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Wednesday, April 29, 2015

Review Tour & #Giveaway for Samantha's Secret by Betty Bolte


Welcome to my stop on the Review Tour, presented by Book Partners in Crime, for Samantha’s Secret by Betty Bolte.  Please leave a comment or question for Betty to let her know you stopped by.  You can enter her tour wide giveaway, for a prize pack including a Heart-shaped smoky quartz pendant in handcarved jewelry box; signed AMPU Books 1 and 2 (Emily’s Vow and Amy’s Choice), by filling out the Rafflecopter form below.  


Samantha's Secret
by Betty Bolté
Series: A More Perfect Union, #3
Genre: Historical Romance
Release Date: April 21, 2015


Midwife and healer, Samantha McAlester returns from the front lines to find Charles Towne under British siege and the town's new doctor at war with its citizens.

Dr. Trent Cunningham intends to build a hospital staffed solely with educated doctors. What he doesn't need is a raven-haired charlatan spooning out herbs and false promises to his patients, while tempting him at every turn.

Then a mutual friend develops a mysterious infection.  Trenton is stumped.  Samantha suspects the cure but knows treatment will expose her long-guarded secret, risking all she holds dear... including Trenton.



While it’s often easy to remember America’s fight for independence from the British during the revolution, we often overlook the contributions made by the “pioneer” woman to the war effort.  They not only supported their husband, son, or father, who went off to fight in battle, they often took over managing the sole care of the family, the family’s property and if they were of the merchant class, the running of the businesses in town.  An occupation or calling often overlooked, and often underappreciated was that of a midwife and natural healer.

A historical romance focusing on one of three women who had vowed to remain single and pursue their own course in life, Samantha’s Secret by Betty Bolte focuses on a woman who defies society’s expectations.  A strong independent heroine, colorful secondary characters and the battle between scientific and homeopathic medicine take center stage in Ms. Bolte’s story, while at the same time the author reminds us that the battle for freedom and equality was far from done. 

A well-educated woman by society’s standards, Samantha McAlester is both a midwife and natural healer.  Having just survived a recent battle outside of Charles Towne, she looks forward to what the future will bring for her new country.  While waiting for the British to depart, Samantha finds herself having to defend her midwife and natural healing skills from Dr. Trent Cunningham, a new arrival in town determined to show how “modern scientific medicine” is the only safe route for the future.  While both eagerly approach the “professional” challenge, Samantha is determined that nothing of a personal nature will grow between them. 

Ms. Bolte does a good job developing both Samantha and Trent’s characters; while Samantha is beautiful, she’s also smart, kind and feels the call to help others.  Recently graduated from medical school, Trent also feels the call to heal but is sure that scientific medicine is the way to go and while he doesn’t want to insult Samantha, he doesn’t respect her methods and many times he speaks before he thinks.  To be frank, I am just glad that I was not a sick patient at the time, I think I would probably have died from treatment by either one of them.  Though Samantha’s “herbal” treatments (with a few changes) would have probably worked out okay.  The romance is developed a little too quickly for my tastes, but it is well done and I felt that Samantha and Trent are a good match for each other because of their wit, their desire to help and heal others and their mutual attraction.  
  
The secondary characters are mostly Samantha’s friends (who are the main characters in previous books) and the townspeople of Charles Towne.  While they all contributed something to the story, Amy and Emily are Samantha’s closest confidants and the men they are betrothed to, Frank and Benjamin, quickly become friends with Trent.  While there are no specific “villains” so to speak, the departing British, the diseases and injuries from the war and even the lack of freedom women and slaves experience, took their place.  I was again reminded of how much both groups have had to fight in order to become equal to men.

Will Samantha’s homeopathic treatments work when put to the test?  Will Trent realize he’ll need to treat Samantha as an equal to win her love?  You’ll have to read Samantha’s Secret to find out.  I enjoyed it and look forward to seeing which character Ms. Bolte writes about next.


My Rating: 4 out of 5 Crowns



4/27 - Monday

4/28 - Tuesday

4/29 - Wednesday

4/30 - Thursday

5/1 - Friday





Book 1: Emily's Vow

Book 2: Amy's Choice


Betty Bolté writes both historical and contemporary stories featuring strong, loving women and brave, compassionate men. No matter whether the stories are set in the past or the present, she loves to include a touch of the paranormal. In addition to her romantic fiction, she’s the author of several nonfiction books and earned a Master’s in English in 2008. She is a member of Romance Writers of America, the Historical Novel Society, the Women’s Fiction Writers Association, and the Authors Guild. Get to know her at www.bettybolte.com.


   
   
   
 




2 comments:

  1. I can't wait to find out what Samantha's secret is! I want to know how she knows the cure.

    lag110 at mchsi dot com

    ReplyDelete