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caitlinjadams's review
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Better than The Wedding Date as far as I’m concerned—I connected with the characters more and appreciated the slightly calmer pace which accompanies having characters with less hectic lives. What I’ll really remember though is multiple incredibly described and satisfying realizations of “wait, is this what being in love feels like?!” Because I’m the sort of person for whom, “you’ll know it when you feel it,” is the most unsatisfying description of how to know you’re in love. So seeing characters really express their aha moments with concrete details was refreshing. I’d reread those sections any day.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Alcohol
Relationship trauma, potentially violent ex, text harassmentolivialandryxo's review
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
When I read The Wedding Date, I thought Drew’s best friend Carlos was a great, really funny guy. I was on the fence about reading The Proposal until I saw that it was Carlos’ love story, at which point my interest was up 1000%. Although I had to speed read this book to make sure I finished it before my ebook was returned to the library, I thoroughly enjoyed it; I probably would’ve read it nearly as fast without the time crunch.
I loved Nikole and Carlos right away, and had so much fun reading their story. I loved their banter and inside jokes and the generally sweet nature of their relationship. (Now the thought of sour cream makes me giggle. If you know, you know.) I also really liked Nik’s friends, Dana and Courtney, and how they roasted one another so frequently but were still, without fail, each other’s biggest cheerleaders. (And reading about Courtney’s cupcake shop has me craving cupcakes. I don’t have cupcakes. Crap.)
In both books I’ve read by Guillory at this point in time, I’ve noticed some conversations with rather cheesy dialogue, though I can overlook that since her books are so much fun to read. What I can’t overlook so easily is the surprising amount of similarities between her protagonists and love interests. Each side character is unique, but the same can’t be said about the stars of the show. Alexa, Drew, and now Nikole and Carlos are all very driven people, hard-working but still very social, that for some reason or another aren’t looking for a serious, long-term relationship. Both The Wedding Date and The Proposal go about like this: two attractive people meet, want sex, have sex, like it enough to continue having sex, catch feels, realize they caught feels, bail on said feels, mope about until their friends encourage them to kiss and make up, then actually kiss and make up, the end.
I know romance novels are usually formulaic to some extent and I don’t mind that. Over the last several months, I’ve grown to love them despite the fairly obvious patterns, and find them very comforting to read. However, something about this specific situation, with these specific books, just feels janky to me, and I wanted to mention it.
That being said, it didn’t stop me from loving this book or adding the rest of the books in the series to my TBR, and it certainly won’t stop me from recommending this book to others. Completely worth it!
Representation
I loved Nikole and Carlos right away, and had so much fun reading their story. I loved their banter and inside jokes and the generally sweet nature of their relationship. (Now the thought of sour cream makes me giggle. If you know, you know.) I also really liked Nik’s friends, Dana and Courtney, and how they roasted one another so frequently but were still, without fail, each other’s biggest cheerleaders. (And reading about Courtney’s cupcake shop has me craving cupcakes. I don’t have cupcakes. Crap.)
In both books I’ve read by Guillory at this point in time, I’ve noticed some conversations with rather cheesy dialogue, though I can overlook that since her books are so much fun to read. What I can’t overlook so easily is the surprising amount of similarities between her protagonists and love interests. Each side character is unique, but the same can’t be said about the stars of the show. Alexa, Drew, and now Nikole and Carlos are all very driven people, hard-working but still very social, that for some reason or another aren’t looking for a serious, long-term relationship. Both The Wedding Date and The Proposal go about like this: two attractive people meet, want sex, have sex, like it enough to continue having sex, catch feels, realize they caught feels, bail on said feels, mope about until their friends encourage them to kiss and make up, then actually kiss and make up, the end.
I know romance novels are usually formulaic to some extent and I don’t mind that. Over the last several months, I’ve grown to love them despite the fairly obvious patterns, and find them very comforting to read. However, something about this specific situation, with these specific books, just feels janky to me, and I wanted to mention it.
That being said, it didn’t stop me from loving this book or adding the rest of the books in the series to my TBR, and it certainly won’t stop me from recommending this book to others. Completely worth it!
Representation
- Black protagonist
- Latine love interest and side characters
- Black lesbian side character
- fat Korean side character
- bisexual side character
- minor sapphic side romance (f/f)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief and Death of parent
Moderate: Medical content and Pregnancy
Minor: Biphobia, Emotional abuse, and Toxic relationship
The love interest lost his father several years prior to the story but talks frequently about it. His cousin (a side character) is pregnant and facing complications, which are described but not graphically. The last third or so of the book does feature a few hospital scenes and discussions of C-sections. The biphobia, emotional abuse, and toxic relationship are all very minor, relating to a side character, but are described briefly when said character is interviewed by the protagonist.bedtimesandbooks's review
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Carlos comes off misogynistic, which is a shame because I LOVED HIM in the first book. Nik is perfect though.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Misogyny, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, and Pregnancy
Moderate: Child abuse
rrovezzi's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Stalking, and Death of parent
crimesandcabernet's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death of parent
Minor: Racism and Toxic relationship
araeofbooks's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
I wanted a romance for the month of February and I remember really liking the first in this series, The Wedding Date, on audio a few years ago, so I decided to try listening to this one.
In this one, we have a meet-cute (Or a meet-rescue? Is that a thing?) and a sort of friends to lovers story. Nik’s not serious boyfriend decides to propose to her very publicly on the Jumbotron at a baseball game, with a disastrous result. Suddenly all of the cameras are on Nik and Carlos, who witnesses the proposal fail, comes to her rescue and gets her out of the stadium. The two become friends and maybe something more ...
I found this story perfectly enjoyable. I really liked both characters but the conflict felt sort of contrived to me, or at least the way the characters explained it. It’s been a while since I read The Wedding Date, but I remember liking it more and I feel the obstacles in the relationship felt more substantial. Overall, though, I enjoyed this one and will definitely continue with the series!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Toxic relationship