Medicine Man by Saffron A. Kent [Review]

4.5 Lime Jello Warrior Stars!!!!

Blurb:

Willow Taylor lives in a castle with large walls and iron fences. But this is no ordinary castle. It's called Heartstone Psychiatric Hospital and it houses forty other patients. It has nurses with mean faces and techs with permanent frowns.

It has a man, as well. A man who is cold and distant. Whose voice drips with authority. And whose piercing gray eyes hide secrets, and maybe linger on her face a second too long.

Willow isn't supposed to look deep into those eyes. She isn't supposed to try to read his tightly-leashed emotions. Neither is she supposed to touch herself at night, imagining his powerful voice and that cold but beautiful face.

No, Willow Taylor shouldn't be attracted to Simon Blackwood at all.

Because she's a patient and he's her doctor. Her psychiatrist.

The medicine man.

This book was beautifully written and didn't feel like your usual two-dimensional taboo romance. The characters had depth that allowed you to connect with them and really root for them in their journey. I thought Willow was such a strong character, she kind of reminded me of Layla from The Unrequited. Although she is in Heartstone following 'The Roof Incident', a place where you would expect her to be numb and reclusive, her character and quirks really shone through. I found her obsession with Harry Potter, her bunny slippers and her love for lime jello to be so important when giving her this realistic image of an 18-year-old, showing that whilst she suffers with depression it is also possible (and very ‘normal’) to be able to maintain aspects of her life that have nothing to do with her condition. I believe these quirks were one of the things that drew Simon to her – although there is a 15-year age gap between them, their one-liners, back and forth banter about Harry Potter and his selfless acts to make her happy added another beautiful dimension to their otherwise inappropriate relationship.

To Willow, Doctor Simon Blackwood first appeared to be a typical cold, unfeeling professional; a man who saw his patients as case numbers. This idea gets further cemented during their first meeting where Willow—clad in her ‘Just a wizard girl, living in a muggle world’ t-shirt, sweatpants and bunny slippers—had dropped her favourite book, causing the pages to fall out. Doctor Blackwood, though totally and completely stunning with eyes the colour of rain clouds, acts like an egomaniac, barely looking at her whilst he tells her she should fix her book, completely unaware of the connotations that the word holds for Willow.

As the book progresses, aspects of each character develop, allowing us to see how similar Willow and Simon are and how much they can fix each other. They both have major family issues and each chapter peels away the layers between them, growing an attachment that could have catastrophic results. Clandestine meetings, locked doors and hushed words all add to that heart-in-your-stomach will they get caught? feeling, which in my opinion made this book so much more exciting. The fact that they both had so much to lose but their desires took over. Aaaand THE scene in her room!! You know which scene I’m talking about. Up against the wall, desperate kisses, Willow’s fumbling hands and the footsteps outside. The scene was captivating from start to finish. I loved how protective Simon was, how jealous he was at times. Though this book was incredibly hot, it is emotional first and foremost – the focus is on depression and how it can affect an individual and their relationships, how difficult it can be to live with. I think it was so important to show Willow’s dark days as well as her varying relationships with the other girls at Heartstone – in my opinion it was a very realistic depiction of what living with depression is like. I thought it was very well researched, you could tell that this was a subject close to the author’s heart.

The epilogue was beautiful. I was glad that Saffron allowed us to get that extra taste of the characters and what their future would be. I’m anxiously awaiting the next books in the Series, especially Violet and Graham’s story in Nicotine Dreams!

Heroine: 5

Hero: 5

Chemistry: 5

Plot: 4

Steam: 5

Angst: 4

Ending: 5

Available now on Kindle Unlimited!!!!