Book Review - Code Triage

This was a new author for me but one of my favorite genres...medical fiction. I eagerly looked forward to this book. I wasn't disappointed. The main character, Dr. Leigh Stathos works as an ER doc in San Francisco. She is recovering from a broken heart and wants to focus entirely on her work. What complicates her plans are the prescence of her husband, police officer Nick Stathos. Their marriage is in trouble and Leigh is ready to file for divorce but Nick wants to try to work things out. Violence breaks out at the hospital where Leigh works and Nick is right in the middle of the resolution. There is also a "villian" who wants to have Nick for herself and see the breakup of Leigh and Nick's marriage. A subplot of the book is how Leigh negotiates encounters with this woman.

I appreciated the medical background in the book - the cases were authentic and came across as "real". I also appreciated the character flaws the author took time to write into the book. These felt like real characters instead of flat characters in a novel. I alternated being mad at Leigh and Nick and spent the book mad at the "other woman". I think it's the mark of a good book when I react to the characters. All in all, this was a good novel and I plan to look for more books by Candace Calvert.

Tyndale House provided me a free copy of this book in exchange for my fair and honest review. I received no additional compensation.

Book Review - Love's First Bloom

This was a new one for me...historical fiction. I'm not normally a fan of historical fiction, I find them boring. This book was a pleasant surprise. The main character, Ruth Livingston is the daughter of a preacher who spends his time working with prostitutes. During his work, he is accused of and tried for murder of one of the women he worked with. To protect his daughter, he sends her off to live in another town. Enter a newspaperman trying to resurrect his newswriting career. Ruth is determined to keep her secret, Jake is determined to find out if she is the missing daughter.

I won't spoil the rest of the book, but suffice to say, it is a sweet story with characters that are genuinely likeable. The author, Delia Parr, spent time developing both main characters and you came to understand why each react they way they do to the twists and turns in the novel. Being a hopeless romantic, I loved the way Jake worked behind the scenes to protect Ruth.

The ending was a bit contrived but not totally unrealistic. I definitely enjoyed this book and will be looking for more of Delia Parr's work. I'm willing to give more historical fiction a try.

Bethany House Publishers provided me a free copy of this book in exchange for my fair and honest review. I received no other compensation.