Title: Stubborn Heart
Author: Ken Murphy
Genre: Contemporary
Length: Novel (224pgs)
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press (29th April 2013)
Heat Level: Moderate
Heart Rating: ♥♥♥♥3 ½ Hearts
Reviewer: Pixie
Blurb: After breaking up with his cheating boyfriend, Mark Smith keeps life simple: his nursing career and a place of his own, but no dating. He’s steering clear of romance and the heartbreak that goes with it. After losing both parents and having all his relationships fail, he figures happily ever after is a myth.
When Dr. Trevor Hayes crosses Mark’s path at the hospital, he falls hard for Mark. The attraction is clearly mutual, and Trevor is determined to parlay that attraction into a relationship. Mark is just as determined to avoid exactly that.
But Trevor chips away at Mark’s resistance, and facing hardship and sorrow together brings them closer. Still, Mark can’t shake his belief that their romance is temporary—until he’s unexpectedly faced with the danger that he might lose Trevor for good. Mark must choose between guarding his heart and giving it completely, the risk he swore never to take again.
Purchase Link: http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=3788
Review: Mark is happy to concentrate on his nursing career. After having yet another boyfriend cheat on him, he has no plans to embark on a new relationship. So when he is pursued by cardiothoracic fellow, Trevor, Mark is wary of getting involved. Trevor falls hard for Mark from the first second he sets eyes on him. But, getting Mark to go out with him is harder than he thought. Cracking through Mark’s shell has Trevor hoping that they can have something special, but Mark is more stubborn, determined to only see them as temporary. Until Mark has to confront his feelings, when he nearly loses Trevor.
This is quite an easy flowing love story where the choice is protecting your heart or accepting love. Mark and Trevor are a very easy couple to like, even when you plainly see Mark acting like an idiot trying to deny what he is feeling. Trevor seems really cute and gentle, but he goes after what he wants. Mark is nice and stubborn and believes in protecting his heart. Put the two men together and you have a slight angsty relationship where they are perfect together until they begin to think of the future.
I liked the flow of this story and the way it played out. The storyline is quite simple, ‘man gets cheated on, man protects heart from future hurt’. The characters fit together well and their relationship progresses at a nice pace. They have some hot lovemaking and have some really nice dates and make some great friends. Trevor chips away slowly at Mark’s shell. Mark is there to support Trevor during a hard time and finally realizes what he could be losing by protecting his heart against love.
Although this is an enjoyable easy story to read, there were one or two moments that threw me, like one moment we were seeing things from Mark’s view point and the next second it would be Trevor’s and then jump back to Mark’s after a couple of sentences, not well done at all. I was impressed with the medical knowledge and medical descriptions, I’d like to applaud Ken Murphy for making it interesting and weaving it into the storyline so it blended well into the lives of Trevor and Mark and their progressing relationship. This story is very well done for a first published work.
I have to recommend this to those who like developing love stories, a touch of angst, learning to trust your heart, grabbing onto love while you can, sweet lovemaking and a very happy ending. Oh if you like the writing style of Étienne and Tinnean then you will enjoy this story.
Portia’s Two Cents: I agree with every thing that Pixie said in her review, I just wanted to add my two cents. Having worked SICU and ER, I loved the way Ken Murphy brought those nursing units to life. The characters are so realistic, as well as the dialogue. I can honestly say, this was the best medical romance I’ve read in a very long time. As a nurse, I thoroughly enjoyed the interplay between Mark and his colleagues and the positive portrayal of acute care nursing…Kudos Ken for a job very well done.