Summer Every Day

by Jane Arbor

Single dad in the Outback

Becoming a dad to his niece Chloe changes hotshot surgeon Felix McLaren's whole world. Wanting the best for her, Felix heads for the Outback. But nothing about his new life is as he expected, and when beautiful registrar Harriette Jones bonds with him over little Chloe, everything changes.

Harriette's determined to focus on her future, but Felix and adorable little Chloe pull on her heartstrings. Is it possible they're what she's been missing all along…and that she's the final piece of their family?

Genres: Harlequin Romance

189 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 1967

About the author

Eileen Norah Murphy Owbridge was born on 8 September 1903 in Yeovil, Somerset, England, she lived in Preston, Sussex, England, and passed away on 4 February 1994 in Worthing, West Sussex.

Under the pseudonym Jane Arbor she wrote over 55 romance novel for Mills & Boon from 1948 to 1985. She started writing doctor-nurse romances, and many have been reedited with diferent titles, that included the words "nurse", "doctor" or "surgeon". Later, she focused her writing in foreign settings like the continental Europe, the Caribbean, Morocco...

Reviews

[Margo · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a good read. The h had a very interesting job -- she ran a kennel for a friend, and had for the most part remarkably modern attitudes towards animal care (sometimes these older books are cringe-worthy). The H is very frustrated by her independence and stubbornness, but clearly likes her, and there is an OW who gets way too much page space considering how relatively unoriginal she is. OW has a good-natured standard poodle that she seems to view as an extension of her ego rather than marveling at how lucky she is to have a standard poodle at all (they are AWESOME dogs when they aren't over-bred, friendly, smart, loyal and very athletic, not the hothouse flowers many people seem to think -- sorry for the digression but I rarely get the opportunity to rave about poodles), but the poodle means she is in regular contact with the h. There is an OM, a vet, who could probably make a case that the h led him on a bit, but he is likable and a good addition to the book -- he has a stubborn, proud streak and stands up for himself nicely.

To be fair, if you aren't a dog person this might be a three-star read.

[Merino · Rating 5 out of 5]

10/10. Such a sweet book. Enjoyed every page of this story. This was written in the mid 1960s and the style of writing and wording took some getting used to. Very old fashioned but I think that adds to the charm of this sweet sweet book. Laurel takes over the running of a pet boarding kennel owned by her friend while the friend has gone away. Here is where the hero enters, who owns the house where her friend has set up the kennels. A series of adventures ensues including a romantic interest for Laurel which is one sided as Laurels true feelings are for the hero. It's not until the end of the story that the hero admits his feelings for Laurel which is a case of 'Where did that come from' as throughout the book theres no romance building between them at all. At least not like I'm used to in modern Mills and Boons. It may be there in there friendship building but it's slight. Would have liked to see Blanche get her comeuppance at the end but we readers don't get that pleasure. The author expertly describes the dogs and cats activities and i absolutely loved Bobo's "Tittupping in spring heels across the yard" description. For me this was an enjoyable read from start to finish

[Aarathi Burki · Rating 2 out of 5]

Boring,drag nothing much happens in the whole novel

[Carrie Wiberg · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book did keep me entertained.

[Su · Rating 2 out of 5]

It is an old book. Published in 1966. Authors at that time was hand picked by very selective publishers. This one also has a well planned writing and thought process. Nothing happens out of character that astounds reader to "what? how that happened" mode like many contemporary writers mange to do so.
Still, writing is aside, as a romance the book is really boring.

[Naksed · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was pretty awful. The hero "ached" for the heroine yet coldly and calculatingly withheld from expressing his feelings because he wanted to test her to see if she was good enough wife material. Apparently, his job as an environmentalist who travels to harsh climates would necessitate a submissive wife who would be an unpaid assistant, not one who would make any emotional demands. Yet he was completely submissive when it came to OW’s emotional demands grrrrrr.

Once he was assured that the heroine could roll up her sleeves and get down in the muck, he still hesitated to propose because he thought she was involved with an OM. He was not going to fight for her! Meanwhile he let the bitchy, lying, two-faced, materialistic, animal-abusing, rude, snout-nosed viper OW cling to him under the guise of her "helpless widow" act.

When he finally got the nerve to propose to heroine, he couched it as an ultimatum, telling her to say yes or no on the spot or forever hold her peace because he wasn't going to dangle on any woman's whims! And the final coup de grace, he extracted the heroine's reluctant promise to tolerate the OW FOREVER clinging to hero for the rest of their lives as he simply could NEVER disentangle himself from the widow of his best friend and all her immense emotional needs. VOMIT INDUCING!

Thank god for a plucky heroine and the nice pets in her menagerie, they were the only elements that made this story readable :(