I enjoy most Betty Neels’ romance novels; she builds in warmth and happiness and of course all the stories have happy endings. Here are three that disappointed me, all with implausible romances and nasty men.
The Fifth Day of Christmas
Neels wrote The Fifth Day of Christmas in 1971, making it one of her earliest novels, and it shows. The plot is implausible (as are most but we can slide right over that when the stories are good) but the part that disturbed me is when heroine Julia makes a nasty comment about hero Ivo’s supposed semi-fiance Marcia. He grabs Julia and shakes her until her teeth rattle – and then Julia thinks she is at fault but doesn’t want to apologize! Even back 50 years ago this was wrong.
2 Stars
Saturday’s Child
Neels usually provides us with likable characters. The man may fight against loving the lady, but he is always polite and usually kind. Not so with Saturday’s Child. Here our hero, Professor Dominic van Wijkelen, doesn’t trust women and doesn’t want to believe Abigail can truly love him and doesn’t want to love her either. The problem is that Dominic is mean, even cruel.
While Abigail is in Holland, Dominic hires her to nurse a friend, then another friend, then to work in the hospital, but never actually pays her. When she finally says something to him, only after making her own way back to England and only after he asks her to come back for yet another round of nursing, Dominic arranges her to get her money. All well and good, but we expect people to learn from mistakes. Dominic re-engages Abigail and once again does not pay her. And once again she doesn’t say anything despite being penniless.
Maybe he could forget once. But twice? And she could be wary of asking for her wages once. But twice? To me this makes Dominic untrustworthy and unkind and even a little abusive. And it makes Abigail a patsy.
The rest of the plot and story are fine. The conflict is Dominic’s distrust and unwillingness to believe in Abigail; he overhears something, jumps to conclusions and once more shoves Abigail (still unpaid) out of his life and out of Holland. She doesn’t have any money and goes to live with a friend of a friend and takes a poorly paying job in a store before Dominic once more shows up and wafts her away with rapturous kisses.
If I had been she I’d have demanded he pay me, then leave and inform him that he needed to get control of his distrust and get over himself, get off his high horse before he bothers to come see me yet again. Even in 1973 I think most self-reliant ladies would have been a little less trusting.
2 Stars
Heaven Around the Corner
Heaven Around the Corner has two romances, both unsatisfying. Our primary romance is Louisa Evans, newly qualified nurse, falling in love with the unpleasant Simon Savage. Simon is well-named. The second involves Louisa’s patient, Simon’s sister, the alcoholic Claudia Savage and Lars, a banker.
Both romances lack credibility. Claudia and Lars barely know each other and Lars surely should be wary of hitching his life to an alcoholic wife. Louisa and Simon also don’t spend much time together and Simon spends most of it being obnoxious and Louisa is self-righteous. Ugh.
Neels describes Norway with loving detail and as usual for her novels makes one want to visit and enjoy the breathtaking scenery and friendly people.
This is one of the few Betty Neels novels I had a hard time finishing; it is boring with unlikable characters and unsatisfying plot and story.
2 Stars (It would be 1 star without the excellent setting.)
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