Customer Reviews

The Duke's Proposal

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I may be a man, and not just a man, but a blue-collar, construction-working man, but even I sometimes pack an historical romance in my lunch pail and sneak off somewhere private during my lunch hour so I can enjoy my turkey-avocado sandwich while reading the latest Victorian bodice-ripper from the breathless, heated pen of Leslie Lafoy.

"The Duke's Proposal" finishes the trilogy of novels detailing the life and loves of Caroline, Simone and Fiona, the three illegitimate daughters of Geoffrey Turnbridge, the fifth Duke of Ryland. I am the second son of Ma. Caroline and Simone's stories are chronicled in "Her Scandalous Marriage" and "The Rogue's Bride", respectively, both of which I enjoyed immensely, and now the Lady Fiona Turnbridge must consider her future as she too becomes entangled with a wealthy, handsome gentleman of means. I once got entangled in some electrical cable. The other guys were mean, and certainly not gentlemen.

The young gentlemen of the novel consider Lady Fiona Turnbridge eccentric and unmarriageable, despite her fair looks, green eyes, and large dowry. Fiona seeks happiness elsewhere, studying medicine and caring for sick animals, leaving her content if not entirely fulfilled, like a jelly donut.

One night Fiona finds her beloved cat severely injured and shows up at the doorstep of the tall, dark, and handsome Lord Ian Cabott, Duke of Dunsford and former military surgeon, for help. Ian, himself something of an outcast from his peers, and despite Fiona's arming herself with a pistol, spends the night with her saving her cat. Ian sees qualities in Fiona that mirror his, and furthermore realizes the practical benefits of having her in the home to assist in the rehabilitation of his sickly ward Charlotte. Ian makes a marriage proposal to Fiona, who, to his surprise, turns him down. Now Ian has to convince Fiona of his honorable intentions, but she will require much more before she can agree to his proposal. My wife eventually agreed to my proposal after many, many years of begging, so I can relate.

Leslie Lafoy has again written a thrilling romance between two very strong, independent-minded characters who challenge and frustrate each other, making their final union all the more satisfying. I may be a rugged man, work with power tools, and wear a hard hat, but by the end of the novel, I too was hoping, with a quavering heart, that Fiona would finally accept, dare I say it, the Duke's proposal.

I've read several of Lafoy books before and have generally liked them. This one bored and annoyed me at times. I think that the pairing of animal loving heroine and the hero surgeon is brilliant and they have decent chemistry and story flows well. My main problem was with an incident that happened in the beginning of the novel and referred to often which casts a less than romantic shadow on the rest of the story. The poor hero is constantly fumbling and apologizing for things he said/done to the heroine. NOT romantic IMHO. And the heroine is constantly annoyed with him and ready to throw in the towel and give up on him. I could understand this happening once, but multiples times? That's just annoying. And the worst was the love scene or should I say lack of it. There was a lead into and an after but no middle. Huh? The other books in this series had plenty of love scenes so why didn't this one? Just doesn't make sense.

Just an OK book. Not enough action, drama, or romance for that matter, to keep me flipping the pages. A decent read if you want to finish the series, but if I read this one first I don't think that I would have read the others.

Fiona Turnbridge is the youngest of three sisters. The illegitimate daughter of a duke, she has been cared for by her older sisters ever since they were found by her father's heir years ago. Tender hearted toward animals, Fiona finds her prized pet injured and in need of medical attention. Having no other option but to take her pet to the one man she knows can help, Fiona demands admittance to Ian Cabott's household. She won't take no for an answer, and the gun in her hand helps. Hours later, Fiona's feline is on the mend but her reputation is in tatters.

Lord Ian Cabott, the Duke of Dunsford would rather be doing anything other than looking for a wife. Promising his mother that he will marry before the end of the season, Ian can't imagine tying himself to any of the young misses he meets night after night. Then he comes in contact with Lady Fiona Turnbridge. While she grabs his attention, she is stubborn to the core, and Ian ignores his feelings and dismisses her without another thought. His disregard comes to an end when she arrives at his house in the dead of night pointing a gun at him and demanding his surgical skills. When the sun rises, Fiona's pet is recovering. Unfortunately, Ian knows it is only a matter of time before scandal hits, so he does the only thing a true gentleman would do. He proposes.

THE DUKE'S PROPOSAL by Leslie LaFoy is tremendously entertaining. Having been introduced to the quirky Fiona in Her Scandalous Marriage, I couldn't wait for Fiona's story to hit the shelf. Breathing a sigh of relief when I finally got my hands on this book, I happily began to read. Fiona's characterization is full of life, energy, and completely captivating. I adored her and especially liked how Ms. LaFoy characterized her. I thought her innocence the perfect foil to Ian's stubbornness and I most especially loved how Fiona wholeheartedly loved him.

For a great third installment to a wonderfully written trilogy, THE DUKE'S PROPOSAL is the perfect book for any lover of historical romances.

I thoroughly enjoyed both the heroine and hero of The Duke's Proposal. Fiona was intelligent and willing to go far beyond the times, socially speaking, in pursuing her desire to practice medicine. Although it took Ian some time, he realized her value as an equal instead of an "ornament", which was so uncommon for noblemen in the 1800's. I thought they were incredibly well-matched, and the progression of their romance was very well-done by Lafoy. I finished it in a day and was sad to have it end!!

To the Ton, Lady Fiona Turnbridge is an oddity, or more politely, a curiosity. She is quite aware of herself, and knows her differences make her largely undesirable as a matrimonial prospect to a suitable gentleman. Not in the least bothered by the idea of a destiny as a spinster, she spends her time in pursuit of things that make her happy. Attending medical lectures is one such pursuit, and caring for injured animals yet another. Both activities are of course considered unseemly for a proper young lady, a fact which deters her not a bit.

So it is that fate lands her on the doorstep of the most eligible bachelor of the season with an injured cat in her arms, demanding the good doctor mend the poor kitty's paw. Consumed with the task at hand, they spend the night working together in his surgery. When morning comes, Lord Ian Cabott realizes he must offer for the intriguing young woman in order to protect her reputation, a situation he finds immensely advantageous to himself.

But Ian isn't prepared for Fiona's vehement denial of his suit, especially considering every other single woman in the city is vying for his attention. If he wants the fair damsel's hand in marriage, he must actually woo her...

On the surface, Leslie Lafoy's third book in her historical series may seem like a typical historical romance. Let me assure you, the emotions this story evokes in the reader are anything but typical! Is the plot somewhat familiar? Yes, but you will soon forget that fact when you begin reading The Duke's Proposal. Besides, there are really only so many plots in the world, aren't there? It is the way the author crafts the story, builds the world, and fashions her characters that makes the tale her own, and Ms. Lafoy succeeds admirably with this.

Fiona is a welcome addition to my list of favorite heroines. She is intelligent, sweet, practical, and beautiful in both spirit and visage. Her no-nonsense demeanor certainly throws the charmingly clueless Ian for a loop time and again, much to the readers' continuous enjoyment. It is easy to see why Ian becomes captivated by our heroine so quickly.

Ian is a typical male, oblivious at first to Fiona's true wants and needs, but admirably quick to catch on when it is important. Initially making the mistake of handling the fair Fiona as he would any of the other women he has known, he finally catches on to the fact that she is unlike anyone - male or female - he has met before. OK, so it takes a little while before that sinks in and he stops underestimating his heroine, but the important thing is that he does come around in the most wonderful way.

Although this is the third book in a trilogy, and the only one of the three I've yet read, I had no problems following the story at all. Still, meeting Fiona's sisters, who are the heroines of the first two books, made me more than anxious to get my hands on their stories soon!

The Duke's Proposal is a perfect read for those who love historical romances with strong, capable heroines. After reading this book, I am more than happy to add Leslie LaFoy to my list of favorite authors!

Connected Stories:
Her Scandalous Marriage
The Rogue's Bride

I can see why Leslie Lafoy has a big fan base, but as romances go this style is not my cup of tea. The story was a cute, squeeky clean interlude that brought together a doctor/duke with a psychic (or not?) heroine. The psychic angle started off cute, but fizzed and was never developed. The story severely lacked passion and romance. The only true passion scene came late and was quite a let down. It was completely off-stage. Lets just say there was a bit of fore-play and then the after-glow, but nothing in between. Do not buy this book thinking you will get a sexy read. The cover is very misleading!

This book was a pleasant romance with a strong beginning. A variety of interesting details give this book a great premise:
+ heroine (Fiona) has a "6th sense" about upcoming events
+ hero has bucked tradition and become a physician
+ hero has a ward who is depressed and struggling to accept the loss of her parents and her own disability
+ heroine has strong family members around to support her
+ both the hero and heroine are intersting and sympathetic characters that you want to find happiness
+ heroine has a physical deformity that prevents her from dancing

I have never met an historical romance that I didn't enjoy and I will certainly seek out the previous 2 stories by LaFoy in this series to read.

I was a bit disappointed and thought this story could be even stronger. Many of the interesting details (above) were glossed over and not integrated into the story
- Fiona's "sense" is briefly mentioned later in the book, but after the strong introduction of it, I expected more
- The depression of the hero's ward is "solved" within 2 pages by a discussion between the hero and heroine and then occurs between chapters (gives the impression of an "easy fix")

Much of the tension suggested by the story's set-up doesn't occur and while there is a good amount of romantic tension, there is little "outside tension" surrounding the characters. I wanted to say, "If you'd sit down and talk about this, you will realize there really is no problem between you." The ending is very reminiscent of Pride and Prejudice (which I love)!

A pleasant book, but it could have been a wonderful book.

I recently realized that I tend to review those books I don't like far more often than those I do. I am pleased that I can reverse the trend a little with this one. This book is a lovely little light romance, with attractive characters and a pleasant plot line. While not a soul-stirring epic meant for the keeper shelf, it is a nicely written and amusing story about a likeable couple. The description of the hero's hangover on pages 317 through 320 alone makes the book worth a read! A definite beach book!

In 1891 London when Lady Fiona Turnbridge finds the severely injured cat, she knows immediately the animal needs a professional. The nearest medical practitioner that she knows about is a former military surgeon Lord Ian Cabott. He handles beauty and the beast at his door at midnight with aplomb as he learned to remain cool while working combat medicine.

Ian proposes a deal with the fiery visitor. He will tend to the injured feline, but Fiona must help him with his ward fourteen years old wheelchair bound Miss Charlotte, whose parents died six months ago and moved into his home, that of a stranger, while the raised eyebrows of the aristocracy were upset with the arrangement. Fiona wants to say yes, but if she moves into the Ian's home, she wonders how she can avert a scandal especially since she is attracted to the noble doctor. Meanwhile Ian reflects that until Fiona's arrival, the duty was boring.

THE DUKE'S PROPOSAL is an entertaining late Victorian romance starring two likable caring characters. However, the story line is stolen by Miss Charlotte whose anguish and grief will hook the audience from the first broken piece of china to the last shard but the love of Fiona causes a miracle to happen. Leslie LaFoy writes an interesting historical that brings to life the state of medicine in perhaps the most affluent late nineteenth century society.

Harriet Klausner

The Duke's Proposal by Leslie Lafoy was a fast funny read. Lady Fiona Turnbridge takes her injured cat Dr.Ian Cabott aka Duke of Dunsford. She demands that he perform surgery while she hold a gun to him. She falls asleep and since the Duke is looking for a wife he offers to marry Fiona. The twist is the the night prior Duke made love to her aunt and then things get interesting. Check out the whole series Her Scandalous Marriage
(1) and The Rogue's Bride (2).