When Grumpy Met Sunshine by Charlotte Stein
Contemporary Romance
February 6, 2024- St. Martin’s
ARC

Review by Angela

It’s been a while since I’ve read a Charlotte Stein book, so I was super excited for this release.

This is a forced proximity, fake dating, opposites attract romance featuring a grumpy footballer and the ghost writer he has hired to write his life story. It’s funny, and kept me smiling, often laughing out loud at the dialogue between this couple.

Mabel Willicker, ghostwriter and quirky sunshine girl, first meets famous ex-football player Alfie Harding during an interview and is immediately put off by his grouchiness and rude commentary. (Think Roy Kent) So, she walks out on him…but after a stalking misunderstanding and a pepper spray incident they agree that she will help him work on his book. There is an immediate connection, a spark shared over stories of their childhoods that are strikingly similar. He seems to be a softer version of himself around her and begrudgingly opens up and lets her see the real man inside. But it doesn’t take long for the paparazzi to realize Alfie has a new girlfriend, which is where the fake dating comes in.

I will say that this is a slow born romance with a lot of heat and build up. The entirety of the story is told from Mabel’s POV, and she’s obviously burning up alive for Alfie, even though she thinks she isn’t his type. These two are fun together, but sometimes it felt like the lively back and forth banter and inner musings of the heroine sometimes got in the way of the romance development. The misunderstanding trope is heavily leaned on, and I kind of wanted Alfie to be honest with Mabel instead of playing in to her belief that they were just friends who were getting it out of their systems and that she wasn’t his type. I think a couple of scenes from his POV during heated moments would have been nice.

I liked the ending and HEA; it was sweet and felt right for this couple. But readers should be aware that there is a one-year time skip between the BIG MISUNDERSTANDING and the reconciliation and all of it takes place in the last 10% or so. But all in all, a fun, sexy read that I would recommend.

Final grade- B-

Content notes- mentions of parental alcoholism and neglect, fatphobia