Reviews with content warning for Racism - The Proposal

Reviews tagging 'Racism'

The Proposal by Jasmine Guillory

14 reviews

thenovelmaura's review against another edition

emotional lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.0

I had to read several reviews before I could put my finger on what bothered me about this book, but I figured it out! This romance has no plot and no stakes. The main characters refused to date because... they wanted to keep it casual, or something? But yes, the most action in this book takes place during the initial meet cute scene, and the rest is just snippets of Nik's life strung together. There's no real conflict here and nothing keeping the leads apart besides their own stubbornness. Of course we love two POC leads and a diverse friend group, but this one was otherwise disappointing since Guillory is such a popular author.

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bzliz's review against another edition

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lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.5

I previously read The Wedding Date and it was pretty average but enjoyable enough that I wanted to read more from Jasmine Guillory. Unfortunately, I think this book has killed that desire in me. I thought I was in for a very similar experience until I hit about 75% through the book and it took a sharp turn downward.

The premise was intriguing to me- a woman gets proposed to publicly by a man she was barely “dating” and she’s rushed out of the bad situation by our MMC Carlos and his sister- but the characters fell so flat. They all speak with a lack of maturity that does not fit their ages. Our FMC Nik at least has friends she talks to in this book- which is more than some romance characters get- but their only function is to orbit around her and childishly echo events that we as readers just saw transpire. Carlos is a caricature of a hyper masculine guy but he listens to women. Nik is supposed to be super independent and motivated but we don’t get to see her be great at her job and she regularly wastes her time with subpar dudes for no reason.

Guillory seems to favor a “tell, don’t show” approach to writing that doesn’t leave anything to the imagination, except the spicy scenes which fade-to-black and are pretty bland. To borrow a phrase from comedian Lou Wilson-that’s a salsa everyone at the table can enjoy. She also makes a few weird assertions that don’t line up with my life experience, such as insisting women are bombarded with messages about hiding money and purchases from their partners like it’s a normal thing to do. It reads like an out of touch boomer (which she is not) trying to relate to younger generations.

Much like The Wedding Date, Nik and Carlos spend most of their on page time eating or about to get steamy but I didn’t feel any chemistry between them. I was fine with that but once we hit the third act

and Carlos has his realization and makes his declaration that he’s in love with Nik, he expects her to immediately jump into a full relationship with him despite their clearly defined desires to stay casual at the beginning of their tryst. She was right to be mad about it and he starts slinging pretty harsh accusations at her right away, such as suggesting she gets off on making men fall in love with her then leaving them. He ends up being pretty shitty to her and I don’t know how anyone could possibly forgive and move forward in a relationship with that person like Nik does once she realizes she’s also in love with Carlos.

I was prepared to give this another perfectly average rating but the ending really tanked it for me. Maybe I’ll give Guillory another shot in the future but for now I’m going to steer clear.

Content warnings:
Sexual content (on/off page):

Mostly fade to black, mostly contains breast touching. No vulgar language used.

Pregnancy, medical content (on/off page):

A pregnant side character has pre-eclampsia and is put of bed rest. Lots of page space is used discussing how she is doing and Carlos’ worry for her. She goes to the hospital and has an emergency c-section. Both she and the baby are fine but if you are triggered by discussion of difficult pregnancies, do not read.

Alcohol (on page):

These people drink a lot for every occasion. I’m not sure they’ve heard it’s okay to have water.

Death of parent, grief (off page):

Carlos’ dad passes prior to the start of the book and he still experiences grief from that. He does not handle his feelings or express them typically thanks to his alpha male mentality of needing to provide for his family. He needs therapy.

Body shaming, emotional abuse, toxic relationship, biphobia, miscarriage (off page):

Nik interviews Natalie for a potential article and Natalie discusses wanting to start her gym because her ex-husband became emotionally abusive: he made her quit her job as a trainer because he didn’t want her touching anyone else, he isolated her from her friends and family, and when she miscarried he immediately demanded she lose the weight she had gained and monitored her physical activity on a fitness watch.

Racism (on page):

A few minor mentions. Nik and Carlos are in a broken down car and she mentions that people who look like them aren’t necessarily safe while waiting for assistance to arrive. Nik’s ex tells her people “like her” are lucky when they get to be with people like him, aka white.

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madisongturner's review against another edition

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funny lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.5

A sweet romantic comedy with two people who feel unready for anything serious tumbling into a loving relationship on accident. I love the discussion of hard topics and personal history that they each bring into the relationship, but they each balance each other out.

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hunkydory's review against another edition

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emotional funny lighthearted fast-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? Yes

4.0

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jenna_justi2004's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted sad fast-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? Yes

4.0

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kaitlinlovesbooks's review against another edition

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emotional funny 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? Yes

4.0

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quasinaut's review against another edition

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emotional funny medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.25

Noooo. Not much happens, there's little chemistry between the characters, and Carlos is controlling and arrogant (which others call him out on, jokingly, but it's actually a problem)! Maybe could have been better had it not been framed as a romance, which may have allowed for more depth in the plot and interactions with side characters. (I wanna read more about Dana and Natalie!)

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bookedbymadeline's review

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emotional funny hopeful lighthearted relaxing 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

*Update 5/7/23*
Now that I’m on book 6 (and final book) of the series, this is so far still my number 1! A year after finishing this, I’m STILL thinking about Carlos and how much I loved him 💜

*Original*
This was my second book from Guillory and she continues to make me fall in love!

Carlos was my fave in The Wedding Date so I'm happy to see him in his own story.

He only gets more attractive in this book! I loved Nik and all of the side characters as well. Guillory does a wonderful job bringing each character to life and making the side characters more than just a listening ear to our MCs! The character development is also very well done.

The writing style makes this a quick, easy read that immerses me in the novel. I laughed out loud and cried a little throughout the book. Overall a fantastic read and Guillory has definitely become one of my favorite romance authors! I can't wait to continue the rest of the series.

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lasafica_reads's review against another edition

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hopeful lighthearted relaxing fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

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allthat_jazz's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful lighthearted 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? No

4.0

Content Warnings

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