Medicine Man by Saffron A. Kent
Release Date: September 27th
Genre: Contemporary Romance
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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. And 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.
WARNING: This book discusses sensitive issues including but not limited to, depression and suicide.
Simon Blackwood is such a contradiction. He wants to save me, but he also wants me to save myself. He wants me to fight, and at the same time, he wants to protect me.
Medicine Man is a deliciously forbidden and flawlessly written story. Seriously, Saffron Kent is one heck of a writer. She is uber talented and every book I’ve read of hers has had just the right amount of taboo with a lot of sexy. This was no exception.
Willow Taylor is an eighteen year old girl who is clinically depressed. So depressed, that she ended up in a facility called Heartstone after attempting to take a flying leap off a roof. Heartstone is a psychiatric hospital. There, Willow meets a lot of people that change her life forever. One of them is a man named Simon Blackstone.
Simon is a man who Willow is enamored with from the first moment she meets him. He’s someone who helps Willow come to terms with her condition. He helps her see herself in a different light. As a fighter. Someone who doesn’t need saved, someone who can save herself.
He’s not a hero, he said. Maybe that’s why I shattered myself just now. For him. So he could fix me, save me like a hero he says he isn’t. With his medicine in my blood putting me to sleep, I close my eyes to that ridiculous thought. I don’t want anyone to save me. I don’t need saving. I also don’t need a hero.
Simon would be the perfect man for Willow, if it wasn’t for the fact that he’s in his thirties and her psychiatrist. Willow calls him her Medicine Man, her Ice King. He’s mercurial and can be a real jerk, but it’s pretty apparent he has feelings for Willow as well. But Simon isn't perfect. He’s got issues of his own to deal with, issues from his past that have scarred him.
Willow and Simon’s relationship is complicated. It’s hot and cold, it’s push and pull, and it’s scorching and sexy. There is something about a good forbidden romance that is so much more endearing than a cookie cutter love story. Every single book I’ve read of Saffron’s has had this quality. This unputdownable, completely engaging quality. It’s in the writing, in the romance, and in the undeniable chemistry between these two.
My medicine man is curing me, purifying my blood, vacuuming the illness out of me. With his mouth, his kisses, he’s drinking down all my poison. That thing inside me that gives me blue eyes. He’s making me cleaner, healthier. He’s purging me. He’s making me happy. The thing that’s as elusive to me as love.
There were parts of this romance I loved, and parts I didn’t always love. By the end, I realized how beautiful it was, even though it hurt to get there. As much as the romance aspect was a bit wishy-washy for me, one thing that I loved from start to finish was Willow. My Warrior Willow. This girl was sweet, scared, strong, and tough as nails when she needed to be. Her growth was beautiful and astounding. She is a true fighter and an amazing heroine. I loved her to pieces and she made this book for me.
After finishing this story, I saw there would be two spin off stories from other characters and OMG I need them asap. Seriously, I cannot wait for more from these characters. Hopefully, we will get a peak into Willow and Simon’s future while reading as well.
Medicine Man is a unique and all consuming story. It’s a powerful read and one that made me think and feel. I can’t shout out enough how beautifully written it is. Overall, a really great read.
EXCERPT
“Do you have someone special, Dr. Blackwood?”
Someone you kiss? Someone you grab and pull into a dark alley and press against
walls?
I don’t say that but I’m definitely asking that.
It’s like he hears the unspoken questions because the heat of his body seems to have
doubled. Like his blood is rushing in his veins with an uncanny speed.
With flaring nostrils and a hard jaw, he answers, “No.”
“Why not?”
“Because I’m busy.”
I want to smile. Actually, I’ve never wanted to smile this hard. Ever. His answer calms
me but it also makes me restless to move closer to him. I want to trace my palm over the arch
of his chest and see if I got it right in my dreams.
But I don’t do any of those things. I don’t want him to take away this small concession
he’s given me.
Why is he even giving it to me? I’m not complaining. But still.
“Busy with patients?”
“Busy with my job. Yes,” he says, all professional-like.
That’s what he is. Professional and distant. Dedicated to his job and fixing people. If
Mass General let him go, then they are idiots.
I’m an idiot, too, in this moment.
Instead of backing off, I want to do something. Something that might crack his cool
façade. Maybe reaching up and messing up his no-nonsense hair.
What would he do? If I did that? If I grabbed his collar and pushed him against the wall?
And kissed him?
My eyes drop to his lips, his soft, soft lips. There’s a cleft in the middle of his lower lip. I
want to taste that cleft, dig my tongue in it, wet it, suck on it, bite it.
“So you don’t have fun at all?”
“No. I’m not a fun guy.”
I watch his lips form the words, and every syllable that comes out of his mouth makes
my need to shake him, kiss him, mess him up, stronger. Stronger and stronger.
The need is so consuming that I hardly notice when he puts his hand on my palm and
takes it off his body. It’s final and smooth, his action. Effortless. As though my touch barely
registered to him.
“But I think you have a point. It’s after hours and I should go… have fun rather than
spending my time with a patient.” He steps back then. “I’ll see you next week. Same time.”
About the Author
Writer of bad romances. Aspiring Lana Del Rey of the Book World.
Saffron A. Kent is a Top 100 Amazon Bestselling author of Contemporary and New Adult romance. More often than not, her love stories are edgy, forbidden and passionate. Her work has been featured in Huffington Post, New York Daily News and USA Today’s Happy Ever After.
She lives in New York City with her nerdy and supportive husband, and a million and one books.
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Medicine Man by Saffron A. Kent
About the Author
