Review: Winter Of Change by Betty Neels

I sped through another Betty Neels novel.  This time, I read Winter of Change, which was originally published in 1973.  

Protagonists:

Heroine:  Mary Jane Pettigrew, a plain looking 22 year-old nurse who inherits her grandfather's estate, which includes a house and a substantial amount of money.  However, her grandfather has also arranged for her to have a guardian who would oversee her finances, along with vetting any prospective candidates who wish to marry Mary Jane.  

Hero:  Fabian van der Blocq, a handsome Dutch surgeon who gets the lucky task of being Mary Jane's guardian.

Plot:

Mary Jane doesn't want to have a guardian because she thinks that she is mature enough to take control of her inheritance.   Negativity flies between Fabian and Mary Jane whenever they meet to discuss matters arising from their situation.  Fabian tries to carry out his duty as Mary Jane's guardian, but meets with resistance from her every step of the way throughout their relationship. Our protagonists are supposed to fall in love, but will it happen?

Antagonist of note:

Mervyn Pettigrew:  Mary Jane's gold-digging, scam-artist of a cousin who appears on her doorstep and sweet talks himself into her life.  I am seriously chagrined to know that he is a Canadian, because I'm Canadian.  I like to think of us as being Nice People, but Mervyn is a snake.

Stuff that this novel has:

Fabian speaks silkily three times:  two times to Mary Jane while they are duking things out verbally, and once to Mervyn when he's calling Mervyn out on scam-like behaviour.  I usually get annoyed when I see the hero say something silkily, but Fabian dressed Mervyn down very nicely and put him in his place. 

So, did I like this novel?

Ummm...not really.  

The chemistry between this couple is rather toxic.  BN heroes tend to be overbearing, bossy, and non-communicative, but Mary Jane is so antagonistic towards Fabian, it's a wonder they get around to falling in love.  As Mary Jane succinctly summarizes their relationship while talking to Fabian, "What a pity we don't get on."  

The prickly behaviour and negativity drags on for most of the book, and in my opinion, most of this is Mary Jane's fault. I'm not going to bother including examples of her behaviour to back this up. I don't feel like hunting them down, but there is a lot to pick from.  Fabian bitterly tells Mary Jane midway through the book, "You are not only a tiresome girl, you are also a very ungrateful one."  When she says that she doesn't remember being tiresome, and asks what particular occasion that she behaved as such, Fabian tells her wearily, " You are tiresome all the time."  

I agree with him.  Being Mary Jane's guardian is a thankless task.   I almost included Mary Jane, herself, under the, "Antagonist of Note," section.  

The backstory of the heroine in A Winter Love Story (also written by Betty Neels), which I reviewed on June 16th, 2021, is similar to that of the heroine in Winter of Change.  Both heroines have elderly family members who die, and the heroes are brought into their lives because of their connection through these elderly relatives.  However, I enjoyed reading A Winter Love Story more than Winter of Change.  The heroine of A Winter Love Story had some snarky moments with the hero in the beginning of that book, but their relationship was more amicable, and they developed a genuine friendship.  Winter of Change follows a trope of enemies to lovers, but the overall negativity was definitely "tiresome" for me.  

If Fabian were my friend, I'd be tempted to tell him to consider another girl with less shrewish tendencies.

Review: A Winter Love Story by Betty Neels

I meant to post a review of a Susan May Warren novel, but I feel a bit of a writer's block over writing it.

In the meantime, I finished reading Betty Neels' A Winter Love Story.  Neels' category romances are usually about nine chapters long, and are quick to finish.  A Winter Love Story, originally released in 1998, was republished in 2019 as a Special Release, along with A Christmas Wish, for which I posted a review on June 3, 2021.  

Shall I use a template again, as I did for the last Betty Neels' novel I reviewed?

Protagonists:

Heroine:  Claudia Ramsay, a "nearly 27" year old, "shapely girl with a lovely face and shining copper hair."  Along with her mother, they are dependents of her great-uncle, Colonel Ramsay.  She is untrained for any profession.

Hero:  Dr. Thomas Tait-Bullen.  He's an English (not Dutch) "surgeon of some fame" who has been called upon to form a second opinion about the health of Colonel Ramsay.  He's determined that he will never fall in love again because of a failed romance in his youth.  He's 39, and true to form as with other BN heroes, he could learn to become a better communicator of his thoughts and feelings.

Plot:

Claudia and her mother face eviction from their home when Colonel Ramsay passes away, as his estate comes into the possession of an unpleasant distant cousin.  Although her mother remarries, Claudia must make her own way, and finds a job as a general assistant at a geriatric hospital.  However, it is a difficult life to what Claudia had previously known while the Colonel was alive.  Claudia lives on site at the hospital, wishing to give her mother and new step-father privacy for their fledgling marriage.  

Dr. Tait-Bullen, who has been attracted to Claudia from page 1 (page 201 in my edition), proposes a marriage of convenience.  He's her knight in shining armour, swooping in to rescue her from a life of drudgery, and likely, a dead-end job with little hope of advancement, unless she is able to save enough to train for something else.  

And she no longer needs to worry about this, as the good doctor marries her, convincing her that they would do nicely together, as they appear to like each other.  However, he is quite clear that he does not love her, but is looking for a life companion.  He believes that she would be able to fill this role well. 

Claudia is ushered into a lifestyle that is characterized by shopping, mulitple homes, and a busy social life (hospital balls, tea times with other doctors' wives, etc.).  She also gets welcomed into the warmth of Thomas' large family.  In a few short weeks, Claudia realizes that she wants more than friendship with Thomas; she wants his heart.  Will she get what she is hoping for?

Antagonists:

Mr. Ramsay, the unpleasant and uncaring distant cousin who casts Claudia and her mother out of their home.  He sounds like he has taken lessons from Mrs. John Dashwood, from Sense and Sensibility, as he doesn't care to make any provision for his poor relations, even though it is within his means to do so.  However, he and his wife are quickly forgotten, as they serve plotwise to put Claudia and her mom in the situation of needing to find a better living situation.

Honor Thompson is the woman who had hoped to marry Dr. Tait-Bullen, and sticks a spoke to damage the trust between Claudia and Thomas.  

Stuff that this novel also has:

A husband who is happy to wait patiently while his wife goes shopping for a brand new and expensive wardrobe...and he tells her to buy more after previewing what she has already selected.

Adopting a woe-be-gone puppy that becomes the beloved family pet.

A marriage by a special license in relatively modern times.  This was interesting to me.  I thought that this happened historically (as in the Regency Era) and was no longer used.  

So...did I like this novel?

Thomas gets brownie points for not talking silkily to Claudia.

I liked Thomas, and he seemed to be warmer and more pleasant than most BN heroes.   The interesting thing about Thomas is that he seemed to be quite perceptive of what Claudia was thinking when it came to her insecurities.  He always seemed to recognize when to reassure her when she felt self conscious about her looks and abilities. An additional plus was that he liked Claudia from the start, and recognized that she would make a good wife for him.  However, they got married rather quickly.  They definitely didn't know each other well enough to communicate effectively.  In my opinion, in real life, those would present "proceed with caution" signs.  Taking the time to get to know each other would have taken care of this, especially if Thomas' assessment about Claudia's suitability as a wife is true.  

I was also mildly horrified by Claudia's rationalization on getting married quickly.  On page 276 (in my edition), she says,  "Yes, Thomas.  It's a bit unusual, isn't it?  Getting married like this.  But if we're sure, and it's what we want, there's no point in mulling it over for months, is there?  And I don't suppose that if we were engaged for a long time we'd see much of each other-I mean, get to know each other better-for you would be working and I'd be bogged down in plans for the wedding."

His answer:  "What a sensible girl you are, Claudia."

My response:  !?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm not a marriage counselor, and I know of some people who have gotten married quickly and have had successful marriages.  However, from my perspective, I can't believe that he said that, because I don't think that it's sensible at all.  I think that getting to know each other is more important than planning the wedding, because we're talking about a relationship that is supposed to last for a very long time.  In my opinion, it would be better to invest time and energy in things that would help in the success of the marriage.  If it's important to you, you'll make the time for it.  C'mon...priorities, Thomas and Claudia!  I'm of the opinion that it's wiser to find out important, possibly deal-breaking facts before marriage.  

This particular novel also reminded me a lot of the regencies in which the plot involves a marriage of convenience where the couple eventually get their love match.  As I mentioned before, there was the special license, and the separate bedrooms, even after the marriage which took place in Chapter 4.  Thomas says on page 293, "Let us give ourselves time to get to know and understand each other."  In other words, for the first little while of their marriage (and for the rest of the time readers spend with these two), they will live as flatmates.  As this is a BN novel, there is no mention of any hanky panky, except for allusions to becoming a father, and having a handful of sons and daughters, which by the way, I repeat, would have been good things to discuss before they got married.  

Personality-wise, I liked the hero better than most BN heroes.  I didn't care for the protagonists' rationalizations for their quick marriage.  Maybe Thomas' decision was driven by lust to some degree, and not sense.  However, that is conjecture, and even so, he didn't press for marital relations at the start.  I can understand Claudia's desperation rushing her decision making processes, but...wow.  This novel required some suspension of belief for me.

 

Review: A Christmas Wish by Betty Neels

 Yes, I'm still reading works by Betty Neels.  I bought a few special releases during the past few years where Harlequin had been offering two stories in one edition.  I don't know if the company continued to do so for Betty Neels' novels throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, but I have noticed that there have been special editions of Love Inspired Historical novels when I get a chance to slink out of my home to go to the local Walmart.  

Anyways, A Christmas Wish was published along with A Winter Love Story in a Special Release by Harlequin in 2019.  This review covers only A Christmas Wish, as I haven't started reading A Winter Love Story yet.

Every time I've written a review of a Betty Neels romance, I end up repeating a lot of things as her writing tends to be formulaic.

I'm tempted to write this review using a template that appears as such:

Protagonists:  

Heroine:  Olivia Harding: Jill-of-All-Trades, extremely capable twenty-seven year old woman with a "splendid shape," who lives with an overbearing grandmother and a meek mother.  She has no special training or skills, making it difficult to find work after she is let go from her job as a hospital records clerk, even though she is a hard working, and superior employee.   

Hero:  Haso van der Eisler:  Older, rich, handsome, blond, Dutch, 36 year old medical specialist, whose eye is caught by Olivia.  In the shocker of shockers...he actually remembers her from their first meeting, unlike many other Betty Neels' heroes.  God-father to Nel, the daughter of his best friend, Rob, who is no longer alive.  Does not show emotions clearly, and is sufficiently vague enough so that the heroine doesn't know that she is the object of his affections.

Plot:  The good doctor tries to find Olivia a position when her hospital clerical job becomes redundant, eventually finding her a job at a girl's school where Nel attends.  Olivia falls in love with said doctor, wondering if she has a chance with him, as it seems that everyone else is expecting for the doctor and Nel's mother to marry.  

Antagonist of note:

Rita:  Nel's mother who is not much of a mother.  Gold-digger who is looking for a second husband who will support the lifestyle that she is accustomed to.  

Secondary character of note:

Nel:  The god-daughter who brings Olivia and Haso together...like, about 95% of the time. 

Stuff that this novel also has:

Loser ex-boyfriend who tosses heroine over for a less attractive woman who has better connections.  The heroine even attends his wedding!

Evil, social climbing maternal grandmother who constantly puts Olivia down for absolutely everything, because Olivia is a reminder of the son-in-law that Grams never wanted.

Heroine gets soundly kissed, but still thinks that she's not in a relationship with the hero, and that he's not interested in her romantically.

Heroine's hair gets unpinned and tumbles down!

So...did I like this novel?  

Yes...I did.  Really.  And it's because this time around in Betty Neels-land, I actually respected the hero, Haso.  Yeah, he did respond "silkily" to the heroine once when she snarked at him about being a know-it-all over what she should do about her ex's invitation to his wedding.  (I hate it when BN's heroes say things silkily, because I hate The Condescension!  I despise The Impudence! I abhor The Nastiness!  I hate it when the hero Cuts-the-Heroine-Down-to-Put-Her-in-Her-Place in this way.  Yup.  My hackles go up when I see the hero say something silkily.)

But I'm getting off topic.  

Haso won me over.  He seems to be a genuinely nice man, polite, and wants to hide the fact that he's Olivia benefactor in landing her new job at Nel's school.  He's observant, shows how much he cares about people, and takes his job as Nel's god-father very seriously.  

I also felt that he tried to communicate his interest to Olivia, and to clarify his feelings for her when he noticed that she didn't understand.  This time, I think the blame lies with Olivia for not being able to read Haso and his intentions clearly.

I liked Haso...even though he still was a bit bossy.  

So, yeah...there are a lot of static characters...dare I say... caricatures and stereotypes in this novel...but because I liked the hero more than usual, I enjoyed this book.  

Review: Vogue Knitting Magazine, Winter 2020/21

This issue was supposedly released on December 29th, 2020, but I was not able to get a copy until yesterday.  It is an interesting issue, given the changes that have been happening with Vogue Knitting Magazine.  Norah Gaughan is now the Editor-in-Chief, and I have heard that the magazine is now reducing the number of published issues to two a year. 

There is a marked effort to make the magazine more inclusive, with respect to the models who are wearing the samples, and the range in sizing that is now available in the patterns.  However, Vogue Knitting Magazine doesn't look like Vogue Knitting Magazine anymore.  It looks like an issue of Interweave Knits, which is also a great knitting magazine.  

I do not want to complain.  I want Vogue Knitting and Interweave Knits to survive Covid-19, and to keep publishing, but this last issue of Vogue Knitting appears to be so much like its competitor, that I wonder if they could be fighting for the same readership.  

I have been collecting VK issues since 2008, and I have found past issues to follow a high fashion/haute couture/designer/glitzy editorial look, as opposed to the more casual, relaxed, natural atmosphere that permeates IK issues.  The Winter 2020/21 issue of Vogue Knitting resembles an issue of Interweave Knits except for the ads promoting patterns that had been published in previous issues of VK.  The difference could be how the models are styled in previous issues as compared to this latest issue, with respect to make up, hair, and coordinating clothes.  

It would be interesting to see what direction Vogue Knitting will take for future issues.  

Review: Oath of Honor by Lynette Eason

I didn't read this book. I actually listened to the audiobook version of it.  It was a fully developed mystery suspense novel. To me, taking in the content of this book was kind of like experiencing a Julie Klassen novel...except that the genre was suspense, instead of historical romance. There were a lot of ups and downs, and twists and turns. I can now say that I now know two Christian fiction authors who can take you for a long and eventful ride through Plotland.

Oath of Honor is the first book of the Blue Justice series. The series covers the stories of a family consisting of mostly police officers. In Oath of Honor, Isabelle St. John, must solve the death of her partner, who was murdered during a stakeout. The fallen officer's brother, Ryan, who is also in law enforcement, teams up with her to solve the mystery. However, the discoveries that they make causes Isabelle to wonder if the members of her own family are innocent of wrong doing.

There are a lot of characters to keep track of in this book, especially with a family having six siblings. I also found that I had to replay certain sections over and over just to catch everything that was being said. However, my interest was piqued enough to look into the rest of the Blue Justice series, which includes, Called to Protect (Chloe's book), Code of Valor (Brady's book), and Vow of Justice (Linc's book).

For your information, if you wish to read other stories of the other remaining St. John siblings, Ruthie's story is found in the novella, Code of Ethics. Derek's story is found in the collection titled, Protecting Tanner Hollow. It's the fourth novella, which is called, Lethal Agenda.

Finally, although the books in the series are about the St. John siblings and their romantic interests, the stories are generally more focused on action than on romance. Basically, these are books that I might be able to convince my male relatives to read since there is not much mush present.

Burda Knitting, Issue No. 1, 2019, UK edition

I was walking through a supermarket when I ran across a Simply Knitting magazine (Issue 192, 2019).  It's a British publication, which eventually gets stocked in Canadian stores about 2 to 3 months after it appears in Britain. I usually don't buy this magazine, although it usually comes packaged along with a small project kit, or some knitting accessory.  This time, however, the issue came not only with a "My Little Angel," knit kit...it also came packaged with the first UK issue of Burda Knitting.

I like the magazine.  It reminds me a lot of Verena Knitting, which I miss since the English version is no longer being published.

However, it looks quite different than the last Verena magazine that I purchased, which was almost 7 years ago. There is a photographic index of all the projects offered in the magazine, which reminds me of the similar layout that appears in Interweave Knits magazines.  However, there aren't any fancy names for the knits.  The projects have generic titles, such as Crochet Granny Square Sweater and Polo Neck (Project 1), or Jacket with Embroidered Squares (Project 3), or Cape Sweater (Project 16).  Many projects have photographs showing various different angles, and some offer close ups so that you can see the stitches.  Also, unlike the Verena Knitting magazines that I remember, the pattern instructions are less cramped, and are printed on similar glossy paper as the photographs appear on. (Verena's instructions appeared on newsprint, with photographs appearing on nicer paper.)  There are also 33 patterns in the magazine, which is less than the number that appeared in earlier Verena Knitting issues, but more than what Vogue Knitting or Interweave Knits currently offer in their issues.

This issue of the magazine offers mainly knit patterns, but there are four crochet patterns, and one that uses both knitting and crocheting.  The bulk of the patterns are for sweaters and cardigans.  There are couple of shawls, a few hats and scarves, and one crocheted bag.  There is some colourwork, but many of the samples are in neutrals or muted colours.  There are a couple of projects with lace, and a couple with cables, and some with ribbing, and one bobble hat.  According to the magazine's own difficulty rating system, most projects fall within the 2 to 4 dots out of 5 dots, with 5 dots being the most challenging.  I like most of the longer cardigan projects that are featured in the issue...even the one that is crocheted.

The magazine has a list of abbreviations, and a list explaining special instructions that may appear in the issue.

There are also things that do not appear in this issue:  I couldn't find much information in the magazine itself about the publishers or the editorial staff.  I have no idea what the cost of the issue is, or what future issues may cost. It simply appeared to be the gift that came along with the issue of Simply Knitting that I bought.

Would I buy another issue of Burda Knitting?

I might purchase another issue if there were enough patterns inside that I liked, and if the price isn't beyond my budget.  This issue was okay, but I wasn't able to preview it since it had been sealed in a plastic bag.  I feel that I lucked out this time around.  Currently, Vogue Knitting is the only knitting magazine that is an autobuy for me.  For most other titles, I'd have to like at least 50% of the patterns before I'd consider purchasing it.

However, Burda Knitting magazine seems to have quite a nice layout, and I have a favourable impression about it.  

Review: 100 Knits: Interweave's Ultimate Pattern Collection by the Editors at Interweave

Interweave, the company that publishes Interweave Knits and Knitscene has released 100 Knits:  Interweave's Ultimate Pattern Collection.  The patterns are arranged in five sections: 1)  Hats and Socks, 2)  Scarves, Cowls, Shawls and Wraps, 3)  Cardigans, 4)  Pullovers, and 5)  Tanks and Tees.  There are projects that feature colourwork, intarsia, lace, stockinette, garter stitch or cables.  There's even a tutorial on circular grafting. 

A lot of patterns that appear have been previously published in Interweave publications.  When I glanced through 100 Knits and checked the pattern listings for this book on Ravelry, there are patterns in the collection that have dated as far back as 2006, but with the bulk of the patterns dating between 2014 to 2017.  Most of them have appeared in past issues of Interweave Knits and Knitscene magazines.  There are a smattering of patterns that have appeared in Interweave books and/or e-books, which include the following:

Wanderlust: 46 Modern Knits for Bohemian Style
New Directions in Sock Knitting
Rugged Knits
Family-Friendly Knits
New Lace Knitting: Designs for Wide Open Spaces
New American Knits:  Classic Sportswear Patterns
New England Knits:  Timeless Knitwear With a Modern Twist
Garter Stitch Revival
Free Spirit Knits
Urban Knit Collection:  18 City Inspired Knitting Patterns for the Modern Wardrobe.

The pattern collection includes Interweave's top five patterns:  Jared Flood's Koolhaus Hat, Carina Spencer's Lucy Hat, Evelyn A. Clark's Swallowtail Shawl, Heather Lodinsky's Central Park Hoodie, and Heather Zoppetti's Dahlia Cardigan.  Other designers include Rosemary (Romi) Hill, Susanna IC, Isabell Kraemer, Holli Yeoh, Mari Chiba, Kristen TenDyke, Cecily Glowik MacDonald, Shirley Paden, Tanis Gray, Norah Gaughan, and Amy Christoffers, who has at least five of her patterns in 100 Knits.

I really like this pattern collection.  It's a hefty price to pay at $45 US, but, it has many lovely patterns in it.  I could see myself wanting to knit many of the designs in this book.  Just looking at the designs that have previously appeared in New Directions in Sock Knitting and Garter Stitch Revival have piqued my interested in searching for those two books.  However, I already own a number of these patterns that appear in 100 Knits through my knitting magazine collection.  If I didn't already own these, I would probably be seriously drooling over this book.  For the knitter who doesn't already have issues of Interweave Knits and Knitscene magazines from the past four years, 100 Knits may offer a fantastic collection of designs to knit from. 

Edited to add:  100 Knits has patterns mainly for women, although I saw a pullover designed for a man.  Some of the hat and cowl patterns could be considered unisex.  I would also consider this book suitable for an intermediate to advanced knitter, although there are a few patterns that a beginner or less experienced knitter could tackle. 

Disclaimer:  I received an e-copy of 100 Knits:  Interweave's Ultimate Pattern Collection by the Editors at Interweave from NetGalley in exchange for a review.  All opinions stated in this review are mine.