No Medical School Ever Could Have prepared Cheney for Her First Position
Graduating from the Woman's Medical College of the prestigious University of Pennsylvania as a full-fledged, documented, accredited physician, young and energetic Cheney Duvall assumed that she would immediately find a suitable position. But after two months of applying and interviewing for several different openings, then being summarily rejected because she was a woman, she had almost given up hope.
When Cheney hears that a man named Asa Mercer is looking for a doctor to care for the two hundred women he is transporting on an extended sea voyage from New York to Washington Territory, she grabs the position. Mercer is actually delighted that Cheney is a female doctor who can also help chaperone these potential brides-to-be for the frontiersmen in the West.
But even before the journey begins, a foreboding shadow darkens what Cheney had thought was a great opportunity to finally use her talents and education. Was she really prepared for what this responsibility requires?
Phenomenal writing by Lynn Morris and her father Gilbert Morris.
This is great historical fiction. It's fun to jump into another whole time era and learn more about our world, just through a fictional story.
For a short list of things I'm fascinated with the book: *The time period of the late 1800s. *Learning about the social status of a woman with a degree as a doctor during that time. *The skillful maritime terminology (the Morrises sure know their way around a ship!). *The references to faith and God. Even though Cheney is feeling a bit "lost" with religion at the moment, I believe she's trying.
There's definitely romantic themes, so I recommend mostly for high schoolers or adults. There are a few mentions of a man trying to advance toward a lady, seemingly without good intentions.
Overall? I'll be happy to read more books of the Cheney Duvall series.
THIS REVIEW MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS! Just so you know. ;)
I am having some very conflicted feelings on this book . . . there were a lot of parts I really enjoyed in this book, and storywise overall, I would say I really liked it. But there were also a lot of things I didn't like, or things that frustrated me.
Characters: Cheney was only about a 3 star character for me. She can be really sweet, but also tough and gruff, and even somewhat feministic at times, which I didn't like at all. I do like how the Morris' didn't seem to condone it though; it was just part of her story arc. Just kinda "meh". I do love her parents though! They were really sweet and supportive, yet still protective! They reminded me in some ways of my own parents. I also really like Dev! I wish his storyline had gone differently. I really liked how protective he was of her, yet not at all "in her face" or pushy. I liked that he was a gentleman. About the only one in this book, unfortunately - him and Cheney's father. Then there's Shiloh. He was hilarious and nice and kind in the first part, especially when you first meet him, although I did think he was too forward. Towards the second half though, he just made things complicated and oftentimes made me uncomfortable, especially when he was with Cheney. Various characters on the ship were very sweet and nice; Anne was one of my favorites! And let's not forget Mr. Mercer! He's hilarious! And so nice! And sweet and . . . yeah. I am SO thankful the author didn't make him the love interest! Ugh! That would have been horrible! He married the perfect person!
The story was a very interesting premise, and the fact that the MC was a doctor was really what made me interested in the series. I really enjoyed the medical details and wish there were more!
All in all, I enjoyed this book, but am definitely not reading the rest of the series! Why? I am not even going to waste my time, for I know that I wouldn't like it! The one conciliation I do have, it that Cheney has a good reason for not wanting to marry Shiloh - because he's not a Christian. That makes it better, but I still don't want to read the rest of the series.
CONTENT NOTE:
So, not really recommended. It was one of those okay books.
I haven't read the Cheney Duvall, M.D., series in eons--and loved going back to the beginning with _The Stars for a Light_ this summer. The series was one of my first forays into Christian fiction in the mid-90s; I've read them boatloads of times since then, but it's easily been a good 10 years or more since the last read-through. The plot was a lot more complex than I'd remembered; I recalled all the elements, but it was interesting to read as a more-grown-up (ISH, haha) adult ... I've read a lot of books in between and grown as a reader, so I was fascinated by my reaction to the book as much as the book itself, haha.
I'm curious to keep reading the series (including book 2, which was my least enjoyed--_entirely_ different feel for me, and what the heck, Shiloh?! That is all) as well as my other favorite Christian fiction series from the 90s (that I also haven't revisited in probably a decade), _The Russians_. An author friend of mine recently read _The Russians_ for the first time, and I loved getting her take as someone entirely unfamiliar with the series, whereas I had lived and breathed it for years (it triggered my fascination with Russian history and resulted in my writing as many papers as I could on the topic). She noted she felt _The Russians_ was a bit melodramatic--and I'll admit I felt _a bit_ like that with Cheney Duvall, as well. All the exclamation points, haha!
So it makes me wonder how much of that (for either series) is simply due to the writing style of that decade, the '90s. (Certainly book-cover styles were very similar across series!) Marketing + the material being written/produced + all the things ... interesting to think about.
BUT, circling back to Cheney, I still loved the read, in large part due to its sheer nostalgia for me. :) Not to mention, Shiloh will always be in my top 5 inspy-fic swoonworthy characters/heroes.
Let me lump all of the Cheney Duvall books in this review. Some might be a bit better than others but not by anything significant to matter. As a whole, it is a good series. Entertaining, with good plots, well developed characters, and a positive message. The books won't win literary awards, but they're a good read nonetheless.
This was really interesting (it kept me drawn in the whole time), I loved the characters, and I feel like the story had a very satisfying resolution. The only problem I have is that we didn’t get much about Cheney being a doctor; I think it would be cool if we had more scenes with her doing her job. Overall I really enjoyed this!
I have to be honest. I have NO idea how I came upon these books. I just don't remember. It must have been the idea of the story that grabbed me. Who knows? All I know, is that I picked this one up and I never looked back. These are probably one of my MOST favorite series ever(even above the Anne of Green Gables books and those I would (and have) take with me anywhere!
This is the story of Cheney Duvall, a young woman at the end of the Civil War. She is also a doctor, which was unheard of at that time. It was considered crass and unwomanly to be a Dr. That really doesn't stop her.
As she comes back to NY from her college years in PA, she realizes that she will never be able to have a practice in NY. Women find her vulgar and society doesn't seem to want to allow her to practice. So, she sends for a nurse and takes a job as a Dr. on a ship...a ship of women heading west..to where there were men looking for wives. She feels this will be good practice for her.
What she doesn't count on is that her nurse ends up being male (Shiloh) and that the trip to the west by boat is MUCH more dangerous than anyone can ever know.
Its a great start to a great series.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
This was an enjoyable book. There was tension in some parts, but sporadic. Some sections seemed to drag a bit when not much was happening. I am glad I read it, though.
Book: The Stars for a Light (Cheney Duvall M. D. Book #1) Author: Lynn & Gilbert Morris Narrator: Kate Forbes
It's odd to have a book in the “reread a favorite” category and not give it five stars, but hear me out!!🙈 It's still a 4.25 read!
I remember reading the Cheney Duvall series about ten years ago and absolutely loving them, I also listened to one of my top books of the year this year narrated by Kate Forbes, so this was supposed to be a winning formula all around, it was, but let me explain. 😂
Rereading or rather this time relistening to book one, I remembered that this series had to grow on me. It has eight books, plus two books after the original series that follow the main characters. Basically, by the time I finished the entire series they felt like family!
Cheney and Shiloh are easily near the top of my favorite leads of all time list, but in this book, we meet them young and untried. The growth these two undergo over the course of the series is a testament to the strength of the Morris' superior writing.
The first book as a stand alone wasn't bad, it just wasn't my favorite, because we meet both Cheney and Shiloh trying to find their place in the world. The story was still good, the series just expands so much farther than the first story.
Rereading book one made me want to take the journey again and I will! The first four books of the series are narrated by Kate Forbes so I'll listen to them and then read the rest.
This series is a must read. The first book is good, but it's just table setting for what's to come. Extremely well researched, historically accurate, with characters who have big hearts ready to receive God. The writing, settings and story telling for this series is top notch! These books really solidified for me that CF has a wide variety of stories to tell.
I highly recommend this book, this series, these authors and this narrator.
So, the Cheney Duvall, M.D. series was, unequivocally, my favorite series when I was a teenager. I think I was thirteen or thereabouts when I first discovered it, and I voraciously ate up the available books, eager to see what trouble Cheney would find herself in next, curious about Shiloh's past, and anticipating the moment she and Shiloh would finally get together. (They only stretched out the romantic tension for eight books...heh...) The series is largely responsible for my long-term love affair with the nineteenth century in general and the Civil War/Reconstruction era in specific. I don't know how many times I read and reread the books, but it's been a few years since I last picked them up and I randomly got it in my mind to reread them, so, here I am.
The Stars for a Light is the first book in the series and introduces Cheney, a twenty-four-year-old female doctor in Manhattan, just days after the Civil War has ended; and Shiloh, the ex-Confederate, sort-of-ex-fighter who becomes, oddly enough, her nurse. The book covers their voyage from New York to Seattle, via Panama, with Asa Mercer and his "belles" (or maids or whatever). (Alas, this is historically inaccurate, as Mercer didn't leave the East with his shipment of brides/teachers until 1866, but I suppose one can grant the Morrises fictional leeway; certainly they're not the first, or last, authors to tweak history to suit their novel's needs.)
Anyway, this isn't my favorite book in the series, but it sets the stage for the rest of it, and rereading it reminded me of why I loved the books and characters so much as a teenager...and how I still do. :)
This was a good read in a lot of different ways; It wasn't dripping with romance or what does she think or what does he think drama. That was refreshing. Mercer's Belles what a grand idea for a story and also getting to know them in this voyage. Shiloh was the most fun and interesting to read about and unfortunately I didn't really feel the same way about Cheney. Cheney for me was quite unlikable had she had Lydia's character and warmth I would have enjoyed her more. I have book two in this series and I will certainly read it and go from there as to weather I read anymore in this series. The use of the dialogue "shut up" and idiot was overused and I thought cheapened the story line some-what. Beans and Bull certainly did not help either; even though Beans turned out to be a lot smarter than anyone gave him credit for. It had a lot of charm but also some lag time but I'm not sorry I read this book.
This book was a disappointment. Either I could not figure out what this story was trying to be or the story itself did not know what it wanted to be. This book was not really romantic. The main character was not really likable. The characters seemed to be very fluid and do things inconsistent with their initial descriptions. This book was not very "inspirational" but seemed heavy-handed at times. What Cheney was doing lecturing about "inspirational" subjects toward the end of the book was anyone's guess. I struggled to keep all the cast of characters straight. This has never happened to me before in this way. I listened to this by audio and I kept going back and trying to straighten things out in my mind but to no avail. I did, however, finish the book so that is an automatic minimum of 2 stars.
I really enjoyed this book. I loved the characters, the plot etc. I really loved how descriptive the author is and I found myself transported to the time and places Cheney visited. I didn't even realize it was a Christian book either - for most of the way through it I was thinking how nice it was that the main characters didn't fall into bed with one another and having to endure the passionate scenes. Instead we see relationship being developed - not just Cheney and Shiloh but other couples too. It lacked the "corniness" that some Christian authors and addressed real issues and had characters doing real things! In fact I was most of the way through the book before I realize it was Christian fiction!! I was pleasantly surprised!
Righto, off to track down the rest of the series. Can't wait to see what Cheney and Shiloh get up to next!
If you enjoy the Lynn Austen type of books, I think you'll enjoy this one too. I wouldn't say it's as good as the Lynn Austen books I've listened to - but it's close. I really thought this was going to be more about the struggle of her becoming a female doctor, but really it was mainly about her first job as a doctor and not so much the struggle to become one and adjusting to being one. But, I enjoyed the story. A good clean one for a change :) haha!
so I read #3 without realizing right away that it was a series and when I found out that it was part of a series I was went and got #1 but figured I'd not like it and prepared myself for not even finishing it(which I hardly ever do) but I surprised myself and I enjoyed this book immensely!!! I really like Shiloh, he has an air about him.. that's all I'll say! ;) he's really sweet! but now I have # 2,4,5 also! so looking forward to reading them all!!!
I don't read a lot of 'Christian Fiction' unless the plot interests me and this one did as it dealt with a woman trying to become doctor in 1860s (yaaay Dr Quinn), the bride ships (yaaay Here Come the Brides) and also featured an intriguing war veteran character in Shiloh. I found this novel delightful and the preachiness was kept to a minimum.
This book was really good! I enjoyed the whole series! The only thing I would say is that the first book of the Cheney series is nothing like the others. This series in my opinion is totally clean with just slight kissing. I judge books by if they are appropriate for Tweens/teens and this series is.
I love all of Gilbert Morris and Lynn Morris's books. They draw you in to them so easy it makes you feel that you are a part of the story. That you are there where they are. I especially love the historical aspect. They have to put in a great deal of time and research to know so much about history.
I felt like this book was all over the place. I didn't feel a strong desire for the characters to end up together, I didn't really care what opened to them. I thought Cheney had a terrible disposition to be a doctor. I was hoping for something more exciting in the cargo. I won't be continuing on in this series.
I really enjoyed this book. It's the story of a female doctor who travels west together with a group of women who are hoping to find husbands + jobs as teachers there. A very sweet book, and quite interesting when one - as me - used to be a huge fan of "Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman" ;-)
I really enjoy this series. Probably more than I should, but Cheney is very endearing to me, as are her family and the rest of the characters. (You gotta love Shiloh.) And fun to learn about history. And Morris makes some enlightening Christian comments.
So...I like this whole series. It has a dashing hero and a smart heroine. Easy to read Christian historical novels, a little preachy at times but far less than many. Wonderful characters and engaging story lines.
I first read this book in the 9th grade, and I've read it at least 3 times since then. There's so much in it: history, intrigue, adventure, romance, girl power, and it's written by Christian authors. It's a great beginning to a wonderful series.
I think I could have liked this more if I had not been so busy and only reading a chapter here and there. I just never got into it. I won't be reading any more in the series right now....but maybe someday.
I loved this book. The nurse brought constant comedy, there was more adventure than romance, and there were some mysteries! The part I didn't like was what some of the men did even though they were suppose to be strong Christians.
A great read... although, I would have liked to seen a deeper character development within the Mercers Belles. Also, a better description of the settings (ie more details about the ships, ports) to set the stage. It will be interesting to see where this series continues.
Quite the adventure on the ship. Bull and Beans (?) reminded me of Don Knotts and Tim Conway in the Apple Dumpling Gang. Doing silly stuff and getting into trouble. Fun twist to have the nurse be Shiloh (a male) rather than a woman to go with Cheney.
I read and reread this book throughout my middle and high school years. It was a favorite. I don't know how it would stand up to a reread so many years later, but I have fond memories of enjoying the series and talking about it with a group of girl friends.
Not only do the Cheney Duvall M.D. series books feature a very strong, determined heroine, they are filled with character depth and historical details, and medical detail that many other Christian Fiction books lack. A definite "Good Read".