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A review by katemc7
Promise Me Sunshine by Cara Bastone
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
sad
slow-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
This book was phenomenal yall! Cara is quickly becoming one of my go to authors. She has FULLY helped me see how much I love a good friends to lovers trope. This woman has mastered it. What I enjoyed the most about this book was that romance was not at the forefront of this book at all. Grief was. And as a person who has endured some major grief in her life- I was floored at how well it was addressed AND how accurate it was. I absolutely loved and connected with all of the characters. We have Lenny who is on the other side a tragedy that has rocked her world. She can't see on through the other side. She is working as a nanny and basically floating at this point through life. We have Ainsley, the girl she is babysitting. We have Reese (Ainsley's mom) and then of course we have Miles (Reese's half brother/Ainsley's uncle). I think I liked him as much as Miles from Funny Story. Miles is a massive grump at first but when we start to peel back the layers of why he is the way he is it's heartbreaking and so sincere. Him and Lenny immediately start off on the wrong foot. But then Miles comes to Lenny with a proposal of sorts. A way that they can help each other out. Lenny is because why not. But she doesn't expect her life to be forever changed.
Lenny is at the point in her grief where she isn't trying to hid it anymore. She just lets it out when it wants to be out. She is working but not willing to commit to anything. She is making it. She is as ok as she can be right now. But then she gets a new family. Reese and Ainsley and the uncle Miles. Miles seems like a jerk from the jump. He is lurking and watching and tattling on Lenny. His relationship with Reese who Lenny finds out later is his sister is strained at best. But Lenny's job is Ainsley and so she focuses all of her energy on her. When the short assignment is up, Lenny decides she will move on to someone else. But then Miles throws her a curveball. He thinks he can help her and wants her help in return. He has been where she is. He gets it. He wants to walk her through it, and in return he wants help with the elephant in the room that is his relationship with his half-sister and niece. They shake and agree. Lenny doesn't really know what to expect but it is not what she gets. Miles is always around. He takes her to try new things. He helps her when things are really dark. He makes her laugh. He listens when she needs him to. And while he is listening she is too. And she starts to find herself considering Miles an important person in her life. She finds herself loving how he makes her feel- confident and brave and strong. She finds herself wanting more. She just hopes he wants that too.
I will say that I was good with the fact that this one was done in one POV (Lenny). At the same time, I would have loved a snippet of Miles in there somewhere. Watching these two dance around each other and weave together was soooo precious. They were the most honest and open with each other because they both walked in with literally zero expectations. What a great way to build a foundation for more. The chemistry between these two was a super slow burn. Like watching water start to boil on a low simmer. But then when it became glaring it was electric! I absolutely loved how quirky Lenny was. She brought out the fun side of Miles which made me smile. If you haven't read one of Cara's books, I would HIGHLY recommend this one AND Ready or Not. Both are just incredible!
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review :)
Lenny is at the point in her grief where she isn't trying to hid it anymore. She just lets it out when it wants to be out. She is working but not willing to commit to anything. She is making it. She is as ok as she can be right now. But then she gets a new family. Reese and Ainsley and the uncle Miles. Miles seems like a jerk from the jump. He is lurking and watching and tattling on Lenny. His relationship with Reese who Lenny finds out later is his sister is strained at best. But Lenny's job is Ainsley and so she focuses all of her energy on her. When the short assignment is up, Lenny decides she will move on to someone else. But then Miles throws her a curveball. He thinks he can help her and wants her help in return. He has been where she is. He gets it. He wants to walk her through it, and in return he wants help with the elephant in the room that is his relationship with his half-sister and niece. They shake and agree. Lenny doesn't really know what to expect but it is not what she gets. Miles is always around. He takes her to try new things. He helps her when things are really dark. He makes her laugh. He listens when she needs him to. And while he is listening she is too. And she starts to find herself considering Miles an important person in her life. She finds herself loving how he makes her feel- confident and brave and strong. She finds herself wanting more. She just hopes he wants that too.
I will say that I was good with the fact that this one was done in one POV (Lenny). At the same time, I would have loved a snippet of Miles in there somewhere. Watching these two dance around each other and weave together was soooo precious. They were the most honest and open with each other because they both walked in with literally zero expectations. What a great way to build a foundation for more. The chemistry between these two was a super slow burn. Like watching water start to boil on a low simmer. But then when it became glaring it was electric! I absolutely loved how quirky Lenny was. She brought out the fun side of Miles which made me smile. If you haven't read one of Cara's books, I would HIGHLY recommend this one AND Ready or Not. Both are just incredible!
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review :)