A doctor who placed her child for adoption years before gets a second chance to be a mother… practice to Jackson Hole to be near. I vowed to keep my distance but staying away from Chloe and her hunky contractor dad proved impossible.
Right now, I’m living the fairy-tale. But I can’t keep lying to my daughter and her dad. When the secret comes out, will that be the end…or a new beginning?
~This story was originally published as The Doctor’s Not-So-Little Secret (as noted on the copyright page) It was updated (WOW-has technology changed in eight years!) as well as some of the writing was tightened. What hasn’t changed is this is a heartwarming story that you’re absolutely going to love!~
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Cindy Kirk’s Healing the Doctor’s Heart is an amazing story of second chances. Set in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, the novel features pediatrician Kate McNeal and builder Joel Dennes.
Kate McNeal has a secret, a secret that she’s finding very hard to keep. She moved to Jackson Hole two years ago to join a local pediatric practice. She has a small circle of friends, has dated but has not found anyone special. Kate keeps running onto Joel and his nine year old daughter Chloe.
Kate and Joel are attracted to each other. Kate is aware that she and Joel’s late wife Amy are as different as night and day. Kate is painfully shy and she dresses to the nines for self-confidence and always wears high heels. Amy was outgoing and wore conservative clothes. I enjoyed Joel’s struggle with his attraction towards Kate—he adored his late wife. His feelings were raw and filled with emotion and very relatable.
Joel brings Chloe to Kate’s office because she fell and hit her head. Loved that Cindy Kirk was able to portray a mother’s concern from a father’s distress in this chapter. The relationship between the three characters changes as Kate provided some perspective to Chloe’s behaviors and fears. She understands Chloe’s feelings and works to find common ground between father and daughter.
I loved how the relationship between the couple progressed and that Kate’s former boyfriend showed up whenever Joel and Kate got cozy. Joel and Kate’s relationship changes when Chloe is invited for a two week out of town vacation. Loved that they approached “dealing with their attraction” as a business arrangement because both of them were afraid to get hurt.
The no strings arrangement quickly heats up –and I loved reading how both characters came to terms with their feelings. The sexual chemistry between the couple is off the charts. Kate fears her past may come between them. And Joel isn’t quite ready to let go of his feelings for his first wife. I loved the fast paced conclusion of this story-its filled will compassion, forgiveness and love.
If you are looking for a feel good story to read – then this is the book for you! The relationship between Kate, Joel and Chloe will tug at your heartstrings!
In this fourth novel in the Jackson Hole sequence, the focus is on Kate McNeal, a physician, and Joel Dennes, a builder. Kate has recently broken up with Ryan Harcourt, a lawyer. Joel, a widower, is raising his nine-year-old daughter, Chloe. Joel and his wife adopted Chloe, and it turns out Kate is Chloe’s birth mother and currently Chloe’s physician. Kate is torn between her attraction to Joel and her need to maintain the wall because of Chloe. Joel is attracted to Kate but is hesitant to date Kate because he feels dating Kate would be disloyal to his dead wife “Saint” Amy, and his concern for his daughter. When Chloe goes on an out-of-state visit with a friend, Joel and Kate decide to have a no-strings-attached fling while Chloe is gone. The affair ignites passion between the two, but when Joel realizes Kate is Chloe’s birth mother, he freaks out and lashes out at Kate. Can Joel get over himself and admit he loves Kate? Can Kate forgive Joel’s boorish behavior?
As in the previous novel, Mary Karen and Travis are presented here again as a married couple, although they were not married in books 1 and 2, and their wedding is skipped over. More disconcerting, in the current book (#4), Ryan has just broken up with Kate, but in Book 3, Ryan is married to Betsy and has a newborn son! So chronologically, book 4 precedes book 3, and the Mary Karen and Travis marriage occurs sometime after book 2. This out-of-order sequencing happened because of difficulty the author had in regaining rights to the novels in the original release. If Healing the Doctor’s Heart is read as a standalone novel, these inconsistencies wouldn’t affect the reader but may bother a reader of the Jackson Hole series.
I enjoyed this novel, as it is written in the typical engaging Cindy Kirk style. However, the out of order sequencing bothered me, dropping my rating to a 4.5. But 4.5 rounds up to a 5-star review.
I received an Advanced Reader Copy of this book from the publisher and am voluntarily reviewing the book.
There’s nothing better than a lovely story about love and redemption. Kate is a strong woman who make the hardest decision of her life. Fortunately life gave her a second chance. Joel and Chloe are the sweetest people. This book is full of love and romance. I love and enjoy reading this book. I received an Advanced Reader Copy of this book from the publisher and am voluntarily reviewing it.
Kate gabe birth to a baby girl 10 years ago. She hired a P.I. to find her. At three days old, baby girl was adoptes by Joel and Amy. Kate is a doctor. Amy has since passed away, and Joel moved with his daughter. He owns a construction business. Joel has no idea that Kate is his daughter’s biological Mother. The daughter, Chloe, goes on vacation with her best friends family for 2 weeks, in which time Kate and Joel enter into a friends with benefits arrangement. When Chloe returns, months go by, and they have stopped all relations. Chloe finds a photo of a younger Kate, and comments that they look exactly alike. Joel sees the same photo and ask if she is Chloe’s birth Mother. He is upset that she basically moved into their lives. He asks her to come over so they can tell Chloe together. They talk, and he proposes, and she says Yes! 6 months later they are 3 months married, and expecting a new family member!
I received a copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
I received an Advanced Reader Copy from the publisher and am voluntarily reviewing it. Jackson Hole is definitely the cutest fiction town in the whole fiction world. Right up there with Good Hope and Holly Pointe. See what I did there? Cindy Kirk knows how to make you fall in love with a town just as much as you fall in love the characters. The Doctor’s Heart that needs healing is Dr. Kate. She moved to Jackson Hole and is the town’s pediatrician. Of course she has a secret. The reason she moved to this small town and the reason she tries to stay to herself and cannot open up to anyone. That all changes when she is close to Joel, a handsome contractor who moved into town with his daughter after his wife passed away. Can Kate keep her feelings in check for Joel while keeping a close eye on Chole? Not likely when the two try to embark on a two-week affair to scratch that itch.
Readers will love reading about these two and the beautiful relationship Kate develops with Chole who needs a friend more than anything right now. Chole is a lovely 10 year old who is definitely going through some serious growing pains and needs a woman around to help her navigate through that thing called life. Don’t miss this wonderful love story.
I loved Kate and Joel’s story. My smile was so big at the ending, just sitting there on my couch, that anyone who had seen me would have thought I was crazy. Thank you! I love stories that make me respond that way! I’ll admit that I was a little frustrated at the beginning when Kate kept referring to her “secret.” I thought, “Oh, no. Is this gonna be one of those books where we are kept in suspense all the way through wondering what the heck is going on?” I hate those books! But just about then, we found out about the secret! It’s was so cool to share the secret with Kate the rest of the way. It really made the book so much better because I totally understood her emotions as they progressed (except for why she felt should couldn’t have it all). But then, I guess we humans tend to convince ourselves of things that just don’t make sense to anyone but ourselves, until we’re shown that we are wrong. This was such an excellent story!
Another happy ending from Cindy Kirk!
Kate, a local pediatric doctor lives in Jackson Hole where the daughter she put up for adoption lives with her adopted father. While Kate intended to just keep an eye on Chloe, to know that she was okay, she ends up finding her life entangled in Chloe’s and Joel’s and doesn’t know what is really going to be best for all of them in the end. While Kate wrestles with these hard decisions she finds herself falling in love with the two of them, making it all a little messier.
I received an ARC from the publisher, but this review is all mine!
This may be one of my favorite books in this series! Dr Kate made one of the most difficult choices when she was in school. When she chose to give her baby girl up for adoption it wasn’t an easy choice but it was the choice she believed was best for her daughter. When the letters and updates from her daughter’s adoptive mother suddenly stopped, her concern led her to move closer to her daughter but she promised herself she would keep her distance. I loved following how circumstances led to this wonderful happy ending where Kate is able to be a part of her daughter’s life. I highly recommend every book in this series! I received an Advanced Reader Copy of this book from the publisher and I am voluntarily reviewing it.
3.5 stars
This is an reissue of a book originally in Cindy Kirk’s RX for Love series. Doctor Kate gave up her child nine years ago. Joel and his wife Amy adopted Chloe. When Amy died, the agreed upon updates stopped coming. Kate hired a PI who found out that Amy died. She takes a job at the pediatric clinic in the same town as Joel and Chloe. Of course, they choose her as a Dr, and Joel and Kate are attracted to each other. But the big secret threatens to tear them apart. The ending seemed a bit rushed, and everything seem to be resolved too easily. I received an Advanced Reader Copy of this book from the publisher and am voluntarily reviewing it.
Healing the Doctor’s Heart is the fourth in the Jackson Hole series but can also be read as a stand alone. Kate McNeal gave her baby girl up for adoption when she was in medical school and her boyfriend abandoned her. Part of the adoption was that she would receive regular updates and photos of her daughter, when they stopped she hired an investigator. Now she is living in Jackson Hole where her daughter and widowed father live, never imagining that they would run in the same circles. Although Joel’s wife died two years ago, he is not ready to move on until he starts interacting with his daughter’s pediatrician. They agree to a two week fling while Chloe is away visiting her grandparents but both are struggling with emotions and not wanting to get too close. The past, secrets and guilt are all working to derail their growing relationship but one little girl is working to keep them together. This is a beautifully written story filled heart, emotions and a wonderful love story.
I received an advanced reader copy from the publisher but all thoughts and feelings are my own.
Do second chances really happen?
In this delightful and heartwarming story of finding family, a woman’s decision years ago, for what she thought were all the right reasons, still tears her apart. But she finds the opportunity for a second chance with the daughter she gave up for adoption.
Becoming a friend and confidant is all she wants. She’s good at distancing herself from emotional attachment. But when she falls in love with, not only her child, but her birth-daughter’s father, all reason flies to the winds. Denying all she wants, the good doctor can’t negate the growing love for the man who is raising her daughter. Their relationship can’t end well. But is retreating from fulfilling her own happiness what is best for all involved?
An emotional journey of ups and downs moves this story through the paces of sacrifice, unconditional love, denial, and the realization that true love can’t be discarded without first making a valiant effort to save the relationship.
Set in Jackson Hole, you will revisit the cast of characters who are all friends. It’s like coming home again, each time you read a book from this series.
I was given an ARC of this book by the publisher for an honest review.
This is the first book I have read in the Jackson Hole series. Having read both the Good Hope and Holly Pointe series’, I am not surprised Jackson Hole is equally enjoyable.
It took so much strength for Kate to put her baby up for adoption. I think it took just as much strength for Kate to be that close to Chloe and try to stay out of her life.
I didn’t think I was going to like Kate’s character at the beginning. The author took her from this sort of cold, stiff person and walked us through the gradual warm up of her personality. I liked how Kate’s past experiences allowed her to be so empathetic to Chloe and Emilie.
Kate and Joel had really great chemistry and forged a connection that had more to do with each other, rather than just Chloe. I did wonder how long Kate thought she could live in this small town that close to her daughter before someone figured out their relationship.
One thing I honestly liked about this book was that after the truth was revealed, both Joel and Kate were hurt and angry, but they still put Chloe first. The anxiety of the situation was not dragged out chapter after chapter. They each took time and tried to figure out how they felt.
This book was about unconditional love, strength, romance, a second chance at love, and the opportunity for a new beginning. This was a great feel good book, especially considering what we are all currently dealing with around the world.
I voluntarily read and reviewed the Advanced Reader Copy of this book received from the publisher.
I really enjoyed this book. It did start slow, but made up for it as it continued. Most of it was sweet, but it did have it’s share of steam. I totally recommend this book.
“I received an Advanced Reader Copy of this book from the publisher and am voluntarily reviewing it.”