Take a photo of a barcode or cover
A review by chaptersofmads
Promise Me Sunshine by Cara Bastone
3.5
“Is it silly that I didn't realize I was drowning until he told me he won't let it happen?”
This has a little kick to it, ngl lol.
I truly thought I was going to make it through this book without crying despite the facts that 1.) I cried while reading Ready or Not and 2.) I follow at least three people that have posted pictures of themselves crying upon finishing this book. Still, I'm not a big crier and I wasn't meshing super well with the first 40% of this book.
But that last 20%? It got me. I just sat in bed sniffling until I finished the book.
And then I impulsively rated it 4 stars (because emotions) and went to sleep. However, after reflection upon waking, I think 3.5 stars is a more accurate rating to how I felt about the book overall. Don't get me wrong. I liked this book, I thought aspects of it were beautiful and the scene whereher mother comes to see her outside of the cemetery was equal parts beautiful and devastating.
However! I still felt like this fell short of what it could have been. In fact, for nearly the entire first half, I wasn't liking the book at all. Part of this is due to the fact I don't like grumpy male x sunshine female. (Even though this gets explained and Miles isn't this way this whole book, I'm still not a big fan of the really kind, borderline manic pixie dream girl protagonist and the asshole glower man. Maybe this is because I'm the asshole glower person, who knows.)
Some of this is due to the dialogue occasionally feeling stilted or the plot meandering a bit, with certain parts dragging while others (that deserved to be fleshed out) were rushed past.
And then there's also the incredibly personal gripe section, like the part where he's chewing by her ear and she's into it. That's a completely subjective ick and I accept that.
With that being said, this was such an easy read. Not in terms of subject matter, but because Cara Bastone's writing style works really well for me. I find that I can visualize everything she writes really easily and her characters - whether I like them or not - do feel really real, which is impressive.
Overall, this was definitely a good read and I recommend it, just maybe not quite as much as I thought I would before I read it.
This has a little kick to it, ngl lol.
I truly thought I was going to make it through this book without crying despite the facts that 1.) I cried while reading Ready or Not and 2.) I follow at least three people that have posted pictures of themselves crying upon finishing this book. Still, I'm not a big crier and I wasn't meshing super well with the first 40% of this book.
But that last 20%? It got me. I just sat in bed sniffling until I finished the book.
And then I impulsively rated it 4 stars (because emotions) and went to sleep. However, after reflection upon waking, I think 3.5 stars is a more accurate rating to how I felt about the book overall. Don't get me wrong. I liked this book, I thought aspects of it were beautiful and the scene where
However! I still felt like this fell short of what it could have been. In fact, for nearly the entire first half, I wasn't liking the book at all. Part of this is due to the fact I don't like grumpy male x sunshine female. (Even though this gets explained and Miles isn't this way this whole book, I'm still not a big fan of the really kind, borderline manic pixie dream girl protagonist and the asshole glower man. Maybe this is because I'm the asshole glower person, who knows.)
Some of this is due to the dialogue occasionally feeling stilted or the plot meandering a bit, with certain parts dragging while others (that deserved to be fleshed out) were rushed past.
And then there's also the incredibly personal gripe section, like the part where he's chewing by her ear and she's into it. That's a completely subjective ick and I accept that.
With that being said, this was such an easy read. Not in terms of subject matter, but because Cara Bastone's writing style works really well for me. I find that I can visualize everything she writes really easily and her characters - whether I like them or not - do feel really real, which is impressive.
Overall, this was definitely a good read and I recommend it, just maybe not quite as much as I thought I would before I read it.