"The Book Proposal" by KJ Micciche was an extremely pleasant surprise. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the copy. The book is about to be published in English on 16.05., and I very much hope that some Bulgarian publisher will like it and translate it. In the story, we meet Gracie, who is a writer and is on the verge of publishing a bestseller, but her personal life is in a complete mess. Colin is a lawyer licking his wounds from his recently broken marriage. He was popular in high school and she was one to sit in the shadows. Drunk, drenched, she finds his email in the yearbook and writes him a not-so-friendly letter. However, he strikes up a conversation with her and a friendship develops between them. Gracie has a problem with the plot of her book, and Colin offers her a solution. However, it will cause incredible chaos in both of their lives.


The first thing that impressed me was the author's writing style. Super nice and easy to read. The second thing I liked was the sense of humor. I haven't laughed so hard at a book in a long time. The third was the characters, and the plot itself seemed to take a back seat at first, but when the big twist happened - I stood with an open mouth. I guessed what might happen and I was quite close to the truth, but at the same time far from it. I liked how in the course of the narrative we slowly get to know the common past of the characters, but also their life after high school. The secondary characters were also great, I really liked Evan and Mrs. A. I will add here that the recreation of the former's speech and the latter's accent were top ten.


Interestingly, we read a bit of the book within the book, namely the very story that Gracie writes. At first I was worried that it would take up too much of the plot, but I was pleasantly surprised that it didn't. The emails between Colin and Gracie were my favorite thing about the book. Their relationship was interesting to me and I was looking forward to the final development. The book is told from their points of view, and I really like this type of book, because that way I get to know the main characters better. Actually, I liked Colin one idea more than Gracie, maybe because her cynicism got a little too much for me at times, but overall I liked her a lot too! I predict great success for the book and I hope it finds its readers!

**THIS REVIEW MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS**

🧐 my thoughts:
When I started this book, I wasn’t super into it. It took me a minute, but as soon as Gracie sent her drunk email I was hooked. Okay, I wasn’t super into it for like the first 2 chapters lol When I wasn’t reading The Book Proposal, I was thinking about it. When I was reading it, I couldn’t stop. It had my attention and wouldn’t let it go, and now I sit here wishing that there was another book to continue the story.

👌🏻what i liked:
I loved the dual storylines. I love knowing what each character thinks and what they do and talk about with their friends when they are not together. It really completes the story to me. I also loved the pieces of Gracie’s stories that were included in the book. It gave that deep dive into her career that I definitely thought was needed. The emotions were so real in this book. You could go from laughing out loud in one chapter to tears or anger in the next. The twists in the story, OMG! That is all I can say on that topic or I will literally spoil the whole thing! How the story came together at the end couldn’t have been more perfect. It made my heart so happy for Gracie and Colin.

🙃 what i didn’t like:
We needed more Evan!! OMG please tell me that the next book follows Evan and his new career with a little Gracie and Colin mixed in. Also, we need a book about Dom, the ladies man. I’d love to see his story too! The characters were so likable and relatable that we need all the other pieces from the other characters too!

💬 quote:
“Some things never cease to amaze me. Like the Christmas tree at Rockefeller Center. Or the way a good cup of coffee can take the chill out of an early autumn morning. Or how a sunset can paint the clouds like wildflowers, all fuchsia, lilac, and gold. Or like how the smallest, most meaningless interaction can get into your head and start fucking with you.”

📖 recommend?
Absolutely! Such a cute romcom with a little bit of spice mixed in! Everyone, and I mean everyone needs to read The Book Proposal!


🥰 special thanks
Thank you to NetGalley, K.J. Micciche, and Sourcebooks Casablanca for granting me this e-ARC in exchange for my honest review!

This had a cute premise, even if it was a little off from what I expected, but the execution is what suffered for me. I liked it marginally, but I won’t reread it because of the issues I had.

First and foremost, I loved the positivity around Romance novels, writing and reading them. The MMC was never rude or mean or derogatory towards the genre or that FMC writes it. Love love LOVE that! If anything, it was the FMC who you were like, wait is she being serious or sarcastic here?

There is a lot of info dumping. A lot. Pretty consistently in the first 25% of the book. Now look, I get that you have to convey past events to your readers, but the way it was done in this book was very jarring. Here’s a little diddy about the past. Now we’re in the present, where that information could’ve been woven a little through out. Especially the first chapter because the reader is again told that information 6% in. If the info was going to be dumped—because again, you have to convey past events to readers somehow—it should’ve been dumped then. I saw another reviewer phrase it “being narrated AT me” and I have to agree with that assessment.

And the rest of the book follows this similar writing style. The chapters are short, which I loved, but they’re also choppy in a way that doesn’t always connect or make sense. Or it connects too well, and because it’s dual POV, you pick up the other’s thoughts of what you just read to start the next chapter. (For example, the FMC ends a chapter alluding to them having sex that night. MMC’s chapter opens with retroactively telling the reader about how they had sex.) That just isn’t personally my favorite style of dual POV. It feels more “I couldn’t decide who to tell this scene from” than adding to the characters to me. Just personal preference.

The writing is very internal monologue heavy with a lot of “slice of life,” which kind of made it feel like there wasn't a big plot or that it was more like literary or Women's Fiction where the plot is the internal thoughts of the main. But at the same time, it is very much a Romance book. The FMC is a very quirky in a normal heroine way. The MMC is very leading man in a boring, flirty, almost unrealistic way.

The main characters were both immature as adult and too mature as teens at the same time, and they weren’t necessarily believable as either. FMC refers to “deflowering one another” and wanting to “ravage” MMC. As a freshman. As a secret admirer. So maybe I'm a little old school, but is that not creepy language? Then when they become adults, they just felt more like teenagers in their behaviors and choices. (And the bathroom humor. Oy.) The FMC was engaged but he knocked up their wedding planner, and she won’t unfollow him on social media. That’s the impetus of this book. She gets super drunk over the fact that she saw photos of them and blames him for not removing her as a follower and emails her high school crush. (Who is still thinking about a high school crush at 30? Am I crazy? Is she? She was engaged to someone else!) And then confuses me even more by writing a novel in which her FMC is the other woman. (And they’re banging it out by page 35?!)

I wasn't sold on their chemistry either. Perhaps it was the fast timeframe of the novel? Perhaps it was the quirky girl meets normal dude that I just don't necessarily buy long term? Gracie was obsessed with him--still thinking about him 15 years later--but then I need more from Colin, especially when I get his POV, to really sell me on their romance, and it wasn't there for me.

Mostly, I think the pacing and storytelling style was not for me. Because the two mains have history, there’s quite a bit of past events explained—somehow, despite the two mains not really interacting much in the past—but not in flash backs. This is not a dual timeline novel. But the way it’s done makes it read heavy, clunky, and disjointed at first. Even further into the story, I felt like I was just being randomly told tales rather than being sucked into the story.

The pacing is quick and moving like a YA novel or a Rom-Com, which makes it a very quick and easy read, but the beats were off for me. It’s 25% before the mains do anything more than email each other. Because the writing in snappy and moves things along, it doesn't feel like 25%, but it's still 25%. The third act conflict begins around 60%, and occurs basically right after they have sex. Now it does seem to take the entire third act, and felt incredibly realistic in terms of how long it took to unfold and everything, so I’m actually not sure the third act conflict is a negative for me. For it got a little bogged down and lost in some of the other pacing, and because it took so long, it also felt anti-climatic at the same time. I didn’t love how the FMC blamed the MMC for “ruining her life again” after I thought she’d made some growth and breaks up with him. Again, immature in an odd way. She used his stories as fodder for her novel, but somehow he ruined her life?

This is a closed door novel despite the FMC writing “smut” and using words like “ravage” when talking about the MMC. I don’t mind closed door, but this felt like another Wrong Mr. Right bait and switch. I mind that.

I also found the ending to be a little lacking. I felt like Gracie needed to grovel a bit more and I needed to see them together post-reconciliation. Colin's ending line is cute, but I would've loved one more chapter or an epilogue or something to see them together some time later. Could've done it when the book was about to be published or something to tie it all together.

There's some... interesting mentions of fat at the beginning that raise a flag for me. MMC mentions having 13% body fat. FMC mentions little bits of fat under her bra. And then the FMC is like 5'6" and 145lbs and somehow "curvy"? No. Just no. Only mentioning in case that bothers anyone who might be reading this.

Also also, does Colin ever find out that she was the one writing him letters in high school??? This felt like a big plot point to just never resolve.

All in all, this book was not for me. I would've liked it if basically all of it had been fleshed out better. That being said, I'll still recommend this book because it might be for someone else!!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC of this title in exchange for an honest review!

Gracie Landing: A struggling Writer
Colin Yarmouth: An Estate Lawyer
They were in the same high school
Gracie had a major crush on him
He was a jock, she was a nerd.

Years later, due to a drunken email from Gracie to Colin they start talking again. Both are going through a difficult breakup and betrayal from their partners they have no faith in love or happy ever after.
Gracie's suffering from a writer's block she cannot write her romance book because her romance life is below zero at the moment.
What's Gracie didn't expect that she would find inspiration throughout her emails with Colin and that it will help her with her novel.

What started as an email exchange turned into phone calls and multiple dates.
Could the relationship she dreamed of having with Colin since she was a teenager turns into a reality? Will the fantasy live up to the real stuff?

Gracie's character was relatable as much as super funny. I liked her strength and humour and even when she felt weak she believed in her self and tried again and again.
As for Colin, he is a cinnamon roll hero so sweet and kind he has issues of his own but we were able to see how his character developed step by step along with Gracie.

Humorous & emotional
Romantic& sweet
Funny& realistic
Sexy Banter
Dual Povs
Medium Paced
Slow Burn Romance

Enjoyed it and highly recommended
Make sure to check it out
Xoxo💋

Thank you to @netgalley and the publisher for granting me an ARC of #TheBookProposal in exchange for my honest review.

The Book Proposal is K.J. Micciche’s debut novel, which is always a gamble since it can go really well or in the other direction. And, to be honest the synopsis was really promising, a romance author reconnects with her high school crush and end up teaming up to write her new manuscript. So far so good, and the beginning was set for a light fun rom-com, but some elements felt like they weren’t paired with the story.

My biggest problem sometimes was the writing style. As I mentioned before it’s a pretty light book that can be read in one sitting, but sometimes it might leave the reader with some doubts. The main character, Gracie Landing, being an author, spent some of the book describing whole scenes that felt misplaced when introduced in some parts, and the same happened with some anecdotes that she was telling the reader. It felt like they came out of nowhere, sometimes bringing something to the story and sometimes they felt like simple filling if you don’t mind my expression.

Another thing that bothered me was that the book is categorized as a romance but I felt like it could be paired more with the women’s fiction genre. Both main characters engaged in what we call romance but it was so brief and so short in its description that it felt like it didn’t happen at times. And, right near the ending I felt like the main character didn’t have any kind of development in her journey, feeling a little bit repetitive in her decision since they were similar to some that happened right at the beginning of the story.

Apart from that, I’ll give the author kudos for the drama that she created at all moments. It kept me entertained and made me want to get to the ending as quickly as possible!

*ARC kindly provided by SOURCEBOOKS Casablanca via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

As a librarian, I'm a sucker for a book about a writer. Gracie doesn't disappoint as a quirky and loveable protagonist. We enter the story while she is having a bad case of writer's block. A run-in with an old crush re-ignites her life and her imagination. But the inspiration she uses in her story has the potential to ruin everything.

This was fantastic and such a fun read. I loved it so much and kept turning the pages. Can’t wait to be able to share this with friends.

I'm so disappointed! The premise sounded great and I was excited to read this. I loved the idea of the main character being a romance author, and I thought it would be fun to learn about the process of writing her books. There were some funny elements, but overall the execution was poor. It was slow, then rushed, then ended. And I really didn't need to read about Alfredo diarrhea in her pants.

Overall it had so much potential but it just didn't work. Maybe with a huge edit and rewrite it could be good.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC!

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

I really wanted to like this book. I thought it was such a cute concept and it sounded great but I could not for her life of me get into it at all. Attempted several times and just couldn’t enjoy it. Did my best though.

I liked the premise: a romance author drunk messaging her former high school crush igniting a connection between them again.

I just didn’t feel the chemistry and even though they were adults in their 30s, it felt like they were still in high school. They didn’t act like adults.

Writing quality was good, concept good but wasn’t for me.

This was a weird reading experience. There were some things in this book that were really off-putting, and made it hard for me to even finish the book, must less enjoy it.

First, while I did like seeing the MC (a romance author) have fun with her profession, I cannot be ok with her writing a cheater as a hero character, no matter the justification. Second, I do not need to read about the MC's bodily functions. I mean, there are tactful ways to show a character struggling with real physical discomfort; this was not the case here. Finally, I feel like there were some things included in this book just for the "because I can" factor. They added nothing to the story, nothing to the characters' development, and did not strengthen the plot in any way.

Overall, this was a miss for me.

Gracie used to have a crush on Collin in high school, slipping anonymous love notes in his locker. Until his friends got their hands on the notes and started making fun of whoever wrote them. And until Collin got with another girl. Now, Grace is trying to finish writing her romance novel, Collin on her mind as her male protagonist, and she sends him a drunken email out of nowhere on a Friday night. They exchange emails back and forth, him trying to find out more about where she's at, her to push him away at first, then getting caught in the epistolary relationship that quickly evolves into a phone relationship. She is excited to get a proposition for an incredible book deal most writers can only dream of, but it means she has to write a second novel and is not sure about her idea, so Collin, now a lawyer, offers her to read what she has so far and give her feedback.
This is a funny second chance, closed door romance, I liked it a lot! I read the ebook and listened to the audio book, and the narration in dual POV was great, although in the audio version the reading of the email headers was annoying.
You'll find there is lots on focus on body image and relationship to food, and quite a lot of talk about going to the bathroom, and digestion, which I'm not sure I like... I know it's part of life, and natural, but it takes a bit too much space in a romance... on the other hand, it does give a more down-to-earth, realistic spin to romance.
I loved to see her thought process on Gracie writing her novel. And I loved the flashbacks. And I also loved Evan.
There is a very original/unexpected twist that leads to the 3rd act breakup, and I was pleasantly surprised. Although it does lead to a bit of an overreaction of the FMC. I get that she's disappointed (she's totally entitled to be), but she overreacts and acts too impulsively while drunk, dumping a guy who never intentionally did anything bad, it was really an honest mistake, and he's genuinely trying to fix the situation that rose from the twist. I also found the ending a bit abrupt, I would've loved to read at least an epilogue to see where life took the MCs (although you can easily imagine).
Finally, the characters in this book should seriously reconsider their relationship with alcohol...
I totally recommend this fun and entertaining read!
I received an advance review copy for free and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Gracie's life is a mess- her relationship went kaput, she can't finish her novel, and so on- and then, after a few two many drinks, she emails Colin, her high school love. So- second chance romance? Well, as it turns out, the two of them swap stories and then he encourages her to use bits of his own failed romances in her book. Not a good idea, it turns out. This is funny in spots but I kept thinking these two were very immature for 30 somethings, Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC, Will make a good beach read.

Gracie is a romance writer whose fiancé left her for their wedding planner after the wedding planner became pregnant. She ends up getting drunk and emailing her high school crush. They start chatting and it’s a whirlwind romance. Until it isn’t…

This book tried so hard to be trendy with the writing and the wordplay. It was a cute story but I don’t love “instalove. I thought Gracie was a bit immature and Colin seemed too perfect at some points. Overall it was decent but nothing to write home about for me.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Do you ever scroll on Netflix looking for the perfect rom-com with a main character that's a mess, just so you can feel a little better about yourself? This book is that rom-com.

Grace is an author struggling to finish her latest manuscript after her fiance left her. One drunken night she emails her high school crush. That email changes the trajectory of her life.

Colin is recently divorced and an unhappy lawyer following in his father's footsteps. The email he receives gives him some excitement in his life.

What starts as email penpals turns into so much more. But Grace and Colin make a big mess before they figure it out.

I am sorry I didn’t enjoy this book more. It started out REALLY strong, and I genuinely liked it, but there’s just something missing for me. It compares, for me, with titles like Talk Bookish to Me and Beach Read. As lovely as it is to read a friends to lovers / second chance romance, I feel like I enjoyed the lead up to the romance part more than the romance itself. Maybe this is about me but I would be curious to know if others felt the same. That said, Colin and Gracie, our protagonists, do have a similar in person vibe as the one generated through the email exchanges that dominate the early part of the book. I also just thought about The Happy Ever After Playlist how the beginning is via text and phone but then the in person is just as good or even better. I don’t know if this happens here for Colin and Gracie. I like the surprises, the characters and their development, but there’s just something that doesn’t work for me with this title and I can’t quite put my finger on it.

Micciche writes a fun, romance comedy. The beginning was a little hard to get into. There were a lot of backstories of when Gracie was in high school. While some of that was necessary to show the connection between Gracie and Colin, there was a little too much. However, once the book moved on from that, it was so much fun to read. I think, for me, the best part about this book is that the characters never took themselves seriously. I read some of the reviews that said that the characters felt immature. Let me tell you, I’m 38 and my husband is 39. We were with some friends, and we had a full-on conversation about farts! Age doesn’t mean you have to be serious all the time. Also, when people are comfortable with each other, they don’t care about those things. Anyway, I enjoyed the little twist that I didn’t see coming at all. When I read it, I was left with my mouth agape! The author handled that twist artfully. I really enjoyed this debut novel, and I would recommend it to anyone that likes a good rom-com.

Before anything else, I want to thank the publisher for providing me a an Arc of this book. Unfortunately, I have to say that it was a major disappointment.

The writing style was honestly terrible, and it made reading the book an extremely cringey and uncomfortable experience. The author attempted to inject humor into the story, but the jokes just fell flat or made me feel awkward. Plus, the main female character was downright insufferable, and the main male character was nothing more than a bully gym bro.

I tried my best to get through the book, but I just couldn't do it. I had to DNF it at around 40%. The characters were unrelatable, and the plot seemed to be going nowhere.

All in all, I wouldn't recommend this book to anyone. It was bad, plain and simple. If you're looking for a good read, look elsewhere.

Quick Summary: A hilariously funny rom-com with life lessons hidden in plain sight

My Review: The Book Proposal by K.J. Micciche was a hoot and a holler. It was such a funny reading and listening experience that I cannot help but want to engage in the same kind of antics the author used. (I totally could, but I won't. Darn it!)

This creative story within a story within a story... (you get the picture) was a rip roarin' laugh. The characters, from the leads to the supports, were perfectly delightful. Even the not so great characters served to add texture to the story.

The very peculiar and downright unique circumstances experienced by Gracie and Colin were so unexpected. Still, the twists and turns that came with them doing life and being in relationships were understandable. Witnessing them maneuver work and home life situations showed the colorful meaning of growth and self realization.

My Final Say: Readers will love this book. It will sneak up on you and let it loose. (See what I did there? Lol.) Seriously, this book is a good time. I highly recommend it.

Rating: 4.5/5
Recommend: Yes
Audience: A

Thanks to the author, to Dreamscape Media, and to Sourcebooks Casablanca for making this wonderful work available for review via NetGalley. The words I have happily shared are my own and have been voluntarily submitted. I appreciate the opportunity.

This book had all the elements to be an extremely cute romcom. And it did have some very cute moments but for me it just kind of fell flat.

I was really intrigued by this book being about a romance author who is sort of delving into a teenage crush and that that reconnection is what sparks an idea for her latest romance book.

It was a little weird that these are 30-year-old adults, but they're still acting like teenagers. And it didn't feel like there was enough chemistry between these two.

I think part of the problem was the fact that you don't really see their relationship. You more hear about it. And it just seemed to go from email exchange to them being really into each other.

The writing was very cute and there were definitely some very sweet moments in this book. And I really liked the fact that part of this book is written in their email exchange. It felt very easy to read.

There were some elements that felt a little unnecessary like there was a lot of STD talk in this book that I could have done without.

I can definitely see myself reading from this author again.

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Casablanca for an E-arc in exchange for an honest review.

Imagine sending a drunk email to your highschool crush. What would you say? For me I don't think it would go over that well and just cause more damage than good but wouldn't solve anything. In this story a drunk email helps two people fall in love. I really enjoyed reading their love story but honestly skipped over some bits about the past that didn't seem to have anything to do with their relationship.

Thank you to NetGallery and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.