The Proposal: A spellbinding tale of love and second chances

by Tasmina Perry

Just say yes to this unforgettable read and take a spellbinding, romantic journey from the dazzling days of the debutantes in 1950s London to glamorous modern Manhattan.

When Amy Carrell's wealthy boyfriend ends their relationship just before Christmas, she's left to nurse her broken heart alone. With nothing to lose, she replies to an advertisement requesting a companion for a mysterious 'Manhattan adventure'.

Whisked off to New York with eccentric British aristocrat Georgia Hamilton, Amy experiences a glamorous side of the city that she's never seen before. Along the way, Georgia initiates her protegee in the arts of old-school elegance.

But as Georgia shares her life lessons, Amy discovers a painful secret in her mentor's past. A secret that shattered her future. A story of love and betrayal that only Amy has the power to put right.

• ISBN10: 0755383540
• ISBN13: 9780755383542
• Publish Date: 7 November 2013
• Publish Status: Out of Print
• Out of Print: 5 March 2021
• Publish Country: GB
• Publisher: Headline Publishing Group
• Imprint: Headline Review
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 352
• Language: English

Reviews

[SilverThistle]

I enjoyed this one a lot. I've never read any of this author's books before so didn't know what to expect but went into it expecting something that was perhaps chick lit(ish). It wasn't really that sort of book though, as it turns out. Chick lit for me is usually a modern, funny romance with quirky characters and that doesn't really describe this.

Georgia is in her 70's and her story takes place mostly in and around the late 1950's when she was a teen during her debutante season. She advertises for a traveling companion in the present day and her ad is filled by Amy a young American dancer who is getting over a recent break up.

Despite the age difference the two become friends and the story is quite charming and touching. I actually preferred reading about Georgia's past more than Amy's present but the two stories interlink and by the end I was invested in Amy's happiness too.

The ending seemed a bit rushed to be honest and it wasn't the outcome I had expected but all in all it was a good story. I'll look out for more from this author.

Note: I received a free copy of this title from the publisher.

[Leah]

I really love Tasmina Perry’s novels. Ever since I read Private Lives a couple of years back she’s become a must-read author and when I heard she was releasing two novels in 2013, I was thrilled to pieces. That’s amazing news! I adored her first book of 2013 Deep Blue Sea, and I was really looking forward to reading her Christmassy novel The Proposal. It has one of the most old-fashioned covers I’ve ever seen and it just oozed glamour and class. It’s a rather telling cover, actually, as I found The Proposal to be so much different to her other novels, proving the quote “Tasmina Perry as you’ve never seen her before” to be spookily correct.

I have to be honest and say that The Proposal didn’t really rock my world. It is rather vastly different to her summer beach reads, and I infinitely prefer the beach reads, if I’m honest. Whilst I liked the plot of the novel, and especially the Manhattan setting, being someone who is DESPERATE to go to New York and visit Manhattan, it just didn’t capture me the way I wanted it to. I don’t know why; it was well written and Georgia’s backstory was immense, but I just didn’t really feel it. I felt really detached from the novel and I just couldn’t seem to get into it. To have a dual storyline is a fabulous thing, but it was all over in just over 300 pages and I felt it just… ended.

Amy was a good character, and I enjoyed the banter between herself and Georgia, especially as they were virtual strangers. (For the record, I would SO answer a personal ad if it let me go to New York so that wasn’t an issue at all, either.) The bits set in New York were lovely, and Georgia’s backstory was compelling. The whole thing just felt different. I didn’t feel as if I was reading a Tasmina Perry novel, if that makes sense. It’s a shame, I was hoping for a cosy Christmassy read and it just disappointed me I wasn’t as much a fan as I wanted it to be.

The Proposal will have its fans, and it won’t stop me from reading any more of Tasmina’s novels, especially if she sticks to the rich beach reads which I adore, it just left me feeling flat and cold. It was a good story, no doubt, with so okay characters, but it just didn’t touch me. I didn’t feel it, if that makes sense and it ended so abruptly. I really don’t think you can have as big as a shocking secret as the one we learn about Georgia and her family and then just end it like that, as if what Georgia’s family did was OK when it so blatantly wasn’t and when it ruined lives. That demands consequences which weren’t doled out. It’s such a shame, I hate to write a review that isn’t favourable toward an author I adore, but I definitely believe Tasmina should stick to what she does best and that’s the massive beach reads, they’re Tasmina’s staple and she does them SO well.