Review: Heartwarming
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 11 14, 2012
Recently divorced from her philandering husband, Mallory wanted to have a rhinoplasty to correct an overly large nose. Though she expected to feel more beautiful after the surgery, she did not count on falling in love with her plastic surgeon, Dr. Seth Whitman, who was also showing signs of falling in love with his patient.And though the obvious conflict is the "patient-doctor" relationship, author Diane Craver actually packed many subplots including other romances from Toby (Mallory's ex-husband) illicit affairs; her mother remarrying and two friends Heather and Elizabeth finding their better halves. Still, the most heartwrenching is the subplot about Josh, Mallory's young son who had to deal with his parents' divorce.I love the story. I like Mallory and love her son Josh. I even love Seth's sterling character. So, why am I giving this only four stars, though I thorougly enjoyed the book. It's because somehow, even with all the drama, the pedulum never swing both ways, that is from anger to forgiveness.I understand that this is a Christian novel. But, being a Christian does not mean you cannot get angry. Goodness gracious, Mallory should have been livid with her ex-husband Toby when she found out what he did. But, Mallory just took it. Alright, someone might keep their cool in public, but they can still privately seethe. Anger is a human emotion and it is natural. It is involuntary. Mallory being angry is expected and would have been natural, especially after what Toby did and was doing. She could get angry and still keep this novel's Christian rating or genre. Mallory keeping her cool all the time is unnatural.As priest once told me, "Anger is an involuntary emotion; forgiveness is something you have to consciously strive for." It would have been okay to get angry. After all, Mallory is human. And as a Christian, she would have to find forgiveness and work on it. That to me would more natural and give this book the emotional involvement from its readers that was striving for.