REVIEW: Fate is Remarkable by Betty Neels
Sarah had worked with Hugo van Elven for a long time, and she was astounded when he suddenly proposed to her.
Sarah Dunn and Hugo van Elven were married for the wrong reasons. Even if it was just a marriage of convenience.
They were both recovering from unhappy love affairs. Sarah was looking for comfort and companionship; for Hugo marriage was a social necessity.
Serious complications set in when fate swept unexpectedly through their lives!
Review
I’m torn about this book. On the one hand there are so many classic elements of the Neelsverse. On the other hand, many of these are taken to extremes. Since it’s an early effort from her, perhaps Betty just hadn’t decided how far to take things. But I did learn some things such as what a potato clamp is and why our hero Hugo chose to drive an Iso Grifo.
Nurse Sarah is competent beyond belief as she runs an OPD (out-patient department) in a London hospital. Many doctors and surgeons (who in the UK are not called Dr. but Mr.) swan through it on different days but Dr. Hugo Van Elven, always with a patient list up to his tall eyebrows, is cool and calm in the face of anything. When one of his elderly patients refused admission to the hospital, Hugo is ready to intervene by offering to take the woman’s scruffy cat for the duration of her stay.
Sarah is astounded at his actions and angry when her long time boyfriend (she’s waited three years on this schmuck) mocks them. Steven shows his true colors when he throws Sarah over for the daughter of his chief consultant (US = Attending) surgeon Mr. Binns and then keeps savagely sneaking up on Sarah seemingly trying to get a rise out of her after she remains icily cool at his actions. A sharp slap from Sarah (just give it up, Steven) and Hugo’s warning to the young asshat finally sends him off. Good luck with this one, Miss Binns and keep hold of the pursestrings after the wedding.
What astonishes Sarah next is Hugo’s matter-of-fact marriage proposal. Yes, they’ll do well together as each has suffered heartbreak and neither is looking for love. A MOC it is, then. Sarah and Hugo settle into his lovely Richmond home, look after Mrs. Brown until she finally succumbs to her illness and they permanently take in Timmy the Cat, then take off on a long holiday to Holland to meet Hugo’s family before driving down to the south of France to meet the youngest sister. The Iso Grifo comes in handy (with its Italian styling and American powertrain that allows it to reach 68 mph in first gear – Wikipedia). Much shopping and eating at fine restaurants ensues plus Hugo calls Sarah dishy. And doesn’t that tell us all we need to know about Hugo’s feelings?
But as Sarah realizes that she’s over Steven, a new reason for her and Hugo to keep not telling each other what they really feel arrives.
Having read a number of Neels books I can spot the hero who has fallen for his heroine because of course Hugo has. He just won’t tell Sarah yet for Reasons. Meanwhile Sarah slowly discovers what a Prince Among Men Hugo is and it’s not just for his deep pockets, the lovely family jewelry he gifts her with, and the wonderful places he takes her. But she can’t tell him she loves him because of Reasons.
These two take the fine art of Big Misunderstandings to Olympic medal level. Yes, there are moments when one is about to spill the beans to the other when Something Interrupts but these times are far outweighed by deliberate efforts to change the subject and put off for another day any kind of conversation to clear the air. Gosh yes I wanted to shake them. Meanwhile we do learn all the wonderful food they eat and the lovely things and clothes that Sarah buys or that Hugo buys for her. But please remember that’s not the reason Sarah loves him and Hugo knows this.
Part of me applauds Hugo for the masterful way he doesn’t rush his fences with Sarah (though remember he called her dishy in a moment of weakness) and part of me eventually wanted to yell at him to “Get on with it!” The final quarter of the book is taut with the tension of the break up I knew was coming before the makeup I also knew was coming because Hugo and Sarah are deeply in love without knowing how the other feels. Sigh. At times they’re so damn polite with each other I could have screamed. But once the air is (finally!) cleared, I’ll bet they got right to work trying to fill that nursery. B
~Jayne
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@Jayne, your review is a delight.
@LML: Why, thank you. For some reason, reviews for Neels books just seem to flow.