Yes, James can be seen as being similar to Proverbs.
The book opens by encouraging us to ask for wisdom from God (James 1:4). It describes wisdom from above as having no selfish ambition or jealousy. But it is pure, peaceable, gentle, reasonable, and without hypocrisy (James 3:13-18).
The book of James gives us instructions to live by in a few sentences, covering many topics, including the following:
1. Ask in faith without doubting (James 1:6).
2. Persevere under trial to receive the crown of life (James 1:12).
3. Do not be carried away by lust and fall into sin (James 1:14).
4. Be quick to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger (James 1:19).
5. Prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves (James 1:22).
6. Pure religion is to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world (James 1:27).
7. Do not show partiality or favoritism (James 2:1-4, 9).
8. Faith without works is dead (James 2:17). We need to live out our faith and prove that it is real and not lip-service.
9. The tongue is a fire. We should not bless God and curse men from the same mouth (James 3:9).
10. Do not pray with wrong motives to spend on your pleasures. If a person is a friend of the world, he is an enemy of God (James 4:3-4).
11. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands and purify your hearts (James 4:8).
12. Do not speak against one another (James 4:11). Do not complain against one another (James 5:9).
13. Do not boast about tomorrow and what you will do, because we don't know what tomorrow will bring (James 4:13-16).
14. Do not hoard wealth, but pay those to whom it is due (James 5:1-6).
15. Be patient and learn endurance without complaint, just like the prophets who endured and are blessed (James 5:7-11).
16. Do not swear an oath by heaven or earth or any other thing, but let your word be true (James 5:12).
17. Pray during suffering; sing praises when cheerful (James 5:13).
18. Ask the elders of the church to pray over the one who is sick. The prayer offered in faith will restore the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up, and if he has committed sins, they will be forgiven him (James 5:14-16).
So yes, the book of James can be likened to the Proverbs of the New Testament. We will do well to live by these words!