From the Bookshelf of Retro Chapter Chicks …

Sawbones (Sawbones #1)

Melissa Lenhardt

Start date: June 1, 2019

Finish date: June 30, 2019

Discussion: Past Book Discussions 2014-19

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Past Book Discussions 2014-19

Dec 2019: The World That We Knew by Alice Hoffman
By Ƹ̴Ӂ̴Ʒ Jenn Ƹ̴… , Founding Retro Chick · 51 posts · 18 views

last updated Nov 30, 2020 08:05AM

December 2017 Buddy Read: Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate
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last updated Oct 29, 2020 11:12AM

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What Members Thought

Feb 28, 2016 Melissa ♥ Dog/Wolf Lover ♥ Martin rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: kindle-own, netgalley-all

MY BLOG: Melissa Martin's Reading List

I fell in love with Catherine Bennett's character! She is such a strong woman and does all she can to be a good doctor. She worked with her father in the War dressed as a man so she could help with the medical stuff, she trained with her uncle, or she calls him uncle at any rate, and they started doing the sanitizing of instruments and wounds, etc. She cares deeply for her patients.

BUT.....

She gets accused of murdering a prominent citizen and gets called al ...more

60 likes · Like · see review

Jul 31, 2019 Kris (My Novelesque Life) rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: historical-fiction, america, arc-netgalley, fiction, romance, western, medicine, retro-chapter

RATING: 4 STARS
2016; Redhook Books

Take a look at the cover for this book. It is gorgeous, but it screams "I am a light read!". I was thinking it would be a historical mystery/western with lots of romance. Nope. Heed my warning, fellow reader, this book is gritty and violent. If you cannot read the Outlander or Into the Wilderness you will not get through this novel. In fact, I would say if you are looking for just romance, skip this one.

There is some romance in this book, and it balances out th RATING: 4 STARS
2016; Redhook Books

Take a look at the cover for this book. It is gorgeous, but it screams "I am a light read!". I was thinking it would be a historical mystery/western with lots of romance. Nope. Heed my warning, fellow reader, this book is gritty and violent. If you cannot read the Outlander or Into the Wilderness you will not get through this novel. In fact, I would say if you are looking for just romance, skip this one.

There is some romance in this book, and it balances out the "dark" aspects of the novel. The main character, Laura Elliston is a female doctor in a time where women could not get into medical school. Laura would apprentice with her father and treat sex workers to practice her skills. As she runs away, against her better judgement, from a crime she didn't commit she heads out west. As the White men sign and break treaties with the Indigenous tribes, violence and darkness rises. Greed and betrayal crash against one another. After an attack, she starts to use her medical skills on the Fort's soldiers. It is here she is tested to see what she is made of.

I am a huge fan of Outlander and Into the Wilderness (I have some of my issues with them, but on the whole I love them) so this book was right up my alley. I enjoyed the characterizations and the realism of most of the novel. I found that Lenhardt did a great job in researching as she really brought out the time and place. I could feel and see the descriptions. The author thanks her father in the Author's Notes for his love of Westerns giving her the motivation behind this book. Having a dad, that also loves westerns, I totally get it, lol.

What made me rate it a 4, instead of 5 stars, was (view spoiler).

I would recommend this novel if you can stand a grittier story.

***I received a complimentary copy of this ebook from the publisher through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.*** ...more

6 likes · Like · see review

Mar 30, 2016 Tasha rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: historical-fiction, netgalley, westerns

Re-read Review
I finished and wow, what a ride! Raw and gritty, no sugar coating things here and I loved that about this book. The female lead is tough but human and so many trials and bad things happen to her. I love that the story has a realistic feel to it with all the difficulties that happen, it was wild and hard out in the west back then and this story does not shy away from the hardships and tragedies. I'm not a huge romance fan so I could have done with a little less of that but I think i Re-read Review
I finished and wow, what a ride! Raw and gritty, no sugar coating things here and I loved that about this book. The female lead is tough but human and so many trials and bad things happen to her. I love that the story has a realistic feel to it with all the difficulties that happen, it was wild and hard out in the west back then and this story does not shy away from the hardships and tragedies. I'm not a huge romance fan so I could have done with a little less of that but I think in all the darkness I'll let some of that love pass. ;)

I am definitely looking forward to moving on to book 2.

First Read review
3.5

I've become more interested in Westerns and so this one caught my eye. I thought it started off really well and it grabbed my interest from the start. I thought the setting was done well as I had a good feel for the place and time. I enjoyed the strong female character in Laura/Catherine. I loved that she is a medical woman who was a rarity in that time but fights against the prejudice and she practices her craft well, gaining the respect of those around her...most of them. I'm not a big romance fan but the romance in this one was low keyed for the most part.

I didn't mind the graphic scenes because it's something that happened then and to gloss over it would have done a disservice to the story. Yes, it was graphic at times but it wasn't over the top graphic in my opinion. Enough to give us an idea of how rough those experiences were but not giving us the nitty gritty of every detail.

I think where it started to lose me a bit was towards the end and the last few big scenes. Ending**(view spoiler)

The ending felt a good spot to stop and I'm looking forward to reading the next in the series. I've got enough interest in Laura/Catherine to see what happens to her in the next phase of the story.

This was a netgalley read. Book exchanged for an honest review. ...more

5 likes · Like · see review

Jul 20, 2019 Phair rated it liked it

Shelves: historical-fiction, western-setting

Based on the cover art I expected a typical Western Romance or even something like Inspirational Fiction but this first of a trilogy turned out to be way more gritty with plenty of graphic violence that belied the pretty cover. A real action packed Western that, despite the female lead, might appeal to male readers if only the cover weren’t so girly. I liked that the lead was a woman doctor in the post Civil War era but was disappointed that she didn’t really get to do as much doctorin’ as I’d h ...more

2 likes · Like · see review

Sep 12, 2020 Sharmon rated it liked it

Shelves: series, historical-fiction, western, rcc-selection, 2020

Apr 08, 2019 Ƹ̴Ӂ̴Ʒ Jenn Ƹ̴Ӂ̴Ʒ Schu marked it as to-read

Shelves: historical-fiction

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