The Proposal: Reese's Book Club (The Wedding Date 2)

Every since the first installment in this series Jasmine Guillory has become one of my favorite authors. I loved the first book in this series “The Wedding Date” so much that I went and bought every kindle version of her next 6 books in this series so I can read them all. LolAnd I’m so happy “The Proposal” didn’t disappoint me. Carlos was a fav of mine in the last book so I was excited to learn more about him because he seemed like a playboy in the last book….. a sweet guy but definitely a playboy. His father dying really traumatized him and he’s been trying to work through those emotions for years - so it was nice to see Nik give him that nonjudgmental shoulder to cry on. I’m happy the BFF relationship with Drew and Carlos was still alive and well in this book even though Drew moved away.I loved “The wedding date” with drew and Alexa a lot more than this one, but maybe that’s because I loved their relationship dynamic and their super cute “meet cute” in the elevator.GO READ THIS BOOK ! You’ll throughly enjoy it. You can read these books as standalone’s and not feel lost on the plot but there will be interactions with certain characters that might be a bit confusing because all of these book involve characters we’ve met in the previous book.

Where this novel excels is in bringing diversity to the genre of romance. There is racial diversity, there is a black lesbian character of significance and I feel like the diversity and inclusion in this novel doesn’t rely on tropes, which is good. I also get a degree of the fact that race and romance are an own voices theme for this author. I overall didn’t mind the premise and it was an enjoyable book to read, if a little jarring.I think the intention with this book was good. It read like the author had a really good premise and some excellent themes she wanted to cover in advance. The issue was that not all the themes fitted in seamlessly with the plot. For example, the way Carlos dealt with grief was seamless, it fitted. On the other hand, the theme of emotional abuse and it’s impact was dealt with in a really janky way. Maybe it’s just that Justin (Nik’s many times removed ex) was such a distant concept in the novel, but I did not buy that he was a reason Nik’s emotional stuntedness because of her characterization. I don’t think it was suitably explained why she was so afraid of love.I also had some issues with the plotting of this novel. I felt like a “Punch Like A Girl” self-defense class plot point was introduced and then sort of abandoned through most of the novel and then in the end, it was used to beat us over the head with the message. And the feminist messages and education about emotional abuse is one that I believed in and agreed with, but I don’t feel like it was delivered with much (or any) sensitivity or creativity. And coming near the end like it did, it felt like the author hadn’t been able to suitably include the messages she wanted, so she just got on her soapbox at the end and literally told us everything she wanted us to know in essay format by editorializing Nik’s internal monologue.Another thing I struggled with was the language and dialogue. I don’t claim to be an expert in how men talk but I kept getting pulled out of the story because I kept feeling like “which men talk like that?” And maybe that was intentional by the author to break stereotypes of how men talk and how women talk but when Carlos and Drew would discuss anything, it was a little jarring.My final beef with this novel was the fact that I just didn’t find the heroine sympathetic. There was something off about her character development and by the end, I still couldn’t tell who she was. I’m not a person who thinks that fictional heroines have to be likable but in romance, it is kinda sorta part of the job description. I couldn’t tell who she was and what she wanted and I felt the same way about her friends. What were their motivations? What was their end game? For Carlos, I could see that he was motivated by family and he wanted to look after everyone but what did Nik really want? I could never tell.If you’re looking for diverse romance, this is an okay read. The Wedding Date is closely related and there are lots of references to it so you should definitely read that first for a better understanding of Carlos and Drew in this one.

This was yet another cute and fun read in this series.I didn't love Nikole, aka Nik, yet she was ok. It confused me why she would be holding on to feelings from a relationship from so many years ago, given how great things were going for her and the encouraging friends she had. Plus, she was apparently a beautiful woman, so it didn't quite make sense for her to be in such a low space self-esteem wise🤷🏾‍♀️. I like that, even without her being aware, that she really cared for Carlos and helped him to be more open and relaxed with her.I loved Carlos from the previous book, so I was glad he was even more likable and charming in this one. Who sees a woman in distress and want to 'save' or help her the way he did? Not many that I know. I like that he wanted to take care of his family and ensure that his father's absence wasn't too much for everyone, yet it was costing him a lot more than he was willing to admit. I'm glad he opened up to Nik and she encouraged him to go to the doctor and talk to his sister, Angela.Nik and Carlos were a match from the beginning and I loved their easy going, casual, way of being together, even though they tried hard to deny the connection.I wasn't too crazy about Niks' friends, Dana and Courtney. I like that they all had a sister-like bond, yet that's about it.This series is so quick and easy and light and fun and I am really enjoying all of the characters for the most part.Now that I'm caught up, I can move on to book 4 (I read these all out of order🤦🏾‍♀️). Either way, good reads.

Cute story, both fun and also a little spicy. Nice romance with a sweet ending and lots of good characters.

Es un libro entretenido, pero no me encantó. Está lleno de clichés, tantos que incluso use un resaltador para marcarlos. Es la típica historia de amor donde una chica conoce a un chico, creen que será solo sexo pero al final uno de los dos se enamora. Sería un excelente película dominguera, como libro es algo que leería en el avión sin sentirme mal de dejarlo olvidado.

Esse é o segundo livro que leio da Jasmine Guillory, quando li The Wedding Date, eu AMEI a história que a autora trouxe, por isso eu estava mais que ansiosa para poder ler o quanto antes The Proposal... E felizmente, Jasmine me surpreendeu, com uma história divertida, cheia de humor, um romance bem legal de se acompanhar.Eu senti que deveria colocar Jasmine e seus livros no meu radar, por que as histórias dela parecem ter tudo o que eu gosto, que são aqueles clichês que nós já bem conhecemos, histórias com muito humor e que apesar de te rum drama ou outro sabemos que no fim tudo vai dar certo. Mas Jasmine me chamou a atenção, por um ponto em especifico, a diversidade de seus personagens, histórias que muitas das vezes são contadas por um protagonismo branco, aqui temos personagens negros, mulheres incríveis e determinadas, e tudo isso é trabalha de uma forma natural sem que essas características sejam o fio condutor da trama.The Proposal é o segundo livro as série, The Wedding Date, mas na minha opinião você pode ler esse livro sem ter lido o primeiro, apesar de que personagens de The Wedding Date acabam aparecendo aqui. Em The Proposal, somos apresentados a Nik, que está em um jogo beisebol, com seu namorado – de 5 meses – até que ela é surpreendida com um pedido de casamento, e é ai que as coisas começam a dar errado, uma vez que ela acaba rejeitando o pedido, e passa a ser vista como a ruim da história e uma quantidade absurda de gente (um estádio lotado de beisebol) passa a julgá-la por isso, mas graças a Carlos e sua irmã, Angie eles conseguem tirar Nik dessa confusão, e leva-la para o consolo de suas amigas e é a partir daqui que acompanharemos Carlos e Nik.Acompanhar esses dois foi uma experiência divertida, ver como ambos os personagens que começaram como amigos, para se tornar algo mais, e descobrirem um no outro e em si mesmo que podem amar e serem amados, é lindo. Nik e Carlos passam por problemas pessoas, que moldam suas atitudes enquanto pessoas, Carlos é espontâneo, porém fechado para a família, está tentando lidar com a vida após perder alguém importante e acha que deve assumir um papel o qual ele não estava preparado. Enquanto Nik apesar de ter todo o ar de mulher determinada, ela tem seus receios, experiências de relacionamento anteriores abalaram e fizeram com que ela passasse a duvidar de seu próprio potencial tanto enquanto profissional como mulher.Jasmine com uma narrativa descontraída, nos proporciona uma história que aquece corações, é viciante, mas que aborda tópicos importantes sem perder o ritmo de sua narrativa, sem que a história se torna-se algo “pesado”. Estou ansiosa para ler mais coisas da autora!

If you are looking for a weekend, feel good, light, breezy read- this is a good book to pick :)

I really did quite enjoy this story. I do agree that there were some slow parts. However, I found it to stop be romantic and charming.

Eu estava morrendo para ler um romance mas por não ser das minhas leituras favoritas não sabia o que escolher. Acabei pegando outro livro do —-, por que sempre acabo gostando das escolhas deles. Comecei com medo mas acabei surpreendida!Quando Nikole vai, a contragosto, a um jogo dos Dodgers para celebrar o aniversário do seu ficante de 5 meses e os amigos dele a última coisa que ela imagina é que vá acabar sendo pedida em casamento pelo telão de estádio! O pior de tudo, ele nem escreve o nome dela direito no pedido!Falar não é fácil, difícil é lidar com a desaprovação de milhares de desconhecidos no estádio quando ela faz isso. E como se não pudesse ficar pior, câmeras estão vindo em sua direção para perguntar sobre a decisão.Por sorte Carlos Ibarra e sua irmã, Angie, vêm ao resgate e a tiram de lá bem a tempo e assim começa uma nova amizade.Com ela precisando de um escape e ele não querendo nada sério a amizade se transforma em algo mais, mas apenas de forma casual. Será mesmo?Um livro que eu, literalmente, não consegui parar de ler! A leitura foi numa tacada só até o final, eu tentava parar mas não conseguia. O romance é daqueles que é super amorzinho mas que não é clichê ao extremo e nem água com açúcar e muito menos daqueles tão queijudos que te fazem revirar os olhos, para mim, ele é o estilo de romance ideal!Além do romance em si e a relação entre os personagens, e da química, ser incrível, o livro também vem carregado de humor e de relações paralelas bem realistas e relacionáveis sejam elas de amizade ou familiares. É realmente impossível não ver alguma semelhança com a sua vida seja em alguma situação ou algum relacionamento que aparece no livro, eu mesmo via minha relação com minhas amigas e minha prima refletidas o tempo todo enquanto lia!Uma das melhores comédias românticas que já li, achei perfeito para fãs dos livros de Rainbow Rowell ou de “Teto para dois”. Cheio de diversidade, menciona uma ou outra questão séria mas ao mesmo tempo te faz rir, sem tirar o foco da crescente evolução no relacionamento dos dois. Eu amei!!Ps.: Friends with benefits / friends to lovers + uma ou outra cena hot