Kirkus Style Review

 

When Grumpy Met Sunshine
By: Charlotte Stein

Release Date: Feb. 6, 2024

Put together a grumpy, former pro soccer star and a sunshine, cupcake of a ghostwriter and watch the sparks fly!

After Alfie hangs up his cleats, the next logical step in his career would be to write a memoir about his life and his soccer stardom. The only problem…the publisher can’t find a ghostwriter that Alfie is willing to work with. Enter Mabel, a plus-size, epitome of sunshine, professional ghostwriter who’s willing to take on the project of Alfie, until she thinks he makes fun of her and walks out of their meeting. After a few awkward run-ins, they manage to get on the same page about working together, but Alfie is anything but an open book. Mabel works her magic to get Alfie to open up and the more time they spend together, the more material she has to work with. She learns more about his background than he’s ever told anybody and they may just have more in common than they originally thought. But spending more time together also has unintended consequences. The tabloids and Alfie’s fans notice Mabel leaving Alfie’s secluded home and begin to speculate that the perpetual bachelor is off the market. In an attempt to hide the fact that Alfie is using a ghostwriter for his memoir, he and Mabel lean into the (fake) dating rumors and along the way might just get more than either of them bargained for.

Through the use of cheeky dialogue and tropes such as grumpy/sunshine (obviously) and slow burn, the author tells a story of how much life can change when you’re open to beginning a new chapter. Both Alfie and Mabel are well developed characters that are multi-dimensional and relatable, and you can’t help but root for them. The end of the main story left me a bit stunned, but the epilogue wrapped up everything in a really satisfying way and shows readers the importance of leaving the important things unsaid.