Gracie had a crush on Colin in high school. One of those crushes where you leave anonymous notes in his locker. One of those crushes wear if he just looks at you, you’re floating on cloud nine all day. But nothing ever happened between them; the small chance she had of being his lab partner disappeared when the teacher was hit by a car. That’s how The Book Proposal starts. And, OMG, I didn’t put it down until I finished it.

K.J. Micciche is a good writer. Nah, she’s a great writer. I was hooked on the story from page 1, I wanted to know everything about Gracie and Colin. The way she developed their relationship was fantastic. It reminded me so much of my best friend from college, the guy I met one day and was best friends with the next.

I’ll just give you a few highlights: an ex-wife who gives Colin a threesome for his birthday, a two book deal for Gracie that winds up trashed because her agent *really* hated her new book, and a great way of watching Gracie and Colin get to know each other through their emails back-and-forth.

Thanks to Sourcebooks for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

Super cute ROM-COM. Would highly recommend to anyone and would have been even more fun to read had I been at the beach or on a cruise! LOL! KJ knocked this one out of the park and I look forward to reading other books by this author.

For a book about a romance author... there was very little chemistry/steamy/fun scenes whatsoever. There are some weird sexist characters and it just wasn't really a fun read. I was barely rooting for the main characters

Thank you to Net Galley, the Publisher and the author for the ARC

This book was fun & very lighthearted. It was a super quick & easy read! I did find the characters to be a bit immature for the ages they were meant to be, but by not didn’t thinking too hard about it, I could get past it! Additionally, I thought that every single issue could have been solved with a conversation, but even toward the end we see very little conflict resolution. Overall, I thought this one was fun & would suggest it, but don’t come into it looking for any substance or any resolution.

Thank you NetGalley for providing me with this eARC!!

I was excited about this one, especially when my wish was granted, but it didn't live up to my expectations. The characters seemed really immature for their age and there was no character growth for this. The romance happened so quick, which didn't make me feel excited or anything for them.

However, it still did have some good parts. Some of the banter was fun to read. The storyline definitely has something, but could maybe be executed a little better.

If I hadn't known this was a debut novel, I would still have guessed it. There's a lot of potential here, but unfortunately it's not quite realised. One major issue for me was the pacing. The first quarter of the book is a lot of telling, almost stream-of-consciousness fashion, from both Gracie and Colin, and very little actual plot development. It does pick up once the two of them begin to interact more meaningfully, but then it progresses at an almost unbelievable speed, jumps forward a month or two, and then just... ends. Maybe I'm spoiled by the frequency with which romance novels include an epilogue, but I'd have appreciated a little more establishment of their relationship and all the minor loose ends being tied up. The other thing that I had an issue with was some of the humour. There's a fine line between 'laugh out loud slapstick situations' and 'cringe-inducing events', and a couple of things landed on the wrong side of that line for me. That said, there's plenty of good writing here, especially in Gracie's voice; just a shame the book as a whole didn't quite work for me.

I liked the premise of the book and at times it was good but the humor was off putting to me. incontinence isn't funny to me, I don't need constant reminders about stds, the characters come across as much younger than they are supposed to be. The immaturity is off putting,

It did have elements of fun and witty exchanges and this book would appeal to other readers. It just wasn't for me

I received an arc of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Let me start by saying I really loved the premise of this novel. The conflict was not exactly what I expected, but also interesting. I enjoyed the writing, it was witty, and I loved some of the jokes. The plot was quite entertaining as well, but unfortunately, as a romance, this book did not work for me for several reasons.

First of all, I think Gracie was meant to be relatable: we know that all girls burp and fart and even shart from time to time. But that is not the best way to make a character relatable, especially if it has to be mentioned so many times. I love fart jokes as much as the next guy, and I enjoy stand up comedy. I think this could have been a comedy book, but not exactly a romance.

Secondly, the constant physical comparisons between the main characters and the exes were unnecessary, in my opinion. I'll explain: it is totally okay to have a main character who is fit, and has a full head of hair, and almost no hair on their body. That's a fantasy, we all get it. But why to discuss the ex's physical characteristics and mention that, unlike the MC, that one had a belly and was furry so that she had to shave him. Why praise one set of physical characteristics while degrading others? You can say that the MC is perfect without bringing up the other guy. As if having a belly, or being bald, for example, makes you a bad person. Yes, he WAS a bad person, so I'd enjoy it more if the book was focusing on him being a jerk instead of degrading him because of the way he looked. Otherwise, if he was so average looking and even gross, why did she even start dating him?

Another point is that I personally did not feel the chemistry between the main characters. It's as if the only things they liked about one another is the fact that they are so different from their exes. Even at the end, where they were leaning into each other, where the reconciliation kiss was supposed to happen, the heroine mentions that she smelled the gyros he brought. If that was supposed to have romantic effect, it didn't work for me. In fact, the number of detailed descriptions of the food they ate is probably bigger than the number of times they describe their feelings for each other.

Lastly, with so many detailed mentions of farts, burps, sharts and vomiting, I expected the door to be open on the steamy scenes. And I was very surprised that it wasn't the case. Not that I am complaining, I enjoy closed-door books too, but I was a bit confused by the choice to keep the sex out when so many other things got in.

As I said, I enjoyed the writing. And I wish the author all the best in her journey. I won't be posting this review on my social media. I do not wish to offend anyone or hurt the sales, I only intend it as feedback, hopefully constructive. I would love to follow the author's progress in her next novels.

What a feel good read!! I absolutely adored these characters and the story just flowed so nicely that I got lost each time I read. Overall storyline is a feel good with some twists and turns that keep you on your toes. A little predictable but in the best way possible. I really enjoyed how the story unfolded and left you wanting more. Highly recommend!!

This book was really cute. I enjoyed they characters and the story.
Thank you NetGalley for the arc

This was a dramatic, ridiculously fun and sexy debut romance that involves a romance author with writer's block drunk texting her high school nemesis and somehow becoming friends.

Recently dumped just before her wedding, Gracie's life is a bit of a mess and she's finding it hard to write about happily ever afters when she no longer believes they exist. With a huge book deal on the line though, she ends up getting help from her old enemy turned new texting buddy, Colin, who helps her come up with the plot for her new book drawing on his own love life disaster with his ex-wife.

Unfortunately this backfires in an unexpected way leaving Gracie unsure if she'll have a career to revive or not. Ironically, while Gracie writes steamy love stories, this book was actually a closed door romance with not too much actual on page spice between the MCs. I didn't mind too much though because I found myself constantly laughing at the crazy things Gracie said and did!

Overall a super fun debut with memorable characters and I for one will be eagerly awaiting this author's next book! Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital copy in exchange for my honest review!

This book follows a struggling romance writer who is trying to land her next big deal. She is fresh off a nasty breakup and decides to go out with friends. One drunken night later, she decides to email her high school crush. He responds. They reconnect. And so it begins…

I think this was supposed to be romance, but it didn’t really feel like romance and there were sprinkles of funny parts throughout. I feel like the idea of this book didn’t work for me. I kept reading because I wanted to finish it, but the storyline and plot never really seemed to advance. Many of the scenes the main characters were separated (either with other friends or alone working). The main character made everything about her the entire time. We don’t learn a whole lot about any of the characters so it did feel somewhat surface level. There was no hook with this book either. The plot twist was actually pretty good so I’ll give a point there. Overall this was just an ok read. Rating: 2/5 stars ⭐️⭐️

I love the cover, the blurb drew me in right away.

The only issue was with the characters, I didn't feel like they were mature enough for me. But the humor of this book kept me in it, and it was over all a good read. But it was not my favorite. I'm not sure if I would pick up another title by this author.
,

✨T H E B O O K P R O P O S A L✨
🅶🅴🅽🆁🅴—𝒞𝑜𝓃𝓉𝑒𝓂𝓅𝑜𝓇𝒶𝓇𝓎 𝑅𝑜𝓂𝒶𝓃𝒸𝑒
🗓ℙ𝕦𝕓 𝔻𝕒𝕥𝕖—𝕄𝕒𝕪 𝟙𝟞, 𝟚𝟘𝟚𝟛

✂️ P L O T L I N E
Gracie Landing has had a rough hand at life recently. 30-something romance writer with severe writers block, broke, broken up with, and ready for her book break. On a drunken night she decides to email her high school crush, Colin Yarmouth. Unexpectedly, their email exchanges soon turn in to so much more. Colin has his own share of problems which turns into inspiration for Gracie’s new manuscript. As Gracie and Colin explore a relationship beyond emails, they will soon find out that Colins help with her new book might be the thing that messes up her entire career.

💭 ⓂⓎ ⓉⒽⓄⓊⒼⒽⓉⓈ
I really wanted to like this book. My intention is never to bash an author or a book so I will keep this short. The story just didn’t work for me. It didn’t draw me in or keep me invested at all. I’m not even sure I can pinpoint why, but I did feel like I had zero connection to any of the characters. I do read a lot of romance books, so maybe my Romcom bar is set really high right now. The beauty of books is that even if one person doesn’t enjoy it…another might love it! So take my review with a grain of salt and read this book if it’s on your Tbr!

📚 𝚃𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚜 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝙸 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎𝚍:
💫The storyline was fun
💫The cover
💫Some LOL moments
💫 2 POV
💫Short quick read

📚 𝚃𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚜 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝙸 𝙳𝙸𝙳 𝙽𝙾𝚃 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎:
💫Depthless characters who act incredibly immature
💫Surface level relationship that happened way too quickly
💫Not enough back story
💫Didn’t feel the chemistry

📚𝕄𝕐 ℝ𝔸𝕋𝕀ℕ𝔾📚
⭐️⭐️

🙏Thank you NetGalley, Sourcebooks Casablanca, and K.J. Micciche for this ARC in exchange for my honest thoughts 💕

The blurb wasn't kidding when it said that Gracie Landing is a hot mess. This book begins with a hateful, drunken email to her unrequited high school crush (why!?) and continues with many more questionable antics.

One of my biggest pet peeves is adult fiction that reads like YA with adults behaving like children. Because of that, I simply could not stomach this.

Thank you to Sourcebooks Casablanca for gifting me with an ARC to review, but this book was not for me.

Summary of book: Gracie Landing, a romance writer, is going through a difficult time with a recent breakup and writer's block. To cheer herself up, she turns to alcohol and ends up emailing her high-school crush, Colin Yarmouth. To her surprise, Colin responds with a friendly and flirty message, sparking an unlikely friendship between the two. As they get to know each other, Gracie becomes inspired by Colin's own experiences with heartbreak and with his encouragement incorporates his story into her work-in-progress. However, she has no idea that borrowing Colin's story could have negative consequences on her life, career, and chances at finding love. How this impacts Gracie's relationship with Colin and how her use of his story affects her writing and personal life is the crux of the story. Will she be able to navigate these challenges and find happiness, or will her actions lead to further complications?

General Review: For me, this book would have been better if there had been more of our couple and less of the secondary plots and characters. In the beginning I really didn’t like Gracie and I think that in trying to make her relatable Micciche made her a TMI mess. As the story progresses and you get less of that and more insight into her career development and Colin’s family life the better the story gets. I also wish there had been more focus on developing their relationship before they were lovers. As the story progresses you begin to root for them more and more and I really liked the third act resolution was not immediate.
Characters: Everyone is a hot mess. Gracie grows on you as the focus is less on her TMI screw ups and more on the character flaws. Colin is pitiable and pretty much from the start you want him to walk away from his friends and family. Which leads me to my biggest complaint about this book. I hated all the secondary characters. Not in the good way but in the “I wanted to skip over pages that included Dom and Colin’s Dad and the rest” kind of way.
Plot: I liked the plot of the story, struggling writer finds story with her childhood crush and it leads to romance and chaos. Literary plots are a favorite of mine, but I would have liked more of this and less flashbacks and softball.
Tropes and Triggers: Divorce, cheating (not MCs), bullying, emetophobia warning
Quotes:
“He laughs. ‘You’re ridiculous.’
‘You love it,’ I say.
‘I just might,’ he says.”

“All I’m trying to say is that I really care about you, Gracie. I feel like I screwed up the chance to get to know you in high school, and I don’t want to screw it up now.”
“That’s the thing, Gracie.” He looks deep into my eyes. I’m hoping it never ends.”

Stars: 3

Thanks to Netgalley and Sourcebooks Casablanca for the ARC review opportunity.

The Book Proposal was such a fun read! The main character Gracie is absolutely hilarious. Two words: Alfredo shart. This was such a quick and easy read. I would love to read another book by this author. Solid four stars. Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for the gifted arc!

Oh my gosh! This book was so FUNNY! I mean I couldn't believe how funny it was.

Gracie is a writer, Colin is an estate lawyer. They knew each other in high school and were worlds apart. It didn't stop Gracie from having the biggest crush on him. And unfortunately it all (secretly) blew up in her face.

They're both older now and relationships haven't been good to either of them. Colin has a good work life, but Gracie is struggling. She's been creatively blocked.

So what's a girl to do who's had too much to drink, been looking at her high school yearbook and finds Colin's email?

It's not too spicy friends. But yeah, all of Gracies past and present shenanigans I could relate to. 😅

There were so many aspects of this book that I liked. High school classmates that meet up several years later due to accidental hilarious circumstances that bring them together for the chance unfulfilled wishes is the type of story I enjoy. I feel like many girls have an unrequited crush from high school and Gracie gets the chance to see what might happen when she rage drunk-emails Colin after a night out with her friends. The emails were my favorite part of this book as I love an epistolary love story—add to that she’s a romance writer and it just makes sense. But unfortunately I almost quit reading early on because of Gracie’s incessant talk about bodily functions. One time, okay, but three? I felt myself cringing because why do I need that in my romances? There were other bits that seemed a bit “TMI” like Colin getting an STD from his ex, but in this case it makes sense and plays out well. I’m glad I stuck with the book though because the story really does come together. I would’ve liked to see a bit more at the end between Colin and Gracie. No surprise that they get their happy for now, it just felt like the final scene could’ve been a bit longer. My other question is (POSSIBLE SPOILER)…
Does Gracie not ever divulge that she was the one who wrote the love letters to Colin in high school? It’s not clear that her revised manuscript explicitly says so—this is a huge thing for me. I really wanted them to have a moment where he discovers just how much she thought and felt about him all those years ago. In my mind this would have sealed Colin to her much more than just because he caught feelings recently. Micciche has a gift for humor and this debut shows promise for future romcoms. Thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Casablanca for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I wanted to love this one so much more than I did. I really like the overall plot however I didn't like how it was dual point of view which made it really confusing and felt like the plot didn't move fast enough for me.