A Healing Spirit by Melissa A. Hanson {Review}

A Healing Spirit by Melissa A. Hanson

Kindle Edition, 290 pages

Published August 15th 2015 by mah 

Source: I received a copy through ebooksforreview.com in exchange for an honest review 

My Rating: 2.5 Stars

 

 

A freak ski accident brings nineteen-year old Mia Kinney within minutes of death. Hurt and scared, Mia is calmed by the southern drawl and clear green eyes of her rescuer.

Twenty-one year old Dylan Blackburn is one of the first Ski Patrol members on the scene. As his patient is airlifted to the local trauma center, he can’t shake her from his thoughts.

As Mia fights for her life, Dylan, is haunted by the blonde hair beauty, and knows he needs to make sure she’s going to be okay.

With a troubled past Dylan has vowed never to completely open himself up to another girl, but Mia continues to knock down every wall he’s constructed. When his past arrives at his front door and threatens once again someone that he loves, will Dylan be able to save Mia yet again? Or will he be too late this time?

A story of love, friendship, and the determination to turn a horrible experience into something worthwhile.

 

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I found it interesting that the author takes a real-life event, as explained at the end of the book, and turns it into a novel. There were moments that I was drawn into the story, but there were also moments that fell a little flat for me.

 

Mia is a black diamond, nineteen year old, snowboarder and in a freak accident, she falls from the lift and is injured. Almost half of the book revolves around that incident and the hospital stay afterward. My biggest issue with the book is there are way too many voices, especially in the first half, as the story is told from five different points of view. I thought it was interesting and the medical portion was well researched, but too confusing, and could have been just as effective with one or two voices. Mia is brave, strong, and a real fighter.

 

Dylan, the ski patrolman who rescued Mia, plays an interesting role in her recovery and life after the accident. His story controls a good portion of the remainder of the book and while interesting, some parts felt unbelievable to me. For example, how could a girl who endured what Mia did, along with three separate surgeries, be in top physical form and ready for romance within a month? I liked Dylan's character and he has a lot of potential to be great. 

 

This book is entertaining--there was just something missing to completely link the characters and situations together in a smooth way. It seemed at times to be promoting better ski lift equipment and then would jump to a friend who suddenly feels stronger, reciprocated feelings for Mia, then jumping to an unexpectedly jealous boyfriend. I struggled to feel an emotional connection to any of the characters, but enjoyed the story on the surface.

 

Content: moderate violence (abuse, injuries, etc); mild-moderate swearing; moderate romantic elements (kissing, some innuendo, touching breasts twice--once under clothes, once over).  

 

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About the Author:

Melissa A. Hanson lives in Southern California, with her husband and two sons. Growing up in Southern California, inspiration for the city of "Riverview" is based on her hometown.

Melissa enjoys reading, design, and writing new stories in her free time.