The Proposition by Katie Ashley
Series: The Proposition, #1
First Published October 30th 2012 by Createspace
Genre: Romance, New Adult, Contemporary
485 pages
Format: eBook
Source: Freebie
Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
Find on Goodreads
Get it on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3vfU75J

With her thirtieth birthday looming, Emma Harrison finds her biological clock clanging and the elusive knight in shining armor yet to appear. She’s running out of options, especially after her gay best friend backs out from being her sperm donor. Of course, there’s always a sperm bank, but Emma fears a donor mix-up might impregnate her with the spawn of Satan.

Resident company womanizer, Aidan Fitzgerald, is used to always getting what he wants, especially in the bedroom. When Emma spurns his advances at the company Christmas party, he’s determined to have her no matter what it takes. After Aidan learns of Emma’s predicament, he is quick to offer a proposition that will benefit them both. He will father Emma’s child, but she must conceive it with him naturally. Not one for hook-ups or casual sex, Emma is reluctant to take him up on his offer, but his charm, coupled with her intense desire for motherhood, wins out.

Soon their baby-making sessions become more than just physical. Aidan can’t seem to walk away from her while Emma begins to wonder if Aidan could be the one. But can Aidan leave his past behind to become the man Emma needs him to be?

Review

I’m being mean today so I am giving this one a 3 star rating, a star away from what I expected to give it. Well, I’m not really that mean because if I am, I wouldn’t have given this story even a star at all.

I’m sorry about that, haha. So I guess before I start ranting, I might as well start at the beginning and tell you about the story.

After losing her fiancée from a car accident, and then her mother from cancer two years ago, Emma is very emotional when it’s about babies and having a family. Her 30th birthday is coming and her knight and shining armor is still nowhere to be found, thus giving her the more reason to conceive a baby even without marriage. Then while she’s crying having an argument with her best friend, Aidan came to the rescue and told the guy to back off. Then it turns out the Emma’s bff Connor is  gay and they’re having an argument about him not being able to fulfill his promise which is to donate his sperm. Aidan is known as a player in their department and he normally sway away into anything relating to relationships but Emma’s situation kind of interests him thus assuring Connor he’ll make sure she’ll be ok once she decides to come out from the ladies room. After a little drink and small talk, Aidan dropped the bomb and gave her a proposition that is so hard for her to decline.

When I found out about Emma looking for a sperm donor, I can’t help but be reminded of Jennifer Aniston’s movie “the switch” that I’ve watched a long time ago. That said, I was really expecting this one to follow the movie’s plot so I made myself ready for some disappointment to come along. But dang! It was really so good. Sure the plot was cliché but I figured this time, I’m not rating a book based on the story alone but on how it made me feel. It’s not my usual read and it was hotter than what I’ve anticipated but I love how Emma and Aidan’s relationship is going through. Every single moment they spent together, they never realized how they become accustomed to each other and both of them falling in love isn’t going to be a surprise.

The first half of the story was so good but the second half was fine (the final few chapters not included). I guess I’m fed up with a lot of sexy scenes that it’s making me sick. Really. The guy alone being a horndog is already a handful and now Emma?! But fortunately, my irritation didn’t last long because in the next chapters, there’s finally a story going on. Emma being introduced to his family and then vice versa. It’s just quite amusing to read the part where Aidan was being antagonized by her grandfather, haha.

Before I talk about the impending bad news, I’ll talk first about the main characters.

For Emma, well, I’m not really that impressed with her when she was first introduced. I dunno, I just find it a bit OA whenever she becomes emotional about wanting to have a family of her own and stuff like that. You would even thought she’s an orphan lol. I’m not judging anyone ok, it’s just too much. Then as I’ve got to read more chapters, I slowly start to like her character. She’s nice, she’s very likeable too whether you’re a kid or a dog. I guess the most admirable trait that she has that I like the most is that she’s not a pushover. Even if she wanted to have a family of her own and how much she wanted Aidan, she didn’t oblige or commanded him to be tied to her. Plus, she was so tough on the conflict part. It’s just amazing how she is able to stay and look straight into his eyes after what she saw. If I was her, I already stalked out of that forsaken place without even a glance at all. 

About Aidan. Well, I guess I need to be honest and admit that I liked him…at first. During the first chapter, I appreciated how direct he was and did not waste a lot of time beating around the bush. He knows what he wants and tells you frankly about it. Well, it wasn’t really a surprise since he’s a player and used to getting what he wants. I also like how he can be playful yet very caring at the same time. But all of that good impression was erased after what he did on the conflict part. I thought after what happened before he finally learned his lesson, but nah. He’s a bastard that even his dog Beau knows that. He really screwed up big time.

And speaking of screwing up big time, I have to warn you for some big spoiler ahead, so read on your own risk, *wink.

Everything was doing well between the two of them and what I’ve been waiting for is for him to finally say those three magical words. But then, when he found out he’s in love, he changed. He started putting a distance between them and then finally screwed it up, and the timing wouldn’t have been perfect. It’s like a rehash from the mistake he made before but this time, Emma was with his dog when she caught him being straddled by a half-dressed woman. Crazy right? The last time I felt this mad was when I read A Beautiful Kind of Love by Ellie Wade. It was so frustrating and so crazy that I wanna get inside the book and chop off HIS thing so he will never play around anymore.

I understand that he’s afraid of a long term relationship but dang! Why would anyone do such sh*ty thing just to deny what his true feelings are?! I’ve learned about what happened to Aidan before and that didn’t even win a little sympathy from me. He screwed big time and I wish Emma will never take him back like what Amy (his first love) did before.

I thought the conflict was the only thing that would make my blood boil, but when I reached the ending. Dang! I literally want to throw my Kindle because of frustration. But I realized, it’s not my kindle’s fault so I settled on murdering Aidan in my head. I didn’t know this one is in a series so I wasn’t expecting for a cliffhanger. It’s just too much to bear. I’ll definitely not be going to read the second book even though I’m sure I’ll enjoy some of it especially on the part where Aidan is going to work his butt off hoping to get Emma back. Nah. I already concluded that Aidan doesn’t deserve Emma so what’s the point reading the second book?!

This was my first time reading a book from Katie Ashley so I wasn’t expecting anything. But I have to say that I did enjoy her writing style, but that doesn’t mean I approve about the conflict part. It’s just so frustrating and so maddening to think about. Btw, this book was taken both from Emma and Aidan’s point of view so we’ve all got a glimpse on what each of them were thinking in every scene.

I can’t really be a total b*tch and gave this story a one star or in this case no star at all because of the stupid hero but I guess I have to be a little fair haha. So you see, I’m still nice haha. As I’ve said above, I’m already set on giving this one a 4 star rating but after the conflict, I have to drop 1 star. It was really a pretty entertaining read and the fact that I was so affected means something. So if you’re up with a story that will make you kill the hero, then be my guess and try this one hihi.

Challenges

• 2017 New To Me
• 2017 Mount TBR Reading
• 2017 eBooks Reading
• 2017 You Read How Many Books?
• 2017 Review Writing

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