Book Review, Comedy, Enemies to Lovers, Erotica, Fake relationship, Grumpy/Sunshine, Romance

The Proposal by L. Steele

November 28, 2022November 28, 2022 by Sharon Clayton

ABOUT THE BOOK

I never should have agreed to become his…

Liam Kincaid. Super grumpy. Super grouchy. Super tall, dark …hottie. Whose engagement I was responsible for breaking up.
It was all a big mistake… honest. Only he doesn’t see it that way. He now has to get married and claim his inheritance. And he insists I pay for my error, …by posing as his fake wife and… giving him a child.

It’s not like I have a choice. If I don’t agree he’ll destroy my wedding-planning business. Besides it’s only until he convinces his mother that he’s settled down, he says. We only have to pretend to like each other. Reassure his family and friends that we are in love.Only catch?

We can’t stand the sight of each other. Every time we are in the same space we almost come to blows. But what happens when the chemistry between us detonates?

MY REVIEW

When you mix enemies-to-lovers with grumpy/sunshine tropes you get explosive chemistry and LOL comedy. L. Steele has blown this one out of the water. I have added her to my 2022 favorite author list.

Isla Bailey is an up-and-coming wedding planner and influencer on social media and she has been hired to host the “wedding of the century” for alpha hole billionaire Liam Kincaid. However, Liam’s fiance is getting cold feet and swiftly takes Isla’s advice to dump the douche canoe and run. That leaves a very angry groom with a proposal Isla cannot refuse. His proposal is to marry him and have his heir before he turns 40 so he can inherit the family business. In turn, he will not ruin her and her business. Will the stakes be too high, or will they meet in the middle?

In the beginning, Liam is an arrogant SOB who doesn’t believe in true love. He could care less who he hurts as long as he gets what he wants. But when he gets to know the defiant and headstrong Isla, he’s fascinated, intrigued, and has found the woman of his dreams. Liam has so many contradictions. He is the hard and confident businessman, the sexy and dominant sex god, and the considerate and compassionate husband all in one yummy-filled package. I melted each time Liam fell even more for Isla. I loved that the author added a vulnerable side to Liam. His secret is heartbreaking and I was so annoyed at Isla for not immediately revealing her equally painful secret. However, Liam is not a quitter and I adored his persistence to get Isla to open up. And boy does she finally open up after many agonizing pages of my trying to figure it out. As for the mindblowing sex, Yowsa! Their first encounter in the boat… I think my Kindle caught on fire.

Isla is a hard-working and determined woman and if she has to sacrifice her freedom to make her wedding planner business work, she will do it. However, it wasn’t such a sacrifice the more time she spent with her new husband. His kind and well-thought-out gestures and her growing attraction to him were making it hard to stay with him. She believed her secret made her inferior and he didn’t deserve that. So she pulls away. Fortunately for her, Liam would not give up on them and when she does reveal her secret for all to see, it’s nothing like she expected. And what Liam does to support her is so sweet and moving that this reader shed a few tears.

This book wouldn’t be complete without all of the lovely friends and family who give out some well-deserved advice. I adore the back-and-forth snarky remarks between Zara and Hunter who definitely have some hot chemistry going on. Many of the couples in this book appear to have some wonderful stories of their own which I plan to devour soon.

I love, love, love this book. It has it all. Laughter, anger, anguish, secrets, panty-melting sex, and a happily ever after. What more could one ask for?

Thank you to Ms. Steele for giving me the opportunity to read this book with no expectation of a positive review.