A Proposal They Can't Refuse is a charming story about love and family. I had a blast reading this story! It was a remarkably wonderful story about two people who used to be so close and then hormones and adulthood got in the way… Just for their grandfathers to intervene and bring them together. It was definitely an entertaining read for sure and I recommend picking it up .

‘A Proposal They Can’t Refuse’ was a cute childhood friends-to-enemies-to-lovers fake dating romance full of meddlesome grandpas, food, culture, family, and realistic, complicated characters. This book will have you laughing, crying, yelling, swooning, and utterly charmed. Highly recommend!

𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘯 𝘦𝘈𝘙𝘊 𝘤𝘰𝘱𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘣𝘺 𝘏𝘛𝘗/𝘔𝘐𝘙𝘈 𝘉𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘴 (𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬-𝘺𝘰𝘶!). 𝘈𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘷𝘰𝘭𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘺 𝘰𝘸𝘯.

Thank you so much to MIRA Books and Netgalley for letting me read an eARC of A Proposal They Can't Refuse! As soon as I saw it, I loved the cover and the summary was adorable too, so I knew I just had to read it!
A Proposal They Can't Refuse 4/5 Stars
Summary from Goodreads:
Natalie Caña turns up the heat, humor and heart in this debut rom-com about a Puerto Rican chef and an Irish American whiskey distiller forced into a fake engagement by their scheming octogenarian grandfathers.
Kamilah Vega is desperate to convince her family to update their Puerto Rican restaurant and enter it into the Fall Foodie Tour. With the gentrification of their Chicago neighborhood, it's the only way to save the place. The fly in her mofongo--her blackmailing abuelo says if she wants to change anything in his restaurant, she'll have to marry the one man she can't stand: his best friend's grandson.
Liam Kane spent a decade working to turn his family's distillery into a contender. Now he and his grandfather are on the verge of winning a national competition. Then Granda hits him with a one-two punch: he has cancer and he has his heart set on seeing Liam married before it's too late. And Granda knows just the girl...Kamilah Vega.
If they refuse, their grandfathers will sell the building that houses both their businesses. With their futures on the line, Kamilah and Liam plan to outfox the devious duo, faking an engagement until they both get what they want. But soon, they find themselves tangled up in more than either of them bargained for.
oh I loved this book so much! Liam and Kamilah was so cute and I loved how much they loved their grandfathers and how involved in their lives they were and how involved in each others lives they were and had been since they were little! I also always love the whole fake dating trope and the friends to enemies to lovers trope too, and while Kamilah and Liam were never really enemies, they definitely friendly with each other during that middle period, so I'm going to count it as fitting in that trope. I had such a fun time reading this book as there were so many funny scenes and there was so much chemistry between the characters and the friend groups and families were written so well. The conflicts and emotional baggage that both Liam and Kamilah carried was also written so well and it was great to see that it didn't just magically go away. I also loved all of the food and the whiskey in this book- definitely don't read it on an empty stomach! Overall, this was a fun, cute rom com and I highly recommend grabbing it today!

Link to be added once blog is live

A Proposal They Can't Refuse is a funny, over-the-top romance that was pure joy from start to finish. I found this to be highly entertaining and absolutely hilarious. Kamilah and Liam had such great chemistry and were a delight to follow on their journey to love.
Thank you to Netgalley and the Publisher for the opportunity to read and review this title. All opinions and mistakes are my own.

Kamilah and Liam are former childhood best friends. They aren't enemies per se they just don't talk anymore or really see each other outside of visiting their grandfather's who are best friends. Kamilah's family own a restaurant next door to the distillery Liam co-owns with his grandfather. Business isn't going well for either at the moment. Due to some meddling from their grandfathers they end up fake dating.

Kamilah is Puerto Rican and Liam is Irish. This book did a great job incorporating both of their cultures as well as their families. Kamilah's family wants to run the restaurant the traditional way and they don't care for the changes she wants to make to freshen up the menu. Liam's dealing with some heavier family issues as his grandfather is dying of terminal cancer. This is bringing up haunting memories of how his father and nana died.

I really liked the first half of this book but it derailed for me towards the end. I don't mind characters in romance dealing with real life issues but the tragic backstory was a lot and took away the rom-com feel of this story. Up until that point it was light hearted despite Granda's situation.

Miscommunication was also heavy at the end and Kamilah's family had a reaction that just felt over the top. It also didn't help that Kamilah and Liam barely interacted towards the end of the book.

This appears to be the first book in a series with a clear set up for the next book to center around Kamilah's brother who is a single father.

I listened to the audiobook and the narration by Valentina Ortiz was great! I usually enjoy her narration and here it really elevated the story.

I try to stagger my reads between something dark or serious to something light and fun for obvious reasons. I don't always manage it, but A Proposal They Can't Refuse fell just right. I'd just finished a story full of tension and drama, so this one was just what I needed. Enemies to lovers is one of my favorite tropes, and when it's combined with a fake romance, so much the better. I love the fire between enemies who have a strong attraction, and Kamilah and Liam definitely have an attraction. That said, as good as the romance was, it wasn't my favorite part of the book - yeah, I know, it's a romance, that's what the story is about, and so on - the grandfathers completely stole my heart. I love when spunky senior citizens start meddling in someone's love life, so I was hooked before I even read the first word. What it all comes down to is this is one engaging, fun romance with some terrific characters, perfect for a weekend read and guaranteed to lift your spirits.

3.5 stars

A Proposal They Can't Refuse was a cute fake dating, second chance-ish romance between two childhood friends who have become estranged. It was surprisingly emotional, so I definitely recommend checking out the CW's before reading.

Things to look forward to:
- Tropes galore! I mentioned a few already, but also be prepared to see: only 1 bed, forced proximity, enemies-ish to lovers, grumpy + sunshine, opposites attract, and a really sweet grand gesture.
- I was very pleasantly surprised by the steam. Liam ended up being quite the dirty talker and that tasting table scene was so hot!
- The meddling grandfathers were hilarious! All of their shenanigans made me laugh and helped add some great comic relief.
- This one is a pro and con, because this book definitely left me hungry for Puerto Rican food! The descriptions had my mouth watering and I would love to try all the different foods and desserts mentioned.
- I switched back and forth between the ebook/paperback and audiobook and I thought the narration by Valentina Ortiz was fantastic. Her performance had so much emotion and heart in it. She was the perfect Kamilah!

I'm a huge fan of second chance childhood friends to lovers romances, so I did find it a bit anticlimactic that the reason for the separation between Liam and Kamilah was never fully addressed. I kept waiting for there to be a reckoning of their pasts, but unfortunately vague mentions of an incident at Kamilah's prom was all readers got. The drama at the end due to a lack of communication also annoyed me and the resolution felt very rushed. I did appreciate Liam's heart to heart with his grandfather though and it seems like a book for Saint and a certain infuriating teacher might be in the works.

Audiobook Review
Overall 4 stars
Performance 4.5 stars
Story 3.5 stars

CW: death of parent & grandparent, drowning, PTSD, grief, parental abandonment, cancer and discussion of treatment

*I voluntarily read and listened to a review copy of this book*

This book had a lot of elements to it that I really love in a romance novel so it’s absolutely no surprise to anyone that I adored this book.

Complicated family dynamics, meddling grandfathers, and two MCs with a boatload of history between them form the cornerstone of this book where a Puerto Rican chef and an Irish American whiskey distiller butt heads even as they try to work together to appease their grandfathers in order to save their respective family businesses.

Kamilah, the chef, is desperate to save her family’s business. Problem is, her family won’t listen to her, constantly dismissing her ideas and plans and accusing her of not having any follow through. When her grandfather offers to lend her support to make the changes she wants to make to give their family-owned restaurant a fighting chance of surviving in their gentrified neighborhood, she quickly jumps at the chance….even if it means pretending to be engaged to Liam Kane.

Whiskey distiller Liam operates his family business in one half of the building, while the other half houses Kamilah’s restaurant. Their grandfathers are best friends and troublemaking, meddling busybodies….and I absolutely loved them both. They both agree to support their grandchildren…so long as their grandchildren uphold their end of the bargain. And so suddenly, Kamilah and Liam, who used to be best friends until a personal tragedy in Liam’s family caused him to pull away, have to pretend to not just be engaged, but move in together.

If you enjoy big, complicated, messy families, you will love this book. If you thirst after grumpy, taciturn, awkward heroes who can unexpectedly deliver on the dirty talk, you will love this book. I adored the byplay between Liam and Kamilah, who had a lot of history and unresolved feelings between them. They both had a lot of baggage, Liam especially, and I liked that the book didn’t just brush all of it under the rug but made them go through all their trauma and address it.

Kamilah has a habit of keeping secrets and making decisions for other people and she does it out of love but when the dark moment came, I was really glad to see that the people in her life who love her the most, called her out on it. There was one particular relationship in this book that fell apart due to the secrets she kept and the lies she told and it did not get resolved towards the end. I’m not sure if the author intends this to be a series but there are many side characters in this book who deserve their own stories and I hope one of them features the character who never resolved their issues with Kamilah.

Liam has his own baggage, including the death of his father in a drowning accident as well as learning early on in the book that his beloved grandfather has terminal liver cancer. Used to being left behind and abandoned, he struggles to accept his feelings for Kamilah despite having been in love with her for years. Being a man of few words, it’s his actions that speak much louder and it’s apparent to everyone, except Kamilah, just how much he loves her.

Also, I’m a sucker for competence porn and Liam and Kamilah are both just really good at what they do. In fact, in one particular scene, Kamilah finds herself inexplicably turned on when Liam takes her through the process of making whiskey.

Kamilah was frustrated. Sexually. Ever since she’d watched him, capable and intelligent in the distillery, proudly putting his skills on display in the hottest example of competence porn she’d ever witnessed, she wanted Liam with an intensity that was getting harder and harder to not act on.

He didn’t seem to be feeling the same.

Except, much to Kamilah’s ever-lasting delight, Liam very much does feel the same and the book’s lone sex scene is a prime example that it’s always the quiet ones you have to watch out for. Let’s just say that Liam may not be the most talkative guy around but when it comes to letting Kamilah know exactly what he wants to do to her, he’s quite the dirty talker.

Watching these two hard-headed and soft-hearted fools try to get out of their own way and fall in love with each other despite their best-laid plans was utterly charming and sweet. Yes, there was definitely a bit of angst and the epilogue is incredibly bittersweet and the dark moment is plenty dark but that makes the moment these two pull out the grand gestures for each other all the more sweeter. I was fully invested in these characters, in the progression of their relationship and I desperately hope the author makes this into a series because as I mentioned before, the side characters are equally interesting and I would love to catch up with the Vega and Kane families again.

I was so excited to receive this ARC as it sounded so much fun! How can you not want to read a story about a Puerto Rican chef and an Irish American whiskey distiller forced into a fake engagement by their scheming grandfathers?

Some of my favorite things about this book was:
🇵🇷 Fake Dating (engagement)
🥃 Friends to enemies to lovers
🇵🇷 Great characters full of real emotions
🥃 Great representation
🇵🇷 Great descriptions; this book made me so hungry but also made me understand a lot more about whiskey? And I’m not going to lie, I now want to go on a whiskey distillery tour to learn more 😂
🥃 Meddling grandfathers who are honestly the highlight of this book to me

Honestly, I thought this was a really fun story that was full of real life emotions, and it was a really fun summer read. There was a lot that I liked about this book, and I thought the unique storyline and characters really set up the story really well. I also really loved the little details included, which made me easily picture what was happening and made me feel like I was in the book.

What bothered me a bit more about this sorry was the pacing. I felt like it often went from 0 to 100, often out of nowhere. Sometimes, one chapter ended, and the next chapter started a few weeks later, without much warning. I liked the overall story the author was telling, but some parts felt a little rushed at times, and because of that, I didn’t get as much emotions as I could have from some scenes and characters. I felt a bit robbed of some of the big characters moments because of this; I wasn’t able to see how the character dealt with the conflict they faced. Because of the pacing, I also didn’t get the full emotional connection between Kamiliah and Liam, so I felt like I only saw the physical side of the relationship, which was fine, but I would have liked to see more of an emotional connection between them. I feel like we could have gotten a bit more out of these characters, but it fell a bit flat to me.

Overall, I quite enjoyed this book, but not as much as I could have. I thought the story and the characters were wonderfully set up, but because of the pacing, it made things feel a bit rushed and jumpy at times.

Thank you so much to Netgalley, and Harlequin Trade Publishing, for this ARC! This book is out now!

3.5⭐

3.25 stars


Liam & Kamilah, former childhood bffs, unexpectedly find themselves on the receiving end of one of their meddlesome, troublemaking eighty-year-old Granda & Abuelo’s schemes — manipulated into a fake relationship/engagement in exchange to keep the building for both of their family distillery(his) & restaurant(hers) are located in. You see, after some heartaches & tragedies each in respective families, these two grew apart & have kept their distance for many years before the present day. Their wise, but ever-so-troublemaking-loving eighty-year-old grandpas had enough watching from the sidelines & so the scheme mentioned above was born.

A Proposal They Can’t Refuse starts pretty well. I mean - yeah, the initial plot’s a little more farcical, but isn’t that the bread & butter of many entertaining romance novels? In a lot of ways, it’s a solid romance debut, especially one written in third-person POV no less (I often feel disconnected to this style of writing in romance, so big kudos to Ms. Caña because that aspect was much less problematic than most). Overall, I liked the writing & the premise as well as the H, h, his Granda & her Abuelo.

I just didn’t get to loving it for a few reasons, however.
⛔️ (I tried to be as vague as I could be yet still explain what I mean. So perhaps proceed here cautiously as some may view what I’m putting below as spoiler-ish) ⛔️


✎ When their situation became more than just a deal with their grandpas, I wanted less telling & more showing when the romance was just getting underway & developing. I just wanted to experience at least a couple of the moments summarized after the fact.
✎ Tbh generally, I would’ve preferred more focus on the romance (not just the showing vs telling aspect) & less focus on family drama or at least taking stronger steps standing up for her to minimize that gradually a bit earlier on.
✎ While I mostly did in fact like the h & H, & I absolutely don’t mind flawed characters, BUT the story leaned too hard into the poor communication trope between the h & H in the last 1/3. It took some shine off my enjoyment. Although a great frank conversation between Liam & his Granda came as a result I must say, it’s just the volume of overall things not communicated coming to a head pretty much all at once was a bit of a buzzkill for me at that point.
✎ Aside from Kamilah’s Abuelo & her oldest brother (although he wasn’t a big part of the book, he definitely wasn’t as awful as the rest), I genuinely could not stand her toxic immediate family, especially her parents. They “came around” late in the book, but honestly, I don’t entirely buy it**, especially with her dad & most of all, her mom. She was frequently a catty b**ch to her own daughter. She disgusts me.
** (maybe buy the remorse a bit more from her brother closest in age to her[he seemed more immature vs just an *ss] over her parents & 2 other brothers[she has 4 total])


I get the sense this might be the beginning of series. Hopefully, NC tones down the h’s family ALOT in future books & maybe just minimizes her parents' roles. Then I might be interested in Kamilah’s oldest brother’s book at least. Or I might just wait for an unrelated book because I do mean it — I like NC’s writing & despite a few issues, APTCR is mostly a decent romance debut.


*This ARC was provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.*

My apologies for being a little tardy with this review. The last week was busier than expected.

Kamilah and Liam were once childhood best friends, now they can barely stand to be in the same room together. But when their meddling grandfathers get an idea in their heads, it means a fake engagement between the two is now a must. But how they pretend to be engaged when they can't even look at each other without spitting contempt at the other?

I loved this fun, witty romance! It has a bunch of tropes I can't get enough of - interracial couple (she's Puerto Rican, he's Irish), culinary world, enemies to lovers, and fake relationship. And then, the best part, the very best part is the two grandfathers who are best friends and close as brothers. They made the story for me with their meddling, their wise take on life, and how very much they loved their grandchildren and only wanted them to be happy. That's not to say that I didn't like Kamilah and Liam, though, because I did, a lot. They had sizzling chemistry, were relatable, likable characters, and I was cheering them on the whole way through. It seemed as if there was a setup for further stories about the grandchildren, if so, I will be downloading every story because this one is fabulous.

Kamilah and Liam somehow fell into a grandparent marriage trap. But it'll help to get a grandparent to have the will to want to get medical help from themselves and theres just a lot riding on them getting together.

There so much to enjoy about this book. I loved the amount of butting heads the two have done throughout the book. While both meant well with how things were turning out, something was bound to fall and it was interesting seeing how they were working through things that came their way. There was clearly secrets and lies throughout and it eventually led to a complete mess but I enjoying seeing how it made the book all the more interesting. I loved the meddling family coming from a meddling family myself and I loved the romance form between Kamilah. Overall I really enjoyed this book and recommend you lovely readers to check it out.

I loved the meddling grandfathers despite their odd ultimatum to let Kamilah and Liam keep their businesses. I loved the blend of Irish and Puerto Rican accents as well as the whiskey and food. At times I thought that the way both Kamilah and Liam handled conflict was frustrating, and I wish that their relationship had a little more depth and development for us to follow.

Heat. Humor. Heart. Three perfect words to describe this steamy, dual perspective, fake engagement, enemies to lovers debut romance set in Chicago. I devoured this book with scheming octogenarian grandfathers who blackmail Kamilah and Liam into a relationship in exchange for not selling the building that houses both family businesses.

Kamilah and Liam reluctantly agree to a fake engagement in order to appease their grandfathers (one of whom is dying from cancer) but the chemistry between these two childhood former flames is off the charts and the forced proximity situation works its magic.

I laughed, I cried, I couldn't get enough. Much thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance review copy. I can't wait to read the next book in this new series!! Natalie Caña is one to watch!

I loved this book. Liam and Kamilah have known each other their whole lives—their families own businesses in the same building (his has a distillery; hers has a Puerto Rican restaurant), and they were childhood best friends. Then Liam’s dad died, and they grew apart as he dealt with his trauma. Now adults, they don’t really like each other but are still in each other’s orbit.

Kamilah is a chef who wants to make changes to the family restaurant and gain some visibility by entering it into a foodie tour, but her family is resistant. Liam is determined to win first place in a whiskey contest to honor his father.

When their meddling grandfathers, who are best friends, tell Kamilah and Liam they have to get married or the building that houses both their family businesses will be sold, they decide to fake an engagement. In exchange, Kamilah’s grandfather will allow her to make changes to the restaurant, and Liam’s grandfather will seek treatment for his cancer, which he originally had decided not to treat. (Although I’d say this is overall a fun book, it doesn’t shy away from difficult topics like grief and death. I thought they were handled with care, but please know going in that there is a cancer storyline as well as the past death of a parent, the past death of both main characters’ grandmothers, and a mother abandoning her child.)

What follows is a delicious childhood-friends-to-lovers fake dating romance between two people who care deeply for their families and have big dreams. This is a great story rooted in family, Puerto Rican and Irish culture, food, and whiskey. Over the course of the book, Kamilah and Liam rebuild their friendship and their fake romance starts to feel more and more real. Watching them fall in love was a joy, and I’m excited to read whatever Natalie Caña writes next.

CW: a grandfather with terminal cancer; mentions of the past death of a parent and past death and illness of a grandmother; death of a grandmother in an accident; childhood abandonment.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for an arc in exchange for an honest review!

A Proposal They Can’t Refuse is a heartfelt rom-com with a touch of spice. Natalie Caña combines a ton of tropes and elements that I love. First of all, this is a best friends to enemies to lovers romance. Then we also get fake dating which is one of my favorite tropes. I also love that our main character is Puerto Rican and we get to experience a lot of that culture through this book, especially when it comes to food. I love a great food-centric romance and this definitely didn’t disappoint. Kamilah also has a huge family which is a very important dynamic in this book.

I’m not sure if there will be a sequel/companion novel but if there is, I think it will be about Saint because Natalie Caña set it up perfectly! Overall, this was a very cute and heartfelt rom-com which I definitely enjoyed. I will be reading more from Natalie Caña in the future.

Wow... This book wasn't exactly what I was expecting--but it was SO much better!

Honestly, I figured it'd be some cute rom-com with some quirky characters and some silly issues that get between them. And, well, it kind of was.

But at the same time, this book was a remarkably wonderful story about two people who used to be so close and then hormones and adulthood got in the way... Just for their grandfathers to intervene and bring them together. 

Kamilah, Liam, Killian, and Papa stole the show in this one. It's one of those that I could see being a delight on screen!

I absolutely loved this story and the author!

A Proposal They Can’t Refuse by Natalie Cana was such a fun read. Not only the romance with the fake dating, but the family interactions as well. I loved it all. When Kamilah and Liam want to make changes to their family businesses, their meddling grandfathers want them to marry. They decide to fake date/get engaged to get what they want, but they may get more than they ever bargained for.

Kamilah and Liam were both determined and hardworking. They were childhood friends but had not really interacted as adults. Now they were interacting in so many ways. Their story was so cute and engaging and I really enjoyed reading it. I am excited to read more from this author.

Happy reading!

I definitely didn't have low expectations for this, because it sounded great, but it did still surprise me with how much I liked it. This is a super charming story, full of heart and with great characters. And it has not one but TWO of my favourite tropes: childhood friends to estranged to lovers, and fake dating (make engagement, even!). This was made extra special because of their families being so close to each other, and I especially loved their grandfathers.

This was a delightful read from a debut author!

Kamilah Vega is a chef, and she loves her family's restaurant. It was her abuela's dream and she doesn't want to see it close. So, she wants to make some updates, but everyone is fighting her. She's not sure what to do, and then her Abuelo Papo, and his best friend Killian, blackmail her. He'll back her plans for the restaurant, if she marries Killian's grandson, Liam. She and Liam were best friends growing up, but he pushed her away after his family tragedy, and now they can hardly stand to be in the same room. So, what is she going to do?! She and Liam will just pretend to get engaged and go along with the blackmail, to get what they both want.

Liam Kane runs a small distillery with his Granda Killian, and he loves what they've accomplished. His mom left when he was a kid, and his dad and grandma were killed in an accident when he was 11, so it's always been him and his Granda. But, Granda now has cancer, and doesn't want to treat it, and he and Papo Vega are talking about selling the building they co-own, that houses both family businesses. He says they won't sell if Liam and Kamilah get married. Liam has always loved Kamilah but knows she deserves better than the angry shell of a man he's become. Can he make even a fake relationship work?

Liam and Kamilah had chemistry like whoa, even when they were sniping and arguing. I loved their banter, but I loved it even better when they showed how much they deeply knew and understood each other, even all these years after their broken friendship. There was always love there, especially when they tried to act as if there wasn't. Some relationships are just meant to be, and they were clearly fated mates. They both just had to get out of their own way! Their connection was deep, heartfelt, and HOT, and I adored watching them fall in love.

The scheming grandpas were hilarious side characters here, and I loved seeing their deep and abiding friendship as well. The rest of Kamilah's family were never very kind to her or her ideas, and it was hard to see her constantly hitting a wall with that. They all underestimated her at every turn, and she had turned into a bit of a martyr to her family's needs. They all needed to reevaluate, and move toward healthier communication. It was interesting to see those dynamics play out throughout the story.

I really enjoyed this book a lot! There were fun side characters, mostly friends and relatives of Liam and Kamilah, who are clearly being set up for future stories. I'm very curious to see who's book will be next!