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Dragonshill #4
One More River To Cross
They were look alike cousins but Rebecca was the sensible, capable one whilst Becky was flighty and selfish. When one visits the other's fiance's family on their high country sheep station, the trouble begins.
188 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1979
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About the author
Essie Summers
106 books52 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
May 15, 2016
One More River to Cross was my first romance by Essie Summers, New Zealand's official 'Queen of Romance'. Supposedly, when a teacher read aloud "Emily of New Moon" by L.M. Montgomery, the young Essie knew then that she wanted to be a writer. Her first novel wasn't published until the day after her 45th birthday! And like the now-deceased author Betty Neels, Ms. Summers has a devoted fan base long after she passed away.
When she was young she had red hair and many of her heroines in her romances followed suit. Rebecca Menteith was no different. She is the common-sense cousin of the flighty Becky Menteith. Pay close attention, because it can become a little confusing!
Their mothers were twin sisters who married brothers so they look like they could be identical twins, too. They were born within days of each other and there is another story behind their first names but I will leave you to read the book to find out the reason why.
Oh, here is another thing. Her books are available in paperback but not on Kindle. You can buy them on Amazon or you can find them on a back shelf in a crowded used-book shop like I did. My understanding is the author includes characters from other stories but none of the books are in a series.
~And now, back to this old-fashioned romance:
After becoming engaged for the umpteenth time, Cousin Becky, takes off once again when things aren't to her liking. The family convinces Rebecca to save the engagement. Remember, people have a hard time telling them apart. But craziness ensues when her fiancee takes off to find Becky and Rebecca (who doesn't know this) pretends to be Becky to his family after 'she' returned to their homestead. In the meantime, the real Becky leaves the motel where she was in hiding and Rebecca doesn't know where she is at.
The remainder of 'her' fiancee's family finds the new and improved Becky (egads!) kind and lovable. They don't know what made her change and until Rebecca-Becky can get Becky to return, she has to keep the fibs going. To make matters worse, Rebecca-Becky starts to fall in love with one of 'her' fiancee's relatives.
This was such a whackadoodle story! Ms. Summer's strength is her descriptive setting of New Zealand. Because of this, she was offered The Order Of The British Empire for her contributions to tourism. I have a few more books by this lady and will give her another try when I want to 'visit' the island-country again.
When she was young she had red hair and many of her heroines in her romances followed suit. Rebecca Menteith was no different. She is the common-sense cousin of the flighty Becky Menteith. Pay close attention, because it can become a little confusing!
Their mothers were twin sisters who married brothers so they look like they could be identical twins, too. They were born within days of each other and there is another story behind their first names but I will leave you to read the book to find out the reason why.
Oh, here is another thing. Her books are available in paperback but not on Kindle. You can buy them on Amazon or you can find them on a back shelf in a crowded used-book shop like I did. My understanding is the author includes characters from other stories but none of the books are in a series.
~And now, back to this old-fashioned romance:
After becoming engaged for the umpteenth time, Cousin Becky, takes off once again when things aren't to her liking. The family convinces Rebecca to save the engagement. Remember, people have a hard time telling them apart. But craziness ensues when her fiancee takes off to find Becky and Rebecca (who doesn't know this) pretends to be Becky to his family after 'she' returned to their homestead. In the meantime, the real Becky leaves the motel where she was in hiding and Rebecca doesn't know where she is at.
The remainder of 'her' fiancee's family finds the new and improved Becky (egads!) kind and lovable. They don't know what made her change and until Rebecca-Becky can get Becky to return, she has to keep the fibs going. To make matters worse, Rebecca-Becky starts to fall in love with one of 'her' fiancee's relatives.
This was such a whackadoodle story! Ms. Summer's strength is her descriptive setting of New Zealand. Because of this, she was offered The Order Of The British Empire for her contributions to tourism. I have a few more books by this lady and will give her another try when I want to 'visit' the island-country again.
October 31, 2018
There was no other woman. I like that. Instead the "Other Woman" was the heroine Rebecca's cousin Becky who had become engaged to Lennox, the heroes cousin, and then run off when she didn't get it all her own way.
Used to fixing up her cousins messes, Rebecca embarks on a deception hoping that by pretending to be Becky for a couple of nights, it would give the real Becky time to return and make good.
Of course Becky vanishes, the river rises, Lennox has run after Becky so Rebecca is left holding the fort and growing closer to Darroch as they look after the standard clutch of children on a high country sheep station.
I really liked the way Rebecca and Darroch came to appreciate each other and obviously fall in love while both consider there are insurmountable obstacles to their romance. Darroch of course believes her engaged to Lennox and Rebecca knows that even if he forgives her deception, it would be impossible for her to stay as a constant reminder to Lennox and his true love Meg.
We get to meet some of the other couples from previous books and the New Zealand landscape as always features. A lovely romance with a satisfying ending.
Used to fixing up her cousins messes, Rebecca embarks on a deception hoping that by pretending to be Becky for a couple of nights, it would give the real Becky time to return and make good.
Of course Becky vanishes, the river rises, Lennox has run after Becky so Rebecca is left holding the fort and growing closer to Darroch as they look after the standard clutch of children on a high country sheep station.
I really liked the way Rebecca and Darroch came to appreciate each other and obviously fall in love while both consider there are insurmountable obstacles to their romance. Darroch of course believes her engaged to Lennox and Rebecca knows that even if he forgives her deception, it would be impossible for her to stay as a constant reminder to Lennox and his true love Meg.
We get to meet some of the other couples from previous books and the New Zealand landscape as always features. A lovely romance with a satisfying ending.
June 1, 2022
They were look alike cousins but Rebecca was the sensible, capable one whilst Becky was flighty and selfish. When one visits the other's fiance's family on their high country sheep station, the trouble begins.
October 15, 2010
Needing an 'O' book for the October challenge, I went through the pile of several hundred unread books sitting in my house. And from all of those, the only 'O' book was this Harlequin Romance from 1979. So I went into this with much trepidation.
It wasn't perfect, but it wasn't terrible. Almost identical twin cousins (their mothers are identical twins who married brothers) switch places to fix a broken engagement. Yeah, it wasn't quite as hokey as it sounds. But the setting in the mountains of New Zealand was really the star of the book. About two thirds of the way through the book, the heroine became annoying. Otherwise, it was decent.
It wasn't perfect, but it wasn't terrible. Almost identical twin cousins (their mothers are identical twins who married brothers) switch places to fix a broken engagement. Yeah, it wasn't quite as hokey as it sounds. But the setting in the mountains of New Zealand was really the star of the book. About two thirds of the way through the book, the heroine became annoying. Otherwise, it was decent.
January 7, 2008
I always like impersonation stories, and am especially amused by Essie's heroines who always end up cooking amazing meals out of leftovers for large groups of sheep shearers or harvest workers on vast estates in New Zealand, with no warning and without batting an eyelash!
September 8, 2017
Ok so in book with the following opening paragraph is an immediate 5 stars from me!
"Rebecca Mentheith drove into Timaru, the sparkling waters of Caroline Bay to the east, the crooked line of Stafford Street running south before her, and westward downs and rolling hills that would many miles on, lead her to the Southern Alps."
Once you get over the fact that this is a Mills and Boon romance partially set in Timaru the story is pretty much what you would expect from a Mills and Boon written in the 1970s. A rather sexist but probably typical hero of the time coupled with woman who despite her independence has thankfully competent feminine skills (cooking, child minding etc) Phew! That aside, I have to say reading a book from the iconic NZ writer Essie Summers was a welcome and gentle interlude to more gritty reads. Something comforting in a good old fashioned love story with a guaranteed happy ending!
"Rebecca Mentheith drove into Timaru, the sparkling waters of Caroline Bay to the east, the crooked line of Stafford Street running south before her, and westward downs and rolling hills that would many miles on, lead her to the Southern Alps."
Once you get over the fact that this is a Mills and Boon romance partially set in Timaru the story is pretty much what you would expect from a Mills and Boon written in the 1970s. A rather sexist but probably typical hero of the time coupled with woman who despite her independence has thankfully competent feminine skills (cooking, child minding etc) Phew! That aside, I have to say reading a book from the iconic NZ writer Essie Summers was a welcome and gentle interlude to more gritty reads. Something comforting in a good old fashioned love story with a guaranteed happy ending!
January 18, 2018
Rebecca's impulsive action lands her in a sticky situation when she decides to pretend to be her look-alike cousin, Becky, in an attempt to save Becky's latest engagement. But then Becky refuses to return to the high mountain estate, and Rebecca is trapped in her deception. Before Rebecca's arrival, Becky's fiance, Lennox had decided to join friends on their yacht. In addition his cousin's wife, Sylvie has been rushed to the hospital, leaving her three young children and her brother-in-law to cope. Darroch is thrilled when Becky (as he believes) returns to help. But before long Rebecca discovers that not only has she found a place she'd be happy to live in forever, but also a man to share it with. Only, due to the circumstances, this can never be. How the situation eventually resolves itself happily makes a very enjoyable story. Wonderful descriptions and vivid, believable characters only add to the enjoyment. Recommended.
June 18, 2024
Rebecca to the rescue!
Sensible Rebecca is always helping her flighty cousin Becky (who could be her identical twin) get out of scraps. This time Becky goes too far, breaks off her third engagement and begs her cousin to help mend her relationship with her fiance.
Rebecca goes to the ranch and finds the family in dire need of help. Becky's fiance isn't there. It's his cousin who meets Rebecca and unwillingly lets her stay assuming she's irresponsible Becky bend on making amends.
Sensible Rebecca is always helping her flighty cousin Becky (who could be her identical twin) get out of scraps. This time Becky goes too far, breaks off her third engagement and begs her cousin to help mend her relationship with her fiance.
Rebecca goes to the ranch and finds the family in dire need of help. Becky's fiance isn't there. It's his cousin who meets Rebecca and unwillingly lets her stay assuming she's irresponsible Becky bend on making amends.
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December 3, 2019The story ended abruptly after chaos of different relationships as if the author had enough of the mess and decided to end without giving too much thought.
December 18, 2023
Another favorite from my early teens.
December 1, 2013
I just read this book again & really liked it. Cute story. Pretty clean to. Unless you count checking for broken ribs and one major kiss
Essie Summers rights some cute little love stories.
This is my old review- I liked the story, but I thought Rebecca fell in love to quickly. Loved the New Zealand setting.
Essie Summers rights some cute little love stories.
This is my old review- I liked the story, but I thought Rebecca fell in love to quickly. Loved the New Zealand setting.
December 30, 2022
They were look alike cousins but Rebecca was the sensible, capable one whilst Becky was flighty and selfish. When one visits the other's fiance's family on their high country sheep station, the trouble begins.
October 29, 2019
Convoluted twins.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews