The Proposal

Author: Jasmine Guillory
Genre: Romance
Type: Trade Paperback
Pages: 325
Source: Local Public Library
Publisher: Berkley Books
First Published: October 30, 2018
Opening Lines: Nik Paterson look around at the perfect Los Angeles day: clear blue sky, bright green baseball field, warm sun shining down on the thousands of people with her at Dodger Stadium. There was only one thought on her mind: when can I get out of here?

Book Description from GoodReads: When someone asks you to spend your life with him, it shouldn't come as a surprise--or happen in front of 45,000 people.

When freelance writer Nikole Paterson goes to a Dodgers game with her actor boyfriend, his man bun, and his bros, the last thing she expects is a scoreboard proposal. Saying no isn't the hard part--they've only been dating for five months, and he can't even spell her name correctly. The hard part is having to face a stadium full of disappointed fans...

At the game with his sister, Carlos Ibarra comes to Nik's rescue and rushes her away from a camera crew. He's even there for her when the video goes viral and Nik's social media blows up--in a bad way. Nik knows that in the wilds of LA, a handsome doctor like Carlos can't be looking for anything serious, so she embarks on an epic rebound with him, filled with food, fun, and fantastic sex. But when their glorified hookups start breaking the rules, one of them has to be smart enough to put on the breaks ...

My Rating: 2 stars

My Review: Lately I've been enjoying the contemporary Romance genre because I get a humorous, cute story with some oh-so-sassy scenes. You know, the modern Romance trifecta.

The Proposal was the belle of the ball last Fall with everyone, including Reece Witherspoon herself, loving it. Unfortunately, I can't jump on that bandwagon because this book fell flat for me with the only saving grace being the diversity of its cast. 

The rest of the book - the characters, plot, romance, writing - was shockingly weak. I didn't feel the romance or chemistry between Nik and Carlos - things go from zero to sixty in two seconds, with no realistic build up to their intimacy. I also had an issue with the thin plot - not much actually happens in this story. And why-oh-why wasn't Fisher's story line used to beef up the plot? To create some tension ... something. Anything! That was a huge missed opportunity.

Many readers adored this book, but it didn't have enough substance for me. I thought it would be another Unhoneymooners or The Kiss Quotient but its predictability, thin plot, bland cast and weak (often corny) dialogue were frustrating. It simply didn't have the charm, humour and dialogue like other Romances I've read and enjoyed. I pushed through and finished this book, skimming much of the last half, but ultimately, I felt unsatisfied by this book.