Love Proposed by Meagan Rogers: Book Review

 Book received for consideration. All thoughts are my own.

Lily Michaels never expected to be in a relationship with her favorite author— even a fake relationship.

OLIVER:
Foot-in-mouth syndrome. I have it, and I’m beginning to think it’s incurable. When you meet a beautiful woman after a particularly long, awful day, don’t… This should be common knowledge. But alas, I have foot-in-mouth syndrome. I’m a little out of practice in dating, but I used to think of myself as charming. Past tense, apparently.
Not that I want to date Lily. I don’t.
A little backstory… I’m an author and went to a small-town bookstore for a signing a few months ago. I met a fiery pixie of a woman and did everything wrong. I turned into a bonafide caveman. See the above list.
No worries. I have since apologized, and she graciously accepted. Still, I don’t believe we’ll ever be friends after my display. She aptly named me Mr. Jerkington.
Oh, and the other thing…Don’t get inspired by her infectious personality and make her the main character in your next book.
This will only lead to problems.
Or something.

LILY:
I have all the reasons in the world to avoid men. I have the divorce papers to prove it. I can appreciate an attractive man… and Oliver Jackson is handsome. He has messy hair, scruffy facial hair, and chocolatey brown eyes I could swim in. Yeah, I spent a decent amount of time googling him before his first visit to Winterlight. I’m currently on a man hiatus. Been there, done that, and got burned. No need to repeat. Our first meeting was… memorable, to say the least. Oliver comes back to town and proposes that I become his muse. It’s only a month. What can go wrong?

Never say nothing can go wrong. Rookie mistake. Nosey townspeople just threw a wrench in my life. Posts start showing up on the local social media page gossiping about my new friend. We’ve just started this friends thing, and now we’re throwing fake dating in the mix. Is their story one of fate? Or is it all fake? Love Proposed is book two in the Rainy Days Café Series. It can be read as a standalone or a part of the series. This sweet contemporary romance is filled with love, laughter, and movie quotes.

Meagan Rogers's debut novel is Love Ignited.

Meagan is an Oklahoma native. Writing had never been on her radar until recently. She has been happy being a mom and wife. One day that nudge to write couldn’t be ignored.

She loves traveling and longs to go on a European tour one day- London being at the top of the list. Reading, Singing in the car, napping, kickboxing, baking, and hot tea are among her favorite things.

Spending time with family, homeschooling, writing, and everyone's activities makes for a busy life but she wouldn't want any other way.

Love Proposed is the second book in the Rainy Days Cafe series. I had not personally read the previous book and found I had no problem at all reading it as a standalone. (That said, I found that I really enjoyed the side characters--- particularly Hendrix and Reed, so I'm certainly looking forward to reading the previous book and whatever comes next to see more from them!)

There is just something about a bookish main character (or two) that will draw me in every single time... so an author and a bookstore owner? Plus, some fake dating and definitely grumpy/sunshine vibes (two of my personal favorite tropes)? Yes, please! Right from the beginning, I was drawn into this story! I just adored the not-so-cute meet-cute between Lily and Oliver that had me laughing out loud. While there were several of those fun moments, the story also took on a couple more serious issues like prior abuse and manipulation too. With that, I actually really appreciated that it took a very pro-therapy stance, and despite touching on those issues, it left me feeling positive and lighthearted in the end. It was a quick read--- finished in just a few hours--- but a very enjoyable one that has me looking forward to more in the series.

Love Proposed is a clean, closed-door romance with great chemistry, no language and nothing beyond kisses. I would say this a Clean & Wholesome Level 1.