I tried - I really did :-( ( )

Communication lost, mistakes made, dreams crushed…Can hearts be healed, mistakes forgiven and love prevail? The dinner at the Tonga Room shows how happiness and love can be given and shared without any thought of self, just making someone’s difficult life a little better, Death, danger and loss reads as if this could be a true story. The characters shine, regardless of their faults and foibles.

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Code Triage is a complex romance filled with real people doing things for solid reasons that tear their world apart. I chose it at random to read on my phone because I had forgotten my eReader. Once I started, though, I couldn't put it down. Nick, a former chef turned police officer, and Leigh, an ER doctor, are multilayered characters, but they're not the only ones. The pseudo villain Samantha is well drawn, as is Caroline, Leigh's sister. Even incidental characters have meaning and purpose within the story, down to a parrot who reminds both its family and Leigh the importance of forever.

It's highly unusual to find a romance novel with a discussion guide at the back, but this book very much warrants it. Code Triage explores actions and consequences surrounding divorce, trust, need, and a variety of other issues, but not in a "classroom" manner. They're an integral part of the characters' journeys from Nick's adultery during a separation from his wife to Samantha's desperate attempt to turn a moment of comfort after her brother's death into a lifetime commitment from Nick. And there's Leigh, a victim on the surface but whose own actions set Nick up to some degree, and until she comes to terms with that, they can never find their way back to happiness.

Yes, this is a romance novel. Yes, there is the implicit promise of a happy ending. But Code Triage is so much more, starting from a couple who have grown apart, not because they've fallen out of love but because they have let obstacles grow between them until what feels like an unscalable mountain keeps pushing them away from each other. Each major action has consequences, while the choices they make under pressure reveal just how superficial the things that keep them apart are. But both Nick and Leigh need to learn to trust, to learn that opening themselves up and risking the hurt is the only way to win back their love.

This is a powerful story filled with the dark side of marriage and commitment, the struggle to be vulnerable when all your instincts warn to hide yourself away. It's not for the faint hearted. It's not for those looking for a light and fluffy read. But if you're like me and want to meet deep characters, to learn from how they handle solid troubles often of their own making, you'll have as hard a time putting this novel down as I did.

I only had one significant hiccup in the read, a single scene where the fact that this is also an inspirational novel takes over the story with a faith message so heavy handed that it threw me out for a moment. However, that's one single scene. Faith is a key aspect of the book from page one, true faith in yourself and in God founded not on going through the motions but on accepting that life is complicated. Unless you have a real problem with faith and God making an appearance, you should be able to skim the above mentioned scene and enjoy the novel even if inspirationals are not your thing.

As proof of how the discussion guide is appropriate, I am planning a Monday post sparked by this novel, a realization about faith and religion that clarifies something I've been spinning around in my head for a while. ( )

Going through a reading slump? Try this one! This book hooked me from page one and wouldn't let me go. 'Code Triage' was written by Candace Calvert who used to be an ER nurse. So she has lived many ER situations and knows how to make writing about them realistic. ‘Code Triage’ started off engrossing and maintained a quick pace that doesn’t let you go throughout the book. My father was a doctor and I grew up playing with a skeleton (when he was learning the bones) and used to the smells of a hospital. So I love everything medical, fiction and non-fiction and this is one of the very best.

All of her characters are fully developed, starting with Dr. Leigh Stathos, who is recently separated, works in the ER and has a horse that she is very bonded to. She is going through some serious rough spots at the same time. Nick, her soon to be ex is a San Francisco Police Officer who is very caring and protective of the people on his beat. He made a mistake that he really regrets. Samantha Gordon is the Child Crisis worker is the woman you love to hate. Candace Calvert fleshed out this story with a lovely older couple who lived next door, Caroline or Caro, a lab assistant who is Leigh’s sister, and Riley the hospital’s assistant chaplain. Now you know the main characters. There are more but it does not get confusing.

I don’t to tell you anything about happened because I don’t want to spoil it for you.

When I started reading this book, I didn’t want to do anything else that is how good it is. I even learned more about some medical procedures, human and equine. We learn that backgrounds of the main characters so this book succeeds as a standalone. You will not be confused if you didn’t read the others in this series. I definitely will go back and read the others in this series.

So, treat yourself to a great story that won’t let you go! ( )

Another good drama story in the Mercy Hospital Series. This story is about Dr. Leigh Stathos and her dedicated police officer husband Nick Stathos. Nick has messed up on his marriage and Leigh can't seem to forgive him or trust him, which is why they are separated and divorce is just around the corner. There is ER trauma, confrontation with the "other woman", violence at the hospital that will lead to a killing, and through it all Nick trying to get Leigh to understand he still loves her and wants to make their marriage work. Leigh has problems though in believing that anything lasts forever, She can't except God's love is forever, and their marriage won't last forever either. She can't trust God, or Nick. Until she can understand God's love, she will never be able to except Nick's. I appreciated the struggles both individuals were going through, and in the end they both chose to do things God's way. As it was for all 3 of her books, Candace Calvert knows how to write stories that keep you glued to the book till the end!
I would also like to thank Tyndale House Publishers for providing me with a complimentary copy of this book for review. ( )