Within My Heart

I must apologize because I am going to be reviewing quite of few of those silly historical fiction romance novels over the next few days.  You see, what I like about Bethany House's blogger review program is that they send out an email every few months or so with a list of books available for review, and you can request all of them at the same time- and generally receive each and every one.  And you know me, I'm not about to turn down free books...well, sometimes I would.  At any rate, Bethany House sent me five books this round and so I've been working my way through them this week.  Usually, it only takes me a few hours to get through books like these, so it's nice I can whip through them, write the review, and promptly await the next email from Bethany House.

I started and finished Within My Heart by Tamera Alexander last night (this is what happens when your husband works on a Friday night and you have no money to go out gallivanting around town on your own), and I was quite impressed with the story; the book is part of the Timber Ridge Reflections series, which tells the stories of different individuals living in a town of Timber Ridge in the Colorado Rockies.  It's one of those unique series where you can only read one book and not necessarily get lost.  Alexander alludes to the different story lines from other books, but always explains enough of the details so that the reader is not completely confused (but still snagging your interest just enough so you want to go and read the other books).

This particular story in the Timber Ridge series is that of Rachel Boyd, a young widow trying to fulfill her late husband's dream of owning a working and profitable ranch.  She struggles with daily life on the ranch while trying to take care of her too young boys as they still cope with their father's death two years before.  When one of her dearest friends in the town becomes seriously ill, she's forced to trust the town doctor Rand Brookston, a man whom she simply wishes to avoid.  He's a physician- just like her father- and that tells her everything she needs to know about the man.

Dr. Brookston graduated from one of the top medical schools in the east and turning down numerous prestigious job offers at large respected hospitals, ventured west with the dream of bringing modern medicine to the wilds of the Colorado Rockies.  When a patient's life is threatened, Brookston makes the decision to perform a new and complicated surgery, hoping and praying it's the right idea.

I like the stories set on the frontier- something about people leaving behind the 'ease' of life in the east to hack it out where life is difficult and demanding- always seemed rather inspiring to me.  One of the best things about this book was how Alexander described the beauty of the Rockies.  I was fortunate to live there for a few years, and can quite honestly confess it is one of the most beautiful landscapes I have ever seen.  I can only imagine how life would be there without running water, indoor plumbing, or paved roads.  Still, the pristine beauty must have been a fair trade-off for most people.

Of course, you know from the outset what the book's ending will be, but just because you know the ending already doesn't mean you shouldn't go along for the journey, right?

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Bethany House Publishers as part of their Blogger Review Program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."