Thank you NetGalley, Publisher and author for giving me a chance to reviewing "The Book Proposal".

I enjoyed the dual POV and the banter between Gracie and Colin. However, some of the jokes felt repetitive and forceful. While it was funny in the first couple of chapters, it became a bit too much later on. The romance was too instant for my taste. But great for readers who are into that trope.

DNF 9%. I reached the words “Alfredo shart” and knew I was done. This book is gross. Evens before this particular scene, there was more than one poop joke and the descriptions of people are body-shamy. It felt like a 12 year old boy wrote the book rather than a romance between 30 something’s. It’s a no from me and I will not be returning.

3.75 Stars

Gracie is a hot mess. She was recently dumped and struggling for money. To cheer herself up, she got drunk with her friends. In her drunken haze, Gracie thought it would be a brilliant idea to email her old high school crush, Colin. Even though it wasn't the friendliest email, Colin was intrigued and emailed Gracie back. Soon they were emailing each other daily.

This was cute and fun. However, I didn't care for Gracie's immaturity and irrationality. I understand it was to add conflict to the story, but it felt forced and unnatural. Other than that, it was an entertaining read. I would recommend it to fans of contemporary romances.

***Thank you to NetGalley, K.J. Micciche, and Sourcebooks Casablanca for graciously sending me the ARC to review. As always, all thoughts are my own.***

I found this book very hard to read. The prologue occurs when they are in high school and she leaves him these weird, creepy secret admirer messages. We then skip to the present when they are 30-years-old and she sends him a random hate email when she gets drunk one night. Though they're in their 30s they act as if they never left high school. Not to mention the uncomfortable amount of poop jokes.

Gracie is a rising author with a current case of writers block, with an approaching deadline and her livelihood on the line, Gracie can't help but what to celebrate little victories and go out with some friends. Enter Colin from high school, varsity athlete all 4 years and totally out of Gracie's league, or so she thought..
After a few too many drinks Gracie reaches out to Colin through his work email, and to her sober self's surprise he responds.
This book had me hooked from the moment I started it. I loved Gracie and how fun she was to read. Her second chance relationship with Colin was so sweet to read and I enjoyed how their relationship formed and developed through emails, phone calls, and dates. This is a great book for someone looking for a great read centering around second chance love.

This one was a lot of fun! Thanks for the ARC Edelweiss and Net Galley!

Gracie was a funny heroine, I loved her voice! I also enjoyed Colin, and I really enjoyed the way they interacted, first through email and then phone calls. It was so much fun to watch unfold. It was funny, really funny. But also sweet and really very relatable to me.

Overall, a fun summer read!

"𝘐𝘧 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘤𝘬 𝘮𝘺 𝘎𝘰𝘰𝘨𝘭𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘤𝘩 𝘩𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺 𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦, 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘮𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘴 '𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘰 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘪𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶'𝘳𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘧𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘥' 𝘰𝘳 '𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘢 𝘱𝘴𝘺𝘤𝘩𝘰'."

This book was fantastic, and honestly, I didn't really want it to end!

I connect highly with Gracie, with her quick wit and inappropriate jokes, and her love of Starbucks! I also know the feelings of the unrequited high school love, and slipping those secret notes into lockers (although mine were not as... depictive 😂)

I need end up with a friend from high school - about 12 years after we graduated - so definitely a lot to connect to for me!

I'm also a huge fan of the email communications throughout the book. And I can honestly say I did not see that plot twist coming (no spoilers)... like I knew something was coming but not to that extent LOL

But KJ - I NEED AN EPILOGUE! I need to know what happened?! Does Colin still have her letters? Does he ever share that he still has them?! I NEED ANSWERS!

Thank you to @sourcebookscasa and @netgalley for the advanced copy in exchange for this review!
.
.
.
.
#bookstagram #booksta #books #booksbooksbooks #avidreader #ilovereading #thetwistedlibrarian #professionalbookworm #kjmicciche #thebookproposal #romance #bookreview #advancedreadercopy #whatsnikkireading #book32of2023 #childhoodcrush #unrequitedlove #oppositesattract #literarymaincharacter #athleticmaincharacter #emailcommunications #threecheersforevan

The Book Proposal- KJ Micciche
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Goodreads Rating: 3.58/5
Synopsis:
"Broke up with, broke, and with a vicious case of writer's block, romance writer Gracie Landing is a hot mess. She can hardly be blamed for drinking one (or a few) too many cocktails when out with her besties in an attempt to cheer herself up. Sometime in the foggy wee hours, she recklessly emails her unrequited high-school crush, Colin Yarmouth, who is now a successful attorney harboring regrets of his own. When she receives an intriguingly friendly (not to say flirty) response, her acute embarrassment is overcome only by her fervent curiosity -what would a hottie like Colin be like as a grown up? The two forge an unlikely friendship that's unmistakably headed for more. Colin's tales of his own woeful break-up become fodder for Gracie's fertile imagination and her current work-in-progress takes off. With the deadline looming and her checking account dwindling, Gracie has no idea that borrowing Colin's story could wreak havoc on her life, her career, and her own chance at happily-ever-after.
Thank you @netgalley for allowing me to read this book!
Congrats to the author on their debut novel. The premise was very intriguing. The FMC was super quirky and had a very unique sense of humor. I like how "real" she was.

After the birth of her ex-fiancee's love child with their wedding planner, Gracie is suffering writer's block with her current manuscript with the deadline looming. After a drunken night out with the girls, she sends a humiliating email to her high school crush. To her surprise, he sends a reply which turns into a series of back and forth flirty messages. When he offers to help with her latest novel and gives her juicy details of his split with his wifeshe includes it in her book. But neither could imagine the disastrous results of this decision on her career or their budding relationship.
The characters in this book, especially Gracie, are so real. From the outside Colin seemed so cool and confident when actually he was awkward making friends and struggled with a judgemental father. And Gracie... she's socially awkward, food loving, and clumsy. Several times I was snort laughing out loud at her hilarious antics. My only problem was that the ending seeming a little rushed. I wanted more of a reaction from Colin about the letters in high school or a response to her apology manuscript. But overall I really liked this book.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I enjoyed this debut novel by K.J. Micciche. While the story itself was good, I felt like it had the potential to be so much more. I am really conflicted…it started a little slow for me but then I loved the emails between Gracie and Colin. They were my favorite parts of the book! And then I had a problem with the end - I really wish we got more details of their HEA.

I love books about bookish stuff so I was super excited about reading this one! It was a sweet romcom but I wasn't a fan of all of the STD talk or excess farting, burping, vomiting. I felt like the MC's didn't act their ages, at times were annoying and I really didn't really vibe with them. I really wanted to though! There were so many twists and turns - some funny, some unnecessary, some that should have been talked about more. It was kind of all over the place. I really liked Evan - he needs his own book!

Thank you to NetGalley & Sourcebooks for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review!

3.5⭐️ | 1🌶

Well well well…I did not expect this book to be so much fun!

The FMC is hilarious and had me cracking up right from the start. The MMC initially gave off your typical ‘hot high school guy’ vibe but seeing how sweet and fun he actually was, was quite refreshing. I loved the whole angle of both MCs emailing eachother all day long, it had me waiting for the next one! The plot twist is surprisingly shocking and completely flips the story in a great way.

I did however feel the book could’ve been slightly shorter but the overall story is great! This is a really good debut novel and I will definitely be reading more from the author

I could not finish enough of this book to be able to leave a comprehensive review, but I hope it finds its audience and I am grateful to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read an advance copy.

The Book Proposal by KJ Micciche is a debut novel for this author. Told in a dual point of view by the main characters, we are taken on a journey through this hilarious contemporary romance. I always enjoy a book when I'm laughing out loud and this one definitely delivered. I didn't want to put it down! The main characters, Gracie and Colin, were just fantastic! I have high hopes for the future of this author!

I enjoyed the dual perspectives of this story and seeing both Gracie and Colin’s point of views. I did find the Elle/Lindsay twist to be quite obvious and saw it coming pretty early on. I found the romantic conflict to be pretty uncompelling and would have liked to se more of Gracie and Colin’s relationship at the end. Overall though this was a cute and easy read.

(3.5 stars rounded up to a 4)

The Book Proposal by K.J. Micciche is a humorous contemporary romance, and the author's debut novel. We follow the dual perspectives of our main characters.

Romance author Gracie was recently dumped by her fiancé just before their wedding. After drinking a bit too much with her friends in celebration of the bullet she dodged, she drunk-emails her unrequited high school crush via his work email. Colin, now a successful attorney, has also had a recent breakup, and ends up writing her back. Quickly striking up a friendship with a trajectory for more, Colin offers his story to Gracie to use for her next project with a looming deadline.

This one was a fun and light read where I laughed out loud several times. Most of this book had the sense of humor that I enjoy, but some of it leaned little too hard in the toilet humor category. Sometimes the main characters felt like they were acting a little young for their age, but I chalked that up to their recent breakups and trying to sort out their lives again after things took a hard left turn.

I typically like dual perspectives in romance novels. The chapters from Gracie's POV were always way longer than the chapters from Colin's, which felt weird to me. I'd have loved to see more from his point of view.

I enjoyed the plot and had an inkling about where it was going, but I wasn't mad about that. Honestly, that's one of the things I kind of like about some romance novels because I like to read them as brain candy or a comfort read. I thought it was cool that the book itself explains about open and closed door sex scenes, and shows both with open doors with the book that Gracie is writing, and closed doors between Gracie and Colin in real life.

This would be a great beach read. I'm definitely going to pick up more books by this author in the future.

Gracie emails her high school crush after all these years?

Writer Gracie Landing just wants a night out with her friends and ended up have a few too many when she accidently emailed Colin Yarmouth, the guy that she had a crush on in high school. Colin replies to the email and they have a back forth conversation like adults that could almost be friendly after all these years because they had so much in common.

But everything changes when Gracie uses Colin’s disastrous marriage in the book that she is currently writing but that doesn’t end like either of them thought it would.

The Book Proposal is light on romance but you keep reading because everything is going so well and you know something is going to happen because it is fiction (maybe).

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

ARC provided by Netgalley in exchange of an honest review.

I went into this book expecting a cute, fun romance and that is what i got! Knowing it was a debut going into the book, I was expecting to see some of the usual pitfalls of a debut book like awkward pacing or some clunky prose, and while there were some of these present, they didn't take away from my overall enjoyment of the story. I didn't really like the dual povs, but that may be more of a personal preference. I will say I also struggled with some of the humor in the book... immature slapstick comedy like someone shitting themselves was almost so painful for me I wanted to dnf the book.
However there were light points of the book. I genuinely enjoyed their chemistry as a couple and also appreciated the development that existed outside the romance. The book didn't drag, and was a good length for the cute romcom it set out to be. would love to read something more mature from the author and see how they evolve in their writing.

Review posted on Goodreads and Storygraph on May 15,2023

2⭐️

I was initially excited about "The Book Proposal," a romance novel featuring a romance author and her former high school crush teaming up to write a novel. However, the execution of the story fell short of my expectations. One of my main concerns was that despite being adults in their thirties, the lead characters displayed immature behavior reminiscent of teenagers. Additionally, when the heroine faced a similar situation later in the book, she reacted in the same way as before, lacking the character growth I had hoped for. The romance between the characters lacked depth and chemistry, with the relationship feeling superficial and relying more on telling rather than showing. While the premise was intriguing, the book failed to fully deliver on its potential.

Favorite Quote:
"Love, Your Secret Admirer"

Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

CUTE AF! And sooo relatable!

Fabulous humor (a little crude at times, but it's my sense of humor so...) with authentically real characters that you will absolutely fall in love with!

I adored this romance! It fits in that super fun books about books category because the FMC is an author struggling to write her next book! And when she drunkenly emails her HS crush, she finds herself in quite the chaotic situation.

An overall fun read with some complex moments, but I was VERY impressed, especially for a debut! Just fabulous!

This book is hilarious and real, but also totally not realistic? A trip and I loved it.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🧼

Grace is a hot mess - she’s a blocked romance writer on a deadline, who’s still dealing with a breakup following her fiancé cheating with the wedding planner. She goes out with her friends and after way too many drinks, ends up back home and emailing her high school crush.

Colin (an estate lawyer) receives Gracie’s email and somehow finds her charming, and responds. They start a flirty back and forth, with Colin offering to help read & provide ideas for Gracie’s writing, based on his experience with his awful ex-wife.

I really enjoyed K.J. Micciche’s writing, and I found a lot of the story relatable. It was fun to read silly details about Gracie’s day/life. I also love when any form of written communication is included in a book, especially with banter (texts/emails/letters).

A couple of things bugged me about Colin (like needing to know how good looking Gracie was), which made me drop a star.
The drama was predictable but nevertheless I had a lot of fun reading this book!

Read if you enjoy:
⭐️ Reunited with high school crush
⭐️ Romance author
⭐️ Romcom
⭐️ Emails
⭐️ Short chapters
⭐️ Dual POV/first person

Thank you to NetGalley and SOURCEBOOKS Casablanca for an advanced copy to review. All opinions are my own.