The Broposal

YA author Reyes (The Lesbiana’s Guide to Catholic School) makes the jump to adult romance with this strained contemporary. Han, short for Alejandro, is an undocumented Mexican immigrant and womanizer living in New Mexico with his bisexual best friend and roommate, Kenny. After Kenny calls off his engagement to his abusive girlfriend, Jackie, he comes up with a plan to marry Han so his bro can get citizenship. Han is grateful, but the affection Kenny shows him while drunk makes him question his own sexuality and worry that there might be real feelings at stake behind the scheme. The guys play up their romance to convince others, but establish a “no kissing rule” in an effort to keep things platonic. This is easily broken as their relationship heats up—but trouble arises when the cartoonishly villainous Jackie drops the bombshell that she’s pregnant and wants Kenny back. The drama is compounded when Han gets injured, loses his job, and mourns the death of his estranged mother. Reyes tries to leaven these heavier moments with some fun, including scenes of Kenny doing drag and introducing Han to kink, but they struggle to achieve a coherent tone. The result feels overstuffed and contrived. Agent: Alexandra Levick, Writers House. (Jan.)

Correction: A previous version of this review used the wrong pronoun to refer to the author.