Thank you to Berkley for the advance reader copy and to PRH Audio for the complimentary audiobook. These opinions are my own.

Jess is an engagement planner. She helps to stage and photograph the perfect proposal, and her childhood nemesis Diana ropes her into helping with her boyfriend's proposal.

Everything that could go wrong does, as Jess quite literally stumbles across bodies. I found this much more of a mystery than a romance, but it included both plots. I was kept guessing along with Jess, though I did ultimately figure out the mystery before it was revealed. I wanted Jess to reveal a bit more backbone, but she showed solid character growth.

This was a funny book that kept me amused throughout with a balance of mystery and commentary on bridezillas.

Amanda Ranconi narrated the audiobook well, highlighting Jess' feelings throughout.

Expanding her writing skills from romances to a murder mystery just proves how versatile Molly Harper is. The character Jess is a wedding proposal planner, a job I'd never heard of but why not? Every other step of a wedding requires extensive planning, why not the proposal? Jess is a fun character, even when her monster of a bride to be has made the day into a test of Jess' patience. What was supposed to be an easy trip to insure a memorable proposal turns into memorable for less than pleasurable events start happening at every opportunity. Jess will morph into a detective as she tries to keep her memories from becoming her last ones.

This was so fun even though I wanted to give Diana and Aubrey a piece of my mind and more!

Jess would do anything to make a client's proposal the best for the couple, but she never expected a "week long wedding pre-planning trip" to go this badly!

I rolled my eyes a lot at Diana. She's a bridezilla even before she can be technically called "a bride"! She was definitely "in love" with her guy for the wrong reasons. I just wanted to Aubrey because of her rude because "it's just business" attitude.

The side cast of characters, the Osbournes that run the spa this party goes to, were super fun and weird in just the best way. I even loved how fast grumpy Dean fell for Jess. The ending had a lot of and and that's all I want to say because you just have to read it for yourself.

3.5 Stars
Jessamine Bricker organizes unique proposals, and her business is doing well. However, her apartment along with its office space is about to be sold and rent in Nashville could put her under. So, when Diana, an acquaintance from high school, wants to hire her so that her boyfriend, Trenton Tillard the Fourth, can get his proposal right she reluctantly agrees. Jess would rather have said no since Diana was part of the mean-girl crowd, but it could give her the money she needs to buy the building.

Trenton decides he wants a destination proposal and so they head up to the Golden Ash, a remote Appalachia spa. The place is beautiful and luxurious with private villas and spa treatments, but Diana and her wedding planner are less than desirable company. Diana is a lot of drama and then to add to Jess’s troubles, she discovers one of the guests dead on the property. Was it an accident or murder? Is Jess or her party in danger?

Jess sets about doing some amateur sleuthing while tending to Diana’s never-ending drama. Along the way she makes friends with the Osbournes, the family that runs the spa. Jess ends up running into Dean Osbourne, the brilliant but prickly chef over and over.

A Proposal to Die For was an entertaining cozy mystery with Molly Harper’s signature fun shenanigans, but I was a little frustrated with Jess in parts. I wish she would’ve stood up for herself with Diana more, taken less risks and been less dense in the end. Still, things wrap up satisfyingly and there was even a bit of romance that made me smile.

A Proposal to Die For incorporates a hint of romance into a murder-mystery in a plotline that had some potential, but ultimately was not my favorite.

Those who enjoy a protagonist who is a recovering people pleaser and the broody chef who may or may not be a murder suspect will probably enjoy this book… it just didn’t quite work for me.

The setting and cast of characters were the strength of the novel, but the plotline itself was a little dissatisfying. Still, if you’re looking for something murder-y but not too murder-y, you just might love this book.

Jessamine "Jess" Bricker specializes in personalized proposals. When the book opens, she's orchestrating one involving a shark whale and scuba diving. While that's happening, she gets several phone calls. It seems a girl (now woman) she went to school with was just proposed to. According to Diana, the effort was underwhelming. Now her maybe-to-be fiance is putting out a lot of money to pay for Jess to help with a new proposal. He's also paying for a wedding planner, Aubrey. Right now, the ladies, along with Diana's cousin Kiki are at a week-long resort retreat to start planning for the wdding. But it's not running smoothly. Diana is entitled, Aubrey seems to hate Jess for no reason and Kiki... well, actually Kiki seems like a delight. Plus, there's this man on property that Jess immediately feels drawn towards. But she's not really at that stage in her life.
That's all bad enough but one of the other resort members dies and Jess stumbles over the body. There are some unexpected visitors but then, there's another body. (Jess stumbles over that one too.)
I really liked the character development in this one A couple of the characters were a little shallow but we mainly follow Jess around and she's got a little bit of depth to her which sometimes surprise some of the other characters. I really didn't like the ending for a couple of spoiler-y reasons but the rest was a good Harper novel and I generally enjoyed the book.

Three and a half stars
This book came out April 8, 2025
ARC kindly provided by Berkley Publishing Group and NetGalley
Opinions are my own

💍
A Proposal To Die For
by Molly Harper
💍
This romantic murder mystery was such a wild ride
I went from 🥰 to 😱 and then 🤯
The secrets that get uncovered will have your jaw dropping
But of course, our MC Jess handled all the crazy drama like a boss
💍
Thank you so much Molly Harper and netgally for my copy
💍

Romantic suspense is a difficult subgenre because the author must weave together two distinct plot formulas in order to satisfy the reader. Unfortunately, A Proposal to Die For by Molly Harper falls short on both counts. The novel follows engagement planner Jessamine Bricker to an Appalachian retreat, where she’s tasked with planning the Instagram-perfect proposal for her high school nemesis, Diana. The upscale venue is owned by the Osbourne family, one of whom is Dean—a brooding chef with a tragic backstory.

After a seemingly accidental death, Jess finds herself caught up in the investigation while trying to keep her contract with Diana intact.

The novel juggles too many plotlines, which results in a sluggish and meandering first half. In trying to tie everything together, the story ends up feeling messy and, at times, outright silly. A tighter focus on the central mystery and the developing chemistry between Dean and Jess would have gone a long way. Harper has a strong narrative voice and a knack for vivid settings, but this story ultimately buckles under the weight of its own ambition.

Jess is happily living her life as a wedding proposal coordinator. When Diana, an old frenemy from high school crashes back into her life, Jess sees this as an opportunity to finally expand her business and buy the building she loves. Trevor, Diana’s intended, comes from a nut empire and will pay whatever it takes to make Diana’s proposal one for the ages.

Which is how Jess finds herself on a bonding weekend with Diana, her cousin Kiki, and wedding planner Aubrey, who seems to have it out for Jess for some unknown reason. A weekend at the luxurious Golden Ash is supposed to be stress free and relaxing, but then Jess stumbles upon a body. And then another one. Jess is looking like the main suspect and suddenly it’s up to her to clear her name. While also planning the greatest proposal Instagram has ever seen.

I really loved Jess as a main character and found her super relatable. She kind of rolls with the punches as she is dragged into this nightmare wedding proposal/weekend from hell. Everyone she is traveling with is incredibly awful, but she still manages to hold her cool. I don’t read many cozy mysteries, but I ended up really enjoying this one and a large part of that was because I liked Jess so much. The romance between Jess and Dean was a bit rushed I thought, but it did make sense, especially tying into the mystery that was part of the backstory. I loved the whole Osbourne family and I’m glad we got to spend more time with them in the second half than with Diana and company.

This is my first time reading from this author, but hopefully not the last. I really enjoyed my time reading A Proposal to Die For and it has made me rethink my stance on cozy mysteries.

Thank you to Berkley and NetGalley for a review copy. 4.5 stars.

This was a fun cozy mystery with a bit of closed-door romance sprinkled in (featuring a hot chef!).

Set primarily at an exclusive spa resort, Jess is stuck trying to plan a proposal for the most delusional and self-centered client, Diana. Thankfully, the staff at this family-operated resort are super friendly, which makes her time dealing with Diana and Aubrey's (Diana's wedding planner) toxicity a bit more tolerable... that is, until she stumbles across a dead body.

This story and its cast of characters were entertaining and chaotic. Everyone's a bit crazy and strange (which is to say, everyone is a suspect).

Posted on Goodreads on 4/20/25:

DNF'd around 40% of the way into it. It's not UNreadable. The writing itself is serviceable enough in that I got through that 40% fairly quickly, but there's something missing from the narrative, because I realized I don't CARE about anything that is going on.

The humor is a bit cheesy but fine. Jess is fine as a main character, and her business is interesting. But watching Jess put up with the self-absorbed bride and rude AF wedding coordinator just to get down-payment money got tiring. The romance is dull (and has barely even started by 40%; they spoken exactly twice and then suddenly the guy's cousin is like, I saw him do more than grunt at you, that means you must be The One; don't break his heart! Uh...okay...).

Essentially, there's too much of the 'nothing' details being described that do not an interesting book make. I put this down 'temporarily' to turn to a different "lighter/mid-level" book that DID end up capturing my interest and I finished that within the day, so now I know it's not me, it's you [book].

I received a free ARC of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

This was a quirky mashup of genres. Not really one more than another so I’d call it mostly fiction. It has a dash of mystery and a pinch of romance. And some interesting characters that grabbed my attention.

Jess is a proposal planner. Yes she helps couples plan elaborate proposals. What an interesting premise. Jess is relatable and a little tell it how it is which doesn’t always mesh well with her job.

I liked the unlikable rich people plot line. It played well off of Jess and the owners of the spa.

While not exactly a cozy, it steals the keep finding bodies from that genre.

Amanda Ronconi was a great choice for narrator. She really kept with the vibe of the book and kept me not wanting to put this one down.

If you are looking for a fun book that will keep you on your toes, you should check this one out.

I love Jess' job. What a great concept. This was a good mystery set in a fabulous spot. Almost made me want to go there. I felt the romance moved a little quick. Enjoyed the writing. Made me laugh several times. Great ending.

Thanks to @berkleyromance for inviting me on the blog tour!

This is an entertaining book starring Jess, a former wedding planner who started a business setting up perfect proposals. She works with grooms to ensure memorable, social media worthy, proposals.

She ends up on a mountain spa retreat with a client/acquaintance from school, Diana. Her wealthy boyfriend Trenton proposed but it wasn’t “special” enough so she asks Jess to stage a redo.

Jess soon discovers that Diana is irrationally demanding, and starts hanging out with the Osbournes, the family who owns and operates the resort. She also meets the chef, Dean, who’s grumpy and good looking. They’ve got instant chemistry and start spending time together.

On a walk, Jess finds a man’s dead body. When she discovers the corpse of Trenton’s best friend, she realizes there’s more going behind the scenes and someone at the resort is a killer.

I really enjoyed this book, there are twists and turns to navigate before finding out the identity of the killer. 4.5 stars.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley, I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Murder confessions aren’t supposed to be funny … but yet A Proposal to Die for exists.

This was such a fun read that I forgot to be sad about people dying. I wasn’t alone in that, one of the side characters, who I’ll describe as a villain of common sense and decency, also regularly forgot about the bodies on the mountain of her temporary home. She needs to plan her surprise wedding proposal with her professional proposal planner of course!

Jess is said professional proposal planner. It’s like a wedding planner (which she used to be) but for over the top wedding proposals. When we meet her, Jess’s livelihood is in jeopardy because the building she runs her business out of, and lives in, is being sold by the children of her recently deceased landlord. They are giving her time to raise money to buy the building but she doesn’t have anywhere near enough collateral for a loan.

That is until she is accosted in a parking lot by Diana, a mean girl from her high school who is very upset that her very rich boyfriend did not give her an over the top proposal worthy of all five hundred or so of her followers. He had the nerve to quietly propose over dinner at the restaurant they first had dinner by reading sweet things about her off an index card. In her rage, she leaves the botched proposal, hunts Diana down on the other side of town and hires her to plan her “surprise” proposal do over.

Jess says yes because this deal comes with what she’s dubbing “real estate money”. She just has to spend a week in a remote mountain spa without cell or internet service, Diana, a wedding planner—another mean girl, and the bride-to-be’s cousin.

The lack of internet sends the influencer bride into a tailspin, and the Osbourne clan, the family that owns the spa, have a lot of fun telling her how much they don’t care about her wifi-less caused discomfort.

Jess has work to do so she finds herself spending more time with the Osbourne's, especially Dean, who generally doesn’t like anyone but has very protective feelings about Jess. Especially when the bodies start dropping all over the resort. Pretty soon it turns into a “what’s next?” type of situation. Whose body will Jess find next? What ridiculous thing will Diana do next? What will Dean or his family do next?

This book is a laugh out loud riot that keeps you turning pages to unveil the mystery, the twist you don’t see coming, with just the perfect kiss of romance.

I had no idea I needed a book about a marriage proposal planner. BUT HERE WE ARE! This book was so fun, goofy, and yet serious with the mystery element and the characters are such great individuals!

Thank you NetGalley, Berkley and the author for the arc!

Welp. You can’t win ‘em all. And unfortunately this one was not a winner for me. I can’t really place my finger on an exact reason why … but I just couldn’t connect with this book. The characters & the story itself was just meh. The whodunnit was fairly predictable, nothing really exciting happened & I felt dragged through to the end. But hey, that’s just my opinion from my personal tastes … you may pick it up and really enjoy it! And I hope you do!

(3.5/5 stars)

A Proposal to Die For by Molly Harper is a cozy mystery with a wee bit of romance.

I used some of my monthly Spotify Premium audiobook hours to listen to this one while I followed along in my physical review copy. I had a ton of fun listening to Amanda Ronconi narrate! I pretty much inhaled this book in one sitting.

Our main character, Jessamine, has contingencies for her contingencies. This really made me feel seen! I also loved the mention of will-o-whisps, because I'm a big fan of folklore. The entire family that owned the remote Golden Ash resort was fabulous, and I'd honestly love to read more books featuring them. Doing a tandem read (book + audio) really helped me remember who was who in the large family/staff.

I'm not always a fan of romance arcs where the characters feel an intense connection as soon as they see each other. It's hard for me to really feel the sparks when that's the case, so it did take me a bit to warm up to our main character and the sexy chef at the resort. But I did like them together in the end!

While I did figure out who was planning all the murders, it didn't really detract from my enjoyment of the mystery.

I found this mystery, while written in a charming voice from a fun perspective, to be clunky. The mystery itself was clumsy and the romance also belied reality - the human behaviour of the characters didn't track. Also, based on the cover I expected this to be a period mystery (a la Julia Seales "A Most Agreeable Murder"). I felt the design to be incongruous with the contemporary setting. Also, to start the book with a teaser of a murder but then basically retype that exact scenario when the murder actually happens was...odd. Not my favourite.

I have been a long-time fan of Molly Harper. I love her PNR and contemporary stories. Her humor has always made me laugh out loud. SO I was super excited to give her foray into cozy murder mysteries a go. My experience was a mixed bag.

Jess is a proposal planner who helps folks come up with the perfect, memorable marriage proposals. When Diana, mean girl from high school, wants a social-media worthy proposal, she insists her boyfriend get Jess involved. This leads to a bizarre girls spa weekend get away where Jess is berated and beaten up verbally on a constant basis, even after Jess discovers not one, but two dead bodies.

The whodunit part of A Proposal to Die For is pretty good. Like Jess, I picked up on odd behaviors but didn’t quite piece it all together (and in fact, I picked the wrong person). After all the details come out, I felt the motive was on the weak side, but based on the actions of the characters, it is plausible.

What I didn’t like and became annoyed with is the constant bratty behavior of Diana and the wicked pettiness of wedding planner Aubrey. I got so mad on Jess’s behalf, and then I just became irritated with the non-stop abuse. At first it seemed to come from out of nowhere. It would have made more sense and been easier to accept had the author explained the rational for the behavior upfront. But even after their attitudes are explained, it just went on and on, and Jess, feeling stuck just takes it.

A Proposal to Die for is also a romance, complete with an HEA. I enjoyed seeing Jess find solace among the Osbourne family. Here is where one finds the trademark Harper humor and found family bonding. The romance is sweet and slow burn, with any heat off page. But Jess and Dean flirt and build a friendship while both struggle with baggage. I enjoyed the romance and would have loved for it to be a bigger part of the story.

In the end, A Proposal to Die for has some wonderful moments and fun times, but the mean girl and frat bro stereotypes played too heavily for me to completely enjoy this one.

My Rating: C