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 brakes...



 

“I’ve spent so long being afraid of love, because the last time I was in love, the man I loved only loved one part of me, but not all of me, and I thought love meant having to sacrifice a part of yourself. But then I was with you, and you loved every part of me, even the parts I don’t like. And that scared me more, because I thought there must be some trick and that I couldn’t let myself believe it or I’d fall into the trap. But finally I realized it wasn’t a trap."

I loved, loved, LOVED The Wedding Date but The Proposal takes the cake for me, if I'm being honest. It was just so freaking good. This is partly to do with the fact that I relate to Nikole a lot more than Alexa. I, too, would shut it down if someone proposed to me in such a public manner. You know those types of characters that you just see yourself in? Nikole is one of those for me.

There's a lot of humor in The Proposal which is one of the three calling cards to Jasmine Guillory's work: humor, heat and heart. Much like The Wedding Date there's this charm to the novel that compels us to read further, and escape our ordinary lives, but the soul of it all still feels very true-to-life. Which is not altogether common in many romances, but Guillory's cast of characters feel like our very best-friends and reading about their lives is always a treat.

Although The Proposal is a standalone story, it is a companion series and we meet up with the characters from The Wedding Date throughout it. Carlos was great in The Wedding Date but is in full form as a main character here. If you liked him as a side character, you're going to fall even further in love with him in The Proposal.

My favourite part about The Proposal is the ah-ha! realization of the love that has formed unexpectedly between Carlos and Nikole. It's all so witty and sweet and it's the type of love story that I love to see on page. Love can be so unexpected and sometimes it doesn't dawn on us straight away.

It sneaks up on us and as someone who personally has delayed emotional reactions, I love finding a story that showcases that. It's relatable and also charming.

While I loved Carlos as a side character in the previous novel, The Proposal has so many more good side characters. I love that we catch up with characters from The Wedding Date, but I love the newer ones we're introduced to. Carlos' family, Nikole's friends and foes, etc. I got attached to them quite quickly.

Overall, The Proposal tackles some very real issues and spotlights a swoon-worthy romance that will leave readers craving more from Guillory. Can we just crown her the new reigning Queen of romance now, already?