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The Enchanted Woods
High time she found herself a husband!
Raised in an orphanage. Sally's need for a home & family had always been uppermost in her mind. Now she felt she should delay no longer.
She had three possible candidates for a husband--childhood friends all, apparantely more than willing to accommodate her. She only had to choose one.
But her decision was hampered by the distrubing presence of Mark Fawcett Miller. How dare he upset all her careful plans!
Raised in an orphanage. Sally's need for a home & family had always been uppermost in her mind. Now she felt she should delay no longer.
She had three possible candidates for a husband--childhood friends all, apparantely more than willing to accommodate her. She only had to choose one.
But her decision was hampered by the distrubing presence of Mark Fawcett Miller. How dare he upset all her careful plans!
186 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1978
30 people want to read
About the author
Lilian Warren
87 books10 followersLilian Warren aka Rosalind Brett, Kathryn Blair, Katrina Britt, and Celine Conway.
Lilian Warren was born in London, England, UK. She worked as secretary, when at 19, her first magazine story was accepted. She married and moved to South Africa, where she continued writing. In the 1950s, she started to write to Rich & Cowan, and later to Mills & Boon, under various pseudonyms Rosalind Brett, Celine Conway, and Kathryn Blair. She passed away on 1961 in South Africa. Some of her books were published posthumuously.
Lilian Warren was born in London, England, UK. She worked as secretary, when at 19, her first magazine story was accepted. She married and moved to South Africa, where she continued writing. In the 1950s, she started to write to Rich & Cowan, and later to Mills & Boon, under various pseudonyms Rosalind Brett, Celine Conway, and Kathryn Blair. She passed away on 1961 in South Africa. Some of her books were published posthumuously.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
May 17, 2020
Embittered by a short-lived fling with one of the doctors at the hospital she works in, the heroine quits her job as nurse and goes in search of the three young men that grew up with her at the orphanage and who all professed to love her and want to marry her when they grew up.
Another surgeon at the hospital who had his eye on heroine for two years decides to stalk her every step of the way, from England to France, and do his best to throw a wrench into her potential courtships. He didn't have to make a lot of effort. The former boyfriends that heroine looks up have long moved on with odious OWs and couldn't care less about the heroine.
But since she is the type to have everything spelled out in chalk in great big capital letters on a gigantic blackboard with the teacher repetitively going over each letter with her pointer and articulating each syllable of each word, we get long rambling inner monologues where she wonders, analyzes, weighs and tries to dissect the "strange" behaviours of these men and the "platonic" women they seem to be surrounded with 24/7.
She was so obtuse that I was happy she quit her job at the hospital because really, what kind of a nurse could she be if she doesn't notice the great clues staring into her face, let alone the subtle details. One guy had a girlfriend practically moved in with him while the other was being kept by a rich old widow LOL. And of course, she never realized that the surgeon who was in hot pursuit of her was the one who actually was applying for the position of husband!
I will remember this one for the fact that an orphan nurse with no prospects somehow had the cash to go on an extended holiday in Paris and dress so elegantly and diversely as to compete with the most elegant, upper-crust Parisiennes of the day. It certainly made a change from all the HPlandia urchins who live in grotty bedsits, heating tinned beans, and sewing their own cheaper version of the Vogue fashions on their battered little sewing machines hehe.
Another surgeon at the hospital who had his eye on heroine for two years decides to stalk her every step of the way, from England to France, and do his best to throw a wrench into her potential courtships. He didn't have to make a lot of effort. The former boyfriends that heroine looks up have long moved on with odious OWs and couldn't care less about the heroine.
But since she is the type to have everything spelled out in chalk in great big capital letters on a gigantic blackboard with the teacher repetitively going over each letter with her pointer and articulating each syllable of each word, we get long rambling inner monologues where she wonders, analyzes, weighs and tries to dissect the "strange" behaviours of these men and the "platonic" women they seem to be surrounded with 24/7.
She was so obtuse that I was happy she quit her job at the hospital because really, what kind of a nurse could she be if she doesn't notice the great clues staring into her face, let alone the subtle details. One guy had a girlfriend practically moved in with him while the other was being kept by a rich old widow LOL. And of course, she never realized that the surgeon who was in hot pursuit of her was the one who actually was applying for the position of husband!
I will remember this one for the fact that an orphan nurse with no prospects somehow had the cash to go on an extended holiday in Paris and dress so elegantly and diversely as to compete with the most elegant, upper-crust Parisiennes of the day. It certainly made a change from all the HPlandia urchins who live in grotty bedsits, heating tinned beans, and sewing their own cheaper version of the Vogue fashions on their battered little sewing machines hehe.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 26, 2018
Too weird for words.
February 8, 2025
‘I'm feeling a very real automatic urge to accept a challenge which any ravishing girl provokes when she defies a man. And looking at me as you are at the moment leaves me no alternative. It's your own fault.’
‘What is?’ Sally asked baldly.
‘This,’ said Mark.
Taking her unawares, he hauled her into his arms and drew her from the table with a strength against which she was helpless. Then tilting back her head firmly, he found her mouth. His kiss drained all her resistance. Time stretched into eternity, and Sally glimpsed a heaven she had never dreamed of.
It’s page 36.
‘Oh, steamy Lilian Warren!’ I thought. ‘Something different! The first kiss in the first chapter! Then passionate pursuits across the English countryside! What’s next?’
Alas, it doesn’t keep. The pace slows down, the story gets muddled and my interest wanes.
The young nurse leaves her job, yearning for a husband. Raised in the orphanage she dreams of becoming a wife and a mother. In the past, three childhood friends proposed to her, and now she wants to revisit each of them, hoping to select one as her future husband.
Where does she find the funds? Why isn’t she worried about finances?
The brilliant brain surgeon at the hospital kisses her on her last working day. After a short-lived disastrous affair with a young frivolous doctor, the h takes care to avoid all medical staff. Especially doctors who are as dreamy as the H. He asked her out in the past, but she turned him down.
The first potential husband is a gardener. The h realises it won’t work but doggedly sticks around for some reason. The H arrives unexpectedly, as his uncle owned the local manor.
It’s the most interesting part.
The H apparently left the hospital and is giving lectures now. His schedule isn’t mentioned.
The main couple parts ways only to meet again in Paris where the h is visiting the second prospect - the artist. This I find too farfetched. Meeting by accident in the English countryside is one thing. But meeting in Paris by accident one month later is another.
This section drags on, filled with too many side characters and too little meaningful interaction between the main couple. The artist is also not an option, but the h doggedly sticks around for some reason. The h stays as a companion to one of the H’s patients. She acknowledges her feelings for the H, but believes he’s in love with his patient.
As more side characters come into play, their storylines expand, while the main couple hardly meets. The third potential husband arrives on the scene. The h realizes he’s not an option also but begs him to take her with him.
The H acts at last after the patient announces her engagement to another guy.
And it drives me crazy. He claims he fell in love with her 2 years ago; he stayed at the hospital to be near her and then what? Did he intentionally follow her? It seems like their meetings were an accident. Even if he knew she wanted to go to Paris, how could he find her there?
Did he intend to do something about the h?
‘What is?’ Sally asked baldly.
‘This,’ said Mark.
Taking her unawares, he hauled her into his arms and drew her from the table with a strength against which she was helpless. Then tilting back her head firmly, he found her mouth. His kiss drained all her resistance. Time stretched into eternity, and Sally glimpsed a heaven she had never dreamed of.
It’s page 36.
‘Oh, steamy Lilian Warren!’ I thought. ‘Something different! The first kiss in the first chapter! Then passionate pursuits across the English countryside! What’s next?’
Alas, it doesn’t keep. The pace slows down, the story gets muddled and my interest wanes.
The young nurse leaves her job, yearning for a husband. Raised in the orphanage she dreams of becoming a wife and a mother. In the past, three childhood friends proposed to her, and now she wants to revisit each of them, hoping to select one as her future husband.
Where does she find the funds? Why isn’t she worried about finances?
The brilliant brain surgeon at the hospital kisses her on her last working day. After a short-lived disastrous affair with a young frivolous doctor, the h takes care to avoid all medical staff. Especially doctors who are as dreamy as the H. He asked her out in the past, but she turned him down.
The first potential husband is a gardener. The h realises it won’t work but doggedly sticks around for some reason. The H arrives unexpectedly, as his uncle owned the local manor.
It’s the most interesting part.
The H apparently left the hospital and is giving lectures now. His schedule isn’t mentioned.
The main couple parts ways only to meet again in Paris where the h is visiting the second prospect - the artist. This I find too farfetched. Meeting by accident in the English countryside is one thing. But meeting in Paris by accident one month later is another.
This section drags on, filled with too many side characters and too little meaningful interaction between the main couple. The artist is also not an option, but the h doggedly sticks around for some reason. The h stays as a companion to one of the H’s patients. She acknowledges her feelings for the H, but believes he’s in love with his patient.
As more side characters come into play, their storylines expand, while the main couple hardly meets. The third potential husband arrives on the scene. The h realizes he’s not an option also but begs him to take her with him.
The H acts at last after the patient announces her engagement to another guy.
And it drives me crazy. He claims he fell in love with her 2 years ago; he stayed at the hospital to be near her and then what? Did he intentionally follow her? It seems like their meetings were an accident. Even if he knew she wanted to go to Paris, how could he find her there?
Did he intend to do something about the h?
February 23, 2020
I'm not quite sure how I failed to shelve this when I read it in 2018, but I'll note now that this was one of a few books that was used for the Great Vintage Harlequin Road-Trip Real-Aloud Drinking Game* of 2018: drink when any of the heroine's body parts are described as slim ('her drinking-game slim ankles')...drink when any part of the hero is described as dark ('he lowered his drinking-game dark brow')...drink whenever the hero drawls his dialogue...whenever the age difference is mentioned...whenever the Other Woman appears...
*Water. We did this with water. Please don't play this game with alcohol when driving. But if you play with water, you will be very well hydrated!
*Water. We did this with water. Please don't play this game with alcohol when driving. But if you play with water, you will be very well hydrated!
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July 27, 2011The trouble was that once one was committed to change everything became different and frightening. Life loomed ahead like an enchanted wood which, while it beckoned, filled one with fear.
A very nice story. Sally leaves her nursing job to see which of the three men she grew up with in an orphanage she wants to marry. A brain surgeon, Mark, follows her and eventually gets her to reliase he is the man she was really looking for.
A very nice story. Sally leaves her nursing job to see which of the three men she grew up with in an orphanage she wants to marry. A brain surgeon, Mark, follows her and eventually gets her to reliase he is the man she was really looking for.
August 12, 2018
Fairly entertaining romance novel. The majority takes place in Paris and the surrounding countryside. Beautiful description of cafes and restaurants in and around the famed French city. The main character is beautiful (of course) and deeply flawed. She makes many mistakes throughout the novel, especially concerning how love and a good relationship actually work and thrive. She climbs out of her naivety by leaving her comfort zone. It was predictable, but what can you expect from a 1978 Harlequin.
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May 27, 2020SYNOPSIS:
Raised in an orphanage. Sally's need for a home & family had always been uppermost in her mind. Now she felt she should delay no longer.
She had three possible candidates for a husband--childhood friends all, apparantely more than willing to accommodate her. She only had to choose one.
But her decision was hampered by the distrubing presence of Mark Fawcett Miller. How dare he upset all her careful plans!
January 1, 2018
Girl searching for love finds it in an unexpected place.
March 8, 2015
There was a time I read Harlequin Romances like they were staples to my reading diet. Now I kinda smile at myself for reading them.
December 2, 2016
I really like the hero in this one, the heroine not so much.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews