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the soft answer
This is the story of Kay Somers, nurse, and Peter Raynal, a popular and brilliant surgeon. The strongly opposed forces of their respective characters bring them into a constant conflict which comes to a head when Kay is confronted with the loss of her position at St. Jude's Hospital, and the breaking of her engagement to the ambitious young farmer who has been a lifelong family friend. The story is set against the background of Hospital life and Kay's own rural home, and brings into relief the diverse qualities of her nature. Her gradual change of heart is brought about through her affection for an ailing child, a reciprocated affection which pierces Kay's natural armour of reserve. It is the child Christine's influence on Kay which forges the first link of understanding which is destined to change the whole course of Kay's life and bring her the joy and happiness which she had once believed lost to her for all time.
Hardcover
First published February 1, 1960
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
May 22, 2019
Aw, this was such a good slow burn romance with some great side characters and enough angst to keep it interesting and a truly happy ending for the heroine who had been so unhappy for so long.
Written in 1960, the original title was “The Soft Answer.” It refers to the heroine’s harsh demeanor towards the hero and how things change when she starts to give a “soft answer” instead of being so prickly.
Heroine is a nurse who hates nursing and hero is a surgeon at the hospital. Heroine is eagerly waiting her fiancée whom she has not seen for seven years! She grew up with him and had an understanding before he left for Australia. You just know this isn’t going to work out when she is day-dreaming over the OM’s house rather than the OM himself.
Hero has a young niece whom her mother abandoned to his care. Yes, H/h join forces to take care of the plot moppet and that’s when they begin to see each other differently.
The heroine’s sister helpfully takes the OM off the heroine’s hands and hero realizes his true feelings for the heroine when he blurts out she shouldn’t marry the OM.
The heroine takes much longer to realize her true feelings, but when she does it’s really sweet. Same with the entire last chapter of the story. Unlike so many vintages that end abruptly this one gives us a scene with the H/h married a week and *happy sigh*
I loved the way this was written. I loved the H/h dynamic – it reminded me so much of Anne and Gilbert from Anne of Green Gables. This heroine was just as sensitive and just as proud as Anne. This hero was as confused as Gilbert.
If you like vintages and a slow burn, I highly recommend this one. It’s at Open Library.
Written in 1960, the original title was “The Soft Answer.” It refers to the heroine’s harsh demeanor towards the hero and how things change when she starts to give a “soft answer” instead of being so prickly.
Heroine is a nurse who hates nursing and hero is a surgeon at the hospital. Heroine is eagerly waiting her fiancée whom she has not seen for seven years! She grew up with him and had an understanding before he left for Australia. You just know this isn’t going to work out when she is day-dreaming over the OM’s house rather than the OM himself.
Hero has a young niece whom her mother abandoned to his care. Yes, H/h join forces to take care of the plot moppet and that’s when they begin to see each other differently.
The heroine’s sister helpfully takes the OM off the heroine’s hands and hero realizes his true feelings for the heroine when he blurts out she shouldn’t marry the OM.
The heroine takes much longer to realize her true feelings, but when she does it’s really sweet. Same with the entire last chapter of the story. Unlike so many vintages that end abruptly this one gives us a scene with the H/h married a week and *happy sigh*
I loved the way this was written. I loved the H/h dynamic – it reminded me so much of Anne and Gilbert from Anne of Green Gables. This heroine was just as sensitive and just as proud as Anne. This hero was as confused as Gilbert.
If you like vintages and a slow burn, I highly recommend this one. It’s at Open Library.
May 8, 2024
Such a sweet, full of vintagey goodness romance between a doctor and nurse who didn't realize they were falling in love. They were too busy bickering while "in theater," ("surgery"), doing the wards, or grabbing coffee in the staff lounge. For example, there was a long running gag about the hero always requesting a private cubicle at the last possible minute, driving the meticulously organized heroine bonkers.
Another joke was about the ugly clock tower atop the hospital always chiming loudly to remind the hospital staff of their shifts, duties, and tardiness. The heroine absolutely loathed its sight and sound. Then, at her retirement party, her nurses give her a miniature replica of the hospital clock aa a fond souvenir lol.
I also loved that the author defied the cliches in this tried and true hospital romance trope and instead of making her heroine a Florence Nightingale, she was a woman who actually HATED nursing despite being super efficient at it. She comes off as a cold bitch at first and it isn't until later, gradually, that both the reader and the hero of this tale, see the marshmallow, vulnerable center that she tries to hide behind a mask of efficiency and aloofness.
The heroine, far from being a curmudgeon, is actually a frustrated musician who sacrificed her dreams and instead was forced to find a steady living in order to support her mom and sister after her dad suddenly died. This goes a long way to explain her sometimes fed up attitude with her job and her colleagues. In another comical scene, she moans out loud to her friend that she'd be willing to marry anybody if that meant escaping the dreary future of forever nursing some ill patient or disciplining a lackadaisical trainee. And she was only half-joking!
I would have given a higher rating but for the absolute gross sub-plotline involving heroine's vile sister who steals heroine's fiance right from under her nose and then has the NERVE to make heroine feel guilty about "standing in between their love." It was absolutely stomach-churning. Not even the sweetness of the love story between the heroine and the real hero of the piece who she was meant to to marry all along could soothe this burning need to take a couple of rusty skillets and dirty toilet seats to the head of these amoral nitwits. Thank god the ex-fiance was aworthless, big, fat cheater and he and the heroine's vile sister deserved each other. Still, a healing epilogue where they both fall drunkenly into the pig pen to be eaten by the hungry animals would have been welcome.
Another joke was about the ugly clock tower atop the hospital always chiming loudly to remind the hospital staff of their shifts, duties, and tardiness. The heroine absolutely loathed its sight and sound. Then, at her retirement party, her nurses give her a miniature replica of the hospital clock aa a fond souvenir lol.
I also loved that the author defied the cliches in this tried and true hospital romance trope and instead of making her heroine a Florence Nightingale, she was a woman who actually HATED nursing despite being super efficient at it. She comes off as a cold bitch at first and it isn't until later, gradually, that both the reader and the hero of this tale, see the marshmallow, vulnerable center that she tries to hide behind a mask of efficiency and aloofness.
The heroine, far from being a curmudgeon, is actually a frustrated musician who sacrificed her dreams and instead was forced to find a steady living in order to support her mom and sister after her dad suddenly died. This goes a long way to explain her sometimes fed up attitude with her job and her colleagues. In another comical scene, she moans out loud to her friend that she'd be willing to marry anybody if that meant escaping the dreary future of forever nursing some ill patient or disciplining a lackadaisical trainee. And she was only half-joking!
I would have given a higher rating but for the absolute gross sub-plotline involving heroine's vile sister who steals heroine's fiance right from under her nose and then has the NERVE to make heroine feel guilty about "standing in between their love." It was absolutely stomach-churning. Not even the sweetness of the love story between the heroine and the real hero of the piece who she was meant to to marry all along could soothe this burning need to take a couple of rusty skillets and dirty toilet seats to the head of these amoral nitwits. Thank god the ex-fiance was aworthless, big, fat cheater and he and the heroine's vile sister deserved each other. Still, a healing epilogue where they both fall drunkenly into the pig pen to be eaten by the hungry animals would have been welcome.
June 30, 2019
I decided to read this one after StMargarets had given it a glowing review so I hopped over to Open Library and joined the list ... And after a wait of close to a month got to read it ....
It's a lovely story indeed ... Slow burn and just so sweet ... I have never been too fond of medical dramas but this one was very well written ...
h was a dreamer of a girl .. a musician who was forced into nursing due to circumstances ... she was good at it but it was not her calling ... All she wanted was to be free and have someone take the reins of her life ... it was heartening to read of a character who was not meant for nursing .. most times h are portrayed as having a calling for nursing ...
H was a brilliant surgeon and a charming man ... And so sweet ... He loved to look after her ...
Little Christine was a sweet girl ...
A simple story told so beautifully ....
It's a lovely story indeed ... Slow burn and just so sweet ... I have never been too fond of medical dramas but this one was very well written ...
h was a dreamer of a girl .. a musician who was forced into nursing due to circumstances ... she was good at it but it was not her calling ... All she wanted was to be free and have someone take the reins of her life ... it was heartening to read of a character who was not meant for nursing .. most times h are portrayed as having a calling for nursing ...
H was a brilliant surgeon and a charming man ... And so sweet ... He loved to look after her ...
Little Christine was a sweet girl ...
A simple story told so beautifully ....
June 30, 2018
This h was so muddled about her emotions that it was both painful and tedious. This was an arduous read.
June 7, 2025
I wanted to like this more but I wasn’t really feeling the love. Neither character was my cup of tea. The hero’s too passive and dull and the heroine too cold and “domineering”. They both just seemed to give up and say, “Welp, I guess you’ll do”. 🤷🏼♀️
August 17, 2022
3.5 Very nice vintage read.
The heroine is a bit distracted, she is determined to get married to her fiancé whom she hasn’t seen in 7 years. When he comes home, she rushes right into planning her wedding and new home without bothering to figure out if the boy who left is still the person she wants to marry.
Throughout the story the author shows that, though they are friends and still fond of each other, they no longer suit. In fact the fiance has much more in common with the heroine’s sister.
The Hero is a surgeon in the hospital where the heroine works, and though he finds her antagonistic, she is very efficient and he has no cause to complain about her work. It irks him though, because usually the other nurses fall over themselves to please him.
The heroine does him a favor takes in his young orphaned niece when she gets injured. It gives the Hero and heroine more time together and they get to know each other better. The heroine actually does not like nursing. She is an accomplished pianist and would have enrolled in Music but her career got derailed by the war, and she took up nursing to earn a living.
She desperately clings to her engagement as a means of escape. Her sister sees this and is also distressed because she has also fallen in love with the fiancé. But the heroine does the noble thing and breaks it off with the fiance.
The Hero proposes to the heroine, but she thinks its only so he can have a mother for his young niece. Finally near the end they reveal their true feelings to each other and it seems they were both attracted from the start but had concealed their feelings behind the rude exchanges they used to have.
There is a nice epilogue where they are married and the heroine is ecstatically happy. She even joyfully reads a letter from her sister inviting them to her wedding to the ex fiancé.
Alls well ends well. HEA sigh ❤️🥰
The heroine is a bit distracted, she is determined to get married to her fiancé whom she hasn’t seen in 7 years. When he comes home, she rushes right into planning her wedding and new home without bothering to figure out if the boy who left is still the person she wants to marry.
Throughout the story the author shows that, though they are friends and still fond of each other, they no longer suit. In fact the fiance has much more in common with the heroine’s sister.
The Hero is a surgeon in the hospital where the heroine works, and though he finds her antagonistic, she is very efficient and he has no cause to complain about her work. It irks him though, because usually the other nurses fall over themselves to please him.
The heroine does him a favor takes in his young orphaned niece when she gets injured. It gives the Hero and heroine more time together and they get to know each other better. The heroine actually does not like nursing. She is an accomplished pianist and would have enrolled in Music but her career got derailed by the war, and she took up nursing to earn a living.
She desperately clings to her engagement as a means of escape. Her sister sees this and is also distressed because she has also fallen in love with the fiancé. But the heroine does the noble thing and breaks it off with the fiance.
The Hero proposes to the heroine, but she thinks its only so he can have a mother for his young niece. Finally near the end they reveal their true feelings to each other and it seems they were both attracted from the start but had concealed their feelings behind the rude exchanges they used to have.
There is a nice epilogue where they are married and the heroine is ecstatically happy. She even joyfully reads a letter from her sister inviting them to her wedding to the ex fiancé.
Alls well ends well. HEA sigh ❤️🥰
June 1, 2019
Sweet, clean, and safe. I appreciated that there is absolutely no mention of the hero's past at all. I do wish that we saw more of their HEA since their love was so slow burn, but that's just me being ungrateful. However, I really didn't like the sister and the statement "she'll never change and that's just part of her charm" just doesn't sit right with me. My only other complaint is related to the grammar. Marjorie Moore apparently really loved comma splices. There were just so many of them and it was very annoying at times to read this book because of them.
December 23, 2022
This was a nice novel.I really liked Kay and Peter and how they start understanding one another as the story progresses.
July 2, 2023
I felt bad for the h in this book. It would be awful to hate what you do every day, but not feel able to switch to something else. But, I definitely didn't think her plans with the OM would be any better. She should have become the governess/nurse to Niece from the beginning. I think I would have liked that more. There was something about all the work she was putting into a house you knew she wasn't going to live in that annoyed me. I didn't like the way to sister just took over the OM. The h should have shown some anger and frustration with her family! Just accepted everything.😤
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 6, 2024
3.5***
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews