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Roosid jõuludeks
Eleanor mäletab oma lapsepõlvest nii võimutsevat Fulk van Hensumit kui ka seda, kui vastumeelne oli poiss talle olnud. Nüüd on Eleanor täiskasvanu ja kvalifitseeritud meditsiiniõde, ja korraga on Fulk, tunnustatud eriarst, tema elus tagasi. Mees ei ole põrmugi muutunud. Ta on endiselt diktaatorlik ja võimukas, mis on probleem, sest olude sunnil ei saa Eleanor teda vältida! See ei peaks oluline olema, et Fulk on kihlatud kauni Imogeniga… aga millegipärast on.
184 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1975
54 people are currently reading
184 people want to read
About the author
Betty Neels
584 books420 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 - 30 of 50 reviews
February 12, 2012
this is my fav book written by her.when i visited london,made sure that i visited a lot of places mentioned in her books,loved markd and spencer,harrodds and selfridges.
April 10, 2021
Unfortunately, this one didn't stand up to my original rating. I'm going to remove one star. Things got a bit too repetitive for me with Imogen, Imogen, Imogen.....Plus, I didn't even realize he was an RDD, until halfway through the book. ;-(
It's not bad, but it's definitely middle of the road for our Betty.
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Another deliciously sweet romance by Betty Neels. Betty Neels is like a warm hot chocolate in front a blazing fire on a cold winters day. When you are done, you feel warm and fuzzy all over!
It's not bad, but it's definitely middle of the road for our Betty.
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Another deliciously sweet romance by Betty Neels. Betty Neels is like a warm hot chocolate in front a blazing fire on a cold winters day. When you are done, you feel warm and fuzzy all over!
November 29, 2014
I love the gentle way Betty Neels weaves her love stories around just the right circumstances for her heroines to fall hopelessly in love. Of course, her heroes usually already know that the heroines belong to them, they just have to be patient.
In this one, Betty gives us a Scottish heroine who is a nurse in Edinburgh. Our hero is a medical Professor from Holland. Their fathers were great friends, however, it's been 20 years since Fulk last visited Eleanor's family --- he'd been sixteen to Eleanor's five. He'd always had a soft spot for her and she'd never forgotten him, and how he used to soothe her childish tears. Eleanor is a feisty young woman who doesn't appreciate his overwhelming ways, and they find themselves always quarreling. We, of course, know it's only a matter of time for these two to figure out just where all these sparks are leading to. Ms. Neels gives Eleanor a lovely HEA, one worthy of a contented sigh.
In this one, Betty gives us a Scottish heroine who is a nurse in Edinburgh. Our hero is a medical Professor from Holland. Their fathers were great friends, however, it's been 20 years since Fulk last visited Eleanor's family --- he'd been sixteen to Eleanor's five. He'd always had a soft spot for her and she'd never forgotten him, and how he used to soothe her childish tears. Eleanor is a feisty young woman who doesn't appreciate his overwhelming ways, and they find themselves always quarreling. We, of course, know it's only a matter of time for these two to figure out just where all these sparks are leading to. Ms. Neels gives Eleanor a lovely HEA, one worthy of a contented sigh.
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December 2, 2023This was one of the first books I ever read by Betty Neels and I remember thinking what a complete jerk the H was. I could not understand why on earth she would tolerate this kind of rudeness and game-playing. Also, he was 11 years older than her and that meant that when they were children, he was a 16-year-old bullying a five-year-old! Why would she give this jerk the time of day?
Dozens of books later, I get it: I have been brainwashed. Now he’s just a garden variety H.
Dozens of books later, I get it: I have been brainwashed. Now he’s just a garden variety H.
December 28, 2023
We're in the 11th month of Covid quarantine and this is the first Betty Neels book I've reread! What's wrong with me? I know she's an awesome comfort read - I first discovered her when I was regrouping after losing my husband and both my parents in one week. Desperate to pass the time but needing nothing heavy to digest I picked a Neels book up on Overdrive and fell in (quiet) love. I loved that she was old-fashioned, like the stories I grew up on. I loved that nobody yelled, screamed or cheated in her books. I loved that her heroines had quiet dignity, were capable and intelligent and humble. I loved the details of families, dogs and cats, clothes, and suppers eaten in the kitchen. And I still love those things. A dose of Betty is just what I needed right now. Anyway, this is a reread, so my original review stands below.
Another Neels book with a loving family and hard-working nurse. In this case the RDD is someone our nurse knew as a young child - and she wasn't too fond of him. When he shows up years later she can't decide if she likes him or not. How he feels about her is a mystery, unless you recognize the pattern from other BN stories.
There's a real feel of winter in the first part of this book, where our hero and heroine must rescue some stranded school children in a blizzard. I happen to love stories with plenty of snow, so that part was right up my alley. The second half had our MC's caring for her sick younger brother in Holland.
The MC's in this one were both likable, though Eleanor kept "not liking" Fulk longer than I thought she should. OTOH I do understand that you can get stuck in how you think you feel about someone and perhaps not realize your feelings have changed - or they have.
3.5 star
NB - If you enjoy Neel's books join the conversation at the GR group Betty Neels Fanatics. See you there!
Another Neels book with a loving family and hard-working nurse. In this case the RDD is someone our nurse knew as a young child - and she wasn't too fond of him. When he shows up years later she can't decide if she likes him or not. How he feels about her is a mystery, unless you recognize the pattern from other BN stories.
There's a real feel of winter in the first part of this book, where our hero and heroine must rescue some stranded school children in a blizzard. I happen to love stories with plenty of snow, so that part was right up my alley. The second half had our MC's caring for her sick younger brother in Holland.
The MC's in this one were both likable, though Eleanor kept "not liking" Fulk longer than I thought she should. OTOH I do understand that you can get stuck in how you think you feel about someone and perhaps not realize your feelings have changed - or they have.
3.5 star
NB - If you enjoy Neel's books join the conversation at the GR group Betty Neels Fanatics. See you there!
September 28, 2016
Eleanor MacFarlane is a beautiful Scottish nurse with a large loving family. Her family's home is in the very north of Scotland; her father is a minister and her mother runs a large household consisting of five children. There are James, Mary, Eleanor, Margaret, and Henry. The story opens when an old family friend, Fulk van Hensum, RDD, comes to visit. His late father was great friends with Rev. MacFarlane. (Other than this, there is no mention of any other members of Fulk's family, which is quite unusual for LaNeels.)
Eleanor last saw Fulk when she was five and he was 16. She recalls him pulling her hair, her kicking his shins, falling down crying, and him picking her up and hugging her. We know that he falls in love with her on sight, although he is engaged to Imogen, who is in the south of France; Eleanor says that he wasn't so polite yesterday (when they first met) and he replies, "one sometimes says the wrong thing when one is taken by surprise." Eleanor becomes aware that she both likes and dislikes Fulk immensely and wonders how this is possible.
Soon comes a blizzard in which Fulk and Eleanor must rescue the local schoolmaster (with broken leg) and boys from a mountain cave; Henry, who is recovering from chickenpox and doing poorly, goes home with Fulk; then Henry develops rheumatic fever and Eleanor must go to Holland to nurse him.
While waiting for Fulk and Henry to arrange for Henry's passport, Eleanor amuses herself by writing a wish list. Fulk picks it up and reads it: "Sable coat, Gina Fratini dress, Givenchy scarf, Marks and Spencer sweater, toothpaste, surgical scissors, every paperback I want, roses for Christmas."
Now, with our heroine in The Netherlands, the magical land of love, she has plenty of time for her Dawning Realization.
On a long weekend, Fulk drives (!) to Cannes to see Imogen. (To break the engagement, we wonder? Yes, we later find out that Fulk found her amusing herself with a short, fat, balding American millionaire.)
In the meantime, she gets looked over by Fulk's future mother-in-law not to be, who comes to, as she puts it, look over Imogen's interests. Regrettably, Eleanor loses her temper. Quite a funny scene.
Henry is recovering and Fulk fetches Eleanor's parents for Sint Nikolaas.
Some lovely family scenes. Fulk takes Eleanor out to explore Groningen on a cold rainy day and kisses her on a canal bridge.
Fulk takes her parents home; immediately upon his return, Imogen telephones and Eleanor answers, then gives the phone to Fulk. Next day, Imogen comes over, presumably to see what Eleanor looks like. She says she doesn't love Fulk and isn't going to marry him. When she leaves, Eleanor notices that folk is there and she urges him to run out and catch her. He just laughs and says that Eleanor heard Imogen say that she didn't love him and wasn't going to marry him. He says that when he went to Cannes, he found that Imogen was "consoling herself" with an American millionaire. "An American millionaire is so much richer than a Dutch one, you know." Ha!
Then he proceeds to tell Eleanor that he hasn't loved Imogen since the moment he saw Eleanor sitting in the attic at her parents home and eating an apple. Lovely declaration and proposal that follows.
Quite a lot of smooching throughout; Fulk explains early on that he and Imogen agreed their engagement would not require either party to change their lifestyles. Obviously a society marriage only. Fulk is quite a fun RDD as well as being kind. Eleanor is sensible but quite feisty - Fulk tells her once that he may as well do something otherwise she would nag (YES, the n-word!) him until he did.
Just super, to use Henry's words!
Eleanor last saw Fulk when she was five and he was 16. She recalls him pulling her hair, her kicking his shins, falling down crying, and him picking her up and hugging her. We know that he falls in love with her on sight, although he is engaged to Imogen, who is in the south of France; Eleanor says that he wasn't so polite yesterday (when they first met) and he replies, "one sometimes says the wrong thing when one is taken by surprise." Eleanor becomes aware that she both likes and dislikes Fulk immensely and wonders how this is possible.
Soon comes a blizzard in which Fulk and Eleanor must rescue the local schoolmaster (with broken leg) and boys from a mountain cave; Henry, who is recovering from chickenpox and doing poorly, goes home with Fulk; then Henry develops rheumatic fever and Eleanor must go to Holland to nurse him.
While waiting for Fulk and Henry to arrange for Henry's passport, Eleanor amuses herself by writing a wish list. Fulk picks it up and reads it: "Sable coat, Gina Fratini dress, Givenchy scarf, Marks and Spencer sweater, toothpaste, surgical scissors, every paperback I want, roses for Christmas."
Now, with our heroine in The Netherlands, the magical land of love, she has plenty of time for her Dawning Realization.
On a long weekend, Fulk drives (!) to Cannes to see Imogen. (To break the engagement, we wonder? Yes, we later find out that Fulk found her amusing herself with a short, fat, balding American millionaire.)
In the meantime, she gets looked over by Fulk's future mother-in-law not to be, who comes to, as she puts it, look over Imogen's interests. Regrettably, Eleanor loses her temper. Quite a funny scene.
Henry is recovering and Fulk fetches Eleanor's parents for Sint Nikolaas.
Some lovely family scenes. Fulk takes Eleanor out to explore Groningen on a cold rainy day and kisses her on a canal bridge.
Fulk takes her parents home; immediately upon his return, Imogen telephones and Eleanor answers, then gives the phone to Fulk. Next day, Imogen comes over, presumably to see what Eleanor looks like. She says she doesn't love Fulk and isn't going to marry him. When she leaves, Eleanor notices that folk is there and she urges him to run out and catch her. He just laughs and says that Eleanor heard Imogen say that she didn't love him and wasn't going to marry him. He says that when he went to Cannes, he found that Imogen was "consoling herself" with an American millionaire. "An American millionaire is so much richer than a Dutch one, you know." Ha!
Then he proceeds to tell Eleanor that he hasn't loved Imogen since the moment he saw Eleanor sitting in the attic at her parents home and eating an apple. Lovely declaration and proposal that follows.
Quite a lot of smooching throughout; Fulk explains early on that he and Imogen agreed their engagement would not require either party to change their lifestyles. Obviously a society marriage only. Fulk is quite a fun RDD as well as being kind. Eleanor is sensible but quite feisty - Fulk tells her once that he may as well do something otherwise she would nag (YES, the n-word!) him until he did.
Just super, to use Henry's words!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 4, 2010
Very mediocre Neels. Maybe we are supposed to find the abrupt mood swings, the arguments, the bickering, etc entertaining. But it got really old really fast.
I can't actually say it is a bad book, but so not to my taste at all. If I could, this would be 1 1/2 stars. Bleh.
I can't actually say it is a bad book, but so not to my taste at all. If I could, this would be 1 1/2 stars. Bleh.
October 29, 2020
I like to read Betty Neels' book. For a while I read a lot of her books one after another.
Even I wonder why I like her book so much...
Then I noticed that I read to see heroines' happily ever afters. Some of them life is mundane, nothing to be excited about the future, some of them are in a hopeless situation. Then slowly everything becomes fine with the help of a hero who is mostly a Dutch doctor.
To be honest, I don't remember much about the book. It was just one of the books I read after finishing the preview Betty Neels book. Though I remember that it left a warm feeling in me. So it is 4 stars...
Even I wonder why I like her book so much...
Then I noticed that I read to see heroines' happily ever afters. Some of them life is mundane, nothing to be excited about the future, some of them are in a hopeless situation. Then slowly everything becomes fine with the help of a hero who is mostly a Dutch doctor.
To be honest, I don't remember much about the book. It was just one of the books I read after finishing the preview Betty Neels book. Though I remember that it left a warm feeling in me. So it is 4 stars...
September 28, 2012
Why is it so comforting to read Betty Neels? The hero always takes care of everything, the girl who is usually coping well on her own, gets what she wants before she even knows she wants it. Bossy men are usually a pain in reality because it is their wants not yours, but not in a Neels book. Oh, and they are always handsome and rich. Truly fantasy escape...
December 16, 2017
Clean (sometimes silly) Christmas fluff. I chortled at the doctor being referred to several times as "groovy" since the book was written in 1975. There is something comforting about all the tea times, pets, and garden walks that this British author includes in her romances.
December 13, 2017
Okay...I'm on a Betty Neels' roll. Again, we have a rich Dutch doctor who falls for a nurse, except this time, she is pretty, and she is Scottish! She is taken with him too, except she hasn't quite figured that part out. She spends most of her time irritated with him, because of an incident that happened 20 years ago, at least, that's what she thinks. She hasn't figured out that she's actually irritated with him because he's unavailable; apparently the doctor is engaged.
The doctor gets himself unengaged quite early in the novel, except we don't find this out until much later, so the audience and the heroine are left wondering why he is kissing the heroine so much when he is supposedly not free. This is a trend in Betty Neels' books that I find infuriating sometimes...where the hero strings the heroine along, and doesn't clarify the confusion she is experiencing over whether he is available or not. Just a few words would smooth things out, but then there wouldn't be much conflict, and our nine chapter book would probably get reduced to three chapters.
The doctor gets himself unengaged quite early in the novel, except we don't find this out until much later, so the audience and the heroine are left wondering why he is kissing the heroine so much when he is supposedly not free. This is a trend in Betty Neels' books that I find infuriating sometimes...where the hero strings the heroine along, and doesn't clarify the confusion she is experiencing over whether he is available or not. Just a few words would smooth things out, but then there wouldn't be much conflict, and our nine chapter book would probably get reduced to three chapters.
December 7, 2021
**Book One of 2021 Romance Book Advent Calendar**
Heat Level: Low
I have another book by this author that is a favorite from when I first started reading Harlequin romances when I was a kid. That one I love on pure nostalgia and this one is very similar. A mysterious rich older man (another doctor like the last one) and a young beautiful woman who is... not rich. I can't say I really enjoyed this one, but at the same time it had the same weird comforting feel that the other did. Maybe it's just the writing style. The romance was barely there and there were so many moments where if he had just opened his mouth and let some words out then I might have been more invested in the relationship. Sadly though, he didn't and he was kind of a cardboard cut-out character. She was okay. The children were cute, but not amazing. The setting was good. I can't say I'd recommend this one, but I didn't feel like it was a waste of time either. Meh.
(Note: I'm not using the CAWPILE rating system on these books. These are rated on enjoyment only.)
Heat Level: Low
I have another book by this author that is a favorite from when I first started reading Harlequin romances when I was a kid. That one I love on pure nostalgia and this one is very similar. A mysterious rich older man (another doctor like the last one) and a young beautiful woman who is... not rich. I can't say I really enjoyed this one, but at the same time it had the same weird comforting feel that the other did. Maybe it's just the writing style. The romance was barely there and there were so many moments where if he had just opened his mouth and let some words out then I might have been more invested in the relationship. Sadly though, he didn't and he was kind of a cardboard cut-out character. She was okay. The children were cute, but not amazing. The setting was good. I can't say I'd recommend this one, but I didn't feel like it was a waste of time either. Meh.
(Note: I'm not using the CAWPILE rating system on these books. These are rated on enjoyment only.)
January 19, 2026
Read: 19Dec25, 19Jan26.
19Jan26 --- 4 stars. downgraded this a bit since my last read. the heroine Eleanor really got on my nerves this time. she was extremely naive in her behaviour and reactions to everything, and came across as a lovelorn child. I quite like my heroines to be a bit more mature and be able to control their emotions instead of being all over the place and tearfully crying "oh Falk!" at frequent intervals. For a man like Falk to fall for such a child felt a bit icky. she would bore him to death in reality. but the good points of my previous review still stand.
I probably don't want to reread this one too frequently.
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19Dec25 --- 4.4. stars. I liked this one a lot. It had an mmc who was fighting his feelings all the way, and I always finds that an interesting source of story conflict. He was engaged to another woman and had made a sensible choice of fiancée and then-BAM!-the h appeared in his life and all his well ordered plans got blown to smithereens, but he wasn't going to let them go down without a fight. lol.
Eleanor (25) is a big tall beautiful nurse, who is home at her parents' place for a holiday in idyllic rural Scotland when Fulk, a childhood frenemy and family friend comes visiting. She is in the barn looking at some new kittens when her 8 yr old brother says "you'll never guess who has come" and when she hears it is Fulk, she is disgusted and says he was a horrid boy and undoubtedly has grown into a horrid man and I shant bother to come and see him. And she doesnt realise that Fulk has come to the barn too behind her bro, and has heard every word. He is cynically amused/annoyed by it too. Ooh! I love it when sparks fly at the meetcute.
She is shocked by how much he has grown and says so (because he is of course a giant RDD) and in reply he says she's grown rather big too, which she finds offensive as she really is a big lady but with all the curves in the right places.
One thing I find odd here is that she met Fulk when she was 4 and he was sixteen, but apparently she remembers disliking him very clearly. How can a 4 year old hold a sixteen year old in such dislike? She remembers that his teasing made her kick him and she fell over, but when she cried he tenderly picked her up and comforted her.
So anyways, Fulk (36) is now engaged to the beautiful petite skinny dutch woman, and he makes a point of telling Eleanor how ethereally beautiful and petite his fiancee is several times to rub it in her face.
I loved the banter and snark between these two. It was quite realisitic and affectionate in a way even though it was also angsty because it always ended up goign wrong with one or other of them regretting what was said.
SPOILERS AHEAD
so anyway, they get to know each other better when he sees her at her nursing job being the efficient ward sister, plus they both participate in a harrowing snowstorm mountain rescue of some school boys together, winning each others respect in a big way, but most of the plot revolves around her goign to holland to nurse her sick 8 yr old brother, who Fulk invited to visit him there to keep the boy out of trouble but who got very ill. For much of the visit, Fulk's faincee is away in cannes and so she is mentioned in conversations,w hich always leave eleanor feeling dissattisfied.
FUlk herlps her a lot with nursing her brother and also carries on his full time job too, which makes her worry for him. She get a visit from the fiancee's mother, who is mean to her. Eleanor is quite sharp tempered when her ire is roused, and she has some blunt retorts for the nasty woman, and then she goes and let's Fulk know exactly what she thinks of him for letting the woman say those things too.
Anyway, Fulk is very enigmatic about his feelings for her but there are many hints for us, the reader, that his feelings fo r her are growing, but that he doesnt want them to grow so he retreats, working harder and avoiding Eleanor and being coolly civil with her. He does drop some delicious words/hints that he likes her too much, and he also steals the occassional kiss.
So anyway, at one point Eleanor realises she is in love with him, after which she is sad and pines for him, and is sad that his fiancée is such a cold hearted girl and doesnt seem to care for him at ll. But she thinks that Fulk loves the woman since he drove a 30 hour round trip just to see her in cannes for a day! Eleanor tries to hide her feelings, but she isnt that successful since he always seems to know how to read her face too well.
ENDING SPOILERS
When he brings her parents over for a surprise visit, she had thought he had gone away again to Cannes for the weekend to visit his fiancée, so when he comes back she is so happy that she squeals his name. He is really pleased when she does this, even though she tries to cover it up by immediately squealing at her parents and hugging them, but it was too late - i think he realised she did love him at that point and he was very happy about it.
I usually prefer for the heroine to run away in heartbreak in Betty books and for the hero to chase her and declare his love. We didn't get that sort of ending here. Here we get to finally see the fiancée Imogen turn up at his house to see Eleanor with her own eyes and she says a few nasty things and walks off. Eleanor says "wait, dont you want to see Fulk? Dont you love him?" because she is concerned that her presence in Fulk's house is breaking up his engagement to the woman he loves. Imogen laughs and calls her a stupid creature and says she doesnt love fulk and will not be marrying him and walks out.
And then Fulk walks out of his study and Eleanor realises he was home and overheard and urges him to go after Imogen to save his marriage, but Fulk says he also has no intention of marrying Imogen. That he stopped being in love with imogen the moment he saw Eleanor in the barn with the kittens, and that in fact he must have loved her since she was a child. (I find that a bit icky and unnecessary although I am sure it was meant innocently. like surely no 16 year old boy is looking at a 4 year old girl and falling in love with her, and I dont think that was meant here. I suppose it was supposed to express the romantic idea that they were fated for each other, but I found it a bit icky and unnecessary.)
Overall, it was an interesting read that kept the pages turning without being boring. i didnt need to skim any of it.
The book was great, but it has something missing which is why is didnt give it the 4.5 stars or 5 stars that I gave to some of my faves. I think it was the home setting that contributed to the problem -- Eleanor was in his home which took away the chance to see him having to find all sorts of excuses to see her and stealth date her like other betty heroes have had to do. We do see heroines in heroes homes in plenty of books, but usaully it's a MOC situation or it's a situation where she is working for him and nursing his loved one, which introduces some story conflict of their own, as well as giving the heroine a chance to show her resililence by either rising to the challenges of a new life in her MOC, or showing herself as an admirable/self-sacrificing/diligent worker and underdog. But in this book she was not an underdog and she was on an equal footing to him as a guest in his home while nursing her own brother, so there was no chance for stealth dating and no chance to see her rising to any underdog type challenges. In fact, she was coddled a bit because he was taking care of everything for her to make life easier for her. however the book did counteract that a bit by showing her as an efficient nurse during the first part of the book and also showing her as admirable and heroic during the snowstorm rescue. We did see Fulk do things for her like helping her nurse her sick bro staying up all night and then working all day at the hospital, plus he drove all the way to scotland to fetch her parents for a surprise visit when he thought she was missing them. But we didnt get that deliciousness of seeing him constantly going out of his way to watch over her or to stealth date her (of which Saturday's Child was such a fab example.) I think he was mainly trying to avoid her every time something happened that made him realise he loved her, but it was a bit too subtly told and I had to do a bit of guesswork to reach that conclusion.
Anyways, i did like the book and I wonder how I will feel on a reread, whether I would enjoy it more or less? Hard to tell.
I think the thing i loved best was that he was a snarky icehole and caused some angst, which i like, plus that he fought his feelings for so long, which i also love. I would have liked it better if she realised she loved him earlier in the book, offering more chances for pining, and also if the OW actually was in town rather than in Cannes, so that he was still having to date the other woman while he was making up his mind. I love a bit of other woman drama, clearly.
19Jan26 --- 4 stars. downgraded this a bit since my last read. the heroine Eleanor really got on my nerves this time. she was extremely naive in her behaviour and reactions to everything, and came across as a lovelorn child. I quite like my heroines to be a bit more mature and be able to control their emotions instead of being all over the place and tearfully crying "oh Falk!" at frequent intervals. For a man like Falk to fall for such a child felt a bit icky. she would bore him to death in reality. but the good points of my previous review still stand.
I probably don't want to reread this one too frequently.
-----------------------
19Dec25 --- 4.4. stars. I liked this one a lot. It had an mmc who was fighting his feelings all the way, and I always finds that an interesting source of story conflict. He was engaged to another woman and had made a sensible choice of fiancée and then-BAM!-the h appeared in his life and all his well ordered plans got blown to smithereens, but he wasn't going to let them go down without a fight. lol.
Eleanor (25) is a big tall beautiful nurse, who is home at her parents' place for a holiday in idyllic rural Scotland when Fulk, a childhood frenemy and family friend comes visiting. She is in the barn looking at some new kittens when her 8 yr old brother says "you'll never guess who has come" and when she hears it is Fulk, she is disgusted and says he was a horrid boy and undoubtedly has grown into a horrid man and I shant bother to come and see him. And she doesnt realise that Fulk has come to the barn too behind her bro, and has heard every word. He is cynically amused/annoyed by it too. Ooh! I love it when sparks fly at the meetcute.
She is shocked by how much he has grown and says so (because he is of course a giant RDD) and in reply he says she's grown rather big too, which she finds offensive as she really is a big lady but with all the curves in the right places.
One thing I find odd here is that she met Fulk when she was 4 and he was sixteen, but apparently she remembers disliking him very clearly. How can a 4 year old hold a sixteen year old in such dislike? She remembers that his teasing made her kick him and she fell over, but when she cried he tenderly picked her up and comforted her.
So anyways, Fulk (36) is now engaged to the beautiful petite skinny dutch woman, and he makes a point of telling Eleanor how ethereally beautiful and petite his fiancee is several times to rub it in her face.
I loved the banter and snark between these two. It was quite realisitic and affectionate in a way even though it was also angsty because it always ended up goign wrong with one or other of them regretting what was said.
SPOILERS AHEAD
so anyway, they get to know each other better when he sees her at her nursing job being the efficient ward sister, plus they both participate in a harrowing snowstorm mountain rescue of some school boys together, winning each others respect in a big way, but most of the plot revolves around her goign to holland to nurse her sick 8 yr old brother, who Fulk invited to visit him there to keep the boy out of trouble but who got very ill. For much of the visit, Fulk's faincee is away in cannes and so she is mentioned in conversations,w hich always leave eleanor feeling dissattisfied.
FUlk herlps her a lot with nursing her brother and also carries on his full time job too, which makes her worry for him. She get a visit from the fiancee's mother, who is mean to her. Eleanor is quite sharp tempered when her ire is roused, and she has some blunt retorts for the nasty woman, and then she goes and let's Fulk know exactly what she thinks of him for letting the woman say those things too.
Anyway, Fulk is very enigmatic about his feelings for her but there are many hints for us, the reader, that his feelings fo r her are growing, but that he doesnt want them to grow so he retreats, working harder and avoiding Eleanor and being coolly civil with her. He does drop some delicious words/hints that he likes her too much, and he also steals the occassional kiss.
So anyway, at one point Eleanor realises she is in love with him, after which she is sad and pines for him, and is sad that his fiancée is such a cold hearted girl and doesnt seem to care for him at ll. But she thinks that Fulk loves the woman since he drove a 30 hour round trip just to see her in cannes for a day! Eleanor tries to hide her feelings, but she isnt that successful since he always seems to know how to read her face too well.
ENDING SPOILERS
When he brings her parents over for a surprise visit, she had thought he had gone away again to Cannes for the weekend to visit his fiancée, so when he comes back she is so happy that she squeals his name. He is really pleased when she does this, even though she tries to cover it up by immediately squealing at her parents and hugging them, but it was too late - i think he realised she did love him at that point and he was very happy about it.
I usually prefer for the heroine to run away in heartbreak in Betty books and for the hero to chase her and declare his love. We didn't get that sort of ending here. Here we get to finally see the fiancée Imogen turn up at his house to see Eleanor with her own eyes and she says a few nasty things and walks off. Eleanor says "wait, dont you want to see Fulk? Dont you love him?" because she is concerned that her presence in Fulk's house is breaking up his engagement to the woman he loves. Imogen laughs and calls her a stupid creature and says she doesnt love fulk and will not be marrying him and walks out.
And then Fulk walks out of his study and Eleanor realises he was home and overheard and urges him to go after Imogen to save his marriage, but Fulk says he also has no intention of marrying Imogen. That he stopped being in love with imogen the moment he saw Eleanor in the barn with the kittens, and that in fact he must have loved her since she was a child. (I find that a bit icky and unnecessary although I am sure it was meant innocently. like surely no 16 year old boy is looking at a 4 year old girl and falling in love with her, and I dont think that was meant here. I suppose it was supposed to express the romantic idea that they were fated for each other, but I found it a bit icky and unnecessary.)
Overall, it was an interesting read that kept the pages turning without being boring. i didnt need to skim any of it.
The book was great, but it has something missing which is why is didnt give it the 4.5 stars or 5 stars that I gave to some of my faves. I think it was the home setting that contributed to the problem -- Eleanor was in his home which took away the chance to see him having to find all sorts of excuses to see her and stealth date her like other betty heroes have had to do. We do see heroines in heroes homes in plenty of books, but usaully it's a MOC situation or it's a situation where she is working for him and nursing his loved one, which introduces some story conflict of their own, as well as giving the heroine a chance to show her resililence by either rising to the challenges of a new life in her MOC, or showing herself as an admirable/self-sacrificing/diligent worker and underdog. But in this book she was not an underdog and she was on an equal footing to him as a guest in his home while nursing her own brother, so there was no chance for stealth dating and no chance to see her rising to any underdog type challenges. In fact, she was coddled a bit because he was taking care of everything for her to make life easier for her. however the book did counteract that a bit by showing her as an efficient nurse during the first part of the book and also showing her as admirable and heroic during the snowstorm rescue. We did see Fulk do things for her like helping her nurse her sick bro staying up all night and then working all day at the hospital, plus he drove all the way to scotland to fetch her parents for a surprise visit when he thought she was missing them. But we didnt get that deliciousness of seeing him constantly going out of his way to watch over her or to stealth date her (of which Saturday's Child was such a fab example.) I think he was mainly trying to avoid her every time something happened that made him realise he loved her, but it was a bit too subtly told and I had to do a bit of guesswork to reach that conclusion.
Anyways, i did like the book and I wonder how I will feel on a reread, whether I would enjoy it more or less? Hard to tell.
I think the thing i loved best was that he was a snarky icehole and caused some angst, which i like, plus that he fought his feelings for so long, which i also love. I would have liked it better if she realised she loved him earlier in the book, offering more chances for pining, and also if the OW actually was in town rather than in Cannes, so that he was still having to date the other woman while he was making up his mind. I love a bit of other woman drama, clearly.
December 24, 2013
Halfway through, I realized that I'd already read this book. I can't say that I really enjoyed it. It follows Neels usual story-line:
- Slightly overweight nurse meets dashing Dutch doctor who is usually a jerk at first.
- Nurse hates doctor at first, but finds herself strangely attracted to him. But she thinks she isn't good enough for him which comes from her low self esteem.
- They argue a bit and suddenly a romance blooms.
- Doctor becomes her savior in life.
*Sigh* This was an okay read at best. I'm rating it two stars because it is Neels and I have enjoyed some of her other books that followed this same plot.
- Slightly overweight nurse meets dashing Dutch doctor who is usually a jerk at first.
- Nurse hates doctor at first, but finds herself strangely attracted to him. But she thinks she isn't good enough for him which comes from her low self esteem.
- They argue a bit and suddenly a romance blooms.
- Doctor becomes her savior in life.
*Sigh* This was an okay read at best. I'm rating it two stars because it is Neels and I have enjoyed some of her other books that followed this same plot.
March 20, 2014
This was rather an odd setup. Eleanor met Fulk van Hensum when she was about five years old and according to her recollection she didn't like him though we are told he comforted her when she cried and felt quite soothed.
Now she has met him again as her guardian after the death of her father and he is engaged to a largely absent, very pretty blonde called Imogene.
We go through the usually love, hate think with a fair amount of bickering as Eleanor seems to have regressed to five years old in his company. But of course things change and Fulk is annoyingly reticent about his engagement apart from random kisses and stuff.
A nice little read but not remarkable.
Now she has met him again as her guardian after the death of her father and he is engaged to a largely absent, very pretty blonde called Imogene.
We go through the usually love, hate think with a fair amount of bickering as Eleanor seems to have regressed to five years old in his company. But of course things change and Fulk is annoyingly reticent about his engagement apart from random kisses and stuff.
A nice little read but not remarkable.
October 12, 2014
I always love Betty Neels books; good old fashion romances without all the hype and uncomfortable scenes. However, I always wonder why her male characters don't show more of their feelings. Not so in this one. Full gives very specific and specific hints throughout to let us know how he feels about Eleanor. He kisses here many times and holds her close. How can Eleanor be so blind? Or is it her moral compass that has her ignoring the obvious? Either way I love this story because we see more of each character as a real human being.
December 7, 2009
As always with Betty Neels books, I loved this one too.
July 12, 2012
so so - light weekend reading
March 21, 2013
What I would really like in a Betty Neels book is for the hero to explain his behavior and thinking. We always know what the girl is thinking and feeling but not the guy.
December 25, 2012
ah, Betty. every once in a great while your tame. asexual romances are just what I need.
December 29, 2012
A sweet romance. Too good to be true, but that's romance fiction!
December 4, 2013
Wonderful as always
January 30, 2026
Roses for Christmas (1975) is one of Betty’s earlier works. Eleanor (25) is a Scottish nurse visiting her family in a remote area of Scotland when an old family friend and Rich Dutch Doctor (RDD) named Fulk comes to visit. He surprises Eleanor in the barn eating apples and petting kittens. At 36, he is tall and vast, very handsome with dark eyes and dark hair. Do we ever get a description of Eleanor beyond the fact that she is pretty, with very long hair, and as Betty always put it, big? Not sure. But I think Betty meant tall and built like a brick house. I don’t think she meant overweight, which is how we define that term nowadays. Fulk and Eleanor met as children and Eleanor did not like him. She decides 20 years after the fact that she still doesn’t like him. Fulk thinks she is awesome, but he is engaged to an OW. After some business involving a rescue up a mountain where Fulk plays the hero (Eleanor’s little brother went on a school field trip and the whole party has to be rescued from a snowstorm), Fulk invites the little brother to return to Holland with him for a visit. The little brother comes down with rheumatic fever (I had to look it up; it sounds very nasty indeed) and Fulk gets Eleanor to come to Holland to nurse little brother, who is too dangerously ill to recover at home. The rest of the story discusses Fulk’s and Eleanor’s time together in Fulk’s amazing mansion and how they strike sparks off each other until the HEA.
So… this is not among my favorite Betty books. The story is fine. Fulk is fantastic. Little brother is a fine secondary character, as is his and Eleanor’s teen sister, who comes to help entertain little brother while he recuperates. It is unfortunately Eleanor who ruined the book for me. She’s a ward sister at a Scottish hospital and is described in that capacity as smart, professional and polite. Unfortunately, when faced with Fulk, she is the opposite of all that. She takes offense at everything. Her reactions seem unreasonable and suggestive of a life filled with her continually flying off the handle. Their antipathy is a plot point, but the execution of it made me wonder why on earth Fulk fell in love with her and at what point he will get sick and tired of it all. I read Betty's Romantic Encounter shortly before this one and can't help but compare the two. Both feature adversarial relationships between the H and h, but RE's h is a lot more adult than in this one, and her snippiness is a lot more understandable and also amusing, unlike this book, which is really just kind of tiresome.
I liked Roses for Christmas apart from Eleanor, but since she is the main character and is in every scene... Meh. I have tried to read this book a number of times in the past and almost always have set it aside. I also thought she was an Araminta (short, plain) but this (final) re-read reminded me that in fact she is an Olivia (tall, pretty). I think that opening scene in the barn with the apples and the kittens seemed much more indicative of an Araminta, hence my misremembering which trope Betty used.
Well, anyway, this book is probably somewhere in my bottom 10 of all 134 BN titles. Maybe bottom 5. A generous 2 stars for Fulk.
So… this is not among my favorite Betty books. The story is fine. Fulk is fantastic. Little brother is a fine secondary character, as is his and Eleanor’s teen sister, who comes to help entertain little brother while he recuperates. It is unfortunately Eleanor who ruined the book for me. She’s a ward sister at a Scottish hospital and is described in that capacity as smart, professional and polite. Unfortunately, when faced with Fulk, she is the opposite of all that. She takes offense at everything. Her reactions seem unreasonable and suggestive of a life filled with her continually flying off the handle. Their antipathy is a plot point, but the execution of it made me wonder why on earth Fulk fell in love with her and at what point he will get sick and tired of it all. I read Betty's Romantic Encounter shortly before this one and can't help but compare the two. Both feature adversarial relationships between the H and h, but RE's h is a lot more adult than in this one, and her snippiness is a lot more understandable and also amusing, unlike this book, which is really just kind of tiresome.
I liked Roses for Christmas apart from Eleanor, but since she is the main character and is in every scene... Meh. I have tried to read this book a number of times in the past and almost always have set it aside. I also thought she was an Araminta (short, plain) but this (final) re-read reminded me that in fact she is an Olivia (tall, pretty). I think that opening scene in the barn with the apples and the kittens seemed much more indicative of an Araminta, hence my misremembering which trope Betty used.
Well, anyway, this book is probably somewhere in my bottom 10 of all 134 BN titles. Maybe bottom 5. A generous 2 stars for Fulk.
December 24, 2022
3+ can't quite 4 it to make the difference
Making up the reading challenge gap, getting some Bettys reread and onto GR, nabbed a selection of Christmas-and-winter titles.
An Olivia but a mild one, she's a full ward sister, a daring blizzard rescue, and RDD who falls first and hard, and then slots into an average Betty of special nursing and taciturn RDD and in the big house domesticity before the revelations.
Quick notes:
-- A well-paced one!
-- Fulk meets Eleanor (again) and she's munching an apple in barn clothes at the north of beyond Scotland home, and his entire ordered life dissolves in front of him and takes on brand new form (in the form of Eleanor as his wife)
-- Mrs Trot and her kittens
-- The manse; their fathers were friends but she thought him awful as a child, and he at sixteen thought her a little horror and bother (but was still kind)
-- Fulk has a fiancee and Eleanor isn't impressed that she wouldn't appreciate the wilds of Scotland
-- Young Henry
-- He drives her to Edinburgh so she can return to work, enjoys her nice voice and conversation, buys her dinner, ends in a hard kiss!
-- She figures never to see him again but of course he walks right into her ward on rounds within days
-- Eleanor tries to keep seeing him in the worst light but he doesn't seem that bad, although his current idea of an engagement and marriage leaves her cold and so it should
-- Busy days and she returns home for a long weekend
-- Freak blizzard rescue! Perhaps the best part of this book, both Fulk and Eleanor level-headed and heroic and enjoying themselves while being rightly terrified
-- Fulk takes a liking to Young Henry and has him in Holland for a few weeks, along with kind-heartedly taking the 'no one wants him' runt of the litter Moggy
-- "Things I would like to have list" at the passport office (that of course Fulk sees), which includes masses of roses at Christmas, for it would be a true splurge and effort and would certainly show someone cared if they went to the trouble of them for you as a gift
-- Henry comes down with rheumatic fever and so it's time for Eleanor to special him in Holland
-- Some nursing, some house magnificence, some comfort, some walks, some forced intimacy of a sort
-- Fulk rushes off a long distance to "have a weekend" with the not seen but known to be awful fiancee, Imogen; really to break up with her but Eleanor can't know that nor does Fulk let on
-- A sudden fierce kiss!
-- St Nick shopping, she must borrow money for her and younger sister Margaret, but she's no gurbber
-- Henry lets slip that Fulk is basically avoiding her
-- They spend St Nick alone... but only because Fulk has gone to get the parents and what a lovely surprise for them all to be in Holland now
-- He realizes Eleanor does love him, and thank goodness
-- A late in the game day of rainy sightseeing, and he kisses her and she at last kisses him back
-- Imogen comes to have a look at her, and is unimpressed with the lot and leaves Fulk without care or fuss
-- Admissions in a room filled with masses of roses, it's always been you! for me the same, and HEA
Making up the reading challenge gap, getting some Bettys reread and onto GR, nabbed a selection of Christmas-and-winter titles.
An Olivia but a mild one, she's a full ward sister, a daring blizzard rescue, and RDD who falls first and hard, and then slots into an average Betty of special nursing and taciturn RDD and in the big house domesticity before the revelations.
Quick notes:
-- A well-paced one!
-- Fulk meets Eleanor (again) and she's munching an apple in barn clothes at the north of beyond Scotland home, and his entire ordered life dissolves in front of him and takes on brand new form (in the form of Eleanor as his wife)
-- Mrs Trot and her kittens
-- The manse; their fathers were friends but she thought him awful as a child, and he at sixteen thought her a little horror and bother (but was still kind)
-- Fulk has a fiancee and Eleanor isn't impressed that she wouldn't appreciate the wilds of Scotland
-- Young Henry
-- He drives her to Edinburgh so she can return to work, enjoys her nice voice and conversation, buys her dinner, ends in a hard kiss!
-- She figures never to see him again but of course he walks right into her ward on rounds within days
-- Eleanor tries to keep seeing him in the worst light but he doesn't seem that bad, although his current idea of an engagement and marriage leaves her cold and so it should
-- Busy days and she returns home for a long weekend
-- Freak blizzard rescue! Perhaps the best part of this book, both Fulk and Eleanor level-headed and heroic and enjoying themselves while being rightly terrified
-- Fulk takes a liking to Young Henry and has him in Holland for a few weeks, along with kind-heartedly taking the 'no one wants him' runt of the litter Moggy
-- "Things I would like to have list" at the passport office (that of course Fulk sees), which includes masses of roses at Christmas, for it would be a true splurge and effort and would certainly show someone cared if they went to the trouble of them for you as a gift
-- Henry comes down with rheumatic fever and so it's time for Eleanor to special him in Holland
-- Some nursing, some house magnificence, some comfort, some walks, some forced intimacy of a sort
-- Fulk rushes off a long distance to "have a weekend" with the not seen but known to be awful fiancee, Imogen; really to break up with her but Eleanor can't know that nor does Fulk let on
-- A sudden fierce kiss!
-- St Nick shopping, she must borrow money for her and younger sister Margaret, but she's no gurbber
-- Henry lets slip that Fulk is basically avoiding her
-- They spend St Nick alone... but only because Fulk has gone to get the parents and what a lovely surprise for them all to be in Holland now
-- He realizes Eleanor does love him, and thank goodness
-- A late in the game day of rainy sightseeing, and he kisses her and she at last kisses him back
-- Imogen comes to have a look at her, and is unimpressed with the lot and leaves Fulk without care or fuss
-- Admissions in a room filled with masses of roses, it's always been you! for me the same, and HEA
January 9, 2026
This was sweet and very Betty Neels!
There was a bit more enemies-to-lovers (or, antagonistic old friends-to-married) in this than some; the H kept swinging from near-hostile to warm and back again, and the h kept insisting that she hated the H because she did as a child, even though she was like an actual child and she doesn't seem to remember why she hates him lol.
Anyway, they run into one another after several years apart. Heroine is a nurse on vacation at home; I can't remember why H was there. Heroine lives in Scotland, not England, which is a slight change for a BN story. Hero is not at all a slight change from her other heroes lol- he's super tall, large, Dutch, and a super important doctor with Family Wealth who's important enough that people everywhere want him to consult with them in person. So yeah the typical Betty Neels hero.
Anyhow, this book had more idk spark to it because of the banter between the leads. Hero, who is engaged to an OW (I thought she was made up so he could keep his distance from h, but she's a real person and makes an appearance later in the novel) ends up taking h's little brother to Holland for his health.
Now, the brother lives in the country in Scotland, so I don't know what's so much better about the weather in Holland that it's going to clear up his lingering cough from the chickenpox, but okay.
A few weeks into his stay, turns out little bro (Henry) is very sick with pneumonia, probably brought on or exacerbated into pneumonia by when he and his classmates got stuck in a blizzard back in Scotland (H and h saved them with a bus).
So h has to fly out to Holland (Important H informed her hospital that she Was Needed, and they were just like okay we have plenty of nurses here she can go) to nurse her bro back to health, so she's thrown in the H's path for a long long time.
Suffice to say, that they have a lot of ups and downs on the road to love, but everything is cozy and warm and the h gets Christmas roses from the H. (Christmas roses are important because if someone gets you roses at Christmas instead of like poinsettias or holly or crysanthemums or something holiday-like, it means you're special to them)
Recommend!
There was a bit more enemies-to-lovers (or, antagonistic old friends-to-married) in this than some; the H kept swinging from near-hostile to warm and back again, and the h kept insisting that she hated the H because she did as a child, even though she was like an actual child and she doesn't seem to remember why she hates him lol.
Anyway, they run into one another after several years apart. Heroine is a nurse on vacation at home; I can't remember why H was there. Heroine lives in Scotland, not England, which is a slight change for a BN story. Hero is not at all a slight change from her other heroes lol- he's super tall, large, Dutch, and a super important doctor with Family Wealth who's important enough that people everywhere want him to consult with them in person. So yeah the typical Betty Neels hero.
Anyhow, this book had more idk spark to it because of the banter between the leads. Hero, who is engaged to an OW (I thought she was made up so he could keep his distance from h, but she's a real person and makes an appearance later in the novel) ends up taking h's little brother to Holland for his health.
Now, the brother lives in the country in Scotland, so I don't know what's so much better about the weather in Holland that it's going to clear up his lingering cough from the chickenpox, but okay.
A few weeks into his stay, turns out little bro (Henry) is very sick with pneumonia, probably brought on or exacerbated into pneumonia by when he and his classmates got stuck in a blizzard back in Scotland (H and h saved them with a bus).
So h has to fly out to Holland (Important H informed her hospital that she Was Needed, and they were just like okay we have plenty of nurses here she can go) to nurse her bro back to health, so she's thrown in the H's path for a long long time.
Suffice to say, that they have a lot of ups and downs on the road to love, but everything is cozy and warm and the h gets Christmas roses from the H. (Christmas roses are important because if someone gets you roses at Christmas instead of like poinsettias or holly or crysanthemums or something holiday-like, it means you're special to them)
Recommend!
November 11, 2021
I think this is one of those books that you want to read during the holidays. I thought all of the characters very likable. The description of the book talks about how the H was a horrid boy 20 years ago who teased the h when she was little and how he was still a horrid man. The fact is that very early on in the book the h and her family actually think he's a great guy. And he is.
Also, for once, even though the H has a fiancee, she's rarely seen or mentioned and when she does show up it's not really a big blow up. It's understood early on that the H and his fiancee are not particularly close, not in love and were really only together because on a superficial level they matched (same social circle, wealth, status, etc). For some reason, I also liked that from the beginning when the H and h meet again after 20 years, she asks him about his fiancee. He gives a brief description then says he'll tell her more about her later. Only he keeps putting it off. Until finally he lets her know the engagement is off.
There were cute "family" moments too where they bring up how the h was such a plump, cute baby toddling along on her chubby legs. :D Of course, she grew up to be a woman whom her dad describes as "a fine figure of a woman" (which she took for a compliment until the H mentions that she's grown into a "big girl" which irks her a little as it had a slight negative connotation) and is described a few times as a woman of splendid proportions who moved with an easy grace.
I liked how her family is shown to be decidedly middle class so she's not poor and struggling but she can't be extravagant at the H's level. In fact, there's one part where she takes her little sister shopping in Holland and needs to borrow some money from the H which she will pay back. When he asks how much, she says 10 pounds should do it if it's not too much. He hides a smile before he gives it to her because of course, she's not thinking "oh he's rich and can afford it" but in terms of she doesn't want to leach off of him and needs to pay him back.
They're small moments and very cute.
There was ONE bit that threw me a little. She talks about how he had been such a horrid boy pulling her hair, etc when she was little (5 years old). As adults, he's 11 years older than her. I had to stop and think about the math there a sec. So basically he was 16 when she was 5. There was nothing that made it seem creepy but it kind of skews the perspective a little as we realize her idea of him as a horrid boy is really...well, from the eyes of a 5 year old. Who in fact, followed him everywhere when she was 5 and if I interpret it correctly, got angry when he wouldn't let her tag along everywhere. In fact, the one conflicting memory she has is of her trying to kick him in the shins and falling down and crying and him comforting her. So the whole "horrid boy" thing really strikes me as subjective here.
Also, for once, even though the H has a fiancee, she's rarely seen or mentioned and when she does show up it's not really a big blow up. It's understood early on that the H and his fiancee are not particularly close, not in love and were really only together because on a superficial level they matched (same social circle, wealth, status, etc). For some reason, I also liked that from the beginning when the H and h meet again after 20 years, she asks him about his fiancee. He gives a brief description then says he'll tell her more about her later. Only he keeps putting it off. Until finally he lets her know the engagement is off.
There were cute "family" moments too where they bring up how the h was such a plump, cute baby toddling along on her chubby legs. :D Of course, she grew up to be a woman whom her dad describes as "a fine figure of a woman" (which she took for a compliment until the H mentions that she's grown into a "big girl" which irks her a little as it had a slight negative connotation) and is described a few times as a woman of splendid proportions who moved with an easy grace.
I liked how her family is shown to be decidedly middle class so she's not poor and struggling but she can't be extravagant at the H's level. In fact, there's one part where she takes her little sister shopping in Holland and needs to borrow some money from the H which she will pay back. When he asks how much, she says 10 pounds should do it if it's not too much. He hides a smile before he gives it to her because of course, she's not thinking "oh he's rich and can afford it" but in terms of she doesn't want to leach off of him and needs to pay him back.
They're small moments and very cute.
There was ONE bit that threw me a little. She talks about how he had been such a horrid boy pulling her hair, etc when she was little (5 years old). As adults, he's 11 years older than her. I had to stop and think about the math there a sec. So basically he was 16 when she was 5. There was nothing that made it seem creepy but it kind of skews the perspective a little as we realize her idea of him as a horrid boy is really...well, from the eyes of a 5 year old. Who in fact, followed him everywhere when she was 5 and if I interpret it correctly, got angry when he wouldn't let her tag along everywhere. In fact, the one conflicting memory she has is of her trying to kick him in the shins and falling down and crying and him comforting her. So the whole "horrid boy" thing really strikes me as subjective here.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 10, 2024
Another good novel by one of my favorite authors...Betty Neels.
When Eleanor was 5 years old, a 16-year old Fulk van Hensum lived nearby and often teased Eleanor but one day she tripped and fell and found herself picked up and held by Fulk....but her memories of Fulk were not happy ones so when he appeared in her life 20 years later, she didn't want anything to do with him.
Fulk now lived in Holland, was a well-known doctor, was liked by his patients and often did consulting in England. But when Eleanor met him, she still didn't like him.
Her brother, Henry was a sickly child and often Eleanor cared for him as she was a nurse in a hospital in Edinburgh. Fulk took him to Holland with him but poor Henry came down with a very serious fever and illness. Eleanor and Fulk spent many hours days and nights keeping a watch over Henry. During these times Fulk was very kind and wasn't anything like he was at 16.
Fulk was engaged to Imogen but she lived 7 hours away so he didn't see her much. But the story ends as all good romances do.
When Eleanor was 5 years old, a 16-year old Fulk van Hensum lived nearby and often teased Eleanor but one day she tripped and fell and found herself picked up and held by Fulk....but her memories of Fulk were not happy ones so when he appeared in her life 20 years later, she didn't want anything to do with him.
Fulk now lived in Holland, was a well-known doctor, was liked by his patients and often did consulting in England. But when Eleanor met him, she still didn't like him.
Her brother, Henry was a sickly child and often Eleanor cared for him as she was a nurse in a hospital in Edinburgh. Fulk took him to Holland with him but poor Henry came down with a very serious fever and illness. Eleanor and Fulk spent many hours days and nights keeping a watch over Henry. During these times Fulk was very kind and wasn't anything like he was at 16.
Fulk was engaged to Imogen but she lived 7 hours away so he didn't see her much. But the story ends as all good romances do.
March 23, 2019
Eleanor disliked Fulk when she was a child, and now that they've met twenty years later, her opinion hasn't improved! But when their paths continue crossing and her brother falls ill, she realizes he might be the man he loves.
The romance for this book wasn't quite romantic for me. Eleanor and Fulk exchange sharp, annoyed words most of the time. Though Fulk's manner does soften Eleanor's feelings, it didn't seem quite realistic.
Still, it was a lovely afternoon read. The pace was fast. Eleanor's siblings were charming side characters and made for a lovely change from ones who ignore the heroines of other books.
The romance for this book wasn't quite romantic for me. Eleanor and Fulk exchange sharp, annoyed words most of the time. Though Fulk's manner does soften Eleanor's feelings, it didn't seem quite realistic.
Still, it was a lovely afternoon read. The pace was fast. Eleanor's siblings were charming side characters and made for a lovely change from ones who ignore the heroines of other books.
November 13, 2023
Oooh! I loved it!
Fulk and Eleanor have quite a story. It's pretty great to know that they have known each other, sort of, almost all of Eleanor's life. Fulk is a wonderful man who sees very quickly that something is wrong with Eleanor's little brother Henry, and he takes steps to help. Eleanor is ever grateful. Fulk tells her in the beginning that he's engaged to be married to a girl named Imogen. Then, of course, Eleanor can't see past that. You'll have to read the book to find out how it all works out! You won't regret it if you are a Betty Neels book lover. 🙂
Fulk and Eleanor have quite a story. It's pretty great to know that they have known each other, sort of, almost all of Eleanor's life. Fulk is a wonderful man who sees very quickly that something is wrong with Eleanor's little brother Henry, and he takes steps to help. Eleanor is ever grateful. Fulk tells her in the beginning that he's engaged to be married to a girl named Imogen. Then, of course, Eleanor can't see past that. You'll have to read the book to find out how it all works out! You won't regret it if you are a Betty Neels book lover. 🙂
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