Light of My Heart (Silver Hills Trilogy, #1) by Ginny Aiken

Light of My Heart (Silver Hills Trilogy, #1) Reviews

• 
  Christy

  I just did not care for this style of writing. This is actually the second Ginny Aiken book I have read and I probably should make it my last; but I do have the other two in this series so maybe they will be better. The paragraphs are so wordy and clogged with quite a bit of useless detail. A woman's curl in her hair really should not contain such lengthy descriptions. It was just too much. I so missed a good story here; this was just way too much overdone romance for me from the first chapter on.
• 
  Tawallah

  This caught my eye seeing that the protagonist is a female doctor in late 1890s. A historical plausible fact, seeing that the first female doctor was Elizabeth Blackwell in 1880s, I think. Dr. Letitia Morgan is a homeopathic doctor as opposed to the allopathic physician. But more on this later.
  
  This historical romance novel starts off shaky but developed and improved as it progressed. The characters were fleshed out well, but it was hard to decide from their actions their ages. For example Eric is described as an old widower but the description doesn't add up. This discrepancy occurs with time flow, for example there was some confusion with when winter had ended and the lag between events isn't always clear. I was not a fan of the underlying tone between homeopathic and allopathic physicians. There are some areas which require suspension of belief. Despite these defects, the themes of guilt, pride, redemption, hypocrisy and being an example were enough to hold interest.
  
  
• 
  Sharon Paavola

  A heartwarming and meaningful novel. You’ll want to pick this one up and sink into it. Spiritual lessons throughout as this female doctor takes on this town and the brothel women.
• 
  Loretta

  The story line was fine but some of the emotions for the characters was a bit over the top for me; mostly because it was repeated so often. Definitely chick lit. Somewhat "schmaltzy" as in violins and bleeding hearts. I did appreciate the emphasis on doing the right thing as the woman doctor in the story continues to ruffle feathers and create scandal as she reaches out to "the soiled doves" and unlovely in the small mining town in Colorado.
• 
  Barbara

  This is a very enjoyable story about a woman doctor. Forgiveness, prejudice, greed, change, family, tragedy, triumph, and faith all enter into the plot. Letitia and Eric are admirable characters who have a lot to learn about themselves and each other as they try to change a community for the better.
• 
  Audrey Henning

  This book was alright....I gave it 3 stars and that was being kinda generous.
  
  It is a good story, but it's fairly slow moving at parts. I speed read through the last 100 pages.
• 
  Honeybee

  I have seriously mixed feelings about this book. I liked the story line, but didn't care for the frequent redundancy of thought in the characters. The action was frequently exciting and even suspenseful. Yet the villains were a bit "over the top" in their speech and conduct, while the characters that were reformed by the love of Christ succumbed a little too easily.
  
  The two main characters are a lively, frequently head-butting, combination: Leticia Morgan, a twenty-something lady doctor from Philadelphia, was quick to rescue every lost and needy soul--including the undisciplined children of the town drunk and a couple of young ladies of ill repute. Native Coloradan and widower, Eric Wagner, was a crusading newspaper editor, determined to uncover the truth and protect those he loved. Both were attracted to each other immediately; however, they fought their impulses (sometimes), because they each felt unworthy of the other's affections. Far too frequently Eric exacerbated things by unexpectedly and too passionately kissing or embracing Letty--only to suddenly relent and give her the cold shoulder. Letty, an independent and determined young lady, resisted his frequent attempts to guard both her reputation and personal safety by demanding she refrain from dealing with certain members of Hartville society.
  
  It was nice to see the local pastor and his wife were not only concerned for the welfare of their flock, but also listened to the concerns of their members regarding lost souls outside the church. The reverend's wife and Letty's best friend were quite meddlesome in their matchmaking efforts, but they were also her most staunch supporters when others turned against her.
  
  One thing I particularly found irksome was that a supposedly Christian author was espousing homeopathy through this book. She showed Letty, a practitioner of this so-called "healing art" as a noble Christian lady. The main antagonist, an allopathic (traditional medical) doctor, was painted as a greedy, lascivious, bully of a man, who pretended to be a fine upstanding member of the local congregation, but was nothing of the sort.
  
  Many people do not realize that homeopathy was introduced in the early 1800's by a man steeped in Freemasonry and Eastern religion. In response to the harsh and often harmful practices of most physicians at that time (such as blood-letting, enemas and heavy doses of opiates), its founder, Samuel Hahnemann, espoused the idea that "like cures like," His contention was that, by administering a substance that would normally CAUSE a particular symptom or illness, you could treat that same problem. However, these poisons would be watered down to such a degree, that the reactions in his patients were primarily caused by a placebo effect (at best), or something demonic (at worst). The real power in Hahnemann's "medicines" was the "vital force" transferred from the practitioner to the patient, through a series of dilutions of the poison to its prescribed form. While most modern homeopathic dispensers have demystified their practice, it nevertheless has very little in common with either verifiable science or Christianity!
  
  While parts of this book made for an enjoyable read, other parts make it difficult for me to recommend the novel to others. Ginny Aiken does a nice job of developing her characters and plot, but she frequently overstates her ideas. Most of all, her choice of career for Letty is questionable, to say the least.
• 
  Madisyn Carlin

  DNF'd at 33%.
  
  I saw this while scrolling through the Kindle and wanted to try it. It has a beautiful cover, promising premise, and I liked the other Ginny Aiken book I read, so I though I'd like Light of My Heart.
  
  First, Ginny Aiken has a good writing style. I also liked the concept of a lady doctor. In the beginning, I was drawn into the book. Letty's plight evokes sympathy from the reader and I genuinely wanted to follow her story and cheer her on to her HEA.
  
  I do want to state that, in the 33% I read, there's nothing wrong with this book, meaning there's no profanity, no unnecessary sexual tension/handling of sexual tension, and so on.
  
  It's not a book for me, which I regret.
  
  I could handle the facts that Letty is super tiny and trim (echoing my sentiments from previous reviews: I can't stand it when the women are so petite) and I also disliked the fact that Eric had a mustache (again, no facial hair for this girl, thanks). But I could overlook those and just "erase" them as I read.
  
  Like I said before, I really liked the other book I read of Aiken's, so I was disappointed when I couldn't stay invested. It wasn't the writing style, and as I said I thought the premise held a lot of potential. The book hooked me, but only Letty's POV ended up keeping me. Surprisingly, I wasn't fond of Eric. Yes, I appreciated what he did and his thoughtfulness for the certain family, and I pitied him due to what happened in the past, but it felt like he was too much about it. Almost a prideful too much? It's hard to explain. Anyway, I wasn't fond of him. I liked Letty, though.
  
  This could quite possibly be the book for you, and if you enjoy Christian historical romance, then you should give Light of My Heart a shot.
• 
  Linda

  An excellent Christian romance set in the fictional mining town of Hartville, Colorado, in 1893.
  
  Dr. Letitia Morgan has responded to a request for a woman doctor to come to Hartville, especially to care for the women and children of the town. Almost immediately, she finds herself butting heads with Eric Wagner, the editor of the local newspaper, the Hartville Day. Eric is trying to close down the local brothels and run the women who work there out of town; Letty is more interested in saving the lives and souls of the women, especially those in their teens and younger who are being exploited. Will these two stubborn, headstrong people discover that they can work together ... and that perhaps God has a plan for the two of them?
  
  There were relatively few editing oversights in the Kindle version: Location 798, Try as she might, he couldn't pay attention / Try as HE might, he couldn't pay attention ; 990, and settle into town / and settle IN TO town ; 1216, ruffling to rights every wrong / ruffling to RIGHT every wrong ;
  
  Location 1679, the shadows . . . stretched unnaturally long, mocking Eric with their enormity / the shadows . . . stretched unnaturally long, mocking Eric with their SHEER SIZE (or EXTENT, or IMMENSITY; "enormity" has a connotation of extreme wickedness) ; 2645, flourished in the Stone's unconditional love / flourished in the STONES' unconditional love (plural possessive) .
• 
  Ellen

  Romance-wise, this book was middle of the road and got heavy-handed with a push for Eric's salvation near the end, but there were a few aspects to the story I enjoyed. First off was the history of female doctors in frontier towns, but that has actually been done elsewhere with a little more draw than this book, as has the plight of young prostitutes as "soiled doves." What was unique was the fact that Letty was a homeopathic doctor who comes up against the judgment of the AMA and the local, male "allopath" who paints her gender and practice all with the same prejudicial brush. I would like to know more about the history of homeopathy because of this book. The portrayal of the suffragette was also an interesting side note, if not central to the story.
  
  Sadly, Letty's character rubbed me the wrong way often. It seems she is just as prejudicial in her views of men and paints others with that same broad brush. In her fervor to treat and help the disenfranchised in the town, she seems to blame all men for the faults of some. In the end, I think I could have liked the characters more than I ended up doing.
• 
  Pattisue

  I enjoyed this historical fiction. Dr. Letitia Morgan is feisty and determined to succeed. “The prejudice again women doctors made it impossible for her to be successful.” Her tenacity is inspiring as she focuses on “her God-given gift to heal.” I think women often abandon their dreams of marriage and children to pursue a career. The tension between Letty and Eric adds drama and romance. His heart though broken is not closed off to those in need. The story touches on past violence and the unsavory vices of men but doesn’t discount accountability. Aiken handles sensitive topics with a gentle touch. Themes in this book include redemption, rescuing the forgotten, neglected, and downtrodden, and a heart turned to God. “…his heart longs for the woman who’d stormed his town and laid siege on his heart.”
• 
  D.S. Williams

  A Solid Three and a Half Stars
  
  It really does bug me that Amazon won't allow the bestowing of half stars, but this one definitely needed it. I really enjoyed the story, but if felt as if it dragged on a little longer than I'd have liked, with too much time spent on the 'I have no right to anything good in my life' musings of the hero.
  And while it started out with a bit of religion, which I don't mind, by the last few chapters it felt as if heavy doses of religion were being rammed down my throat, which I didn't enjoy. The desire to find out what happened outweighed the heavy religious preaching, but only just.
• 
  Elaine

  A tender love story of a woman determined to live her life as she wishes, as a doctor. Being a female doctor in a period when women who took up this profession were frowned on, didn't discourage Letty. She found a position in a small town, but little did she know all the good she would be able to do for the town's residents. Her enormous generous heart sought to help and protect a family of children who needed not only material aid, but love as well.
  Her story is based on hope, love and above all, trust in God. A lovely read to inspire your heart.
• 
  Deb

  This was a book I had trouble putting down. I loved this being about a female doctor from Philly, who no one wants as a doctor. That is not a career for a woman. In 1858, my cousin Rebecca Lewis (Fussell) was among the first to graduate as a doctor in Philly. So this story touched me in a personal way. The character, Letty, moved to Colorado to practice. She prayed that the people there would be more accepting of her. She had her ups and downs. But her faith and determination kept her moving forward both professionally and personally.
• 
  Elizabeth Sintes

  Light of My Heart
  
  I will definitely try to read your other books if they are as good as this one. Yes, there was love, anger, pain, and family affairs that made this story as good as it is.
• 
  MaryAnn

  Good story about woman doctor in the West in mining town in late 1800s, but far too much drivel about her thoughts and the thoughts of her love interest. Parts were corny or unrealistic. I am not inclined to continue the trilogy.
• 
  Michele Lacroix

  Imho, I expected this book to be a little darker. but I really enjoyed it
• 
  Patti

  It took a long time to like the characters and for anything to happen.
• 
  Diane

  Historical & romance
  
  I enjoyed the characters and situations created by this author. The back story of closing down the brothels added another layer of interest.
• 
  Angieluila Bradley

  If only all life could have such happy endings. Very good book.
• 
  Jan St Clair

  Great book!
  
  This book kept my attention the entire day and I couldn't put it down! Great book! Can't wait to read the next in the series