Nothing Ventured

October 12, 2015
With vocabulary and a prose style reminiscent of the early 20th-century children’s fiction churned out under the name Laura Lee Hope, Douglas (The Tenement Girl) presents the literally and figuratively bloodless romantic experience of Isla Scott, a hospital nurse who takes a position at a hydro, a spa advertising cures through baths and steam. The setting is 1925 Scotland, but aside from an occasional och or nae inserted erratically in the dialogue, there’s little to distinguish it from any other place or time. Isla’s competitive foil is Trina, a waitress in the patients’ dining room whose job is not notably different from Isla’s. Trina is toying with Isla’s besotted brother, the hydro’s gymnasium manager, and though Isla disapproves of his silliness, she herself falls quickly for a new doctor, Grant Revie. Constantly in the background, however, is Mark Kinnaird, a melancholy patient who is Isla’s main charge. Setting up the character pairings takes half the book; the rest moves no more quickly. The mannered innocence and unchallenged acceptance of oppressive social norms grate from the first page.

November 15, 2015
Douglas' (A Silver Lining, 2014) latest is set in a small Scottish town that is home to a hydro, a private hospital that offers hydrotherapy for various ailments. This approach was considered fashionable among the wealthy during the mid-1920s. Boyd Scott is the physical-education director at the hydro, and he convinces his sister, Isla, a nurse, to join him. The work is pleasant, the other staff members are friendly, and soon Isla and Boyd have each found romance among their coworkers. Isla is wooed by the hospital's new, young doctor, Grant Revie, and Boyd is completely taken by a stunning waitress, Trina. Dr. Revie and Trina are not quite who they seem, however, and they just may leave the Scott siblings heartbroken. Scottish author Douglas will please her fans and all who enjoy sweet and sentimental historical romances as she guides Isla and Boyd to their true callings and true loves.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)