Dolan of Sugar Hills

by Kate Starr

All her dreams were shattered now

Sheila was traveling to North Queensland to claim the coral isle she'd inherited, when she met Cane Dolan.

Overbearing, infuriating, but undeniably attractive, Cane bluntly informed her of the truth: the coral isle was leased - and to Cane himself!

Sheila had no choice but to accept his offer of help, at least until she could make other plans. Falling in love with the enigmatic Cane definitely wasn't among them....

Genres: Harlequin Romance

189 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1961

About the author

Enid Joyce Owen Dingwell, née Starr, was born on 1908 in Ryde, New South Wales, Australia. She wrote as Joyce Dingwell and Kate Starr at 80 romance novels at Mills & Boon from 1931 to 1986. She was the first Austalian writer, who lives in Australia, published at Mills & Boon. Her novel The House in the Timberwood (1959), had been made into a motion picture: The Winds of Jarrah (1983). Her work was particularly notable for its use of the Australian land, culture, and people. She passed away on 2 August 1997 in Kincumber, New South Wales.

Reviews

[Margo · Rating 1 out of 5]

Complicated backstory, annoying OW who annoyingly murmured childlike, mystical sounding things and whose illness dictated everyone's behavior, H who was outraged that the h couldn't understand what was going on in the immensely complicated, bizarre situation she had been drawn into. A complete disaster.

[Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

The H says to the h “This is my wife.”
Jump a bit ahead
The H says to the h “How could you possibly think she was my wife?”
Talk about experiencing a cyclone, this book was one. The story comes at you from all sides. And when the H keeps calling the girl a fool, all you can think is that she’s not the only one.

[Henji · Rating 2 out of 5]

My head hurts. Nothing made sense to me. It's a shame because the romance build-up was really good.

[Last Chance Saloon · Rating 4 out of 5]

This had a fabulous beginning and the last two pages were wonderful, but the story was spoiled by a gothic type interlude on the island and the dramatic characters who lived there.
The train and cane parts are charming, sweet and all you would expect from a Joyce Dingwell story. However, the confusion about who is living on the island (it's obviously not his wife as the author never writes depressing stories like that) and the focus changing from the couple to the demented aunt and girl spoils the flow. Suddenly everything is about the backstory that we learn gradually, and when they meet again, it's still present and overwhelming to the tender emotions of the main characters.
Still, the heroine is great and the hero is built on heroic proportions - you can't blame a girl for falling for him!
3 1/2 stars