The Proposal

March 12, 2012
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 1, 2012
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.

COPYRIGHT(2012) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

April 15, 2012

When a sprained ankle lands her in the midst of the yearly gathering of the Survivors' Club, a small group of war-wounded who are still healing emotionally and physically, the widowed Gwendoline Grayson, Lady Muir, is surprised to be attracted to Hugo Emes, Lord Trentham, the morose, plain-spoken man who rescued her when she fell along the rocky Cornish slope--and to find that he is attracted to her as well. Naturally, it won't do. Although Hugo is titled (thanks to his service to the Crown), his roots are in business, hers are in society, and their worlds are light years apart--or so it seems. But as they share their individual nightmares, the bond between them grows, and even their different worlds may not be enough to keep them at a distance. VERDICT Two deeply damaged protagonists who need to forgive themselves finally acknowledge their love in this gently funny, heart-melting story that will tug at your emotions and beautifully launches Balogh's new series. Gwendoline has appeared in a number of Balogh's earlier novels, and fans will be thrilled that she finally has her own story. Balogh (The Secret Mistress) lives in Saskatchewan.

Copyright 2012 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

April 1, 2012
When Gwendoline Grayson, Lady Muir, pays a visit to an old acquaintance on the Cornwell coast, she never imagined a sprained ankle would open the door to romance. Let alone with Hugo, Lord Trentham, who was born a commoner, made a lord for his heroic leading of a forlorn hope in the Peninsular War, and became wealthy due to his late father's business acumen. Though appearing to live ideal lives on the surface, each is hiding horrible emotional wounds for which they blame themselves. Hugo needs a wife so he can fulfill his father's wish and find a suitable match for his sister. His plan is to find a woman of his own class and live a simple life, but when his sister expresses interest in hobnobbing with the ton, Hugo proposes a mock engagement to Gwen. Balogh's richly dimensional characters are so very real as she makes the reader feel part of life and a great variety of relationships during the Regency era.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2012, American Library Association.)