Back Cover description: Second Thoughts. It was love at first sight for Britannia Smith when she met Professor Jake Luitingh van Thien and she shamelessly followed him to Holland, hoping to see more of him. She succeeded--and to her joy, he proposed! But just when all seemed perfect, she met Madeleine de Venz. In every way Madeleine was right for Jake, and Britannia became more convinced that to go ahead with the wedding might ruin Jake's life.

I almost didn't read this one. The back cover description makes it seem as if she is a stalker. She winds up in Holland, but she goes with a friend. The story is filled with descriptions of the area, clothes and food. It is the same story as always--a bit of Cinderella--but always enjoyable. Britianna is strong and likable. Jake is a prince--what more do we need.

A true Cinderella story about a girl who looks after her parents and wonders if the man she is engaged to is truly in love with her or wants to marry her for her parents decrepit but much-loved manor. Then there is the new village doctor that keeps coming to her rescue.... A great Neels story!

Back Cover description: She had nowhere to turn. After her parent's deaths, and her brother's departure for Canada, Jemima had no choice but to make a new life for herself. As she wasn't trained for anything, that wasn't going to be easy! On the whole, she realized she had been very lucky to be taken on as companion-help to old Lady Manderly, but still, Jemima knew that her life was somehow unsatisfactory, and she felt unfulfilled. That might, of course, have something to do with Lady Manderly's nephew--Professor Alexander Cator!

This heroine has a strong character and can stand up for herself. Nicely plotted and the romance developes in stages. I liked this Jemima and it's always satisfying to see how the hero falls in love.

I have always loved Wildflowers, especially those with whimsical names and I teach Kindergarten. What a wonderful book to share nature with children. The illustrations are bright, accurate to the flowers, delightful to children and the text is simple and rhymes. My class learned all the names after only 3 readings!

Storyline is in keeping with the other more than 100 Betty Neels I have but it just didn't seem 100% Neels. It is almost if someone has ghost written it. The plot did not go along as smoothly as all the other Neelses. Cannot quite put my finger on every discrepancy, but there are several. Despite that I enjoyed the story.

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.

Back Cover description: Unlike her two bright go-getting sisters, Lucy's goal was to find a man she loved and settle down with him to a life of happy domesticity.
But Mr. Right seemed to be peculiarly elusive. Until the day that Lucy encountered the eminent pediatrician William Thurloe and fell head-over-heels in love with him.
Not that she had the faintest hope of attracting his interest. Especially with the glamorous Fiona as direct competition. And yet Lucy knew there had to be some way of making William notice her....

One of the better books by this author. William is a doctor, and Lucy is working at an orphanage. She lives home with parents and sisters and unlike a lot of Ms. Neels' heroines, doesn't need the income. The plot moves along, William is one of the nicer heroes this author has written and the ending is very good. Try it.

This isn't one of Betty Neels' most memorable books. I read it last month and had to look it over to recall the details. It was a gentle, "clean" romance with a pretty predictable plot. I am a bit biased because I much prefer her earlier English nurse/Dutch doctor romances. For those who haven't had a chance to really "experience" Betty Neels, Harlequin is coming out with a series of reprints of some of her earlier novels under "The Best of Betty Neels" series. Next month Tangled Autumn is coming out, and in the fall, The Fifth Day of Christmas will be out. These are two of my favorite classics. An Ideal Wife is a sweet little book, but doesn't have the memorable characters or plot of some of the other Neels books. Entertaining, and worth the few dollars it cost, but not one that will be on the top of my list to re-read.

David-Neel, Alexandra. Possibly the first European woman to do the three year+ retreat, died at the age of 102 in 1969. Her Initiates and Initiations, published in 1931 and translated from the original French Initiations Lamaiques is one of the earliest attempts to explain honestly to the much-obfuscated Western mind (viz. the term lamaique), the nature of the ongoing process that is the method employed by Vajrayana teachers. She understood how less educated Tibetans viewed certain teachings compared with the perceptions of the intellectuals. The chapter on the intelligentsia exists only in the English version, by the way.

Her knowledge of the other Buddhist traditions and of the history of early Buddhism enabled her to attempt to trace the evolution of concepts such as that of Nirvana, for example. She clearly exposed the difference in interpretation by Buddhists of terms that may have had their origins in Hinduism. Her knowledge of Sanskrit and Tibetan enabled her to discuss the different connotations that an expression has even though it seems to refer to the same idea. She had a good grasp of the history of the Kagyu and the other lineages, and showed a surprisingly sophisticated view of the history of Tibet and its relations with its neighbours. Interesting, too, or should I say again, were her observations on the position of the young Dalai Lama in those early days. This edition was printed in 1973 by Ryder in London.

I liked the book, but then I love Betty Neels' books, I read everyone I get my hands on. It was a little shorter than most of her stories, because it is combined with another book. It was neat where she let you know a little more of what the Hero was thinking, than she usually does. If you really like Betty Neels, You will like this book.