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A review by alilbitofmonica
When Grumpy Met Sunshine by Charlotte Stein
1.5
I read this book so that others don’t have to. I genuinely don’t know how this book exists because it is messy and irritating most of the time.
Mabel is hired to ghostwrite Alfie’s memoir. He’s famous and they get caught looking slightly extra-friendly so they decide to fake date. They then have to navigate the incredibly obvious sexual attraction and tension they have and then do it in progressively more compromising ways.
Things I liked (because it’s less than the things I didn’t like… see below for unhinged thoughts):
- Mabel’s plus size representation and the way she handled media perception of herself. This felt authentic and I liked it.
- Alfie is a softie and he cared for her a lot. Cute.
- The LAST chapter which is an annoyingly shaped epilogue that was actually the best part of the whole story. The way things come full circle in the memoir was actually adorable and I liked it, but I feel like the ending was completely detached from the rest of the story. The writing was by far best in the last chapter and they had the most healthy conversation of the whole book right at the end.
No apologizes for the following comments that made me hate reading this:
- The actual writing of the memoir is maybe 5-10% of this book. Okay, 15% if you count the last chapter/epilogue that is literally the last 9% of the book.
-He’s grumpy for all of five seconds and then he’s not even pretending to be grumpy around Mabel. Don’t name the book about GRUMPY when he’s going to stop being that way as soon as they interact one time. Misleading.
- This may be the worst instance of fake dating I’ve ever read. And it’s pretty much my favorite trope. But not here.
- This relationship is bonkers. I simply cannot comprehend how this relationship made it through editing.
- The banter was funny for five minutes and now it’s just too much. They can’t take anything seriously. And quite frankly I think they both suck as characters at this point.
- It feels like the author took a list of popular romance tropes and said “yeah I’m gonna use ALL of these” and then genuinely tried to make them all work. News flash: None of them worked.
- The one bed trope scene ends with one of the most irritating encounters and surprisingly it’s not the first time I’ve seen it done. But neither instance was good. Basically they wake up in a compromising position and instead of moving out of the way, they shift slightly enough that they *feel* things… except that they don’t know IF the other person is even awake yet. This is not consent. (Yes, they are both awake and what comes next is considered consensual, but it starts out VERY inappropriately and I do not approve.)
- There is so much inner monologue happening. Too much. Yet we still never know how Mabel is ACTUALLY feeling?? It’s all just her social perception and sexual pining.
- The ending was the best part, but I feel a little icky knowing that Alfie orchestrated the fake dating purely so he could make her fall in love with him?
Mabel is hired to ghostwrite Alfie’s memoir. He’s famous and they get caught looking slightly extra-friendly so they decide to fake date. They then have to navigate the incredibly obvious sexual attraction and tension they have and then do it in progressively more compromising ways.
Things I liked (because it’s less than the things I didn’t like… see below for unhinged thoughts):
- Mabel’s plus size representation and the way she handled media perception of herself. This felt authentic and I liked it.
- Alfie is a softie and he cared for her a lot. Cute.
- The LAST chapter which is an annoyingly shaped epilogue that was actually the best part of the whole story. The way things come full circle in the memoir was actually adorable and I liked it, but I feel like the ending was completely detached from the rest of the story. The writing was by far best in the last chapter and they had the most healthy conversation of the whole book right at the end.
No apologizes for the following comments that made me hate reading this:
- The actual writing of the memoir is maybe 5-10% of this book. Okay, 15% if you count the last chapter/epilogue that is literally the last 9% of the book.
-He’s grumpy for all of five seconds and then he’s not even pretending to be grumpy around Mabel. Don’t name the book about GRUMPY when he’s going to stop being that way as soon as they interact one time. Misleading.
- This may be the worst instance of fake dating I’ve ever read. And it’s pretty much my favorite trope. But not here.
- This relationship is bonkers. I simply cannot comprehend how this relationship made it through editing.
- The banter was funny for five minutes and now it’s just too much. They can’t take anything seriously. And quite frankly I think they both suck as characters at this point.
- It feels like the author took a list of popular romance tropes and said “yeah I’m gonna use ALL of these” and then genuinely tried to make them all work. News flash: None of them worked.
- The one bed trope scene ends with one of the most irritating encounters and surprisingly it’s not the first time I’ve seen it done. But neither instance was good. Basically they wake up in a compromising position and instead of moving out of the way, they shift slightly enough that they *feel* things… except that they don’t know IF the other person is even awake yet. This is not consent. (Yes, they are both awake and what comes next is considered consensual, but it starts out VERY inappropriately and I do not approve.)
- There is so much inner monologue happening. Too much. Yet we still never know how Mabel is ACTUALLY feeling?? It’s all just her social perception and sexual pining.
- The ending was the best part, but I feel a little icky knowing that Alfie orchestrated the fake dating purely so he could make her fall in love with him?