stepping into his domain, immersing herself in his world, had taken her off guard. How had this man so intrigued her, fully claimed her curiosity and caused her to cast aside all reason and say and do such absurd things in his presence?"

A woman as untamed as the islands themselves. A guarded doctor who can heal every hurt but his own. Will their differences bind or break them? 

For twenty-two-year-old Georgina Wright, a trip to the Hawaiian Islands in January 1873 alongside intrepid explorer and honorary aunt, Isabella Bird, is a rare reprieve from her older brother’s watchful care and a chance to discover who she really is beyond the only home she’s ever known. There’s just one snag: the cold and enigmatic Dr. Joseph Livingston Jr. must serve as her medical escort for the journey. 

Standoffish, strange, detached. Others have accused Joseph of all these disparaging attributes and more. But he’s determined to keep the world at arm’s length, having spent years perfecting his isolation to protect himself and others from the burden he carries. Yet with her headstrong nature, Georgina is too intrigued by this man to heed his warnings to keep her distance.

From the deck of turbulent steamships to the base of thundering 400-foot-tall waterfalls to the searing-hot rim of volcanic craters, the not-so-paradisiacal island landscape exposes just how wide the chasm is between Georgina’s unyielding spirit and Joseph’s calculated reserve. Will Joseph cling to the safety of solitude? Will Georgina back down from her most difficult challenge yet? Or is Georgina’s intractable temperament the very cure Joseph needs to finally risk everything for a love that has the power to heal all?

Manuscript in editing stage. 

Releasing September 8, 2026, with Scrivenings Press!