Prescription in Russian by Mona Risk

Trying to leave her devastating past in Boston, Dr. Jillian Burton lands in Belarus and is determined to keep her mind and body busy helping the sick children at the Minsk Solidarity Hospital and providing modern equipment through the American program she works for. Arriving earlier than expected she goes to the hospital in search of the new Director of Medicine she will be working with, to her surprise its not the overweight middle aged balding man she was expecting, no it was a tall dark handsome man by the name of Dr. Fyodor Vassilov and one look into his sparkling blue eyes makes her loose all though process.

Fyodor Vassilov is a Russian surgeon and an officer— Jillian Burton is an American pediatrician on a mission to improve medical conditions in Belarus. Jillian blames herself and her ex-husband for their son’s death—Duty demands Fyodor provides a mother to his four little boys. She has lost her illusions about men and marriage—He has to marry a woman who loves children and big family.
When they work together for six months in his hospital, their fascination with one another shocks them both. Can attraction and love overcome guilt, duty, and a clash of cultures?

Fyodor is stunned to see that the American Pediatrician that has been sent to assist his hospital is such a beautiful and young woman. Instantly attracted to her he starts to imagine what life would be like if he could only get her to return his affection. The twist to the story is that Fyodor is not only a dedicated doctor he is also a dedicated father to four little boys, whose mother has passed away. His first priority is providing his children with a new mother and a loving home, but love for him isn’t an option with the ghost of his first wife still lingering.

Jillian has her own ghost, her son Brian was killed in an accident ten years ago and Jillian blames herself and her ex-husband leaving her closed to the chance of starting a new relationship especially one that involves children. She’s not able to let go of the guilt, feeling like she failed to save her son and she has made it her life duty to save as many sick children as she can. As time goes by Jillian and Fyodor and forced to work in close quarters and spend countless hours at the hospital together causing strong feelings to blossom between the two. Fyodor knows that something is haunting Jillian but her secret is well hidden and he comes to believe that her dislike of children is the reason she will not start a relationship with him. Jillian knows of his four sons and she knows that being a mother is the last thing she wants so she holds Fyodor at arms length. Will Fyodor attraction be enough to melt through the icy barricade that Jillian has thrown around her heart or will guilt and duty come between them forever?

Mona Risk Prescription in Russian is an exciting and heart wrenching tale of two people whose past are getting in the way of their present. Jillian is wracked with guilt over the death of her son while Fyodor can’t let go of the pain he feels for the death of his first wife. I’m usually am not the kind of person who gets emotional while reading but there are several scenes in the Prescription in Russian where I wanted to yell and scream at the characters and others where I cried with them. Mona Risk used her knowledge of travel and her medical background to her advantage by painting a vivid picture of what it would be like to live in a small country that has been plagued by several wars. As a former hospital employee it was nice to see someone get the terminology correct, this was a big plus for me. There are several places in Prescription in Russian where the romance comes alive and I found myself wanting more, but she keeps you in suspense not only in the main characters story but also in the lives of the supporting characters around them. All in all it was a very good read that you can curl up with on cold night and feel yourself warmed by a beautiful love story.