I’m really not quite sure if I loved or hated this book. It’s super strange and the characters are all very infuriating, however it really draws you in and you are desperate to find out what happens at the end.
It’s a good thriller with a touch of chick lit added in for good measure.

Psychological thriller. This is what they're like. A book that messes with your brain so thoroughly that you're not sure whether you loved it or hated it.

The Proposal was slow at first, but there was an air of mystery and weirdness to it right from the beginning, which is what stopped me from giving up on it.

The main character, Pippa Gates, is an author, and the book is her life's story, written by her. (Of course, that's fiction. But then again, as Pippa wrote, you can't guess who/how the author is just by reading their book.)

The Proposal has totally messed up my mind, it was weird, and extremely so. If you love thrillers that mess your head like I do, you should definitely go and read this one.

Absolutely brilliant a real page turner with many unexpected twists, I didn’t want to put this book down, A well written must read!

If you love your twists and turns you will love this book. It can be a bit jumpy in places going back and forth in time. but I still liked it.

It took me forever to finish this book because I just couldn’t get into it. The beginning of the book dragged but I didn’t want to leave a review on a book I didn’t finish so I pushed through. I felt the plot didn’t get interesting until about 70% into the book, which at that point, most people would just be like, “forget it.”

An ex-con knocks on Pippa’s door one night and somehow she invites him in and asks him to tell and sell her his life story. But she ends up getting more than she bargained for.

The story was told in many perspectives: audio recordings, diary entries and blog posts. It starts off a bit confusing but towards the end, this will all make more sense on who is speaking and why. I, personally, didn’t care for all the perspectives and it made me less interested.

I did not enjoy this book at all, even when I was 70% through with the book and it started getting interesting. One of the main reasons why was the main character Pippa. She is extremely unlikeable and I found it hard to sympathize or root for her. Her actions were arrogant and couldn’t be justified. I don’t recommend this book.

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and author for providing me with an ARC for a honest, unbiased review.

Loved this book. It had a very interesting plot. It kept my interest from beginning to end. Interesting characters that blended well too. Can see it being a top seller

This book was oh so satisfyingly twisted. I loved it. Pippa seems like an ordinary simple kind of gal when one day a man named Ryan knocks on her door selling cleaning products because he is fresh out of jail and trying to make an honest living now that he's out. From the very get-go, Pippa feels something is wrong with Ryan when he comes into her house while she goes to grab him a copy of her book. There is an odd energy between Pippa and Ryan and it's almost like she can't stop herself from being drawn to him even though she tells him she doesn't want to be his friend. This book turns bad (in a good way) so quickly that you hardly have a chance to blink. You know it's coming but when it does you just don't know how bad it will get. This book was a fast-paced story with twists and turns around every corner and details for days. Excellent!

Thank you to Netgalley, S.E. Lynes, and Bookouture for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The first thing you should know, dear reader, is that I am dead…

As the opening sentence of this intriguing thriller it is sure to pulled you in and will have you gripped until the final page!

The story is told through Pippa’s journal entries and blog posts.  The story begins slowly, all the best psychological thrillers do! However you should pay attention!it makes up for that as it gathers pace and builds up to an excellently written conclusion. 

Overall, if you like dark psychological thrillers then you will enjoy this dark and twisted story.

This was my first read of this author and I look forward to the next novel.

Thanks to NetGalley, Bookouture and the SE Lynes for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book.

*Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.
Okay, this is a hard one to write.. There were parts of the book that I really enjoyed. The story line was interesting, and I was hooked for the first two-thirds of the book. Pippa is the author of a novel that received a lukewarm response at best. She is struggling to find the outline of another story when a salesman knocks at her door. After hearing some of his life story, she offers to buy his full story for 200 pounds. Then it gets weird. The protagonist had always been a little strange and annoying, but Lynes had her take an exit off the main highway into Loonyland. The author chose to use several types of "found" manuscripts to tell the story, which became confusing at times. It won't make my favorites list, but I have a feeling that I'll still be thinking about this story in the weeks to come. If you like twists and unexpected endings, this one may be for you. It certainly it original!

The first thing you should know, dear reader, is that I am dead ....

When I read the first sentence, I thought wow, this is book is going to grab me and not let me go. Unfortunately, I was wrong .... the book jumped back and forth from present day to the past and also back and forth from the main character's blog, narration and another character's video blog. For me, it was a bit cumbersome and it felt like it all was trying way too hard to come together. I stuck with the book to see if it would ever completely grab me and while I finished it, I'm still not 100% sure what I read. This was my first book by this author, and I've heard so many good things about the author that I will definitely try her again.

When I read the synopsis of the book, I had no idea what I was getting myself into. The novel literally grips reader's attention from the very first pages.

The story starts with a divorced and sad little writer, Pippa, who is struggling to find a new idea for her next book. And the night of her deadline, a door to door seller knocks on her door. Intrigued by Ryan's story, Pippa offer's him a deal that Ryan is unable to refuse. And just like that - Pippa makes a deal with the devil.

I love books that keep me thinking and guessing. But this book was so much more. It was interesting to examine how far the person can get by manipulating their victim. And the power they can hold of them. Thank you NetGalley and S.E.Lynes for a mindblowing and enthralling story.

This was a thriller in every sense of the word. At times I could not quite get my head around why Pippa acted the way she did.

Pippa was definitely an out of the box person. Her actions did not follow the routine and her good friend knew that she was governed by feelings and something so reckless that she did not even think of her own safety most of the time.

It was the recklessness which drove her to take over Ryan's story - a travelling salesman who turned up at her door. She invited him in and her proposal of payment for his life story began and ended the story.

The book drew me in and repelled me at the same time. I felt too much on edge to really enjoy the read and I am not one for discarding a book halfway. But it was not a plodding read. I read it with nervous interest is what I would say as I know it could not get better.

EXCERPT: My heart pounded. Sweat salty on my top lip. He was a stranger. He was a man. Men overpowered women. That was why I raced home from the station at night, why I half died of fright every time I grabbed a minicab, why my pulse ran wild whenever I followed some guy I barely knew back to his flat.

Heart thumping, chest tight, I grabbed the envelope and squeezed it in my fist. Fingertips to the handle of the cutlery drawer, I pictured the carving knife in its protective sheath. The light darkened, a fraction of a shade. I looked up to find him standing in the doorway, backlit by the hall light, in shadow.

ABOUT THIS BOOK: The first thing you should know, dear reader, is that I am dead…

Teacher Pippa wants a second chance. Recently divorced and unhappy at work, she uproots her life and moves to the countryside, determined to make a fresh start. But Pippa soon realises: your troubles are never far behind.

When Pippa meets blue-eyed Ryan Marks, he is funny and charming. He is haunted by his past – but insists he is a changed man.

He might just be the answer to all of her problems. And Pippa can tell the truth from lies. She’d know if she were in danger. Wouldn’t she?

MY THOUGHTS: A brilliant page turner (I couldn't put this down) about perception vs reality. Ms Lynes has written a unique and disturbing take on how greatly the reality of our lives can differ from what we present to other people, what they perceive about us from what we choose to share with them.

The Proposal is an excellent example of how it is possible to not like, in fact to detest, the characters in a book, but to love the book. Pippa is self-absorbed. Totally. She uses people then discards them until they may be of some use again. Ryan/Gary is criminally insane. When these two meet, the shock waves are far reaching and unimaginable.

I can't describe how this book made me feel, other than I couldn't get enough of it. The morning after finishing, I am sitting here shaking my head. The Proposal is two sides of the same coin. One bright and sunny and living the dream, the other dark and disturbing, haunting. Where does the reality lay?

This, in my humble opinion, is Lynes' best book yet. It certainly won't be to everyone's taste. But I loved it.

💖💖💖💖💖

THE AUTHOR: S E Lynes is the Amazon best selling author of psychological thrillers, VALENTINA, MOTHER, THE PACT and THE PROPOSAL.
After graduating from Leeds University, S E Lynes lived in London before moving to Aberdeen where she worked as a programme producer at the BBC before moving with her husband, Paul, and two young children to Rome.
In Rome, she began to write while her children attended nursery. After the birth of her third child and upon her return to the UK, she gained an MA in Creative Writing from Kingston University.
She now combines writing with lecturing at Richmond Adult Community College and bringing up her three children. She has also published two children's books in Italy.

DISCLOSURE: Thank you to Bookouture via Netgalley for providing a digital ARC of The Proposal by S E Lynes for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.

Please refer to my Goodreads.com profile page or the about page on sandysbookaday.wordpress.com for an explanation of my rating system. This review and others are also published on my blog sandysbookaday.wordpress.com

Wow, just wow. Nothing I say could possibly do this book justice. It's superbly clever.
I was hooked. Do not pick this book up unless you are alone for a few hours, my family kept interrupting my reading, kids complaining about it being lunchtime and my husband wanting to actually, you know, talk to me... Go away and let me read in peace.
S E Lynes is definitely an author to look out for. I look forward to what comes next.

The first thing you should know, dear reader, is that I am dead…

The opening sentence of the book is enough to pull you straight in the story and keep you hooked right till the end.

The Proposal is the story of Pippa, a struggling writer, who is running out of ideas and time for her next book. Recently divorced and unhappy at work, things are not going right for her on the personal front as well. Desperate for a story, she invites Ryan (someone with a dark past) in her house to narrate his story. What starts as a harmless interview, soon spirals into an unending nightmare.

This novel is told via private journal entries and blog posts alternatively. There is also an audio transcript which tells you the other part of the story. Keeping track of all the storylines takes a while & If you are not a romance reader, some parts of the book may not appeal to you. The story builds up slowly and gathers momentum in the second half. So it requires a bit of patience. But the author manages to write a uniquely dark & twisted story.

Pippa as a protagonist is reckless, selfish and not even particularly likable. Pippa’s actions are irrational and even absurd at times. (I do understand that the characters in the book are not expected to behave as you expect them to or even rationally). But that is why perhaps, why the story felt so closer to reality. Having read many true stories of perfectly rational people doing irrational things, this story felt entire believable to me.

The story for most parts is rather dark but what is truly terrifying is the ending. The final chapter with the little ‘inconsistencies’, when added backwards will really blow your mind. Overall, If you like reading a dark psychological thriller, you will enjoy this book.

Many thanks to NetGalley, Bookouture and SE Lynes for the ARC.

I really love this author's writing and she has become one of my go-to authors. Sadly on this occasion, I didn't gel with this book. Whilst it was always going to be dark I didn't like either of the main characters and found it hard to engage in the story.
Others have raved about it but I just didn't feel it this time. It lacks the emotional pull of Mother, which is hard to beat. Sad to say it's a miss from me.

I struggled to get into this book and thought about ditching it on a few occasions but something kept me hanging in there and from about 50% in it improved to the point I had to finish it. I didn’t warm to any of the characters but that said this is a clever unusual read

"The first thing you should know, dear reader, is that I am dead…..."

With that as a starter I expected some crazy, mind blowing, can't put this book down story. But unfortunately for me this wasn't one of those books. It was just an okay thriller. I found the book to drag on. The way the author structured the book switching between Pippa's private journal, her blog and then some audio recording was at times confusing and frustrating. I know it was meant to build up the story and the suspense for a big twist, but it had the opposite effect for me. And the big twist left me feeling like I was holding a deflated balloon. This book gets many awesome reviews, and I don't want to take away from those. This was an okay book for me. It just didn't connect with me the way it did with many other readers.

My thanks to S.E. Lynes, Bookouture and Netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I found this book pretentious and it left me with an impression that the author was trying too hard to shock the reader. For me, it didn't work. I actually quite enjoyed the first quarter as it was mysterious and suspenseful; however the plot became more and more ridiculous as it continued and the ending was totally bizarre. Overall, I didn't enjoy reading the book.
Many thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture for the ARC.

Twists and turns throughout this book were insane. This thriller kept me enthralled throughout the entire book.