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Banksia Bay #4
Mardie and the City Surgeon
The last person Mardie Rainey expects to see on her doorstep is her childhood sweetheart, Blake Maddock. Fifteen years ago, Blake Maddock had walked away, leaving her teenage heart sore and broken. But now—with a thunderstorm raging overhead—she can't turn him away, nor the injured border collie in his arms….Blake Maddock spent his life running from one tragic mistake… Now the frightened boy has become a formidable man—and he's coming back for the woman he has never forgotten.…
192 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published October 1, 2011
2 people are currently reading
54 people want to read
About the author
Marion Lennox
717 books137 followersWriting romance sounds fascinating. Huh?
I'm a writer. I'm boring. Day after day I sit behind a word processor making up people in my head. Why do I do it? I love it. My husband, Dave, gets up in the morning, puts on a suit and heads out into the ice and cold of Ballarat's winter. (Sadly I live in one of the tiny parts of Australia that qualifies as cold.) I make myself another cup of coffee, head up to my study, choose what music I want and sit and daydream. And I get paid for doing it. Hooray!
My first attempt at writing romance, 'Dare To Love Again', a Medical Romance, was published by Harlequin Mills and Boon in 1990. It still stands today as a monument to my family's ability to survive on cheese sandwiches and spaghetti.
Since then I've written over 80 Romances for Harlequin Mills and Boon, with more on the drawing board. (I used a pseudonym - Trisha David - for the first few Romances but suffered with a split personality and have since reverted to being Marion Lennox all the time.) In between romances, I've co-authored a non-fiction history, (I love local history) done the odd (very odd) spot of housework and done a heap of travelling - research :-)
I come from a farming community. You can probably tell this from my books. There's not a skyscraper in sight. I'm very much a pets person. Chloe and Harry were my constant canine companions for many years as I wrote, demanding walks and air freshener at frequent intervals. Sadly I lost them, and for a while I vowed not to get another. My heart was broken and my study smelled so clean! But.. The cat and I missed them so badly we weakened and bought Mitzi. Mitzi's a black and silver mini-schnauzer who makes me and the cat laugh. Expect to find her in future stories.
If you're interested in formalities, I hold a Bachelor of Commerce degree and a teaching diploma. I have a couple of kids and a huge extended family who look on me with affectionate tolerance. Marion? The crazy one who talks to people in her head... I've had nine nominations for the Rita, winning twice, and fourteen for the Australian Book of the Year. After years of thinking of my writing as a hobby I guess I finally now qualify as a `real' writer.
Thank your for taking the trouble to check out my web page. Now try my books. We might even end up having fun together. And write to me. I show my family - `See? Real people do like the things that go in in my head.'
I'm a writer. I'm boring. Day after day I sit behind a word processor making up people in my head. Why do I do it? I love it. My husband, Dave, gets up in the morning, puts on a suit and heads out into the ice and cold of Ballarat's winter. (Sadly I live in one of the tiny parts of Australia that qualifies as cold.) I make myself another cup of coffee, head up to my study, choose what music I want and sit and daydream. And I get paid for doing it. Hooray!
My first attempt at writing romance, 'Dare To Love Again', a Medical Romance, was published by Harlequin Mills and Boon in 1990. It still stands today as a monument to my family's ability to survive on cheese sandwiches and spaghetti.
Since then I've written over 80 Romances for Harlequin Mills and Boon, with more on the drawing board. (I used a pseudonym - Trisha David - for the first few Romances but suffered with a split personality and have since reverted to being Marion Lennox all the time.) In between romances, I've co-authored a non-fiction history, (I love local history) done the odd (very odd) spot of housework and done a heap of travelling - research :-)
I come from a farming community. You can probably tell this from my books. There's not a skyscraper in sight. I'm very much a pets person. Chloe and Harry were my constant canine companions for many years as I wrote, demanding walks and air freshener at frequent intervals. Sadly I lost them, and for a while I vowed not to get another. My heart was broken and my study smelled so clean! But.. The cat and I missed them so badly we weakened and bought Mitzi. Mitzi's a black and silver mini-schnauzer who makes me and the cat laugh. Expect to find her in future stories.
If you're interested in formalities, I hold a Bachelor of Commerce degree and a teaching diploma. I have a couple of kids and a huge extended family who look on me with affectionate tolerance. Marion? The crazy one who talks to people in her head... I've had nine nominations for the Rita, winning twice, and fourteen for the Australian Book of the Year. After years of thinking of my writing as a hobby I guess I finally now qualify as a `real' writer.
Thank your for taking the trouble to check out my web page. Now try my books. We might even end up having fun together. And write to me. I show my family - `See? Real people do like the things that go in in my head.'
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
January 30, 2012
Very cute category romance set in Australia! I love the border collies, and if you're a dog lover this book will really tug at the heartstrings. I also love that Mardie manages to put Blake in his place more than once when he makes assumptions about what she's been doing for the last 15 years while he's been in medical school and doing charity work in Africa. He's definitely a flawed hero. My only complaint is that the present day romance seemed a bit rushed, but that seems to happen a bit with category romances, given the short length. Overall, I really enjoyed this book, and I'll definitely be reading more Banksia Bay and Marion Lennox books!
November 7, 2019
A winner for all dog lovers! I read this book for the dogs, I'll be honest. And while their humans had a good story going on with Mardie being a widow and Blake having his own problems, I really enjoyed Bounce and Bessie - the border collies! Bessie is blind and needs surgery to remove the cataracts from her eyes. It's risky, but eye surgeon Blake knows a good vet (he taught him about eye surgery!) so they travel to Sydney and it's a happy ending for Bessie who gets her eye sight back and a happy home with Blake, Mardie, and Bounce! And yes, Bessie and Bounce do fall in love and have puppies.
January 17, 2022
A bit slow. The male protagonist is rather a boring type of person.
April 7, 2025
The guy didn't even give her a ring whilst proposing. What a copout!
February 1, 2012
Whether you really like this book will depend on how much you love that the heroine had a fulfilled life, of family and community - of fulfilling work and of love (she's a widow) - before and after she meets the hero and her first love (childhood friendship turning into love) again.
The hero has initially a really good psychological reason for wanting to get away from Banksia Bay and not attempting to follow the path of life of most people in Banksia Bay - to clarify he has a strong case of PTSD which has been enforced and encouraged by his parents and his aunt who was paid to take care of him after the initial tragedy.
He has never forgiven himself for what happened when he was 7 and he has made a big difference in many people's lives because of his money and drive to help. He has learned to love what he does but when illness forces him to take a step back from active work he is left at loose ends.
The thing that Mardie and Blake have to work through is the fact that he can't allow himself to see her way of life as fulfilling and quite good and he keeps underestimating her to the max while knowing that she and her family have always been the only refuge for him after the tragedy - he doesn't seem to have ANY friends at all.
All the personal connections he has are with the people of Banksia Bay. I find that devastating in a man of his age. It is really tough to read him constantly disparaging Mardie.
I give this book four stars for the lovely looks into Mardie's art, for her personal style, for Bounce and Betsie and old Charlie's glory, for the fun art gallery owner - and very much because Mardie KEEPS on calling Blake on his assumptions and makes it totally clear that she is and was happy (if her husband hadn't died, Blake would simply have been totally out of luck), that losing the ability to work in Africa doesn't mean that he has to stop his charity activities - that having a family and a home and happiness isn't a betrayal of the tragedy. Oh ^^ - and that if he decides to leave she will be sad, but then return to being happy with her life and family *cheers*.
Basically, she makes him grow up as a person - and how sad is it that a man in his 30s needs outside help for that. I am of the persuasion that after a certain point in our life we can't blame not changing on our parents or on previous incidents anymore (then again I had scary things happening when I was young which influenced me, but not at that level of trauma) - we have to work on change ourselves, if - of course - we want to change.
The hero has initially a really good psychological reason for wanting to get away from Banksia Bay and not attempting to follow the path of life of most people in Banksia Bay - to clarify he has a strong case of PTSD which has been enforced and encouraged by his parents and his aunt who was paid to take care of him after the initial tragedy.
He has never forgiven himself for what happened when he was 7 and he has made a big difference in many people's lives because of his money and drive to help. He has learned to love what he does but when illness forces him to take a step back from active work he is left at loose ends.
The thing that Mardie and Blake have to work through is the fact that he can't allow himself to see her way of life as fulfilling and quite good and he keeps underestimating her to the max while knowing that she and her family have always been the only refuge for him after the tragedy - he doesn't seem to have ANY friends at all.
All the personal connections he has are with the people of Banksia Bay. I find that devastating in a man of his age. It is really tough to read him constantly disparaging Mardie.
I give this book four stars for the lovely looks into Mardie's art, for her personal style, for Bounce and Betsie and old Charlie's glory, for the fun art gallery owner - and very much because Mardie KEEPS on calling Blake on his assumptions and makes it totally clear that she is and was happy (if her husband hadn't died, Blake would simply have been totally out of luck), that losing the ability to work in Africa doesn't mean that he has to stop his charity activities - that having a family and a home and happiness isn't a betrayal of the tragedy. Oh ^^ - and that if he decides to leave she will be sad, but then return to being happy with her life and family *cheers*.
Basically, she makes him grow up as a person - and how sad is it that a man in his 30s needs outside help for that. I am of the persuasion that after a certain point in our life we can't blame not changing on our parents or on previous incidents anymore (then again I had scary things happening when I was young which influenced me, but not at that level of trauma) - we have to work on change ourselves, if - of course - we want to change.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 28, 2014
Though it sounded like a great book. An artist re-unites with her high school sweetheart (who left to become a surgeon), there are dogs involved. What could be bad about that? Mostly the writing and the finer details of the plot. I'm sad to say I read all 192 pages, I just kept hoping it would get better.
February 12, 2012
Pleasant enough, although I did not feel the conflict they way I did with the previous entry in the series. Also, unlike the previous book, the dog angle did not add particularly much to the characterization of the two leads- it felt like an add on rather than essential to the book.
Read
December 27, 2014Miniseries: Banksia Bay
August 7, 2012
I do so love these dogs of Banksia Bay. Their owners aren't bad, either. :)
January 13, 2016
Una novela sencilla romántica, entretenida. Pero un poco típica y predecible
Read
December 27, 2014Miniseries: Banksia Bay
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews