MY REVIEW:
It has been awhile since I read a book by Candace Calvert and after reading “Step by Step” I have to wonder why. I really like the author’s down-to-earth portrayal of medical personnel who actually have real lives outside of the hospital. I also like the way she gives her readers an up-close-and-personal look at what goes on behind the scenes. In this case, I learned quite a bit about the people on crisis teams who are available to support family members in the midst of or after traumatic events.
Widowed ER nurse Taylor Cabot has checked off nearly every item on her survival list and her target deadline is quickly approaching. She believes that she will regain a normal life once again if she can just check off the final item – fall in love again. That objective is looking absolutely possible because the handsome and single plastic surgeon on staff is in hot pursuit of Taylor. He would be the perfect husband – wouldn’t he? When her friend and former crisis team mentor, chaplain Seth Donovan shows up in San Diego, Taylor tries to avoid him because he revives too many memories of her husband’s death. It becomes very evident that Taylor is not nearly as healed emotionally as she thought.
Love is definitely in the air but how will this love triangle play out? And just what part does spiteful ER nurse Sloane have to play in it? “Step by Step” is a gripping story filled with drama, tragedy, and romance that will keep those pages turning far into the night if other readers are like me. A box of tissues close at hand might be helpful, especially if you are a dog lover. There are some poignant scenes with Taylor’s aging and ailing dog.
I loved “Step by Step” and am eagerly looking forward to the next book featuring Sloane. 
This book was provided for review by The Tyndale Blog Network.
ABOUT THE BOOK:
Three years after a tragic accident left her a widow, ER nurse Taylor Cabot is determined to move on, checking off one item after another on her survival list. Her relationship with a handsome plastic surgeon even gives her hope for the last point?“fall in love again.” At least until crisis chaplain Seth Donovan steps back into her life, reawakening unanswered questions about her husband’s death.
While in San Diego to train community volunteers, Seth hopes to learn why Taylor is backing away from the crisis team and from their friendship. But nothing prepares him for the feelings that arise when he sees Taylor again . . . and sees her moving on with another man.
When a community crisis hits home and puts lives at risk, emotions run high and buried truths are unearthed. Will hope make the survival list?
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Former ER nurse, wife, Mom and proud grandmother, Candace Calvert believes that love, laughter, and faith are the best medicines. Her popular medical fiction offers charismatic characters, pulse-pounding drama, romance, humor, suspense–and a prescription for hope. Think, “Grey’s Anatomy finds its soul.” She is . . .
A Northern California native who spent several years in Hill Country Texas–where she learned to check her shoes for scorpions and plucked an armadillo from her swimming pool. Thinks cruising is the best way to travel: honeymooned in Venice, swam with stingrays, rode a camel at the pyramids, and sang (badly) with a Newfoundland country band. She’s passionate about cooking, loves bird watching, gardening, and gets goose bumps when her handsome husband hits the low notes at karaoke. She writes inspirational fiction because . . .
God blessed her with a quirky wit, buoyant optimism, and a contagious sense of fun–but she didn’t come to know him until after the Triple Whammy that turned her life into a bad country song. A painful and unexpected divorce, the Northern California floods of 1997, and (just when she was coping like a champ, no problem) an equestrian accident that left her with fractured ribs, a bleeding lung, broken back, neck fractures and a spinal cord injury. She’ll tell you that God took drastic measures to get her attention.
In the months of rehabilitation, Candace healed in body and spirit. And came to fully understand the difference between being a strong woman and a woman of strength. The difference is faith, and that lesson has been her biggest blessing. Her story, “By Accident,” appears in Chicken Soup for the Nurse’s Soul, and launched her writing career. Now . . .
She is honored to bring readers medical fiction that offers exciting entertainment and a healthy dose of hope.
