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4.0 AVERAGE
4.0 AVERAGE
The third act breakup was inevitable but making it sort of happen because the MMC liked to google things and help people… which wasn’t a problem until the one time was very weird. Seemed inconsistent. But - Asher & his CheekyBeast will live rent free in my head for at least a week.
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I was graced with The Proposal Play by @laurenblakelybooks as an ARC/ALC and finished it earlier this week!
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Asher is Maeve’s best friend and a player on her brother’s hockey team. When Maeve catches wind that an influencer is planning on using Asher to gain more popularity and then leave him to rot, Maeve outbids her at a dating auction. The Proposal Play follows Maeve and Asher’s friendship and marriage pact while navigating his hockey and her art career. This third installment of the Love and Hockey series has a level of humor coupled with some unique experiences that I was pleasantly surprised to see! I’m no stranger to a hockey romance but this one was less focused on the hockey and more focused on her art career and their friendship. It had elements that you don’t often see in these types of romances such as redecorating, outside accusations, and paint (I’m trying to stay spoiler free here!) with less outside influence of friends than we saw in the first two. There were well thought out elements that were circled back to and not left behind which had me appreciating Lauren’s writing. I enjoyed this type of romance book and thought it was more unique than the others in the series. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Asher is Maeve’s best friend and a player on her brother’s hockey team. When Maeve catches wind that an influencer is planning on using Asher to gain more popularity and then leave him to rot, Maeve outbids her at a dating auction. The Proposal Play follows Maeve and Asher’s friendship and marriage pact while navigating his hockey and her art career. This third installment of the Love and Hockey series has a level of humor coupled with some unique experiences that I was pleasantly surprised to see! I’m no stranger to a hockey romance but this one was less focused on the hockey and more focused on her art career and their friendship. It had elements that you don’t often see in these types of romances such as redecorating, outside accusations, and paint (I’m trying to stay spoiler free here!) with less outside influence of friends than we saw in the first two. There were well thought out elements that were circled back to and not left behind which had me appreciating Lauren’s writing. I enjoyed this type of romance book and thought it was more unique than the others in the series. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I couldn't have pictured anyone else playing Maeve and Asher. Vanessa Edwin and Rob Hatchett did a great job bringing these characters to life.
I don't even the words to describe how much i loved this story. Its was so multifaceted, it was funny, sad, heavy, spicy and everything you could love about a romance book!
Maeve and Asher are friends, best friends in fact…..but at Maeve’s brothers (also Asher’s best friend) wedding Asher discovers that maybe there’s a little bit more to his feelings for Maeve.
Asher is one of the star hockey players for the sea dogs and Maeve is an artist who is working at her aunt’s catering business to pay the bills. Maeve has recently applied for a huge project that could not only help her financially, but give her a foot in the door in the art circle.
While at one of a charity event that Maeve is attending with Asher, her brother and his wife. She overhears a socialite discussing how she going to bid on Asher in the charity date event and use their date to boost her social standing. Maeve, obviously not letting this happen, ask her brother for help to bid on Asher so that he does not get put in a scandal. Maeve obviously wins and the pair shortly head off to Vegas for their “date” while enjoying their time around Vegas they decide to jokingly get married for 24 hours because you know “ when in Vegas”.
After they get married and they’re back in their room, Asher begins to realize that he might actually be a little bit more than friendly feeling towards Maeve. The two return home and their “secret” marriage they were going to get annulled is very public. Maeve also learned that she got the mural project however she begins to wonder if she only got the project because they think she is married to Asher. Asher, after speaking with the publicist for the team and his agent realizes that the marriage might be good for him business wise and they both decide to just keep it going for a little bit longer.
However, everybody except for Asher and Maeve can see that their feelings are real and that although they’re only in this temporarily, they both seem very all in.
While Maeve is very much a free spirit and very open and just kind of goes with the flow. Asher while always seeming very cool, is very anxious and very much a control freak. As we get through the story, we learned that this all started when one of his dads had a medical accident while he was in the car and he had to drive him to the hospital This fuels a lot of anxiety and fear of the unknown in Asher, which now causes him to obsessively research everything, something that Maeve never knew. When Maeve decides to move in with Asher she starts to see some of these tendencies and wonders how she can help him while Asher wonders how he can help her with every little element and begins to spiral.
As they continue on with their fake marriage, their real feelings begin to come out, and the two of them take their fake marriage to the next level, but this brings up feelings that neither of them are truly ready to discuss. It isn’t until someone leaks that their marriage is fake (something neither of them feel anymore). Maeve worries she’ll lose her project with the Sea Dogs and tarnish her reputation, however, the only thing that the owner of the sea dogs is upset with is simply that she was lied to because she herself could see how much Asher and Maeve truly cared about each other, despite their marriage being a façade.
As Maeve and Asher deal with the fallout, they decide to admit to each other how they truly feel and give this marriage an actual chance!
Thank you Lauren Blakely and Good Girls PR for a ALC of this book for my honest opinion!
I don't even the words to describe how much i loved this story. Its was so multifaceted, it was funny, sad, heavy, spicy and everything you could love about a romance book!
Maeve and Asher are friends, best friends in fact…..but at Maeve’s brothers (also Asher’s best friend) wedding Asher discovers that maybe there’s a little bit more to his feelings for Maeve.
Asher is one of the star hockey players for the sea dogs and Maeve is an artist who is working at her aunt’s catering business to pay the bills. Maeve has recently applied for a huge project that could not only help her financially, but give her a foot in the door in the art circle.
While at one of a charity event that Maeve is attending with Asher, her brother and his wife. She overhears a socialite discussing how she going to bid on Asher in the charity date event and use their date to boost her social standing. Maeve, obviously not letting this happen, ask her brother for help to bid on Asher so that he does not get put in a scandal. Maeve obviously wins and the pair shortly head off to Vegas for their “date” while enjoying their time around Vegas they decide to jokingly get married for 24 hours because you know “ when in Vegas”.
After they get married and they’re back in their room, Asher begins to realize that he might actually be a little bit more than friendly feeling towards Maeve. The two return home and their “secret” marriage they were going to get annulled is very public. Maeve also learned that she got the mural project however she begins to wonder if she only got the project because they think she is married to Asher. Asher, after speaking with the publicist for the team and his agent realizes that the marriage might be good for him business wise and they both decide to just keep it going for a little bit longer.
However, everybody except for Asher and Maeve can see that their feelings are real and that although they’re only in this temporarily, they both seem very all in.
While Maeve is very much a free spirit and very open and just kind of goes with the flow. Asher while always seeming very cool, is very anxious and very much a control freak. As we get through the story, we learned that this all started when one of his dads had a medical accident while he was in the car and he had to drive him to the hospital This fuels a lot of anxiety and fear of the unknown in Asher, which now causes him to obsessively research everything, something that Maeve never knew. When Maeve decides to move in with Asher she starts to see some of these tendencies and wonders how she can help him while Asher wonders how he can help her with every little element and begins to spiral.
As they continue on with their fake marriage, their real feelings begin to come out, and the two of them take their fake marriage to the next level, but this brings up feelings that neither of them are truly ready to discuss. It isn’t until someone leaks that their marriage is fake (something neither of them feel anymore). Maeve worries she’ll lose her project with the Sea Dogs and tarnish her reputation, however, the only thing that the owner of the sea dogs is upset with is simply that she was lied to because she herself could see how much Asher and Maeve truly cared about each other, despite their marriage being a façade.
As Maeve and Asher deal with the fallout, they decide to admit to each other how they truly feel and give this marriage an actual chance!
Thank you Lauren Blakely and Good Girls PR for a ALC of this book for my honest opinion!
Quotes:
But I don’t see her that way. I see her as the woman who remembers every birthday, every anniversary, every little moment. As the friend who goes to battle with you, who makes you laugh, and who shows up whenever you need someone. I see her as the human who finds inspiration in the sky, the stars, and everything in between. I see her as chaos and beauty melted into one gorgeous, joyful, complicated person who understands I’m not always as happy as I let the world see.
But I don’t see her that way. I see her as the woman who remembers every birthday, every anniversary, every little moment. As the friend who goes to battle with you, who makes you laugh, and who shows up whenever you need someone. I see her as the human who finds inspiration in the sky, the stars, and everything in between. I see her as chaos and beauty melted into one gorgeous, joyful, complicated person who understands I’m not always as happy as I let the world see.
But that all feels private, like what happened in the hotel room. So, instead, I say in a firm voice, “You have my word. I’ll look out for her. Always.”
-Asher (Ch. 21)
“All those pictures I took? I was taking them for me. Because I was falling in love with you every day. And when you married me, I finally admitted to myself that it’s you. It’s always been you. And I don’t know if you feel the same or even want me, but I’m wildly in love with you. I don’t want to just take pictures of you. I want them of us. And I want this to be our next big adventure,” I say, referring to the picture and the words I photoshopped onto it this afternoon—Love lesson: Tell her you love her often. Tell her every day. Tell her as soon as you can.
-Asher (Ch. 56)
emotional
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Best friends to lovers. Marriage of convenience. Brother's best friend. It's always been her. AND it's a hockey romance.
SIGN ME UP.
The Proposal Play is book 3 of Lauren Blakely's Love and Hockey Series and it might just be my favorite one yet. Asher is beyond swoon worthy. Mauve shows us that we can achieve our dreams as long as we continue to chase them.
Watching Mauve and Asher's love story unfold was the most beautiful story I have read. Long time best friends turned to lovers might be a new favorite troupe for me, it's exceptionally relatable too. This book has the spice too. My goodness, those spicy scenes were top notch for me at least. Also Asher has some real life issues he struggles with and it makes him much more relatable, it also makes it easier to see him as more than just a hockey player.
SIGN ME UP.
The Proposal Play is book 3 of Lauren Blakely's Love and Hockey Series and it might just be my favorite one yet. Asher is beyond swoon worthy. Mauve shows us that we can achieve our dreams as long as we continue to chase them.
Watching Mauve and Asher's love story unfold was the most beautiful story I have read. Long time best friends turned to lovers might be a new favorite troupe for me, it's exceptionally relatable too. This book has the spice too. My goodness, those spicy scenes were top notch for me at least. Also Asher has some real life issues he struggles with and it makes him much more relatable, it also makes it easier to see him as more than just a hockey player.
emotional
funny
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Flying through this series for real, despite the books being HUGE. I do think that if these books were 100 pages less I would like them even more. With that being said, this one was a solid read. Tropes are friends to lovers, fake marriage, brothers' best friend, and forced proximity. I really liked the fact that for this book the two main characters started out as friends first because I think it added to their banter throughout the story. Jumping into book 4 soon!
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated