But the secure world of Jackalass, the outback station she'd known as a girl, had changed.
Instead of Aunt Beth to help her recover from her disastrous love affair, she found Trelawney Saber, an arrogant rancher with a wild reputation, in charge.
Far from offering Dale comfort, he regarded her broken heart as a challenge...one that not even his beautiful fiancée Rebecca was going to keep him from accepting....
As an author for Mills and Boon and later for Harlequin Romance, Dorothy Cork wrote 38 romance novels. She was born in 1918 and is still alive. Her first book was published in 1965 and the last in 1985.
Quite a number of her books have been translated into a diversity of languages: Japanese, Greek, Italian, French and so on.
She also wrote a number of short stories - about half of which were published in various Australian magazines.
Cast of thousands, each of which appeared to go by two names just to make things even more confusing. The h, Dale (aka Daisy 🤷♀️) returns to outback cattle station of her youth to find everyone gone apart from the H Trelawney (🙄 I'm sure it's a very popular outback name). There's a Rebecca fiancee (aka Rebie) an Elizabeth who might also be a fiancee (aka Buff) an OW (one of many, this guy is just a sexual predator if you ask me, with similar finesse) called Arnoldine (aka Arnie). The whole thing is nuts and very dull - the h spends most of the book sewing curtains and loose covers. Why I got sucked into this on open library I don't know. I think my fondness for outback settings (which the lovely Hot November by Ann Charlton fed beautifully) must have been behind it. Don't bother.
Plain Dale tried to attack the attention of Andrew throw a change of clothes and makeup plus provocative stares and it worked. Yet, when Andrew wanted to make love to her, Date made different excuses which eventually resulted in Andrew dropping her and their relationship all together. Date felt betrayed and utterly wretched and decided to quit her job and head to jackalass to her aunt Beth and her children, whom she stayed with and loved when she lived with them for two years after her father sent her to the country to get married again. She thought aunt Beth would give her all the solace she needed and her heart would be mended. Yet, when she arrived to Jackalss, she discovered aunt Bath had died and found herself alone with Trelawney, the grandson of Jackalass owner who was so famous for his affairs and wicked mischiefs. Dale left a disastrous affair behind and didn't want any involvement with Trelawney, yet he deared to kiss her and then tell her he was already engaged!!
As a love story, it failed to impress. There was really no real emotional sparks or tender feelings to nourish real romance. NOR there were any angst. The story was bland in more ways than one. Very predictable and uninteresting. Not recommended at all for a romantic heart.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Cleaning bookshelves and came across this oldie. Of course I stopped and reread. It's okay, but I really wish I had The Challenge, my favorite Australia Outback romance.