A Perfect Proposal: A Novel by Katie Fforde Edition: Hardcover Price: $15.12
4.5 A Definite Re-Read, April 9, 2013 This review is from: A Perfect Proposal: A Novel (Hardcover) A Perfect Proposal by Katie Fforde In this delicious romantic comedy, a young Englishwoman gets an unexpected proposal from a dashing American, but it's not what you think Sophie Apperly's frustratingly dismissive family has never taken her seriously, but they do take advantage of her. So when an old friend offers her the chance of a lifetime, she decides to swap Little England for the Big Apple, and heads off to the land of opportunity. From the moment Sophie arrives in Manhattan, she's determined to enjoy every minute of her big adventure. And when fate throws her together with Matilda, a spirited grande dame of New York society who invites her to Connecticut for Thanksgiving, she willingly accepts. English-born Matilda is delighted with her new friend—though her grandson Luke, undeniably attractive but infuriatingly arrogant, is anything but welcoming. When Luke arrives in England a few weeks later, Sophie hardly expects him to seek her out. But Matilda has hatched some complicated plans of her own—and so Luke has a proposal to make, but it hardly seems perfect. With all the warmth and wit that have made Katie Fforde's novels huge bestsellers in the UK, A Perfect Proposal is an irresistible tale of love and literature and the quest for a happy ending. Katie Fforde "has imagination to spare, using witty writing and plotting to build a story” (The New York Times Book Review). All I can say about this novel is WOW! I loved it from beginning to end. I adored the characters -even the ones we are supposed to dislike! This was a sweet, gentle wonderfully written story of a young woman battered down by circumstances and her very selfish family who finally does something for herself. She takes off to visit a girlfriend in New York City and to take a nanny position, thinking that she was going to be close to her pal. What she was not aware of is that the job was in Maine-but that actually didn't matter since the job fell through, only she didn't find out until she was in America already! Fate, luck or circumstances put Sophie in the path of a very wealthy New Yorker -Matilda-who invites Sophie to her home in Connecticut for Thanksgiving. Here she is thrown together with Matilda's grandson Luke who has a proposal for Sophie. If you have read the synopsis you already know a lot of what is going to happen -sort of- what you aren't going to get from it is the wonderful way the author has of bringing these people to life. Imagine poor Sophie, a girl who loves to talk second hand clothes and turn them into something like art thrown in with a bunch of uber wealthy, snobby Conneticutites for a holiday they don't celebrate in the UK. So poorly the author could have handled this, but it was such a treat for me to read. However, do not worry! Just in case you think it is only Sophie who has to suffer from `fish-out-of-water-itis, Luke will be suffering the same thing too. And it is a hoot to see such a stick-up-the-bum young man have to deal with it. In the background, Matilda is working her magic trying her hardest to get these two together, So it is basically a story of a poor but sweet and smart young woman eventually falling in love with a slightly older wealthy man -two such different backgrounds. In addition, you might think that there could not be anything new here that it is clichéd and trite, but you would be very wrong to think that way and to pass this book up. If you liked the movie "Bridget Jones's Diary" you may find that you will be equally enchanted with this romantic novel. PS - I have already re-read it once and it still was as fun to read the second time as it was the first.