Book Description

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?

My Review

Okay, so it’s only February—the beginning of February, no less—but this book is already a serious contender for one of my favorite books of the year. It was THAT good.

First of all, it’s clear that Alfie Harding is a delightful homage to a gruff and grumpy ex-footballer who costarred in an award winning comedy on a fruit-based streaming service. So, as a fan of the show, it is such a special treat to get a WHOLE book featuring everyone’s second favorite grouch. (After Oscar, of course).

Mabel is truly an Original, yet her quirks and mannerisms are so relatable. As the title suggests, she is an excellent Sunshine to Alfie’s Grumpy. She is sweet-tempered, but she does go into her ghostwriting experience with preconceived notions on what she expects working with Alfie (and Alfie himself) to be like. Over the course of the book, she is thoroughly disavowed—I do mean THOROUGHLY. The chemistry for those two is off the charts. Good grief! Super steamy!

Do you like tropes? Well, this book is jammed full of tropes, starting with the obvious sunshine/grump. There’s also an element of opposites attract, slow burn, only one bed, and so many more. As much as I love tropes, my favorite element of the book would have to be the little vignettes between chapters, like tweet threads and excerpts from books/interviews. They added an element of depth that would’ve been difficult to replicate with prose alone.

I would absolutely recommend When Grumpy Met Sunshine. This is definitely one of those books I want a physical copy, a digital copy, and the audiobook. It was such a wonderful validating book that’s perfect for people who wish their football had slightly less football. I hope they make this into a series because there’s a lack of football in my life right now. Well done, Charlotte Stein!

I received a digital ARC of this book from St. Martin’s/NetGalley