A Gentle Awakening

Rating:
Summary: The way to a man's heart is through his stomach
Review: Back Cover description: "Don't think you can come sneaking back here if you are ever out of a job!" Florina's father was furious when, after a lifetime of drudgery, she finally plucked up the courage to rebel. But there was no danger of her returning home. Florina loved her new job as cook in the household of eminent consultant William Sedley. And it wasn't long before she realized that she loved her employer, too. But she had no chance of attracting his attention when he was engaged to be married to the glamorous Wanda!

I liked this for the nice pacing of the story. Florina's character wasn't wimpy, just loyal. The buildup of the attraction between her and William was nicely paced. I did think the ending was slightly rushed, but all in all this was one of the better stories the author has written. Too bad Ms. Neels didn't include some recipes in this one.

Rating:
Summary: Malingering Father, Enabling Daughter
Review: Filial piety seems to be a vastly overrated virtue. The set up for this story is one that is all too common in real life. A family member has a health crisis, the other family members rush to help them through it. Somehow the sick person never improves; in fact they begin to enjoy ill health because of the secondary gains of attention, lack of responsibility and no need to make a living.

By staying a home, catering to her father's every whim and giving him additional financial support, Florina was actually encouraging her father to continue as an invalid. After all his heart attack had been 10 years before. It was rather disappointing that she showed no real concern for her father when she tried to extricate herself from the situation. Instead of trying to help her father achieve independence, she simple continued her enabling pattern by finding another woman (her father's sister) to continue the duties she was abandoning.

It is also clear that had the perfect job not dropped in her lap, Florina would have stayed as her father's unpaid servant. As it was she went to the home of another man as his very well paid cook.

The hero in this book also appears to be drifting into an unsuitable marriage with a woman who is clearly not a GOOD woman, with GOOD women defined as those who enjoy domestic activities-- such as cooking. The hero was arrogant enough to think that he was going to change her into something he wanted, while she was planning to change the hero. These two unsuitable people were happily separated by Florina's appearance on the scene.

In this case neither the hero or heroine needed a gentle awaking, they needed a brass band to get them up.

Rating:
Summary: Malingering Father, Enabling Daughter
Review: Filial piety seems to be a vastly overrated virtue. The set up for this story is one that is all too common in real life. A family member has a health crisis, the other family members rush to help them through it. Somehow the sick person never improves; in fact they begin to enjoy ill health because of the secondary gains of attention, lack of responsibility and no need to make a living.

By staying a home, catering to her father's every whim and giving him additional financial support, Florina was actually encouraging her father to continue as an invalid. After all his heart attack had been 10 years before. It was rather disappointing that she showed no real concern for her father when she tried to extricate herself from the situation. Instead of trying to help her father achieve independence, she simple continued her enabling pattern by finding another woman (her father's sister) to continue the duties she was abandoning.

It is also clear that had the perfect job not dropped in her lap, Florina would have stayed as her father's unpaid servant. As it was she went to the home of another man as his very well paid cook.

The hero in this book also appears to be drifting into an unsuitable marriage with a woman who is clearly not a GOOD woman, with GOOD women defined as those who enjoy domestic activities-- such as cooking. The hero was arrogant enough to think that he was going to change her into something he wanted, while she was planning to change the hero. These two unsuitable people were happily separated by Florina's appearance on the scene.

In this case neither the hero or heroine needed a gentle awaking, they needed a brass band to get them up.