Review: The Doctor's Return by Narelle Atkins

Career ... or Love?

Megan Bradley returns to her home town of Snowgum Creek after years of travelling the world, working in seasonal resorts such as ski fields. Now she has a part-time job as a therapist at a local hospital, and hopes to establish a private practice in Snowgum Creek. This puts her back in contact with Dr Luke Morton, her high school sweetheart, the guy she left behind.

Luke is now the new Snowgum Creek GP, and is still searching for the woman to spend his life with. When he meets Megan again, the old attraction is still there, but he’s hesitant: is she here to stay, or will she leave again? Megan has her own lesson to learn before she can make the decision to stay in her home town: can she be happy in Snowgum Creek, or will she only be happy chasing her dreams in the city?

This is the third and final book in the Snowgum Creek series, following Falling for the Farmer and The Nurse's Perfect Match. While it does have characters (and a location) in common with the previous books, it is a standalone novel, and can be enjoyed without having read the earlier books. Readers were first introduced to Luke in The Nurse's Perfect Match, and I was one reader who was waiting for him to find his own perfect match.

I enjoyed The Doctor's Return, but (and this is going to sound odd) after meeting Luke in The Nurse's Perfect Match, I wanted his story, and it felt like this was more Megan’s story. Yes, that’s odd, because romance novels (especially short novels like Heartsong Presents) are almost always focused on the heroine not the hero—and I’ve criticised books in the past for having too much from the male viewpoint. But that didn’t stop me wanting to know more about Luke.

Having said all that, The Doctor's Return was an enjoyable and quick read, perfect for those who enjoy the shorter length of the Heartston Presents novels, or those who want to try a Christian novel that isn’t set in the United States.

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