9 May 2014

Review and Giveaway: The Nurse's Perfect Match by Narelle Atkins

Sweet story of second love



Wilkins is a twenty-seven year old nurse working for Dr Luke Morton, and a widow. She's returning home from a date gone wrong when Ben Morton, Luke’s older brother, a widower with two children—two children who seem to think it’s time they got a new mother.

Ben’s wife died three years ago, and he hasn’t had time to even think about dating since. But Amy catches his eye. And he still hasn’t come to terms with how a loving God could take his wife. Amy lost her husband eighteen months ago, and blames herself. She’s attracted to Ben, but believes she doesn’t deserve a second chance at love.

Amy and Ben are both likeable characters, each hiding some private pain that stands in the way of their happiness. I also liked the minor characters, particularly Luke and Rachel, Ben’s younger brother and sister. They were a combination of supportive and interfering, in the way that only siblings can be.  The plot asks the age-old question of why do bad things happen to God’s children, and I think it was well answered without being a cliché.

I enjoyed The Nurse's Perfect Match (although I will admit to enjoying Falling for the Farmer, the first book in this series, more). It's a perfect example of a Heartsong Presents novel: short, with likeable characters and a strong Christian element. The Nurse's Perfect Match starts a couple of years after the end of Falling for the Farmer, and is set in the same small community, Snowgum Creek. While the two books have some characters in common, The Nurse's Perfect Match is a standalone story.


Overall, this is an enjoyable light read, and I’ll be looking forward to reading the final book in the series, The Doctor’s Return (Luke's story).

Thanks to Narelle Atikins for providing a free ebook for review. You can find out more about Narelle at her website.

If you'd like to win a copy of The Nurse's Perfect Match, leave a comment below and tell us what you like most about novels set in Australia. Come back next Friday (16 May), when we'll announce the winner.
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14 comments:

  1. Narelle10 May 2014 at 22:45

    Hi Iola, Thanks for your review of The Nurse's Perfect Match.

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  2. Melanie Backus12 May 2014 at 07:00

    I have always wanted to visit Australia so reading novels set there is next to being there. Thank you for what you do.

    mauback55 at gmail dot com

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    1. Iola13 May 2014 at 08:53

      Thanks for visiting, Melanie. Aussie is a great country to visit!

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    2. Narelle13 May 2014 at 09:14

      Hi Melanie, I hope you'll have the opportunity to visit Australia :) Thanks for stopping by and good luck in the drawing!

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  3. Suzie Johnson12 May 2014 at 16:57

    Congratulations, Narelle! You've worked hard, and the result is a really great book. I know everyone will love this book!

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    1. Iola13 May 2014 at 08:53

      I'm glad you enjoyed it, Suzie. Thanks for visiting.

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    2. Narelle13 May 2014 at 09:16

      Hi Suzie, Thanks for stopping by. I appreciate your support :)

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  4. Rita Galieh12 May 2014 at 19:17

    That's interesting to hear it has the same setting. I can picture Snowgum Creek the way Narelle described it in book I. There's something special about our Aussie small country towns.

    Looking forward to reading it. Thanks for your review, Iola.

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    1. Iola13 May 2014 at 08:58

      My visits to Australia have mostly been the cities, except for some towns in northern Queensland. One day, maybe!

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    2. Narelle13 May 2014 at 09:18

      Hi Rita, The Nurse's Perfect Match is the second book in my 3 book series set in Snowgum Creek. I agree, our country towns are special :) Thanks for stopping by and good luck in the drawing!

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  5. Sylvia13 May 2014 at 03:03

    I've been looking forward to reading Narelle's books. They sound good!

    Australia...well...I cannot think of anything right off about it of which I particularly want to read. I haven't read a lot about it, but it seems like a nice country. The most interesting things I would think of would be traditions to them that would be unusual to Americans. For example I've heard that it's traditional to have a beach barbecue at Christmas over there. Is that true? That's so different than what we do here at Christmas. I guess I just want to read about normal life in Australia to see the differences and similarities between our countries.

    I'm also a big fan of Princess Mary of Denmark formerly of Australia! :)

    nina4sm/at/gmail/dot/com

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    1. Iola13 May 2014 at 09:06

      Yes, the seasons certainly make a big difference. Here in New Zealand people do have barbecues on the beach here in for Christmas, but others have the traditional turkey or ham.

      Thanks for visiting!

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    2. Narelle13 May 2014 at 09:24

      Hi Sylvia, Yes, we love Princess Mary :) A summer Christmas is different to a white Christmas in winter. When I was younger we'd have Christmas lunch at my aunt and uncle's home. They lived across the road from the beach on Sydney's Northern Beaches. We'd spend the afternoon at the beach and enjoy swimming in the surf :) I hope you have the opportunity to read The Nurse's Perfect Match. Good luck in the drawing!

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  6. Iola19 May 2014 at 10:19

    And the winner is ... Rita Galieh. Congratulations, Rita! I hope you enjoy The Nurse's Perfect Match.

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