By Charlotte Stein. Pub Date Feb 6, 2024
5*s, 4 x Spice ❤
Publisher’s Synopsis:
“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?”
REVIEW
When Grumpy Met Sunshine is the kind of romance I live for. Curvy/plus sized cheery MC? Check. Tall, handsome, super broody love interest? Check. A super unlikely romance, hijinks, spice, and a strangers to friends to lovers trope? Yes. Yes. Yes. Also yes. It’s a “something’s there that wasn’t there before” and I’m here for it.
Mabel is a ghost writer and her latest assignment, writing a biography for footballer Alfie Harding, she’s ready for complications. She’s not the first ghost writer to try to tackle Alfie’s story. He’s rejected several who could have done the job. However, Mabel wins Alfie over when she stands up for herself on first meeting him. Unfortunately, what Mabel thought would be the biggest issue with this assignment, namely Alfie’s forbidding and grumpy nature, turns out to be less of an issue than the media speculation that they are a couple.
What I loved most about this story was the friendship that blossomed between them and the way Stein wrote the potent chemistry of the two. It’s hard not to feel what the characters are experiencing and you end up falling in love right alongside them. Obviously this kicks up the impact of the spicy parts, and the ending is so heartwarming you may find out when you’re done reading that your face is a little wet for some odd reason.
Thanks to Netgalley, Charlotte Stein, and St. Martin’s Press for an advanced copy of this ebook in exchange for an honest, personal review.
Always Lost in Words 