Customer Reviews

Victory for Victoria

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BACK COVER: "She needed to believe in herself !
Victoria was a very pretty girl, but with three sisters even prettier than she, Victoria had developed a bit of a complex about her looks. So when attractive Alexander van Schuylen made it clear he liked her, and admired her efficiency at her job, she really didn't expect any more from him - he was so impressed with her sisters' beauty, how could she ? But if his feelings for Victoria did run deep, she could be in danger of losing him, entirely through her own fault."

I must admit to a fondness for Betty Neels' Cinderella stories, but I found this deviation from that theme equally satisfying and fun. This story will make you smile and sigh and hold your breath and cry. The heroine is a self deprecating lovely young woman who wants desperately to believe that her love can be returned. But being a hard working realistic person, she is afraid to believe in happily ever after when other facts and "truths" seem to fly in the face of her dream. This is a wonderful story of a too-stoic hero, his wicked tricky girlfriend, an equally wicked cocky young doctor who fancies the heroine, and the wonderful tangle that can be made with stolen mail and slick lies and missed opportunities. But most of all, it is the story of a lovely, kind heroine who finds her courage to go after the man she loves. Her tenacity and spunk will make your day !
A treat for loyal Neels readers and a fun introduction to new readers.

Walking near her home while on vacation, Victoria Parsons meets Alexander van Schulyen. Alexander, a Dutch physician, is attracted to Victoria, even tracking her down to the hospital where she works as a nurse. Alexander starts dating Victoria and makes it clear that he cares about her, however Victoria is beautiful but insecure about her looks since she has three sisters who are even more attractive than she is and worries that Alexander will fall in love with someone more beautiful than she is. On top of that, Doctor Jeremy Blake, who is also attracted to Victoria, does everything he can to break up the romance, as does Nina de Ruiter who would like to marry Alexander. Will Alexander be able to convince Victoria that his love is real?

Although I always enjoy reading Betty Neels, "Victory for Victoria" was not one of my favorites. Victoria comes across as being a bit vain and too much into her good looks. The romance between Victoria and Alexander is very believable, with a lot more kissing than Neels usually has in her books. The romance is so believable, in fact, that it's hard to understand why Victoria is so uncertain about Alexander's feelings for her. Having not one but two people trying to ruin the romance is a different and nice touch, although Jeremy Blake could have been more developed as a character and Nina is a bit too quick to explain her actions to Victoria.

"Victory for Victoria" is a nice romance, but not one of Betty Neels' best books.

Another wonderful Betty Neels classic!

Description from the book back cover:

'You'd be quite a pretty girl if you smiled more often.' The arrogant Dr. Alexander van Schuylen's remark makes Staff Nurse Victoria Parsons gasp with indignation. In fact, she is remarkably pretty - and she would be a fool not to know it. The infuriating, attractive Dutch doctor obviously admires her efficiency at her job, but why in spite of the attention he pays her does she seem to have no effect at all on his heart?