Heart Surgeon, Hero...Husband? by Susan Carlisle

Heart Surgeon, Hero...Husband? Reviews

• 
  Pam Asberry

  Susan Carlisle's debut novel tells the story of a single mom dealing with her young child's serious illness. Unfortunately, her best hope lies in the hands of a man she shares a painful history with, forcing both of them to deal with their issues from the past. Despite their feelings, they forge a partnership for the sake of the young patient and rediscover parts of themselves they thought were lost forever. This well crafted book, sweet but not syrupy, is a quick and satisfying read. Recommended!
• 
  Sally Kilpatrick

  Carlisle will break your heart and put it back together again with the story of a little boy who needs a heart and a Mom who learns to love again because she has to learn to trust.
• 
  Debra

  Heart Surgeon, Hero...Husband?
  
  This was about two people who knew each other in the past. Now meet again because of her child. He is a heart surgeon and her son needs a heart transplant. Her husband left her due to his inability to get past his son's problem. They both will need to find strength for her son's pending surgery and surviving the transplant. This one was filled with much angst and the possibility of romance.
• 
  Carla-Everything Romance

  Dr. Scott McIntyre is a surgeon specializing in heart transplants; a man so totally dedicated to his profession and to his patients that he has pushed a personal life out of existence except for an occasional hookup. He realized his complete dedication made it impossible for him to share his life with someone as he wouldn’t be able to give enough of himself to make a relationship or a marriage work. He watched his father, also a physician; destroy his marriage because he could not devote one minute to his family if it meant taking time away from his patients and his career. Scott’s mother cried when she heard he wanted to follow in his father’s footsteps – not from happiness but out of fear that he would end up like his father. After his parents divorced, Scott’s mother became more and more obsessive towards her children and wanted constant attention from them. When she couldn’t have every minute she wanted, she tried to kill herself and Scott blamed himself for not doting on her. Although he saved her life, she blamed him especially for her unhappiness. So he has decided to go it alone and not cause another woman pain and unhappiness.
  
  Hannah Quinn is a nurse who knew Scott McIntyre when he was just an intern and knew of his reputation as a player. But working together created a deep friendship and one that Hannah wanted to continue into a relationship. When they finally took that step, and made love, Scott realized that he couldn’t give Hannah what she wanted. He made a commitment to himself that he would never marry and Hannah wanted the whole package. So he walked away and she never heard from him again. Until…….Hannah is now a single mom with a two year old son, Jake, born with a defective heart. Her husband left them when he couldn’t handle the pressures of a sick child and left Hannah totally on her own. She had to give up nursing to take care of Jake. Now he was getting worse and needs to have a transplant. Hannah’s consultation at the hospital with the best in the field brings her face to face with Scott! The connection is still there…..and the chemistry is still there…..but Hannah hasn’t forgotten what Scott did to her and anyway, she has to worry about only Jake now. And Scott is totally flabbergasted; not sure what to do or say but his only concern at the moment is Jake. He has to save Jake’s life. But they can’t stay away from each other, no matter how hard they try so now they have another problem to deal with – each other!!
  
  Author Susan Carlisle lived the experience of having a child with a defective heart and uses this experience to write a heart-wrenching story of love and loyalty. She describes fully all the procedures a child and his family must go through to obtain a new heart and to successfully live through the transplant. We suffer with Hannah as she sits hour after hour in the waiting room, praying that her child will live and that she will be able to care for him. And Scott watches her too, wishing he had someone to feel for him the way Hannah does for her son. And he wants to give Hannah all the love that has been bottled up inside of him all these years but doesn’t know if he can separate his career from his private life. Can two independent, self-sufficient, proud people, filled with passion, love and loyalty find their way to each other?
  
  Thank you Ms. Carlisle for sharing your story with us through Scott and Hannah and showing us the many ways that true love can win.
  
  Review done by Book Monster's Guest Reviewer - Joanne
• 
  Carol Burnside

  It���s not often that readers find a debut of this caliber. Readers worldwide will identify with Susan Carlisle���s Hannah, a single mother who learns her very young son is in dire need of a heart transplant. That alone is a lot of conflict for one book, but Carlisle writes romance and doesn���t stop there. Dr. Scott McIntyre is a heart surgeon with a love-���em-and-leave-���em past which includes Hannah. She���s been hurt enough, left behind enough and can���t think about romance when little Eric is gasping for every breath.
  
  However, the situation with Eric means that Hannah and Scott are together quite often. They were once friends. His genuine concern for her at a highly emotional time is a volatile combination and Hannah finds herself falling for the doctor once again. Through the highs and lows of the medical situation they face, Scott is steady and dependable, no longer the consummate flirt. Will this time be different, or end in heartbreak once again?
  
  Seeing as Carlisle���s experience with her own son���s heart transplant was the bulk of her research, this book could have easily been overloaded with the medical issue at hand. Instead, Carlisle uses a deft hand to balance Hannah���s motherly concern with the building romance so that Hannah remains sympathetic. She uses that same deft hand to balance Scott���s doctor duties with those of a friend protecting a friend and later, a man in love with both his patient and the mother.
  
  While Heart Surgeon, Hero...Husband? is far from maudlin, have the tissues handy when you read this book. There���s plenty of emotion to be experienced as Hannah and Scott face the challenges of falling in love during tragic circumstances. The resolution inspired a deep sigh and a wide smile of satisfaction from this reader.
  
• 
  Annie Rayburn

  It’s not often that readers find a debut of this caliber. Readers worldwide will identify with Susan Carlisle’s Hannah, a single mother who learns her very young son is in dire need of a heart transplant. That alone is a lot of conflict for one book, but Carlisle writes romance and doesn’t stop there. Dr. Scott McIntyre is a heart surgeon with a love-‘em-and-leave-‘em past which includes Hannah. She’s been hurt enough, left behind enough and can’t think about romance when little Eric is gasping for every breath.
  
  However, the situation with Eric means that Hannah and Scott are together quite often. They were once friends. His genuine concern for her at a highly emotional time is a volatile combination and Hannah finds herself falling for the doctor once again. Through the highs and lows of the medical situation they face, Scott is steady and dependable, no longer the consummate flirt. Will this time be different, or end in heartbreak once again?
  
  Seeing as Carlisle’s experience with her own son’s heart transplant was the bulk of her research, this book could have easily been overloaded with the medical issue at hand. Instead, Carlisle uses a deft hand to balance Hannah’s motherly concern with the building romance so that Hannah remains sympathetic. She uses that same deft hand to balance Scott’s doctor duties with those of a friend protecting a friend and later, a man in love with both his patient and the mother.
  
  While Heart Surgeon, Hero...Husband? is far from maudlin, have the tissues handy when you read this book. There’s plenty of emotion to be experienced as Hannah and Scott face the challenges of falling in love during tragic circumstances. The resolution inspired a deep sigh and a wide smile of satisfaction from this reader.
  
• 
  Valerie

  I found the pace of this book very slow and even though it was a medical romance it was focused much more on the romance than the medical aspect.
• 
  Debbie

  Loved this great debut romance!