I might have described this book as a “guilty pleasure” if I believed in feeling guilty about our pleasures. I downloaded the book immediately after seeing Reese Witherspoon’s badge of approval on this cover in a long list of romance novels, and it did not disappoint. Jasmine Guillory’s The Proposal is the perfect rom-com that I wish I could watch on the big screen during a summer evening. The characters are loveable and in love, whether or not they realize it. The story begins with Nikole (who goes by Nik) and her boyfriend at a Dodger’s game. Suddenly, all eyes are on them, and Nik realizes that her boyfriend of five months is proposing to her via JumboTron – with her name spelled incorrectly! She declines, he storms out, and camera crews close in. Our hero, Carlos, and his sister come to Nik’s rescue, saving her from the cameras and driving her across LA to meet her friends. While Carlos and Nik’s love story can be predicted by the second page of the book, their story is witty, charming, and makes you believe in love.
Carlos is a pediatrician, close with his family, and protective of all the women in his life. Nik, on the other hand, is a journalist and proud of her self-sufficiency. As you might predict, through taco nights and cupcake delivery trips, the two learn to be okay with being cared for by someone else – even though they both agreed that this was just a fling.
Guillory’s story emphasizes the importance of female friendships, with Nik’s friends being the support system any girl gang would find familiar. Her friends are funny, driven, and always keep it real – although their characters can often seem like a cliche. They have little backstory of their own and appear only to tell Nik to “go get ’em!” However, Nik and Carlos’s characters have great depth and are realistic of how previous trauma impacts our ability to forge and maintain new connections. The Proposal was a refreshing romance, with two protagonists of color – Carlos being Latino and Nik a black woman, exploring issues of loss, the patriarchy, and intimacy.
Ultimately, did this book leave a profound impact on me? Not really, but it was fun to read! Next time you’re waiting at the doctor’s office, for the bus to arrive, or just trying to lazily kill time, The Proposal is the perfect easy read.