Thursday, May 31, 2012

Trauma Plan by Candace Calvert

Trauma Plan
by Candace Calvert
Grace Medical, Book 1
Contemporary Christian / Romance
Available May 2012
Tyndale House
416 pages



About the Book
Sidelined by injuries from a vicious assault, chaplain Riley Hale is determined to return to her former duties as an ER nurse. But how can she show she’s competent when the hospital won’t let her attempt even simple tasks? Determined to prove herself, Riley volunteers at a controversial urban free clinic despite her fears about the maverick doctor in charge.

Dr. Jack Travis defends his clinic like he’s commander of the Alamo. He’ll fight the community’s efforts to shut its doors, even if he must use Riley Hale’s influential family name to make it happen.

As Riley strives to regain her skills, Jack finds that she shares his compassion—and stirs his lonely heart. Riley senses that beneath Jack’s rough exterior is a man she can believe in. But when clinic protests escalate and questions surface about his past, Jack goes into battle mode and Riley wonders if it’s dangerous to trust him with her heart.

My Thoughts
What is it about this medical suspense genre that I love so much? And Candace Calvert in particular! Perhaps it's because I feel like she combines the drama (medical and personal!) of shows like ER or Grey's Anatomy with realistic characters, sweet romance, and intriguing mysteries—all against a backdrop of faith. Trauma Plan is no exception.

Riley desperately wants to return to her former duties as an ER trauma nurse. However, injuries have sidelined her and she feels "stuck" in her job as ER chaplain. When Dr. Jack Travis gives her an opportunity to prove herself and hone her skills at his free clinic, she reluctantly accepts his offer. Between the community trying to shut the clinic down and the tension between Riley and Jack, sparks are flying everywhere! As they get to know each other, a fragile trust forms—and is jeopardized when Jack's past comes out.

Wow. Candace Calvert delivers again in Trauma Plan. Riley and Jack were fantastic characters, and I loved getting both of their perspectives throughout the book. Candace does a great job of creating flawed characters that are likeable yet real. The secondary characters in this novel were excellent as well and at times stole the show. Bandy, the formerly homeless man who helps at the shelter, and his gimpy dog Hobo were wonderful additions to this cast of characters. While the book wasn't as suspenseful as I expected, the romance and faith elements were strong and it worked out to be the perfect mix.

As always I highly recommend this Candace Calvert novel and look forward to reading more in this series!  [5 stars]

I received a free copy of this book from Tyndale House in exchange for my fair and honest review.

About the Author
Candace Calvert is a former ER nurse who believes love, laughter and faith are the best medicines. Her Mercy Hospital and Grace Medical series offer readers a chance to "scrub in" on the exciting world of emergency medicine—along with a soul-soothing prescription for hope. Wife, mother, and very proud grandmother, she makes her home in northern California.

Candace Calvert Online
Website  |  Blog  |  Facebook  |  Twitter

2 comments:

  1. Wow! I must read this! I've read her other medical dramas and loved them all so I'm glad to hear this is great too. :-)

    xoxo~ Renee

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thank you SO much, Brooke, for this enthusiastic and thoughtful review--such an honor to have you read and review my newest book.
    RENEE: (waving) Hi there, friend--good to "see" you here. :-)

    ReplyDelete

I love comments! Thanks for letting me know what you think!

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...

Labels

(in)courage (in)mercy 1 star 12 Pearls of Christmas 12 Pearls of Christmas 2012 12 Pearls of Christmas 2013 2 star 2 stars 2.5 stars 2012 Review 3 stars 3.5 stars 4 stars 4.5 stars 5 Minute Friday 5 stars A Year of Weddings Abingdon Press Advent Announcements ARC August Author B-H Books Banned Books Week Barbour Publishing BBAW 2012 beauty Bethany House Blitz Blog Action Day blog hop Blog Mooch Blog Tour Blogaversary Blogging Blogging for Change Blogside Chat Book Blast Book Club Book Trailer Thursday Bout of Books Bout of Books 11.0 Bout of Books 13.0 Bout of Books 7.0 Bout of Books 8.0 Bout of Books 9.0 Brookes Faves celebration Center Street CFBA challenge accepted Character Meet and Greet Charisma Media Children's Christian Speaker Services christianaudio Christmas Christy Awards Clean Sweet community Compassion Compassion Blog Month Contemporary Countdown to Christmas Cover Love Cover Reveal Dani Pettrey David C. Cook Devotion Devotional DiAnn Mills DNF Easter Egg Blog Hop End of Summer Read-A-Thon Etsy Events Faith Words Fall Into Reading 2012 FB Chat Fiction FIRST Food Freebies Friday Five Getting To Know You Giveaway Giveaway Hop Glass Road PR goals Grand Finale Great Escapes Guest Blogger Guideposts Books Harlequin Heartwarming Harvest House High Summer Read-A-Thon Historical home goods Hope International Howard Books If the Shoe Fits Influenster Inspired Design Publications Jody Hedlund Jolly VoxBox Just for Fun Kenya Kregel Publications Literacy Read-A-Thon LitFuse Publicity Looking Ahead Love for Books Love Inspired Mailbox Fun Month in Review Moody Publishers Mother of Pearl Mother of Pearl 2013 Movie Music NavPress Net Galley New Hope Publishers New Leaf Publishers New Release Feature Non-Fiction Operation Christmas Child pinterest pray pray for the horn Prism Book Tours Promo Random Random House Random Question RCCleanup read-a-thon Reading Cram reflections Reformation Trust Release Day Retirement Community Revell Review in Haiku River North Road to the Christys Road Trip Romance Samaritan's Purse Sandra Byrd Sandra D Bricker Sandra Leesmith scripture Secret Church shutterfly snacks Snappy Reviews Sneak Peek Spring Break '11 Spring Reading Thing SSMT SSMT 2013 Sterling Summer Lovin' Read-A-Thon summer reading Summerside Press Susan May Warren Suspense Take a Chance on Me Tamera Alexander Tanzania Teaser Tuesday Tens List The B-B Media Group The Story Behind the Story The Travel Bug The Word Thomas Nelson Thursday 3 Top 10 Top Picks Top Ten Tuesday Trailer Tricia Goyer Tyndale House Waiting on Wednesday WaterBrook Multnomah webcast WestBow Press What Are You Reading What's Next Whitaker House WinePress Publishing World Watch List WWW Wednesdays YA Young Adult Zondervan
Powered by Blogger.