Promise Me Sunshine released earlier this month, thank you to the publisher for the ARC!

This was a beautifully written, tender story about a woman learning to live again after a devastating loss. 

Lenny’s best friend in the world, her person, passed away and her world is just absolutely rocked by it. She’s living in a cycle of temporary nanny gigs, afraid to make a commitment to anyone, and also afraid to return to her apartment she shared with her friend so she wanders the streets and sleeps on public transportation. She meets Miles, uncle to one of her charges, and he offers to help her work through her “live again” list, while she helps him bond with his niece. 

The grief was handled so beautifully – both characters have suffered losses but are at different stages in the grief cycle and I just thought the representation felt so real and authentic. They bonded over their grief but also helped each other work through it. Despite all the grief, there was still humor and a bit of romance throughout. 

The blurb says it’s a romance, and I’m not quite sure I agree with that – it definitely read more woman’s fiction to me, with a romance that kicks in ⅔ of the way in (at least for Lenny. Miles was obviously in love with her from the beginning)

It didn’t quite top Ready or Not for me, but I did like it a whole lot!