With the Davidson siblings (we met Lucy in Resisting the Doctor ) coming from the Pevensies of Narnia, this book and series is full of geeky goodness. While I wasn't the biggest fan of Lucy's book, I definitely enjoyed Challenging the Doctor. This book takes Jade, an antagonist from Lucy's book and pairs her with Edmund, Lucy's older brother. (Note: I managed to miss the Narnia connection while reading Lucy's book but picked up on it right away in Edmund's.)

It's likely that Edmund bears a great deal of similarities to his namesake where I did not see that to be the case for Lucy. This Edmund was badly burned by a woman, is trying to rebuild his reputation, and doesn't have the greatest of personalities (at least according to his siblings). And yet, I liked this Edmund so much more than I ever liked his namesake. Edmund is a great blend of insecurity, geeky goodness, and tenderness. He doesn't have much of a character arc, but he also doesn't need one. He's good just as he is. I certainly loved him.

Jade was a real witch in Resisting the Doctor and I wasn't sure I would like her in her own book either. But Fischer really did a great job making her relatable and kind. Her reactions to Edmund were awesome and I really found her to be true to character. Jade's principal problem is her brother Junior who serves as an excellent foil and antagonist. Her nurturing heart and her own fears of her choices in men also endeared me to her.

Thankfully, the relentless drumbeat of sexism that infested Lucy's book is muted here but I suspect that's mostly because Junior is the focal point of the issues. While it's still there, it gets corrected and gently and works well within the story and is highly realistic.

In the end, this is about internal struggles, for the most part, and is a mostly drama-free story. Edmund and Jade (and don't think I missed the connection here either - Jade is a form of the White Witch's name from Narnia and she is very much redeemed in this book.) really work well together and their story is very sweet.

But I would be remiss if I skipped over the most important part of this book, which is a major spoiler. I made the connections and figured it out before the characters did, but I think that was intentional on Fischer's part. The broad hints were, well, really broad, and it was so obvious that I assume it was meant to be that way. (view spoiler)

Who knew I'd ever prefer Edmund to Lucy (Lucy is and always has been my favorite Pevensie.) but in this case, yes, I way prefer Edmund. I'm looking forward to Peter's story and seeing how similar he is to his namesake as well.

Challenging The Doctor by Patricia W. Fischer. A great addition to the Marietta Medical series, this is the second book in the series. Likable characters, great storyline, dialogue and a small town hospital setting. I look forward to read more in the Marietta Medical series and more by this author.

This is book two in “The Marietta Medical Romance”. This is the story of two people with situations in there past who find it hard to trust. He is a newcomer, she has been back for awhile. They both are medical professionals who met by way of a wayward hound dog named “Fred”.
Jade is “Fred’s” owner. Fred helps solve the mystery of who killed “Harry” (the tow truck driver).
Read on to find out what happens between Jade and Edmund.

3.5 stars.
I loved the hero in this book, Edmund, a somewhat shy and socially clumsy physician who is trying to overcome a traumatic personal event; I’ve really enjoyed reading recently several authors that are not afraid of writing males with insecurities, fears and vulnerabilities instead of the average macho Rambos. His “awkward sexiness” makes him really endearing and made me laugh a few times.
Jade, the heroine, has lots of baggage – heavy, heavy baggage - and although I can empathize with her problems, I felt they sort of took over the story and left little room for the hero and the romance to be more developed; and so the main characters’ declarations of “I love you” felt abrupt, and the child, Phoebe, stating the hero’s love (I think she’s meeting them for the second time) was unrealistic and felt a bit absurd.
All in all, the chaos in the heroine’s life didn’t really move me and I was reading about it as a distracted spectator, not really interested in Junior’s shenanigans and crimes. Having loved the first book in the series, “Resisting the Doctor”, and its characters, I also had some trouble matching this damaged and troubled woman with what I recall from this same character’s strength in that wonderful Patricia W. Fischer’s story, but I admit this must be my memory playing tricks on me.

The story of Jade and Edmund. I haven't read the previous book, but I don't think it mattered too much.

Jade is in town after she fled an abusive relationship. Her father died and now she has his property to sort out - and her useless brother too.
When Edmund meets Jade, he is determined not to like her, given her history with his sister, but when they meets she isn't what he expected.
Both have issues in their past, but can they have a future together?

This is Edmund and Jade book, they both work in the hospital. It kind of seems like there's a prior story here so.I'm assuming there's another book before this one and maybe if I read it I might have liked this book more?! Not sure. It was ok but a little boring and they both said they loved each other in their head like immediately! I did like Fred alot!! Lol the dog! If you've read the book before this one I think you'll enjoy this one! Thank you NetGalley and the publishers for sharing this book with me!

This is the second book in this series but they all touch on Marietta's people. I was disappointed with this book. We meet Edmond who is Lucy's brother (Lucy from Resisting the Doctor), he seemed protective in the first book so I was disappointed how he was instantly attracted to Jade, literally right after meeting her knowing she was the one that had issues with his sister. Jade was not nice at all to Lucy, she was mean and spiteful in the other book so to act like everything is all honky dory without showing how they fixed it bugged me. This insta love was so unbelievable, and I just could not stomache Jade, she never really redeemed herself in my eyes..

A much awaited continuation to the Marietta Doctors series...with so many pieces falling into place in answer to the singular long running pain the town has suffered really got my adrenaline pumping...I was literally on the edge of my seat as this part of the story unfolded.

Running parallel to that the author has crafted two remarkable characters in Edmund and Jade...each with so much emotional and physical pain in their backgrounds, witnessing their discovery of each other, and the journey to their HEA with such believability just demonstrates an author who understands human nature and how to write such a heart grabbing story.

Having repeating characters and their past stories interlaced with Edmund and Jade’s story solidifies the strong character threads that runs throughout this author’s storylines...it keeps her on my short list for authors who books I keep a lookout for.

This ARC book was complimentary, provided by the Publisher and NetGalley. I am voluntarily providing my honest review.