grief journey, NYC vibes, found family.

๐Ÿ“– ๐—ฆ๐˜†๐—ป๐—ผ๐—ฝ๐˜€๐—ถ๐˜€: Lenny is hanging on by a thread, grieving the loss of her best friend. She takes a temporary nanny job, where she meets Miles - a grumpy uncle that offers to help shepherd her through her grief if she helps him connect with his niece.

๐ŸŒŸ ๐—ฅ๐—ฒ๐˜ƒ๐—ถ๐—ฒ๐˜„: Iโ€™ve read a lot of books. Characters lose parents, grandparents, siblingsโ€ฆ a lot. Loss is an intricate partner to love. But Iโ€™ve never read one about losing a best friend.

And hey, I have a best friend. And it hit home HARD. (Sheโ€™s alive. But I miiight have texted her too much.)

I didnโ€™t pick this book up right as it was released because I knew it was heavy. And man, was it. Lennyโ€™s grief is so deep. And watching how Miles uses his own experience to guide her through it is wildly emotional. Both of them are great characters in their own right. 

This is one of those books that feels like itโ€™s about more than just the romance. I highlighted so many of those โ€œlife lessonsโ€ moments. But the romance was there - it snuck in quietly and captured the characters so fully that it felt even more swoony.

Overall? I loved, even if I cried my way through most of it.

๐—ฅ๐—ฎ๐˜๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด: 4.5/5 โญโญโญโญ

๐—ฆ๐—ฝ๐—ถ๐—ฐ๐—ฒ ๐—Ÿ๐—ฒ๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ๐—น: 2.5/5 ๐ŸŒถ๐ŸŒถ