Courting the Doctor's Daughter (Courting, Book 2) [Mass Market Paperback]

Janet Dean (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 12, 2009

A widow with three boys to raise, Mary Graves has no time for peddlers of phony medicine. She's a dedicated healer working alongside her doctor father. When a handsome stranger blows into town with his "elixir of health" and asks questions about her newly adopted son, Mary's determined to uncover the truth behind all his claims.

Once the reckless heir to a Boston fortune, Dr. Luke Jacobs travels the country with his herbal medicine while searching for his long-lost son. After meeting the feisty doctor's daughter and her youngest boy, Luke has found what he's been looking for at last. But can he convince her to let him into her home, her family--and her heart?

--This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Harlequin (May 12, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0373828128
• ISBN-13: 978-0373828128
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 4 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,164,609 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Janet Dean grew up in a family who cherished the past and had a strong creative streak. Her father recounted fascinating stories, like his father before him. The tales they told instilled in Janet a love of history and the desire to write. She married her college sweetheart and taught first grade before leaving to rear two daughters, but Janet never lost interest in American history and the accounts of strong men and women of faith who built this country. With her daughters grown, she eagerly turned to Inspirational historical romance. Today Janet enjoys spinning stories for Steeple Hill Love Inspired Historical. When she isn't writing, Janet stamps greeting cards, plays golf and is never without a book to read. The Deans love to travel and spend time with family.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars romance and so much more, September 30, 2009

By 

Kathleen L. Maher (Upstate New York) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Courting the Doctor's Daughter (Courting, Book 2) (Mass Market Paperback)

Janet Dean has written the historical fiction book of my heart. I love a hero who must fight past his inner wounds to win the girl. In fact, in Courting the Doctor's Daughter, Dean writes of two people, wounded by life's harshness and the failure of those they had depended upon, who come together over the fate of a young orphan boy.

Mary Graves, the heroine, raises three sons as a widow, one of which she took in after an orphan-train placement fell through. She assists her aging father's medical practice, praying and plotting for an assistant to relieve some of her father's burden.

Enter Luke Jacobs, a peddler of tonics--the bane of Mary's existence. How dare he bilk her beloved townspeople out of their money for his snake oil? What she learns about him, through the layers of his self-defense, and about his medicine, will not only affect her, but set a chain of redemption in motion for all she cares about: her father, her sons, and the people she loves and serves.

I loved the way this romance covered topics ranging from disability, to alcoholism, lying, forgiveness, trust, and even anxiety. Dean accomplishes this in a realistic and deeply satisfying way through well-fleshed-out characters who journey through their conflicts to find faith in God, faith in themselves, and faith in one another. This story resonated with me, and I know it will stay with me for a long time to come.

5.0 out of 5 stars Another Delightful Janet Dean Story, September 9, 2009

By 

Debby Giusti (Georgia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Courting the Doctor's Daughter (Courting, Book 2) (Mass Market Paperback)

Janet Dean's second Love Inspired Historical, COURTING THE DOCTOR'S DAUGHTER, is a thoughtfully developed story about two people inhibited by the past. Each must confront the truth before they can accept love and embrace life once again. Mary Graves--a widow trying to raise her two biological sons as well as the young orphan boy she's recently adopted--fears a traveling peddler, hawking an elixir he created, is bilking the good townspeople in Noblesville, Indiana. What starts as antagonism soon leads to attraction when the so-called charlatan turns out to be a physician eager to help Mary's father with his busy medical practice. Mary and the boys open their hearts to Luke Jacobs, but his quest to find the young son he fathered turns the family upside down and almost destroys any hope for a happily-ever-after. This book, along with COURTING MISS ADELAIDE, deserves to be on your must-read list!

5.0 out of 5 stars NOBODY "COURTS" LIKE JANET DEAN!, July 10, 2009

By 

Julie Lessman (St. Louis) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Courting the Doctor's Daughter (Courting, Book 2) (Mass Market Paperback)

I actually get a little thrill when I hold a Janet Dean historical novel in my hands because as far as courtship goes, NOBODY in the Love Inspired historical realm satisfies quite like Ms. Dean. I absolutely LOVED Courting Miss Adelaide, so I fully expected to love Courting the Doctor's Daughter as well ... but I didn't quite anticipate the WOW factor I experienced in the second offering from this delightful debut author.

What a story! I was hooked from the first page when determined and dedicated Mary Graves, a widow with three boys and a dream to become a doctor like her father, butts heads with handsome Luke Jacobs, a traveling peddler who turns out to be a medical doctor with a troubled past ... a past that ties Luke to Mary whether she likes it or not. Upon contact, sparks fly between this unlikely couple, and the romantic heat doesn't let up until the very last page when the perfect ending warms you to your toes.

Janet Dean is a master at slow romantic tension and characterization so real and deep, that you will laugh, hurt and swoon along with the characters in this charming tale of days gone by. Bravo, Ms. Dean, on another heartwarming read--can't wait for the next one!