Healing Doctor Ryan by Carol Lynne

[reviews_and_ramblings]

For a novella that should be short and nice, Healing Doctor Ryan deals with a lot of heavy things. But right from the beginning, with the light but not stupid incipit of the story, Carol Lynne accompanies the reader with a smooth hand along the path. Ian is a young man still recovering from cancer. It’s not even an year that he was diagnosed and treated for the illness, but he really feels that it’s time to continue with his life. And Doctor Ryan, his oncologist, is the right man to help him. Or at least so thinks Ian’s Dick, and it’s right in the middle of this “very personal” conversation that the reader is introduced to Ian. And probably for thanks to this funny situation, even if the story is not at all light, the mood is never too sad.

Of course it’s against Dr Ryan’s, Bran, policy to date a patient: Bran would be unable to face losing a patient if he was emotional attached to one of them. Bran is kind with everyone, but he can’t allow himself to feel something more for them. It’s a right policy for a doctor, but the reader senses that there is something more, Bran is already emotional involved, so much that he is almost scared. Little by little, the reader understands that Bran has never recovered from a abandonment phobia he developed when he was still a young boy in the foster care system. Bran steeled himself to not care too much of anyone, not only for a professional reason, but above all for a very personal trauma.

I liked that the author didn’t underestimate the issue but at the same time didn’t push too much on the angst button. Healing Doctor Ryan was an unexpected little treasure; it’s not often that a novella is able to reach this level of deepness. I also liked the charm “necklace” subplot, just enough to give romanticism to the story, but not adding any “unrealistic” feeling.

http://www.total-e-bound.com/product.asp?strParents=&CAT_ID=&P_ID=555

Amazon Kindle: Healing Doctor Ryan

http://www.total-e-bound.com/Print-Books/Legend/p-117-277/ (print book)

Amazon: Legend
Paperback: 310 pages
Publisher: Total-E-Bound Publishing (June 2, 2009)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1907010831
ISBN-13: 978-1907010835

Reading List:

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Cover Art by Anne Cain