A Proposal They Can't Refuse: A Rom-Com Novel (Vega Family Love Stories, #1)

by Natalie Caña

Natalie Caña turns up the heat, humor and heart in this debut rom-com about a Puerto Rican chef and an Irish American whiskey distiller forced into a fake engagement by their scheming octogenarian grandfathers.

Kamilah Vega is desperate to convince her family to update their Puerto Rican restaurant and enter it into the Fall Foodie Tour. With the gentrification of their Chicago neighborhood, it's the only way to save the place. The fly in her mofongo—her blackmailing abuelo says if she wants to change anything in his restaurant, she'll have to marry the one man she can't stand: his best friend’s grandson.

Liam Kane spent a decade working to turn his family’s distillery into a contender. But just as he and his grandfather are on the verge of winning a national competition, Granda hits him with a one-two punch: he has cancer and has his heart set on seeing Liam married before it’s too late. And Granda knows just the girl…Kamilah Vega.

If they refuse, their grandfathers will sell the building that houses both their businesses. With their futures on the line, Kamilah and Liam plan to outfox the devious duo, faking an engagement until they both get what they want. But soon, they find themselves tangled up in more than either of them bargained for.

• ISBN10: 0778386090
• ISBN13: 9780778386094
• Publish Date: 7 June 2022 (first published 24 May 2022)
• Publish Status: Active
• Imprint: Mira Books
• Edition: Original ed.
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 336
• Language: English
• URL: https://harpercollins.com/products/a-proposal-they-cant-refuse-natalie-cana?variant=39741660004386

Reviews

[Jeff Sexton]

Fun, Flirty Flight With Serious Undertones. This is one of those books where you take two cultures known for their passions - in this case, the Irish and the Puerto Rican -, mix in a lifetime of not only knowing each other, but having both families remarkably intertwined (platonically) and add a heaping of tragic backstory... and watch everything come together beautifully. The mix of romance tropes works well here, our primary couple is particularly well fleshed out while giving most all of the side characters at least some time to shine, and we even get a clear sense that a series is brewing to boot. This book really does fire on all burners, and when the gut punches of the tragic backstories hit, they land like haymakers. Ultimately a fun book even with the haymakers, this is very much recommended.