His Second Chance at Forever by Lynne Marshall

Love after Loss and Betrayal

Claire is a nurse practitioner who is new to a practice in Santa Barbara. She was hired by most of the other doctors for overflow patients and patients with simple chronic disease. The man who owned the practice, though, wasn’t a part of the hiring decision. He is a widower who lost his wife and child in a bad accident some years ago. Jason hasn’t recovered from this, and his practice is his life. Claire is divorced with a two-and-a-half-year-old daughter. Claire has lupus, and her husband seeing her as an invalid is part of what led to their divorce. Claire has used alternative therapies to help her manage her lupus. She and Jason are at odds over the use of complementary medicine. They eventually develop an attraction for each other, which they both fight given their histories.

I am an RN myself, so I found the look at a small medical practice and integrating the use of complementary therapies fascinating. The author seems to have a good sense of how a small clinic works as well as a detailed knowledge of complementary medicine. She also did a good job portraying Jason’s inner angst about his past, especially his first conflicting feelings about Gina, Claire’s daughter. I can understand how that would bring up memories and feelings about his own daughter that he lost. I like the romance of the story, even though the transition from adversary to interested didn’t fee wholly realistic. But as they grew to have more feelings for each other, that seemed honest and real for two people who had been hurt and were hurting because of their past relationships. I liked all the images of sailing, and I felt like it was used as a metaphor much of the time. I enjoy literary devices when they are well done as they are here.

In all, I enjoyed this medical romance, as a reader of romance, and as an RN, I enjoy a peek into the medical world in fiction. The two main characters are definitely compelling in their wounds, fears, and their ultimate resolve to move past where they are to where they want to go.