Today is the last day of Lorenz Font's blog tour for her new novel Indivisible Line. My review of it is below, and I also have an excerpt to share with you.
Business owner Greg Andrews wants to escape his philandering wife and his life in general. Leaving New York City to join a hunting expedition in Alaska, Greg’s plans are turned upside down when he is shot on Gwich’in land and ends up on Sarah’s operating table. In the absence of a qualified doctor, Sarah must operate to save his life. She refuses to wait for the consent of their tribal leader, and her father banishes her from the tribal land in punishment.
Grateful for his life, Greg concocts a scheme to help. Plagued by the side effects of her unconventional operation, he convinces Sarah to become his live-in nurse. Without the means to support herself, Sarah agrees to the questionable arrangement, but she soon finds herself in even more trouble. Her new problem is that she is falling in love with this infuriating man, and the choices she now must make are must more difficult than the simple act of saving a man’s life.
Together, Sarah and Greg must both decide whether they can overcome the vast differences between them, or if the indivisible line that separates their worlds will ultimately pull them apart.
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My review:
I love stories about arranged marriages, because I'm endlessly fascinated by how people cope when they're plunged into circumstances beyond their control.
Sarah is a member of the Gwich’in tribe of Alaska, also known as the Caribou People. They maintain their ancient traditions in the modern world, though it's often a struggle, especially for young people. In this respect, it's similar to the struggle the Amish face, who also sometimes lose their young people to the temptations of modern life.
Sarah feels she couldn't leave, even if she wanted to. The tribe paid for her college education, and she is still a year away from graduating. Her father is the tribe's chief, and it was he who arranged Sarah's impending marriage to Trimble, who works as a guide for the tourists who come to hunt caribou. Sarah has always been obedient to her father, and she's hoping he'll change his mind about her match when he sees what a good job she's doing.
Trimble isn't a bad guy, and he's in line to become the next leader of the tribe, so he's a good match for Sarah, in her father's opinion. Trimble is polite, considerate, and one of the most popular men in town but Sarah just isn't attracted to him. Adding another layer of complication, Sarah's friend Lily has feelings for Trimble.
Suddenly, everything changes. A gunshot victim is brought to the clinic and the doctor isn't in. Even though she's still unlicensed, Sarah knows she has to do whatever she can to save the gorgeous stranger, who makes her heart pound, even as he's laying unconscious on the operating table. She removes the bullet, and gives him a transfusion of her own blood.
The victim is Greg Andrews, shot by a man he thought was a friend, who was having an affair with Greg's soon-to-be ex-wife. When he realizes what's happened to him, he vows revenge. As soon as Sarah has him stabilized, they transport him to a hospital in Fairbanks.
Sarah's father is furious she used the few medical supplies the town had on this outsider, and put the tribe at risk if one of their own had been injured. He expels Sarah from the tribe.
Stunned, but determined to face her uncertain future bravely, Sarah goes back to school, but she's not sure how she's going to pay for her tuition. While she's still thinking over her options (and still thinking about that beautiful wounded stranger) a car pulls up beside her on the street. Before she can react, Sarah is grabbed and pushed into the car.
Despite these terrifying circumstances, Sarah keeps a clear head. She wakes up in a stranger's home and is told by a female employee that she can sort it all out with Mr. Andrews. Sarah hopes when she meets him, she can convince him to let her go. To her shock, he turns out to be the gunshot victim she saved.
Greg Andrews is furious at Sarah. He's been severely weakened by an infection caused by her removal of the bullet, and the blood transfusion gave him other complications. He gives her an ultimatum: work as his nurse and assistant while going to school at night, or he'll file charges against her for "playing doctor" as he calls it, and she'll lose any chance at becoming a physician.
Sarah is enraged at his brutal tactics and blackmail, but believes she has no choice but to agree to his arrangement. He has her enrolled at Columbia medical school and pays the tuition, plus a generous salary.
The way Greg announced every detail made her cringe. She should be running for the hills. Everything about him screamed ‘weird.’ He had taken matters into his own hands, believing he could predict what her answer would be. Greg had arranged for her to attend a top-notch university and . . . well . . . it was just weird.
“Why are you doing this?”
Greg looked at her with his piercing blue eyes. “Because I wanted to hate you, but I can’t.”
But Greg's plan doesn't run very smoothly. He's attracted to Sarah and can't fight the temptation she presents. Nor is his plot for revenge against his duplicitous ex-wife going as he'd hoped. When Sarah is injured, her realizes just how much he cares.
Despite how close they're getting, Sarah doesn't see a future in their relationship:
“Are you telling me this man you saved had you kidnapped and threatened to throw you in jail if you don’t cooperate with him?
Sarah nodded before she remembered Lily couldn’t see her. “Yes.”
“And the same guy enrolled you in one of the most prestigious schools in the country?” Lily’s voice now had a dreamy lilt to it.
“Yes.” Sarah hated to admit it, but Greg’s behavior had a tendency to give her whiplash. He could be pushy and overbearing one minute, and sweet and compassionate the next. Sometimes hot, sometimes cold. He was a man she had yet to figure out.
“Sounds like a fairytale to me,” Lily commented.
Sarah sighed. It hadn’t all been a girl’s dream come true. “Not by a long stretch, and besides, he and I are like night and day. He’s rich, I’m poor. He’s popular, and I’m a fly on the wall nobody cares about. There’s no way there’s going to be a fairytale.”
“You sound disappointed.” Lily fell quiet, leaving Sarah to question what her friend was thinking. “Sarah . . . are you falling in love with him?”
“Of course not.” Her denial sounded weak even to her own ears.
Under this tangle of complications, Sarah and Greg have to discover if a path to love can be found. Two very different people from very different worlds, both of them with their own problems with family and obligations, but both unable to fight their passion for one another.
I liked Sarah. She had spirit and courage, and wanted to balance her deep respect for traditions with her needs from the modern world. Greg wants to be cold and ruthless, but can't quite manage it where Sarah is concerned. Even his need for revenge starts to take a back seat where she is concerned. I also liked that Lily's feelings for Trimble didn't cause her to become a jealous enemy, and that Trimble himself wasn't an oaf that's easy to dislike.
It's an all around, entertaining romance I don't hesitate to recommend.
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Excerpt:
She blinked and pulled her hand back. “I hate nightmares.”
Sarah scrambled to sit up while Greg rose from his kneeling position at the side of her bed.
“I heard your screams, so I came in to check on you.” He watched her with a worried expression. “What got you all scared?”
She tried to remember but came up empty. “How can dreams turn you upside-down, and then leave you wondering what got you all riled up in the first place?” Blinking, she tried to compose her thoughts. “I can’t remember.”
“Do you want a glass of water?” Greg asked without moving from his spot.
Sarah shook her head and shivered, still feeling the effects of the forgotten nightmare. “Lie down with me?”
Why did she always end up speaking without thinking first? This was so wrong on all levels, but she was giving in to her heart’s desire. If it was a mistake, then she’d learn her lesson pretty soon.
Greg hesitated. She couldn’t blame him. He must know how she felt about him, although, she’d fought hard to keep her emotions hidden. Greg was far too beautiful for his own good, and she had been mesmerized by him from the first moment she’d laid eyes on him.
She closed her eyes, waiting for him to turn her down. He didn’t say anything, but then she felt the mattress dip under his weight. “I’ll hold you until you fall asleep.”
Sarah nodded, and then turned her body in his direction. Greg eased himself onto the bed, and face to face, they stared at each other in the darkness. No words were necessary. They were just two people struggling with their lives and everything around them, and they needed each other.
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About the author:
Writing is therapeutic for Lorenz, and a perfect day consists of writing and playing with her characters while listening to her ever-growing music collection. She enjoys dabbling in different genres, with an intense focus on angst and the redemption of flawed characters. Her fascination with romantic twists is a mainstay in all her stories.
Lorenz currently lives in California with her husband, children, and two demanding dogs. She divides her time between a full-time job as a Business Office Manager for a hospital and her busy writing schedule.
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Thanks for hosting today's blog stop.
ReplyDeleteThanks for being part of the blog tour! Great way to end it!
ReplyDeleteGreat review! I've spotlighted this author on my blog. I'll have to check out her work. Thanks for sharing. :)
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