7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Great character, disapointing results, November 15, 2009
This review is from: That Certain Spark (Paperback)
1892 is looking to be a good year for small town Gooding, Texas. They've finally gotten rid of that incompetent doctor and replaced him with not one, but two. Doctor Enoch Bestman is a veterinarian and his brother Taylor is a medical doctor. Too bad no one mentioned that Taylor was a woman. Enoch and his twin sister share a special bond though, and with his backing and her strength a little adversity and sexism is nothing, right? But as much as Taylor works to prove herself, someone is going behind her and sabotaging her. But the worst part is her first patient - Karl Van Der Vort. Everywhere she goes, every time she turns around even - there he is. How is she supposed to prove she is strong and competent, when she is surrounded by men that are waiting for her to mess up, or even more scary, causing her to mess up.
The story is good as a historical tale of a woman physician. But a story of a woman physician overcoming adversity? I must disagree. As the romance between Karl and Taylor takes hold (mostly by Karl's advances), he shows his love by beginning to refer to her as "his/my woman". Within the story, Karl finds God again, and this revelation alone seems to be what the author wants us to believe makes him a good match for Taylor. Here is my issue, and I think you will agree. Taylor's character is wonderful. She is very talented doctor, and an intelligent, witty, strong woman, while maintaining all the necessary feminism. This is a hard character to write, and Hake does it brilliantly. That being said the remaining characters in the novel are weak to say the least. Worse than that, they are meant to define Taylor by her support system and all they effectively do is belittle her. Enoch is her brother and described as her greatest champion. However, when it really matters he shows next to no faith in her ability as a doctor, and his attitude to the pursuit of a young widow in the town shows he is just as possessive of women as the most sexist men in the town. Karl is ten times worse. He takes it upon himself to protect Taylor, never coming to the idea that she is capable of taking care of herself. He decides that he loves her, she becomes "his woman". She pushes him away by explaining her passion for the career she chose, and what that means for a personal life. However, when he finally says the word, she jumps at it.
I hope this review hasn't given too much away, but it truly bugged me that a story that had so much potential, and a character that had the makings of a classic was so quickly given up for the sake of what amounts to a weak romance novel. Additionally, I felt the historical aspects of it broke down more than a few times. The dialogue sometimes felt like it was a contemporary novel with an 1892 label.
That being said. This book did end up with a 3 out of 5, and it is worth reading. I shook my head is mild disgust once or twice, but never threw it across the room in frustration. The story is good, the end has a bit of twist, and you will never want for medical drama.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
What a Fun Book, September 14, 2009
This review is from: That Certain Spark (Paperback)
What a delightful and fun book! It's easy to forget the struggles that women went through to enter into male-dominated careers. "That Certain Spark" by Cathie Marie Hake, reminds us of how difficult it was for women to fit in and be accepted as doctors. Between the tension of conflicting gender roles, the natural rhythm of sibling support and rivalry, and the surprising attraction between a progressive young woman and a traditional man, sparks are flying everywhere! This was entertaining from start to finish and I enjoyed every minute of it.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
not recommended, January 2, 2010
This review is from: That Certain Spark (Paperback)
This was a cute plot, but was poorly written. I'm shocked this book made it through the editing process. Many times throughout reading, I got lost as to where characters were, who was talking, what was going on, etc. I didn't think there was a full enough development of some of the characters. The story was just plain choppy. The plot overall was very cute, but could have been developed much better.
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