3 stars — I don’t know…I wanted to like this one more than I did.

Gwen was all over the place and hard to pin down. She had these traits that I might have connected with, but they all felt very surface and were resolved or went back and forth so much I just got dizzy. She has seriously low self-esteem…like low enough that even I was uncomfortable with it. And instead of a slow change and build up, it just sort of resolved because she decided she was going to resolve it. Uh… And I couldn’t really get a grasp on her otherwise. She was pushy, she was shy, in previous books she was hilarious, but I didn’t get quite as much of that here. She was kind and generous to family/friends, but then she was a douche to Luke at the end. And what was with that ending? I mean, what part of that was realistic or deep and three dimensional?

Luke…Luke I understood a bit better, and at least his personality stayed consistent throughout. I felt for him and the guilt he was living under. He was a bit back and forth as well, between gruff and stand-offish (and dickish) to full on pursuit and all the compliments towards Gwen. But at least I understood where that dichotomy was coming from somewhat.

Regardless of their back and forth personalities, they did have some cute moments together. Would I call it great chemistry? Ehhh…it was not bad. The date night kiss was pretty hot.

It just…could have been better all the way around. Guess I won’t be checking out any more books in this series.

very fun and cute little story that is easy to read and fast to get through but still entertaining enough that it keeps you reading without getting bored. If you are looking for something light without being forgettable, give this one a try!

3.5-4 stars.

Super lovely.

We have Gwen and Luke. He’s a doctor with a secret connected to Gwen’s family that’s been eating away at him for years; and she’s this great woman who puts everyone first.

I loved these two and I wanted the secret out so they could move on with their relationship, lol. They were constantly overthinking things and that was frustrating, but it was worth the wait, imo.

It was a bit shorter than the rest of the series, but no less great. It was also lovely to catch up with the resto of the characters as well.

All in all, a short and lovely read, with a little bit of angst.

*Thank you to Entangled Publishing for providing a copy for which I’m giving my honest opinion*

The Doctor's Redemption is the third romance in the Shadow Creek, Montana series written by author Victoria James. Loved each book in the series. Thanks to NetGalley and Entangled Publishing for the advance copy.

I really enjoyed this book. I loved the compassion that both Gwen and Luke showed towards other people and each other.

Gwen lost her brother and nephew in a car accident. Unbeknownst to her Luke was the driver of the other car.

This book was funny and a tear jerk-er.. It is a well told story and I hope there are more to this series.

I was eagerly awaiting Gwen’s story, and I must say I was quite pleased with The Doctor’s Redemption. I loved a lot of things about this, how Gwen’s self-confidence was slowly rebuilt, the way Luke’s self-imposed penance turned into something magical and how finally every member of the Bailey family could move on from the tragedy that struck them by the means of love and forgiveness.

Gwen was one of my favorite characters of the Bailey clan from the very first in this series, and I thoroughly enjoyed witnessing her growth as a woman and all her self-discoveries. She was selfless and loving, the first to offer help wherever needed. Her self-esteem issues and sometimes lack of assertiveness, while true to character, at point did get on my nerves.

Luke was an excellent male lead. He was strong, sexy and moody… a strong, sexy and moody doctor who in spite of himself and his self-inflicted sentence found himself falling in love and being adorably awkward about it. He also had some deep issues to deal with, and I do have to say that at some point I felt he was being a bit OTT with the whole guilt thing, but I could understand where he was coming from.

Luke and Gwen were totally cute and sweet together and I wished they’d had a little more time as a couply-couple, but what was there was absolutely adorable. I do feel this whole series has a bit of a pronounced Faith/Christian message to it, and while it wasn’t very strong it does have a constant presence. Again, it’s not to a point where it bothered me, but it does bear to be mentioned.

With all the Bailey’s (official and acquired) happily ever-aftering in The Doctor’s Redemption, I wonder if Luke’s sister will be getting her own story in this lovely town of Shadow Creek, Montana. I’m hoping she will and I’m totally looking forward to it!

Rating: 3.5 “McDreamy who?” Stars

A doctor haunted by an accident that had tragic repercussions for a small town family comes back to town to apologize and ends up falling for the daughter. Conflicts abound

I totally loved this story. There was something about Gwen that I was able to connect with. She can be so hard on herself because of her appearance but what she needs to do it live life because you never know when your time will end. Now as far as Luke he was also being so hard on himself he was not to blame for the death of his wife, unborn child and the Bailey’s son and grandchild. It was an accident and he needed to forgive himself. He needed to move on and live life to the fullest and be happy. He deserves to be happy and the woman to make him forgot and forgive himself is Gwen. From the moment that he saw her he was in love but he was fighting it. Now as for Gwen her Muffin Man was the perfect man for her but she needed to go get what she wants. Luke also needs to tell the Bailey family why he is in Shadow Creek, Montana and he needs to do it as fast as he can. The longer he waits the more damage he can do to his relationship with Gwen.

The Doctor’s Redemption was a great read. I love Ms. James writing style it’s precise and clear. I love how I can feel the characters emotions through her writing. Gwen and Luke have great chemistry and the can have a great life together if they want to. Forgiveness is a powerful thing.

I totally recommend not only this book but this whole series. I really hope Ms. James plans to write one another book in this series.

Received ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an Honest Review

The constant angst of the story was a little over done. Overall a cute story.

Luke has spent the last 5 years full of regret and guilt. He's now back in Shadow Creek for one thing and one thing only. That is to apologize to the Bailey Family and then hopefully he will be able to move on with his life. What he never expected was to fall for Gwen Bailey.

Gwen Bailey has deemed the hot guy who comes in for a coffee and muffin each morning the TMM... The muffin man. He's a mystery to her, not knowing his name or what he does. And in order to get to know the man, she decides to set up a speed dating night and makes sure that he sees the flyer and invites him. For the past 5 years she's put her life on hold. Taking care of her family after the death of her brother and nephew in a car crash. Now it's her time and she's ready for love and hoping that TMM is just the man for her.

But little does she know that TMM is Luke, the man who feels responsible for the pain the Bailey family has endured for the past 5 years.

Sparks fly between Luke and Gwen after being stuck together in a storm. Gwen knows a little about Luke's past, making his standoffish behavior a little more comforting. Luke finds Gwen hard to resist and the more he's around her, the more he knows that she's the missing piece in his life. But will she ever be able to forgive him for the pain he's caused her family. There can't be a future with the two of them, can there?

Luke must learn to come to grips with his role in both his own and Gwen's family's lives and can he find the forgiveness he seeks, or will he not be able to move forward.

This is a heart wrenching read about love, friendship and forgiveness. I really enjoyed the book, as it can be read as a standalone and I will definitely be checking out the rest of the series, as I was peaked with interest from the secondary characters in the book.

4 Heartfelt Stars

I really enjoyed The Doctor's Redemption by Victoria James.

The storyline was well written, the plot held my interest all throughout the book and the characters touched my heart with their story.
I was so into Gwen and Luke's story I stayed up late into the night as I couldn't put it down. I needed to see how were these two going to get to their much deserved happily ever after.

The Shadow Creek, Montana series has been a heartwarming and emotional read. Each book has touched my heart and each couple have taken me on an emotional journey to their HEA.
Author Victoria James is one of my favorite go to authors and once again she's delivered with the Shadow Creek, Montana series.

*Get your copy here*
Amazon: http://amzn.to/2rt81Dp
iBooks: http://apple.co/2qGwGTY
NOOK: http://bit.ly/2rt57yk

*Thank you to Entangled Bliss via Netgalley for the advance copy.*

A very interesting, felt like it could be part of one of those secret series like Cherry Lake Secrets series. Have to take a look at the earlier books from this author.

This is a voluntary review via AuthorsPals, I do not get paid for this review.

The beginning of this one was super cute and had me giggling throughout...Gwen's obsession with her "muffin man" and the way her friends (Lily and Julia from the first two books in the series) along with the elderly shop owner helped her break out of her dowdy, self-imposed fashion purgatory was a lot of fun to read. There were a lot of clever bits, and I loved seeing the heroes and heroines again (plus Maggie! ) from the other books.

Somewhere after the 50% mark, though, I started to realize what was bothering me, though. Both Gwen and Luke are bogged down in their own obsessions--her with the accident that killed her brother and nephew, and him with his connection to the tragedy--and it made me a little nuts. As someone who's had their share of tragedies--one pretty darn similar--it seemed like she talked about it way, way too much. Practically every other conversation mentioned it. Honestly, I don't think Michael's widow brought it up as much, and it definitely changed her life more than Gwen's. Five years later? It felt like too much. And Luke...his constant "I have to tell her the truth" inner dialogue paired with his "but first, I'll kiss her, because I can't help it" got annoying. I honestly felt his regret over what happened in the past more than I felt his need for Gwen, and that's just not right.

Sigh...I wanted to like this one so much more than I did. Still, if Ms. James decides to take us back to Shadow Creek again, I will definitely be there!

Rating: 3 stars / C+

I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book.

I was very intrigued by Gwen from the very first book. I was wanting to know her story and finally it's here. And I wasn't disappointed...

I liked Gwen and Luke's story for the most part. And there was a thing that annoyed the crap out of me.

I liked the sweet romance that bloomed between Luke and Gwen. It took them a bit to get there, but once it happened it was sweet.

Received in exchange for a honest review.

So I at first loved Gwen with her infectious personality. She was always smiling and bubbly. When did I go grrrr.. to her? Well when Luke needed her to understand and be there for him the most. When Luke let go of all that was inside of him and needed support and forgiveness. To know that the woman he loved understood and was there for him and supported him. That is when I wanted to growl at her. Other than at that moment I adored her. She was always so caring and kind. She forgave so much before that and this time I was disappointed and I think so was her mom. I was happy though that she got a dose of that disappointed and realized her own silliness and made it better. Luke didn’t deserve what she thought or did that guy had carried enough guilt around to last a lifetime and all he did to make up for it was incredible.

Luke is the stoic guy who loves his sister. He has guilt the size of mount rushmore going on though. Taking on a burden that wasn’t his fault was hard to see. Your heart goes out to him for he continued to punish himself. He was a good guy. Hardworking and loved his sister something fierce. He also wanted to atone for something that wasn’t his fault. He was a genuine guy. I loved watching his fight within to stay away from Gwen even though the attraction could be cut with a knife it was so heavy. From the moment he saw Gwen after one of his shifts he felt a tug to her but he was gruff because he felt that she would hate him and that he didn’t deserve happiness or love in his life. Each day he tortured himself and her for she had a crush on him although to her he was the muffin man. Watching these two skirt around the attraction was fun but when he finally gave in it was wow just wow.

Seeing Gwen find herself and her voice was great. She found love with Luke and this is the story of how they found love with one another and forgiveness. How luke found himself and finally was able to move on and feel free of guilt. He was able to see that he deserved to be happy and move on. This was due to Gwen’s and her family. Seeing Gwen grab something for herself was great. She was the one always trying to take care of others so to see her take care of herself was wonderful and when Luke took care of her when she had the flu I swooned that was too sweet. These two belonged together. And this story was a fun sweet story with some steam but alot of forgiveness, love, loyalty and letting go of the past and moving forward.

We get to see both Gwen and Luke’s view and that worked well because we got to see how Luke felt about things and why he struggled with his feelings for Gwen. If it wasn’t for that you would really not like him but instead it endears you to him.

the story is sweet and fun. we see love and forgiveness and letting go of the past and moving forward to your happiness with another. A great beach read.

Gwen Bailey is feeling pretty good about herself for a change now that her family has emerged from the grief and despair brought about by the death of her brother and nephew five years ago. Her parents leaned heavily on her for support and now that her other brother has returned to town, it's her turn to focus on her own happiness. And at the center of that focus is The Muffin Man, or TMM as he's "confectionately" known as he comes into her chocolate shop every morning for his coffee and muffin. What she doesn't know is he's Dr. Luke Thomson and he's keeping a secret that could potentially devastate her.

What's not to like about Gwen? She's a great friend, sister and daughter with the sunniest of dispositions. Her one failing, however, is her own self perception but she's working on that, too. Luke has the same attraction towards her as she has for him but knows he can never begin a relationship because of that monster of a secret. Despite these issues, they both plod forward inelegantly but it all works. I loved how their relationship developed and it was a nice change of pace to see the guy have all the angst.

I was looking forward to this story and it lived up to my expectations. I adored Gwen and Luke clearly earned his redemption. The strong theme of family, conventional and otherwise, added wonderful foundations and layers to an already good story. There are equal amounts of heartbreaking and heartwarming moments, especially near the end. Here's hoping we haven't seen the last of Shadow Creek.

Ms. James is an author whose books I could read one after the other and never grow tired of her stories, because she writes incredible characters with back stories that more often than not tug at my heart-strings; and stories with fast-paced plots that hook me from the very beginning and leave me with the biggest smile at the end, because of what the hero and heroine have to overcome to be together, and certainly, this story was no different. The way this book started with the prologue sets the fast-pace of this story, and had me reading quickly, determined to discover what the hero is going to do. He has so much guilt that he needs to absolve himself of, if he's to be completely happy, and the only way that's going to happen is to confront his past.

As for the dialogue, it was well-written, spell-binding and had me hooked, as it illustrates the power of love and forgiveness and the beauty of redemption and hope. When Gwen learns what Luke has been keeping from her, will she be able to forgive him when he had ample opportunity to explain his reasons for being in Shadow Creek? Moreover, the dialogue was a wonderful combination of intense due to the main characters back stories and teasing due to this couple's growing relationship. Their banter definitely ups the sexual tension, as Luke does his best to resist Gwen. However, Gwen doesn't make things easy for the hero to resist her. She knows what she wants, and after suppressing her needs and desires for the last five years to take care of her family after tragedy struck, she's determined to get everything she wants -- love and happiness. The question is -- is Luke the right guy for her?

Both the main characters were enthralling, and I loved every moment the hero and heroine interacted. Sometimes, it was fun and amusing and at others, it was deep and had me wanting to cry, because of their in-more-ways-than-one connection. Luke knows he's risking his relationship with Gwen by not revealing his secret, and it made me empathize with him. When would he realize that what happened years ago wasn't his fault? Will the secondary characters be able to help him overcome his guilt? Furthermore, Luke is strong and brave for the reason he's in Shadow Creek, and I could understand his need to face the past.

While Gwen, she's been through a lot with having lost two people she loved and then feeling like she had to be responsible for her family when things got tough, so it's understandable why she finally wants to do something for herself. As her family is finally starting to heal from their loss and finding their second chance at happiness, so isn't it time she did the same? Also, I liked how kind and caring she is and the effort she goes to in getting to know Luke. Will he accept her invitations? Then there's the nickname the heroine had for the hero, and I liked that he felt comfortable with her calling him it, because it certainly fit with his order whenever he came into Gwen's shop.

Overall, Ms. James has delivered an incredible read in this book where the chemistry was intense and the ending left me completely content, despite the fact that I cried when Luke explained his reason for being in Shadow Creek and was met with various reactions from Gwen and her family. However, it was the epilogue that wrapped this story up nicely, because readers discover how far Luke and Gwen have come in their relationship. Does Luke finally believe that love at first sight exists? I would highly recommend The Doctor's Redemption by Victoria James, if you enjoy a story with fun banter, wonderful characters in both the main and secondary, and a plot where the characters have some tough obstacles to overcome to be together. I would also recommend this book and the other stories of this series, if you enjoy books by authors Melanie Shawn, Noelle Adams, Jennifer Shirk or Samantha Chase.

I loved this book. Victoria James is a great author that writes wonderful characters and plots. (Yes, I have read many other books of hers).

The Doctor's Redemption is part 3 of 3 in a series. It is not necessary to have read the other two books, but would make reading slightly easier.

Gwen has had a few rough years due to something that happened five years earlier and something more recently. She has been the glue to hold this family together and decides recently that she is going to be a different Gwen from whom she has been. She is going to start taking some time for herself.

Part if this includes dealing with her attraction to TMM (the muffin man). Unfortunately, TMM is in town for other reasons, although he has noticed the perky, friendly and gorgeous chocolatier owner. Their paths continually cross, but Luke (TMM) has a secret to hide.

Overall, I did like this book. At times it felt a little predictable, but it did come with a wonderful story of romance and forgiveness.

This is the first book in this series that I Read and I really enjoyed it.  I will guess the other stories helped the other couples get together BUT…I didn’t feel like I missed anything as they gave us a good backstory and how they all came together in this story.
Luke went back to town because he felt guilty for an accident that took 4 lives five years before.  He would stop in on his way home from a shift at the hospital and get coffee and a muffin, he didn’t know the girl he found unbelievable was who he was there to apologize too.  But he was in deep from that first moment so it became what he felt was an impossible task.
Gwen she was drawn to Luke from the first moment and even referred to him as TMM.  I loved this, she was determined to get his attention.  He was trying to avoid her and she hated it.
I loved the slowness of their relationship and how he was trying to stay away because he knew she would hate him but he was just drawn to her and she made him happy for the first time in 5 years.  I loved her family and I love his sister…these side characters in this really help make this story.  There is no sex in this book and not really any bad language.