That Certain Spark

By: Cathy Marie Hake

Narrated by: Johanna Parker

Inspirational Readers Choice winner Cathy Marie Hake whisks listeners away to 1890s Texas where the townsfolk of Gooding are shocked their new doctor is a woman. The men vow to boycott the lady doctor and send her packing. But when her medical skill saves a blacksmith’s life, he feels obliged to shield her from threats to her person and practice. And despite their initial clashes, the determined doctor and her outspoken guardian soon forge a surprising bond.

©2009 Chathy Marie Hake (P)2010 Recorded Books, LLC

Critic reviews

“A mixed blend of fun, witticism and romance." ( Publishers Weekly)

A pleasant- not spectacular- listen

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I would recommend this audiobook to a friend looking for a fairly light listen in the Christian romance genre. I would make sure that my friend knew what she was getting into, since this book definitely isn't for everyone (or every mood!).

What other book might you compare That Certain Spark to and why?

This book is the fourth in a series by Cathy Marie Hake, preceeded by "Fancy Pants", "Forevermore" and "Whirlwind", all of which take place in the same town in Texas, so I would compare it to its predecessors. They all deal with some fairly heavy issues, such as spousal abuse in "Forevermore" and cancer in this book, but the stories come together with the requisite happily-ever-after for the main characters.

What about Johanna Parker’s performance did you like?

Johanna Parker gave each character a distinct voice, so that it was easy to determine who was speaking when. Unfortunately, as a result, some of the characters sounded a bit ridiculous.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

I wish I could think up a witty line, but that's not my thing! Something about a doctor, prejudice and love sparking in the blacksmith's forge.

Any additional comments?

I would recommend starting the series from the beginning: it's nice to see how characters from previous books are incorporated into successive storylines. The first two books in the series are my favourite by Hake.

Fantastic story!

This was a great story with lots of characters and so entertaining. The narrator did a great job with using a different voice for the characters. A good narrator is so important to any audio book and it brings the story alive. Was interesting having characters from the first two books included.

Women’s rights, romance, and mystery western-style

The narrator is excellent. While the romance is good, the story is way too heavy on the ‘women deserve to pursue careers’ theme. Too much of the book focuses on this topic, over and over. Otherwise the story is well done. The characters are very likable.

Wonderful

I really enjoyed this book. The Lord is very present in Hake's writing. I definately recommend this book.

Christian Historical Romance

While fighting to win a town of bigoted men, Dr. Taylor Bestman loses her heart to her first patient! This story is full of comedic scenes, bantering, devotion, poignant subjects, loss and love.
The narrator did an excellent job!

That Certain Spark—Didn’t

My problem with this book might all be the narrator. The characters’ voices drove me crazy. The plot was fairly good. But characters seem weak. I’ll try another by Marie Hake.

my fave author

the story continues and i was so glad wonder where the author will go now

Nice escape

Any additional comments?

I'm about half way through listening to this book and am delighted that I have it. For me, it's a light "read," about a topic I'm fond of (women doctors on the frontier) and is written and read well enough to hold my interest -- not all books are, so this book is a positive for me and I'd certainly recommend it.

Disappointing Narrative

The narrator was very good, however, her style was mismatched for this story. I believe that she would be very, very good with children's storys.

I love just about anything that Cathy Marie Hake writes, but I had to stop midway through the second chapter because the characters seemed so unreal.

I am not giving up though, because I am going to buy the paperback and try again. CMH is one of my all time favorites; besides, I want to see what happens to Lynette.

This is one I couldn't finish

Too predictable and overly dramatic. I hate it when I can't finish a book I paid for, but I just was not able to get into this one.