I... am so confused about this book.

On one hand, I breezed through this in a few hours. I could see the potential of the ideas Meg Herga was playing with: flipping the conventional Indian-girl-white-guy romance; featuring a non-North Indian main character; the battleground of an art deco building being dealt around by billionaires. The Billionaire's Proposal also tried to make interesting points about family and forgiveness; in fact, the scenes between Jay and his dad or his grandma may be the highlights of the book to me.

Which really is the crux of my complaint, too. The romance content felt absurdly familiar to me, and really failed to draw me in. This book read less as a story and more as a checklist. In fact, it's even being marketed as "enemies-to-lovers" in the title, which is... interesting. I understand the limitations that come with self-publishing, but mashing together popular tropes (e.g., enemies-to-lovers, fake dating, wedding dating, rich-boy-poor-girl, one-bed, cheating exes, among others) does not a romance make.

The entire time I was reading The Billionaire's Proposal, I was wondering who the characters even were. What did they stand for? The book repeatedly failed to provide answers. I truly believe that romance novels work best when you're invested in the two people who are actually falling in love with each other. It was only Jay's character that I could relatively get into the head of; Lucy I just did not understand. I also did not see the chemistry between them for the longest time, and ultimately that is where the book failed.

Overall rating: 1.5/5 stars.

Note: I received access to an e-ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was a DNF for me. I didn't connect with the characters. Some people might enjoy enemies-to-lovers rom com based on characters behaving badly, but I'm not one of them.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.

I feel like the writing and the story could've been a lot better.

I dont like how slow it started, 23% into the book and the main characters barely interacted. I really did not feel the chemistry between them.

Lucy and Jay are in a fake relationship that should benefit them both, but what will happen if they fall for real?
I like how it is told from both points of view.
Hope Jay's single friends get books next.

I fun and interesting story. I enjoyed the concept but found the ending very rushed. There was a lot of annoyance and it seemed out of nowhere the romance appeared.

Holy guacamole was this not the best book I've read! Lucy and Jay absolutely wrecked me and put me back together again. They have this off the charts chemistry that makes the reader instantly fall in love with them over and over again. I wasn't sure what to expect when I picked up this arc, but I can say once I started this book I was hooked and there was no way I'd be able to put it down until I got to the end of Lucy and Jay's book. They are so sweet and cute with one another, a perfect read for when you want to curl up and fall in love with love again.

First, Lucy Barr is fired unceremoniously. She called her company’s handsome Indian billionaire boss, Jay Belgavi, names that are too shocking for print. Then, reeling from a loss of her job, she finds out her cheating ex is going to be the best man at her sister's wedding. And he’s bringing a date. So of course she has to one-up him and announce that she's engaged.

With only a week to go before the wedding, the only eligible man she can take as a fake fiancé to the wedding is her ex-boss. Yes, Jay Belgavi, the brooding grump who looks like he just stepped off a private jet after making a GQ magazine cover photographer burst into tears.

Jay Belgavi is running from his painful past. The one thing that would help Jay leave his father’s company and put the past behind is a very specific real-estate deal. So Jay agrees to play Lucy's adoring fiancé at her sister’s Hawaiian wedding. Because, unknown to Lucy, he needs her help to convince this real-estate client to tear down her apartment. In their battle of wills, the heat escalates and escalates some more.

What would Lucy rather lose? The wedding date, her home, or the frustrating man who makes her feel whole again?
This book was such a wild ride! Enemies to lovers with both characters benefiting from their fake dating scheme
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.