Historical Romance Book Club discussion

Discussion thread for the second BOTM for December 2024. Please remember to use the spoiler tags when necessary! (Please see 'some html is ok' for instructions.)

Join us in reading this HR that is set in the Americana. Happy reading!


A Touch of Flame by Jo Goodman

Synopsis:

Dr. E. Ridley Woodhouse is like no physician Ben Madison has ever met—she's a woman. As the newly elected sheriff of Frost Falls, Colorado, Ben is tasked with welcoming Ridley to the community. But while Ben might be tempted by the new doc's charms, getting the town to accept a big-city, female doctor is no easy feat. To earn their trust she'll have to prove herself and Ben determines to help her...even if she's the most stubborn woman he's ever met.

When the husband of one of Ridley's patients threatens her, forbidding Ridley from treating his wife or children, all of Ben's protective instincts kick in. Ridley has come to rely on Ben's steady presence and the delicious tension that simmers just below the surface of their easy friendship—but as much as she trusts that his warnings to steer clear of Jeremiah Salt are sincere, she's never been one to back down from a challenge and she refuses to abandon her patient.

But sticking to your guns can earn you trouble in the rough terrain of the Wild West, and danger threatens Ridley from unexpected places, forcing Ben to confront his deepest fear in order to save the woman he loves.

I am having trouble getting this book! I have asked my library if they can get it in for me so fingers crossed they get it soon - I am looking forward to reading it.

Clarissa, the book is on Hoopla as an audiobook if that is available to you.

thank you Merry, I will take a look. I do most of my reading on Hoopla, but I am in Australia so I think sometimes that makes a difference. But I will check 🙏

Clarissa wrote: "thank you Merry, I will take a look. I do most of my reading on Hoopla, but I am in Australia so I think sometimes that makes a difference. But I will check 🙏"

Hi Clarissa,
I nominated this book and I'm sorry I wasn't aware it's hard to get hold of in Australia. I'm in Australia too, and I actually own the kindle copy, which I bought a few years ago. I naturally assumed it would still be available. Not so it seems. I see now you can't get it on kindle in Australia any more. Darn. Who knows the whys and wherefores..... I hope you are able to get hold of a copy somehow or other.

Clarissa, i don't know what is available in Australia, but sometimes I Google a book to see if it's available for free online. There are several websites like openlibary, epubpub, bookfrom.netarchive, or Genesis library that I see carry this book. Though, finding it on audio is harder if that's what you prefer. Google will help you find someone who carries it. I hope that helps.

Lauren wrote: "Clarissa, i don't know what is available in Australia, but sometimes I Google a book to see if it's available for free online. There are several websites like openlibary, epubpub, bookfrom.netarchi..."

Hi Lauren. I had a look at some of these sites (eg. OpenLibrary) and I cannot see that this book is available? Can you recall which ones carry this book? I am familiar with openlibrary - but not the others

Susan, I'm sorry, your right openlibary doesn't carry it. You can read it for free on top.epub.pub or epubpub, bookfrom.netarchive (unfortunately, they sometimes have ads between pages), annas-archive.org, and library Genesis or libgen.is (my favorite). I can name some other free websites, but these are the only ones that carry this book for free. I know that Australia has stricter rules about these sites, so I don't know if they are available there.

Usually, after trying KU, I explore different sites. As I said before that if you Google the name and author and add read for free online, it will give you a list of sites to explore. I hope that helps!

I have started my reread. Up to Chapter 6. I really like the low-key red-headed Ben with his dry sense of humour. I like Ridley too. They are lovely together.

The depiction of people's prejudice against female doctors feels accurate for the times. I like how Ridley is handling the situation, She is a determined but not pig-headed person.

Thank you everyone! I was really lucky and my local library was able to source it for me via an inter library loan. I picked the book up yesterday and I will start reading this weekend. I haven't read much in American Historical Romance, so I am looking forward to this one. I finished Uni last week so now I can get back into the books 😊.

I finished my reread. 4 stars again. I really liked Ben and Ridley together. They were so well-suited, and there was some fun banter. I'd forgotten that Lily Salt's story played a fairly big part in this one, but for me it didn't detract from the main story, but added some depth to it. (There is a sequel about Lily which I have read before but can't really remember.)

I think the book suited this month's theme really well. You felt like you were there in small town America in the early days. An enjoyable read. Hope others are enjoying this one, too.