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Never While the Grass Grows
Would it really be a convenient marriage?
Lucas van de Weijnen didn't ask Octavia to marry him—he told her. Octavia's father had just died and she wasn't in any state of mind to make a rational decision. Besides, Lucas wasn't a man to take no for an answer.
But after the wedding, Octavia found herself falling under the spell of a man—her husband! And though they had both promised to love each other for the rest of their lives, she had no idea how Lucas felt about her.
Lucas van de Weijnen didn't ask Octavia to marry him—he told her. Octavia's father had just died and she wasn't in any state of mind to make a rational decision. Besides, Lucas wasn't a man to take no for an answer.
But after the wedding, Octavia found herself falling under the spell of a man—her husband! And though they had both promised to love each other for the rest of their lives, she had no idea how Lucas felt about her.
192 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 1, 1978
49 people are currently reading
131 people want to read
About the author
Betty Neels
576 books418 followersEvelyn Jessy "Betty" Neels was born on September 15, 1910 in Devon to a family with firm roots in the civil service. She said she had a blissfully happy childhood and teenage years.(This stood her in good stead later for the tribulations to come with the Second World War). She was sent away to boarding school, and then went on to train as a nurse, gaining her SRN and SCM, that is, State Registered Nurse and State Certificate of Midwifery.
In 1939 she was called up to the Territorial Army Nursing Service, which later became the Queen Alexandra Reserves, and was sent to France with the Casualty Clearing Station. This comprised eight nursing sisters, including Betty, to 100 men! In other circumstances, she thought that might have been quite thrilling! When France was invaded in 1940, all the nursing sisters managed to escape in the charge of an army major, undertaking a lengthy and terrifying journey to Boulogne in an ambulance. They were incredibly fortunate to be put on the last hospital ship to be leaving the port of Boulogne. But Betty's war didn't end there, for she was posted to Scotland, and then on to Northern Ireland, where she met her Dutch husband. He was a seaman aboard a minesweeper, which was bombed. He survived and was sent to the south of Holland to guard the sluices. However, when they had to abandon their post, they were told to escape if they could, and along with a small number of other men, he marched into Belgium. They stole a ship and managed to get it across the Channel to Dover before being transferred to the Atlantic run on the convoys. Sadly he became ill, and that was when he was transferred to hospital in Northern Ireland, where he met Betty. They eventually married, and were blessed with a daughter. They were posted to London, but were bombed out. As with most of the population, they made the best of things.
When the war finally ended, she and her husband were repatriated to Holland. As his family had believed he had died when his ship went down, this was a very emotional homecoming. The small family lived in Holland for 13 years, and Betty resumed her nursing career there. When they decided to return to England, Betty continued her nursing and when she eventually retired she had reached the position of night superintendent.
Betty Neels began writing almost by accident. She had retired from nursing, but her inquiring mind had no intention of vegetating, and her new career was born when she heard a lady in her local library bemoaning the lack of good romance novels. There was little in Betty's background to suggest that she might eventually become a much-loved novelist.
Her first book, Sister Peters in Amsterdam, was published in 1969, and by dint of often writing four books a year, she eventually completed 134 books. She was always quite firm upon the point that the Dutch doctors who frequently appeared in her stories were *not* based upon her husband, but rather upon an amalgam of several of the doctors she met while nursing in Holland.
To her millions of fans around the world, Betty Neels epitomized romance. She was always amazed and touched that her books were so widely appreciated. She never sought plaudits and remained a very private person, but it made her very happy to know that she brought such pleasure to so many readers, while herself gaining a quiet joy from spinning her stories. It is perhaps a reflection of her upbringing in an earlier time that the men and women who peopled her stories have a kindliness and good manners, coupled to honesty and integrity, that is not always present in our modern world. Her myriad of fans found a warmth and a reassurance of a better world in her stories, along with characters who touched the heart, which is all and more than one could ask of a romance writer. She received a great deal of fan mail, and there was always a comment upon the fascinating places she visited in her stories. Quite often those of her fans fortunate enough to visit Ho
In 1939 she was called up to the Territorial Army Nursing Service, which later became the Queen Alexandra Reserves, and was sent to France with the Casualty Clearing Station. This comprised eight nursing sisters, including Betty, to 100 men! In other circumstances, she thought that might have been quite thrilling! When France was invaded in 1940, all the nursing sisters managed to escape in the charge of an army major, undertaking a lengthy and terrifying journey to Boulogne in an ambulance. They were incredibly fortunate to be put on the last hospital ship to be leaving the port of Boulogne. But Betty's war didn't end there, for she was posted to Scotland, and then on to Northern Ireland, where she met her Dutch husband. He was a seaman aboard a minesweeper, which was bombed. He survived and was sent to the south of Holland to guard the sluices. However, when they had to abandon their post, they were told to escape if they could, and along with a small number of other men, he marched into Belgium. They stole a ship and managed to get it across the Channel to Dover before being transferred to the Atlantic run on the convoys. Sadly he became ill, and that was when he was transferred to hospital in Northern Ireland, where he met Betty. They eventually married, and were blessed with a daughter. They were posted to London, but were bombed out. As with most of the population, they made the best of things.
When the war finally ended, she and her husband were repatriated to Holland. As his family had believed he had died when his ship went down, this was a very emotional homecoming. The small family lived in Holland for 13 years, and Betty resumed her nursing career there. When they decided to return to England, Betty continued her nursing and when she eventually retired she had reached the position of night superintendent.
Betty Neels began writing almost by accident. She had retired from nursing, but her inquiring mind had no intention of vegetating, and her new career was born when she heard a lady in her local library bemoaning the lack of good romance novels. There was little in Betty's background to suggest that she might eventually become a much-loved novelist.
Her first book, Sister Peters in Amsterdam, was published in 1969, and by dint of often writing four books a year, she eventually completed 134 books. She was always quite firm upon the point that the Dutch doctors who frequently appeared in her stories were *not* based upon her husband, but rather upon an amalgam of several of the doctors she met while nursing in Holland.
To her millions of fans around the world, Betty Neels epitomized romance. She was always amazed and touched that her books were so widely appreciated. She never sought plaudits and remained a very private person, but it made her very happy to know that she brought such pleasure to so many readers, while herself gaining a quiet joy from spinning her stories. It is perhaps a reflection of her upbringing in an earlier time that the men and women who peopled her stories have a kindliness and good manners, coupled to honesty and integrity, that is not always present in our modern world. Her myriad of fans found a warmth and a reassurance of a better world in her stories, along with characters who touched the heart, which is all and more than one could ask of a romance writer. She received a great deal of fan mail, and there was always a comment upon the fascinating places she visited in her stories. Quite often those of her fans fortunate enough to visit Ho
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Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews
April 20, 2014
Enjoyable because it's slightly different from Betty's traditional story line. This time the hero is the one that falls prey to false assumptions and has all the insecurities.
I liked their relationship and the daughter's infectious enthusiasm added the right balance to the story.
I liked their relationship and the daughter's infectious enthusiasm added the right balance to the story.
December 7, 2020
She went...to the great Italian Baroque mirror....and she paused to admire it before studying her own reflection.
Maaaan, I love Betty--such a simple detail that instantly tells you so much about tall, gorgeous heroine Octavia. Just one of many such instances in NWtGG.
Reviewers for this one have done such a great job recapping that I won't, but a few things that struck me while reading this MoC story from Neels, which has many elements familiar to her readers but a few interesting digressions as well.
- The first half is a lot quicker paced than the second half, once the MoC takes place. What fun to be on a cruise of the Mediterranean with our hero and heroine, complete with ports of call, dancing the night away, and its own cast of secondary characters.
- The MoC/move to The Netherlands follows the usual Betty patterns--but our heroine in many ways does not. She is outspoken! She does not suffer in silence! She questions the hero about many things--his first marriage, his work, etc.--and isn't afraid to challenge him and lose her temper when he doesn't tell her much or leaves her on her own too much.
-The hero, while a fairly standard RDD widower BN model, actually plays the role that BN's heroines usually play--he's unsure of himself with regard to the heroine's feelings and is the one who has the Big Misunderstanding (and the heroine has no idea what is going on in his pretty little head, hahahaha).
-The ostensible OM is pretty nice and not out to cause trouble--the hero's own insecurities about his age are what cause the problems.
-Our outspoken heroine is not going to let any assumptions become Big Misunderstandings and is finally the one who insists that they clear things up and tells him that she's in love with him and thinks she will need to leave because she can't live with him in such a sterile and uncommunicative relationship (or words to that effect). And when he makes his mutual declaration, SHE kisses HIM fiercely, ha!
Betty probably had fun turning the tables in this one. I found the second half a little BN paint by numbers but Octavia was so sparky and likeable that I enjoyed the story, although I usually like a little more angst in my Neels. But overall, another fine one from Betty to liven up my Betty binge!
Maaaan, I love Betty--such a simple detail that instantly tells you so much about tall, gorgeous heroine Octavia. Just one of many such instances in NWtGG.
Reviewers for this one have done such a great job recapping that I won't, but a few things that struck me while reading this MoC story from Neels, which has many elements familiar to her readers but a few interesting digressions as well.
- The first half is a lot quicker paced than the second half, once the MoC takes place. What fun to be on a cruise of the Mediterranean with our hero and heroine, complete with ports of call, dancing the night away, and its own cast of secondary characters.
- The MoC/move to The Netherlands follows the usual Betty patterns--but our heroine in many ways does not. She is outspoken! She does not suffer in silence! She questions the hero about many things--his first marriage, his work, etc.--and isn't afraid to challenge him and lose her temper when he doesn't tell her much or leaves her on her own too much.
-The hero, while a fairly standard RDD widower BN model, actually plays the role that BN's heroines usually play--he's unsure of himself with regard to the heroine's feelings and is the one who has the Big Misunderstanding (and the heroine has no idea what is going on in his pretty little head, hahahaha).
-The ostensible OM is pretty nice and not out to cause trouble--the hero's own insecurities about his age are what cause the problems.
-Our outspoken heroine is not going to let any assumptions become Big Misunderstandings and is finally the one who insists that they clear things up and tells him that she's in love with him and thinks she will need to leave because she can't live with him in such a sterile and uncommunicative relationship (or words to that effect). And when he makes his mutual declaration, SHE kisses HIM fiercely, ha!
Betty probably had fun turning the tables in this one. I found the second half a little BN paint by numbers but Octavia was so sparky and likeable that I enjoyed the story, although I usually like a little more angst in my Neels. But overall, another fine one from Betty to liven up my Betty binge!
February 26, 2015
4 Stars ~ Octavia is a nurse in a busy Casualty department of a London hospital. Very pretty and popular, at 27 she's received many proposals of marriage but never from any man whom she could love. Her life changes when a distinguished man carries an elderly rather shabbily dressed woman who had been mugged. While Octavia attends to the woman, she notices the man's grazed knuckles and slashed hand, and in approval declares "I hope you knocked them down and jumped on them." When the man leaves, he tells her they will meet again. And so they do. Octavia is asked to take a temporary leave from the hospital to fill an urgent post on a cruise ship, and to her surprise the gentle man who brought in the elderly lady is the senior ship's doctor, also filling in at the last moment.
Lucas, 39, is a widower with a nine year old daughter and he had not thought of remarrying. Octavia is beautiful, resourceful and kindhearted; and he finds himself charmed by her and enjoying her company. As the ship lands at various Mediterranean ports, he takes her around to the spots that she must see. But the cruise ends after only two weeks, and Lucas is reluctant to let Octavia go back to her hospital in London, where he's sure some younger doctor shall win her. So he proposes a marriage of convenience; his daughter needs a mother and he needs a partner to share his home; in exchange Octavia shall have a happy and secure future. Taken by surprise, Octavia at first turns him down, but he insists that she think on it further while he drives her to her father's home in the English countryside. As they arrive at her family home, Octavia is alarmed to find her father not himself and he whispers to her how much he had wished to see her again, and then dies. Lucas steps in and handles everything, and after the funeral, they marry and then travel to his home in Holland.
Octavia and Berendina bond instantly with the little girl anxious to show all her friends her beautiful young mother. Lucas leads a busy life professionally often working very late but he tries to spend time with them on the weekends. But life is rather lonely for Octavia when Berendina is at school and she wishes her husband would be more open with her. When Lucas' younger cousin Marcus comes to visit to see this mysterious new bride, Octavia is polite but turns down his offers to show her around Holland. But Lucas encourages her to accept and Octavia feeling pushed away, does. The more time she spends with Marcus, the more time Lucas seems to bury himself in work.
Betty Neels enjoys her rich Dutch doctors and her warm-hearted English nurses. Often it's her heroes who fall in love first and must be patient for their heroines to love them in return. Lucas often shows his insecurities with their age gape, which really isn't all that much, only 12 years. Rushing Octavia into their marriage of convenience proclaiming that love isn't expected, but he knows they can make a happy life. Octavia holds Lucas literally to his words, and tries to stay out of his way and not pry into his personal life. She realizes that it's really for Berendina that he married her and so she gives herself whole heartedly to her role as stepmother. When Marcus comes on the scene it forces them to face the reality of their marriage, with Octavia believing Lucas wants to give her her freedom and she only wanting to make her marriage a real on based on the deep love she feels for her husband.
Though the ending was rather rushed, it never the less lead to a very satisfying HEA. I hope Lucas and Octavia get mention in a later Betty Neels, as I'd love to see more of their happiness.
Lucas, 39, is a widower with a nine year old daughter and he had not thought of remarrying. Octavia is beautiful, resourceful and kindhearted; and he finds himself charmed by her and enjoying her company. As the ship lands at various Mediterranean ports, he takes her around to the spots that she must see. But the cruise ends after only two weeks, and Lucas is reluctant to let Octavia go back to her hospital in London, where he's sure some younger doctor shall win her. So he proposes a marriage of convenience; his daughter needs a mother and he needs a partner to share his home; in exchange Octavia shall have a happy and secure future. Taken by surprise, Octavia at first turns him down, but he insists that she think on it further while he drives her to her father's home in the English countryside. As they arrive at her family home, Octavia is alarmed to find her father not himself and he whispers to her how much he had wished to see her again, and then dies. Lucas steps in and handles everything, and after the funeral, they marry and then travel to his home in Holland.
Octavia and Berendina bond instantly with the little girl anxious to show all her friends her beautiful young mother. Lucas leads a busy life professionally often working very late but he tries to spend time with them on the weekends. But life is rather lonely for Octavia when Berendina is at school and she wishes her husband would be more open with her. When Lucas' younger cousin Marcus comes to visit to see this mysterious new bride, Octavia is polite but turns down his offers to show her around Holland. But Lucas encourages her to accept and Octavia feeling pushed away, does. The more time she spends with Marcus, the more time Lucas seems to bury himself in work.
Betty Neels enjoys her rich Dutch doctors and her warm-hearted English nurses. Often it's her heroes who fall in love first and must be patient for their heroines to love them in return. Lucas often shows his insecurities with their age gape, which really isn't all that much, only 12 years. Rushing Octavia into their marriage of convenience proclaiming that love isn't expected, but he knows they can make a happy life. Octavia holds Lucas literally to his words, and tries to stay out of his way and not pry into his personal life. She realizes that it's really for Berendina that he married her and so she gives herself whole heartedly to her role as stepmother. When Marcus comes on the scene it forces them to face the reality of their marriage, with Octavia believing Lucas wants to give her her freedom and she only wanting to make her marriage a real on based on the deep love she feels for her husband.
Though the ending was rather rushed, it never the less lead to a very satisfying HEA. I hope Lucas and Octavia get mention in a later Betty Neels, as I'd love to see more of their happiness.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 8, 2013
The heroine Octavia is a nurse - a very skilled one - and she comes from a pleasant family background including a pleasant Georgian townhouse in the centre of a town. They have a housekeeper and her father, a former professor, is a kindly and absent-minded parent. This is not one of those Betty Neels books where the heroine has everything going against her. She is 27 and has had plenty of opportunities to marry but hasn't found the right man.
At the beginning of the book the heroine, Octavia, is working in casualty and first meets the hero when he comes in carrying an elderly lady, who has been mugged. He stays to make sure the lady is taken care of, and also to get his ATS injection. He doesn't reveal who he is, but we have no doubt that he is a very important man.
A little bit later an opportunity arises for the heroine. She is to fill in as a nurse on a cruise ship for two weeks. It is after arrival on the ship that we discover who the mysterious important man is. He is a rich Dutch doctor, filling in as the doctor on board the ship. He doesn't seem pleased to see the heroine at first. However, he turns out to be a really good boss who does things like notice when the nurse in charge is a real jerk about arranging off duty, hogging all the time off to herself. He sets things to right, making sure that things are arranged fairly.
He shines later on also when the heroine's father dies. The hero had already asked her to marry him, but she refused, not really seeing any particular reason to marry. At this point however, the hero's very kind intervention with the arrangements after her father's death makes him look even better, and surprisingly perhaps, he presses his suit once again.
So, maybe a little unscrupulous.
The hero has a young daughter from a previous marriage, named Berendina. She is nine years old and her mother died when she was only one. (This is a typical Betty Neels situation. So very convenient that any child from a previous marriage, should not have the burden of remembering her mother. Instead, the new wife always has a clear shot at being uncomplicatedly adored.)
Conflict is introduced when we meet Marcus, the hero's cousin who is clearly the lesser man, if not only because he's at least a head shorter than the hero. Marcus is a bit sketchy but he is useful, because the hero demonstrates some insecurity when the cousin is hanging around. This is apparently mainly because of age. The hero is about 39, the heroine is 27, and the cousin is 28. Whenever the cousin is mention, the hero frequently references his own great age. Nevertheless, the hero is pretty stellar in terms of the ideal Betty Neels qualities - creating a buffer between the heroine and the Cruel Modern World.
Most of the conflict seems to be based on a big misunderstanding. Interestingly, the misunderstanding is on the hero's part. Usually in Betty Niels, it's the heroine is being a bit dense. But in this case it's the hero that gets the wrong end of the stick. Naturally this is still enjoyable, because what it means is that he romantically suffers before things are all cleared up.
At the beginning of the book the heroine, Octavia, is working in casualty and first meets the hero when he comes in carrying an elderly lady, who has been mugged. He stays to make sure the lady is taken care of, and also to get his ATS injection. He doesn't reveal who he is, but we have no doubt that he is a very important man.
A little bit later an opportunity arises for the heroine. She is to fill in as a nurse on a cruise ship for two weeks. It is after arrival on the ship that we discover who the mysterious important man is. He is a rich Dutch doctor, filling in as the doctor on board the ship. He doesn't seem pleased to see the heroine at first. However, he turns out to be a really good boss who does things like notice when the nurse in charge is a real jerk about arranging off duty, hogging all the time off to herself. He sets things to right, making sure that things are arranged fairly.
He shines later on also when the heroine's father dies. The hero had already asked her to marry him, but she refused, not really seeing any particular reason to marry. At this point however, the hero's very kind intervention with the arrangements after her father's death makes him look even better, and surprisingly perhaps, he presses his suit once again.
"We discussed the question of not loving, did we not? I haven't changed my opinion and I don't suppose you have either. I think that we are well-suited; your father's death was made no difference, Octavia, only to expedite our wedding. I'll get a special license and make the arrangements. I think your father would have liked us to marry." He stared at her hard. "He would want to know that you had someone to look after you."
So, maybe a little unscrupulous.
The hero has a young daughter from a previous marriage, named Berendina. She is nine years old and her mother died when she was only one. (This is a typical Betty Neels situation. So very convenient that any child from a previous marriage, should not have the burden of remembering her mother. Instead, the new wife always has a clear shot at being uncomplicatedly adored.)
Conflict is introduced when we meet Marcus, the hero's cousin who is clearly the lesser man, if not only because he's at least a head shorter than the hero. Marcus is a bit sketchy but he is useful, because the hero demonstrates some insecurity when the cousin is hanging around. This is apparently mainly because of age. The hero is about 39, the heroine is 27, and the cousin is 28. Whenever the cousin is mention, the hero frequently references his own great age. Nevertheless, the hero is pretty stellar in terms of the ideal Betty Neels qualities - creating a buffer between the heroine and the Cruel Modern World.
"I'll never be able to thank you, Lucas. I've only just realized how good you are to me — I feel as though I've got a protective wall around me…" Her beautiful eyes searched his across the elegant little table.
He didn't smile, only look at her thoughtfully. "You're worth protecting," he told her quietly.
Most of the conflict seems to be based on a big misunderstanding. Interestingly, the misunderstanding is on the hero's part. Usually in Betty Niels, it's the heroine is being a bit dense. But in this case it's the hero that gets the wrong end of the stick. Naturally this is still enjoyable, because what it means is that he romantically suffers before things are all cleared up.
January 4, 2015
3 1/2 stars. Octavia Lock is Junior Sister in Casualty; our RDD brings in an old lady, Mrs. Stubbs, who has been mugged. He is Professor Lucas van de Weijnen; he was injured slightly by the knife-wielding assailant although he assures Octavia that he “knocked them down.” There is also an elderly man in hospital, malnourished and depressed, named Charlie, that Octavia is concerned about; she hopes to help find them both jobs and better living conditions. Unbeknownst to her, Lucas hires them both to help out at his home in den Haag. Lucas tells Octavia that he hopes, no, that he knows they will meet again.
Octavia’s father lives in Alresford; he is a professor of physics. Her mother is dead and a housekeeper, Mrs. Lovelace, looks after him and Octavia goes to see him as often as she can. A friend of Octavia’s has recently taken a job as cruise ship nurse, but develops appendicitis, and Octavia is asked to replace her on a cruise to the Mediterranean. She excitedly accepts and goes to visit her father before she sails.
Guess who the senior doctor on the ship is? Yep, Lucas van de Weijnen, also filling in. Lovely coincidence, no? Anyway, the senior nurse doesn’t like Octavia and saddles her with all the rotten duty in an attempt to keep all the shore leave to herself, but Lucas makes a point of taking Octavia ashore on Sicily, in Malta and in Athens. During the cruise, they have to perform an emergency surgery for an ectopic pregnancy and work together quite a bit.
They arrive back in Southampton and are preparing to leave the ship when Lucas asks Octavia to marry him, a MOC. He is a widower with a 9yo daughter and she needs a mother. She tries to turn him down flat but he avoids her answer and insists on driving her home. They walk into her home, Octavia calls to her father, he says, “I wanted to see you again, Octavia,” and dies. Lucas stays and takes care of everything for her, then talks her into marrying him right away. Numb with grief, she agrees.
Off to den Haag. He owns a lovely old home that is fully staffed, including, to Octavia’s surprise, Charlie and Mrs. Stubbs. Lucas’s daughter, Berendina, is a delight, and she and Octavia become great friends. A cousin of Lucas named Marcus comes over to introduce himself; he takes Octavia out quite a bit. Lucas comes to believe that Octavia has fallen in love with Marcus so he stays away a great deal. Actually, Marcus is the kindler, gentler version of the Evil Cousin.
Octavia, however, has had her DR and is quite miserable at Lucas’s absence. Berendina wants little brothers and sisters and asks why Octavia and Lucas has separate bedrooms; Octavia says it’s because her father died recently.
Interesting twist here. Most of TGB’s couples have a considerable age difference but it usually isn’t a big deal. Not so with Lucas. He has a bee in his bonnet that Octavia thinks he’s old; Marcus is just a year older than her, so this contributes to his belief that they have fallen for each other.
There is a lovely bit when Lucas comes to rescue Octavia and Berendina during a freak ice storm. Octavia and Berendina had gone to a child’s birthday party; Marcus arrived toward the end and talks to Octavia about the girl he wants to marry, who is at the party. Octavia is late in heading home and gets stuck in rush hour traffic when the freezing rain begins. There are multi-car pileups; a car first bumps into them, then is struck by another car, really smashing into them and breaking the rear window. They are huddled together in the car when they hear Lucas whistling. He kisses Octavia hard and helps them across the fields to where his Rolls is and takes them home.
Nothing changes, however; in fact, Lucas is more remote than ever, having wormed out of Octavia that Marcus was at the party and was the reason for their lateness. In fact, he gets quite angry for her having put them in danger. She loses her temper.
Lucas tells Octavia they are going to England to settle the issue of her home. He arranges with the solicitor to pay the bills and hires Mrs. Lovelace to continue caretaking; he hires a gardener as well. He tells Octavia she might like it as a “retreat.” He thinks she is going to divorce him and having her own home will make it easier.
On the Saturday of their return, they give a dinner party for the Burgermeester and his wife. By this time, Octavia is fed up and she tells Lucas she insists on talking to him. He goes white, thinking she is going to tell him she is leaving him for Marcus. Instead, she tells him Marcus is marrying someone else and that she, Octavia, is going to leave because she loves him and can’t bear his coldness anymore.
He tells her that he loves her, etc. Lots of kissing, reference to a nursery full of babies. She asks if he really loves her and he replies, “Yes, my darling, and never while the grass grows shall I cease to love you.” *swoon*
One point of confusion. Lucas gives her a winter coat, described thusly: “There was a cashmere coat inside; rich brown, thick and soft. . . a little fur cap which matched the coat exactly.” Later this: “. . . a piercing wind which made Octavia thankful for her sables. . . was thankful for the sables; it was that kind of an hotel.” Cashmere and sables are NOT the same thing.
Solid, but not spectacular – nothing controversial.
Octavia’s father lives in Alresford; he is a professor of physics. Her mother is dead and a housekeeper, Mrs. Lovelace, looks after him and Octavia goes to see him as often as she can. A friend of Octavia’s has recently taken a job as cruise ship nurse, but develops appendicitis, and Octavia is asked to replace her on a cruise to the Mediterranean. She excitedly accepts and goes to visit her father before she sails.
Guess who the senior doctor on the ship is? Yep, Lucas van de Weijnen, also filling in. Lovely coincidence, no? Anyway, the senior nurse doesn’t like Octavia and saddles her with all the rotten duty in an attempt to keep all the shore leave to herself, but Lucas makes a point of taking Octavia ashore on Sicily, in Malta and in Athens. During the cruise, they have to perform an emergency surgery for an ectopic pregnancy and work together quite a bit.
They arrive back in Southampton and are preparing to leave the ship when Lucas asks Octavia to marry him, a MOC. He is a widower with a 9yo daughter and she needs a mother. She tries to turn him down flat but he avoids her answer and insists on driving her home. They walk into her home, Octavia calls to her father, he says, “I wanted to see you again, Octavia,” and dies. Lucas stays and takes care of everything for her, then talks her into marrying him right away. Numb with grief, she agrees.
Off to den Haag. He owns a lovely old home that is fully staffed, including, to Octavia’s surprise, Charlie and Mrs. Stubbs. Lucas’s daughter, Berendina, is a delight, and she and Octavia become great friends. A cousin of Lucas named Marcus comes over to introduce himself; he takes Octavia out quite a bit. Lucas comes to believe that Octavia has fallen in love with Marcus so he stays away a great deal. Actually, Marcus is the kindler, gentler version of the Evil Cousin.
Octavia, however, has had her DR and is quite miserable at Lucas’s absence. Berendina wants little brothers and sisters and asks why Octavia and Lucas has separate bedrooms; Octavia says it’s because her father died recently.
Interesting twist here. Most of TGB’s couples have a considerable age difference but it usually isn’t a big deal. Not so with Lucas. He has a bee in his bonnet that Octavia thinks he’s old; Marcus is just a year older than her, so this contributes to his belief that they have fallen for each other.
There is a lovely bit when Lucas comes to rescue Octavia and Berendina during a freak ice storm. Octavia and Berendina had gone to a child’s birthday party; Marcus arrived toward the end and talks to Octavia about the girl he wants to marry, who is at the party. Octavia is late in heading home and gets stuck in rush hour traffic when the freezing rain begins. There are multi-car pileups; a car first bumps into them, then is struck by another car, really smashing into them and breaking the rear window. They are huddled together in the car when they hear Lucas whistling. He kisses Octavia hard and helps them across the fields to where his Rolls is and takes them home.
Nothing changes, however; in fact, Lucas is more remote than ever, having wormed out of Octavia that Marcus was at the party and was the reason for their lateness. In fact, he gets quite angry for her having put them in danger. She loses her temper.
Lucas tells Octavia they are going to England to settle the issue of her home. He arranges with the solicitor to pay the bills and hires Mrs. Lovelace to continue caretaking; he hires a gardener as well. He tells Octavia she might like it as a “retreat.” He thinks she is going to divorce him and having her own home will make it easier.
On the Saturday of their return, they give a dinner party for the Burgermeester and his wife. By this time, Octavia is fed up and she tells Lucas she insists on talking to him. He goes white, thinking she is going to tell him she is leaving him for Marcus. Instead, she tells him Marcus is marrying someone else and that she, Octavia, is going to leave because she loves him and can’t bear his coldness anymore.
He tells her that he loves her, etc. Lots of kissing, reference to a nursery full of babies. She asks if he really loves her and he replies, “Yes, my darling, and never while the grass grows shall I cease to love you.” *swoon*
One point of confusion. Lucas gives her a winter coat, described thusly: “There was a cashmere coat inside; rich brown, thick and soft. . . a little fur cap which matched the coat exactly.” Later this: “. . . a piercing wind which made Octavia thankful for her sables. . . was thankful for the sables; it was that kind of an hotel.” Cashmere and sables are NOT the same thing.
Solid, but not spectacular – nothing controversial.
April 26, 2013
This is a lovely marriage of convenience between Octavia, and a widower, Dutch Doctor Lucas van der Weijnan. This is very typical Neels fare with the usual cast of supporting nurses, patients and housekeeping staff.
Octavia thinks her prime purpose is to be a mother to his nine year old daughter. Lucas pressured her into an immediate marriage on the death of Octavia's father and is being very cautious.
I really enjoyed the story, as I do pretty much all Betty Neels books. They are a consistently safe read and while the stories are often similar, I rarely find that a problem.
Octavia thinks her prime purpose is to be a mother to his nine year old daughter. Lucas pressured her into an immediate marriage on the death of Octavia's father and is being very cautious.
I really enjoyed the story, as I do pretty much all Betty Neels books. They are a consistently safe read and while the stories are often similar, I rarely find that a problem.
Read
July 27, 2011An excellent story. Octavia meets Dr. Lucas van der Weijnen when he brings an old lady who had been mugged in to the emergency room where she worked. They reconnect when she is offered a chance to fill in for a sick nurse on a cruise ship. At the end of the cruise, he asks her to marry him, just not love him.
A great story. Never while the grass grows shall I cease to love you.
A great story. Never while the grass grows shall I cease to love you.
April 28, 2020
The pacing of this one is super weird; part way through the book the heroine's father dies and the hero is wonderfully supportive and then, literally same conversation, is like "so you should totally quit your job, marry me, and move to Holland; that is the only logical thing to do in this situation." Uh... is it, dude? Is it really? Anyway, she does and it all works out in the end, but I did find this concerning.
August 4, 2014
Concludes with the absolute howler "...and never while the grass grows shall I cease to love you."
August 29, 2013
Very sweet but I don't know any man who would do what this one did.
January 18, 2026
Read: 16Jan26,
5 Stars. OMG, i loved this. This tale had a different spin for Betty, where it was the H who became withdrawn from the h after their MOC, thinking he had rushed her into it and not wanting her to regret her choice, and his quiet angst was absolutely delicious.
Octavia (27), a beautiful and popular nurse, meets a handsome stranger in her casualty room when he carries in a little old lady who has been mugged. He seems to dislike her on sight, which annoys her, but he hangs around to ensure the old lady is well and even stays late after everyone is gone because Octavia has been left alone in casualty and her cover nurse has not arrived. She decides he is quite nice really, if a bit moody. He leaves at the end of the night without even telling her his name.
He is Lucas (39), and she meets him again on a cruise ship, where she is covering for the cruise ship's nurse who had taken ill. He is the ship's head doctor, covering for a colleague, and he seems angry to see Octavia there and is brusque with her. The head nurse, a beautiful older woman (35), is determined to catch Lucas for herself, and launches a campaign against Octavia, keeping her busy working and never giving her time off when Lucas has time off, and giving herself plenty of time off to go dining and dancing with him.
However, Lucas, being the head doctor is able to thwart Octavia's work schedule at times and he ensures that Octavia is able to see some of their ports of call by taking her off ship and showing her around places like Sicily. Snatching chances even when she's only been given a few hours off. They get along during their trips, but he remains aloof and distant once they are back on board, which makes her a bit sad.
However she is a confident girl, used to fun and being appreciated, and she doesn't pine for him. She tells herself she isn't that interested in him, though she knows this to be untrue.
I was immediately interested by both of their characters, though he remained somewhat mysterious for the first half of the book -- very much a much admired mystery man, popular with all the ladies, effortlessly capable at his job. And she is a very likeable girl.
SPOILERS AHEAD
Onboard ship, they also bond by saving a woman who needs emergency surgery during the night. But the way he blows hot and cold with her is disappointing to her and towards the end of the 2 week cruise, she starts to avoid him. Even so, she is sad on the last day at the thought of not saying goodbye to him and hopes to see him.
He does one better - he has arranged to drive her home, saying he wants to talk to her. She asks what about. To her shock, he proposes marriage. he says they get along well and are friends, and he has realised lately that he is lonely in life and he would like a partner. that he doesn't love her or expect love from her, but that they could be happy together. He is a widower (an RDD) and has a nine year old daughter, and he says they could be a family together.
She turns him down immediately. She has been proposed to before and never married anyone because she never was in love. she tells him she doesn't love him. Plus her father (an absent minded prof type) would be lonely without her if she married and moved to holland. He says, I will drive you home anyway and maybe you can think about it?
He takes her home and she invites him in to meet her father. But they arrive just in time for dad to say "Octavia, i wanted to see you again," and die. This was really quite sad. This book had more lingering grief than other Betty books but, as she usually does, she handled it with a light touch so that it didn't bog down the romance.
Lucas stays with her, managing everything and arranging the funeral while she is lost in her haze of grief. When she cant cope and cries out that she doesn't know what to do, he says that she can marry him and come home to holland. He is convincing and she agrees. She can't bear to go back to her normal life, which will be empty now.
They marry quickly and return to holland, where she is welcome with open arms by his 9 year old daughter and all the servants and his family. she is happily surprised to find two of her former old patients working in his home--she had mentioned being worried about them (old people with no money or family, nothing to live for) the day she first met Lucas, and it turns out he was the man who offered them a home and jobs! Dear Lucas.
Shortly afterwards, she meets Lucas's cousin Marcus, 28, an extrovert who is very keen on meeting the new bride, and keeps inviting her to go out and do things with him while Lucas is busy with work. At first, she turns him down, but Lucas encourages her to accept the invitations, and he is extremely busy with is work. It is his urging which drives her to accept and to spend time with Marcus. However, this in turn seems to make Lucas more remote and withdrawn from her.
Anyway, it was interesting to see a slightly reversed dynamic where we have the H being the one who withdraws and the h being the one who is social and outspoken and confident and ends up going on 'dates' with an OM, despite them not being real dates and the hubby pushing her to socialise with his cousin.
She is increasingly frustrated that Lucas is so busy and that he never talks to her about his personal or his work life. She has realised she is in love with him, and craves to know everything about him, but he wont give her even a little bit. He becomes distant and mocking if she probes too much. She realises that he never wanted her love and feels she must hide it at all costs.
I had read about this role reversal in other reviews and thought I wouldnt like it, but actually it worked really well and was very satisfying because the reader can sense that they are both pining for one another and yet he is so withdrawn we really dont know what is going on in his mind. There was a plentiful emotional undercurrent and chemistry between then to keep us fully interested in the story.
ENDING SPOILERS
Her getting stuck in traffic in dangerous icy conditions with his young daughter in the car is what triggers their fallout near the ending. He had warned her to leave a kid's bday party at 4.30pm before rush hour, and she meant to, but then Marcus had come in, and had been telling her about some girl he had decided to marry, so she got delayed leaving. and then the weather turned terrible and a fog rolled in, and traffic ahead of them crashed, leaving them vulnerable to also being crashed into on a motorway, a scary situation. Lucas found them and rescued them from it, but when she tells him she was delayed because of marcus, he is furious. He tells her that she should have known better than let her emotions run away with her when a child was involved. She is furious with him for thinking she would put his daughter in danger.
He then suddenly takes her back to england, saying she needs to make decisions about what to do with her dad's house, but she realises that he is making plans for her to be able to go back to that house if their marriage breaks down.
It's interesting that in other Betty books it is the male who says things that terrify the female and leave her on cliff-hanger tenterhooks, which drive us crazy because why doesn't the damn man know why what he said terrified the girl and drove her away from him! lol. But here the roles are reversed and we can totally see the innocence of what she said and how she might have no idea about the impact on him. She said things like "Marcus wants to get married soon" and, after she had gotten tipsy and chatty during dinner and dancing, the next morning she worriedly said, "I didn't say anything to you last night, did I?" which is hilarious because the poor man now thinks she has planned to marry marcus! lol. But really she was worried that she had let slip that she loved Lucas. Laughing my head off at this.
When they return to holland, she realises she cannot bear for him to not love her back and cannot bear the distance he is putting between them and resolves that she must leave him. She picks her moment on the evening before a big posh dinner party they are throwing, having worked up her courage and being unable to hold back, especially since she has hardly seen Lucas with him being so busy working.
He goes white in the face, thinking she is about to break things off with him. The poor man. His agony is palpable, especially after she says "I need to talk to you about me and marcus." Lol!! And the poor man dives in and says I suppose I knew all along you would choose marcus because he is younger and he has so much free time, to which she replies, no, he's going to get a job so that he can marry that girl he likes. Lol, she isnt looking at his face so doesnt see his expression. Then she blurts out she is going to leave lucas because she loves him and cant bear that he doesnt love her back. After which we get an explosive and very satisfactory declaration of love from him, and he sweeps her into his arms and kisses her. Yay! Lucas gets his girl!! He says he knew he loved her ever since they operated on the cruise ship. But then he worried he had rushed her into marriage and he was trying to give her the space to decide who she really loved without interference. Aw, quite noble of him really.
CONCLUSION
I absolutely loved this one. Having read over 100 betty books by now, I didnt think I would find another 5 star betty read left, but i absolutely inhaled this one. It was intriguing and fast paced from the start. The section on the cruise ship really highlighted him as the desirable and capable doc in charge (yum, that crisp white ship's doc uniform tho!) and i kinda loved that the OW nasty nurse was hot for him and chasing him around, and how he could not resist making plans to take Octavia off ship for sightseeing and how he adored seeing her joy at seeing all the sights. He even lamented that he would have liked to show her Rhodes (when the nasty head nurse made sure octavia was working). I also loved how aloof he was with the h at the start because I think he didnt want to fall in love at that point and was scared a bit of the emotions that Octavia awoke in him. And yet he jumped the gun and proposed the minute they were off ship and there was the chance he wouldnt see her again. He was so patient even when she said no. His ego didnt lash out and he still wanted to drive her home. Gotta love that. I even loved the MOC section where we got to see Octavia pining for him. This book had lots of emotion and was so poignant and had a decent bit of angst. I look forward to rereading it again at some point.
5 Stars. OMG, i loved this. This tale had a different spin for Betty, where it was the H who became withdrawn from the h after their MOC, thinking he had rushed her into it and not wanting her to regret her choice, and his quiet angst was absolutely delicious.
Octavia (27), a beautiful and popular nurse, meets a handsome stranger in her casualty room when he carries in a little old lady who has been mugged. He seems to dislike her on sight, which annoys her, but he hangs around to ensure the old lady is well and even stays late after everyone is gone because Octavia has been left alone in casualty and her cover nurse has not arrived. She decides he is quite nice really, if a bit moody. He leaves at the end of the night without even telling her his name.
He is Lucas (39), and she meets him again on a cruise ship, where she is covering for the cruise ship's nurse who had taken ill. He is the ship's head doctor, covering for a colleague, and he seems angry to see Octavia there and is brusque with her. The head nurse, a beautiful older woman (35), is determined to catch Lucas for herself, and launches a campaign against Octavia, keeping her busy working and never giving her time off when Lucas has time off, and giving herself plenty of time off to go dining and dancing with him.
However, Lucas, being the head doctor is able to thwart Octavia's work schedule at times and he ensures that Octavia is able to see some of their ports of call by taking her off ship and showing her around places like Sicily. Snatching chances even when she's only been given a few hours off. They get along during their trips, but he remains aloof and distant once they are back on board, which makes her a bit sad.
However she is a confident girl, used to fun and being appreciated, and she doesn't pine for him. She tells herself she isn't that interested in him, though she knows this to be untrue.
I was immediately interested by both of their characters, though he remained somewhat mysterious for the first half of the book -- very much a much admired mystery man, popular with all the ladies, effortlessly capable at his job. And she is a very likeable girl.
SPOILERS AHEAD
Onboard ship, they also bond by saving a woman who needs emergency surgery during the night. But the way he blows hot and cold with her is disappointing to her and towards the end of the 2 week cruise, she starts to avoid him. Even so, she is sad on the last day at the thought of not saying goodbye to him and hopes to see him.
He does one better - he has arranged to drive her home, saying he wants to talk to her. She asks what about. To her shock, he proposes marriage. he says they get along well and are friends, and he has realised lately that he is lonely in life and he would like a partner. that he doesn't love her or expect love from her, but that they could be happy together. He is a widower (an RDD) and has a nine year old daughter, and he says they could be a family together.
She turns him down immediately. She has been proposed to before and never married anyone because she never was in love. she tells him she doesn't love him. Plus her father (an absent minded prof type) would be lonely without her if she married and moved to holland. He says, I will drive you home anyway and maybe you can think about it?
He takes her home and she invites him in to meet her father. But they arrive just in time for dad to say "Octavia, i wanted to see you again," and die. This was really quite sad. This book had more lingering grief than other Betty books but, as she usually does, she handled it with a light touch so that it didn't bog down the romance.
Lucas stays with her, managing everything and arranging the funeral while she is lost in her haze of grief. When she cant cope and cries out that she doesn't know what to do, he says that she can marry him and come home to holland. He is convincing and she agrees. She can't bear to go back to her normal life, which will be empty now.
They marry quickly and return to holland, where she is welcome with open arms by his 9 year old daughter and all the servants and his family. she is happily surprised to find two of her former old patients working in his home--she had mentioned being worried about them (old people with no money or family, nothing to live for) the day she first met Lucas, and it turns out he was the man who offered them a home and jobs! Dear Lucas.
Shortly afterwards, she meets Lucas's cousin Marcus, 28, an extrovert who is very keen on meeting the new bride, and keeps inviting her to go out and do things with him while Lucas is busy with work. At first, she turns him down, but Lucas encourages her to accept the invitations, and he is extremely busy with is work. It is his urging which drives her to accept and to spend time with Marcus. However, this in turn seems to make Lucas more remote and withdrawn from her.
Anyway, it was interesting to see a slightly reversed dynamic where we have the H being the one who withdraws and the h being the one who is social and outspoken and confident and ends up going on 'dates' with an OM, despite them not being real dates and the hubby pushing her to socialise with his cousin.
She is increasingly frustrated that Lucas is so busy and that he never talks to her about his personal or his work life. She has realised she is in love with him, and craves to know everything about him, but he wont give her even a little bit. He becomes distant and mocking if she probes too much. She realises that he never wanted her love and feels she must hide it at all costs.
I had read about this role reversal in other reviews and thought I wouldnt like it, but actually it worked really well and was very satisfying because the reader can sense that they are both pining for one another and yet he is so withdrawn we really dont know what is going on in his mind. There was a plentiful emotional undercurrent and chemistry between then to keep us fully interested in the story.
ENDING SPOILERS
Her getting stuck in traffic in dangerous icy conditions with his young daughter in the car is what triggers their fallout near the ending. He had warned her to leave a kid's bday party at 4.30pm before rush hour, and she meant to, but then Marcus had come in, and had been telling her about some girl he had decided to marry, so she got delayed leaving. and then the weather turned terrible and a fog rolled in, and traffic ahead of them crashed, leaving them vulnerable to also being crashed into on a motorway, a scary situation. Lucas found them and rescued them from it, but when she tells him she was delayed because of marcus, he is furious. He tells her that she should have known better than let her emotions run away with her when a child was involved. She is furious with him for thinking she would put his daughter in danger.
He then suddenly takes her back to england, saying she needs to make decisions about what to do with her dad's house, but she realises that he is making plans for her to be able to go back to that house if their marriage breaks down.
It's interesting that in other Betty books it is the male who says things that terrify the female and leave her on cliff-hanger tenterhooks, which drive us crazy because why doesn't the damn man know why what he said terrified the girl and drove her away from him! lol. But here the roles are reversed and we can totally see the innocence of what she said and how she might have no idea about the impact on him. She said things like "Marcus wants to get married soon" and, after she had gotten tipsy and chatty during dinner and dancing, the next morning she worriedly said, "I didn't say anything to you last night, did I?" which is hilarious because the poor man now thinks she has planned to marry marcus! lol. But really she was worried that she had let slip that she loved Lucas. Laughing my head off at this.
When they return to holland, she realises she cannot bear for him to not love her back and cannot bear the distance he is putting between them and resolves that she must leave him. She picks her moment on the evening before a big posh dinner party they are throwing, having worked up her courage and being unable to hold back, especially since she has hardly seen Lucas with him being so busy working.
He goes white in the face, thinking she is about to break things off with him. The poor man. His agony is palpable, especially after she says "I need to talk to you about me and marcus." Lol!! And the poor man dives in and says I suppose I knew all along you would choose marcus because he is younger and he has so much free time, to which she replies, no, he's going to get a job so that he can marry that girl he likes. Lol, she isnt looking at his face so doesnt see his expression. Then she blurts out she is going to leave lucas because she loves him and cant bear that he doesnt love her back. After which we get an explosive and very satisfactory declaration of love from him, and he sweeps her into his arms and kisses her. Yay! Lucas gets his girl!! He says he knew he loved her ever since they operated on the cruise ship. But then he worried he had rushed her into marriage and he was trying to give her the space to decide who she really loved without interference. Aw, quite noble of him really.
CONCLUSION
I absolutely loved this one. Having read over 100 betty books by now, I didnt think I would find another 5 star betty read left, but i absolutely inhaled this one. It was intriguing and fast paced from the start. The section on the cruise ship really highlighted him as the desirable and capable doc in charge (yum, that crisp white ship's doc uniform tho!) and i kinda loved that the OW nasty nurse was hot for him and chasing him around, and how he could not resist making plans to take Octavia off ship for sightseeing and how he adored seeing her joy at seeing all the sights. He even lamented that he would have liked to show her Rhodes (when the nasty head nurse made sure octavia was working). I also loved how aloof he was with the h at the start because I think he didnt want to fall in love at that point and was scared a bit of the emotions that Octavia awoke in him. And yet he jumped the gun and proposed the minute they were off ship and there was the chance he wouldnt see her again. He was so patient even when she said no. His ego didnt lash out and he still wanted to drive her home. Gotta love that. I even loved the MOC section where we got to see Octavia pining for him. This book had lots of emotion and was so poignant and had a decent bit of angst. I look forward to rereading it again at some point.
April 29, 2015
Great characters. Both MCs and FFRs. No other woman just a misunderstanding by the RDD about his lady fair's relationship with a younger, eligible male relative. Typical Neels with the addition of a working relationship aboard a cruise ship where the heroine is being wooed by the widowed RDD much w/o her knowledge. He is road testing her for "stepmother" to his 9 year old and 2nd wife for himself. I do love the GB though.
May 15, 2018
‘Lucas, do you really love me?’‘Yes, my darling, and never while the grass grows shall I cease to love you.’
1978, 3.5*
An interesting start to the book; I was thinking not another absentminded, useless father who left no provisions for his only child! Octavia's father went so far to say he'd like her married, and with books costing so much more these days there wouldn't be any money left for her! And he died just like that, no reason given!
Interestingly, Octavia was born on 8 August, and she came late to her parents, so much so the joke was they could have had seven children before her!
The first half of the story was good; chapter one alone felt busy, so much happening. Then the fortnight on the cruise was great! Wish we could see Lucas handling the nasty nurse who shortchanged Octavia's off duty. It's so sweet to have Lucas play tour guide even though he'd seen it all.
After the cruise, Octavia's father literally died the moment she got home, so that expedited their MOC which Lucas proposed before leaving the cruise. Turned out he'd fallen for her on the night they performed the emergency operation! Her nursing skills must have made an impression haha!
The household in Holland was almost perfect; the moppet was a real darling, and the staff great.
This was where the story dragged; Lucas brooding and avoiding Octavia because he thought she fancied his younger cousin instead.
My heart broke for them both when he tore up the concert tickets...but Marcus was the convenient plot device, to make Lucas jealous! But it took Octavia's courage and initiative to confront Lucas and that prompted the love declaration!
Lucas showered Octavia with gifts and jewels - a whole box with which to play!
1978, 3.5*
An interesting start to the book; I was thinking not another absentminded, useless father who left no provisions for his only child! Octavia's father went so far to say he'd like her married, and with books costing so much more these days there wouldn't be any money left for her! And he died just like that, no reason given!
Interestingly, Octavia was born on 8 August, and she came late to her parents, so much so the joke was they could have had seven children before her!
The first half of the story was good; chapter one alone felt busy, so much happening. Then the fortnight on the cruise was great! Wish we could see Lucas handling the nasty nurse who shortchanged Octavia's off duty. It's so sweet to have Lucas play tour guide even though he'd seen it all.
After the cruise, Octavia's father literally died the moment she got home, so that expedited their MOC which Lucas proposed before leaving the cruise. Turned out he'd fallen for her on the night they performed the emergency operation! Her nursing skills must have made an impression haha!
The household in Holland was almost perfect; the moppet was a real darling, and the staff great.
This was where the story dragged; Lucas brooding and avoiding Octavia because he thought she fancied his younger cousin instead.
My heart broke for them both when he tore up the concert tickets...but Marcus was the convenient plot device, to make Lucas jealous! But it took Octavia's courage and initiative to confront Lucas and that prompted the love declaration!
Lucas showered Octavia with gifts and jewels - a whole box with which to play!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 23, 2024
Another good story....picked up one more of Neels' books at the Mission Store today....now I need 26.
Octavia was a ward Sister in a hospital in London, England but did more than she should have had to do because the olders nurses took advantage of her.
One day and night a man was admitted and didn't care if he died or not....no one cared and he had lost his job (Charlie), then in the evening an older lady was mugged and brought to the hospital and she also had no place to go or anyone to care for her.
The doctor, Lucas van de Weijnen who was a consulting doctor from Holland, took them over and when they were dismissed from the hospital they went to his home in Holland and were very happy there.
Olivia's father was a very unforgetful man who was always lost in his books and he also taught at the university. One weekend when Lucas drove her home, her father managed to say a few words to Olivia and died which was such a shock to Olivia who loved her father very much.
Lucas took over all the arrangements for the funeral and then told Olivia that they were going to get married the day after the funeral even though neither loved the other.
Lucas loved her but never told her; she didn't love him until they had been married for awhile....he had a 9-year old daughter from a previous marriage. All turns out well!
Octavia was a ward Sister in a hospital in London, England but did more than she should have had to do because the olders nurses took advantage of her.
One day and night a man was admitted and didn't care if he died or not....no one cared and he had lost his job (Charlie), then in the evening an older lady was mugged and brought to the hospital and she also had no place to go or anyone to care for her.
The doctor, Lucas van de Weijnen who was a consulting doctor from Holland, took them over and when they were dismissed from the hospital they went to his home in Holland and were very happy there.
Olivia's father was a very unforgetful man who was always lost in his books and he also taught at the university. One weekend when Lucas drove her home, her father managed to say a few words to Olivia and died which was such a shock to Olivia who loved her father very much.
Lucas took over all the arrangements for the funeral and then told Olivia that they were going to get married the day after the funeral even though neither loved the other.
Lucas loved her but never told her; she didn't love him until they had been married for awhile....he had a 9-year old daughter from a previous marriage. All turns out well!
January 8, 2025
"Never While the Grass Grows" is the story of Octavia and Lucas.
Professor/ GP/ Surgeon hero meets the heroine once in the ER, and then they work on a ship. He is impressed by how efficient of a nurse she is, and after a semi courting outing proposes she marry him and become a mother to his daughter. Circumstances force her to agree, and soon the rest of the book is him being suspicious of her being in love with his younger cousin and their resolution on literally the last page.
Boring and disappointing
Safe
1.5/5
Professor/ GP/ Surgeon hero meets the heroine once in the ER, and then they work on a ship. He is impressed by how efficient of a nurse she is, and after a semi courting outing proposes she marry him and become a mother to his daughter. Circumstances force her to agree, and soon the rest of the book is him being suspicious of her being in love with his younger cousin and their resolution on literally the last page.
Boring and disappointing
Safe
1.5/5
April 12, 2025
Good, but abrupt ending
It's easy to fall in love with Lucas and Octavia. This story is really very interesting because of the way Lucas approaches life. There's something that will make you cry towards the middle. Well, it made me cry anyway. I don't want to give much away, so I'll simply say that it's a beautiful story that I really enjoyed. The ending.... it just kind of ended. That's the only thing I didn't love about this book.
It's easy to fall in love with Lucas and Octavia. This story is really very interesting because of the way Lucas approaches life. There's something that will make you cry towards the middle. Well, it made me cry anyway. I don't want to give much away, so I'll simply say that it's a beautiful story that I really enjoyed. The ending.... it just kind of ended. That's the only thing I didn't love about this book.
November 24, 2022
3.5 stars
Liked it, but didn't love it. I think there was almost too much story. First there were 2 old ppl to rescue, then a cruise, then a death, then a MoC, then a stepdaughter to meet, then a Handsome Cousin to create confusion. Wow. The H and h are likable, and the very beautiful h isn't a watering pot.
Liked it, but didn't love it. I think there was almost too much story. First there were 2 old ppl to rescue, then a cruise, then a death, then a MoC, then a stepdaughter to meet, then a Handsome Cousin to create confusion. Wow. The H and h are likable, and the very beautiful h isn't a watering pot.
August 5, 2018
Lovely
If you enjoy your romances light, clean, fluffy and vintage then you will enjoy the wonderful work of Betty Neels
If you enjoy your romances light, clean, fluffy and vintage then you will enjoy the wonderful work of Betty Neels
April 8, 2020
I love reading a romantic novel and Betty Neels’ always delight! Never While the Grass Grows is atypical in that part of the story takes place on a Mediterranean cruise.
October 15, 2024
Good grief, not my favorite Betty Neel! This doctor is almost too dense to even be a doctor.
August 11, 2024
Hmmm, a slow, sad Neels, not much spark here, but any Betty is better than no Betty. If you'd like to read a longer review, please follow the blog link:
https://missbatesreadsromance.com/202...
https://missbatesreadsromance.com/202...
July 25, 2024
Unbelievably, this was a first-time read for me. I was super into the story during the first half. Octavia works in Casualty and encounters two elderly patients with little-to-no will to live. And so all three lives are changed for the better by one single man. Then the second half of the book starts and it becomes a bit melodramatic. Octavia marries her Professor Lucas. While her life is cushy, she still doesn't have the Professor's love. He appears to be jealous over his cousin's attentions to Octavia, but takes a backseat because he's so much older than Octavia. And so the story slowly winds to a last page ending of professing their love in the penultimate paragraph. Too much too late. It could have been one of Betty's better novels if it didn't succumb to the expected. The only surprise was the cousin's astuteness.
January 11, 2021
A rather convoluted, but sweet, story. Octavia first meets Lucas in the hospital where she is working when he brings in an old lady who had been mugged. Then comes a job on a cruise ship, followed by a marriage of convenience with a cute "plot muppet".
October 13, 2018
Number 8 in my top 10 Betty Neels novels
March 30, 2020
Delightful
As all the books of Betty Neels I have read so far, this was an other wonderful story. Looking forward to the next one.
As all the books of Betty Neels I have read so far, this was an other wonderful story. Looking forward to the next one.
August 27, 2020
3.5 stars
December 14, 2025
Sweet as usual. Loved the Mediterranean cruise chapters. Would love to see more of Greece in a Betty novel.
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