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Amy Marsh, TV Nurse

by Sarah Nichols (1972)
Amy Marsh, TV Nurse

A nursing job at a television studio wasn’t just another nursing job — and producer Judah Raymond discovered Amy wasn’t just another nurse…

What was it that was different about producer Judah Raymond so that when he kissed her, Amy felt shaken and moved in a way she never felt before?

Young, eligible Bill Hendricks had been left behind along with Summerville when Amy decided to come to New York. And her new job as a staff nurse at Universal Television had plunged her into a life of excitement and confusion. She thought she’d left her problems behind her — only now she had some she never dreamed of…

Who does producer Judah Raymond remind you of? I can’t quite place him.

He’s like equal parts Burt Reynolds and John Astin, with a little Jack Cassidy circa The Eiger Sanction.

He also looks like about 90% of the guys who Danno booked. Maria is our resident Hawaii Five-O scholar. Maybe she can help.

Nora Was a Nurse

by Peggy Gaddis (1953)
Nora Was a Nurse

She thought of herself only as a dedicated nurse until she learned she was also a woman.

“Your reasons for coming to Shellville are your own affair and I have no desire to know them,” Nurse Nora Courtney told the new young doctor — but she knew she lied both to him and to herself. Everything about Doctor Owen Baird interested her for she knew she was hopelessly and passionately in love with him.

And when beautiful Lillian Halstead set her cap for the young doctor, Nora realized she must make him see her as a desirable woman as well as an efficient nurse.

How Nora achieved her purpose and what these three handsome young people made of their lives is thrilling reading, growing to an unexpected and satisfying climax.

Oh, man! They gave away the ending!

One of the things I love about career romance fiction is that you never know how things are going to turn out.

  • Will Nurse Nora find fulfillment in her health services career?

  • Will she listen to her heart and be swept up in a whirlwind workplace romance with Dr. Baird that may or may not violate the terms and conditions of her employment and certainly runs contrary to the latest guidelines on sexual harassment laid out by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission?

  • Will Dr. Baird be able to see through the superficial facade of Lillian Halstead’s beauty and see the woman of sub-standard occupational yield underneath? (Desirable and efficient. That’s the killer combination, ladies.)

Normally, there would be no possible way for you to know the answers to those questions until the very last pages of the book, and it is that delicious unpredictability that elevates career romance fiction above other so-called literary works.

So, how can this book claim to “grow to an unexpected and satisfying climax” [emphasis mine] when the synposis clearly states that Nurse Nora “achieve[s] her purpose” in the end? Did they not have SPOILER ALERTs in 1953?

As for…

She thought of herself only as a dedicated nurse until she learned she was also a woman.

…I would have thought the bust was a dead giveaway. Did she not notice that her stethoscope didn’t hang straight?

Editor’s Note: The scanned image is an accurate representation of the book cover itself. If the type appears to be slightly askew, that’s because it is. It is not the fault of the scanning hardware or its operator (this time).

One With The Wind

by Mary Hunton (1962)
One With The Wind

Hilary wondered which was the real John Kirkall–the ambitious, apparently unfeeling surgeon who plagued her during working hours, or the hesitant man who showed occasional signs of having a heart.

Not that she was ever likely to find out. She knew that her place in his esteem had hit rock bottom.

Originally published as Surgeons at Arms.

Dr. Kirkall also showed occasional signs of wearing mascara.

And you just know those two in the background are going to be nothing but trouble.

Single Dad, Nurse Bride

by Lynne Marshall (2007)
Single Dad, Nurse Bride

Wanted: Mother for young twin girls!

Dangerously handsome Dr. Dane Hendricks certainly isn’t nurse Rikki Johansen’s usual type. For one thing, she thinks he’s arrogant and overbearing, and for another, he assumed she was scatterbrained and incapable of making good decisions. So why is he so adamant about taking her on a date?

Rikki soon discovers that Dr. Dane is actually a kind and sensitive dad, and, like her, he’s one of life’s survivors. A foster mother herself, Rikki knows she can bring Dane’s adorable twin girls — and their gorgeous dad — the happiness they deserve.

His Very Special Nurse

by Margaret McDonagh (2007)
His Very Special Nurse

The bachelor doctor’s bride…

Devastatingly handsome, dark and brooding, and with a slight Scottish burr to his deep, sexy voice… Nurse Alex Patterson can’t help but be drawn to her new boss. But her instincts tell her there is pain behind his blue eyes, and her nature tells her she must help him.

Dr. Kyle Sinclair hasn’t so much as looked at a woman since his marriage fell apart, but he is immediately attracted to this warm, caring nurse. Could she be the one to heal Kyle’s heart and help him love again?