The Proposal

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The Proposal

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More About This Book

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher
“This is Mary Balogh at her riveting best. Everyone loves a wounded hero, and Balogh introduces us to an unforgettable one who discovers the healing power of love.”—#1 New York Times bestselling author Debbie Macomber

“[Mary Balogh] writes with wit and wisdom. . . . The Proposal is both moving and entertaining and the beginning of what promises to be an outstanding series.”—Romance Reviews Today
 
“A historical romance of unusual thoughtfulness and depth.”—Publishers Weekly

Publishers Weekly
In a strong opening for the Survivor’s Club series from prolific Regency doyenne Balogh (The Secret Mistress), a mismatched couple finds common ground in trauma and survival. When Hugo Emes, Lord Trentham, a resolutely middle-class businessman’s son raised to the peerage for heroism in battle, rescues elegant widow Gwendoline Grayson, Lady Muir, after she badly sprains an ankle, both agree that their mutual attraction can go nowhere. Though Gwendoline’s agreement to sponsor Hugo’s young sister in society allows Balogh to include the typical trappings of the Regency genre, the heart of the tale lies in the slow-growing closeness between the alternately taciturn and blunt Hugo and the charming and gracious Gwendoline, whose social poise hides deep wounds left by a troubled marriage. Beautifully characterized and with a gracefully developed romance, this is a historical romance of unusual thoughtfulness and depth from one of the best writers in the genre. Agent: Maria Carvainis, Maria Carvainis Agency. (May)
Kirkus Reviews
A widowed noblewoman and a lord with middle-class antecedents engage in a decidedly unconventional courtship. Lady Gwendoline, somewhat lame from a long-ago riding accident, sprains her ankle while taking an ill-advised shortcut up a seaside cliff, which just happens to be on the grounds of Penderris Hall, where the Survivors' Club, six Napoleonic war veterans and a widow, meets annually. One of these, Hugo, Lord Trentham, who earned his title as a reward for valor in a "Forlorn Hope" assault on the enemy, comes upon Gwen, and in his gruff, no-nonsense way carries her to Penderris. His companions had just been joking that Hugo, who has decided to take a wife, would propose to the first woman he met at the shore, and now their jibes prove prescient, for Gwen and Hugo are instantly drawn to each other, and in contravention of every rule of decency, consummate their love days later, in a way that Jane Austen may well have imagined but would never have put in writing. Both acknowledge the considerable impediments to a marriage between them. Hugo is solidly middle-class although he's the inheritor of a substantial import/export fortune. Gwen bears tremendous guilt from her first marriage: Her husband, who suffered from manic depression, killed himself in front of her, not long after her miscarriage, a result of the aforementioned riding accident. Hugo also is tormented by conscience: The hopeless attack he led succeeded only at the cost of massive casualties. Moreover, only a middle-class wife could help Hugo find a suitably bourgeois match for his half-sister Constance. But Constance, with Gwen's collaboration, aims to make her debut at balls and parties among London's high society. Reluctantly assenting, Hugo also agrees to court Gwen in a genteel manner Austen would definitely endorse, even if it kills him. Balogh contravenes the conventions of historical romance by introducing an ingredient the genre is not always known for: intelligence.
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Product Details

  • ISBN-13: 9780440245308
  • Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
  • Publication date: 5/28/2013
  • Format: Mass Market Paperback
  • Edition description: Reprint
  • Pages: 384
  • Sales rank: 117836
  • Product dimensions: 4.10 (w) x 6.80 (h) x 1.10 (d)

Customer Reviews

Average Rating 4.5
( 59 )
Rating Distribution

5 Star

(32)

4 Star

(19)

3 Star

(5)

2 Star

(2)

1 Star

(1)
See All Sort by: Showing 1 – 20 of 59 Customer Reviews

  • Anonymous

    Posted Mon May 07 00:00:00 EDT 2012

    I Also Recommend:

    The Chief's Niece: Passionate Secrets

    I felt the author did a marvleous job, as always...this one didn

    I felt the author did a marvleous job, as always...this one didn't disappoint, and I am a big fan of hers anyhow. I just love the style and flow of her words and could read her books all day. She held my attention for the entire length of the book, and I didn't want it to end. Beautiful story and I left with a wonderful feeling that stayed with me long after I put the book down.

    4 out of 4 people found this review helpful.

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  • Posted Wed Jun 26 00:00:00 EDT 2013

    more from this reviewer

    3.5 Stars

    I liked The Proposal. I read it in one sitting but in certain places the book would have the same sentence a few lines down. I would go back to check to make sure that I wasn't reading the same paragraph again. I wasn't it was just the same sentence. This bothered me a little. Both the Gwen and Hugo were likeable. I wanted a little more something, anything to happen other than him just courting or considering courting Gwen. It got to be a bit boring and when I thought there might be some action or a twist nothing ever became of it. Evaporated with some small explanations of why it happened. I liked it but I wanted more, it left me wanting more out of the story.

    2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted Tue Jul 31 00:00:00 EDT 2012

    My first book by this author, I thought it was a very good read.

    My first book by this author, I thought it was a very good read. It left me wishing to know more about their life together; but since I see that the author is a series writer, I'll make sure I get the next one.

    2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

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  • Posted Fri May 04 00:00:00 EDT 2012

    not her best but still a Balogh

    I completely agree with the previous reviewer who both loves and is annoyed by this wonderful author. Mary has created characters and situations so real and memorable that they bring you to tears and stick with you for years afterwards. At the same time, she also has certain tricks of the trade--the unnaturally stilted dialogue, the characters who end each and every utterance with the self-deprecating rhetorical question, and the dreaded please God not again pursing of the lips--that recur to a greater or lesser degree in many of her books.

    I am sorry to say that this is a book where the latter outweighs the former. Anyone with a fondness for Gwen from previous books will want to know how her story ends, but this book will not be on my shelf of Balogh keepers.

    2 out of 4 people found this review helpful.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted Thu May 03 00:00:00 EDT 2012

    I'm a big fan of Mary Balogh, I both love and are annoyed by her

    I'm a big fan of Mary Balogh, I both love and are annoyed by her books. There were some things that bothered me in this one, like the fact that I think they opened up to each other way to soon, but other than that I really enjoyed this book. Most of Balogh's books revolve around "The Big Misunderstanding", which can be very frustrating for the reader, but this book was thankfully devoid of that (though we all love that in Balogh's book too sometimes). Overall I was satisfied with Gwen's happy ending, and I look forward to the other books in this new "Survivors Series".

    2 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted Fri Sep 20 00:00:00 EDT 2013

    enjoyable!

    Very pleasr
    a

    1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted Mon Sep 02 00:00:00 EDT 2013

    The propposal

    I enjoyed this story very much. Well developed characters, light humor and entertaining.

    1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted Sun Jul 07 00:00:00 EDT 2013

    Great

    Ms Balogh has recovered her status as a great writer to me, because the "secrete mistress" was written so bad i was willing to not ever read anything else by her.

    1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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  • Posted Sat Jun 15 00:00:00 EDT 2013

    II'm going to start this review off with a quote from the book:

    II'm going to start this review off with a quote from the book:


    “'You are not by any manner of means the sort of woman I am in search of as a wife,' he said, 'and I am in a totally different universe from the husband you hope to find. But I feel a powerful urge to kiss you, for all that.'”


    I loved this paragraph and it certainly sets a tone for the entire book. “He” is Hugo, and the object of his “powerful urge” is Gwendoline. They come from different social classes, but fate has brought them together. They are both irritated to be in each other's company. But at the same time each is intrigued by the other. It is not difficult to see where this will lead, but the path to that endpoint is a thoroughly entertaining read!

    There are no plot twists or suspenseful moments, no intrigue and no mystery. This book is straight romance. I would call it Regency-like, since it strays from the common theme of nobility courting nobility, and mixes strong characters of different social backgrounds. What's more, you find out that a) there is hardworking middle class in Regency England and b) the ton and the middle class are not necessarily oil and water. I liked the refreshing look at that time period.

    Ms. Balogh is an entertaining storyteller. If you enjoy romance, historical or otherwise, I recommended you check out The Proposal!

    1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted Sun Jun 02 00:00:00 EDT 2013

    A Great Start to Another Wonderful Series

    I love her family series' and eagerly awaited Gwen's story. Hugo is a troubled war hero who helps Gwen unlock the shell of loneliness she wrapped herself in after her husband's untimely death while she in turn helps him out of his own self imposed exile. Another Balogh keeper. Cannot wait to see how their lives progress as this series comtinues.

    1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted Fri Aug 29 00:00:00 EDT 2014

    FABULOUS CROSSOVER FROM THE BEDWYN SERIES

    The Bedwyns were a wonderful read and I am just as pleased with the crossover to this sensitive new series and how it deals with the traumas of war. Touches my heart for all survivors yesterday, today and tomorrow. LORRAINE

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  • Posted Sat Aug 16 00:00:00 EDT 2014

    Boring....................................................... Du

    Boring.......................................................
    Dull and plodding book about a couple with no chemistry and an overload pf guilt.   Got halfway through and am putting it on the DNF pile.  Painfully slow .

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  • Anonymous

    Posted Fri Aug 15 00:00:00 EDT 2014

    AMAZING

    Kept me wanting more. So good

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  • Anonymous

    Posted Mon Jul 07 00:00:00 EDT 2014

    Excellent

    Absolutely excellent. Highly recommended.

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  • Posted Sun Nov 03 00:00:00 EDT 2013

    I was captivated from the prologue all the way to the end. I lov

    I was captivated from the prologue all the way to the end. I love the romance in Mary Balogh's stories. It is true and real without being 'fluff'. I didn't get it five stars only because I didn't like some of the characterization and the redundancy. Otherwise, it was brilliant and engrossing. I read this on my android phone Nook app b/c I could not put it down!

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  • Anonymous

    Posted Sat Jun 01 00:00:00 EDT 2013

    Strength

    I just love Hugo and Gwendoline's story. They heal each other...so sweet.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted Sat Dec 01 00:00:00 EST 2012

    Highly recommend

    This book is for the reader who loves love stories with happy endings. Mary Balogh is that kind of writer. I have read all of her books and will continue to read others as she publishes them.
    I recommend this book for book club discussions.
    Happy reading!!!!!!!

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  • Anonymous

    Posted Sat Nov 24 00:00:00 EST 2012

    Good beginning

    Not quite as good as previous Balogh novels but a good, emotional read.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted Tue Aug 28 00:00:00 EDT 2012

    I absolutely loved this book. It captures your attention from pa

    I absolutely loved this book. It captures your attention from page 1 and
    doesn't let go until the end.

    0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted Mon Aug 27 00:00:00 EDT 2012

    Highly Recommend

    I love Mary Balogh’s work. She creates stories that draw you in, making you laugh and cry, she always leaves you wanting more.

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