What a fun concept; a romance novel about a published writer attempting to write her first romance novel! Each chapter began with a short instruction on how to write a romance novel and then the chapter incorporated that very instruction into the unfolding tale of Sadie’s and Sam’s actual romance. Each layer of the story built my interest and I enjoyed seeing how the details accomplished the writer’s purpose. Sadie, a cheerful social butterfly, is an annoyance to Sam, her handsome, curmudgeonly duplex neighbor, who wants quiet and solitude in order to nurse his wounds following a devastating breakup with his ex and betrayal by his best friend and cousin. Don’t want to share any spoilers but as the book instructs, it’s not a romance novel unless it has a happily ever after. This is the perfect beach read! Or if you can’t go to the beach, you can enjoy the beach vicariously as the author takes you there by setting the book with an island view of the South Carolina coastline. Highly recommend! I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley and this voluntary review contains my honest opinions.

This was a fun read. Sadie was a fun character. It surprised me that she was such a social person yet didn't understand or trust romantic relationships. She seemed so natural with Sam and she worked her way into his life so effortlessly. I loved her charm. Sam was broody, but really a great guy. I enjoyed the journey of their relationship and the mystery of the ring they worked on together.

I received a complimentary copy from the publisher through Netgalley and this is my honest review.

Denise Hunter is one of those authors whose books I look forward to reading every time. She knows how to write a beautiful love story that will keep me entertained from start to finish. I have read many of her previous novels and enjoyed absolutely every one of them... but none as much as I enjoyed this one!

I love book-ish books. Books about authors or book needs. Books with a library or bookstore setting. All the book-ish things... and this one was most certainly bookish. The heroine of the story is an author who is supposed to write a romance novel, despite never having been in love. While she's on a beach getaway trying to find inspiration, she sets up a Free Little Library and soon discovers a book with an engagement ring inside. Books, books, books... everywhere! I loved the idea behind this story so much, and it was executed brilliantly too. I could not stop reading. It was also fun to see some authors/books that I enjoy named throughout as well... it really was just the perfect book for fans of romance books. I've loved Denise Hunter's books in the past, but for me, this one has definitely become a new favorite. If you love a clean romance, this is a must-read.

**I received a complimentary copy for consideration. All thoughts are my own.

This book was SO cute! A lovely romance with no spice and a happy ending. I loved all the bookish things that were included within the novel and I liked the main characters as well as the small side characters. I liked that a lot of the dialogue was Sadie talking to her dog Rio because it reminded me of myself (dog moms things iykyk). The ending felt a little rushed, but overall a cute, short read!

I loved this charming, clean love story! It takes the reader through all the emotions of falling in love. I thought it was clever how the Little Free Library was such an integral element in the story. It gave Sadie a unique way to meet people and was the perfect tool to set up the mystery of the lost ring. I enjoyed watching Sadie and Sam’s relationship grow as they worked together to find the owner of the ring. The ending was full of romance as the story circled back to how it all started.

*I received a complimentary copy of this book from Thomas Nelson. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

There was so much to love about this book.

* The ocean front setting
* The tiny library
* The mystery of the hidden ring
* All the book/writing references
* A cute dog

Sadie is a fun, friendly, lively character. She's easy to like and easy to root for. Her tangents made her human and relatable. Sam wasn't really loving all that at first, but Sadie grew on him. Of course she did. It's hard to resist Sadie. Almost no chance of it, really. Poor Sam. haha. He just didn't know that he needed a Sadie in his life.

I really enjoyed reading this story! It was personable and easy on the brain and heart.
4/5 stars.

Content: kissing

- I received a complimentary copy of this book. All opinions expressed are my own.

Sadie, a teacher by trade, writes novels during her school summer breaks. She has been advised by her publisher that she needs to change the genre of the books she writes if she wants to keep her current contract. Either that, or pay back her advancement pay. She finds it difficult to write about something she hasn't experienced, so she decides to go on a beach retreat and try to sort things out.
At the beach she finds no inspiration to write, but she finds a lot of distractions while she procrastinates. (I am a procrastinator, so I understood her motives, but I don't need to read about what I have a problems with personally.)
The treasure mystery gave the story a good twist.
I received a galley copy of the book from the publisher, Thomas Nelson, and NetGalley. This review is my opinion

The perfect beach read. Quite literally since it takes place on the beach. And it involves books and writing books and reading books.

I loved this book. Read it in a day although that was not my plan but I could not put it down. Grabbed from the beginning by a totally adorable, delightfully captivating heroine. Sadie, the way she thinks, the way she talks, so fun. The hero of our tale, Sam. The total opposite but still delightful. I loved that he wasn't written as a total ogre in the beginning just a little gruff and wounded.

The supporting characters playing just the right roles. The little snippets at the beginning of each chapter getting me primed for what is going to happen. Genius.

That first kiss. Wow. Wow. Wow. I read romance so I've read quite a few first kisses, this one is now a top three finalist. The ground work was adequately laid, the execution and landing, sublime!!!!!!

A truly great read. Well done Ms Hunter, well done :)

I received this book free from NetGalley and Thomas Nelson for my honest opinion

There aren’t many books written where writers are the main character, so A Novel Proposal was a treat from the very beginning. Sadie Goodwin is a novelist with a problem. Her westerns may be brilliant, but they aren’t selling. Instead, her publisher wants her to write a romance. But Sadie has another problem–she’s never been in love.

However, she needs the money so goes to the beach for the summer to try and do what her editor wants. Sam Ford wanted a quiet summer away from his family and some painful memories so he makes a temporary move to the beach. Unfortunately, it turns out he has a chatty neighbor.

When an unclaimed engagement ring shows up, the pair must work together to prevent heartbreak. And this is where the brilliance really starts. As much as Sam tries to be grouchy, Sadie’s easy going nature starts to rub off his sharp edges. Their banter is a lot of fun to read. And very cleverly, Denise Hunter wrote two characters who beautifully fill each others weaknesses with their own strengths.

For a contemporary romance, there were some twists I didn’t see coming, and a wonderful ending. Highly recommended if you enjoy a little swoon-worthy reading with more than a few smiles.

I received a copy from the publisher via Netgalley. The opinions are all mine.

A Novel Proposal
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Readers will awww at Hunter’s newest romance, straight from both the smells of NYC to the sand of a SC coast.
I laughed a lot through the first chapters because I could see myself in grumpy just want to be left alone Sam having to deal with whirlwind dervish who never shuts up Sadie.
I loved the LFL and all the authors Hunter mentions, many of whom I read. I liked the tracking down of the ring and how it ended up, nicely tied in.
As usual, the characters are more gracious to those who have crossed them than I would have been.
The ending was sweetly befitting as the sun sets on another beach romance.

First things first...the cover of this book is absolutely gorgeous! It's what first drew me to this particular book! A Novel Proposal by Denise Hunter would be the perfect book to throw in your beach bag and devour while on vacation. Denise Hunter's writing is wonderful and this story is beautiful! She has a few stories that have become Hallmark movies and I'm crossing my fingers that this will become a movie in the future! I would be an awesome movie to watch!

In A Novel Proposal, Sadie is a writer who is being forced into writing a genre that she isn't comfortable with and doesn't have any life experiences for. Will she be able to write a new story with no ideas? What if she spent the summer at the beach to write this novel. What happens in this book will take both Sadie and the reader on a scavenger hunt like no other! This book has a clean romance that is a joy to read.

Another interesting aspect of this story are the quotes that start each chapter. They are all sharing aspects to include or consider when writing a romance story. Though I found them interesting to read and they were good thoughts to consider, I'm not sure if they all were beneficial in helping the story to progress. Some of them didn't quite seem to match up with the chapters like others did. And some of the quotes almost 'spoiled' what was going to happen in that chapter. While it was a cute, yet minor, idea, I think the story could have done without them.

I really enjoyed reading this story. Though I really did love the scavenger hunt in this story, I found that it went on a little long for my liking, which is the only reason this wasn't a five star read for me! I highly recommend this story! I have read a few books by Denise Hunter in the past, but reading A Novel Proposal definitely makes me want to read more.

A story set on a beach-front property in South Carolina with a Little Free Library and a mystery thrown in?! Sign me up! This is a great vacation read, but it’s also great for something fun to escape the monotony of everyday life that comes with raising kids and being an adult. Make the lunches, figure out dinner, pay the bills, blah, blah, blah. I preferred Sam over Sadie. Sadie often couldn’t see how she could ever consider moving away from NYC (which wasn’t her hometown) but thankfully examines where she got that idea from and if it was really true. The opening quote for every chapter was interesting as it followed along with her own romance unfolding.

If you like clean romances with a grumpy sunshine trope, you’ll enjoy A Novel Proposal.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions in this review are my own.

This is a sweet, clean read. It took some time for me to get interested but once I did it was enjoyable. I loved the setting, the addition of the little free library and the characters.
I’m not normally a reader of contemporary fiction but I always enjoy novels by this author.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher through Netgalley. Opinions are my own.

A Novel Proposal, by Denise Hunter, is a clean, sweet romantic stand-alone. For those book lovers out there, this is the perfect book for you since it features a novelist who is forced to change genres from her beloved westerns to romance, a genre she’s highly unqualified to write.

In an attempt to find a quiet respite, and possibly inspiration, she takes a duplex for the summer at the shore in North Carolina. She’s sharing wall space with a curmudgeonly, but handsome neighbor, who can best be categorized as standoffish, at least at first glance. When she sets up a Free Little Library on her property for those headed to the beach, she discovers a book with a real-life mystery that must be solved! She and her neighbor work together and a slow-burn romance builds between the two…if only distance, secrets and scars from the past wouldn’t threaten to keep them apart.

A Novel Proposal is a really cute, heartwarming story, if a bit repetitive at times. The main female protagonist was occasionally hard to take with her constant chattiness and unrelenting optimism and their secret that threatened their relationship seemed a bit overly dramatic. But all-in-all, it had great literary allusions, a nice lovely setting, strong female friendship and close family support. This Hallmark type story wasn’t necessarily a page-turner for me, but it was endearing and enjoyable.

This book is a great beach read! When I first started reading it, I wasn't exactly sure where it was going. Sadie has written western novels and has been told by her agent that the publisher is no longer interested in her finishing the series. She must either pay back the advance money that she received, $50,000, or she can write a romance novel. If it is published, she can keep the money. Sadie has never even been in love!! She is persuaded to write the novel by her family and friends.

She leaves her NY apartment for the summer and goes to South Carolina where she can concentrate on the book. There she meets her neighbor in the rented house, Sam. Sadie and Sam are very different so it takes some time for them to get used to each other. Sadie builds a little library on the edge of the property for beachgoers to grab a book and return a book. While checking the library one day, Sadie finds an old book in which the pages are carved out, and a jewelry box is in its place, holding an engagement ring. Sadie is determined to find the owner of this ring, because she is sure that the owner is expecting to propose to someone soon. She recruits Sam to help her find the owner. In return for his help, he makes a deal with her. She agrees to attend a family wedding with Sam. His ex-girlfriend is marrying his cousin. He caught them in the apartment he shared with his cousin, kissing on the couch.

What takes place from there is the heart of the story. There is sort of a storyline within a storyline, although they are connected. I found I didn't want to put this book down. The writing was great and the characters were very real and likeable. It was such a great book! Thank you NetGalley and Thomas Nelson Publishing for allowing me to review this book.

A Novel Proposal by Denise Hunter is a stand-alone sweet romance novel concerning a writer and a landscaper. In fact, it is just the kind of romance that Sadie would want to write. Their careers did not make them opposites, but their personalities sure did. Sadie is the ultimate optimist usually but was not afraid to show her sad emotions either. Sam is much more even keel keeping most of his emotions undercover. Together they managed to balance each other.

It took me a while to get invest in this story but as soon as the book mystery occurred I was all in. I thought the solution in the end was so clever. Even the drama that broke Sadie and Sam apart put them back together beautifully at the conclusion. All in all one enjoyable read.

The publisher through Net Galley provided a digital ARC. I have voluntarily decided to read and review, giving my personal opinions and thoughts.

A nice little escape from reality. Sadie is a character that everyone can relate to at some point. She just needs an escape and something to occupy her mind and boy does she find it. A fun and easy novel to read.

Easy to read and dialogue forward, this is a cute beach read to keep you company this summer. I liked the addition of the Free Little Library. It was a nice touch. The story is on the formulaic side, so readers of romance with recognize the cadence and won’t be surprised of how the story unfolds. This is a classic Denise Hunter style book.

A Novel Proposal is such a sweet, heart-warming book. Sadie quickly hooked me in the beginning, after all, she's a fellow author. Her interactions with Sam kept me reading and the twist of finding a ring in a Little Free Library was fun to follow.

All in all, fans of Denise Hunter will enjoy her latest novel. She'll transport the reader to the beach, to a little duplex where two people meet an have a chance to overcome their struggles in a relationship with one another.

*I received a complimentary copy from the publisher via NetGalley. My review was not required nor influenced.

This was a very cute premise! A city gal has to make a career shift - from writing westerns to writing romances. She needs some inspiration and a change of pace, so she moves to a beach house. Enter the grumpy but handsome neighbor! She sets up a little library on the beach and quickly discovers a book with a secret. A little mystery develops!

Unfortunately, this one fell pretty flat too me. I wanted there to be more - more character development, going a bit deeper across the board. The conflict felt very boring and overdone to me. And there was just too much dialogue.