Book Review: The Proposal by Mary Balogh

US Cover

The Deal: Thanks to the help of the Survivor's Club, Hugo Emes, Lord Trentham survived the aftermath of his heroic actions in the Peninsula War and he is really looking forward to see the Club's members again at the annual gathering. But meeting Gwendolyn, Lady Muir on the second day of his stay and, thanks to an accident, having her stay with him and his friends, is nothing short of annoying and disastrous. 

Even though he was given a title due to his actions during the war, Hugo comes from a middle class background and doesn't deal well with the aristocracy - even though all his friends in the Survivor's Club have a title of some sort- so he finds it very infuriating how attracted he is to Gwen.

UK Cover

Gwen has been widowed for seven years, and the mix of love she felt for her husband and the regrets of her marriage have kept her from encouraging  suitors or pursuing a second marriage. She finds Hugo a bit too straight forward, but also attractive, and it really annoys her that he's the only one she seems to be able to open up with about what her marriage was really like.

My Thoughts: I really wanted to like The Proposal, I hadn't read a book by Mary Balogh in a while but I liked the sound of this one. Sadly, the Proposal wasn't anything like I was expecting, and I didn't particularly care for what it actually was. 

The book is well written, the characters nice enough - if a bit too stubborn and contrary - but I didn't actually feel that much chemistry between them other than because THEY SAID they were attracted to each other (annoyingly so). Also, I felt like there was a lot of info-dump in this book, the narration went on and on, and the characters talked and talked, but the story were no where for a lot of the book. 

I had hoped this book would be more about The Survivor's Club and how these damaged people put themselves back together but, in the end, the whole Club thing was more a plot device to link this series than anything else (at least that's my opinion so far), and I don't really care to known the stories of the other ones. 

1/2

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Retro Friday: An Unacceptable Offer by Mary Blaogh

At First Sight: Jane Mathews is a spinster who once fell in love with the very handsome Michel Templeton, Viscount Fairfax. He never even knew she existed and went on to marry the belle of the season, Susan.

Now, years later Jane gets invited along for her beautiful cousin Honor's season to act as both companion and chaperon. Just as Fairfax returns to Town to find a new wife.

After five years of unhappy married life, now a widower and with two small daughters Michael is determined not to make the same mistake again and quickly decides that Jane - unlike her cousin Honor - will make him a suitable wife and mother to his children.

He knows he's handsome and he knows Jane is firmly on the shelve, so he figures she'll be happy for his proposal of a marriage of convenience... but she isn't. Much as he might have loved him (from afar) once, Jane isn't ready to settle.

Instead, she does accept the proposal of Fairfax's best friend Sedge as she thinks they have enough things in common and will get along well. Her betrothal results on Jane spending some time at Michael's state, where she gets to know his two daughters - Amy and Claire  and gets to see a whole new side of Michael's, revealing a man she could actually love, instead of just the idea of him. 

Second Glance: An Unacceptable Offer is one of the few Mary Balogh books that I love - I usually have a love-hate relationship with them, and they are kind of guilty pleasures because of it - because it really shows two people getting to know each other and falling in love.

At the beginning, both Jane and Michael were seeing just what they wanted to see, but once they are out of each other's reach - because she's engaged to his best friend - they start to see each other from whom they are and realize how perfect they are for each other. Which brings us to Sedge, he really is a minor character but I really liked him, he sees clearly what Jane and Michael can't and when the time comes he lets them be happy.

Sedge also has a nice secondary story with Jane's cousin, Honor, who likes to pretend to be a pretty airhead because she thinks that's what men want, and only allows herself to be who she is around Sedge.

Bottom Line: An Unacceptable Offer is a really nice comfort read. It is  story of it's time (first published in the late 80's) so don't expect it to be super steamy, but I still liked seeing how Jane and Michael got to know each other.
3/4

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The Ideal Wife by Mary Balogh

Fearing the imminent arrival of his mother and managing sisters, Miles Ripley, earl of Svern, says that if a plain, dull, forgettable woman just showed up he would marry her on the spot to avoid being married to the prospect his mother has in mind, some girl named Frances.

The next day, a girl just like he described shows up at his doorstep, claiming to be his cousin and asking if he would give her a letter of reference so she can find a new job, instead Miles decides she'll make a good enough bride and marries her two days later.

Abigail is not at all like she presented herself that first day and quickly her true personality starts to come out, like the fact she's impulsive and talks a lot, Miles should hate that but instead he finds it endearing.

Well, Mrs. Balogh knows her craft better than most and it is a good book - even though it reads perilously close to A Temporary Wife in the beginning as the story develops so do the characters and the smilarities end for the most part.

Not much to say about the book, other than it was an enjoyable read.

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