Plot: ✍
Grace Dawson is completely over her ex, Christina. But that doesn’t mean she wants to plan her wedding proposal to another woman.

Grace dreams of the day she’ll have a romantic proposal like those she plans for her clients at Tie the Knot. She’s spent the last year reading a boatload of self-help books. No way she’s going to fall back into old patterns and date someone afraid of commitment ever again. When it comes to everlasting love, Grace is all in.

Bridget Cartwright, Christina’s personal assistant, will do anything for Christina with the hopes of getting a promotion, even plan her proposal. So what if she knows zilch about romance and doesn’t even believe in happily-ever-after? There are companies for hire that do that sort of thing.

When Grace and Bridget end up stranded together on Mistletoe Mountain, Grace has no chance to escape. Not from her painful past, not from her attraction to Bridget, and definitely not from all the romance in the air.

Thoughts: 💭
I loved this book. It was so adorable. It had the perfect cozy feel for a holiday book. I absolutely loved Grace and Bridget together. At first I was so mad at Christina but I quickly turned those thoughts around. This book has the perfect amount of drama without being too much for a holiday book. I loved the small town feel of Mistletoe Mountain. I'm a suckered for quaint towns and come back stories. Highly recommend you grab this book on December 14th. You can preorder it now!

Thank you much to NetGalley for providing me with this ARC. ❤

Thank you to Bold Strokes and NetGalley for the ARC!

The Christmas Proposal is short, sweet, and pretty much what you would expect from a Christmas book set in a small Christmas town.

It's got the 'snowed in' small town trope (forced proximity is THE BEST). It has found family and overcoming the past.

Grace and Bridget actually talk to each other, which I appreciate. When Bridget finds out that Grace is planning her ex's proposal, Bridget tells her quickly. It's a nice change from having a secret that festers throughout the whole book when it could have been solved early on with just a little bit of honesty.

I found the chemistry between Grace and Bridget lacking quite a bit- it didn't really sizzle for me. I wish there was also a little bit more backstory about Grace's sister! I do, however, LOVE that Bridget is a video game developer!!

Overall, it's a fun, quick read and gets you into the holiday spirit!

Grace Dawson works at Tie the Knot and plans romantic proposals for clients of the company. Her past several romantic interests have been afraid of commitment including her most recent ex, Christina.

Bridget Cartwright, Christina’s personal assistant, is requested by her boss to plan her proposal to Beryl whom Christina left Grace for within the last year. Bridget enlists Grace after seeing her card at a coffee shop.

After meeting and spending some time together at Mistletoe Mountain where Grace grew up, Bridget and Grace grow closer. Due to unforeseen circumstances they cannot leave Mistletoe Mountain for an extended period of time. So Bridget meets Grace's family, learns about Grace's history, and plan Christina's proposal.

This was a quick, easy read in a magical setting of a Christmas village mountain setting a couple of hours away from Los Angeles. This week can get a reader in the Christmas spirit. 3 stars

I received an ARC from Bold Strokes Books and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

A perfectly lovely Christmas romance that you should definitely read right now to immerse yourself in the joy of the festive season. Kissing under the mistletoe, watching snow fall together and icing biscuits, whilst falling in love. This book is full of “ah” moments, but it isn’t a saccharine tale as there’s also a lot of grit and some sadness that helps to keep the story grounded. Made me want to read more books by this author.

I had a tough time relating to or liking the characters. If you like bad Hallmark movies then you will love this book, unfortunately it wasn’t for me.

I really liked the concept of the book, but I just did not connect to the characters. Sometimes the problems from the pasts of the characters felt more like stated facts to excuse their behavior and to serve the plot, rather than a traumatic event that still very much affects them. I also found it frustrating that you as the reader learn certain things from the Claire’s past when Bridget finds out about them. As you are reading from her perspective, it felt like information the reader should know. Like it felt off reading from the perspective of someone who hasn’t visited her family for 10 years without knowing why. These things made it very difficult to really enjoy the book. I liked the setting and Clare’s family, but characters really make or break a book for me

It's a perfect Sapphic Hallmark Holiday Romance with characters that crawl to your heart
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The settings seem dreamy, a little town in the middle of snowy mountains, shops named after Christmas decorations and warmly delicious flavors
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Grace discovers that her workaholic girlfriend is seeing someone else and decides it's time to change her life. With a new job as a Proposal planner and new goals for her heart
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Bridget is willing to do everything to win the favor of her boss and the opportunity that she can be more than her assistant and after a year working on her own project she is ready to take a step forward but first she must do one last job for her, arrange the perfect marriage proposal for her girlfriend
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When their destinies intersect and they begin to work together, they begin to open their hearts and must decide if their goals are more important than meeting each other.
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Thanks to Lisa Moreau and Bold Stroke Books for give me this Beautiful Book in exchange for my honest opinion

This book really drew you in with the main characters, Grace and Bridget. The book begins with Grace and Christine. Christine is Grace's boss and girlfriend. That is until Grace mentions that they should move in together. Christine shoots this idea down and Grace is devastated. She only realizes a little while later that Christine has been sleeping with another employee of the company. Grace quits on the spot. Enter Bridget, who becomes Christine's assistant. She is in charge of setting up Christine's proposal to her new girlfriend. Bridget contacts Tie The Knot for assistance.
Who should work there, but Christine's ex, Grace. Grace does not know immediately who Bridget works for. Grace wants to show off her hometown as a possible site for the proposal, Mistletoe Mountain. Things go awry when there is an avalanche and the two women are stuck in this romantic Christmas getaway. Bridget realizes who Grace is and whether or not she should tell her who the proposal is for.
I would recommend.

If you're a fan of the Hallmark or Lifetime movies, you'll probably like this. Me? Don't like them, didn't much care for this. If I hadn't been told the ages of the characters, I'd have thought they were teenagers, with the constant inner monologues.

Grace (of course her name is Grace, it's an xmas book) is a PA to her boss and is also sleeping with her boss. Bad idea all around. Of course her boss is a soulless, soul-sucking, commitment-fearing workaholic who, by the by, is also cheating on Grace. Grace finds this out after bringing yet another cup of coffee to her. With amount of coffee this woman appears to drink, it would be cheaper to just set up a coffee station in the office and get a full time barista to handle it. But I digress. Grace stumbles out of the office crying, running into Bridget, who is there to apply for a programming job. Grace convinces Bridget to go get her purse, which she has left in her boss' office in her haste to leave. Bridget does, and that's the extent of their first interaction. There's the merest whiff of instalove in the atmosphere, but that's all.

Bridget gets hired as the boss' new PA instead of programmer, promised that she'll get a look after the first of the year. She accepts. Tip: never do this in the real world. Terrible bosses will string you along forever, just like an MLM scammer, promising big things just around the corner if you're patient. If you're good at what you do - and Bridget is - you can get a job that doesn't involve running personal errands for your boss. Like fetching coffee every ten minutes and oh yeah, planning your boss' marriage proposal to her girlfriend. At xmas. With three weeks to prepare. This is not a good boss.

So off Bridget goes, fetching round nth of coffee, and she happens to pick up Grace's card from the counter there. Grace is now an event planner, and she's just done an event at that coffee shop, dressed as an elf, for some dude proposing to his fiancee. Grace's boss is also not a good boss, although at least she isn't running off to fetch coffee. No, instead, she's decorating the xmas tree in their lobby, by herself, because her terrible boss has tasked all the interns with something else. On the plus side, her boss' boss is opening a branch in Maui, and the choice to lead it is between Grace and one other person.

Bridget calls Grace, and they talk one time. Grace says it's impossible to plan this in a short amount of time AT XMAS when everyone does events AT XMAS, which is just like another book I read recently. Apparently it is not impossible, when one is either the xmas girl (as the other book called the woman in question) or comes from one of those Hallmark/Lifetime seasonally-named towns like Mistletoe Mountain.

Off they go, total strangers, to MM, as I'm going to call it. This was just bizarre to me. There is no way I'm going off on a five hour (or however long it was) drive to the middle of nowhere with someone I just met, when I have no family (Bridget - it means strength, as the book keeps telling us many times - was surrendered anonymously by her mother, so we can get her tragic backstory of abandonment issues) and apparently, no friends, to tell. But that would have cut the story short.

On the one road that leads to the town, there's a violent earthquake. Strong enough to shake the roadbed so much that Graces bangs her face on the steering wheel. And strong enough to cause an avalanche that is later determined to be a landslide AND avalanche. How romantic: stuck in a small town you don't know, with a woman you don't know and her family, for at least a few days. Side note: while Colorado, like pretty much any mountainous place, has probably hundreds of earthquakes every year, really violent ones are rare. FYI.

Naturally, the outgoing and affable Grace, who still has rampant inner monologue-ism about an as-yet unnamed tragedy with a capital T, works on the taciturn Bridget who just wants to get this thing set up (price is not an object, which is a good thing for a dying town) and get back to designing her mobile game. Clearing the one and only road leading into town will take longer than expected, which annoys Bridget's boss, probably because she now has to fetch her own coffee.

We get the whole Grace - Bridget love thing going on after about three days, and after about five, we get Grace's tragic story: her girlfriend, who was a figure skater, died. In an avalanche/landslide, of course. Turns out Grace was also a figure skater, and was heading to the Olympics, but all this put the kibosh to that, and Grace hasn't skated since.

By now they've also had their sexytimes, neither one of them having kissed anyone like they have the other, etc. It's a trope, so ok. There's a very, very strange thing during this sleeping together series: one morning, Grace wakes up early, slips out of bed, and heads down to get coffee and breakfast for the two of them. When she gets back, Bridget is awake and also somewhat distant, because she thinks Grace somehow abandoned her, like everyone else. What? Where exactly is she gong to go in a small town, when you're staying at her sister's inn? That was bizarre.

Also by now, their time in MM is done: the proposal stuff is set, and Bridget's even finished her game and rebuilt the town's web site. Man, she is efficient!

Back in LA, Bridget gets an attagirl, and she and Grace act like teens again, constantly texting cutsie stuff, telling one another how much they miss each other all day when they're supposed to be working, etc. Bridget's boss loves her new game, gives the programming job to her, and makes her game the number one item at some upcoming thing. Bridget takes herself over to Grace's office to tell her the good news. But the receptionist and her big mouth tells Bridget that Grace got the job in Maui (because the other person decided not to take it, for personal reasons).

As is the case in every. Single. One. Of. These. Books, instead of just hanging around, waiting for Grace and talking to her about it - as an adult would - Bridget decides that Grace doesn't care after all, and is abandoning her, and storms out, not replying to any of Grace's calls or texts. When Grace shows up at her apartment, Bridget is stony, kicks her out. Grace heads back to MM to be with her family at xmas, and Bridget - after the boss' heart grows five sizes on the last day before the holiday and she tells Bridget her own little story about commitment - heads off to MM as well.

Grace has decided to skate in the xmas eve benefit, which has become a huge event, and Bridget has missed that, but finds Grace and apologizes. They have one of those touchy feely moments that are all so common these days about how they'll always talk to one another about everything, the town is saved, Bridget proposes to Grace, they both move from LA to MM, Bridget working remotely and Grace teaching skating, and they live HEA.

It may sound like I don't enjoy stories of strangers thrown together. There are as many romantic stories of this nature as there are more macabre ones (Strangers on a Train, And Then There Were None) and they can work. But it seems in some genres - like romance, straight or LGBTQ+ - authors are sometimes so very keen to hit the beats, or story notes/tropes, that the story is either not good, or there's way too much of some elements that send it not quite over a cliff, but just into my not favorite pile. Bridget isn't just abandoned, she's abandoned by everyone. Grace wasn't just a skater, she was set to be an Olympian. The two of them didn't just get caught in an earthquake and stranded by an avalanche, Grace's former girlfriend died in an avalanche. There's pathos for your story and there is PATHOS, and sometimes - a lot of times - less is more.

Two and a half stars of five, rounded down to two. This just didn't do it for me, sorry.

Thanks to Bold Strokes Books and NetGalley for the reading copy.

Expected pub date: December 14, 2021.

A quick and easy read that I found myself picking up after a long day to unwind. The characters are beautifully written and I came to love them within the first few pages and was rooting for them all the way to the end. At times I wanted to stop reading because I just wanted the experience to go on for longer.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I cannot express how much I loved this book. It's a sapphic Christmas love story, mostly set in a village named Mistletoe Mountain. It sounds absolutely divine and I could not think of a more perfect place. The romance between Bridget and Grace had me completely hooked and I was rooting for them both throughout. It was uplifting and just what I needed to put me in a Christmasy mood. There also isn't much representation for wlw relationships in Christmas romance books and I cannot tell you how happy I was to know this existed. I'm not usually a fan of Hallmark type books, but this has turned me. I cannot recommend it enough!! I feel all warm inside.

2.5 *stars*

Okay, I kind of hate when characters aren't straight forward of what they want in life. If they have bad love life why they aren't open about what they actually want? That way you can save your heart and find people that think the same way. Why they have to question it to themselves? I don't get that. Mostly characters in this book are questioning themselves, what if? It get's boring in some points. The plot itself is interesting.
Mistletoe Mountain was one amazing place to be. The feelings were magical, because our country also has a lot of snow, which made this town more charming.
The first half of the book was the best part of the book. It was only 50% and I realized that I was not interested in how it would end. It got boring and I wanted to finish the book as soon as possible. I think there were a lot of going on and it felt a bit too much.

It needed to be shorter in my opinion!
Thank you!
#TheChristmasProposal #NetGalley

I really enjoyed this book! It was mostly fun and lighthearted, though it did touch on some heavy and important topics!
I loved the main characters, their relationship and their respect and how open they were to each other, but I felt that sometimes their relationship seemed too rushed and ideal instead of realistic.
I liked the way Grace managed to overcome her grief and reconnect with her love of skating as well as how Bridgette let go of her attatchment issues.
The plot was also great! One aspect I enjoyed was that Christina realized that her past actions were wrong and she deeply regretted them!
I was really excited to read this book, since it's not common to find romance Christmas stories about LGBTQ+ couples! This book definitely didn't disappoint, so I believe you should give it a try if you love Christmas Romances!


Trigger warnings:
-Cheating
-Earthquake and avalanche-related death
-Foster homes
-Child abandonment
-Discrimination of a single mother
-Use of religion to discriminate
-Grief

THE CHRISTMAS PROPOSAL is a light and enjoyable holiday romance, perfect for a bit of winter cheer.

The central romance involves a video-game creator, Bridget, who hires a marriage proposal specialist to plan her domineering bosses Christmas-themed proposal. There’s lots of interesting things going on here, from the protagonists’ unusual careers, to the perfectly seasonal town of Mistletoe Mountain and the avalanche that forces out girls together. There’s perhaps even a touch too much. I thought some of the backstory was a little heavy and crowded in on what was otherwise a perfect source for a Hallmark Christmas movie. Ugly sweater cookies, ice-skating, a mistletoe farm and an emergency hospital trip… I could definitely see this one play out on TV.

This is a great little romance. The backstories, and how the characters’ pasts affect their outlooks, balances out the cookie-cutter sweet town, keeping it from getting too saccharine. It’s a delicate balance, but Moreau handles it well. The story is pacy and, if you have an afternoon, the perfect sort of thing to read in one sitting with a hot drink and a blanket. I’d have loved to see just a little more of Mistletoe Mountain, and Grace’s loveable family, but the entire book was very sweet and easy to enjoy.

Grab THE CHRISTMAS PROPOSAL now if you’d like a gorgeously cosy lesbian holiday romance.

I loved it. Grace and Bridget were adorable. Bridget’s story just pulled at my heart strings and I found myself rooting for her. I do wonder what happened to Beryl and Christina but whatever, the story wasn’t about them. I thought that the story, dialogue, character development and the connection between the MC’s were spot on! Well done!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review
Grace has had bad luck in love. Her last ex, who was also her boss at the time, broke up with her after Grace asked her to move in. She doesn't even want to talk about the string of unfortunate relationships before that. Now she works for a proposal planning business, making magical moments for gooey, in-love couples. Her newest client insists on a christmas proposal, an idea that Grace adores. She does NOT adore the fact that it needs to happen in Mistletoe Mountain, a place she'd like to avoid at all costs. What she doesn't mind is her eye-catching contact for the proposal, Bridget. Bridget is planning a proposal for her boss, who's girlfriend LOVES christmas. Bridget does not. She does like the prospect of a promotion from personal assistant to programmer though, so she hires a proposal planning business to help her make it as mund-numbingly christmas themed as possible. Besides, her contact, Grace, is her own kind of intruiging. They take a trip up to mistletoe mountain that entails a lot more tension, romance and surprises than either woman could have ever expected.

This sugary-sweet sapphic christmas romcom is like a written-word version of a hallmark movie, but make it gay. Can you think of anything more awesome than that? Because I can't! The relationship between Bridget and Grace is well-developed and natural, from attraction to crush to love. The two are absolutely adorable. The characters did tiptoe around each other a lot, mostly because of the initial client relationship and because of backstory, meaning this is definitely something for those of you that enjoy slower-burn romances.
The side characters are also multi-dimensional. So much so, that I could imagine what they look and act like. (If this ever becomes a movie I swear I NEED Sandra Oh to play Christina. And not just because of the name.) The Characters in the christmas town are also amazing. I just love the setting of welcoming locals.
That town, Mistletoe Mountain, the town a large portion of the book takes place in, sounds absolutely magical. The descriptions are very detailed but not too much either. I didn't feel bored for a sinle second. The story was magical, sweet, sappy and ´surprising. It also had so much (figurative) cheese i could've made fondue.
If you're looking for a cheesy, sweet holiday romance then this is your book.

Very cute LGBTQ+ Christmas story. I liked both the characters. The hijinks along the way were cute and funny. Very sweet story and perfect for the holiday time.

DNF at 36%

Two stars because I think that I was the wrong audience for this book and it may be exactly what others are looking for.

I don't often read romance, but when I do it is because I'm in the mood for something cozy, light, and happy. I'm not really looking for depth or literary writing. I want something that's a little sexy and that I can be assured will have a happy ending. That said, I guess I do still expect a certain level of writing. I like my romances to have well-developed characters, good vibes, and snappy, witty dialogue.

The writing here is not any of those things. The characters are very opaque with lots of telling and not much showing. All the characterization is extremely unsubtle. Both main characters have trauma that is portrayed in ways that lack any nuance. The author identifies a "big bad" that happened to the character and shows them encountering triggers which seemingly have no effect. "Oh, here I am in this situation that reminds me of my trauma. That is such a bummer. I'd rather avoid this situation, but oh well. Doesn't this backstory make me interesting?"

And the prose itself is unenjoyable. My understanding of metaphors is that they are meant to elevate and make mundane things beautiful and poetic. I'm seeing the opposite in this book. A beautiful snowy landscape was described as looking like the ground was covered with cotton balls. Why would you take something majestic and beautiful like a fresh snowfall and compare it to a bathroom toiletry item?

All that said, if you are looking for the book version of a Hallmark holiday movie - this is it. I think it will work for lots of people!

The Christmas Proposal
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
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Synopsis
A relationship to one’s boss is not the best idea. Grace had to learn that the hard way after ending things with Christina. Changing career paths completely she starts working at a proposal planning agency.
Bridget is Christina’s new personal assistant and is tasked to plan her wedding proposal. So when she asks for Grace’s help the two start a journey to the magical Mistletoe Mountain to plan the perfect proposal.
Little do they know how this adventure will change their paths forever.

— — — — — — — — — —

I can’t even begin to explain how much I loved this book. And before I tell you why, can somebody please turn thus into the perfect Christmas Movie?

This whole book made me feel bubbly inside and filled me with so much joy.

First off, Mistletoe Mountain sounds like heaven on earth to me. A small town in the Californian mountains with places like the Candy Cane Inn or the little bakery.

Grace and Bridget are literally the cutest together. If that spoiled you, you have never watched a single Christmas film. But their friendship is the sweetest. I loved how they each had a little crush on the other but were just too shy to talk about it.

This is a really cute Christmas themed love story with just the right amount of coziness, love, warmth and a little spice.

If you are looking for an incredible book to read this year to get you right into the festive mood, I can only encourage you to pick up this book once it hits the shelves on December 14th.

(Thank you to @netgalley and Bold Strokes Books, Inc. for providing me with this ARC)

— — — — — — — — — —
Ratings:
Smut: 🌶🌶🌶/5
Story: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Writing style: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

The Christmas Proposal was a sweet, festive Christmas read. If you like books with very festive, Christmas-y settings, this may be one to pick up!

LA dwellers Grace and Bridget are stranded together in Grace's hometown of Mistletoe Mountain, which is just as merry and bright as it sounds. Bridget has hired Grace to plan a proposal for her boss, who wants the proposal to happen in this year-round Christmas town.

There are several cute and festive scenes, and lots of Christmas cheer. This book is a mild grinch/sunshine trope with forced proximity, and both girls come with some heavy baggage that of course causes all sorts of complications. Romance stories always need conflict, right?

The pacing and the writing style didn't work very well for me. There were some very cheesy/cliche things the characters did and said that were just a little cringy. I was also mildly disappointed by the ending. It was sweet, but I feel like it could have been so much better. I also wanted more from the Epilogue; I wish it would have continued to at least the end of the day it was describing. I know that sounds ambiguous but I don't want to spoil anything. Also, I wanted to find out about the boss's proposal and if she ever found out that Grace was the one who planned it. I feel like that may have been a missed opportunity for entertainment there.

Overall, if you are looking for a holiday read to help get you into the Christmas spirit and like Hallmark movie-esque stories, this one may be for you!

Thank you to Netgalley and Bold Strokes Books for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review!