When Grumpy Met Sunshine

A steamy, opposites-attract romance with undeniable chemistry between a grumpy retired footballer and his fabulous and very sunshine-y ghostwriter.

When grumpy ex-footballer Alfie Harding gets badgered into selling his memoirs, he knows he’s never going to be able to write them. He hates revealing a single thing about himself, is allergic to most emotions, and can’t imagine doing a good job of putting pen to paper.

And so in walks curvy, cheery, cute as heck ghostwriter Mabel Willicker, who knows just how to sunshine and sass her way into getting every little detail out of Alfie. They banter and bicker their way to writing his life story, both of them sure they’ll never be anything other than at odds.

But after their business arrangement is mistaken for a budding romance, the pair have to pretend to be an item for a public who’s ravenous for more of this Cinderella story. Or at least, it feels like it’s pretend—until each slow burn step in their fake relationship sparks a heat neither can control. Now they just have to decide: is this sizzling chemistry just for show? Or something so real it might just give them their fairytale ending?

BUY THE BOOK

336 pages

Average rating: 5.25

12 RATINGS

|

3 REVIEWS

Community Reviews

Anonymous
Jan 07, 2025
4/10 stars
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC of this book!

There were a few positives in the book - both characters felt fully developed (albeit slightly insufferable) and the tropes that I expected was fulfilled (workplace romance, opposites attract), but I think the book is at least 50 pages longer than it needs to be in the current state. There is a lot of dialogue that isn’t necessary to the plot and belabors the same points, although I do understand the Brits enjoy banter much more than us Americans so it might be up to personal taste.

Although they were fully developed with friends/jobs/motivations, the main two characters also speak like no one I’ve ever met. I usually do alright suspending disbelief, but some of the things they said were way out there and the premise of some of the “sexier” scenes was just too unbelievable for me. I think this book is probably just not for everyone and I did get through it quickly in spite of it being longer than I felt was necessary so that’s a positive. I also think the actual writing structure was well-done so props to the author for that (didn’t feel repetitive in structure, only in plot points).
Anonymous
May 22, 2024
6/10 stars
A huge thank you to Charlotte Stein, St. Martin's Press, and Netgalley for the advanced copy of this book. I was not compensated for this review and everything is my honest review.

My favorite thing about this book was the banter. I'm a huge sucker for well-written banter between characters so that was a lot of fun to read and probably what held my attention the most in this book. However, everything else was mediocre at best. The story didn't feel much different than any other romantic comedy I've read. I like stories that will stick with me; this one just didn't.
bdgump
Jan 25, 2024
6/10 stars
I liked their banter and the fact that he could only open up to her, but I don't feel like we really knew her at all. Good spice though...

See why thousands of readers are using Bookclubs to stay connected.