This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Free Book Program, which is open to all readers and is completely free. The author will provide you with a free copy of their book in exchange for an honest review. You and the author will discuss what sites you will post your review to and what kind of copy of the book you would like to receive (eBook, PDF, Word, paperback, etc.). To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email.
This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Book Review Exchange Program, which is open to all authors and is completely free. Simply put, you agree to provide an honest review an author's book in exchange for the author doing the same for you. What sites your reviews are posted on (B&N, Amazon, etc.) and whether you send digital (eBook, PDF, Word, etc.) or hard copies of your books to each other for review is up to you. To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email, and be sure to describe your book or include a link to your Readers' Favorite review page or Amazon page.
This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Book Donation Program, which was created to help nonprofit and charitable organizations (schools, libraries, convalescent homes, soldier donation programs, etc.) by providing them with free books and to help authors garner more exposure for their work. This author is willing to donate free copies of their book in exchange for reviews (if circumstances allow) and the knowledge that their book is being read and enjoyed. To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email. Be sure to tell the author who you are, what organization you are with, how many books you need, how they will be used, and the number of reviews, if any, you would be able to provide.
I'm a veterinarian from Charlotte, North Carolina. I have numerous short stories published, but HEALERS is my first novel. HEALERS, while dark, is essentially about hope. Suicide is unfortunately very common and a huge issue in my profession as a veterinarian. HEALERS was written as a way for me to process what so many of us deal with - living with a tremendous amount of guilt and trying to live life while learning the most important lesson of them all - sometimes you have to learn to forgive yourself.
Reviewed by Grant Leishman for Readers' Favorite
Healers: A Novel by Brooke Reynolds is an enchanting, surprise dive into an urban fantasy world that both delights and shocks readers on a number of levels. Dr. Scott Weaver is an experienced and highly talented trauma surgeon who also has aspects of the “God Complex” in his psyche and is tormented by the demon of drink. One evening, when he did not expect to be called in, he reports for surgery while drunk, makes a fatal error on a gunshot wound, and loses his patient. Refusing to lie to the investigating board, Scott is suspended and then deregistered as a doctor. Bereft and alone with only alcohol and drugs as his solace, Scott chooses suicide as the way out and blows out his brains. He wakes to find himself back in Blister City in his own personal purgatory, given a second chance to make a difference as a “healer”. With his healing powers, Scott could do great work but instead, he chooses the seedy, run-down, nightlife of Blister City as his habitat and wastes his healing powers for a full seven years. Sent a talking dog, Malakai, with attitude, to bring him to his senses and remind him of the short time left to redeem himself, Scott and Malakai set out to “heal” as many of the good citizens of Blister City before he is recalled and a final decision made as to his disposition.
Healers: A Novel took me completely by surprise. Author Brooke Reynolds has created a dark, violent, seedy, “noir” to match the grittiest crime novels and yet there is a whimsical, passionate, and romantic side to the tale that shines through the filth and the crud. For a debut novel, the author has struck exactly the right tone in her narrative. I particularly loved the interactions between Scott and Malakai that invariably drew out the best humanist responses from Scott. Admittedly, the talking dog was a shock but it was beautifully done and lifted this novel well above its competitors in the genre. I also appreciated the two sides of Dr. Scott Weaver, the cynic who hated himself versus the humanitarian nature that had first driven him to medicine and the power to heal. The passionate and deep relationships that Scott formed with Barry, Ginger, Nancy, Layla, and even Malakai show the true, caring nature of a man who had truly gone off the rails but never completely lost himself and that just earns this author much more credit. Brooke Reynolds has a style that takes you deep inside the minds of the participants and you truly feel invested in the actions and the outcomes. This was one book I absolutely didn’t want to end, so if I had one complaint, it was too short. I can highly recommend it and look forward to the next offering from this talented author.
