Published by Atria Books on July 21, 2026
Age/Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Rating:
Goodreads
From the internationally bestselling author of Any Trope but You comes an enemies-to-lovers rom-com about a hopeless romantic wedding planner and the cynical divorce lawyer forced to help her plan her ex’s wedding.
Gracie Holland lives for Happily Ever Afters—just not her own. After a crushing breakup, she’s thrown herself into planning weddings at Larkwood, the ivy-covered Rhode Island estate where she also lives in the guest cottage. But when her beloved boss passes away and leaves the estate to her grandson, Gracie’s carefully rebuilt life is suddenly on the line. Jude Larkwood is everything she’s sworn ruthless, practical, and immune to romance—he’s a divorce lawyer, for crying out loud! Worse, he plans to sell Larkwood by the end of the summer.
Jude has spent his life cleaning up other people’s romantic disasters—and he has no interest in watching another love story fall apart on his family’s lawn. But inheriting Larkwood comes with one its maddeningly optimistic wedding planner. Gracie’s sunshiney faith in love unsettles Jude almost as much as her ability to push through his defenses. He’s built a life on keeping emotion out of the equation—but something about her keeps slipping past his guard.
When Gracie’s ex calls out of the blue asking her to plan his wedding, she sees an unexpected opportunity. Jude reluctantly agrees to give her until the wedding to change his mind, and in exchange, she drags him into a two-month crash course in love to make even the most hardened cynic start to wonder if love might not be such a scam after all.
But as cake tastings and vendor emergencies give way to late-night confessions and undeniable chemistry, Gracie and Jude must confront the fears they’ve spent years avoiding. But can a hopeless romantic and a confirmed cynic find a future they both believe in?
Gracie's world imploded three years ago. Her business was gone, her boyfriend was gone, and so was her home. But the effervescent Agatha gave her a home and a position as the wedding planner at the historic and fariytale-esq Larkwood estate. But Agatha had passed away, and Gracie must fight for Larkwood and Agatha's mission of making people's wedding dreams come true. The problem was Agatha's grandson, Jude, who was determined to sell Larkwood. Now, Gracie has one chance to show him the important of this place, and she was determined to win him over.
I LOVED this! My adoration for Lavine's Any Trope But You set the bar high for Not that Kind of Proposal, and I have to say, this book went beyond my expectations. I must confess that I am NOT the biggest fan of enemies-to-lovers, but it was done so well and combined with so many other wonderful tropes in this book that it worked for me.
The characters really stood out in the book. Let's start with the couple. It's always fun to see opposites attract, and though this pairing of a wedding planner and a divorce attorney is not a new one, they were crafted in a way that was fresh and interesting.
There was Gracie whose romantic past was not a stellar one, and her parents did not set a great precedent for what love should look like, but she still believed in the happy ever after and loved being part of other's people's special day. Jude's parent were also NOT good examples when it came to love, and he leaned toward no strings and one-night-stand types of dalliances. But when these two met, the air sizzled around them, hearts expanded, and the snappy banter flew. Watching their defenses weaken as their affection grew was a thing of beauty, and I was wholeheartedly invested in this pair.
Jude was a very complex character who was full of surprises. At first, I was appalled by him. How dare he try to take Gracie's home and livlihood! But he was more of a man of actions than words, and his actions melted my heart. And Gracie! This woman was down but not out, and I was rooting for her the whole time. It was a pleasure being part of her journey, seeing her grow and flourish while making things happen on her own terms. I appreciated the way some of her personal relationships changed and healed as well.
The wedding planning part of the story was used so well. Instead of focusing on her ex asking Gracie to plan his wedding (the audacity!), the spotlight was on Gracie and Jude, and how all the wedding planning forced them to spend time together where they could get to know one another. It also produced some rom-com gold that had me smiling and laughing.
Though the author leaned into the rom-com label, this book had a LOT of emotional depth. Gracie and Jude's bonding over missing Agatha, strained familial ties, and domestic violence were woven into the tale with care and meaning that elevated this story for me.
Overall: Another amazing book from Lavine! Not that Kind of Proposal transported me to a beautiful setting where I had the opportunity to meet amazing characters and cheer for them as they healed, found love, and looked towards their future. **If you read Any Trope But You be on the lookout for the Easter egg hidden within.
Published by Penguin Books on July 21, 2026
Age/Genres: Adult, Action/Adventure, Romance
Rating:
Goodreads
A NOVEL LOVE STORY meets LOVE IN THE TIME OF SERIAL KILLERS in this rom-com following Roxie Mitchell, an adventure-loving romance reader who finds herself trapped in a meet-cute turned murderous
When Roxie makes a tongue-in-cheek wish to live out the plot of her favorite author’s next novel, she has romance in mind—namely, the sweet, safe, swoon-worthy storylines Anna Matthews is known for. It should be a dream come true when her wish is granted and she finds herself swept into a first date with a handsome stranger who seems designed to take her breath away.
Except for one little hiccup: That handsome stranger tries to take her breath away. Literally. With a knife. The thing is, Roxie may be the new Anna Matthews protagonist—but this time, Anna is writing a crime thriller.
Thrown into a perilous genre she’s never read, Roxie is desperate for help. So when her escape takes her straight into the path of Grant Hoffman, an anxious English professor with a convenient love of crime novels, she decides that kidnapping a grown man is a small price to pay for her own survival. Together, Roxie and Grant navigate a madcap story where the lines between fiction and reality blur. They’ll find out if they have what it takes to make it to The End—or maybe even Happily Ever After.
They always say - be careful what you wish for. Thrill seeker Roxie lived a life without many strings. She liked to roam when she wanted and kept her romantic entanglements temporary. It didn't mean she was anti-romance. She just preferred to read about OTHER people's romantic adventures. Missing new work from one of her favorite romance authors, she makes a wish to be the protagonist in Anna Matthew's next book. Little did she know the author was writing in a new genre, and instead of being part of a comfy, cozy romance, Roxie finds herself fighting for her life.
I want everyone to understand that I am a solid cozy romance, rom-com reader. This was out of my norm, but I was so intrigued by the premise, I had to give it a try. You may be thinking that there are lots of books out there where the character becomes part of the story or even ones where there is interactions between the character and the author. I have read such books, but there was something special about If Books Could Kill.
I was hooked from the very beginning of this tale. Roxie was interesting. I knew I wanted to get to know her better, but once the magic kicked in, I HAD to take this journey with her. There was lots of tongue in cheek story observations with some very meta jokes which had me laughing, but I also loved all the surprises Eberle worked into the story.
This book was packed with tropes, action, wit, and lots of twists which made this a wild ride. And I loved every second of it.
*ARCS PROVIDED BY THE PUBLISHER
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