2025 & 2026 Reading Challenge discussion

This thread is to discuss The Proposal, the second book in The Wedding Date series by Jasmine Guillory.

Pages: 325 pages

Length: 1 month (January)

Participants: Ashleigh, Rebecca, D.L.

Everyone reads at their own pace during a Buddy Read. Because participants can be at different parts of the book at different times, it is extremely important to mark spoilers so that the book is not ruined for someone who is not as far along as others!!!

Mark spoilers by placing {spoiler} before the text and {/spoiler} after the text but use the < and > instead of the { and }.

I read the first Wedding Date book a year or 2 ago and am looking forward to continuing the series now :)

I haven't read the first one even though I bought both books at the same time! I sometimes read romance series out of order though :-D

D.L. wrote: "I read the first Wedding Date book a year or 2 ago and am looking forward to continuing the series now :)"

I also read The Wedding Date over a year ago, but I did like it! I enjoyed her characters. Looking forward to this one :)

My plan is to start this one tomorrow. We’ll see if I stick to that plan! 🤣

^^ Awesome. I started it. I just finished chapter 2.

(view spoiler)[I feel for Nikole. OMG I would be so embarrassed if someone proposed to me on the JumboTron, even if I did love them, and especially if I didn't lol The lack of intimacy and privacy - I mean, so many people are watching!! - would be too much for me to appreciate the moment. I am so glad Carlos and his sister rescued her.

Nik was brave though to trust perfect strangers enough to get into their car. I'd be wigged out if they asked me to take a ride with them haha That said, Nik and Carlos have an easy camaraderie between them already that should make for a fun romance. Looking forward to reading more! (hide spoiler)]

I read through chapter five yesterday, and I (view spoiler)[ really like the banter between Nik and Carlos, and I love how supportive Nik’s friend group is. I agree 100% that the proposal was awful. How embarrassing!! (hide spoiler)]

I'm aiming to start this in the next day or so! Once I finish my current read.

I’ve made it through chapter ten now, and this is really such an enjoyable read.

Read through chapter 14 today and (view spoiler)[ the two of them don’t even seem to realize they’re falling for each other since they’re so concerned about keeping these casual. Also, I’m worried about Carlos’s heart. Is he going to have a health scare before the end of the novel??? And, the food descriptions!!! I’m getting so hungry reading this!! (hide spoiler)]

I just finished chapter 10.

(view spoiler)[Nik and Carlos have good chemistry. I like Carlos. He is a pretty solid romantic interest so far. I like he's not like one of those alpha heroes who beats his chest (metaphorically or otherwise lol) or takes himself too seriously. He has a nice sense of humor too. I think Nik and Carlos are quickly going to realize they don't just want a no-strings relationship because they are already thinking about each other a lot. I like the side characters. My worry is maybe something will go wrong with Carlos's cousin who has pregnancy complications or maybe even Carlos himself because his sister keeps saying he needs to go to the doctor. It feels like foreshadowing but I hope not. I don't want a sad, heavy read. I need some escapism here. This is a cute book so far. I think I like it a little better than the first one in the series. (hide spoiler)]

I am going to try to finish this by tomorrow afternoon.

I'm about 5 chapters in. It's grown on me the more I go on, but I'm not 100% vibing the characters at the moment.

I finished it. I wasn't sure how to rate it. 3.5 stars I guess.

(view spoiler)[I was disappointed by how Carlos, my man, acted when he declared his love for Nikole and she didn't reciprocate. It's like they had agreed to stay casual and then when he went and changed the rules on her, he got upset & acted like the injured party. So in that way, how was he any different than Fisher by springing that admission on her out of the blue? It was a little frustrating that commonality wasn't addressed. I did love the happy ending though. And I teared up at the hospital scene when Jon came out and said the baby and Carlos's cousin were okay. The relief and happiness from everyone was palpable. It was a pretty decent read. Just not quite what I expected I guess. (hide spoiler)]

I finished this one today, and liked but didn't love it, so I came up with 3.5 stars as well.

(view spoiler)[ I had some of the same issues with the third-act breakup that you did, including thinking that it was really babyish of Carlos to storm out of his house when things didn't go the way he expected. I also didn't understand why Nik interpreted that as a break-up instead of just a fight because to me it was kind of obvious that he just needed a minute to get away and collect himself--to deal with his disappointment. I struggled to warm up to her throughout because I felt like her "issues" with relationships were not really clearly given to us until after the third-act breakup. (hide spoiler)]

I do wonder if she's written a book with either Angela or Courtney as a protagonist though because I would love to revisit them.

Rebecca wrote: "I finished this one today, and liked but didn't love it, so I came up with 3.5 stars as well.

[spoilers removed]

I do wonder if she's written a book with either Angela or Courtney as a protagonis..."

I own all the books in the series and looked through them and she doesn't appear to! I was hoping they'd be in it too but it looks like it goes more back to Alexa and her friends in the next books.

Courtney and Angela would have been great protagonists. Bummer!

Final thoughts:

(view spoiler)[In hindsight, Nikole was a bit cold in personality, making her a harder choice to accept for a heroine. She never really thawed out that much either. Does that make sense? lol Carlos definitely was a lovebug for *most* of it the story though lol (hide spoiler)]

I am just about finished and I think it will be a 3 star for me. I'm here for the predictability lol. And it's that. In all honesty, I am struggling with the writing style in this one.

Ashleigh wrote: "I am struggling with the writing style in this one."

I noticed the writing was a little more stilted than in book 1 and the humor didn't flow as well. What are your thoughts on that?

D.L. wrote: "Ashleigh wrote: "I am struggling with the writing style in this one."

I noticed the writing was a little more stilted than in book 1 and the humor didn't flow as well. What are your thoughts on that?"

I definitely felt that the writing in book 1 was a lot better! Which is odd, because usually writing improves in a series.