I'm quitting this book at 87%

I wanted to finish it, I wanted to like it, but I can't do it anymore.

First, read content warning: abuse and take that seriously abuse in the pages through literally 80% of this book.

Things I liked:
The cast of characters for the most part, Han and Kenny's families were great. Han's cousins and everyone good.

The idea of the story was good.

You could feel that the two MCs cared about each other.

Things I didn't like:
I went into this thinking it was going to be a fun love story through marriage of connivence of two best friends that have been in love all of their lives and needed a situation to realize that. What I got was one of the two mc being mentally and physically abused through most of this book by his partner and having to escape that relationship. Had I actually been prepared for how much and how long the abuse would last in this book I wouldn't have read it.

I quit at 87% and we had 3 hours of the two MCs being honest about their feelings for each other before the were pulled apart by the abusive ex.

Much of the story was around one of the MCs being undocumented and constantly being worried and I understand that on a personal level, and I really wanted to see how he gets through that but I cannot read anymore about this damn ex.

TLDR: This book is about a guy in an abusive relationship that's in love with his best friend and is trying to help his best friend and escape the abuse all the way through, be mentally prepared for it not being a light or loving romance.

I love Sonora Reyes’ books so it shouldn’t be a surprise that I loved this one too. Was it a little far fetched in places? Yes. But somehow it worked.

This book has everything that I love: friends-to-lovers, roommates-to-lovers & marriage of convenience. I just wish that the relationship didn’t feel so rushed. Even everything with Jackie was revealed & then tied up very quickly.

I recommend this book to everyone who is needing a queer love story with a happy ending right now.

Thank you to NetGalley & Forever publishing for a copy of this book.

The best kind of fake dating stories are when is when the relationship is fake to everyone but the people in the relationship. The Broposal exactly fits this bill! Kenny and Alejandro (Han) have been best friends since the age of six. When Han gets fired from his job and Kenny breaks up with his toxic on and off again girlfriend, they decide to get fake married so Han can get his green card.

No one believes it's fake and both Kenny and Han are unsure of how real or fake their new relationship status is. This story is a gay awakening (Han) and awakening the desire to choose your own happiness, even when it seems impossible (Kenny). It's the story of a couple seeing what was always right in front of them and the supportive people who have their back.

And the audio. gorgeous! This is a really gentle story of choosing love in a hard life. (Read it!)

TW: Immigration status, homophobia, death of a parent (off-page)

This is a 4 1/2 ⭐️ for me and as always i will round it up. This my first book of Sonora. And i am hooked now. Watch me go out and read what ever else they have written.
I realized the past books that i have been reading are book that resonates with me. Are struggles that are happening right now in my life/ my close ones. While the book is a romance one. It is so much than that. It touches so much heavier topic than romance. Just like Han i have relatives that had to marry to stay in a country. Like Kenny i have family, friends that have been mentally and physically abused by people who were supposedly in love with them. This story was a breath of fresh air as much as it was gut wrenching. And i haven’t even touch the bisexuality of Kenny, and would you believe if i said i am bisexual just like, in a heterosexual passing relationship just like he was. And one of my biggest pet peeves is somebody telling me that i am straight just because i am in a relationship with the opposite sex. I don’t understand and i wish i could say it was just straight people who think like that but alas. Our own community is biphobic and it’s so upsetting.
I hated Jackie from her first appearance of the book. She really made my blood boil, i wanted to just get inside the book and honestly do more than Leti did(violence all the way). Can i gush about the representation in this book. Oh my god, the smile on my face. Thank you Sonora. I loved Han and Kenny relationship throughout the book. I love the fact that even when they didn’t acknowledge or know exactly why or how they were the only true thing for eo. Like my baby Kenny couldn’t decide anything in his life but when he comes to Han he said get the fuck out of my car(the way hollered). 10/10 do it again Kenny. Its the first book i read where the author ask questions at end so im gonna answer them.
1) i think the moment Han realized he was in love with Kenny was when he kept labeling everything he id as him being homophobic and not in love 😂. Kenny for me was the moment he chose han over Jackie.
2) I related to Kenny the most, because not too long ago I was just like him give and give no matter what it could have done to me. The little to no confidence in myself. The self doubt.
3) everything about Han the anxiety, the attacks, the autism. But also everything of Kenny the emotional awareness, the dysfunction. As mentioned above i am queer, an immigrant, recently lost a parent.
4) i loved the balance throughout the book. I had my laughing moment till i can’t breathe. And my bawling my eyes moments. It was perfect
5)i laughed the most at Grindr hookup. I mean my baby had the best intentions. It’s not his fault he interpreted it wrong.At least they got food out of it😂
6)i think like all of us we try to block most things that hurt us. Voluntarily or not. Han was 5 when something that should have never happened to him by someone who brought him to the world. I think it’s a totally normal answer for trauma. Subconsciously he wasn’t ready-to unlock them all. Not when he couldn’t even cry or show emotions. I was surprised i didn’t connect it to his mom, but it totally makes sense. Sometimes you keel the good memories, you keep the good part of the people who loves you even when you dont know it yet.
7)They complemented eo. He could see the person they see in eo in the other pov. We got Han telling us how and absolutely badass Kenny is an advocate for others when the 💩is not around.And that’s basically what we saw Kenny do, confronted Daniel when he needed to.
8) if the Broposal was made into a movie i dont really know i dont watch that much movies. But i would hope that they would do justice to the cast and cast mexican queer actor if not latin queer characters.
Kenny:Omar Rudberg
Han: Rafael L silva
Leti:Michaela Jaé Rodriguez
Tati: idk all i can think about it that gorgeous black actress from co kitty but she us not latina Alita Regan
Jackie: Somebody who is really annoying

9)Best Character dev: Kenny my baby went through alot and after denial. He actually did look at his situation and acknowledged what happened to him, recognized that he deserved better.Stood up for himself.
Suffered the most: Han’s mom addictions have to be so hard, and knowing that she was suffering not having her son, feeling unworthy oh god. And she didn’t beat it, she didn’t make it at the end.
Funniest Character: it’s a tie between Han and Kenny. The crisis over them being in love with eo peak comedy.
Most Hated: Do i even have to say it Jackie, jail her please.
Most underrated: kenny’s dad i can see where kenny got the overflowing emotions. My man is always cooking. Best believe i would be making some Elotes
The reasons their therapist go to therapy: Han and Kenny cause those first moments they realize what is happening between them i would need a glass of wine while listening to them.

Song:Latch (Sam Smith/ Disclosure)

Thank you to Netgalley and forever for the Arc in exchange of my honest and way to long review.

This friends to lovers romance follows Kenny and Hans as they plan to marry to secure Han's life in the states (he is on a work visa). As always Sonora makes us fall in love with the character. This is a powerful story about friendship, self discovery, love, and family. I feel like this is something that is relatable right now with the crisis going on in the US with immigration.

The Broposal, like Reyes’ other books, covers some pretty intense topics. Reyes does a good job of balancing out these heavy topics with humor and heart, but this story was definitely a rollercoaster of emotions.

I really enjoyed the fake dating (but is it really fake?) element of this story. It’s hard to go from life long friends to something more without risking everything. There was so much mutual pining and I absolutely loved it. I was truly rooting for these two with my whole heart. The way they care for one another, and understand each other, and know how to read each other so well is just beautiful. I was also totally here for the side story involving drag! I wasn’t expected that and was very delighted when I got to it!

And there is so much rep in this story: a predominantly Latine/POC cast of characters from across the LGBTQ+ spectrum, anxiety and autism rep in the MCs, plus Han is undocumented which is a large aspect of this story. It was such a powerful, heartwarming story of family, friendship, love, and self discovery. This story, while it was a fictional story, also helped me get a glimpse of the perspective of those who are the most impacted by the current political landscape in the US around immigration.

The part of the story I just didn’t vibe with (partly cause it’s a trigger for me) is Jackie - Kenny’s gf/ex-gf depending on where you’re at in the story. She was a truly evil and heinous human being. There is not one good thing to say about her (and I don’t think there’s supposed to be). And while her actions were the impetus behind other things that happened in the story, it just got to be way too much for me. Aside from that, though, this was a truly great read!

Thank you so much to @netgalley to read and review an ARC of The Broposal!

My review may be tardy but this book could not more important during this time.

Let me tell you what moved me:

💍The Broposal by Sonora Reyes is a romance that stands both in love and in the face of abuse. Our MCs are both in their own hellscape: one of domestic abuse, and one of constant fear of deportation. Kenny is an incredibly emotionally and physically unsafe relationship with his high school girlfriend that he just can't seem to leave. Han is in constant fear of getting close to anyone in case he is found by I C E. Both men are forced to tip toe through life, except with one another. I thought it was really powerful to show the realities of these situations. It is not easy just because you have a good group of friends to escape the self view that you are not enough and escape an abusive partner. It is not easy or even realistic to just "follow the rules" and you never have to live in fear of I C E again. However, I also really appreciated that there was a method of escape for these two through their friendship, our favorite romantic trope of marriage of convenience, some much needed legal and civil council, and an incredible community of people.
💍 Speaking of community, the different communities around Han and Kenny may be my favorite part of this book. The drag community that are so openly themselves, supporting Kenny every step of the way. Kenny's family, that just wants both Kenny and Han to be loved and happy above all else. Han's extended family that have embraced him as their own no matter his immigration status, sexual identity, or fractured relationship with his parents. All of these people show Kenny and Han how to show up for one another time and time again. They call them out when they are harming one another while creating the space for them to grow, assuring them they will have a place to land if they need it.

Out now, I highly encourage you to pick up a copy of The Proposal today.

#books #bookstagram #romance #NetGalley #ARC #The Broposal #review

Overall, I really enjoyed this one! I loved both Han & Kenny and it was super easy to root for them! I think at times there were too many things going on which took away from the main storyline a little bit and I wish the end wasn’t as rushed as it was! So this is one that didn’t disappoint but didn’t quite live up to the hype for me but still one I’d recommend!

agrees but their new reality will be anything but easy. This is a beautiful story of love, healing, and what it means to be seen by someone who’s always been there.

"When Kenny proposes to his best friend Han, neither expects the complicated feelings and unexpected love that follows." J. Orozco
4.5 ⭐
Bookthreads

from the beginning, i knew this book was going to be one to remember. there was a lot happening. i felt all kinds of feelings-mad, sad, frustrated, happy, emotional-while reading.

han and kenny are such complex characters each going through a difficulty. han is undocumented and in denial of his true feelings for his best friend; kenny leaves a toxic relationship but still has some lingering attachment towards his ex. they both make decisions for the well-being of the other. it was clear hand and kenny would do anything because of their love for each other.

this book had lots of love and sacrifices, and the story is very much relevant especially in today’s time. it was kind of a heavy read but totally worth it.

✨ childhood best friends
✨ marriage-of-convenience
✨ immigration/ profiling
✨ addiction
✨ abusive/toxic relationship
✨ family
✨ queerphobia

thank you to @readforever for the arc!

This is a hella cute romance about 2 roommates who plan to get married so that one of them can get a green card. It has all the tropes and is just delightful overall. I did think a lot of the tone read more YA so I was always a little thrown by the adult scenes (those definitely did exist) and I could have done with a little less drama in certain scenes.... but the main 2 characters were so likeable that I still loved it!

Thanks to NetGalley, Sonora Reyes, and Hachette Audio for the chance to read and review. My opinions are my own.

I absolutely love this one. A joy and tackling immigration in a beautiful and impactful way. Really need to go back and read Reyes' first book now!

Thank you to Netgalley, Hachette Audio and Forever publishing for my copies to read and enjoy.

At first I wasn’t sure if I’d enjoy this book but I was wrong I thoroughly enjoyed it. I loved both Kenny and Han. They were so cute together. I did not understand Kenny and his desire to want to stay with Jackie, I HATE HER! She’s the absolute worst. I was thinking of the story went in a different direction we would learn that she had lied and he wouldn’t be the father. But she’s a horrible person and I hope she gets her karma. I was sad for Han and how he was always living in fear of being deported. I can’t imagine what people in the US are going through right now with that daily fear and not knowing who they can trust. It would be terrifying. But I did enjoy the friends to lovers trope in the story. And how cute were Kenny’s parents. I laughed and I almost cried as well in this book.

I also really enjoyed the narrators, I liked that both characters had their own narrator and voices.
I’d recommend this read to everyone.

Kenny, fresh out of a toxic relationship, makes a bold move to keep his best friend Han from being deported. Han, terrified of losing the life he’s built, agrees but their new reality will be anything but easy. This is a beautiful story of love, healing, and what it means to be seen by someone who’s always been there.

"When Kenny proposes to his best friend Han, neither expects the complicated feelings and unexpected love that follows." J. Orozco
4.5 ⭐
Bookthreads
@sonora.reyes @netgalley

I enjoyed watching these two dummies figure out they were in love even though everyone around them already knew it. Lots of sweet and funny moments here interspersed with more serious topics so please check the content warnings.

This is the author’s first adult romance and it felt to me as if they’re still trying to find their balance in crossing over from a young adult audience. At times both of the MC’s motivations and actions felt very young and the “evil” characters came off as a little cartoonish.

But even so… I laughed and I cried and I thoroughly enjoyed myself! I’m very much looking forward to whatever they write next.

I ended up finishing this book in audio and the dual narration by Andre Santana and Alejandro Antonio Ruiz was perfect.

3.5 stars rounded up

I really wanted to enjoy this book. But I hated the antagonist Jackie. She was the worst. She made my blood boil. I really wanted to reach into the book and slap her. The writing was well done and the narration of the audiobook was great. I just couldn't get past Jackie. This book stressed me out and I like books to be an escape. This one wasn't.

Heat Factor: Both times were just at peak stress moments (in the text) for me and I couldn’t deal.

Character Chemistry: I think I genuinely felt what they meant to each other, but I was so stressed out by Kenny in particular that it was really hard to let go and feel it

Plot: Han is trying to get a green card and not succeeding, so his best friend proposes to him, but their lives are both just incredibly messy

Overall: This one’s for the readers who like plenty of realism in their romance, and I’ll tell you why.

The Broposal is marketed as a green card marriage of convenience, best friends to lovers romance. That’s why I picked it up on NetGalley. This book is mostly that, except that Han and Kenny don’t get married until the very end, so the conflict doesn’t only stem from the liability of the marriage under false pretenses (which are present because they start the paperwork process after their engagement), it also stems from the fact that there are significant forces in their lives that can result in Han being detained and deported before the marriage occurs. The story is a balance of daily stressors both Han and Kenny have to deal with, and also just day-to-day life events that make them happy, like feeding the feral cats at their apartment, going to drag shows, and rewarding themselves with pizza after doing chores. But yeesh, the stressors are numerous and persistent.

When I say that this one’s for the readers who like plenty of realism in their romance, I’m referring to two general things: the characterization and the politics.

The Politics
Let’s start with the softball. Han is undocumented. He came to the US to live with his tíos after his mom tried to sell him for drugs and has lived in the US since he was about six years old. He’s been trying to find a legal avenue for becoming documented, but it’s not working, and he’s in an extremely vulnerable position. ICE already sucked (the 100 mile border, steamrolling rights problem that affects ⅔ (two thirds!!!) of the US population is the tip of the iceberg), but with the current political situation exacerbating my normal life anxieties, Han’s situation in this book is… it’s a lot. It’s harrowing. There are numerous valuable illustrations of “a day in the life” in this book, absolutely (and I say that as someone already relatively well educated in immigration issues), but my nerves are not made of steel, and I was Stressed. Out.

The Characterization(s)
Part deux of the realism struggle. Kenny is a chronic people pleaser. Why is this a problem? Well, the characterization is actually probably spot on. Chronic people pleasers are so busy trying to make everyone happy that they have a tendency to say what they think people want to hear or what will keep them out of the naughty chair instead of saying—I don’t know—the truth? Kenny cannot, for the life of him, make the right choice when faced with a social emotional problem. He spent years in an abusive relationship (ongoing at the beginning of the book), which impacts his self-esteem and people pleasing significantly. Here’s Kenny:

"Jackie knew me better than I knew myself. When I wasn’t sure about something, she’d make the choice for me. When I didn’t know what to think or how to feel, she was right there to enlighten me. Who even was I without Jackie? Did I even have a personality of my own? Thoughts, feelings, desires, of my own? I wasn’t so sure, and I didn’t want to find out."

So, when Jackie tells him he really shouldn’t wear his planned Halloween costume to the holiday drag show, he doesn’t. She picked out the curtains in his bedroom. She is super controlling, but the only thing she can’t control is Han, and when she issues an ultimatum—after a prior ultimatum that they get engaged or else, so Kenny is engaged twice in, like, a week—Kenny won’t leave Han for her. But of course she keeps showing up. Does Kenny rely on anyone in his circle for support as her intrusions become increasingly sketchy? (I’m gonna say here—if you were recently on a break because your kissfriend cheated on you, first, just make that break permanent, they showed you who they are, and luckily you’re not married yet, BUT, more importantly, when that kiss friend comes and says, “pregnancy,” ask for a DNA test! Make the custody situation legal. Sheesh.) Kenny has every opportunity to approach his problems with help, not only with Han’s help, but with his entire family’s help, and he just doesn’t.

He (nor Han) doesn’t even think of reporting Jackie to her job which is working at a shelter for abused women. She’d get fired so fast if they found out she was slapping her boyfriend around. Like. Come on.

Han also doesn’t rely on others for social emotional help, even when Kenny’s decisions and his ex’s continuing abuse cause some real problems. In fact, one thing I remarked on as I was really in the weeds of this book is that Kenny and Han are completely independent operators. Every single problem is approached independently, without running it by each other or even just venting about it. By the time the problems are exposed, the protagonist in question (usually Kenny) has already made some decisions that impact how it’s going to roll out, and that’s not particularly healthy thinking when they’re in the middle of some pretty big problems to tackle, but it’s also not great for a romance where we want to see the characters growing separately and together.

We do get that character growth, but independently. Where we see Kenny and Han growing together is in their burgeoning romantic feelings for each other. Naturally, because they cannot jeopardize the friendship, these are reserved as long as possible. But given what these characters are dealing with—which, on top of Han’s undocumented status and Kenny’s abuse includes: Kenny and Han’s manager being racist, a mystery of missing money at their job, Han’s estrangement from his parents, his mother’s eventual death from an overdose, Jackie telling Kenny she’s pregnant, Han having a severely sprained or broken ankle that he can’t risk having treated, Han getting fired, Han’s brief stint of homelessness (couch surfing), the weight of family expectations, and I’m sure more little things I’m forgetting—it would have been nice to see some more collaboration, especially with all the extremely supportive side characters these guys surround themselves with. But, again, their characterization is pretty spot on. Kenny is a people pleaser who’s still detangling from his abuser, and Han has an avoidant attachment style because he couldn’t rely on his parents. Rough stuff. And, as a reader, I do enough mental gymnastics with all the people pleasers I actually care about in my life, I don’t really want to spend that energy on my fiction time.

Where does that leave us?
There’s a lot of interesting stuff going on in this book. There’s so much queer rep. There’s a racially diverse cast of characters with lots of different perspectives. Our protagonists are pretty young, but they’re close with their older generations, too. Han is autistic, but with (in my reading experience anyway) a unique presentation because his characterization doesn’t rely on commonly accepted or understood representations of autism (e.g. tics, stims, and also other stuff I don’t really want to articulate because some of those “commonly understood behaviors” derive from seriously misguided “research,” but IYKYK).

I also thought that leaving the wedding for the end was a great choice, because there was really great development in their relationship prior that made the wedding feel earned. It was different than I expected, but it was the right choice for this story.

Ultimately, where I landed is simply that this book wasn’t great for my anxiety levels, but I can totally see an appreciative audience for it, especially those readers who really like their characters to be emotionally messy as long as it makes sense (Ingrid). These guys are young. They have trauma they’ve barely begun to unpack. But they have always had each other, and that relationship has always been a safe and positive space for them. That’s a great place to ride off into the sunset and really build something lovely.*

*Provided the emotional work and therapy continues.

I voluntarily read and reviewed a complimentary copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. We disclose this in accordance with 16 CFR §255.

This review is also available at The Smut Report.

So like this was really good. It was heavier at times than I expected even though I knew it was going to be a heavy book. I honestly feel like Jackie ruined it a little bit for me at times. I'm not going to flat out say that she was too much because I think that sort of representation about abusive relationships is important but at the same time she was so villainous that it was hard to see what any of them would have seen in her for any length of time to allow her to have this power over them.

Overall a very powerful and timely book and one that I think lots of folks need to get their hands on.

Bi MC, gay MC

TW: ice, police, physical and emotional abuse, racism, homophobia, biphobia

This book was a lot heavier than I was expecting which made it difficult to read in the past few weeks, while everything we've taken for granted is so heavy and in so much upheaval. I was like I'll read a queer book to help ease my heart but that... didn't work so well.

Parts of this did in fact ease my heart and make me forget about current affairs. Kenny and Han had such a great caring relationship, and the scenes between them were great.

I would get really into the story and forget the real-world happenings, and then ICE would be brought up and it would be a gut-punch reminder of oh, right, that's what our world is like now. And then I'd get sucked into the story again.

Han being undocumented and scared about ICE discovering him, enough that he couldn't go to the hospital when he broke his ankle so it never healed properly, was hard to read, especially in our current political atmosphere. And the way that was used to threaten him was horrid.

I really liked how most of the characters were Latinx. It immediately created a sense of community that added some much-needed comfort to the book.

Kenny's abusive ex Jackie really threw a wrench in things, and it was hard to watch him trying to stand up to her. She was just so over-the-top evil, though. The second half was hard to read because she just wouldn't go away.

Also, I felt like a lot of situations were glossed over so we didn't really have to delve into feelings or have heart to hearts. Kenny and Han would just suddenly fake a fight or make a joke and run away? That was a little weird. I just wanted them to open up emotionally. I mean the reasons they struggle with that are good, so I understand why they didn't, but it was frustrating.

For all of that, it had a lot of heart and touched on a lot of issues that I care about. I couldn't help but like Kenny and Han. And I really liked Letty. They should have been on page more.

I think I might have had an easier time really getting into the book and enjoying it more if we weren't living in the times we are living in.

The audiobook was really well done. The narrators did a great job bringing Kenny and Han to life. Listening helped with the immersion and with forgetting about the world.

Overall, this was a really good read. I would just recommend saving it for a time when the country isn't in such upheaval.

*Thanks to Forever and Hachette Audio for providing an early copy for review.

Overall, I really enjoyed this one! I loved both Han & Kenny and it was super easy to root for them! I think at times there were too many things going on which took away from the main storyline a little bit and I wish the end wasn’t as rushed as it was! So this is one that didn’t disappoint but didn’t quite live up to the hype for me but still one I’d recommend!