Good book with an excellent romance that takes place with a background of several social issues. Along with the romance between two people driven to help others, we also see the effects of disease and poverty in Victorian London, women's fight to have a say in their own healthcare, and society's limits on those same women.

Ferris, an Edinburgh-trained doctor, devotes all of his time to the care of London's poorest residents. After losing his fiancée to a fever, he put aside any dreams of a family of his own. As the story opens, he's returned home from a confrontation with the local hospital's board to find his older brother waiting. As usual, Ferris forgot that he promised to attend the family's charity ball that night, and Frederick is there to make sure he shows up.

One of four daughters of a country doctor, Anne came to London to help people with her herbal remedies. By involving women, she empowered them to keep their families healthy without the expense of London's doctors and medicines. After making arrangements to meet with some local women, she hurries home to join her sister; both committed to attending the hospital's charity ball.

When Ferris's mother sets him dancing with Anne, he expects the usual vapid chit-chat. Instead, Anne shows interest in his work. I loved seeing them connect over medicine and their feelings about the disparity between society and the poor. Ferris also found himself strongly attracted to Anne, both her beauty and understanding, going so far as to resurrect his dream of home and family. Anne, equally drawn to him, resists the attraction. Burned by her ex-fiancé, who pretended to support her dreams, she no longer trusts men's honesty. An unexpected and passionate kiss sent Anne running from the feelings he aroused.

Ferris and Anne meet again under more difficult circumstances. While trying out his new mobile treatment wagon, he discovers that his expected patients have deserted him for a healer woman and her herbs. Filled with righteous fury, Ferris hurries to confront what he's sure is a charlatan of the worst kind, only to find it is Anne. Feeling betrayed, he lashes out, saying terrible things to and about her. I loved that Anne stood up to him. I especially enjoyed her rebuttal to his statement that there were reasons not everyone can be a doctor. They did not part on good terms.

When Ferris comes up with the idea of asking Anne to join him for the sole reason of keeping an eye on her, he doesn't realize what it means. An emergency allowed them to work together, and each saw a different side to the other. Within a couple of weeks, Ferris realized that far from resenting her presence in his clinic, he liked having her there. Plus, having her along on his wagon trips increased the number of patients he/they helped. He feels guilty about using her to pad the numbers for his wagon but reassures himself that it's justified if he gets the funding he needs.

I liked watching the relationship between Ferris and Anne develop. They bond over caring for their patients, each coming to understand more about what makes the other tick. The sparks between them continue to grow, as do their feelings for each other. But both have been hurt in the past, and trusting their feelings doesn't come easy. Just when it looks like a future between them is possible, Anne finds out the truth about her presence by Ferris's side. I ached for her feelings of hurt and betrayal and understood her fury at his deception. Ferris kicked himself quite thoroughly for his idiocy upon discovering her departure. I loved his big moment as he confessed all but was interrupted by another emergency. I loved how this one went, as Ferris took the opportunity to show her his support for her work in a most effective way.

I loved the attention to detail in the descriptions of the various medical issues. I especially enjoyed Anne's explanations of her herbal remedies and their uses. I also felt for Ferris and his frustration at the lack of interest and care exhibited by the hospital board members - until something affected them personally. The whooping cough scenes were heartrending and made me happy that we have protections against it in modern times.

I can't wait to read the rest of the series.

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