Reviews for Clanton's Woman

The average rating for Clanton's Woman based on 2 reviews is 3 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2017-01-04 00:00:00 Jens Seltmann I love Betty Neels' books and this particular novel will be like catnip for anyone who fancies a trip into Neels-land. Though written and ostensibly set in the 1990s, this book has something of a mid-20th century feel to it - down to a heroine in her early 20s who hasn't the faintest idea what one does with a computer. Indeed, even though Betty Neels wrote for Harlequin for several decades, her books all have something of a comfortably old-fashioned feel to them. Those who have read Neels before will recognize some familiar features in this story. We have a plucky heroine, a very competent and successful older doctor (though not a Dutch one this time) who of course has loyal retainers who dote on him, and a sweet if rather abrupt romance. In this case, our plucky heroine Deborah has spent years nursing first her mother and then her stepfather. Upon the latter's death, she finds that she has not been provided for at all and her boorish stepsiblings are bent on turning her out of the house. Fortunately, Deborah finds a position as an aide/companion to an elderly lady who has suffered a stroke. There she meets Sir James Marlow, a consulting doctor called in to see the lady who starts to become Deborah's friend and ally in the house when he sees just how much she cares for her charge. Without giving away the whole plot, I'll just say that Deborah suffers a series of employment upsets but being brave and plucky, she just keeps dusting herself off and soldiering on - qualities that endear her to James. She's not the brightest bulb out there, but she's kind, determined and good. Oh, and she has lovely eyes. Those get remarked on all throughout the text, though I did wish folks would quit harping on Deborah's otherwise being plain. So, if you're in the mood for a sweet, old-fashioned romance, sink into this one. It's a nice comfort read.

Review # 2 was written on 2011-02-03 00:00:00 ktqxqtcy catuiile Another of Betty's rescue-the-waif stories, my least favorite plot by her, and this one was just okay. It has the usual latter-day Betty elements: the vile relatives; the orphaned, homeless heroine doing her best but not quite making it independently; the rich doctor coming to her rescue again and again before finally acknowledging his insta-love and sweeping the equally insta-in-love heroine off to an HEA ending. There's way too much tell and not enough show. The story suffers for the lack of a truly independent heroine, a staple of BN's earlier nurse-heroine stories, and it made for just a meh read. We pity the heroine, but it seems likely that so does the hero--and pity is a poor substitute for love. I just never buy the HEA in these--the balance between the hero's power and the heroine's is just too uneven. While I like BN's big, Dommy heroes, they only work for me when the heroine can give as good as she gets and I have the real sense that she could walk away and take care of herself if push came to shove (and they often do exactly that, at least temporarily). BN managed to pull that off even in some of her earlier stories-- Saturday's Child comes to mind--because the characters were so rich in comparison to those in WfD. Abigail in SC was far less helpless than Deborah (indeed, her resilience was remarkable), and there's a much greater sense that she is saving the hero--from loneliness and crusty bachelordom and a loveless life--even more than he is saving her. Deborah is flat-out being rescued. I never get the sense that James really needs her. For me, the imbalance is too much. A just okay read from TGB, with a heroine who's a little too unremarkable and helpless for my taste.