A review by allingoodtime
When Grumpy Met Sunshine by Charlotte Stein

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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