Customer Reviews

The Surgeon (Historical Romance S.)

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Dr. John Calloway, chief surgeon for the North West Mounted Police in Calgary, Canada had finished surgery after a very long day. Short handed since his best friend and assistant surgeon, Wesley Quinn, had been murdered the only thing he needed was a little rest. Heading for his quarters he couldn't help but notice some strange smirks and smiles on the faces of the men he passed. Once he reached his room, he was surprised to find a pretty young woman who appeared to be going through his closet - slightly embarrassed at being caught - yet smiling as if he should know who she was. Sarah O'Neill was not expecting to see such a handsome man walk through the door, although very pleasantly surprised, and even though she had arrived early - something didn't seem quite right that her future husband didn't seem to even recognize her name!

What Sarah didn't know, of course, was that he had no idea who she was! The men under his command, as a practical joke but with good intentions, thought that their commanding officer needed some companionship. They paid for an advertisement, exchanged letters in his name, selected a woman, then sent her a ticket to come to Calgary! Unfortunately, for Sarah, John's opinion on mail-order brides was that he didn't believe that any self-respecting woman should be that desperate to accept that type of marriage and probably had no backbone to begin with! John, thinking that all he had to do was furnish her a ticket home, was surprised when she announced that she would be getting a job and staying!

The author based this story upon an actual incident where North West Mounties procured a mail order bride for their commanding officer. In the real life incident the woman was sent home but in this story the author gave us a charming story of what could have been! She used the incident to create a beautifully drawn out, plucky and courageous heroine who possessed a very unusual talent for her day and age, that of being a gunsmith. While the author portrays the physical attraction between John and Sarah with a deft hand showing humor and sensuality, she also lets you feel the pain and anguish of two people who really knew nothing of each other and holding back that very important element of any good relationship, namely communication and trust. Personally, there were times reading this that I wanted to shake them both! All else aside, I found this author's writing rift with wit, charm and portraying life in Northwest Canada as the next best thing to being there. Bottom line, I found this was a very enjoyable and original story that I do highly recommend.

There was one thing that John Calloway didn't need - a mail order bride! That was exactly what he found waiting for him in his quarters one night, though, and he was completely shocked at the "joke" that had been played upon them both. Although he was fast approaching 40 and had always longed for a family of his own, he was dedicated to serving as a doctor in the Mounties regiment. He valiently tried to save the lives of his fellow soldiers and the locals, but he couldn't get over the fact that he had lost his best friend, Wesley, to a raid by a cattle-rustling gang. It'd take a special woman to put up with the demanding life he led!

Sarah O'Neill was a special woman...John just didn't know it quite yet. She had come west with an ulterior motive, but John didn't know THAT, either. Once John told her of the cruel joke that had sent her out west, Sarah was determined to stay in town and make it on her own! As John and Sarah spent time around one another, though, neither could deny the attraction that was building between them - but was attraction enough when neither could trust the other?

This book was really different. Not only was it set in the Canadian West (something I know very little about, and was such a refreshing break from the traditional American West), but the heroine wasn't a virgin (a "non-traditional" heroine - I love it!), and the relationship between the two wasn't perfect right away. This book was, therefore, was quite different - and that made it that more interesting. Even better, there was real character growth in the book - something that I always enjoy to read about. Unfortunately, I usually have a knack at figuring out the ending, and I did this time, too. Nevertheless, this was a good book, and a keeper in my opinion.

For the Canadian Mountie surgeon John Calloway turning forty causes him to consider his lack of family.
Even under the shock of meeting Sarah O'Neill he finds an attraction that he refuses to consider. She was a temptation.

Sarah found a pleasant surprise when John entered his room minus his shirt. Maybe this man would learn to love her.

Ah, but for her hidden agenda! Keenan O'Neill who was probably in trouble with the law. And John Calloway saw the of right and wrong in "Black 'n White", a nickname given to him by his fellow mounties.

Poor John was short of help both in his medical profession and in the number of Mounties needed to keep the law in Calgary.

The ranchers were being plagued by the ellusive Grayveson gang who were responsible for killing his friend, Wesley Quinn.

I was intrigued with Sarah's knowledge of guns and gunsmithing and loved the way she worked to help John and the quaralsome blacksmith. He thought he knew it all about gunsmithing.

By that time Sarah was already John's wife and had finally decided to trust him with her secret agenda and provided all the help she could give to him.

It is a very moving love story of two deserving people and how their lives affect the town and history of their part of the world. What great characters and a wonderful story to be enjoyed by those of us that love to read.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED - A story that will be enjoyed a second time around. Definitely a keeper!

I liked this book but I didn't understand why the couple was arguing 4/5 of the book.

At the beginning of the book Sarah arrives in Calgary, Canada as a mail-order bride. She believes that she is there to become John Calloway's wife & what they discover is that John's men had been corresponding with Sarah as a prank. John offers to pay for Sarah to return home but she objects to that because of her other reason for wanting to come to Calgary. She believes her long lost brother is there.

After the town treats Sarah very badly because of some embarrassing information that got out he decides to do the right thing by marrying her. So they wed & consummate their marriage & then they practically separate themselves from each other until the end of the book. They don't even sleep in the same room. At the very end of the book they realize their love for one another but I really don't understand why it took so long. I just really couldn't understand what their conflict was all about. Seemed silly to me.

I also found many errors in the book. The author used the wrong name a few times in the book & it had you wondering what was going on. Also at the end of the book you hear John's friend Logan state that he heard John had helped make guns for the enemy & earlier when that whole part was taking place Logan was actually one of the only people that knew about it but he commented about it as if he heard it through the grapevine.

Other then those few errors & the lack of romance 4/5 of the book there was a good story line. It's a quick read & if you don't need the steamy romance they you should like this book.

In 1889 Calgary, Dr. John Calloway serves as chief surgeon for the North West Mounted Police. After a long day of what seems like assembly line surgery since someone murdered his best friend fellow surgeon Wesley Quinn, John needs rest. However, the weary John finds Sarah O'Neill in his room going through his closet. John has no idea who Sarah is or why she is here in his room.

As a joke on their commander, John's unit advertised for a bride for him, ultimately selected Sarah as his wife, and sent her a ticket to come to Calgary. After the initial shock passes and John learns the truth that she is his mail order bride, he sanctimoniously informs Sarah that no real woman would accept that type of proposal unless she was desperate or running away. John plans to send her home, but Sarah blithely shakes him further by courageously rejecting his offer. She intends to find work as a gunsmith and remain in town. As John feels responsible for her, she rejects his protection. Still, they fall in love, but will he realize this his first impression about Sarah was off the mark and that they can share a lifetime of love if he heeds his heart and if she trusts him with hers.

Based on a real 1880s incident, THE SURGEON is a delightful Canadian historical romance that provides a bridge into a bygone era. The story line is character driven led by a strong lead couple, interfering and smirking support cast, and Calgary, which takes on a dimension of its own. Kate Bridges vividly conveys living and loving in late nineteenth century in the province of Alberta.

Harriet Klausner

After reviewing Kate Bridges' latest work, "Alaskan Renegade," I felt I should reassure her potential readers that the woman can, in fact, write. Very well, too!

"The Surgeon" is a thoroughly enjoyable piece of Romantic fiction. Part of the "Mounties" series, one needn't read any other installment in order to understand the action in this novel. Bridges does an admirable job of filling in the backstory in a coherent and concise manner, without resorting to long mental soliloquy or paragraphs-long narrative. She tells us just enough to fully appreciate the novel and flesh out the state of current events.

The two main characters - Sarah O'Neill and John Calloway - are realistic, grounded, and believable. They act, and interact, like real people. Their motivations are believable, their flaws and lies are understandable, and their dialogue is human, authentic, and entertaining. They stumble along the way - she's a mail-order bride, not a childhood friend - but their conflicts and interactions are believable, and not in the least contrived.

John Calloway is arrogant, true; but not in the way of the stone-cold-inflexible Dukes, Renegades, Cowboys, Rakes, and Pirates who populate most "book of the month" historical romance selections. No, he's arrogant in the way that many mature men seem to be - comfortable in his decisions and determined that they are the correct ones for everyone involved, including Sarah. Instead of being annoyed and exasperated by him, and mentally urging the heroine to break his spirit, I couldn't wait for John and Sarah to finally come to an understanding.

As for the plot, there's little I can tell without resorting to spoilers. Suffice it to say that there is just enough suspense to keep you reading, just enough action to keep you cheering, and just enough romance to keep you swooning. Nothing in this novel was out of the realm of possibility; "The Surgeon" grounds itself firmly in the facts of the frontier and not a romanticized ideal of "life on the Northern plains." The conclusion was satisfying on every level.

After reading this book, I eagerly anticipated the release of Ms. Bridges' new novel. Sadly, "Alaskan Renegade" was a dissapointment. However, "The Surgeon" was such a superior novel that I am purchasing the compiled Kindle Edition of the author's "Mounties" series in order to further enjoy the magic she's created with THIS set of characters.

Normally, I don't read many romances but I will definitely be looking for more of Kate Bridges' work after reading "The Surgeon."

The title of the book refers to the main character, 40-year-old John Calloway, a surgeon with Canada's Royal Mounted Police (which immediately reminded me of the actor Paul Gross from Due South). Apparently, the men under his command have set him up with 28-year-old Sarah O'Neill, a mail-order bride looking for change. Both John and Sarah carry emotional baggage with them: he is somewhat inflexible in dealing with people and she is looking for her estranged brother, who's on the wrong side of the law.

The story is based on a true life experience, and Bridges does her research well. Sarah and her brother are gunsmiths, and there's a great piece of dialogue near the end between smart, intelligent Sarah and the town blacksmith regarding the making of rifles. The last romance I read had a heroine who was dumber than dishwater, and it's refreshing to read about a woman who knows not only how to be a homemaker, but how to support herself by watchmaking or gunsmithing.

I also liked how the author made the characters question their relationship and themselves. Usually, it's true love conquers all after a romp in the bedroom, but here we have two wildly different personalities and backgrounds coming together, and the fact that they're not sure about each other until nearly the end of the book makes it all the more realistic.

highly entertaining Harlequin Historical. This book is chock full of unusual themes for a romance-a old west book but set in Canada. The heroine-a spunky, intelligent "spinster" of 28 who loves to fix clocks and is a excellent gunsmith, the hero-a 40 year old Mountie who is also the towns primary Doctor, who is in for a big surprise when Sarah shows up but handles that surprise very well.

I had heard many good reviews for this book-they were all correct. I look forward to reading more by Miss Bridges!
4.5 stars!

The Surgeon has everything one wants in a historical romance novel. From the first page to the last, it's smart, sassy, thoroughly entertaining and plain pleasurable to read!

Absolutely first rate!

Be sure to first read 1. The Surgeon 2. The Engagement and soon to be released 3. The Proposition. All three contain some of the same characters.

This was one of the best romance novels I have read in a long time. I could not put the book down. I kept saying I would read just one more chapter, but after that chapter I had to keep reading to see what would happen next.

I really liked that this story was set in the Canadian west. It was really nice to read a story which took place in the "old west" that didn't revolved around Indians and cattle drives.

I enjoyed that the male lead character wore two hats, of law officer and doctor. It created a multidimensional character that evolved independently of the main story.

This book is full of twists that I didn't expect. I rarely read books a second time, but this will be going on my shelf for a second viewing.