I've been obsessed with this series! I was actually looking forward to Summer's story and how on
Earth would she ever get over the past. I didn't like that much in previous books, but within a few pages, I felt for her. She is such a sweet, with a hard exterior.
Summer's life exploded when she was caught cheating with one of her best friend's boyfriends. Her private life was all out for everyone to see and she lost everyone. Even though the friend she wronged forgave her, most of the others didn't.

Even her twin needed some time. Now her twin, Winter is getting married and Summer is very nervous to attend the wedding. The people she avoided, that look down on her, will all be there.

But there is someone there to make it all better. Archie Hill was on the last adventure with the bride and the groom, he is their friend and a horrible flirt but might be just what she needs. They make a deal. During the week of the wedding, they have fun, no obligation, no strings.

There is sizzling chemistry between them and they connect on many different levels than just physical.

It's such a cute and romantic, friend-with-benefits wedding story. Highly recommend it!

The Love Proposal

by Camilla Isley

Thank Rachel Random Resource and Boldwood Books, and NetGalley for doing the copy. 

This time we are following Summer, the one we love to hate, Winter's twin,  whilst we join her on Summer Weddings. I enjoy getting to know Summer; seeing how she wrapped to Archie has made me laugh out loud. 

It's funny to see the playboy Archie play for Summers's affection, and those scenes are so fun to read with those two. 

I love how all these books have the main characters' pov and always flow well. This is a lovely fast, paced romance, and I love how Archie and Summer confront their pasts. This book was beautiful down to the HFN.

#TheLoveProposal #NetGalley

@rararesources @BoldWoodBook

[b:The Love Proposal|137978982] is unfortunately a slight step backward from [b:Love Quest|126522554].

Summer braces herself to attend her twin sister’s wedding as a pariah. After cheating with best friend Lana’s boyfriend, Lana and sister Winter have forgiven her, but their family and friends aren’t so ready to forgive her transgressions. Meanwhile, Winter’s fiancé’s best man, Archie, is looking for a wedding guest he can have a fun, no-strings-attached hookup with during the wedding week, only to find himself catching feelings for the bride’s sister.

After the surprisingly tense adventure/romance of Winter and Logan’s story, I was hoping Summer and Archie’s book would keep up the momentum. I really liked Archie in [b:Love Quest|126522554], but found him to be one of my least favorite romance hero archetypes in [b:The Love Proposal|137978982] – the unrepentant playboy. Meanwhile, Summer spends too much of the story self-flagellating over her infidelity with Lana’s now-ex – what she did was terrible, but I don’t really want to hear the self recriminations for half the book. Summer and Archie have good flirty chemistry, but there’s just not much to recommend their story.

[b:The Love Proposal|137978982] by [a:Camilla Isley|14135080]
⭐️ ⭐️💫 2.5 stars rounded up
🌶️ 🌶️ Lots of action, little on-page detail
🧘‍♀️🧘‍♂️ I don’t know that the repeated yoga scenes were the tension-filled foreplay they were intended to be
🍷 Not enough wine for a story set over a week in Napa
🐎Should have let summer rescue Archie from a runaway horse

<i>Thanks to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.</i>

Thank you, NetGalley for the read! Camilla Isley is an author I discovered last year. Before reading The Love Proposal, I had only read one of her books, but I’ll definitely be reading the rest of this series.

Summer is dreading her sister's wedding. Not because she's jealous or wishes her ill, but because Summer knows what everyone will be saying about her behind her back:

There goes Summer, the woman who slept with her best friend's boyfriend.

She isn't proud of what she did. She regrets it with every fiber of her being. But that doesn't mean the other guests will forgive her. When the best man offers to make her forget her name for the week, she doesn't want to say yes, but one encounter with her old "friends" sends her right into his arms.

Camilla Isley is becoming one of my favorite authors. I've devoured every book in this series and was looking forward to Summer's redemption arc. She was mentioned in the first two books, but the reader didn't get to interact much with her. I had to know why she'd betrayed her best friend and how she'd overcome being THAT woman.

Archie was a harder sell for me. He jumped from one woman to another - in 24 hours no less - which is usually a huge turn-off. The way he walked in and immediately sought someone to warm his bed made me not want to like him...

...but I ended up loving him. He treated Summer with gentle hands when she desperately needed an ally. He never made her feel useless or dirty for The Mistake. He showed her that she was worth more than her past, and he did it with a cocky grin and quick wit.

I loved catching up with Winter and Logan and Lana and Christian as well. The interaction between Christian and Summer was just what she needed to truly have closure I think.

The Love Proposal is another great installment in this series and one I highly recommend!!

Favorite quote:

"Happy for now is where happily ever afters are born. When todays turn into tomorrows and all days afterward."

Thank you, NetGalley and Camilla Isley, for the opportunity to read this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Another brilliant read from the marvellous Camilla Isley and another 5+ star rating (this is getting to be a theme with Camilla Isley)!

Summer Knowles feels like a pariah to her family and friends after sleeping with her best friend’s boyfriend, however whilst attending the wedding of her twin Winter to Dr Logan Spencer, she has to face them all. So, Summer puts on her game face so she doesn’t spoil the weeklong wedding celebrations in Napa Valley. On the first night she arrives she meets the striking Archie (Logan’s best man) and he makes her an offer, he says he can make her forget her name if that’s what she needs to get through the week. Summer decides she needs a distraction, especially after overhearing a bitchy conversation whilst hidden in the toilet and takes Archie on his word. However, at the end of the wedding after a week of fun but also a week of getting to know each other better will they be able to say goodbye to each other and head back into their separate lives or has the week of wedding fever sprinkled its magic on them?!

When starting this book, I wasn’t sure whether I would like Summer, having heard about her in the last two books. However, it was easy to see how contrite she was over her actions, and I started to warm to her quickly as she really was going through a baptism of fire at Winters wedding. Once again Camilla Isley had me giggling at the “How To Lose A Guy In 10 Days” reference of Princess Sophia, I knew instantly where that reference was from and I also laughed out loud at the peacock reference and the “screaming goblins”. I loved hearing from both characters as I did in the last two books, and I also really enjoyed the text message exchanges between Summer and Archie. I was entranced by their budding romance and also found myself really rooting for them to have a happily ever after.

Overall, another great read from Camilla Isley. I am a little sad that I now have had to say goodbye to Lana and Christian, Winter and Logan and finally Summer and Archie but I am looking forward to another Camilla Isley “fix” when Love To Hate You comes out in a month or so. I would highly recommend this one for any rom-com lovers, again with Camilla Isley, you won’t be disappointed.

Thank you to NetGalley, Camilla Isley and Boldwood Books for my advanced reading copy. Out now.

I am a huge fan of Camilla Isley, and having already read and totally loved Home for Christmas and Fool me Twice at Christmas, I knew I was going to love this story just as much. The Love Proposal focuses on twins Summer and Winter Knowles – with Winter getting married. The twins used to be super close and the best of friends – that is until Summer made a mistake. After having an affair with her best friends boyfriend, Summer has been dreading attending the wedding as most of the guests hate her. She would give anything not to be there, but Winter has chosen her as bridesmaid for her wedding day.

Summer needs a distraction. This is where the charming and irresistible Archie offers Summer a week of no strings fun to get them both through the wedding. Hesitant at first, Summer soon changes her mind and what follows is some of the most intense chemistry between the two of them. As the week goes on, both Archie and Summer feel more and more for each other. Summer has always wanted to settle down and have children and Archie is a complete commitment-phobe. Would a relationship work for them both?

The Love Proposal is packed full of fun, love, romance and chemistry which is off the charts! The characters are so much fun and I love how each chapter we see things from both Summer and Archie’s view point. The perfect read for anyone this summer.

I didn’t realize this book was book 6 of a series, it seemed like it would be ok as a stand-alone but I did feel I missed some elements of what came before this when I started getting into the story. Summer and Archie were both unique characters with bold pasts for a rom-com but I found it a little challenging to really warm up to their personalities. Overall, the book had some funny moments and a few warm and fuzzies but wasn’t for me.

After a disastrous relationship, Summer has given up on men. But at her sister's wedding, commitment-phobic best man Archie suggests a casual fling. What happens if they discover that a week together isn't enough?

I really enjoy Camilla Isley's writing style. It's fun, upbeat, and immersive, with a fast pace that keeps the pages turning. Her heroines are relatable and believable, with real-life struggles. I bonded with Summer and couldn't help rooting for her. Unfortunately, as with the previous book, I couldn't stand the cocky hero. I wanted to take a filet knife to Archie. This is a "me" thing, and I'm sure many readers will find him charming.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.

Thank you Netgalley and Boldwood Books for this ARC in return for an honest review.

I will 100% taken responsibility for not loving this book. When I requested it, I did not realize that it was book 6 in the "First Comes Love" series -- and it is NOT a standalone read.

There are some books where (1) not reading the entire series or (2) not reading them in order - doesn't really impact the readers experience (you might "feel" like there was a previous story, but not a big deal). In this case - it was a big deal.

I am not great at reading books that are part of series out of order - but I didn't think it would be a huge deal. It was. There are far too many references to two previous books in the series to have skipped them.

I also found Summer and Archie - our two protagonists - really immature and silly. I didn't 100% buy into their love story - or at least the depth of their love story. That could again be 100% me. Their relationship and story just felt too surface for me.

That said - I think that if you have previously enjoyed Camilla Isley's books and the "First Comes Love" series - this will be right up your ally.

I would say this is more general fiction than romance - the romance was pretty closed door (they talked about their desire for one another but there wasn't any spice on the page for the reader). Again - this was all fine, I just don't think I was the target audience.

I appreciate being given the opportunity to read this ARC - I'm not sure I need to go back and read any of the previous books - but that's just because I tend to like my romances a little more spicy/ steamy (again - personal preference, nothing to do with the writing or the author).

2.5 Stars

Witty, romantic and original. I really enjoyed reading this, it was perfect escapism that I could not put down!

A while ago, Summer made a mistake that cost her some friends and hurt her relationship with her twin and her best friend. When her twin gets married, Summer must come face to face with all of these people but all she wants to do is hide.
Archie offers her a week of being able to forget her own name. At first she refuses but after overhearing some former friends talking about her, she changes her mind. So for the whole week of wedding activities, Summer and Archie have a secret agreement.
Opinion
When I first saw the book, I did not realize that it was part of a series. There was a scene where her sister's relationship was rehashed. At that point, I realized it was a series. Not having read the other books did not take away any understanding from this book. (There were no references to events I knew nothing about.)
Summer's mistake, I thought, was a pretty bold part in a romance novel. It made my jaw drop when I realized why everyone was so mad at her. Having said that, it did make the book way more interesting than the average RomCom.
I think the only thing I didn't like about Archie was his name. He was a great character and I loved that he was able to get past "the mistake."
Summer's character, though flawed, was downright perfect. She showed remorse and apologized for what happened. I appreciate her growth during the book.
Many thanks to Net Galley and Boldwood Books for providing me with an ARC of this book.

The Love Proposal - Camilla Isley

This book is part of a series. I read it as a standalone story, which worked perfectly well, but I do feel I was missing some of the back story details.

This is the first book that I have read by Camilla Isley and it won’t be the last. I really enjoyed her witty writing style, with it’s fast paced banter and feel good vibe at it’s heart.

#TheLoveProposal is a quirky story with some very likeable characters.
Summer and Archie are a lot of fun and the chemistry between them absolutely sizzles.

#TheLoveProposal is a romantic romp. It’s sweet, funny and full of heart.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

With thanks to Rachel’s Random Resources, Netgalley and Boldwood Books for a digital arc of this title.

The Love Proposal by Camilla Isley

I received an advance review copy for free thanks to Rachel's Random Resources and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Blurb

The moment you stop looking, that’s when Prince Charming will come knocking on your door!

Summer Knowles does not want a boyfriend. Relationships have caused enough problems in her life. As bridesmaid at her sister’s wedding, she’s going to avoid all things romantic – especially the brawny, hipster best-man who has commitment-phobe written all over him!

When Archie Hill meets Summer, he immediately thinks bridesmaid-and-best-man-with-benefits! They have one week together and may as well make the most of it. But what if one week just isn’t enough…

As wedding fever takes hold, can a sworn-off-men bridesmaid and a die-hard bachelor learn a thing or two about happy-ever-after?

My Opinion

Please note that this title was originally published as You May Kiss the Bridesmaid.

So far I have enjoyed reading about these characters - the books are linked by characters but they can all be enjoyed as standalones. Summer has a lot of making up to do following her mistakes in The Love Theorem, now that we get to read her book is she going to make up for them? This is a quick and cute read. Perfect for when a quick distraction is needed.

I know what to expect when I pick up a Camilla Isley book and this was no exception.

Rating: 4/5

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of "The Love Proposal". All thoughts and opinions are my own.
I am going to be very honest, I was bored. I felt like I could not connect to either character. The female main character was blah. She did not bring much to the table for me. I did appreciate the steps she took to apologize to the nasty friends. Archie was my saving grace. He was funny, but again I don't feel like I can tell you anything about him.
The book had great potential to be something amazing, but in my opinion, it fell short. And I need to talk about the epilogue. 40 years later?!?!? I have never seen one take place that much later. Yes, you do get to see them still together with lots of kids, but you can't tell me at that age they are still horny all the time. I don't buy that.
Summary:
Summer's twin sister is getting married. It is a full week ordeal. On the first night, she meets Archie and they agree to one week of fun with no strings attached. They sneak away whenever possible and attend acro-yoga together. Summer made a mistake a while ago and slept with her best friend's boyfriend. She got burned in the process and lost friends. Her mother has never looked the same at her since. Due to this affair, Summer is not the maid of honor. Archie is the best man. Winter ends up finding out and tries to make Archie understand that Summer is at the point in her life where she wants a family. Archie isn't sure if he does.
On the day of the wedding, he realizes that he wants her no matter what.

4 stars - Camilla Isley’s latest release of The Love Proposal is the 3rd in a series. While it may be read as a stand alone novel, you will understand SO much more if you read them in order.

Okay, so I was ready to not like this story as I really didn’t like MFC Summer based on the prior books in this series. But…I really did like her and feel sorry for her once I was able to read her history and understand her behavior in the prior stories. I already had an opinion of Archie based on the last book and was looking forward to seeing how the relationship would develop between these 2 unlikely characters. Low and behold – this was a really good story. Yes, the characters seem a bit shallow at first, but Summer and Archie both do some reflection, and the story is compelling. My favorite part of the whole book is just before the ceremony and Archie is getting ready for the wedding and “sees” part of his future. I felt as though he had a big breakthrough!

A big “Thank You” to NetGalley, the author Camilla Isley and Boldwood Books for providing me with an advance copy in return for an independent, honest review.

3.75 stars rounded up!

The Love Proposal may be the steamiest of Camilla Isley’s books I’ve read, but I am here for it! A sweet friends-with-benefits story set over a week at a resort wedding, this best man and bridesmaid make the most of their time before the big day.

Don’t worry if you’re a fan of closed door, fade to black romances. This dual point of view story is still very much a closed door one, but we get plenty of time with Archie and Summer. It’s the long, lustful looks and build up of anticipation that works in this one. No open door needed.

I’d met Archie and Summer in previous books. Isley recently joined Boldwood Books publishing and many of her previous self-published books are being reedited, renamed, and republished, including this one, which was originally titled You May Kiss the Bridesmaid. It was part of the First Comes Love series, and it included overlapping characters. I’ve read all but two in the series now, but many out of order. It didn’t really effect my enjoyment, but I did have to refresh my memory on a few characters.

Luckily, I did just read and review The Love Theorem, the book that precedes this one, and I knew of Summer. I knew things had not been going well for her. She’d made some big mistakes that hurt several people, and I was curious to see how that would play out. Isley did a good job making Summer a sympathetic character, explaining how she’d made such a mess of her life. Watching her learn to deal with the fallout was rewarding, as well.

One of the things I enjoy the most about Isley’s books is where she places her characters. She always gives them a meaningful setting that readers can enjoy, too. And I had fun with this group of friends as they’re gathered together for a week for the wedding of Winter, Summer’s twin sister, and Logan, Archie’s best friend. Set at a resort, we spend time with Summer and Archie in yoga class, the spa, a winery, and follow them as they try to be discreet about their current relationship status.

The Love Proposal is just the kind of book I want to read during the long, lazy days of summer. Fun, lighthearted, and romantic!

They deserve each other.

Summer had an affair with her best friends boyfriend. She's terrible. Does she deserve her own story? I'm not sure she does. She's truly awful. Archie is a player, frivolous and down to have a fling with Summer for the wedding week. I guess they are suited for each other.

Thanks to Boldwook Books, Netgalley and the author for an ARC of this book. I am leaving this unbiased review voluntarily.

This book involves cheating (which happens in a previous book that I had read). I should say that up front because some people do have a problem with heroines who have digressed in this manner.

In the Love Theorem, Summer seemed to be a pretty terrible person at worst, and easily manipulated at best. So, in the beginning I wasn't sure that I wanted to read a story about her. But I remembered the mistakes I had made in my earlier life, and relationships I have regretted, and I thought I would give poor Summer a chance.

Summer Knowles is not perfect, she's in fact starting a new chapter in her life and trying to leave her past behind her. She has lost everything she holds dear and she can't move on without forgiving herself.

When Archie comes along, she's reluctant to commit and he doesn't seem the type to want commitment anyway. But Archie is pretty irresistible and the connection between the two of them is electric so, well, you know what happens to her plans to stay aloof.

I'm glad I gave Summer a chance and it's nice to see female characters who aren't perfect gain redemption and find their own happy ever after.

Firstly I’d like to thank NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book. It was such a cute spinoff to love quest.. Summer and Archie’s story was so fun to read.. this book had me smiling and kicking my feet like a love sick teenager… another great easy read that I couldn’t put down.