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Retro Romance Reading: ‘The Awakened Heart’ by Betty Neels
This book is labeled THE BEST OF BETTY NEELS so I had high expectations going in. So, we’re going to compare this one to the last (and only) Betty Neels book I read, Romantic Encounter.
The Awakened Heart is a Harlequin novel published in 1993. Betty Neels appears to be a prolific romance writer, and from what I can tell she writes a lot about nurses marrying doctors. Her books seem to follow a pattern.
Anyway, here’s the blurb.
“Shouldn’t there be love, as well?”
Devastated by a love affair that had gone wrong, Sophie was determined to avoid any more heartache. Then one day the brilliant brain surgeon Rijk van Taak appeared in her life. He, too, had been hurt in the past — and made it clear that he now wanted a companion rather than a wife. Sophie was pleased to accept his proposal on that basis alone — but her heart seemed to have other ideas!
The Best Meal in this Book
A pot of tea, tin of beans, and a poached egg. Is it the biggest and tastiest meal Neels describes? No. But it’s humble, and I like it.
