A Novel Proposal by Denise Hunter

 

A Novel Proposal by Denise Hunter

Books and a beach? Yum!

Let’s begin with the summary:

When Western novelist Sadie Goodwin must pen a romance novel to rescue her lackluster sales, there’s only one tiny problem: she’s never been in love. 

Desperate to salvage her career, Sadie accepts an invitation to hole up at her friend’s beach duplex for the summer and devote herself to this confounding genre. After all, where better to witness love than on the beautiful South Carolina shore?

But Sadie soon finds many ways to procrastinate the dreaded task—like getting to know the beach regulars and installing a Little Free Library on the property. She even attempts conversation with Sam Ford, the frustratingly stubborn neighbor on the other side of the duplex. But things take an unexpected turn when Sadie finds inside her library an abandoned novel with a secret compartment—and a beautiful engagement ring tucked inside.

Suddenly, locating the ring’s owner becomes the perfect way to put off writing that romance. Sadie draws a reluctant Sam into her mission. And as the two close in on an answer to the mysterious proposal, she discovers a tender side to him. She begins to wonder if he just might make the perfect hero for her romance novel—or maybe even her heart.

And now, my review:

I love the setting of this book. As you can see from the cover and summary, it’s beach front and there’s a free library involved! Bookish fun!

The setup is that an experienced author must pen a full novel in a new-to-her genre, quickly. She’s a people person who’s never been in love, so it’s just a matter of time. That’s when Sam appears in her life.

These two engage in the fake-relationship trope—one of my favorites. And the heroine uses the neighbor in this story as the inspiration for the hero of her novel. They team up to solve a romantic mystery, which was an interesting layer.

The heroine is full of words, and they gush from her. This wasn’t my favorite element, and I had to skim her long speeches. I think it’s believable a character can be over-the-top in this way, and it did make her unique, but reading her dialogue was a chore at times.

The heroine makes friends easily, trusts readily, and engages with the community instantly. She seemed a little naïve, but she also drew people to herself, an extrovert who never a stranger.

In perfect contrast, the hero was introverted, less verbal, and closed off. He’s cautious, world wise, and perceptive of dangers Sadie doesn’t always see. A very strong mirror for comparison. He’s also a little jealous at times, which motivated him to reconsider his lonely life.

There are romance-writing tips at the beginning of each chapter, which are fun. They also provide hints of what’s coming in the following scenes.

Denise mentions a few fellow authors, which is enjoyable: Colleen Coble, Debbie Macomber, Jenny Hale. Sadie’s free library makes for some cool encounters.

It was a bit unbelievable to me that anyone could write a novel in a new-to-them genre in five weeks. From experience, I know it takes years to master any genre.

Full disclosure, I found a lot of similar elements to the bookish novella I’d written prior to reading this book for review. I know those coincidences happen. It was interesting to see the parallels.

Readers who love bookish fiction, beachy romances, and who may themselves be aspiring writers will enjoy this story. Denise shares from her own experience as a best-selling author, both by example and by sharing tips. I applaud that fun approach!