While I did find this story predictable, I did enjoy the story, and was page turning for answers.

Can't imagine leaving home under the circumstances Rachel Dunne leaves Ireland and ends up in London. Working no less for a doctor, but in the end she is right where she should be!

This story has a bit of everything, London is being hit with a cholera epidemic, we also have jealous help, and a bit of sweet romance. The author did a great job of melding all of the above into a enjoyable read!

I received this book through Net Galley and the Publisher Worthy Books, and was not required to give a positive review. ( )

The Irish Healer by Nancy Herriman is Christian Historical Romance with a lot of secrets. The setting is England in the 1830‘s with all the wealthy, the poor and the diseases that affect them all. The main story revolves around a medical doctor and a healer from Ireland. Every character is realistic and has their own tale to tell. I especially enjoyed the historical medical details and the characters journey in their Christian life. I would have liked to read more about Rachel‘s family but perhaps they will be in a new book. 4.5 Stars ( )

Amazingly, The Irish Healer is Nancy Herriman’s debut novel, published 2012. USA Today accurately calls it “...a lovely period tale of personal transformation and abiding love.” Definitely tantalizing along with its cover; runner-up in ACFW Genesis contest’s historical fiction 2009. A former engineer, Ms Herriman is a past winner of Romance Writers of America’s Daphne du Maurier Award for Best Unpublished Mystery/Romantic Suspense along with finalist placings in other contests.
• Don't miss - Video book trailer available on youtube -

1830. We’re introduced to Irish healer, Rachel Dunne, aboard a steamer escaping her homeland, arriving in search of London’s promise of new beginnings. A new beginning that will call for all the fortitude she possesses to rise up and conquer the inherent perils concealed along the journey...

I found Rachel a likeable protagonist, authentic to her age and abilities; believable in her actions and reactions to new relationships and experiences. Other character descriptions authentically engaged my own positive / negative reactions. Well paced thought and action kept the story moving. Both my interest and emotions were engaged to its satisfying conclusion.

Enough twists to frustrate my expectations whilst concealing pleasing resolutions. Historical details were excellent additions without being obtrusive or documentary. Occasional Gaelic expressions added authenticity. There is only one story detail that I would love to have resolved... perhaps a note to Ms Herriman will satisfy my curiosity!

MY St Patrick's choice read for this month of March!
I Luv'd this book.
Couldn't believe the trouble it took to procure a copy!
None available for review from publisher. I then won my book of choice at Murphy's Library in September 2012. TBD cancelled their order of my book not once but twice! I finally received it in February 2013 :)) I decided to save it as my treat for a St Patrick's read & so glad I did!

Thank you for sharing your writing gift with us, Nancy! I look forward to your next novel...

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I love historical romances, rich in perfect period detail, well researched, and lushly written. The Irish Healer, Nancy Herriman’s debut novel, is all of that and more.

I will be honest and say I would normally have bypassed this one since it’s billed as “inspirational/Christian” romance. That is way outside my reading comfort zone as a non-Christian. And that would have been a tragedy. I would have missed a tender, beautiful, glorious romance that made my heart sing and left me with happy tears at the end.

Rachel Dunne—the Irish healer of the title—is running away. Although acquitted of murdering a child under her care, she’s come to London to escape the scandal of her past, vowing to give up her gift of healing, believing it’s really a curse. She finds work with Dr. James Edmunds, a man with tragedies of his own in his past, a physician who is also in the process of giving up his medical practice. Rachel vows only to work as a sort of secretary for him. She will not help him in medical matters, will not sit at the bedside of patients, will not trust or use her own special gifts.

James and Rachel have each in their own way given up on God, as they believe God has abandoned them. This love story is about healing—not only the bodies of those they comfort and serve, but their own hearts and faith and each other.

Inspirational references are woven in subtly, without browbeating the reader with it, which was what I had feared from an inspirational romance. Again, I could not have been more wrong. This is a book about the universal themes of loss and forgiveness, about finding redemption, and most powerfully, about finding love. It transcends a specific, single belief system. It’s about learning to forgive yourself, and love yourself; about accepting love and forgiveness from others.

And make no mistake, this is first and foremost, a romance, as sweet and delicious and yummy as you could want. There is no overt sex in this book; there’s barely a single kiss. But oh, the yearning! The longing! Ms. Herriman beautifully, powerfully builds the tension, page by page, a glance, a touch, a sigh at a time, until the reader is as wound up as Rachel and James, an ember about to burst into a conflagration. This is a truly romantic romance.

The power of faith is the backbone of this feast of a novel, but love—God’s and man’s—is the heart and soul of it. I’ve never been happier to have been wrong about something. Missing out on this wonderful book would have been a tragedy indeed. ( )

Gentle Love Story

Set in the 1830s, Rachel Dunne flees her home country of Ireland after a child in her care, dies and Rachel stands trial for murder. Even though acquitted, the majority of their town shuns her family, so Rachel moves to London seeking work through a cousin. The death of the child, the trial, and the move take their toll on Rachel’s faith in herself and the Lord. Her employer, also a physician, stumbled from his faith years ago when his wife died. When a cholera epidemic hits London, they each hit bottom, turning to the Lord for the ultimate support.

This gentle love story provides the reader a time of introspection as the characters seek to find God’s mercy in their lives. The characters have depth, and Herriman describes the scene so well that the reader easily transports to another time. Very enjoyable read, recommended for readers looking for a deep love story with the added depth of Biblical foundations.

Received Galley from NetGalley.com

Published by Worthy Publishing, April 3, 2012. ( )