ARC Review: ‘The Proposal Play’ by Lauren Blakely
FTC Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of the book from the author in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
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The Proposal Play
by Lauren BlakelySeries: Love and Hockey #3
Published by Self-Published on January 8, 2025
SubGenres: Contemporary Romance
Format: eArc
Pages: 528
Source: the author
Audience: 18+/Adult
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My plan when I win a date in Vegas with my brother’s hockey star best friend? Poker and go to sleep early. Instead, I wake up with a ring on my finger and the sexy athlete naked in my bed.
But Asher’s my best friend too so we’ll get this annulled and laugh about this secret for years to come.
Trouble is our wedding pics went viral overnight.
Now everyone thinks we’re a real couple. We race back home, where I’ve just landed the big art commission of my dreams and he’s launching a sports charity so we need to look like we meant to tie the knot.
Easy enough. We’ll claim we’ve been secretly in love, while staying in separate rooms for the rest of the hockey season.
The last thing either one of us wants is to ruin a decade-long friendship by falling into bed again.
But I experience a new side of my husband at home. He cooks for me, encourages me…and buys me so many toys.
And, it’s more fun to share your toys with a friend.
We’re just enjoying temporary marital benefits.
Except, the more times he calls me his wife, the more I start to wonder if Asher was ever pretending?
And if my heart is ready to take the biggest risk of all.
I’m starting the new year with a book that is already being added to my favorites for 2025. I gave it five stars and honestly, I wish I could give it more. I absolutely loved everything about The Proposal Play, but what stood out to me the most was the Best Friends to Lovers trope. This is one trope I’ve always enjoyed reading, and Lauren wrote it beautifully.
This story features not only the Friends to Lovers but the Marriage of Convenience trope, and it was quite different from anything I’ve read before. It revolves around a Marriage Pact between two best friends, Asher and Maeve, who are unforgettable characters. I loved these two so much and this review very well could go on all about Asher and Maeve.
This book is quite lengthy, but every moment spent reading about Asher and Maeve’s journey to their happily ever after is worth it. Asher has been secretly in love with Maeve for years, and now that they are temporarily married, he’s determined to make it permanent. However, there’s a problem: Maeve believes their marriage is fake and remains unaware that her best friend harbors feelings for her. She is about to be swooned by Asher throughout the book, and I was here for it. I loved the moment she realized he was in love with her.
Asher truly won my heart with his determination to show how much he loved Maeve. I won’t give anything away because readers should fully enjoy everything that Asher does for her. However, my favorite moment was when he gifted her an art studio at his place. What a sweetheart! He’s definitely making it onto my book boyfriend list, which is getting quite long, and Maeve is one lucky girl to have him.
Asher reminded me a lot of myself and the challenges he faced in the story. I loved how Maeve supported him, even though he had a hard time at first accepting something was wrong. I could relate to his character deeply, as it reflects something I deal with daily.
I loved Maeve as well because she supported Asher at every step, including the charity project he was involved in with her brother. She was his lucky charm, and it seemed inevitable that they would end up together. They were there for each other and made the perfect couple; it just took getting married in Las Vegas for them to realize it.
When it comes to spice, you can expect plenty of it in a Lauren Blakely book. Asher may be seen as a ‘Cinnamon Roll,’ but he tends to take charge in the bedroom—in a good way. =)
I previously mentioned in my review that I wish I could give this book more than five stars because it truly deserves it. I loved everything about this book and can’t wait to read more books from Lauren Blakely.
Single/Dual POV: Dual POV.
Standalone or Part of Series: It’s an interconnected standalone in the Love and Hockey Series.
Would I recommend this book? Yes. If you love reading Friends-to-Lovers romance, add this book to your TBR now.
What to Expect:
💜Sports/Hockey Romance
💜Brother’s Best Friend
💜Marriage of Convenience
💜Marriage Pact
💜Best Friends to Lovers
💜He Falls First (He’s Been Secretly in Love with Her for Years)
💜Forced Proximity
💜Mental Health Rep
This post contains affiliate links you can use to purchase the book. If you buy the book using that link, I will receive a small commission from the sale. It will help sponsor future giveaways but costs you nothing extra. You can read the full disclosure underneath the Privacy Policy.
About Lauren Blakely
A #1 New York Times Bestselling, #1 Wall Street Journal Bestselling, and #1 Audible Bestselling author, Lauren Blakely is known for her contemporary romance style that’s cute but spicy. Lauren likes dogs, cake, and show tunes and is the vegetarian at your dinner party.
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My obsession with reading started over 30+ years ago when I went to my first Scholastic Book Fair and found R.L. Stine's Fear Street series. Later, I came across Anne Rice's novels at my public library when I was fourteen when my obsession with vampires started. I was the girl who preferred to be a vampire over a princess any day. My husband says I would leave him a heartbeat for a vampire that looked like Spike or Angel (from Buffy the Vampire Slayer) or Damon Salvatore from The Vampire Diaries. (It's true, though, and he's accepted it.)
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