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3.99 AVERAGE
3.99 AVERAGE
emotional
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:
No
Thank you to the author and Hambright PR for the advance reading and listening copies. These opinions are my own.
This book is a perfect example of why friends-to-lovers is one of my very favorite tropes. Add in a marriage of convenience, and I am so here for it.
This is the third book in the Love and Hockey series. It can stand alone, but it's nice to read in order, as we have previously met (and speculated about) Maeve and Asher in the earlier books. Maeve steps up to help Asher out of a bind. One thing leads to another, and the two of them end up married and continuing the marriage in public for their careers.
I love the ways they both show up for each other and how they see each other so clearly. They are best friends and both prize that relationship so dearly. And it's clear they are a perfect match, even when it's not clear to them. Add in the chemistry and steam, and just wow!
I have to mention the incredibly important mental health representation. I won't give spoilers, but the way it became clear slowly and the value placed on therapy and breaking stigmas, especially within the sports world, were so powerful.
The audiobook features duet narration by Vanessa Edwin and Robert Hatchet. Both had great voices. I didn't recognize his, but he is rapidly hitting new favorite status. And I always love a duet production.
This book is a perfect example of why friends-to-lovers is one of my very favorite tropes. Add in a marriage of convenience, and I am so here for it.
This is the third book in the Love and Hockey series. It can stand alone, but it's nice to read in order, as we have previously met (and speculated about) Maeve and Asher in the earlier books. Maeve steps up to help Asher out of a bind. One thing leads to another, and the two of them end up married and continuing the marriage in public for their careers.
I love the ways they both show up for each other and how they see each other so clearly. They are best friends and both prize that relationship so dearly. And it's clear they are a perfect match, even when it's not clear to them. Add in the chemistry and steam, and just wow!
I have to mention the incredibly important mental health representation. I won't give spoilers, but the way it became clear slowly and the value placed on therapy and breaking stigmas, especially within the sports world, were so powerful.
The audiobook features duet narration by Vanessa Edwin and Robert Hatchet. Both had great voices. I didn't recognize his, but he is rapidly hitting new favorite status. And I always love a duet production.
Best friends to lover’s trope is one that has my heart, especially when he realizes he has fallen first and then falls hard. That is exactly what happened with Asher and Maeve. They truly care for each other in so many ways for a decade before the idea of romantic love hit either one of them.
Asher is sweet, thoughtful and a worrier. Maeve is a spunky, fun, determined artist, and they complement each other perfectly. When they end up married in Vegas after a drunken night and their wedding photo goes viral, they decide to pretend to stay married. However, their friendship is their first and foremost their top priority. Seeing them navigate their attraction and feelings together was beautiful. They supported each other through thick and thin, and their love truly bloomed from their friendship.
Add in cameos from found family that has been created by the hockey team and other friends in the Love and Hockey series and this book was such a great read.
I can’t wait to see what more Lauren Blakely has in store for this found family!
Thank you, Lauren Blakely and Good Girls PR, for the ARC of this book.
emotional
funny
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:
Complicated
ARC and ALC review
Publications date: 8 January 2025
“The Proposal Play” is the third book in the “Love and Hockey” series of interconnected standalone books.
Main tropes:
💍marriage of convenience (marriage pact)
💍Friends to lovers
💍Brother’s best friend
💍sports romance
💍painter/hockey player
💍mental health awareness
Maeve and Asher have been friends for 10 years and he is also best friend with her brother. After she wins a date with him at an auction for charity, they end up in Vegas. Two years ago they made a marriage pact and though it would be fun to get married this weekend.
The fact that they were friends for so long before made their interactions funny, with banter and the road to love was made gracefully. Asher is very sweet, protective and he is the first one to fall in love. I like that this is not a situation when one of them was secretly in love for a long time, just that the forced proximity made them realize there’s more than just friendship.
The audiobook is narrated by Vanessa Edwin and Robert Hatchet. This is a duet narration and both of them managed to bring out all the feeling that the characters had and keep you invested in the story. This is a long book, the characters have a nice development and even if there are some obstacles, they manage to work together to solve them (fortunately there is no 3rd act break-up). There are discussions about mental health issues (anxiety, obsessive behaviors and grief) as Meave tries to help Asher with his struggles. So far this is my favorite book in the series. Looking forward to Miles and Leighton’s story in the “The Girlfriend Zone”.
Thank you Lauren Blakely for the ARC and ALC. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
Publications date: 8 January 2025
“The Proposal Play” is the third book in the “Love and Hockey” series of interconnected standalone books.
Main tropes:
💍marriage of convenience (marriage pact)
💍Friends to lovers
💍Brother’s best friend
💍sports romance
💍painter/hockey player
💍mental health awareness
Maeve and Asher have been friends for 10 years and he is also best friend with her brother. After she wins a date with him at an auction for charity, they end up in Vegas. Two years ago they made a marriage pact and though it would be fun to get married this weekend.
The fact that they were friends for so long before made their interactions funny, with banter and the road to love was made gracefully. Asher is very sweet, protective and he is the first one to fall in love. I like that this is not a situation when one of them was secretly in love for a long time, just that the forced proximity made them realize there’s more than just friendship.
The audiobook is narrated by Vanessa Edwin and Robert Hatchet. This is a duet narration and both of them managed to bring out all the feeling that the characters had and keep you invested in the story. This is a long book, the characters have a nice development and even if there are some obstacles, they manage to work together to solve them (fortunately there is no 3rd act break-up). There are discussions about mental health issues (anxiety, obsessive behaviors and grief) as Meave tries to help Asher with his struggles. So far this is my favorite book in the series. Looking forward to Miles and Leighton’s story in the “The Girlfriend Zone”.
Thank you Lauren Blakely for the ARC and ALC. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Disclaimer: This is an Arc/ALC copy review. There are no biased opinions or statements, this entire review is how I feel about this book.
Uh, no. There were a lot of plot holes for once, things not aligning. Such as being friends for a long period of time and things not aligning? Also this book was so long for no actual necessary reason. I love the writing style and all but the story was not it for me. It seemed a bit dragged on dare I say? I thought I was going to love it because fake dating, marriage of convenience, married in Vegas, best friends to lovers, etc. I love Hockey romances but I didn’t enjoy this one. I’ve seen that a lot of people enjoy it, so maybe it’s just me? I wanted to DNF it multiple times but continued to push through. All together though, I appreciate the author sending me an ALC copy.
Uh, no. There were a lot of plot holes for once, things not aligning. Such as being friends for a long period of time and things not aligning? Also this book was so long for no actual necessary reason. I love the writing style and all but the story was not it for me. It seemed a bit dragged on dare I say? I thought I was going to love it because fake dating, marriage of convenience, married in Vegas, best friends to lovers, etc. I love Hockey romances but I didn’t enjoy this one. I’ve seen that a lot of people enjoy it, so maybe it’s just me? I wanted to DNF it multiple times but continued to push through. All together though, I appreciate the author sending me an ALC copy.
This book is the perfect blend of spice and story line and I enjoyed every moment of it! Maeve and Asher are two best friends who end up making a marriage pact for fun . Then when they jokingly follow through on that pact it changes their worlds in ways they never imagined. I loved their friendships backstory and the way that they are always so supportive and adventurous together. The tension between them is absolutely fantastic and when that tension snaps like a rubber band there is no turning back for either of them. I really enjoyed that when the two MC’s reached a pivotal moment in the story they actually communicated with each other instead of just assuming the worst and letting misunderstandings and self doubt ruin everything. The character development was so well done and I even fell in love with many of the side chapters along the way which means I will absolutely be reading the other books in this series.
Robert Hatchet and Vanessa Edwin absolutely knocked both of these characters out of the park and helped to bring this story to life perfectly. This was my first story from Lauren Blakely but it definitely will not be my last!!
adventurous
funny
I listened to the audiobook version of this story and really enjoyed it. Definitely a fun marriage of convenience, hockey romance. Loved the banter between Asher and Maeve as well as the spicy scenes. OMG those were delicious and very well written. The narration by Vanessa Edwin and Robert Hatchet was amazing. Kept me engaged throughout the whole story. It was all in all a really good audiobook!
Loveable characters:
Yes
ARC Review
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
🌶️🌶️🌶️
This was an amazing best friends to lovers story. Plus it was the perfect mix of sweet and spicy. I thoroughly enjoyed the progression of their story; the way it flowed felt natural and believable.
The connection between Maeve and Asher was strong from the start and made it even sweeter when they finally realized love bloomed from their friendship. I really enjoyed how they supported each othet through thick and thin. You couldn’t help but root for them. Their chemistry was also super hot! The spicy scenes were so good!
As with the other books in The Romance Line series, I really enjoyed seeing all the characters from the previous books. This group of friends make these books even better!
If you enjoy hockey romances, I highly recommend The Proposal Play.
I would like to thank Lauren Blakely for the opportunity to read and review The Proposal Play.
The mental health representation in this book was amazing. I loved hearing about obsessive thoughts and anxieties because I struggle with those things too. Like Asher, I try to control everything about life.
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
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:
Complicated
✨ALC Review✨
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ for The Proposal Play by Lauren Blakely
A mariage pact with your brother's best friend that turns into a mariage of convenience? Yes please!
This was such an amazing hockey romance, I ate this up! The narrators were on point, especially Vanessa Edwin as Maeve; her emotions were so well conveyed in her tone of voice, I absolutely adored her! I did feel that the male narrator could have varied his tone of voice a bit more to make it more engaging though.
I loved Asher's character so much, and the way he falls first AND hard for Maeve; he's been falling in love with her for years, and it shows in the way he cares for her. Plus, we get men's mental health rep (!!) because he's dealing with anxiety and this whole storyline was perfectly executed, I need more of this on my books please!
And the spice? HOT. Lots of "good girl" and "my wife" moments that had me swooning and blushing, and add to that an "it's always been you" moment and I was done for. 🫠🫠🫠
Thank you to Lauren Blakely for an audio copy in exchange for a review. All opinions are my own.
This was super cute friends to lovers, "accidental marriage" story. These two have been friends for years and go on a trip together and think it will be fun to get married but when it goes public they decide to keep up the ruse to help them both out. Only for them to both start questioning if it is real a fake marriage or if there is something more. There is some possible trigger subject discussed, grief of parental loss/partner loss, mental health/anxiety. The characters are super lovable.