The Healing Season by Ruth Axtell Morren

I was immediately drawn to this book because of its connection to the theatre world, which I love. The spunky Regency heroine, Eleanor Neville, was hysterical as she mimicked cockney accents and put on various personas, but I quickly learned that she also had much depth, and old wounds, which she attempted to hide.
Almost as quickly, I fell in love with the hero, Ian Russell, a mild-mannered surgeon with a heart of gold. His world of herbs, autopsies, and amputations proved as fascinating as that of the London stage.
These two worlds collide when the good surgeon is called upon to help Eleanor’s fellow actress after a botched abortion. Eleanor works bravely at his side to rescue her friend. From that time on, the two can’t seem to avoid one another and are pulled together by many twists and turns within the story. This causes great angst for both of them. Ian has long awaited his pure “Rebecca” type wife to be brought to him by God, and he cannot fathom his attraction to this loose and godless woman. Eleanor has no need of love. She’s had enough of that in her past with poor results. She also has no need of Ian’s holier-than-thou attitude. What she does have need of is security, an ideal London address, and a chance to perform in one of the premier theatres, none of which Ian offers.
The Healing Season is about more than a doctor’s profession, it is about the Great Physician who is able to heal physically, spiritually, and emotionally. Only through God’s supernatural grace and intervention is this book able to come to its happily-ever-after ending. This is my kind of romance that illustrates true love is a gift from God and not merely a fleeting emotion. While reading this book I was struck anew with the reality that sometimes God calls His most faithful and sincere sons to minister healing, hope, and love to His most broken and deserving daughters.