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Dear Marcus
What was the secret of his charm, she wondered.
- GenresHarlequin
64 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1965
About the author
Barbara Perkins
40 books2 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name.
(1)romance
(1)romance
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
June 23, 2021
Love, love, love! A breath of fresh air. I really liked that both the hero and heroine first became friends of a sort, and were able to laugh together often, sharing light banter between them. I also loved that there was plenty of interaction between them throughout, unlike most vintage harlequins. (Where its only like 5 meetings and they're suddenly in love) It's told in the heroines POV completely, in the first person, but the author manages to give us a sense of the hero falling in love with her. We can see it happening, through the heroines eyes. Even though she can't. Best of all (and this almost never happens) the author gave us a WHOLE CHAPTER of them being lovey with each other after the declaration of love/proposal!
I thoroughly enjoyed it!
I thoroughly enjoyed it!
October 3, 2018
In first person, but the h has a good personality who has some strong opinions, so she's often funny. The H is a bit of a stuffed shirt, but he is nice and honorable. The book has some charm because the h is often distracted, even when someone is speaking to her about things that are actually quite important, and it causes some funny moments. I also liked that even though she was in love with the H, she didn't entirely hero-worship him, but instead made snarky comments to herself.
October 1, 2022
This was a very good story.It was easy to like Marcus the hero and Carolyn the heroine. They both were simple,friendly and helping natured. I liked the author's writing and the story moves at a good pace with no drag. Though the hero is a doctor and heroine is a former nurse now his secretary there were not too many hospital or operation scenes which made it a good read for me.
December 1, 2024
Cute but a little dull.
August 9, 2026
4.2 stars
I really enjoyed Dear Doctor Marcus. It had many of the qualities I enjoy in books by one of my fave authors, Betty Neels: a cosy vintage Harlequin atmosphere, no steam, a strong slice-of-life element and a romance that simmers gently beneath the surface rather than being overwhelmed by external plot.
Readers who enjoy Betty Neels may like this. For me, however, Neels usually delivers more emotional oomph. She's particularly good at slipping in signs that her apparently controlled heroes are quietly going stir-crazy over the heroine. Dear Dr. Marcus had plenty of opportunities to do the same but didn't exploit them strongly enough.
Even so, this was a lovely romance that left me smiling, with two very likable characters and a satisfying extended ending.
Carolyn was originally a nurse but left nursing to become a secretary and moved to London after a painful romantic betrayal. Her fiancé of a year fell in love with her beautiful model sister. Although her sister didn't return his feelings and apparently never encouraged him, Carolyn was badly hurt and needed a fresh start.
When the book begins, she has been working for a couple of weeks as secretary to Marcus, a surgeon with a private practice alongside his hospital work.
Much of the story is simply Carolyn rebuilding her life. She settles into her new job, makes friends with the other secretaries in the building, develops a social life, goes sailing and gradually moves beyond her heartbreak.
Meanwhile, her awareness of Marcus grows.
He is busy between his private practice and hospital work, but Carolyn begins hearing about the women in his life. He is frequently seen with a beautiful blonde, while another woman named Pat regularly telephones him at the office.
Carolyn slowly becomes jealous.
This works particularly well because one of her new friends is extremely gossipy and also has a crush on Marcus. Their conversations give Carolyn tantalising glimpses of his life outside the office and gradually encourage her to think of him as a man rather than simply her employer.
I love OW drama and here, while it is subtle, there is just enough to keep the tensions simmering.
SPOILERS
Carolyn also develops a semi-romantic friendship with a young man she meets while sailing. He is recovering from heartbreak after a fickle woman rejected him in favour of his friend and had apparently been using him to get closer to that man.
Carolyn becomes his shoulder to cry on.
Marcus sees them together and assumes they are romantically involved, while Carolyn believes Marcus is involved with other women. This creates a gentle undercurrent of mutual misunderstanding and pining.
There are hints quite early that Marcus is becoming distracted at work, possibly because of Carolyn, but I wish they had been stronger.
They occasionally meet outside work. One charming scene has Carolyn bump into Marcus in a laundromat while the woman who usually handles his washing is away. He has no idea what he's doing with his shirts, so Carolyn helps him.
There is also a sequence where Marcus becomes ill and Carolyn helps him. I enjoyed it but wanted much more from the caretaking trope. Having Carolyn genuinely look after him for several days rather than merely visiting him a couple of times could have created some wonderfully cosy intimacy and allowed their attachment to deepen more visibly.
The reverse happens later when Carolyn's father becomes seriously ill. She needs to rush home, and Marcus immediately puts his own work aside, drives her there and helps her cope with the family crisis.
I really liked seeing him become the person she could lean on emotionally. It showed his care through action rather than simply telling us how he felt.
Carolyn's beautiful model sister eventually returns from Europe. Since both sisters are now in London, her path inevitably crosses Marcus's.
This immediately reawakens Carolyn's old wound. By now she knows she loves Marcus, and seeing her beautiful sister with him makes her feel that history may be repeating itself.
In the shock of that jealousy, Carolyn rashly accepts a half-hearted proposal from her sailing friend.
The news clearly devastates Marcus.
We get the lovely hint that her engagement is such an unpleasant shock that he has to leave almost immediately to gather himself. This was exactly the kind of moment I wanted the book to exploit more strongly.
Instead, his reaction remains too subtle.
I wanted to see at least a little of the aftermath: Marcus struggling with the idea of Carolyn marrying another man, becoming distracted, irritable or unable to hide how badly the engagement affected him. That would have given us the sense that the calm doctor was privately falling apart while Carolyn remained unaware.
The eventual declaration is lovely, and Marcus reveals that he has loved Carolyn for months. He even points out that he has been so distracted at work that he is surprised she never noticed.
I loved hearing that, because it confirms exactly what I had hoped was happening beneath the surface.
My frustration is that the book largely tells us this retrospectively instead of giving us enough hints throughout to let us enjoy watching it happen.
For me, the emotional intensity of the reconciliation felt around 65–70% of what it could have delivered. Marcus explains his feelings almost casually, when I wanted a stronger sense of two people finally exposing months of private longing and misunderstanding.
Nevertheless, I really enjoyed the ending because it is unusually generous for this type of vintage romance. Rather than declaring their love and ending almost immediately, Carolyn and Marcus are allowed some time simply to be happily in love.
We get affectionate teasing, private jokes and tender little moments that let us enjoy their new relationship. That gave the ending a lovely cosy satisfaction that I often miss in Betty Neels, whose romances can stop almost as soon as the hero finally declares himself.
One of my favourite scenes comes when Carolyn's gossipy friend telephones with exciting news: apparently there is a rumour that Dr Marcus is engaged. She begs Carolyn, despite her usual professional discretion, to reveal who the mystery woman is because there will be broken hearts throughout the hospital.
Marcus overhears.
He cheekily takes over the conversation and confirms that the rumour is true: he is engaged, and his fiancée is somebody she knows very well—Carolyn.
It was funny, sweet and exactly the kind of romantic smugness I wanted to enjoy after spending the whole book waiting for these two to realise they belonged together.
I also liked that Carolyn's model sister ultimately shows that she genuinely cares about her sister's happiness. She isn't turned into a villain merely to manufacture conflict, which gave that subplot a satisfying resolution.
I'm giving Dear Dr. Marcus 4.2 stars. It is a gentle, cosy and strongly romance-focused vintage Harlequin with two likable leads and a lovely ending. I only wish the book had pushed Marcus's hidden longing and Carolyn's pining a little harder on the page. The ingredients for greater emotional intensity were already there; they simply remained more understated than I would have preferred.
I really enjoyed Dear Doctor Marcus. It had many of the qualities I enjoy in books by one of my fave authors, Betty Neels: a cosy vintage Harlequin atmosphere, no steam, a strong slice-of-life element and a romance that simmers gently beneath the surface rather than being overwhelmed by external plot.
Readers who enjoy Betty Neels may like this. For me, however, Neels usually delivers more emotional oomph. She's particularly good at slipping in signs that her apparently controlled heroes are quietly going stir-crazy over the heroine. Dear Dr. Marcus had plenty of opportunities to do the same but didn't exploit them strongly enough.
Even so, this was a lovely romance that left me smiling, with two very likable characters and a satisfying extended ending.
Carolyn was originally a nurse but left nursing to become a secretary and moved to London after a painful romantic betrayal. Her fiancé of a year fell in love with her beautiful model sister. Although her sister didn't return his feelings and apparently never encouraged him, Carolyn was badly hurt and needed a fresh start.
When the book begins, she has been working for a couple of weeks as secretary to Marcus, a surgeon with a private practice alongside his hospital work.
Much of the story is simply Carolyn rebuilding her life. She settles into her new job, makes friends with the other secretaries in the building, develops a social life, goes sailing and gradually moves beyond her heartbreak.
Meanwhile, her awareness of Marcus grows.
He is busy between his private practice and hospital work, but Carolyn begins hearing about the women in his life. He is frequently seen with a beautiful blonde, while another woman named Pat regularly telephones him at the office.
Carolyn slowly becomes jealous.
This works particularly well because one of her new friends is extremely gossipy and also has a crush on Marcus. Their conversations give Carolyn tantalising glimpses of his life outside the office and gradually encourage her to think of him as a man rather than simply her employer.
I love OW drama and here, while it is subtle, there is just enough to keep the tensions simmering.
SPOILERS
Carolyn also develops a semi-romantic friendship with a young man she meets while sailing. He is recovering from heartbreak after a fickle woman rejected him in favour of his friend and had apparently been using him to get closer to that man.
Carolyn becomes his shoulder to cry on.
Marcus sees them together and assumes they are romantically involved, while Carolyn believes Marcus is involved with other women. This creates a gentle undercurrent of mutual misunderstanding and pining.
There are hints quite early that Marcus is becoming distracted at work, possibly because of Carolyn, but I wish they had been stronger.
They occasionally meet outside work. One charming scene has Carolyn bump into Marcus in a laundromat while the woman who usually handles his washing is away. He has no idea what he's doing with his shirts, so Carolyn helps him.
There is also a sequence where Marcus becomes ill and Carolyn helps him. I enjoyed it but wanted much more from the caretaking trope. Having Carolyn genuinely look after him for several days rather than merely visiting him a couple of times could have created some wonderfully cosy intimacy and allowed their attachment to deepen more visibly.
The reverse happens later when Carolyn's father becomes seriously ill. She needs to rush home, and Marcus immediately puts his own work aside, drives her there and helps her cope with the family crisis.
I really liked seeing him become the person she could lean on emotionally. It showed his care through action rather than simply telling us how he felt.
Carolyn's beautiful model sister eventually returns from Europe. Since both sisters are now in London, her path inevitably crosses Marcus's.
This immediately reawakens Carolyn's old wound. By now she knows she loves Marcus, and seeing her beautiful sister with him makes her feel that history may be repeating itself.
In the shock of that jealousy, Carolyn rashly accepts a half-hearted proposal from her sailing friend.
The news clearly devastates Marcus.
We get the lovely hint that her engagement is such an unpleasant shock that he has to leave almost immediately to gather himself. This was exactly the kind of moment I wanted the book to exploit more strongly.
Instead, his reaction remains too subtle.
I wanted to see at least a little of the aftermath: Marcus struggling with the idea of Carolyn marrying another man, becoming distracted, irritable or unable to hide how badly the engagement affected him. That would have given us the sense that the calm doctor was privately falling apart while Carolyn remained unaware.
The eventual declaration is lovely, and Marcus reveals that he has loved Carolyn for months. He even points out that he has been so distracted at work that he is surprised she never noticed.
I loved hearing that, because it confirms exactly what I had hoped was happening beneath the surface.
My frustration is that the book largely tells us this retrospectively instead of giving us enough hints throughout to let us enjoy watching it happen.
For me, the emotional intensity of the reconciliation felt around 65–70% of what it could have delivered. Marcus explains his feelings almost casually, when I wanted a stronger sense of two people finally exposing months of private longing and misunderstanding.
Nevertheless, I really enjoyed the ending because it is unusually generous for this type of vintage romance. Rather than declaring their love and ending almost immediately, Carolyn and Marcus are allowed some time simply to be happily in love.
We get affectionate teasing, private jokes and tender little moments that let us enjoy their new relationship. That gave the ending a lovely cosy satisfaction that I often miss in Betty Neels, whose romances can stop almost as soon as the hero finally declares himself.
One of my favourite scenes comes when Carolyn's gossipy friend telephones with exciting news: apparently there is a rumour that Dr Marcus is engaged. She begs Carolyn, despite her usual professional discretion, to reveal who the mystery woman is because there will be broken hearts throughout the hospital.
Marcus overhears.
He cheekily takes over the conversation and confirms that the rumour is true: he is engaged, and his fiancée is somebody she knows very well—Carolyn.
It was funny, sweet and exactly the kind of romantic smugness I wanted to enjoy after spending the whole book waiting for these two to realise they belonged together.
I also liked that Carolyn's model sister ultimately shows that she genuinely cares about her sister's happiness. She isn't turned into a villain merely to manufacture conflict, which gave that subplot a satisfying resolution.
I'm giving Dear Dr. Marcus 4.2 stars. It is a gentle, cosy and strongly romance-focused vintage Harlequin with two likable leads and a lovely ending. I only wish the book had pushed Marcus's hidden longing and Carolyn's pining a little harder on the page. The ingredients for greater emotional intensity were already there; they simply remained more understated than I would have preferred.
May 17, 2024
Sweet vintage with a fun H/h. Heroine has been jilted by her fiance after he falls in love with her younger sister, so she gives up her nursing career to be a medical secretary to the hero, a surgeon. He's such a nice guy that all the nurses at the hospital call him Dear Doctor Marcus. Heroine doesn't notice him at first, but eventually falls in love with him.
Meanwhile, she thinks he is in love with a beautiful Irish nurse and he thinks she's in love with a sad sack advertising man who is pining for another.
All those misunderstandings don't keep them from forming a solid friendship that includes lots of banter and sweet moments. They are meant to be together.
There are all kinds of side characters including his family, her family, medical student parties, sailing holidays, a pesky dog, etc. . . I was interested in all of them except for the sad sack OM. I was tired of him long before the heroine finally told him to get overhimself.
One very unusual feature of this vintage novel was that there was entire chapter that showed the reader the H/h after they got engaged. It was so sweet to seem them all loved up and flirty back in the office. Just a nice story all around.
Meanwhile, she thinks he is in love with a beautiful Irish nurse and he thinks she's in love with a sad sack advertising man who is pining for another.
All those misunderstandings don't keep them from forming a solid friendship that includes lots of banter and sweet moments. They are meant to be together.
There are all kinds of side characters including his family, her family, medical student parties, sailing holidays, a pesky dog, etc. . . I was interested in all of them except for the sad sack OM. I was tired of him long before the heroine finally told him to get overhimself.
One very unusual feature of this vintage novel was that there was entire chapter that showed the reader the H/h after they got engaged. It was so sweet to seem them all loved up and flirty back in the office. Just a nice story all around.
April 15, 2023
10/10! I love this book. It is light, fluffy, extremely well written and fun. No nasty characters at all. Hero- nice! Heroine - nice! Setting - my favourite - in England. Plenty of moments together between the leads. All characters - big and small and animals - were excellently drawn. And it is funny! I chuckled a few times. Although I am not usually a fan of first person point of view, this was so well done that I can't fault it. The hero's physical appearance was non-typical, which I liked too. This book is well worth reading.
September 4, 2020
A sweet, well-written, old-fashioned romance. The main characters are all connected with the medical profession although it is not set in a hospital but mainly within private consulting rooms in London. It follows the life of the heroine, who is an interesting character.
September 12, 2023
"Dear Doctor Marcus" is the story of Carolyn and Marcus.
I napped thrice reading this. Zero chemistry between leads, incessant droning about non significant drama just terrible plot.
Skimmed it
1.5/5
I napped thrice reading this. Zero chemistry between leads, incessant droning about non significant drama just terrible plot.
Skimmed it
1.5/5
May 10, 2025
One of the better vintage romances I’ve read. Sweet, simple, and low angst, it’s elevated by two very likeable main characters and a humour between them that runs throughout. However, if you’re looking for the grand passions and melodrama of HPlandia, beware this probably isn’t for you. 3.5 stars.
August 31, 2022
3.5 stars for old vintage sweetness!! I needed more angst and intrigue! The H was too beta for me, he needed a healthy dose of alpha!
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews