Wednesday, July 11, 2018

Between You and Me by Susan Wiggs


Caleb Stoltz is Amish. Although he once lived in the English world, he was called back when tragedy struck, his world rocked. Before his brother died, John asked for his two children to be raised Amish. More than anything, he wanted them to share his faith. Since then, Caleb has lived at home, raising his niece and nephew, Hannah and Jonah.

Reese Powell is a medical student whose parents are both physicians. For her entire life she's been groomed to become a pediatric surgeon so that she can add another dimension to her parents' medical practice. But, now that the Match to a residency program is upon her, Reese is having second thoughts about pediatric surgery, instead thinking she would enjoy the challenge of a medical specialty that draws on a wider variety of skills.

When Jonah is severely injured, Reese is on rotation in the Emergency Room at a Philadelphia hospital as the young boy arrives. His injury is severe and Reese is both drawn to Caleb and feels an unusual urge to help him because he appears so lost in her world. As Jonah begins his lengthy recovery and Caleb remains nearby, Reese gets to know him and falls for him. But, both are aware that their worlds clash and that being together may be impossible.

Between You and Me is an unusual read for me, since I don't often read romance and I've actively avoided books with Amish characters for quite some time. I read a few, maybe 10 years or so ago, and grew tired of them pretty quickly. This particular story isn't set entirely on Amish land, though. It's about the tension between the two worlds and two people who are both unsatisfied with their lives and yet feel compelled to continue on their chosen paths. Because it's clearly a romance, you can guess how it ends; it's the path to that ending that is interesting. How will the two characters work out their differences? Will both of them change their course? One of them? How will medical and legal complications, as well as a persistent family problem, effect the outcome?

Highly recommended to hopeless romantics - A sweet love story with likable characters, a number of dilemmas, and a heartwarming ending. I closed Between You and Me with happy tears in my eyes. While the prose isn't particularly brilliant, the characters are lovely, the dilemmas realistic. The "secret" noted on the cover is kind of dubious. I mean, I know what it is but I don't think it's as important to the plot as the fact that the two characters live in such different worlds and that secret may impact whether or not they will end up together. Just a lovely story.


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8 comments:

  1. I read one of Wiggs' romances many years ago (I think the title is Table for Five - have to look it up) and while it wasn't my usual read, I really enjoyed it! This one sounds like it might be a good comfort read. Off to see if I blogged about Table for Five...

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    1. I stopped to look up Table for Five at your blog and couldn't find it but I admit I don't know how best to look up a book there, now that your blog name has changed a couple times. "Comfort read" is a good description. It was sweet and in spite of the tension between the two worlds, you know up front that things are going to work out. So, it's a really relaxing read that ends with a smile (through tears, but okay). :)

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  2. Sounds lovely. The journey in these predictable ones is where it’s at.

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    1. Sometimes the predictability is exactly what a person needs and, yep, the journey is absolutely what counts. It was definitely lovely. I found the two characters likable -- Caleb's niece and nephew, too. It was a very pleasant change of pace.

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    1. Oh, interesting, I commented and said that I had a copy of Table for Five. Wonder if I still do. There's no book review for it at this blog, but I've purged a lot of older books, in the past few years. Bummer, now I want to tear my library apart looking for it but that would be a Very Bad Idea. :) Thanks for the link!

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  4. I used to be a big fan of Wiggs’, but I haven’t read one of her books in yeeeeeaarrs. This sounds good, though! I’ll see if my library has it

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    1. This may be my first, but I'm getting forgetful in my old age so I can't say for sure. It's a relaxing read. I really enjoyed it. Hope your library has a copy!

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