A Proposal to Die For
Author: Molly Harper
Reviewer: Jen
Rating: C
What I’m Talking About:
I have been a long-time fan of Molly Harper. I love her PNR and contemporary stories. Her humor has always made me laugh out loud. SO I was super excited to give her foray into cozy murder mysteries a go. My experience was a mixed bag.
Jess is a proposal planner who helps folks come up with the perfect, memorable marriage proposal. When Diana, mean girl from high school, wants a social-media worthy proposal, she insists her boyfriend get Jess involved. This leads to a bizarre girls spa weekend get away where Jess is berated and beaten up verbally on a constant basis, even after Jess discovers not one, but two dead bodies.
The whodunit part of A Proposal to Die For is pretty good. Like Jess, I picked up on odd behaviors but didn’t quite piece it all together (and in fact, I picked the wrong person). After all the details come out, I felt the motive was on the weak side, but based on the actions of the characters, it is plausible.
What I didn’t like and became annoyed with is the constant bratty behavior of Diana and the wicked pettiness of wedding planner Aubrey. I got so mad on Jess’s behalf, and then I just became irritated with the non-stop abuse. At first it seemed to come from out of nowhere. It would have made more sense and been easier to accept had the author explained the rational for the behavior upfront. But even after their attitudes are explained, it just went on and on, and Jess, feeling stuck just takes it.
A Proposal to Die for is also a romance, complete with an HEA. I enjoyed seeing Jess find solace among the Osbourne family. Here is where one finds the trademark Harper humor and found family bonding. The romance is sweet and slow burn, with any heat off page. But Jess and Dean flirt and build a friendship while both struggle with baggage. I enjoyed the romance and would have loved for it to be a bigger part of the story.
In the end, A Proposal to Die for has some wonderful moments and fun times, but the mean girl and frat bro stereotypes played too heavily for me to completely enjoy this one.
My Rating: C
Jen
About the Book:
Jessamine Bricker loves a plan. Contingency plans and pros-and-cons lists are her love language, and because of that, her proposal planning business is thriving. But with rent costs rising at her office building, Jess jumps at the chance to plan a proposal between her snobby high school classmate, Diana, and her very wealthy boyfriend, Trenton Tillard…the Fourth.
Roped into joining Diana’s “pre-bridal” retreat at the exclusive Golden Ash resort, Jess hopes to fade into the background, get some work done, and maybe find some time to unwind. Their first day is anything but relaxing: Diana is furious about the mountain spa’s lack of cell phone reception, the couple next door argues constantly, and Jess swears she just saw a drug deal go down. To top it all off, she’s warned to stay out of the woods by the gruff and sexy chef, Dean Osbourne. Is this a retreat or a horror movie?
As Jess tries to do her job while placating the bride-to-be and her increasingly over-the-top demands, she spends more and more time with the resort owners, finding herself much more in tune with the laid-back Osbourne family than her social climbing “boss.” Between a meditation garden-related drowning and Jess’s discovery of a body in a sauna, it’s clear that deadly secrets abound at the Golden Ash. Now it’s up to Jess to unravel the mysteries here in the mountains—before all her plans are cancelled…permanently.
Release Date: April 8, 2025
Publisher: Berkley
Series: Standalone
Genre: Mystery, Contemporary Romance
Format(s): paperback (352 pages), e-book, audiobook
Book Source: Publisher / NetGalley