Okay, yes, I’m stressed, and yes, Betty fixes everything. Our heroine, Jane, is a former nurse who’s been caring for her dying grandmother; grandmother passes, leaving almost everything to Obnoxious Evil Cousin. Dutch doctor sweeps in, finds Jane a job with his godmother for a month, then rescues her from a depressing hospital job, then proposes a marriage of convenience. High points: Jane is unusually proactive for a Neels heroine, finding jobs on her own (she’s restricted because she inherited multiple pets from her late grandmother and most nursing jobs won’t allow them in the dorms), and when she falls for Nik she actually works at making him jealous/interested rather than moping around. Her figure is repeatedly described as Junoesque and “big” but she’s also unquestionably beautiful and attracts a lot of positive male attention. Great food descriptions, great clothes descriptions. 

Low points: Jane gets starved a lot by her employers, to the point where I wondered if Neels was working something out on paper - so much attention devoted to how little Jane was being given to eat. We also briefly get Nik’s perspective at various points which makes it clear that he’s not convenience-marrying Jane because he’s fallen in love with her, he’s convenience-marrying Jane because he thinks she’ll make a nice practical convenience-wife. This is not only uninspiring but weird - they argue constantly and she gives him the impression she doesn’t like him much. If I were looking for a soothing convenience-spouse I would probably not pick the fiery redhead who argues with everything I say? That’s me though. 

That said, while it’s not classic Neels where he secretly loves her while fixing up her life for her, he does eventually fall for her and then has to mope around thinking about what it’s going to be like when she meets a man her own age. 

My second Betty Neels. This one annoyed me more than Fate Is Remarkable, which I actually mostly enjoyed. THE FOLLOWING IS SPOILER-ISH: Instead of him taking her away I would have liked a story of them taking over the last place she works before he comes to get her. I also thought we'd see more of Mrs. Grimstone. That could have made an interesting story too. I also just wasn't a fan of this doctor. Mostly I didn't like that they didn't know each other for very long (compared with the first one I read) so everything seemed more rushed and forced. I'm still glad I read it though and it was a fairly quick read as her books all seem to be on the shorter side.

My ratings for Betty Neels’ books are in a category of their own because these are my ultimate comfort reads. I can’t compare them to anything other than their siblings and this was solid and I liked it, but it was also not one of my favourites. This is one of the Betty books with the RDD and a gorgeous but kind of “in trouble” nurse. The premise is that Jane left the large hospital where she was a Sister to look after her ailing grandmother and when she loses her, she’s out of luck as her awful cousin kicks her out. Coming to her rescue is visiting Rich Dutch Doctor™️, Nik, who reluctantly can’t seem to stop trying to put her back on her feet despite his self-assessed limited interest.

This is one of the lower angst, lower drama books by this author and it was perfect for my mood. Still a mega fan and still find this these books, the ultimate comfort reads.