The Proposal by Jasmine Guillory

Review:
The Proposal
by Jasmine Guillory

By Phoebe Breed

The Proposal by Jasmine Guillory was one of my November Book of the Month picks. It sounded like a light and refreshing rom-com book, which sounded like a good palate cleanser after my nonfiction November picks and the mysteries and thrillers that I’m usually drawn to. This story is straight-up made for the big screen. The big ballgame proposal, the various restaurants that are thoroughly described, and the quirky best friends all made me think of the best recipe for a chick flick. One which I’d gladly go to. However, spending more than two hours immersed in this story left me a bit disappointed with my time investment.

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 been dating for only five months, and he can’t even spell her name correctly. The hard part is have 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…. But when their glorified hookups start breaking the rules, one of them has to be smart enough to put on the breaks…

What I Liked

The diversity of characters in this story was refreshing. There are black, Latino, Latina, and white characters. There are straight, bisexual, and gay characters. There are thin and round characters. I loved it!

What Wasn’t My Favorite

This story is cheesy. Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not opposed to cheesy. But, this story was predictable, and left me wondering why I bothered to read the end when I knew exactly what was going to happen.

The conversation, particularly the dialogue of the male characters, was so stereotypical and pretty obviously written by a woman. The men pretty much always said exactly what a woman would want him to say!

Some of the attention to detail was lacking in this story. For example, the first time Nik goes to Carlos’s house, he says that he doesn’t have a dining table yet because he hasn’t quite gotten around to making his house the way he wants yet. But then the next time Nik goes over, they lay out their massive haul of freezer meals on the dining table. Not sure when he got one, but it felt like an oversight and made me annoyed.

Rating (2.5)/5