The Golden Mask
Hardworking 19-yr-old heroine has been running the run-down ranch for her ailing granddad for the past 2 yrs since his finances dwindled. Hero buys their ranch & hires heroine as his housekeeper as he allows her grandfather & her to live in his ranch. Heroine's been in love with him since she was 14 when he worked as a shearer for their ranch & she's trying to hide her love for him b/c she sees that he doesn't return it, despite some kisses they shared. Her unrequited love becomes especially evident when he told her to leave after her grandfather died. She tries to move on with her life & goes to college & expand her social life. But, 3 yrs later, when she sees him again she realizes that she is far from over him.Although this wasn't an emotionally-intense romance, I liked Donald's writing about life on a New Zealand ranch. The romance development was slow, owning to hero & heroine hiding their attraction to each other & being busy with ranch life. I didn't like hero making decisions w/o heroine's input, although it was understandable b/c he wanted heroine to get some life experience & not regret being with him b/c she didn't know enough about the world. I liked that both hero & heroine stayed celibate during their 3-year separation. Sexual chemistry was ok. The kisses were ok & the sex scene occurred at the very end.
Recommended but be aware that there's a lot of info about ranching & romance had a slow pace.
