Nurse at Cap Flamingo

by Violet Winspear

Nurse Fern Heatherly had travelled from England to California with a patient and then decided she might as well stay for a while, so she accepted the job of looking after the elderly Miss Kingdom. Her troubles began when Miss Kingdom's nephew was seen leaving Fern's room in the early hours of the morning. It was all completely innocent, but Ross chivalrously insisted on marrying her to protect her reputation. But Fern, being very much in love with him, wanted a better reason than that.

Genres: Harlequin, Romance, Harlequin Romance

192 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1964

About the author

Violet Winspear was a British author renowned for her prolific output of romance novels, publishing seventy titles with Mills & Boon between 1961 and 1987. In 1973, she became a launch author for the Mills & Boon-Harlequin Presents line, known for its more sexually explicit content, alongside Anne Mather and Anne Hampson, two of the most popular and prolific British romance writers of the time. Winspear began writing while working in a factory and became a full-time novelist in 1963, producing her works from her home in South East England, researching exotic settings at her local library. She famously described her heroes as lean, strong, and captivating, “in need of love but capable of breathtaking passion and potency,” a characterization that provoked controversy in 1970 when she stated that her male protagonists were “capable of rape,” leading to considerable public backlash. Her novels are celebrated for their vivid, globe-spanning settings and dramatic tension, often employing sexual antagonism to heighten conflict between the alpha male hero and the heroine, who is frequently portrayed as naïve or overwhelmed by his dominance. Winspear never married or had children, and she passed away in January 1989 after a long battle with cancer, leaving a lasting influence on the romance genre.

Reviews

[Naksed · Rating 1 out of 5]

I wonder if this was one of Violet Winspear's earlier efforts or if it was the setting in California that made the writing seem so clunky but in any case, this was the rare story that left me absolutely cold. The characters were wooden cut-outs, the marriage of convenience contrivance ridiculous, and I simply did not care for the resolution of all the protagonists' many problems. It is a wonder I even managed to finish the story.

[LLC · Rating 3 out of 5]

You know I hate soap operas, both daytime and night time but I love old hqn's. I just realized that old hqn's are like soap operas so I can't figure out why I like them so much. The over the top drama drives me crazy on t.v. but seems to work for me in hqn's.
So in this one we have MOC to defray a possible scandal which doesn't seem all that probable in a book written in 1965. We have a couple of misunderstandings as the result of the most improbable unlucky circumstances. I mean the heroine happens to run into an old flame at a carnival/parade in another town. She had gone because she was lonely because husband was out of town. They get caught in an epic rainstorm which floods the town and strands all of the people in town for the festival. They stay in a hotel, in separate rooms, totally innocent. The next day as they are leaving the bellboy rushes up with her bracelet that he had found in om's room. He had it in his pocket because the clasp had broken while they were watching parade. This all happens in front of a woman from the h's community who happened to be there also. They don't see her but she is the biggest gossip in the universe, so that takes care of that. There are other dramas to play out but they all result in H/h separation. Fortunately true love and common sense prevail and a HEA is achieved. I liked it as usual. Everything is predictable and you don't really ever need to read an old hqn to know what will happen but just like people who are hooked on daytime soaps we love them and just have to keep on reading.

[Live2Read · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was utterly and horrifically boring. Well, it didn’t quite begin that way but because how straightforward the story was written and told one can never be lost in it. I, only, lost interest.

Here, we get all and odd little bits of POVs. It was rare, very rare, for the line. We see head snippets of both MCs as well as others like the aunt, cousin, sister, OM/OW, general population and servants. The execution was very boring, lacking angst and intrigue. It didn’t help that Ross was very beta, just a nice fella. And Fern was pretty and good-natured, decently a heroine. That’s all.

[RomLibrary]

Nurse Fern Heatherly had travelled from England to California with a patient and then decided she might as well stay for a while, so she accepted the job of looking after the elderly Miss Kingdom. Her troubles began when Miss Kingdom's nephew was seen leaving Fern's room in the early hours of the morning. It was all completely innocent, but Ross chivalrously insisted on marrying her to protect her reputation. But Fern, being very much in love with him, wanted a better reason than that.

[Helen Vilaranda · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this. A little slow to start, but once it got going it was good!

[Michelle Robinson]

I remember loving this book but I certainly don't remember why.

[Audrey Grant · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is one of the books I was given by my Mamaw years ago.

[Noemail]

Might have 2 copies

[Jayashree Jayanth · Rating 4 out of 5]

My first mills & Boons novel...I can never forget this story!