The Wedding Date Bargain

I finished reading this last night. It was cute and fun, if a bit frustrating in parts (or one part is particular for me)

I kind of wish it had ended differently? The ending is good and doesn't feel disingenuous but I was hoping for something different

I wanted more focus on the protagonists friends as well but I am glad they didn't wrap up each relationship in a bow. There's a sprinkling of queer relationships in there and I'm glad that there wasn't too much focus on that and just let them live their life instead of acting like it's a Huge and Novelty thing

8/10 it's a good book and it was nice to read something light and fun

3.5 stars.

This was pleasant! I would file this under “true romance” as opposed to “steamy romance,” and my preference is for the latter, so this was never going to be 5 stars for me based on personal taste. If you'd like an easy read with likable characters, however, this fits that bill. It's also great to read a romance with diversity in its characters that feels true to life, neither central to the plot in a didactic way nor a side bar that is only addressed as lip service - there's a moving scene when the protagonist goes from dreading meeting her love interest's friends to relief when she realizes that the friend's girlfriend is also Black, with a restaurant bathroom conversation about it between them that is funny and joyful. One thing I did notice is that there's something about witty banter in modern romance novels that can feel a bit clunky to me - I can imagine a reader in the not-so-distant-future being baffled about the references to whatever the current technology is at the moment in a way that would distract from the actual interpersonal connection being depicted that ends up feeling distracting for me in the present (like the last romance novel I read before this had a subplot about the male love interest not having a mobile phone, but the novel was set during the present day based on references to social media, so that issue felt more like one that would have cropped up 15 years ago...but I digress). Like, I'm sure I'm missing TONS of context clues reading Austen, but that somehow doesn't seem to interfere with the zippiness of the dialogue for me, which can feel more forced in romances with modern settings. Overall, I was happy to pick this up in a lending library, even if I'm not sure I'd seek out the rest of the series. But writing this, now I'm thinking I would? Time will tell!

this was cute kind of cringe but man I hate LA and I hate the dodgers even more

Cute, I liked it

I don't know what it was about this one, I just couldn't get into it.

I never clicked with any of the characters and never felt like I was dying to know what happened next. I like Guillory's writing style, I just did not mesh with any of the main characters in this book and that was a bummer. I also just ~did not~ grasp what this book was about until halfway through– that synopsis had me a bit confused, to be honest.

Overall, I'm hoping the next Guillory I pick up makes a bigger impact on me.

sometimes i can't with men like nikole's ex... if only men were like carlos sigh

3.5 stars

Another cute, fluffy read.

dnf 98/325

My rating would be 2.5 stars. There were a couple of chapters that put me to sleep, literally. This is your standard modern day romance novel.

Since it's part of Reese's book club and I loved the last read so much, I had high expectations. Instead I found a very much run of the mill romance without redeeming qualities. We can't be right all the time, I guess.

Sometimes it's okay to read a romance novel.

Nik is unexpectedly proposed to on the giant screen at a baseball game. Carlos helps Nik escape from nosy reporters, and Carlos and Nik become friends. I'm not interested in a relationship, Nik tells Carlos, and Carlos strongly agrees.

Yes, you can probably see where this might be going, but the characters and plot offer lots of surprises. Be warned that this is a contemporary romance with vocabulary and plot elements that contemporary (read that: younger folks) expect.

I didn't like this nearly as much as The Wedding Date - but I'm still going to read the next one!

Never have a read a book and been so distracted by all of the semicolons in it. Haha. (But seriously, it was annoying.) Outside of this, The Proposal was a deliciously cheesy beach read and exactly what I needed right now: Predictable ridiculousness.

This is not an problem with Jasmine Guillory. I really like her story-telling, and her characters, and her writing. I really like her messages of strong friendship, and feminism, and empowerment, and taking chances. This is absolutely a me problem.

She wasn't even a main character, but I wish Jessie's storyline hadn't been of a pregnant woman on bed-rest for pre-eclampsia. Every time she was mentioned, or anyone worried about the baby, or Carlos freaked out about her blood pressure, I felt mine go up too. Every time, I got upset and thought about whether I needed to put this down and DNF in order to be okay. I finally texted Steph to make sure everything was going to be okay for them, because I know this is a romance novel and they always end happily, but if something happened to this fictional baby ... I could not handle that. It made the book really hard to get through. Mom and baby are fine after emergency C-section at 34 weeks and short NICU stay. There is also mention of a different character's long-ago miscarriage.

I loved Nik and Carlos' relationship though, and that Drew and Alexa showed back up. This might have made me feel like maybe I could give sour cream another chance, because the sour-cream-as-salve-for-chili-pepper-burns thing was hilarious and adorable.

CW: emotional abuse, pregnancy problems, unrelated mention of miscarriage

Stop everything you're doing and read this book. I loved Jasmine Guillory's first novel, The Wedding Date, and have been waiting patiently for this one. A delightful romantic romp with easy to love characters and a story that will keep you entertained and invested.

(Disclosures: I won this ARC in a Goodreads giveaway, and unrelated to that, the author is a friend.)

If you liked The Wedding Date, you'll love this book even more! The Proposal is a perfect romantic comedy in book form - I love Nik and all her friends, and while I don't know if there are more books planned with this cast of characters, I'd be first in line to read anything starring Courtney, Dana, or Angela - I wish there had been more of all of them, but what we got was perfect. The world of this book seemed more fully realized than in The Wedding Date, and I think part of that is because of the supporting characters and the subplots. I want to hang out with Nik and her friends, which is a great feeling to have about the main character of a book like this. The romance is so good and so satisfying, of course, and I closed this book with a big grin on my face. Someone needs to option this for a movie, like, NOW.

(Also, if you got hungry reading The Wedding Date, prepare yourself - this book made me crave Mexican food like nothing else. Romance, cupcakes, and taquerias: what could be better?)

This was a really fun, satisfying read! I love Nik as a protagonist and found her v relatable. Plus, love to see Drew & Alexa's cameo!