The Proposal (Unabridged‪)‬

This is book 1 in Adriana Locke’s Brewer Family series. While a spinoff of her Carmichael Family series (featuring a few cameos), this stands well on its own and can be read without having enjoyed those first.

I jumped at the chance to listen to this. I already love Locke’s writing plus this has some of my favorite tropes/themes: Brother’s Best Friend/Best Friend’s Sister, Fake/Accidental Marriage, and Friends to Lovers. Plus, there’s a llama. What’s not to love?

Given all the chaos in their lives and their accidental drunken Vegas wedding – Blakely & Renn’s relationship is pretty low angst. Most of the drama comes from work and family. The joy was experiencing them finally – FINALLY – admit to their feelings and deciding it could be real and forever.

They don’t take over the story – but Renn’s siblings are a blast and I’m excited about their future books. I’m already in love with the stoic bodyguard Foxx Carmichael and can’t wait til his book, Flame comes out next month.

The dramatic family dinner, HEA (for two couples!), and sweet little epilogue wrapped up the perfect romance.

Narration:
John Lane and Avery Caris were ahhhhmazing. I’ve been a fan of Lane’s deep gravely voice but this was my first time listening to Caris. I’m in love. They both brought life, love, romance, emotion, and humor to Locke’s delightful story. Perfect casting and listen.

🎧Audio Review🎧
Narrated by John lane and Avery Caris
⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

I know a book is one of my faves when I am so into it that I can’t stop listening and stayed up half the night finishing it.

Nothing gets me more excited than a best friends sister/brother’s best friend trope. Renn and Blakely have known each other since they were young and spent much of their adult life flirting innocently. But Renn has stayed at arms-length because his best friend is Blakely’s older brother. So, he shut those feelings down. But when a trip to Vegas and too much tequila finds them waking up married without remembering anything…. All that changes. Being one of the most famous rugby players, Renn can’t hide this mistake from the press and poses a temporary marriage until things calm down.

Experiencing these two gradually get to know each other as more than friends and yet hide their developing feelings was pure magic. I loved Renn’s openness with falling for her. And Blakely strong sassy sweetness was a perfect match to Renn.

With an engaging set of siblings that Renn has adding to the cast of characters, super-hot bedroom scenes, a b*tthole of a father who’s bringing the drama and we get to be center stage to watch Renn fall for Blakely, this book has it all.

John lane and Avery Caris are a great pairing for this narration. Lane had just the right amount of swagger with a touch of vulnerability that he brought to Renn. And his female is spot on. Caris’ narration of Blakely really shows a great depth of character. And her voice for Renn was perfect.

I hope we get to read more about Renn’s siblings in future books.

Hey, cutie. This is how Renn ‘bad boy’ Brewer usually addresses Blakely Evans, his best friend and rugby teammate Brock’s little sister. And it sets the tone for all of this delightful audiobook. It’s funny, spicy and swoony, and sometimes so achingly sweet that you have to just hold your heart and wipe your eyes. Blakely may be Brock’s little sister, but she’s not so little anymore. She’s turning 30 and after a string of bad boy romance choices has decided this is to be the start of the self-care phase of her life. She wants a home and family with a good man, a responsible man, a man who deserves her and treats her right. Renn doesn’t exactly fit anywhere in that category. Heart throbby handsome, always pushing boundaries, always in trouble. His reputation precedes him.

Thing is, though, he and Blakely have this electric, magnetic attraction to each other. They always have. They joke and play it off, but it’s getting harder and harder to resist. Bad idea to do anything about it for a lot of reasons. First off, Brock would kill Renn. He finished raising Blakely after their parents died and to say he is overprotective would be a great understatement. She is HANDS OFF!!! Also, Blakely is ready to grow up and settle down and stop making those bad boy choices that describe Renn so perfectly. And, finally, despite the fact that he heats up and is nearly struck dumb when he’s around her, Blakely is not Renn’s usual type; he usually goes for the wild ones. Love ‘em and leave ‘em – and move on.

Well, what do they know? Fate, the universe, the stars – some force has other plans for these two. And what a wonderful story it makes. Somehow they accidentally get married. That sure wasn’t in anybody’s plans. But here they are and what to do about it? They suddenly realize that although they didn’t intend to get married, don’t intend to stay married, don’t feel married, don’t even remember it, for Pete’s sake – they don’t want the other to be hurt by a public breakup, don’t want the other to be humiliated or feel used. So they agree to a 90-day marriage of convenience. They’ll pretend their hearts out for 90 days and hopefully come out on the other end unscathed. But their hearts have other ideas, it seems. The strong magnetic pull becomes a tender tug. The lusty sighs become heartfelt sighs. Some scenes are so funny you will be choking with laughter. But as Renn and Blakely get to know each other better, to open up, to reveal themselves, some scenes will have you choking with tears.

New-to-me author Adriana Locke has written a story full of that sweetness, that spice, that humor, tempered with some serious undertones and unpleasantness, supporting characters that you want to know better – except for Renn’s evil and dangerous father – and just enough surprise and unpredictability to keep you wondering just how on earth these two are going to get to the HEA you know they need. Narrators John Lane and Avery Caris, also new-to-me, made an amazing read into a pretty much perfect listen. I just kept walking and walking and walking because there was no point in the story I wanted to stop.

Locke, Lane and Caris are all on my go-to list now. I understand The Proposal is just the start in a new series. I hope so, I hope so, I hope so. I received a free copy of the Proposal. I thoroughly enjoyed it and can’t wait for more. I voluntarily leave this review; all opinions are my own