Critical Care, by Candace Calvert And a Giveaway

For the purposes of the FTC rule, I actually won this book from the author, and reviewing it was my own idea. :-)

They say you can't judge a book by its cover, but we do. When I ran across this book, I thought it looked good before I even read the description, which sounded really good. I immediately put it on my wish list for books I want for Christmas - and now, I need to take it off. :-)

Book description:

After her brother's tragic death fighting a fire, former trauma nurse Claire Avery can't face going back to the ER. But when she must offer staff counseling after a propane explosion in a local day care center, Claire's plan self-destructs. She's back in the ER, battling painful memories-and the handsome and surly doctor who thrives on chaos. Dr. Logan Caldwell has learned to distance himself from painful emotion. He expects his ER staff to be as tough as he is, and when hospital administration sends a beautiful but pushy education nurse to offer counseling, he'll have none of it.

About the author:

Candace Calvert is a former ER nurse, which means she know what is writing about. She is also a wife, and a mother, and grandmother. A native of Northern California, she now resides in Texas. Critical Care is her first book on the Christian market. The second book in the Mercy Hospital Series, Disaster Status, is due out in April.

My thoughts:

I wanted to read this book pretty badly, and I was not disappointed. I have read books that centered around a hospital setting, and have to say this beats them all. The storyline/plot is interesting, it is a Christ-centered story, and I loved her characters. Logan, the doctor in charge, whose gruff manners have earned him the nickname "McSnarly", and Claire, who is running from the ER and trying to get a different job in the hospital so she can escape bad memories, but instead of going the direction she wants and is praying for, God seems to be pushing her right back where she is running from.

There are other interesting characters in the book such as a one-eared cat who doesn't purr, and a lot of romance. I don't read a lot of books that are mostly romance, but hey, we guys like it too - if we didn't, you ladies might have a hard time getting married!

Among all of the hospital excitement and busyness., and the romance, is the message that God does work in the lives of His children, even when they don't think it is for the best, He knows what is best. And people can run from God, and even blame Him, but He is there waiting patiently for the wayward child to turn back to Him.

Check out Critical Care by Candace Calvert. You will not be disappointed, and you may learn something about hospital life, as I did, and something more about God.

Chapter one of the book is available here at CandaceCalvert.com. Check it out.

The giveaway:

The author has generously agreed to donate a copy of Critical Care for a giveaway, I assume signed by her. Rules are as usual: US entries only, comment to enter, and if you have no way to be contacted through your blog, email me at: marcus802001(at)yahoo(dot)com, or leave you email here in a similar format. I will draw a winner 2 weeks from today, on November 3.

Extra entry:

A lot of bloggers have various ways to get extra entries - follow their blog, follow on Twitter - sometimes up to seven - or more - ways. I'm not going to do that- follow if you want - makes me feel popular ;-) - but this time I am going to make a possibility for an extra entry. Make one comment to enter, and make a second comment giving some input about book drawings: how long should they run - 2 weeks, one week, a week and a half? And/or what type of book do you like to enter to win.

Thanks for reading my review of Critical Care, and thanks to Candace Calvert for writing an excellent book that is both entertaining and Christian - and for helping me out with a giveaway. You can find out more about her at her website, CandaceCalvert.com.