Showing posts with label Author: Candace Calvert. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Author: Candace Calvert. Show all posts

Sunday, September 26, 2010

Code Triage by Candace Calvert

Code Triage (Mercy Hospital)


I just love a good romance novel and Code Triage (Mercy Hospital) certainly filled the bill.  Leigh is an ER doctor and loves her horse.  Nick is her husband, but their divorce will be final soon.  He is a police officer.  While they were first separated, but hadn't decided to divorce, Nick had a one-night stand with the sister of his best friend.  Once Leigh learned this, she decided that divorce was the only solution.  He wants her back, but she refuses to let him get close.  Then one day there is a crisis at the hospital that involves Leigh, Nick and  the other woman.  How will things resolve?

All the main characters in Code Triage (Mercy Hospital) have been deeply hurt and/or abandoned by the people in their past.  Learning to lean on loved ones and on God doesn't come easily to any of them.  

For most of the book you'd barely realize you were reading a Christian romance. A couple of the characters are chaplains, but if you didn't know the term had a religious meaning, you'd guess they were some sort of counselors.  There is a mention of a prayer group and a couple of quick prayers by characters, but for most of the book, this book is about Christians more than it is about Christianity.  At the end, when everything is being tied up neatly, there is a chapter that is pretty heavy on the faith elements--the need to have God as part of the marriage, trusting in Him, etc. 

This book is number three in a series and while there is some vague sense at the beginning of the book that there may be some backstory you are missing, you don't need to read the other two books to enjoy this one.  At the end there is kind of a wrap-up chapter that catches you up with the couples from the other two books, and if you haven't read them, you'll kind of wonder why these strangers get all those lines at the end of the book, but if you are a fan of the series, you'll enjoy that quick "catch-up".  

Grade:  B+

I'd like to thank the Tyndale Blog Network for providing a review copy of the book.  I was not obligated to write a positive review-I really did enjoy this book.  You can read my reviews of Calvert's other books by clicking on the titles:  Critical Care and Disaster Status

Sunday, March 21, 2010

Disaster Status: A Book Review

Disaster Status (Mercy Hospital, Book 2)  Since I enjoyed Candance Calverts's Critical Care (Mercy Hospital, Book 1) so much (my review), I jumped at the chance to read book 2 in the series.  Disaster Status (Mercy Hospital, Book 2) is about  Erin Quinn and Scott McKenna.  They meet when he is trying to keep her out of the ER during an emergency.  She had been called in on her day off and had forgotten her ID.  Both Erin and Scott have been hurt recently; both are afraid to let go of the hurt to love again, but....

I really liked the book.  Unlike some Christian romance, this is far more about romance than about Christianity.  The characters seem real, not like some paragons of virtue.  It is a clean romance (and sometimes those can hotter than those that don't leave anything to the imagination, since love and attraction can't be shown by sending the characters to bed).  The topic of PTSD is addressed, and forgiveness of self and others is a major theme.  While Christian romance, it is one that any romance reader could enjoy, unless vivid bedroom scenes are necessary for you to enjoy a romance.

This book will be toured by First Wildcard on April 6.  Check back then to read the first chapter.

Grade:  B+

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