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Bachelors Galore
"Eligible bachelors in New Zealand" Marty Reddington felt such an outlandish claim deserved the joke she made about landing a rich sheep farmer. She did not sail from England to New Zealand only in search of a prosperous farmer for a husband but she was attractive and a good cook to boot so she wasn't likely to remain unattached for long. The only question was - which prosperous farmer would it be? It never entered her head that anyone would take her seriously, but someone had: Philip Griffiths, a New Zealand bachelor and sheep farmer! At the time, Marty had simply dismissed the grazier as having no sense of humor. It proved a far more difficult task when she discovered herself living next door to him!
Paperback
First published January 1, 1965
About the author
Essie Summers
106 books54 followersEssie Summers was a New Zealand author who wrote so vividly of the people and landscape of her native country that she was offered The Order Of the British Empire for her contributions to New Zealand tourism.
Ethel Snelson Summers was born on on July 24, 1912 to a newly-emigrated couple, Ethel Snelson and Edwin Summers, situated in Bordesley Street in Christchurch, Essie was always proud of both her British heritage and her New Zealand citizenship. Both her parents were exceptional storytellers, and this, combined with her early introduction to the Anne of Green Gables stories, engendered in her a life-long fascination with the craft of writing and the colorful legacy of pioneers everywhere.
Leaving school at 14 when her father's butcher shop experienced financial difficulties, she worked for a number of years in draper's shops and later turned her experiences to good use in writing the romantic novels for which she became famous.
She met her husband-to-be William Flett when she was only 13 years old, but it was 13 years before she consented to marry him. A minister's wife and the mother of two, William and Elizabeth, she still found many opportunities to pen short stories, poetry and newspaper columns before embarking on her first novel, which sold to the firm of Mills & Boon in 1956.
Summers died in Taradale, Hawkes Bay on the August 27, 1998.
http://christchurchcitylibraries.com/...
Ethel Snelson Summers was born on on July 24, 1912 to a newly-emigrated couple, Ethel Snelson and Edwin Summers, situated in Bordesley Street in Christchurch, Essie was always proud of both her British heritage and her New Zealand citizenship. Both her parents were exceptional storytellers, and this, combined with her early introduction to the Anne of Green Gables stories, engendered in her a life-long fascination with the craft of writing and the colorful legacy of pioneers everywhere.
Leaving school at 14 when her father's butcher shop experienced financial difficulties, she worked for a number of years in draper's shops and later turned her experiences to good use in writing the romantic novels for which she became famous.
She met her husband-to-be William Flett when she was only 13 years old, but it was 13 years before she consented to marry him. A minister's wife and the mother of two, William and Elizabeth, she still found many opportunities to pen short stories, poetry and newspaper columns before embarking on her first novel, which sold to the firm of Mills & Boon in 1956.
Summers died in Taradale, Hawkes Bay on the August 27, 1998.
http://christchurchcitylibraries.com/...
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
April 9, 2021
4 Stars ~ This is another gem from the talented Essie Summers. Written in the late 50's, I'm sure for many gen-x or millennial romance lovers, this would read like an historical. I'm a late baby-boomer and I'm very much attuned to the times this story was written.
After a broken engagement (her fiancé went back to a former love), Marty decides to take her skills as a junior nurse, care-giver and housekeeper for her vicar father, and emigrate to New Zealand. While gathering literature and completing her paperwork at the New Zealand embassy, she reads out loud a section of a news article "An astounding surplus of eligible bachelors in New Zealand!" and jokes with her friends that they need to head there as fast as they can, put on the glamour and charm to snap up a wealthy sheep farmer. Ah, and that's when she meets Phillip who firmly sets her straight, that there may be eligible bachelors but there are plenty of New Zealand girls to go around, and that sheep farmers are not dumb to fall for glamour and charm.
Months later when Marty boards the Captain Banks, she's dismayed to find that Phillip happens to be the Liaison Officer and he's quick to wish her "every success on her venture". He's determined to believe that Marty is only looking for a rich husband. Marty is further surprised that her job with a farming family is located on the farm adjacent to Phillip's. The two continue to butt heads with Phillip blaming her contrary ways on her red hair and Marty claiming he wants to see her fail. When Phillip's former fiancée (now a married woman) returns to the area for a visit, Marty jumps to conclusions on where Phillip's heart lies.
This is a lovely story that gives us a glimpse of life on a farm in New Zealand. Marty is resourceful and she quickly earns admiration from everyone, except the one she most wants approval from. Phillip does send a few eligible bachelors Marty's way, and she plays along much to Phillip's own dismay for by this time he's quite smitten.
In good Harley fashion, all the misunderstandings come to a head, and these two get a lovely HEA.
After a broken engagement (her fiancé went back to a former love), Marty decides to take her skills as a junior nurse, care-giver and housekeeper for her vicar father, and emigrate to New Zealand. While gathering literature and completing her paperwork at the New Zealand embassy, she reads out loud a section of a news article "An astounding surplus of eligible bachelors in New Zealand!" and jokes with her friends that they need to head there as fast as they can, put on the glamour and charm to snap up a wealthy sheep farmer. Ah, and that's when she meets Phillip who firmly sets her straight, that there may be eligible bachelors but there are plenty of New Zealand girls to go around, and that sheep farmers are not dumb to fall for glamour and charm.
Months later when Marty boards the Captain Banks, she's dismayed to find that Phillip happens to be the Liaison Officer and he's quick to wish her "every success on her venture". He's determined to believe that Marty is only looking for a rich husband. Marty is further surprised that her job with a farming family is located on the farm adjacent to Phillip's. The two continue to butt heads with Phillip blaming her contrary ways on her red hair and Marty claiming he wants to see her fail. When Phillip's former fiancée (now a married woman) returns to the area for a visit, Marty jumps to conclusions on where Phillip's heart lies.
This is a lovely story that gives us a glimpse of life on a farm in New Zealand. Marty is resourceful and she quickly earns admiration from everyone, except the one she most wants approval from. Phillip does send a few eligible bachelors Marty's way, and she plays along much to Phillip's own dismay for by this time he's quite smitten.
In good Harley fashion, all the misunderstandings come to a head, and these two get a lovely HEA.
January 29, 2018
Everything about this book was really good, except - bewilderingly - the romances.
October 31, 2018
Originally published in 1958, this is a fascinating snapshot of an era when shiploads of immigrants left England to settle in the antipodes. Marty and her friends were all single girls, heading out to New Zealand to make a new start.
It was while investigating New Zealand that she first met Philip Griffiths who overheard her joking about a news headline that mentioned the country was full of Bachelors with good incomes. From then on the battle was on, with Philip believing Marty a Gold Digger and her believing he was one of those wealthy sheep farmers.
Of course there is a lot more to both of them and after the pre-requisite misunderstandings and so on, we get our Happy Ever After.
A later book, Spring in September, revisits our happy couple and we see the romance of one of Marty's suitors, Morgan.
It was while investigating New Zealand that she first met Philip Griffiths who overheard her joking about a news headline that mentioned the country was full of Bachelors with good incomes. From then on the battle was on, with Philip believing Marty a Gold Digger and her believing he was one of those wealthy sheep farmers.
Of course there is a lot more to both of them and after the pre-requisite misunderstandings and so on, we get our Happy Ever After.
A later book, Spring in September, revisits our happy couple and we see the romance of one of Marty's suitors, Morgan.
August 25, 2026
3 stars
Bachelors Galore started out extremely promising for me because it uses several tropes I normally love: a hero who badly misunderstands the heroine, an initially hostile relationship, a heroine supposedly having to prove that she is more capable than he expects, an effective other woman, and a hero whose cynicism about women comes from genuine past wounds. Unfortunately, although the book is well written and well paced, my growing dislike of Marty eventually ruined the romance for me.
Philip worked much better for me as a character. His distrust of Marty is unfair, but it is psychologically grounded and consistently developed. His mother abandoned him at eleven for a richer man after helping impoverish his hardworking father; his father then died when Philip was thirteen, leaving him to grow up in an orphanage. Later, the woman Philip loved also chose a wealthier man over him. He has therefore spent his life repeatedly learning that women value money above love, while working enormously hard to drag himself out of poverty. His assumption that Marty is another gold digger is wrong, but I could understand exactly where it came from.
Marty's behaviour became much harder for me to excuse. The book seems to want me to believe that she is protecting a vulnerable heart after having been jilted shortly before emigrating, but that emotional wound is barely developed. We know almost nothing about the former fiancé, their relationship or what being abandoned actually did to her. It therefore never felt substantial enough to explain why Marty repeatedly lashes out at Philip at the slightest provocation, deliberately flaunts other men in front of him and sometimes seems actively determined to hurt him.
That was where I began to really dislike her. There are several occasions when she and Philip are getting along well enough that she could simply clear up his original misunderstanding. Instead, she deliberately reinforces it, sometimes purely out of spite. At one point Philip makes an effort to take her to a dance and Marty grudgingly agrees, only for her to snidely tell him the next day to sod off as she will be going with the rich man instead. For me, that crossed the line from self-protection into cruelty.
I also struggled with the kind of heroine Marty ultimately became. Initially I expected a steady, hardworking young woman who would quietly prove Philip wrong through competence and character. She certainly works hard in the domestic sphere and is good with the children, but the book also gives her an extraordinary catalogue of foolish mistakes outside it, while repeatedly emphasizing her beauty, fiery temper and the number of men attracted to her. By the latter half, she felt less like the capable heroine I had hoped for and more like the sparkling, hot-tempered, selfish beauty who knows men will pursue her and can switch her warmth on or off according to whether she currently wants to reward or punish them. That is one of my least favourite heroine types, and I despised all of her game-playing.
The contrast with Philip made the problem worse. He can be bitter, sarcastic and provocative himself, but we also repeatedly see the other sides of him. He works himself almost into the ground to build his heavily mortgaged station and then willingly takes responsibility for a neighbouring property when its owners are badly injured. He is loyal, capable and deeply responsible. Even his old love continues pursuing him despite being married, giving him another uncomfortable reminder of exactly the sort of behaviour that originally damaged his trust in women. His wounds and his better qualities make his behaviour authentic and understandable.
There is plenty here that ordinarily would have worked wonderfully for me. The misunderstanding remains active for a long time, the other woman is genuinely effective, Philip's hidden feelings are readable beneath his hostility, and the romantic tension stays alive. But because I increasingly disliked Marty, I stopped caring if the romance would succeed. Even towards the end, when Philip finally makes himself vulnerable, she responds by placing almost all the blame for their difficulties on him despite having deliberately contributed to the misunderstanding and repeatedly used other men to hurt him.
That made the eventual happy ending feel far less rewarding than it should have. Instead of thinking that Philip had finally found the woman who would heal some of those old wounds, I found myself wondering why he wanted her so badly.
I can't give Bachelors Galore less than three stars because it is competently written, moves at a good pace and contains plenty of elements that another reader—particularly one who enjoys fiery, combative heroines—may love. But for my own tastes, Marty simply became too spiteful and hard-hearted for me to sympathise with, and once I stopped liking her, the romance itself stopped working.
PLOT SUMMARY (CONTAINS SPOILERS)
Marty is leaving England for New Zealand after being jilted by the man she expected to marry when his long-lost love returned. Before emigrating, she jokingly talks with friends about New Zealand being full of rich sheep-station bachelors and perhaps finding herself a wealthy husband. Philip overhears enough to take her seriously and publicly condemns her as exactly the sort of useless gold digger New Zealand men can do without.
Marty is therefore horrified to discover that Philip is travelling on the same ship and is serving as an emigrants' liaison officer. They are forced to work together during the voyage, and despite their continual sparring and Philip's recurring digs about her supposed hunt for money, an attraction begins developing between them.
Things become worse when Marty reaches New Zealand and discovers that her new employers own the station adjoining Philip's. The couple have four children, but shortly before Marty's arrival they are both critically injured in a car accident. Philip doubts that an inexperienced Englishwoman can cope alone, while Marty stubbornly insists on remaining and caring for the children until their parents recover.
She proves capable inside the house, cooking, running the household and looking after the children, but her ignorance of station life causes several disasters. She nearly kills cattle by moving them onto clover and causing bloat, unwittingly exposes ducklings to eels in a pond, and accidentally injures a newborn lamb while cycling. Philip repeatedly has to intervene, making her resent him as she feels judged.
Once her employers recover, Marty remains with the family. The wife begins trying to matchmake between Marty and Philip, while Philip continues teasing Marty about her supposed desire for a wealthy husband and points out the district's richest eligible bachelors for her to chase. Partly to avoid being pushed towards Philip and partly to throw his accusations back at him, Marty deliberately begins socialising with and encouraging those two men.
One becomes a regular companion. Both know that neither is genuinely offering the other romance: he is still heartbroken over another woman, while Marty has realised that her own feelings are increasingly fixed on Philip. Marty nevertheless allows Philip to believe that the relationship may be serious and later even claims to be engaged.
Philip, meanwhile, is being pursued by the beautiful woman he once loved. She previously abandoned him for a richer husband but is unhappy in her marriage and now wants Philip's attention again. Marty sees them together and assumes Philip is sleeping with a married woman. Philip reacts angrily whenever she implies this, while Marty's jealousy encourages still more provocative behaviour with her own male companions.
The roots of Philip's bitterness gradually become clearer. His mother, also a redhead, abandoned him at eleven for a richer man after helping drain his father's finances. His father died two years later, and Philip was raised in an orphanage. He eventually fought his way into owning his own sheep station, although it is heavily mortgaged and he is far from the wealthy landowner Marty imagines. The woman he later loved repeated the pattern by choosing a richer husband. Despite this history, Philip is extremely responsible and hardworking, even taking on much of the work of Marty's employers' station while they recover from their accident.
Marty and Philip continue moving between attraction and hostility over an extended period. They eventually spend time away together with Marty's employers, but the visit remains complicated when Philip's former love and her husband arrive with a party of friends. Marty sympathises with the husband and advises him on improving his marriage, while Philip overhears enough of the conversation to create further awkwardness.
Meanwhile, Marty's supposedly rich companion eventually reunites with the woman he has always loved. Marty has known his real feelings and happily helps with their wedding, even acting as bridesmaid.
Immediately afterwards, Marty is called away because someone has been injured. Since she is a trained nurse, she rides out to help and remains away for hours. Philip does not know where she has gone and assumes that, after apparently being jilted for a second time when her supposed fiancé married another woman, Marty has ridden off heartbroken. He becomes frantic that she may have been thrown from her horse, and search parties are sent out.
When Marty finally returns safely, Philip tries to comfort her over the marriage she supposedly wanted. Marty explains that she never loved the other man, knew all along whom he really loved and had actually just been bridesmaid at his wedding.
Realising that she is free, Philip finally asks whether she could love him and proposes.
Marty refuses, telling him that after everything he has said about her being a gold digger, she cannot marry a man she does not trust. Philip storms away.
Marty's employer then explains the truth about Philip's finances and childhood. His station is mortgaged almost to the limit, he has worked for everything he possesses, and it will take him years to become genuinely wealthy. Marty realises that marrying Philip could never make her the fortune hunter he originally accused her of being and also finally faces the fact that she loves him.
She decides to go after him, but Philip has already returned after his temper cools. They finally acknowledge their feelings and agree to marry.
Bachelors Galore started out extremely promising for me because it uses several tropes I normally love: a hero who badly misunderstands the heroine, an initially hostile relationship, a heroine supposedly having to prove that she is more capable than he expects, an effective other woman, and a hero whose cynicism about women comes from genuine past wounds. Unfortunately, although the book is well written and well paced, my growing dislike of Marty eventually ruined the romance for me.
Philip worked much better for me as a character. His distrust of Marty is unfair, but it is psychologically grounded and consistently developed. His mother abandoned him at eleven for a richer man after helping impoverish his hardworking father; his father then died when Philip was thirteen, leaving him to grow up in an orphanage. Later, the woman Philip loved also chose a wealthier man over him. He has therefore spent his life repeatedly learning that women value money above love, while working enormously hard to drag himself out of poverty. His assumption that Marty is another gold digger is wrong, but I could understand exactly where it came from.
Marty's behaviour became much harder for me to excuse. The book seems to want me to believe that she is protecting a vulnerable heart after having been jilted shortly before emigrating, but that emotional wound is barely developed. We know almost nothing about the former fiancé, their relationship or what being abandoned actually did to her. It therefore never felt substantial enough to explain why Marty repeatedly lashes out at Philip at the slightest provocation, deliberately flaunts other men in front of him and sometimes seems actively determined to hurt him.
That was where I began to really dislike her. There are several occasions when she and Philip are getting along well enough that she could simply clear up his original misunderstanding. Instead, she deliberately reinforces it, sometimes purely out of spite. At one point Philip makes an effort to take her to a dance and Marty grudgingly agrees, only for her to snidely tell him the next day to sod off as she will be going with the rich man instead. For me, that crossed the line from self-protection into cruelty.
I also struggled with the kind of heroine Marty ultimately became. Initially I expected a steady, hardworking young woman who would quietly prove Philip wrong through competence and character. She certainly works hard in the domestic sphere and is good with the children, but the book also gives her an extraordinary catalogue of foolish mistakes outside it, while repeatedly emphasizing her beauty, fiery temper and the number of men attracted to her. By the latter half, she felt less like the capable heroine I had hoped for and more like the sparkling, hot-tempered, selfish beauty who knows men will pursue her and can switch her warmth on or off according to whether she currently wants to reward or punish them. That is one of my least favourite heroine types, and I despised all of her game-playing.
The contrast with Philip made the problem worse. He can be bitter, sarcastic and provocative himself, but we also repeatedly see the other sides of him. He works himself almost into the ground to build his heavily mortgaged station and then willingly takes responsibility for a neighbouring property when its owners are badly injured. He is loyal, capable and deeply responsible. Even his old love continues pursuing him despite being married, giving him another uncomfortable reminder of exactly the sort of behaviour that originally damaged his trust in women. His wounds and his better qualities make his behaviour authentic and understandable.
There is plenty here that ordinarily would have worked wonderfully for me. The misunderstanding remains active for a long time, the other woman is genuinely effective, Philip's hidden feelings are readable beneath his hostility, and the romantic tension stays alive. But because I increasingly disliked Marty, I stopped caring if the romance would succeed. Even towards the end, when Philip finally makes himself vulnerable, she responds by placing almost all the blame for their difficulties on him despite having deliberately contributed to the misunderstanding and repeatedly used other men to hurt him.
That made the eventual happy ending feel far less rewarding than it should have. Instead of thinking that Philip had finally found the woman who would heal some of those old wounds, I found myself wondering why he wanted her so badly.
I can't give Bachelors Galore less than three stars because it is competently written, moves at a good pace and contains plenty of elements that another reader—particularly one who enjoys fiery, combative heroines—may love. But for my own tastes, Marty simply became too spiteful and hard-hearted for me to sympathise with, and once I stopped liking her, the romance itself stopped working.
PLOT SUMMARY (CONTAINS SPOILERS)
Marty is leaving England for New Zealand after being jilted by the man she expected to marry when his long-lost love returned. Before emigrating, she jokingly talks with friends about New Zealand being full of rich sheep-station bachelors and perhaps finding herself a wealthy husband. Philip overhears enough to take her seriously and publicly condemns her as exactly the sort of useless gold digger New Zealand men can do without.
Marty is therefore horrified to discover that Philip is travelling on the same ship and is serving as an emigrants' liaison officer. They are forced to work together during the voyage, and despite their continual sparring and Philip's recurring digs about her supposed hunt for money, an attraction begins developing between them.
Things become worse when Marty reaches New Zealand and discovers that her new employers own the station adjoining Philip's. The couple have four children, but shortly before Marty's arrival they are both critically injured in a car accident. Philip doubts that an inexperienced Englishwoman can cope alone, while Marty stubbornly insists on remaining and caring for the children until their parents recover.
She proves capable inside the house, cooking, running the household and looking after the children, but her ignorance of station life causes several disasters. She nearly kills cattle by moving them onto clover and causing bloat, unwittingly exposes ducklings to eels in a pond, and accidentally injures a newborn lamb while cycling. Philip repeatedly has to intervene, making her resent him as she feels judged.
Once her employers recover, Marty remains with the family. The wife begins trying to matchmake between Marty and Philip, while Philip continues teasing Marty about her supposed desire for a wealthy husband and points out the district's richest eligible bachelors for her to chase. Partly to avoid being pushed towards Philip and partly to throw his accusations back at him, Marty deliberately begins socialising with and encouraging those two men.
One becomes a regular companion. Both know that neither is genuinely offering the other romance: he is still heartbroken over another woman, while Marty has realised that her own feelings are increasingly fixed on Philip. Marty nevertheless allows Philip to believe that the relationship may be serious and later even claims to be engaged.
Philip, meanwhile, is being pursued by the beautiful woman he once loved. She previously abandoned him for a richer husband but is unhappy in her marriage and now wants Philip's attention again. Marty sees them together and assumes Philip is sleeping with a married woman. Philip reacts angrily whenever she implies this, while Marty's jealousy encourages still more provocative behaviour with her own male companions.
The roots of Philip's bitterness gradually become clearer. His mother, also a redhead, abandoned him at eleven for a richer man after helping drain his father's finances. His father died two years later, and Philip was raised in an orphanage. He eventually fought his way into owning his own sheep station, although it is heavily mortgaged and he is far from the wealthy landowner Marty imagines. The woman he later loved repeated the pattern by choosing a richer husband. Despite this history, Philip is extremely responsible and hardworking, even taking on much of the work of Marty's employers' station while they recover from their accident.
Marty and Philip continue moving between attraction and hostility over an extended period. They eventually spend time away together with Marty's employers, but the visit remains complicated when Philip's former love and her husband arrive with a party of friends. Marty sympathises with the husband and advises him on improving his marriage, while Philip overhears enough of the conversation to create further awkwardness.
Meanwhile, Marty's supposedly rich companion eventually reunites with the woman he has always loved. Marty has known his real feelings and happily helps with their wedding, even acting as bridesmaid.
Immediately afterwards, Marty is called away because someone has been injured. Since she is a trained nurse, she rides out to help and remains away for hours. Philip does not know where she has gone and assumes that, after apparently being jilted for a second time when her supposed fiancé married another woman, Marty has ridden off heartbroken. He becomes frantic that she may have been thrown from her horse, and search parties are sent out.
When Marty finally returns safely, Philip tries to comfort her over the marriage she supposedly wanted. Marty explains that she never loved the other man, knew all along whom he really loved and had actually just been bridesmaid at his wedding.
Realising that she is free, Philip finally asks whether she could love him and proposes.
Marty refuses, telling him that after everything he has said about her being a gold digger, she cannot marry a man she does not trust. Philip storms away.
Marty's employer then explains the truth about Philip's finances and childhood. His station is mortgaged almost to the limit, he has worked for everything he possesses, and it will take him years to become genuinely wealthy. Marty realises that marrying Philip could never make her the fortune hunter he originally accused her of being and also finally faces the fact that she loves him.
She decides to go after him, but Philip has already returned after his temper cools. They finally acknowledge their feelings and agree to marry.
May 9, 2022
Marty made a thoughtless little joke about going to New Zealand to look for a susceptible bachelor with a seven-thousand-a-year wool-clip . . . and unfortunately Philip Griffiths overheard and took her seriously. So when she found that she was to settle in his part of the country, she had to work very hard to show him that she was not specially interested in men and least of all in him. This story of a stormy courtship is told by an author who is herself a New Zealander and who knows how to describe her country vividly and lovingly.
June 23, 2025
The H/h are both hotheads and fall in love at first sight. Everyone around them knows they're in love, but they cover it up by letting a misunderstanding go on for close to a year. Hero thinks heroine was being literal when she joked about finding a rich bachelor in NZ and heroine is so insulted that she takes up with two OMs just to feed his bad impression of her.
They can't quit each other and spend all of their time together or thinking of each other.
Meanwhile, the reader is treated to a fascinating journey on a 1950's ship taking the passengers from England through the Panama Canal to New Zealand. Once there, the heroine learns about NZ agricultural practices and Mary Sues her way through cooking, driving, sewing, first aid and being belle of the many balls in the destrict.
The H/h have fascinating backstories - his mother left when he was 11 and the dad died on the passage to NZ and was buried in Panama. (H/h visit his grave) Heroine was bombed during the blitz, was trapped in the rubble for 6 hours and lost her three older siblings. No pretend angst here.
The host family heroine lives with is interesting. The hero's OW is delightfully awful (and improbably reconciles with her tycoon husband when he loses all of his money). The OMs also find their lady loves. Many romances in this one - just suspend your disbelief and you'll have a great time.
Also, the clothes! Dior's "New Look" is well represented.
They can't quit each other and spend all of their time together or thinking of each other.
Meanwhile, the reader is treated to a fascinating journey on a 1950's ship taking the passengers from England through the Panama Canal to New Zealand. Once there, the heroine learns about NZ agricultural practices and Mary Sues her way through cooking, driving, sewing, first aid and being belle of the many balls in the destrict.
The H/h have fascinating backstories - his mother left when he was 11 and the dad died on the passage to NZ and was buried in Panama. (H/h visit his grave) Heroine was bombed during the blitz, was trapped in the rubble for 6 hours and lost her three older siblings. No pretend angst here.
The host family heroine lives with is interesting. The hero's OW is delightfully awful (and improbably reconciles with her tycoon husband when he loses all of his money). The OMs also find their lady loves. Many romances in this one - just suspend your disbelief and you'll have a great time.
Also, the clothes! Dior's "New Look" is well represented.
April 1, 2023
I am so thrilled that Essie Summers books are on kindle now! And bear in mind that these new kindles are also the original hardcovers that were released when the books were first published - and before Harlequin cut them down to fit their own specs - so if you are an Essie fan well worth the investment even if you already have the paperback or large print copy!
I waited a long time to read this one! No way was I paying the extortionist prices some sellers seem to expect to get for these older titles. Anyway that said, well worth the wait. Marty and Philip get off on the wrong foot from the get go and then throw in another woman (mildly evil) and another man or two (not evil at all) and you got trouble my friends! The premise was a real slice of history too - the shiploads of immigrants bound for New Zealand from England in the post WWII period. Highly recommend this one to any Essie fan or fan of vintage romances.
**I want to add that the new kindle editions are excellent - if there were any typos I missed them, and that is not something I can say about most of these older books that have been converted to e-books. Also a lot of extras have been included that provide insight into the author and the setting and there are also a lot of photos of the area in which the book is set that are just breathtaking.
I waited a long time to read this one! No way was I paying the extortionist prices some sellers seem to expect to get for these older titles. Anyway that said, well worth the wait. Marty and Philip get off on the wrong foot from the get go and then throw in another woman (mildly evil) and another man or two (not evil at all) and you got trouble my friends! The premise was a real slice of history too - the shiploads of immigrants bound for New Zealand from England in the post WWII period. Highly recommend this one to any Essie fan or fan of vintage romances.
**I want to add that the new kindle editions are excellent - if there were any typos I missed them, and that is not something I can say about most of these older books that have been converted to e-books. Also a lot of extras have been included that provide insight into the author and the setting and there are also a lot of photos of the area in which the book is set that are just breathtaking.
December 19, 2022
This is the first book I've ever read by Essie Summers. This was a wonderful slow burn, enemies to lovers set partly at sea and partly on a farm in New Zealand. From the get-go I could see the writing, dialogue and characterizations were simply amazing. I had to laugh when I got to the end and there was an afterward that basically said 'This was Essie Summers second book, and at that point she still hadn't figured out how to write well yet' and I was like 'girl you what? I thought the writing was AMAZING' so naturally I'm dying to read more of her stuff to see how she developed and improved as an author.
Most of all while reading this book I loved how the h repeatedly proves the H's misconceptions about her wrong simply by existing and being her own wonderful self. Over and over again through this book he had to eat crow and admit he was wrong... ahh it's like a slow percolation of grovel. Satisfying.
Most of all while reading this book I loved how the h repeatedly proves the H's misconceptions about her wrong simply by existing and being her own wonderful self. Over and over again through this book he had to eat crow and admit he was wrong... ahh it's like a slow percolation of grovel. Satisfying.
January 20, 2024
Oh so capable nurse-turned secretary immigrates to New Zealand after being jilted.
On the ship she meets a sheep farmer who overhears her joke about rich bachelors in New Zealand and makes some disparaging remarks about the h.
The h ends up at the H's suggestion and recommendation in his part of the world where she continues to bedazzle everyone with her efficiency.
If only the H's ex-girlfriend weren't on the scene...
On the ship she meets a sheep farmer who overhears her joke about rich bachelors in New Zealand and makes some disparaging remarks about the h.
The h ends up at the H's suggestion and recommendation in his part of the world where she continues to bedazzle everyone with her efficiency.
If only the H's ex-girlfriend weren't on the scene...
August 19, 2024
Another nice Essie Summers story. I enjoyed the shipboard contretemps, but the advent of the OW pulled the cheer factor down a lot - he should have booted her to the ground immediately. I'm not really sure what she saw in the hero, as he was judgemental and had so few tender moments.
But it was OKAY.
But it was OKAY.
January 5, 2016
Re-read of an old favorite. I have long wanted to visit New Zealand, partly due to the novels of Essie Summers.
A thoughtless remark by Marty causes friction between her and Philip Griffiths, when Marty emigrates from England to New Zealand, and ends up working next door. Good characterization, believable situations, and a happy-ever-after ending all combine to make this an enjoyable read.
A thoughtless remark by Marty causes friction between her and Philip Griffiths, when Marty emigrates from England to New Zealand, and ends up working next door. Good characterization, believable situations, and a happy-ever-after ending all combine to make this an enjoyable read.
October 1, 2022
One if my favorites
This is one of my favorite of Essie Summers' novels. Marty is a girl with absolute spunk. I like the secondary romances, too. Even the 'villain' gets a satisfying end to the story.
This is one of my favorite of Essie Summers' novels. Marty is a girl with absolute spunk. I like the secondary romances, too. Even the 'villain' gets a satisfying end to the story.
November 15, 2022
A girl moves to New Zealand from England. Meets a man on ship. Lots of misunderstandings. Wonderful descriptions of N Z. Very interesting. Skip beginning and ending comments because not that interesting.
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