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bzliz's review against another edition
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 actand 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.
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
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):
Pregnancy, medical content (on/off page):
Alcohol (on page):
Death of parent, grief (off page):
Body shaming, emotional abuse, toxic relationship, biphobia, miscarriage (off page):
Racism (on page):
Content Warnings
Graphic: Medical content, Pregnancy, and Sexual content
Moderate: Body shaming, Death of parent, Grief, Emotional abuse, Miscarriage, Toxic relationship, Alcohol, and Biphobia
Minor: Racism
jenna_justi2004's review against another edition
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Biphobia, Bullying, Domestic abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Grief, Mental illness, Misogyny, Alcohol, Child abuse, Cultural appropriation, Emotional abuse, Medical content, Miscarriage, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Chronic illness, Classism, Body shaming, Car accident, Cursing, Racism, Stalking, Gaslighting, Homophobia, Infertility, Medical trauma, Sexism, Sexual harassment, Death, Hate crime, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Pregnancy, and Physical abuse
kaitlinlovesbooks's review against another edition
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
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death of parent, Medical content, Pregnancy, Sexual content, and Grief
Minor: Racism, Biphobia, Fatphobia, and Xenophobia
lasafica_reads's review against another edition
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Alcohol, Death of parent, and Medical content
Moderate: Biphobia, Emotional abuse, Grief, Gaslighting, Misogyny, and Pregnancy
Minor: Child abuse, Stalking, Racism, and Sexual harassment
allthat_jazz's review against another edition
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
Moderate: Biphobia, Body shaming, Bullying, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Stalking, and Toxic relationship
leighannebfd3b's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
reflective
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Cursing, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Medical content, Medical trauma, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Sexism, Sexual content, Stalking, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Biphobia
plumpaperbacks's review against another edition
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: Death of parent and Grief
Moderate: Pregnancy and Medical content
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.klavanger's review against another edition
emotional
funny
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? Yes
4.0
I thought this was a great rom-com! I thought the characters were so fun and their banter was great! I read this book first in the "series" and didn't miss anything, but I'm excited to read the "first" book!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Death of parent, and Pregnancy
Moderate: Medical content
Minor: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, and Biphobia
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