A Novel Proposal - by Denise Hunter (Paperback)

A Novel Proposal is the perfect beach read! Friendship, romance, a little mystery, a beautiful beachside setting...and books! Who doesn't love a book that includes books in its plotline!? Sadie Goodwin is a novelist whose passion is westerns, but her books aren't selling that well. So, her publisher gives her the opportunity to write a romance novel because even though sales arent great, her writing is excellent. But how can a woman who's never been in love write about love? She accepts an invitation from her friend's mother to spend the summer at her beach house to try her hand at writing the romance she's never experienced. When she gets permission to put up a Little Free Library, someone donates a book that has a compartment inside. Sadie opens it to find a beautiful engagement ring and decides right then and there that she must find out who the book belongs to. Sam just wants to be left alone as he tries to mend his broken heart when he finds out his ex-girlfriend is marrying his cousin...whom she cheated on him with. His family is trying hard to get Sam to forgive and join them for the weekend long destination wedding, but the last thing he wants is to try and make it through the event on his own. This is when Sadie and Sam strike a bargain. He'll use his local connections to help her find the owner of the ring, and she'll be his +1 to all the wedding festivities. This is such a cute read! These two have a super fun, relationship that starts pretty rocky, but grows. The mystery of where the ring came from is also a really fun aspect of the story. A very enjoyable read!! I received a complimentary copy of this book through NetGalley. All opinions expressed are my own.

~No Spoilers~ This is such a cleverly written, cute story—and a novel within a novel if that makes any sense. It will when you read it! I typically don't care for humorous books, however, I not only found myself laughing out loud, but also crying fat ugly tears because, well...you know all about that angst Denise Hunter has such a talent for writing. I totally identified with the heroine, Sadie, because we have so much in common. She loves the SC beach, books, kids, dogs, and never meets a stranger. Me neither—and many times like Sadie it's "open mouth - insert foot" time. lol She even built a free library on the beach and included a few of my favorite authors' books! Gotta love Sadie. And then, there's Sam. Perfect gentleman (albeit a bit on the crabby side), easy on the eyes, Sam. However, neither he nor Sadie are interested in anything other than friendship. They team up together to solve a mystery, Sam needs a date to his cousin's wedding, and that's it. Or is it? This is a perfect beach novel to devour when you need a light, fun read. I especially enjoyed the romance writers' epigraphs at the beginning of each chapter! Be sure to put this romantic page-turner at the top of your wishlist! *I received a complimentary ARC from the publisher and was under no obligation to write a favorable review.*