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Healing Hearts by Sarah Eden

Wyoming Territory, 1876. Running away. She has to get away before ‘he’ gets her and forces her back. A small town should do the trick, but these folks can’t learn her secret. If they do, she will be shunned and have to run all over again.

I received an ARC or review copy of this book from the author/publisher. All opinions are my own.

Title: Healing Hearts
Author: Sarah Eden
Series: Savage Wells #2
Publish Date: February 5, 2019
Genre: Proper Romance
Source: Shadow Mountain Press

Publisher’s Description: As the only doctor in the frontier town of Savage Wells, Gideon MacNamara knows his prospects for a bride are limited. The womenfolk in town are either too young, too old, or already spoken for. So, being a practical man, he decides to take advantage of the matchmaking service of the day—mail-order brides—and sends away for a woman with nursing experience.

When Miriam steps off the stagecoach in Savage Wells, she sees a bright future in front of her. But when the town—and Gideon—meets her, ready for a wedding, her excitement quickly turns to horror. Somehow Dr. MacNamara’s message had gotten turned around. He didn’t want a nurse, he wanted a wife. When she refuses to marry him, she finds herself stranded in Savage Wells with some very unhappy townspeople.

But Gideon is not like the other men Miriam has met. Embarrassed by the misunderstanding, he offers her a job, and the two begin an awkward—and often humorous—dance of getting to know each other as they work to care for the people of their town. Romance blossoms between the two, but when a former medical associate of Miriam’s arrives in town, Gideon and the other townsfolk must rally around Miriam to protect her from a dangerous fate. Gideon and Miriam must decide if they are willing to risk their hearts for each other even as buried secrets are brought to light.

Nervous Nellie’s nervousness necessitates knowledge of the novel. In other words …SPOILERS. *BEWARE*

Nervous Nellie says…

This is called a “Proper Romance”. That means there is no sex. It’s historical fiction but it’s not the hard, reality wild west that this story is set. It’s a romantic west where the men of the small town actually respect the women and all residents stand together no matter what.

I enjoyed this book because it dealt with something that not many romance books deal with. Mental health stability. Right now we are living in a time where some people still find mental health problems a thing to keep secret. They are ashamed. They shouldn’t be. Mental health issues is a malady just like cancer. There’s no cure, but there is treatments. Slowly but surely folks of this present time are being educated and these issues are talked about without shame. At least folks should be without shame.

Miriam is escaping a world that her father sent her to in order to forget the shame she brings to her elite family. Luckily, she stumbles onto Savage Wells. These folks, who live in the wild west are times far behind the east coast elite, but they all have the common sense to understand that brain trauma is a health problem just like anything else and they deal with it with acceptance.

All the folks that I was introduced to in The Sheriff of Savage Wells made an appearance. All these characters endeared themselves to me right from the start. This was not a difficult read. It was smooth and uncomplicated which made for a quick read.

Our reviews in this series…