I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy from the Author. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
What Heals the Heart
by Karen A. Wyle
Series: Cowbird Creek #1
Series Rating:
Published by Oblique Angles Press on October 15, 2019
Genres: Historical Western Romance
Pages: 266
Format: Kindle
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Get Your Copy at: Amazon
Joshua Gibbs survived the Civil War, building on his wartime experiences to become a small town doctor. And if he wakes from nightmares more often than he would like, only his dog Major is there to know it.
Then two newcomers arrive in Cowbird Creek: Clara Brook, a plain-speaking and yet enigmatic farmer’s daughter, and Freida Blum, an elderly Jewish widow from New York. Freida knows just what Joshua needs: a bride. But it shouldn’t be Clara Brook!
Joshua tries everything he can think of to discourage Freida’s efforts, including a wager: if he can find Freida a husband, she’ll stop trying to find him a wife. Will either matchmaker succeed? Or is it Clara, a woman with her own scars, who can heal the doctor’s troubled heart?
What Heals the Heart by Karen A. Wyle is a historical romance set after the Civil War, and it’s a great tale of what happens when people come back from the war and some of their issues.
Who has succeeded in their matchmaking schemes?
Joshua Gibbs
Doctor Joshua Gibbs is the only doctor in the town. He considered a doctor due to his time of service during the war. He didn’t imagine his life going this way after he finished serving his country. Joshua’s life wasn’t that good. Even though he was a doctor from a wealthy family, things weren’t always great. He had done a lot for the citizens of his small-town and even more trying to help Mrs. Blum when she needed it. These two formed an unlikely friendship, and I like seeing them bicker from the pages of the book. Even more with Freida trying to find Josh, a wife.
What I like about Joshua is that he is trying to make a livelihood for himself. He is also trying to put what he had been through in the past. Josh is a good person that doesn’t think that he is worthy of love. Finally, he realizes that he can be loved if he lets the right person in.
Clara Brook
Clara Brook was a nurse in the Civil War, and she came back to civilized life by doing it her way. She is trying to live a life without her family around. As she didn’t want to burden them with expectations that she can’t do anymore. Clara had a lesson to learn after a bit of time and something happening to both of them. I like Dr. Gibbs with Clara, especially the few times that they talked in town. She is a great person that does well around Gibbs.
What I like about Clara is that she is different than other women in their town. It is a great contrast to some of the town’s women. Clara and Joshua’s chemistry is very subtle in the beginning and wasn’t something that either of them excepted to happen.
Freida Blum
Freida Blum is a widower that moved from New York to Cowbird Creek, Nebraska, because she needed a fresh start. She never excepted to have such an active lifestyle in Cowbird Creek as she has since moving there. Making a deal with the handsome young doctor is something that she never excepted to happen. Not only that, but maybe finding someone to live with for the rest of her life. This is something that you would have seen back in those days.
Freida Blum is a great character. She is the mother figure for Joshua that he never knew that he needed. I love the unlikely friendship that has grown between these two and how much Joshua cares for her.
Three Stars
What Heals the Heart by Karen A. Wyle is a book that I thought was a bit complicated for some of the things that were happening. Small-town life even back then was hard to deal with. I liked reading about the medical profession and thinking about how it has evolved a lot since that time. Both characters had their share of unknown complications throughout their life, especially when the Civil War started.
I am giving this book three stars and recommending it to anyone that likes historical romances.
Thank you for dropping by! I hope you enjoyed this review of What Heals the Heart by Karen A. Wyle.
Until the next time,
Happy Reading!
About Karen A. Wyle
Karen A. Wyle was born a Connecticut Yankee but moved every few years throughout her childhood and adolescence. After college in California, law school in Massachusetts, and a mercifully short stint in a large San Francisco law firm, she moved to Los Angeles, where she met her now-husband, who hates L.A. They eventually settled in Bloomington, Indiana, home of Indiana University. They have two wildly creative daughters.
Wyle’s voice is the product of almost five decades of reading both literary and genre fiction. It is no doubt also influenced, although she hopes not fatally tainted, by her years of law practice. Whether writing science fiction, afterlife fantasy, or historical romance, she tends to focus on the often-intertwined themes of individual identity, liberty, family, communication, unintended consequences, and the persistence of unfinished business. She has also published one nonfiction book, a resource for authors, law students, or anyone else interested in understanding more about American law.
Reading this book contributed to these challenges:
- 2019 Goodreads Reading Challenge
- 2019 New Release Challenge
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