The winners from the the A Levels Bracket are as follows:
A Christmas Proposal
Wish With the Candles
Chain of Destiny
Three for a Wedding
A Suitable Match
Tulips for Augusta
Mistletow Kiss
Roses for Christmas
Fifth Day of Christmas
A Moon for Lavinia
A Girl Named Rose
Saturday's Child
The Most Marvelous Summer
A Gentle Awakening
When Two Paths Meet
The Magic of Living
Stormy Springtime (had no competition this week)
I had to break three ties.
- Chain of Destiny over Tangled Autumn mostly because I like the beginning so well. A houseguide named Susannah Lightfoot is a lovely thought.
- Roses for Christmas over A Matter of Chance because I enjoy that beginning so much too--munching apples in a barn and meeting that odious boy from your girlhood. Delicious.
- The Most Marvelous Summer over The Course of True Love because Matilda's last name is ffinch. (There were more reasons, of course, but it is true that I love the double f.)
The most popular books from this bracket were Tulips for Augusta and A Gentle Awakening but there seemed to be a fair amount of uneven votes which suggests that this was an easier bracket than last time.
Now on to The Hocked Locket Bracket!
As always, vote on what you can. If you're just stumbling on our TUJD March Madness, feel free to hop right in. No worries if you can only vote on one or two of the match-ups.
You genius Betties have been marvelous using my preferred voting format (votes at the top and comments on the whys and wherefores afterward.)
And here's the Book Review Archive for any refreshers you need. Let the voting begin!
George Pritchard gets no love??? I'm shocked, SHOCKED, I say.
ReplyDeleteA Christmas Wish
ReplyDeleteA Christmas Romance
Henrietta's Own Castle
A Girl in a Million
A Kiss for Julie
A Match for Sister Maggie
Heaven is Gentle
A Dream Came True
Winter Wedding
Romantic Encounter
Matilda's Wedding
Never Say Goodbye
Never Too Late
Only by Chance
Midnight Sun's Magic
Fate is Remarkable
Tempestuous April
May I just say that I was pleased to see Saturday's Child going through in the Handful of A Levels bracket. Thanks to everyone who voted for my favourite!
This week I had two major dilemmae: A Dream Came True up against The Quiet Professor was the toughest choice, but ultimately I had to go with Professor Cator and the snow rescue. Also the memorable line, "I would have eaten you with a spoon". Heaven is Gentle and Not Once but Twice are also both in my list of favourites but not as high up as the previous pair; in this case I went with Heaven is Gentle because Eliza is plucky and pert all the way through whereas Chrissie only grows a backbone at the end of Not Once but Twice. I mainly love this book because of the characters' regular reappearance throughout the canon, although Duert is dishy.
Last comment of the round: Only by Chance is a no-brainer this week because it contains my favourite line in the whole canon: "swept away by such a gust of love that he could barely keep his hands off her"...
A Christmas Wish
ReplyDeleteA Christmas Romance
Henrietta’s Own Castle
Dearest Mary Jane
A Kiss for Julie
A Match for Sister Maggy
Not Once But Twice
A Dream Came True
Winter Wedding
Romantic Encounter
Matilda’s Wedding
A Secret Infatuation
Never Too Late
Only by Chance
Paradise for Two
Fate is Remarkable
Tempestuous April
Oh, how I love Dearest Mary Jane. So very many scones; so very many sausage rolls. Dream v. Quiet was the tricky one for me. Neither is a top fave, but both are lovely, with some great moments. As a sucker for blizzards (thanks, Laura Ingalls Wilder!), I had to take Dream, though. I don’t remember which one Romantic Encounter is, but I *know* it’s better than All Else Confusion, so that was easy. Bosnia v. Poland was a bit much, Betty K – but Eugenie is more vivid an H than Isobel, so I picked her.
Betty-vdB, The Long Winter was always my favorite, too!
DeleteWhat? Five of my favourite titles wiped out?
ReplyDeleteN o o o o o o o o o o o o o ! ! !
Me, too!! *removes dagger from heart* I didn't count, so maybe it's not five but there were a few anyway-- Course of True Love is in my all-time top three.
DeleteA Christmas Wish
ReplyDeleteRing in a Teacup
A Gem of a Girl
Dearest Mary Jane
A Good Wife
The Right Kind of Girl
Not Once But Twice
A Dream Came True
Winter Wedding
All Else Confusion
Cruise to a Wedding
Never Say Goodbye
Never Too Late
Only By Chance
Midnight Sun's Magic
Fate Is Remarkable
Wedding Bells for Beatrice
Yesterday, I made my choices, leaving the three most difficult pairs for today.
• I am truly sorry, Theodosia.
• Blame it on Melanie, ℳegan, even if that may not be fair. She and Oscar the stuffed shirt got off too lightly.
• Annis & Jake pulled ahead of you, Florence.
Hey, the other Annis & Jake are also in this round! I ❤️ their story. :o)
Silly me, I meant this bracket! Tsk, tsk. All the books are in this round.
DeleteBetty Barbara votes for:
ReplyDeleteChristmas Wish
Christmas Romance
Henrietta's Own Castle
Dearest Mary Jane
A Good Wife
The Right Kind of Girl
Heaven is Gentle
A Dream Came True
Winter Wedding
Romantic Encounter
Matilda's Wedding
Secret Infatuation
Philomena's Miracle
Only by Chance
Midnight Sun's Magic
Off with the Old Love
Wedding Bells for Beatrice
I was embarrassed by how many reviews I had to re-read.(Oh! the hardship!!) I never was too good about remembering which story went with which totally inadequate or misleading title. For some of the match-ups it was a tough decision.
I agree with Betty van den Betsy--Bosnia vs Poland--gah! I ended up voting for Bosnia, but it was a hard choice. Let's hear it for Mary Jane and her fabulous fabric mice!
A Christmas Wish
ReplyDeleteA Christmas Romance
Henrietta's Own Castle
Dearest Mary Jane
A Good Wife
A Match for Sister Maggy (Dr. Paul Doelsma is worth a dozen of you, Sir Paul.)
Not Once but Twice
A Dream Came True
A Winter Love Story
Romantic Encounter
Mathilda's Wedding
A Secret Infatuation
Philomena's Miracle
Only By Chance
Midnight Sun's Magic
Fate is Remarkable
Wedding Bells for Beatrice
Many of these were easy-peasy, but A Christmas Romance v. Ring in a Teacup and Heaven is Gentle v. Not Once But Twice both tore my heart out. *sob* And yes, I know it's going to get harder.
And Betty Anonymous, I can't believe you prefer Annis and Jake the Mogul over Alexander and Florence! I'd love to hear what you love about All Else Confusion (I'm rereading it right now and am feeling underwhelmed).
A Christmas Wish
ReplyDeleteA Christmas Romance
Henrietta's Own Castle
Dearest Mary Jane
A Kiss for Julie
A Match for Sister Maggy
Heaven is Gentle
Quiet Professor
Winter Wedding
Romantic Encounter
Mathilda's Wedding
Never Say Goodbye
Philomena's Miracle
Only By Chance
Midnight Sun's Magic
Fate is Remarkable
Wedding Bells for Beatrice
Comments. The only slam dunk, not even a doubt choice for me was Winter Wedding. That one would have had to gone up against one of my top five to not be my pick. What keeps it from my top five is the incredibly dunderheaded behavior of the hero. I know your average RDD is kind of dim when it comes to the ladies, but this guy...
Anyway, other comments. I couldn't remember much about A Match for Sister Maggy, but when I realized The Right Kind of Girl had comment in it, I went with Maggy.
I know people adore Chrissy and Duert of Not Once but Twice but they kind of leave me lukewarm. I think it is because of the "she's in love with another guy but is too clueless to realize it" aspect of the story. I kind of hate those. Plus Heaven is Gentle has the most poorly designed research project ever, and as a medical librarian I have to enjoy that.
Heaven Around the Corner
ReplyDeleteA Christmas Romance
Henrietta's Own Castle
Dearest Mary Jane
A Kiss for Julie
A Match for Sister Maggy
Heaven is Gentle
The Quiet Professor
Winter Wedding
Romantic Encounter
Mathilda's Wedding
Never Say Goodbye
Never Too Late
Only By Chance
Paradise for Two
Fate is Remarkable
Tempestuous April
Heaven Around the Corner
ReplyDeleteRing in a Teacup
A Gem of a Girl
Dearest Mary Jane
A Kiss for Julie
A Match for Sister Maggy
Not Once But Twice
The Quiet Professor
A Winter Love Story
Romantic Encounter
Never Say Goodbye
Philomena's Miracle
Only By Chance
Midnight Sun's Magic
Off With the Old Love
Tempestuous April
(skip the first two pairs, haven't read three of the four)
ReplyDeleteHenrietta's Own Castle
Girl in a Million
A Kiss for Julie
Match for Sister Maggy
Not Once but Twice
A Dream Came True
Winter Love Story
Romantic Encounter
Mathilda's Wedding
Never Say Goodbye
Philomena's Miracle
(skip, haven't read April and don't particularly care for Chance)
Paradise for Two
Off with the Old Love
Tempestuous April
Two of these were virtual tossups for me, Girl in a Million/Dearest Mary Jane because I like them both about the same, and Midnight Sun/Paradise for Two because I dislike them about the same. I don't feel too strongly about any of them, just had a hard time picking one of the pair. And btw, the bracket titles are brilliant, love them.
Only By Chance
ReplyDeleteA Girl Named Rose
Hello~
I have come to read Betty Neels' works only recently, and your blog only very recently.
I have quite enjoyed her works I've read so far, but I'm afraid I haven't read enough of them to be a fair judge. Or maybe I enjoy the quaintness and outdatedness of Neelsdom more than the books themselves? Who knows.
Nice to meet you all. :)
I'm so happy you found us! Thank you for your votes!
Delete