"The Doctor's Lady" Book Review

This week, the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance is introducing The Doctor's Lady Bethany House (September 1, 2011) by Jody Hedlund

MY REVIEW:
I am fond of historical fiction but in the hands of certain writers I love historical fiction. After reading her 1st two books, I have decided that Jody Hedlund is one the historical fiction writers that I love. She has a penchant for taking a true story and fictionalizing it to life. That is what she has done here. The story of Marcus and Narcissa Whitman (whom I had heard of but didn't really know anything about) comes to life in the telling of Priscilla White and Dr. Eli Ernest. These two unlikely people that have a joint desire to serve in the missionary field and marry for convenience so they can accomplish that goal, come together and set out to cross the Continental Divide and establish a mission with the Nez Perce Indians. The hardships and trials that befall them along the way kept me quickly turning the pages and racing to see how it would end. One of my favorite parts of Jody's books are at the end when she writes about what was real and what was fiction in the book. In this particular case it was the things that I figured she made up that turned out to be true and the things that I figured were true turned out to be fiction. And the entire story was so beautifully written and crafted that I find myself wishing her next book was releasing now.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Jody has written novels for the last 18 years (with a hiatus when her children were young). After many years of writing and honing her skills, she finally garnered national attention with her double final in the Genesis Contest, a fiction-writing contest for unpublished writers through ACFW (American Christian Fiction Writers).

Her first published book, The Preacher’s Bride (2010 Bethany House Publishers), hit the CBA Best Seller list on two different occasions and has won multiple awards.

Her second book, The Doctor’s Lady, released this September. She has completed a third book which will be released in 2012. She’s currently busy researching and writing another book!

ABOUT THE BOOK

Priscilla White knows she'll never be a wife or mother and feels God's call to the mission field in India. Dr. Eli Ernest is back from Oregon Country only long enough to raise awareness of missions to the natives before heading out West once more. But then Priscilla and Eli both receive news from the mission board: No longer will they send unmarried men and women into the field.

Left scrambling for options, the two realize the other might be the answer to their needs. Priscilla and Eli agree to a partnership, a marriage in name only that will allow them to follow God's leading into the mission field. But as they journey west, this decision will be tested by the hardships of the trip and by the unexpected turnings of their hearts.

If you would like to read the first chapter of The Doctor's Lady, go HERE.

Watch the book trailer: