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The Proposal

(The Survivors' Club #1)

Mary Balogh

3.81 · Rating details · 9,632 ratings · 1,033 reviews

In Mary Balogh's engaging and seductive new novel of drama and romance, a woman comfortable in her solitude allows temptation to free her heart, when a daring war hero shows her how truly extraordinary she is.
THE PROPOSAL
Gwendoline, Lady Muir, has seen her share of tragedy, especially since a freak accident took her husband much too soon. Content in a quiet life with fr ...more

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Hardcover, 311 pages

Published May 1st 2012 by Delacorte Press (first published April 13th 2012)

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Apr 06, 2018 Jessica's Totally Over The Top Book Obsession rated it liked it

Shelves: own-book, listened-to-on-audio, liked-audiobook-version, meh-reads, historical-romance, read-in-2018

3 Meh Stars

The Proposal was my first Mary Balogh book, and it was just okay for me. The first half went very slow. I found myself very bored at times. The second half was much better, but still kinda slow. I really liked Gwen. I found her to be sweet, smart, and loyal. Hugo on the other hand was hard to warm up to. He was wishy washy, very dull, and at times flat. I think the author meant for him to be broody, damaged, and deep. Instead he came off one dimensional. Hugo drove me nuts with h ...more

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Dec 22, 2015 Wollstonecrafthomegirl rated it really liked it

It's been a long while since I read a Balogh and, oh boy, this one hit a serious sweet spot for me. This, to me, is everything that's good about historical romance. Two well drawn characters, not too much drama for the sake of drama, lovely dialogue and the close examination of a growing romance. It's grown up, in the best way possible. I'll start with Hugo because he was great. I love that he spoke his mind and shocked Gwen so completely with it. His bluntness made me smile, even a passing comm It's been a long while since I read a Balogh and, oh boy, this one hit a serious sweet spot for me. This, to me, is everything that's good about historical romance. Two well drawn characters, not too much drama for the sake of drama, lovely dialogue and the close examination of a growing romance. It's grown up, in the best way possible. I'll start with Hugo because he was great. I love that he spoke his mind and shocked Gwen so completely with it. His bluntness made me smile, even a passing comment about why Gwen would shorten her name when Gwendoline was such a lovely name, was just so unexpectedly honest. When he stripped off and went swimming in front of her, that was brilliant. That scene in a lot of ways captures the essence of this book, there's sometimes a paucity of words between these two characters but often it's what is not being said which is really important. Particularly for Hugo who covers his emotions and his inadequacies by not revealing his feelings - for example, agreeing with Gwen that she looked like a drowned rat and then later thinking to himself that she was beautiful no matter what the state of her clothing, or handing her into a carriage and just saying 'have a good trip' despite all that had passed between them (at that point numerous kisses and passionate sex). It might seem as though there's a lack of passion there or love or romance but I think Balogh does a good job of conveying that his feelings and emotions towards Gwen are taking place in between all this plain speaking (it's a Knightley thing - "if I loved you less perhaps I could express it more" [Austen is rolling over in her grave, that's not the exact quote, but you get what I'm saying]). Then there's Gwen who tumbles into an affair and then love with this unlikely man despite swearing off marriage altogether. She's a little less strong as a character but I liked her very much. Both h/H make early judgments about the other and then they're forced to revise them. The sex is really, really great typical Balogh not too explicit and there's not too much of it, but what there was worked for me because I really like the characters. There's no dirty talk as such in this book but Hugo's desire for 'lusty sex' and his willingness to talk about that fact ("The next time" he said, "if there is a next time, I want you naked.") was great. There was one thing which keeps this from being a five star for me and it's only a hairs breadth away, in reality. I think the class differences point was hit a little bit too hard and could've been handled in a slightly subtler manner. Sometimes Hugo was overly judgmental of Gwen even when she'd proved herself not to be a snob or someone who would shy away from the confrontations he experiences because of his actions during the war, some of the inner monologue on this point could've been edited out without the book losing anything at all. This is me being picky though, Balogh is a genius of the genre and I suspect she can take it. I still recommend this book wholeheartedly, it's wonderful. ...more

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Nov 13, 2015 Carol Cork *Young at Heart Oldie* rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

I LOVED THIS BOOK! Mary Balogh weaves an intelligent and touching story of two people from different social classes who find love. It’s an emotionally satisfying, character-driven romance written with her insightful glimpses into the human heart.

This is the first book in the series about a group of survivors of the Napoleonic Wars, all left scarred (emotionally, physically or both) by their experiences, who form a close bond while convalescing. THE PROPOSAL tells Hugo Emes, Lord Trentham’s story ...more

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Mar 07, 2014 Diane rated it liked it

Shelves: love-stories, historical-fiction

I reached for this novel the same way a drowning man reaches for a life preserver.

After a difficult month, it was a relief to lose myself in a charming historical romance. We meet the brave and scowling Lord Trentham, who fought in the Napoleonic wars and feels guilty about all of the men who died under his command, and the lovely widow Lady Muir, who is nursing her own emotional wounds after a difficult marriage. Trentham feels pressure to marry, but Lady Muir has vowed never to marry again. O ...more

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Jul 11, 2012 Dorothea rated it it was ok

Shelves: romance

I went into this book with fairly low expectations. Here's why:

(1) This is the first of a new series, involving the members of a group called "The Survivors' Club". Here is Mary Balogh's description of that club, taken from her website:

The seven members of the club, six men and one woman, are survivors of the Napoleonic Wars, five of them former military officers. All seven were variously wounded during the wars and ended up spending several years at Penderris Hall, the Cornish estate of the Duk

...more

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Oct 01, 2015 WhiskeyintheJar rated it liked it

Shelves: historical, series, regency

3.5 stars

This felt strangely dispassionate in its passion. Maybe too stiff upper lip for me? Not sure but I really started to enjoy the couple more towards the end when they began to warm up to each other, teasing and being a little feisty. Definitely keeping on with the series.
Thank you to all that recommended :)

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Apr 19, 2018 Preeti ♥︎ Her Bookshelves rated it liked it

Shelves: _bbd, miscarriage-or-dead-child, opposites-do-attract, h-wid-one-prvious-luvr, u-not-wife-material, wrap-it-up-pls, h-wid-disability, two-lost-souls, disability-illness-scarring, story-waxes-n-wanes

Conflicted, very conflicted about the book and quite unsure how to rate it!
And is it just me or are all tall, 'huge' Hs named Hugh or Hugo?

Conflicted not because it’s complicated or deals with complex issues. Rather it’s quite simple and straightforward in its premise – two people attracted to each other right from the beginning, have sex, are even halfway in love but not ready to take the final step forward to matrimony. Although the reason comes couched in many layers but it all boils down to ...more

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Dec 03, 2011 Shawna rated it really liked it

Recommends it for: Fans of regency romance, tortured heroes, & resilient heroines

Shelves: historical-romance, historical-romance-regency, hh-disfigured-injured-scarred-ill, best-secondary-characters-ensemble, best-friendships, heroine-classy-lady, hh-limp-paraplegic-wheelchair, hh-across-the-tracks, hr-regency-napoleonic-era-wars, brothers-sisters-cousins-family

4 stars – Historical/Regency Romance

This is a nice start to a very promising new septet series by the refined queen of traditional, authentic Regency era romance, Mary Balogh. The relationship between Gwendoline, Lady Muir and Hugo, Lord Trentham was engaging, refreshing, and heartfelt. But what I loved most about it is the deep bond and earnest affection between the seven members of the “Survivor’s Club”, and I look forward to the other books, particularly Flavian, Viscount Ponsonby’s and Vince ...more

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Sep 02, 2015 Jacob Proffitt rated it really liked it

Shelves: steamy, romance

So it turns out this is my first by this author. It won't be my last. Yes, I enjoyed it very much. I'm not entirely sure what to say about the book, so this is likely to be a bit disjointed.

First, Balogh transplants some modern sensibilities into the Regency era, but does so in consistent enough ways that I didn't really mind. Yeah, group therapy and a man who is obviously fast-cycling bi-polar being described as "ill but not mad" are both rather modern constructs transplanted into that time. An So it turns out this is my first by this author. It won't be my last. Yes, I enjoyed it very much. I'm not entirely sure what to say about the book, so this is likely to be a bit disjointed.

First, Balogh transplants some modern sensibilities into the Regency era, but does so in consistent enough ways that I didn't really mind. Yeah, group therapy and a man who is obviously fast-cycling bi-polar being described as "ill but not mad" are both rather modern constructs transplanted into that time. And other psychological constructs regarding love and acceptance are presented as obvious (if hard-won) wisdom learned through experience rather than the rather radical concepts they'd have been for their time. And, of course, religion is as present as it is in most Regency romances (i.e. completely absent).

Which sounds like a lot of bad things. And if you're a period purist they might just be. Still, if you're willing to bend with the period a bit, the story is good and the characters are kind of wonderful. I liked Gwen immediately, even as I worried she would turn out to be a doormat or pushover (she isn't—she's just kind). And Hugo is a big teddy bear, if a somewhat lusty one.

And I liked them working out emotional space to connect with each other. I mean, you can see how attached they get rather early (that's not hard, what with the beach sex and all) but they have rather a long ways to go before being able to be together. They really are from functionally different worlds and they both have to work out how they're going to bridge the gaps (both separately and with each other). I like that Balogh doesn't shortcut the difficulties they'll face and that she gives the characters space and time to work things out—sometimes by actually talking it over with each other. What a concept.

And at least one reason I got over the anachronistic psych 101 is that Balogh has some interesting things to say about going through bad things and learning to accept both your own failings and the failings of those around you (even the ones that hurt deeply). There are moments of forgiveness that are true gifts, here, and I'm rather glad to see those explored, even if they were kind of displaced in time.

Which makes this a solid four star read all the way through. I bounced out of the story on some of the modern mental frameworks being discussed in rather modern ways, but the payload of the story was rich enough to dampen what might normally have tossed me hard enough to not come back.

A note about Steamy: This is the middle of my steam range. There are two explicit scenes of moderate length. I also liked that the characters maintain period concerns enough that threat of pregnancy is discussed as a realistic risk. Indeed, this is another point on the axis of "talk about actual relationship things" that I came to appreciate in the book. ...more

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Nov 19, 2011 Tina rated it really liked it

Shelves: z2012-reads, romance-historical, audiobook

We first meet Gwen, Lady Muir in One Night for Love. She is the slightly lame sister of the hero, Neville, of that book. Although One Night For Love has spawned a metric ton of spin-off books (The entire Bedwyn series being one of them), at no time did I ever suspect we'd be getting Gwen's story.

It took me awhile to realize the connection, but it was a fun aha! moment when it did. Gwen is long widowed with a lot of buried guilt regarding her marriage. She is visiting a friend who is newly widowe We first meet Gwen, Lady Muir in One Night for Love. She is the slightly lame sister of the hero, Neville, of that book. Although One Night For Love has spawned a metric ton of spin-off books (The entire Bedwyn series being one of them), at no time did I ever suspect we'd be getting Gwen's story.

It took me awhile to realize the connection, but it was a fun aha! moment when it did. Gwen is long widowed with a lot of buried guilt regarding her marriage. She is visiting a friend who is newly widowed, when she sprains her ankle on the beach and meets the hero, Hugo Emes, Lord Trentham.

I have to say I simply fell in love with Hugo. What a great character. He is a war hero who came back from the war suffering from PTSD and his own incredible guilt. He formed a friendship a small group of survivors of the war who also carried their own scars, both physical and mental.

At heart Hugo is a decent gentle sort who comes from an upper middle class background. He has never had any great ambition, he only has ever wanted to live a quiet comfortable life. But his foray into war changed all that. He is feted and given great honors because of what he did on the battlefield, all the time he doesn't feel at all worthy of it.

When he rescues Gwen they are immediately attracted to one another. Although Balogh is very subtle in how she lets their attraction manifest. It isn't bolt of lightning and immediate lust, but it is an acknowledged attraction and Hugo speaks very frankly about how much he likes and wants Gwen.

The meat of the story is their courtship. They fall almost reluctantly in love with each other. Each one of them has internal issues that doesn't allow them to completely let go. And Hugo, although he has been elevated to a Lord, is conscious of a class divide between him and Gwen. But they talk to each other and get to know each other. The build of their romance is well done and completely sweeps the reader along.

There are nice bits of humor strung throughout. You smile as Hugo and Gwen get comfortable enough with each other to have inside jokes.

Fans of Balogh who have read all the books that have spun from One Night for Love will be treated to a who's who of walk-ons by various characters from those books. There is even a memorable scene that includes Wulfric Bedwyn (who remains my favorite Balogh hero ever).

When I finished the book I closed it with a happy sigh. A good book should always elicit that reaction.

review is from an ARC through the Amazon Vine program ...more

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Dec 09, 2018 Starr (AKA Starrfish) Rivers rated it it was amazing

Shelves: historical-romance

I'm in a generous mood. I do love the Hero, Hugo. I love Heroes who are "pure" and straightforward and kind and blunt. He is all of those things, a great boulder of a beautiful man. So sweet inside, so male in the way he approaches the world, and so innocent too.

I love the push and pull between Hugo and Gwen. She is much more sophisticated than him, but he appeals to the woman in her - class be damned!

I love that she makes him court her, and that he refuses to do so, instead wooing her in his ow ...more

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May 21, 2016 Vintage rated it liked it

Shelves: angsty, mature-lovers, apply-two-by-four-please, historical-fiction, hunky-heroes, bamboozled-hero, regency, beauty-and-beast, honor, boring-hero

My least favorite of the Survivor's Club, but still a 3 star if for no other reason that it launches the other romances and introduces the members of the SC, and it's still well written.

Three stars for the sweetness and the love that the six men and Imogen share as they try and overcome the horror of war as well as the personal vagaries of life.

I could never really warm to the heroine who was distant, and I wanted to take a skillet to the head of Hugh the stubborn horse's patoot and society humb ...more

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Aug 31, 2014 Leona rated it liked it

Shelves: romance

Somewhat disappointing. It started out very strong with a great premise, but it just fizzled out and got very long winded in certain places. Just when I thought there was going to be a compelling conflict that would grab my interest and keep me turning those pages, things turned lukewarm. I actually fell asleep at one point, which is unheard of when reading an MB regency romance.

2.5 stars

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Jun 23, 2012 Olga Godim rated it really liked it

Shelves: historical, romance

4.5 stars
After rereading this novel, I'm bumping the rating up and updating my review.
******************************
I loved this book. I like most books by this author, so I wasn’t surprised. Looking back though my reviews, I can see that I read and reviewed this novel before, when it first came out in 2012, but I didn’t remember the story, so it felt like a fresh read.
The tale is a classic historical romance. Gwen and Hugo belong to different classes. She is a lady, with many generations of a 4.5 stars
After rereading this novel, I'm bumping the rating up and updating my review.
******************************
I loved this book. I like most books by this author, so I wasn’t surprised. Looking back though my reviews, I can see that I read and reviewed this novel before, when it first came out in 2012, but I didn’t remember the story, so it felt like a fresh read.
The tale is a classic historical romance. Gwen and Hugo belong to different classes. She is a lady, with many generations of aristocracy behind her. He is a middle-class man, granted his title and land for his valor in the war against Napoleon. He doesn’t much like nobility and he definitely doesn’t feel like one of them.
Both have suffered in the past and bear scars, although those scars are not always visible. Both are mature people, over thirty years old, not naïve youngsters. When they first meet, there is an instant attraction, mixed with dislike—they are too different. The rest of the novel unfolds around these two trying to find a way towards each other, while simultaneously resisting the attraction. To paraphrase Hugo, “it would be daft” to tie their lives together, for various reasons, but love is a demanding mistress and wouldn’t be denied.
Besides belonging to different classes, they also belong to different sexes (surprise!) and not always understand each other, or rather Hugo doesn’t always understand Gwen. She, like many intuitive women, is much better in getting the emotional nuances straight.
Below is a wonderful quote—Hugo’s baffled contemplation on the mystery of women.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Had she meant it? He had thought so at the time, but really, could women—ladies—be so blasé about sexual encounters? Men could. But women? Had he been too ready to take her at her words?
What if she was with child and would not write to him.
And why could he not stop thinking of her day or night… always she was there at the back of his mind—and sometimes not so far back.
Gwendoline.
He would be an idiot to marry her.
But she would save him from idiocy. She would not marry him even if he asked. She had made it very clear that she didn’t want him to ask.
But had she meant it?
He wished he understood women better. It was a well-known fact that they didn’t mean half of what they said.
But which half did they mean?
He would be an idiot.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

So the two disparate partners play an ancient game of wooing and seduction, courting each other and retreating again. Almost like a chess game, although in the end, both are the winners.
The story grows gently: no mystery or danger is involved in the blossoming romance. Not many pages are devoted to sex scenes either, which I consider a plus. The bed time is there, when necessary, but the intercourse descriptions are kept to an absolute minimum. It’s all very classy, and the suspense comes from within the protagonists, interspaced with faint but unmistakable humor. Would they finally accept their differences? Would they cross the line between classes and find happiness together? Would it work for them?
Of course, in the best traditions of the genre, it does work, but the author doesn’t deceive her readers. She and her characters know it’s not going to be simple or easy. But it is doable.
I liked this novel so much that I already borrowed the next two novels in the series from my library. I’m starting the next one tonight.
Recommended for everyone who likes historical romance.

************************
OLD REVIEW (2012)
A gentle, low-key romance between two vastly unsuitable people, a man and a woman from different social classes. The author doesn’t introduce a mystery or a thriller into her story to make it interesting. Instead, she delves deep into the thoughts and emotions of the protagonists: Gwendoline, Lady Muir, and Hugo, a former military officer. Both are ridden with guilt. Both harbor wounds of the soul, all the more painful for being invisible. The past hasn’t been kind to either of them. But now, the past is over, and the present cheerfully reasserts itself.
For his valor in Napoleonic wars, Hugo was awarded the title of Lord Trentham, but he doesn’t consider himself a lord. He is firmly middle class and proud of his roots. Now he needs a wife and he is set to look for her among his own social strata.
Gwen, a lady through and through and a sister to an earl, has been a widow for seven years. Her first marriage wasn’t happy. Still feeling fragile, she doesn’t wish to remarry.
They meet by chance, and both resent and resist their instant, senseless attraction to each other. In the beginning, they don’t particularly like each other. Besides, both are realists. Whatever the demands of their bodies, they know that there could be no happily-ever-after for them: the social chasm between an umpteenth-generation noblewoman and a son of a self-made businessman is almost bottomless in Georgian England.
But love wouldn’t be denied. It doesn’t care for social conventions, and the arrows of Cupid catch both his targets square in the hearts.
Their story – a story of two damaged people searching for absolution and peace but finding love in an unexpected place – is infused with quiet dignity. No steam, no mad escapades. Just a man and a woman groping in the dark towards each other, finding forgiveness and understanding in each other’s arms.
Tales of lovers from different classes or castes aren’t too plentiful in fiction, maybe because such stories have rarely ended happily in real life. Everyone knows that it’s much easier to adjust to a life partner, when you both have been raised with the same set of values and traditions. Common wisdom, often personified by families, invariable put obstacles into the paths of sweethearts from different social layers. But still, it's happened, in life and in fiction, more and more often these days. And among the fictional accounts of such occasions, this novel is probably one of the best.
...more

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Dec 04, 2018 Lover of Romance rated it really liked it

Shelves: genre-historical-romance, time-england-regency-1811-1820

This review was originally posted on Addicted To RomanceI received this book for free from Audible Romance Package in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

The Proposal is the first book in the Survivors' Club Series by Mary Balogh. I have been wanting to get to this series so badly and so when I saw the first book up on the Romance Package at Audible, I knew I needed to try it and get my historical fix that I was in the mood of. A ...more

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Sep 20, 2012 Crista rated it really liked it

Shelves: 4-star, regency, tear-jerkers, series, tortured-heroes, tortured-heroines

When it comes to Regency Romance, Mary Balogh is really in a class of her own. The Proposal is another example, along with countless others, that prove why this statement is true.

I think what I have come to appreciate and expect from Balogh is a story that is filled emotion and characters that come to life. You won't find "edge of your seat action" but you will find a story that has the ability to capture your heart and engage your emotions. This is what I appreciate about this author.

Hugo and G ...more

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Jan 31, 2017 Jan rated it liked it

Shelves: ex-military, older-mcs, class-difference, regency, historical, widow

Not my fav Mary Balogh book, but it wasn't too bad. I like the idea of the Survivors Club, and a grim, serious ex-military man is usually a delicious fav of mine. Unfortunately the book dragged a little in parts. There was a little too much I love you but can't be with you will you court me no I won't court you yes I will court you I love you will you marry me.... It dragged on a little too much and started to feel a little repetitive.

I did like the last part of the book where we started to see ...more

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Dec 08, 2012 Carol Storm rated it really liked it

I loved this book. I think it's the best Mary Balogh novel I've read since A SUMMER TO REMEMBER. At the same time, though, it was obvious throughout that this legendary romance superstar is no longer writing with the unbelievable intensity and passion of twenty years ago. But that's life.

Hugo Emes is just a great big teddy bear with a heart of gold. Born to a fabulously wealthy merchant family, he joined the army merely as a way of avoiding certain family problems. Not to worry, he immediately I loved this book. I think it's the best Mary Balogh novel I've read since A SUMMER TO REMEMBER. At the same time, though, it was obvious throughout that this legendary romance superstar is no longer writing with the unbelievable intensity and passion of twenty years ago. But that's life.

Hugo Emes is just a great big teddy bear with a heart of gold. Born to a fabulously wealthy merchant family, he joined the army merely as a way of avoiding certain family problems. Not to worry, he immediately becomes a hero under fire, leading a spectacular charge and winning not only nationwide fame but an aristocratic title. Hugo becomes Lord Trentham and is forced seek a wife.

Gwendoline, Lady Muir, is literally "damaged goods." She is a widow and walks with a limp due to a riding accident. She's already been a minor character in several earlier novels by Mary Balogh. Her main problem is that she's still in shock from the trauma of her failed marriage.

I liked these characters, but they just didn't grab me as a couple. It's not that they have no chemistry, but the barriers between them felt sort of contrived and hollow. Hugo keeps grumbling and mumbling about "aristocrats" but it's obvious that as a fabulously wealthy war hero he has no reason to be shy around anyone. Gwendoline is supposed to be dealing with grief and guilt over her husband's death, but that's not terribly convincing either. She certainly wastes no time hooking up with Hugo down at the beach!

If that sounds too modern, that's because the tone of most of this book is too modern. Mary Balogh is at the point in her career where she no longer has to worry about capturing Regency dialogue accurately . . . and she knows it. Characters keep using modern slang, describing things in modern ways, and generally giving you the impression that it's all being phoned in. There are "awesome" sunsets. "Amazing" views. And a ton of charming minor characters, but most of them middle and lower class. And they all take a back seat to the (rather half-hearted) Regency love story.

So in the end, while THE PROPOSAL is certainly an enjoyable work, it definitely doesn't compare to her best work of twenty years ago. The champ can't go the distance any more. But she can still hurt you. ...more

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Aug 14, 2013 Sarah rated it liked it

Shelves: fiction-unfinished-series, fiction-romance, library-books

15/08 - This wasn't too bad, but I would have enjoyed it much more if Trentham had been less clinical during the sex scenes. I felt like I was reading a step-by-step manual - 1. put your hand here 2. now kiss her here, and so on. I felt like saying to Balogh "just because they're old (30s), doesn't mean everything has to feel rehearsed or choreographed, they can be just as spontaneous as the younger couples of other romance books." I enjoyed the relationship between Trentham and the rest of the ...more

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Mar 27, 2012 SidneyKay rated it liked it

Shelves: romance-regency

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Step aside Avengers! Make way for the Super Angst Battalion!

Yes, Mary Balogh has started her new series, The Super Ang...er, Survivor's Club series. We have Sightless Guy, Walks with a Crutch Man, Scar-on-Face Fellow, Stammer Bloke, Desolate Woman and the leader of the Battalion, Everyone-Thinks-I-Killed-My-Wife Gent or X-Gent for those who know him. And, then we have our hero, Middle-Class-Dour Man. So, we are in for some future laugh-filled installments from Ms. Balogh.

Our heroine is Gwen. For Step aside Avengers! Make way for the Super Angst Battalion!

Yes, Mary Balogh has started her new series, The Super Ang...er, Survivor's Club series. We have Sightless Guy, Walks with a Crutch Man, Scar-on-Face Fellow, Stammer Bloke, Desolate Woman and the leader of the Battalion, Everyone-Thinks-I-Killed-My-Wife Gent or X-Gent for those who know him. And, then we have our hero, Middle-Class-Dour Man. So, we are in for some future laugh-filled installments from Ms. Balogh.

Our heroine is Gwen. For those of you who are keeping track, you may remember her. She's Neville's sister, you know, from One Night for Love...remember, he's Lauren's cousin. You know her from A Summer to Remember. Of course you know her, and she knows the Bedwyns. Remember all the Slightly stories. And of course there was Miss Martin school in the Simply stories, which brings us to Claudia, which brings us to Joseph, Marquess of Attingsborough, who shows up in this book, The Proposal. I now have a headache. Oh yeh, Wulf puts in an appearance, too.

If any of you have ever read a Mary Balogh's book you know that they are usually filled with deep soul searching written with a fine melodic hand. And, sometimes that melody is extraordinary and sometimes it is way too heavy. This one is on the heavy side. There is no outside drama going on, no villains, no kidnappers, no blackmail, no spies. Nothing on the outside to build any tension. All the tension is inside Dour Hugo and Smart Gwen's minds. Their separate minds. Their minds that never shut down, they are always bubbling up with reasons for this and that and why this won't work and why that won't work. On and on. Occasionally we are given glimpses of some funny banter, but the "middle-class," I'm not good enough, you don't fit in my world, woe is me routine of Dour Hugo went on w-a-y too long. This is one time, I wish that Ms. Balogh had been a little less insightful and given these two characters something else to do besides think.

This was a slow read for me, dare I say laborious. I love Mary Balogh and think she's one of the best examples of romance writing around, but this one missed the mark for me. Ms. Balogh can write some of the most romantic feelings, some of the best tear-jerkers in the business, some really hot sex scenes and some very tender moments. But this one had very few of those moments and two characters I didn't care about. And, I wanted to.

Hopefully, the next in the series will be more what I have come to expect from Ms. Balogh
KaysBlog ...more

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Aug 18, 2013 MAP rated it it was ok

Shelves: fiction, romance

Mary Balogh, in most of her books, follows a very specific, somewhat annoying formula: hero and heroine meet, they slowly realize they have feelings for each other, they have sex -- once -- he offers for her hand and she refuses it, and then they go their separate ways only to be thrown together again and eventually propelled into marriage. Except for a very very few of her books, this formula is a guarantee and it seriously pushes all my "wallpaper historical" buttons. HOWEVER, I read her books Mary Balogh, in most of her books, follows a very specific, somewhat annoying formula: hero and heroine meet, they slowly realize they have feelings for each other, they have sex -- once -- he offers for her hand and she refuses it, and then they go their separate ways only to be thrown together again and eventually propelled into marriage. Except for a very very few of her books, this formula is a guarantee and it seriously pushes all my "wallpaper historical" buttons. HOWEVER, I read her books because she often has interesting and complex characters, witty and well-written dialogue, and explores situations that are deeper and more realistic than many romance novels, including having characters with developmental disabilities, having people who come from abusive homes, and psychological issues and struggles. And, unlike most romance novels, she doesn't hand wave it all with a "true love conquers all" mentality.

Except for this book. I bought this book when it first came out because the premise of the series seemed interesting, but abandoned it halfway through. I recently got an alert from Amazon that the next in the series was being released soon, had a vague memory of liking the character that would feature in it, and went back to this book to finish it since I couldn't remember why I had abandoned it in the first place.

Oh. Right.

All those things up there I brag on Mary Balogh about? NOT IN THIS BOOK. Oh don't get me wrong, the formula is there. Oh boy is it ever. But there are no interesting and complex characters, difficult pasts are handwaved, and while I usually, generously elevate Balogh 1 or 2 steps above wallpaper historical, the dialogue, especially between the hero and heroine, was SO completely bizarre, anachronistic, and just plain stupid that I cringed throughout the whole thing. 16 year olds on fanfiction.net could write something better than this. The books tries -- it really tries -- to pull itself together in the second half, but nothing doing.

So I'm going to try to next book because the main character in it is more interesting to me than the main characters in this book were, but if it's along the same lines, Balogh may have lost a customer. No historical fiction tag for you!

PS: Does anyone ever feel that, sometimes, when they read an author enough, they learn more about the author himself/herself than any of the characters in the books? Sometimes they learn a little TOO much about the author? Mary Balogh has an outdoor sex scene in EVERY. GODDAMN. BOOK. and I do not know why. I'm starting to think it's a fetish of hers in her own life, and frankly, I didn't want to know that. ...more

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Feb 23, 2012 Janet rated it really liked it

Shelves: unusual-couple, angsty-goodness, humourous

It is both a blessing and a curse to be a heroine whose story readers have yearned for lo these thirteen years. The Proposal, the first book in Mary Balogh’s new series, the Survivors’ Club, is the story of Gwendoline, Lady Muir, whom we first met in One Night For Love, which was published in 1999.

Gwen is a loving sister, daughter, cousin, aunt, friend, and all of Balogh’s readers have come to appreciate her. She is a widow with a permanent limp because of a riding accident that not only injure It is both a blessing and a curse to be a heroine whose story readers have yearned for lo these thirteen years. The Proposal, the first book in Mary Balogh’s new series, the Survivors’ Club, is the story of Gwendoline, Lady Muir, whom we first met in One Night For Love, which was published in 1999.

Gwen is a loving sister, daughter, cousin, aunt, friend, and all of Balogh’s readers have come to appreciate her. She is a widow with a permanent limp because of a riding accident that not only injured her severely, but also caused a miscarriage. Her husband died within the year, in what is described as “a tragic accident.” The blessing is that there is an enormous amount of pent-up curiosity about Gwen’s mysterious back-story."

A quick segue, if I may, to introduce the members of the Survivor’s Club. In Mary Balogh’s words, the Survivors' Club is “a group of wounded veterans of the Napoleonic Wars who spent a few years together on a country estate recuperating from their wounds and who now gather there for a few weeks each year. The hero of this book is Hugo Emes, Lord Trentham, a dour giant of an ex-army officer, who was awarded his title for extraordinary bravery during battle and then, as he put it, went out of his head and had to be brought back to England in a straitjacket.”

For me the curse is the awkwardness of cobbling Gwen’s story with a compelling new venture from Balogh. What makes it work so effectively is that Gwen is nothing if not a survivor, even if she has had to endure hardships in a genteel setting, far removed from the fields of battle. Something broke the pattern of Gwen’s predictable life. She decided to visit Vera, a recently widowed friend for a month and soon came to regret it. Her friend’s caustic, cruel reaction to a letter from Gwen’s mother led Gwen to leave her friend’s house and commence a slippery dangerous walk across the pebbly beach nearby. While attempting to scramble up the cliff above the beach, Gwen twists her ankle severely. But wait, our hero, Hugo Emes, Lord Trentham, is on a solitary ramble of his own and sees her plight and rescues her. Gwen’s injury is so severe that Hugo’s host invites her to join the Survivors’ Club gathering while she recuperates.

Gwen and Hugo, much to their mutual surprise, frankly share their innermost thoughts. This passage lays down the themes and conflicts of The Proposal. Gwen tells Hugo about her marriage and explains why she has not considered remarriage in the intervening years.

… That one marriage brought me brought me great joy, but it also brought me almost more misery than I could bear. I wanted peace afterward. I wanted it for the rest of my life. I have had it now for seven years and am perfectly content to remain as I am.

“No man could change your mind?” he asked.

Even just yesterday she would have said no without any hesitation at all. Even this morning she had been in denial of the essential emptiness and loneliness of her life. Or perhaps that brief moment on the beach had been instigated by nothing more serious than her quarrel with Vera and the bleakness of her surroundings.

“He would have to be the perfect man,” she said, “and there is really no such thing as perfection, is there? He would have to be an even-tempered, cheerful, comfortable companion who has known no great trouble in his life. He would have to offer a relationship that promised peace and stability and … Oh, and simplicity with no excessive highs and lows.”
. . . . . .
“No passion?” he asked her. “He would not have to be good in bed?”

Her head snapped around in his direction. She felt her eyes grow wide with shock and her cheeks flame with heat.

“You really are a plain-spoken man, Lord Trentham,” she said, “or else an extraordinarily impertinent one. Pleasure in the marriage bed need not involve passion, as you put it. It can be simply shared comfort. If I were looking for a husband, I would be happy with the shared comfort. And if you are looking for a wife who is practical and capable, passion cannot count a great deal with you either, can it?”

She was feeling horridly discomposed and had spoken quite indiscreetly.

“A woman can be practical and capable and lusty too,” he said. “She would have to be lusty if I were to marry her. I am going to have to give up other women when I wed…

There you have it – a mature couple in their early thirties who, on the surface, are very different. Gwen is the sheltered daughter of an earl, living a widow’s rather circumscribed and conventional life. Hugo is not an aristocrat by birth but he, through his extraordinary courage in war, has garnered a legendary reputation. He has also inherited a considerable fortune from his tradesman father. They are at a crossroads in their lives but once they meet, talk, and love, they are unable to turn away from the promise each offers the other. The Proposal quietly and movingly explores the love story of two people who always communicate honestly, often with dry, self-deprecating humor. And to think we have six more books in the Survivors’ Club series! Thank you Mary Balogh.
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Dec 02, 2013 Sophia rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: historical-romance

I did things a little backward with this series and read books two through five first. I love the series and was always curious about how it all got started with Hugo and Gwen's story.

The book started slow as it set up the series with the background of The Survivor Club. Then in alternating perspectives Gwen and Hugo contemplate their quiet, serene existence.

Gwen discovers that she is lonely as a widow seven years after her husband's death and decides that it might be time to finally rejoin lif I did things a little backward with this series and read books two through five first. I love the series and was always curious about how it all got started with Hugo and Gwen's story.

The book started slow as it set up the series with the background of The Survivor Club. Then in alternating perspectives Gwen and Hugo contemplate their quiet, serene existence.

Gwen discovers that she is lonely as a widow seven years after her husband's death and decides that it might be time to finally rejoin life. She has a loving supportive family, dear friends, and a comfortable financial situation, but as she looks at the loving couples around her, she dreams of more. She decides to find a quiet, easy man who just wants companionship nothing of passion and nothing like before. She still bears the guilt and the scars from her last venture into matrimony. Unfortunately, a trip to a friend, a twisted ankle, and a huge, large man with a scowl and a blunt way of speaking confuses all her plans.

Hugo has had his year of mourning and knows he needs to fulfill his promise to his father to care for his step-mother and half-sister, take care of his father's business, and continue the family legacy with a son of his own. He is fine with the first two tasks even though he prefers his quiet, home away from people, but getting the son involves getting a wife and that would mean sharing his home with another. Hugo has a lordly title that was bestowed on him for heroic services to the Crown, but he grew up middle class and it is to that class that he plans to turn for his wife. With the help of his friends in The Survivor Club, reconnections with his family, and a most blue-blooded aristocratic woman that is all wrong for him, but he can't get out of his head, Hugo is forced to rejoin life and embrace living.

As I said, this one starts out slow and takes a while to set up. In fact, it is guilty of rehashing the same ground a few times making the pace stutter. Fortunately, the characters are worth it and their situation kept me reading through the end. They are most definitely an opposites attract across the social classes romance. I loved reading their story. Hugo was the best. He reminds me terribly of another Hugo from an older book and I do wonder if the author was paying her own tribute to such a fantastic, engaging male hero. Because with his big rough ways, blunt speech, and gentle heart under his forbidding appearance, Hugo had my heart early on in the story.

The situation was teased out slowly and carefully with nothing coming fast and easy. These two people have been through so much. I loved watching them help heal each other as they shared their dark, tragic secrets for the first time. They were antagonistic and struggled through misconceptions for much of their early acquaintance even while the attraction sizzled between them, but then the understanding and commonality came and I was swept up in their romance that they felt was doomed to go no where.

The surrounding characters were a strong secondary layer to the romance. Hugo's friends and family and Gwen's family, even bad guy of the piece added something. I loved seeing Hugo with his friends, but also his younger sister. And that big confrontation scene with his nemesis had me holding my breath. I haven't read the Bedwyn Saga and its prequels, but for those who have, this would be a special treat reuniting with those characters and seeing Gwen as a crossover figure.

So, it was a slow and steady read with some spice in the romance, nice balance to the historical backdrop of post-Napoleonic war, and a solid group of characters. I would most definitely recommend it. ...more

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Oct 24, 2014 Chumchum_88 rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favorites, gentle-hero, guys-i-want, historical, stoic-gruff-hero

This is my first book by Mary Balogh and I have to say Wow!!

The title of the series caught my eyes at first, and then the idea itself, the members f the survivor's club and their camaraderie pulled at me. Bonds between people whither they were family or strangers always was my favorite things to see in books. And this series had it.

Hugo was honestly adorable, and as I mentioned in previous reviews I have a soft spot for huge bulking brutes, and Hugo was definitely huge. Yet to his family he was ...more

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Jun 08, 2012 Jacqueline J rated it really liked it

Shelves: illness-or-blindness, from-the-library, widow-widower, historical-romance, regency, disabled-hero-or-heroine, soldier-marine, fertility-issues

A solid regency from Mary Balogh. It's the start of a new series. There was not a high level of angst but there were some issues brought up that we are familiar with now and it was interesting to see them in an historical context: PTSD and bipolar disease.

The interactions between the hero and the heroine were charming. Their relationship felt real. There was some out of wedlock nooky but it wasn't raunchy and superfluous. They were older characters and the heroine was a widow so their relationsh ...more

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Dec 27, 2017 Gilgamesha rated it liked it

This book was too similar to Slightly Dangerous for me to give it any more than 3 stars...the whole setup...from denial to full revelation of love...from first proposal being rejected and house party being held to change the outcome of said proposal...to class differences although it was reversed in this case to the gruff and slightly autistic and socially awkward hero, and the appearance, although welcome, of Bewcastle and Christine...the book had some great unique moments and the romance was v ...more

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Jun 17, 2013 Julie rated it really liked it

Shelves: librarything-early-reviews, e-book, historical-romance

First of all I would like to thank the publisher and Library Thing early review program for the beautiful paperback of this re-released Mary Balogh regency period romance. This version has a new cover and inside cover page.
This is the first book in the Survivor's Club series.
Gwen is a widow and living in relative peace and contentment. She enjoys her extended family and friends and doesn't wish to marry again. When an old friend writes and begs her to visit, Gwen feels empathy for the woman an First of all I would like to thank the publisher and Library Thing early review program for the beautiful paperback of this re-released Mary Balogh regency period romance. This version has a new cover and inside cover page.
This is the first book in the Survivor's Club series.
Gwen is a widow and living in relative peace and contentment. She enjoys her extended family and friends and doesn't wish to marry again. When an old friend writes and begs her to visit, Gwen feels empathy for the woman and agrees to stay for a month long visit. But, when she arrives at Vera's she finds her friend bitter and impossible to be around. After a nasty row, Gwen takes a walk along the beach, but the rocks are difficult to move around. She sprains her ankle badly and is unable to walk back to Vera's. Then suddenly a very large, menacing looking man appears and offers her assistance.
Hugo has returned to Penderris Hall for his annual retreat with the other members of "The Survivor's Club". He has a great deal on his mind. His father's death a year ago deeply wounded him. He promised to provide an heir and so he feels the time has come to marry. He is also concerned for his sister who should be introduced to young men now and found a favorable match.
Hugo is also still dealing with the aftermath of the war and the psychological issues he suffered. He came home a hero and was given a title although he was of the middle classes.

When he sees Gwen take a fall on the rocks, he hopes she will be able to recover without his assistance. But, she is obviously unable to walk so he must come to her aid.

This meeting sparks an instant attraction. Gwen is unable to return to Vera's under doctors orders and must stay in Penderris Hall until she is able to walk again.
Hugo is resentful at first of her presence. He and his friends need this time to discuss their issues and draw strength from each other, but Hugo is distracted by Gwen. He is also uncomfortable around aristocrats and upper classes.
So, although the two confess an attraction to each other, Hugo insist their class differences would make a marriage impossible.

For the first time is a long while Gwen feels lonely. She feels her life is passing her by. Hugo has only made that feeling worse. She knows they can't marry, but Gwen's brief encounter with Hugo has made her reconsider marriage.
Even though Gwen has returned home, she has not seen the last of Hugo.

Mary Balogh's regency romances are always a pleasure. Hugo was morose and stern, but his blunt comments were also hilarious. He didn't mince words, which was refreshing. This man had been through hell during the war and would always carry guilt. But, Gwen also carried a great deal of guilt. He husband was ill and she had blamed herself for his death. Gwen and Hugo worked together to help each other overcome the guilt.
So, this was a mature and emotional story . We were dealing with very adult issues and while there was humor there was also a sweet story of friendship as well as a bit of saucy lust. A great combination.
Mary Balogh has written numerous regency romances and I love the way that she sticks to the authenticity of the period. The classes, the ton, the war, the language and dress of the time and manners are all befitting of this era of time. Her stories always have substance as well. This proves that a great story can be told with sensuality and romance without throwing in language and modern terminology that does not belong in a historical romance.
Overall this one gets an A. ...more

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May 05, 2012 Christy rated it really liked it

Shelves: audio-listened, 1-own-it-audible

3.5 stars, rounded up because I think the narration may have tainted it for me a bit

Spoilers ahead!

This is the beginning of a new series, The Survivors Club, about 7 survivors of trauma related to the Peninsular Wars, and boy, has she set herself a task in crafting romances for each of these very wounded people. This hero is perhaps the easiest to imagine an HEA for since we all know the love of a good woman can cure a multitude of ailments, but I think it will be tougher to find ways for the ot ...more

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Apr 23, 2012 Juliana Philippa added it · review of another edition

Shelves: romance-historical, 0-to-reread, 0-reviewed, romance, 0-unrated, published-21st-century, published-2012, 2015-reads, 2015-jul-reads, 0-need-to-shelve

Not going to rate the book, because frankly I don't remember most of it.

I will say that I started the book on February 22, 2014 ... three days later I wrote the following GR status update: "I'm on page 312 of 384 of The Proposal: I love Balogh and this book has 2 wonderful leading characters, however ... I don't know. There's something missing. It's a little ... bland? Boring? ::sigh:: :-|" ... and then basically forgot completely about the book until I randomly picked it up yesterday and then r ...more

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Nov 06, 2012 Wealhtheow rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: disabled-character, regency, historical

Gwendoline Grayson was left widowed, with a permanent limp and probably barren womb. Hugo Emes was given a lordship for his brave leadership during the war, but now he is plagued with guilt for surviving after leading so many men to their deaths. They meet by chance on a rocky shoreline, and Gwen's weak ankle forces them to stay together for a few weeks. Although Gwen is initially scared by Hugo's forbidding expression and hulking size, and Hugo thinks Gwen is an empty-headed lady, they are draw ...more

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Cannonball Readers: Which authors can you count on for good characters?	3	3	Dec 19, 2020 01:18PM
Play Book Tag: The Survivor’s Club - a seven book series by Mary Balogh	3	12	Aug 13, 2019 02:14PM
What's the Name o...: SOLVED. Historical romance peninsula war forlorn hope. [s]	4	23	Sep 26, 2018 07:35AM
The Proposal by Mary Balogh	1	17	Jun 20, 2015 07:36AM
Sinopsis en Español // Synopsis in Spanish	1	2	Feb 15, 2015 09:48AM

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About Mary Balogh

Mary Balogh

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Mary Jenkins was born in 1944 in Swansea, Wales, UK. After graduating from university, moved to Saskatchewan, Canada, to teach high school English, on a two-year teaching contract in 1967. She married her Canadian husband, Robert Balogh, and had three children, Jacqueline, Christopher and Sian. When she's not writing, she enjoys reading, music and knitting. She also enjoys watching tennis and curl ...more

Other books in the series

The Survivors' Club (7 books)

Books by Mary Balogh

A Summer to Remember (Bedwyn Prequels, #2)

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Quotes from The Proposal

“Have you noticed," she asked him, "how standing still can sometimes be no different from moving backward? For the whole world moves on and leaves one behind.” — 12 likes

“When one had once suffered a great hurt, there was always a weakness afterward, a vulnerability where there had been wholeness and strength before - and innocence.” — 12 likes

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