Review: Hallowed Halls by Hannah Alexander

Excellent Medical Romance

Dr Joy Gilbert is getting to the end of her patience with her new boss, Weston Cline. Not only has her role as a “pain management specialist” turned into legal drug pusher, but he’s reluctant to let her take pro bono cases, and seems to expect more from their relationship than employer/employee. The only positive is her relationship with Tressa, his daughter, who is struggling with her parental relationships after their divorce.

An unexpected telephone call takes her back to her home town, where her mother has been admitted to hospital, and is under the care of Dr Zachary Travis, Joy’s ex-fiance. She arrives to find more than she bargained for—she has a stowaway. Tressa. Tressa, who is suddenly having fainting spells for no apparent reason.

Hallowed Halls is a combination of a medical thriller, and second-chance romance. There’s history between Joy and Zack, and there’s a story as to why she left her home town to work for Weston. There was so much unspoken backstory that I wondered at times if this was actually the second book in the series, but it’s not. While the medical aspect is central to the story, it’s well-written and not so detailed that I was grossed out (a distinct advantage. I had to skip pages in one novel recently, because the medical description was too, well, descriptive).

One thing I did keep getting hung up was Weston, who is a complete slimebag. Weston isn’t a common name, and the only Weston I’ve ever known was the complete antithesis of this fictional Weston, and it took me a while to get into the story for that reason. However, this improved once Joy got home and the focus of the story was more on Joy, her mother, Tressa … and Zack.

Overall, I really enjoyed Hallowed Halls. It was a good plot (especially the medical bits), and the characters were fascinating. Recommended.

Thanks to Hannah Alexander and Soul Inspirationz for providing a free ebook for review. You can find out more about Hannah Alexander at her website (well, their website. Hannah Alexander is the pen name of husband-and-wife writing duo Cheryl and Mel Hodde).