Monday, March 6, 2017

Results and The Hocked Locket Bracket

First things first. I tabulated the results of the first elimination round for A Handful of A Levels Bracket and, given the late Oscar unpleasantness, I can guarantee the results at least as well as Pricewaterhouse Coopers.


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!

16 comments:

  1. George Pritchard gets no love??? I'm shocked, SHOCKED, I say.

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  2. A Christmas Wish
    A 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"...

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  3. A Christmas Wish
    A 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.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Betty-vdB, The Long Winter was always my favorite, too!

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  4. What? Five of my favourite titles wiped out?

    N o o o o o o o o o o o o o ! ! !

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. 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.

      Delete
  5. A Christmas Wish
    Ring 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)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Silly me, I meant this bracket! Tsk, tsk. All the books are in this round.

      Delete
  6. Betty Barbara votes for:

    Christmas 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!

    ReplyDelete
  7. A Christmas Wish
    A 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).

    ReplyDelete
  8. A Christmas Wish
    A 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.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Heaven Around the Corner

    A 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

    ReplyDelete
  10. Heaven Around the Corner

    Ring 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

    ReplyDelete
  11. (skip the first two pairs, haven't read three of the four)
    Henrietta'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.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Only By Chance
    A 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. :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm so happy you found us! Thank you for your votes!

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