A great book. I simply loved it. A 5 stars rating from me.

The Broken Hearts series has been a longtime favorite of mine and reread those books often so I was insanely excited for another book by this author. Now I have another favorite to add into my rotation of rereads!

Jamie is a successful doctor and director of education for medical students. Libby is a medical student who falls asleep in Jamie's class and he's not interested in hearing whatever excuse she might have for it, even if they are valid excuses. When Jamie realizes that he's been a judgmental jerk, he decides that he's going to do everything he can to not only help Libby, but also stop denying the insane attraction he feels for her. If only he could stop being so judgmental. Libby makes no apologies for the things she needs to do to provide for her daughter and Jamie's judgement may be the thing that costs him his future with Libby.

Libby might be one of my favorite female characters of all time. She definitely doesn't have any cares to give when it comes to how she's surviving becoming a mom at 17. She's independent, strong, and super smart. She's also pretty stubborn. Jamie was a pretty good guy but his judgement of Libby and her choices got old fast. Even though I wanted to smack upside the head at times, I really loved Jamie and how protective he is of Libby and Rosie. I'm really hoping that this book is the start of another fantastic series by this author. I can't wait to see what comes next.

*This is my voluntary review of an advanced reader copy*

Would give it more than 5 stars if I could.

This is the first book I've read by Susie Tate but it won't be the last. She did a wonderful job of developing the characters and storyline.
Libby was a strong character faced with the challenges of being a single mother and going to medical school. Her daughter Rosie was absolutely precious. When Libby and Jamie aka Dr Grantham there is instant attraction. I loved how their relationship developed inspite of the odds and obstacles in their way.
The secondary characters were also very likable and I was happy to read an excerpt at the end of the book pairing Millie and Pav for the next book.
I received an advance reader copy from NetGalley in exchange for a fair review.

Genre/ Total Pages: Romance, 266 pages

Price: $2.99 on Amazon (Releasing September 28, 2017)

Rating: 4/5

*I received this book from NetGally in exchange for an honest review.

Really good romance book! The main character, Libby, is very Meredith Grey meets Izzy Stevens with her very own McDreamy, Jamie. Tate's writing reminded me of Nicholas Sparks in that there aren't any XXX, super "adult" scenes, but there are some scenes about sex and some adult topics (i.e. strippers/stripping).  Tate is a general practitioner and a mom, so the medical scenes are extremely well written and Libby's interaction with her daughter is superbly realistic. If you're looking for a feel good book about friendship, love, and family, I highly suggest this one!

I absolutely loved this book. I’ve really enjoyed all of Susie Tate’s books and this is no exception. She has the ability to draw you in to the life of doctors in training and the trials they’re facing.

The title doesn’t really fit the storyline. Libby is a single mother who had her baby when she was 17 and decided to still go to medical school rather than just giving up and living off welfare. We meet her in her third year of medical school where, at the age of 22, she’s trying to do her best for her incredibly adorable daughter while doing her medical training. To support her little family she works weekends as a high-class stripper. She won’t beg, borrow, or steal from anyone since she is proud and will not give in.

Jamie is an anaesthetist and teacher at the hospital where Libby is now studying. He first notices her because she falls asleep in class and then is late for an operation. He is judgmental and dismissive but he can’t help reacting to her since, despite her shoddy clothes, is the most beautiful woman he’s ever seen. When he finds out that she’s a stripper, he’s appalled and continues to be judgmental. He comes from a money background and doesn’t really understand the desperate life that she is facing.

Almost despite himself, he falls for her and for her daughter. He helps them and finds himself falling even deeper for her. He keeps messing up and hurting her inadvertently or just through being a blockhead.

I loved the story and the secondary characters. I can’t wait to read Millie and Pax’s story.

I was give a free ARC of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Susie Tate has written yet another winner. I have thoroughly enjoyed her last books Goodnight being my favourite but I absolutely love and devoured this, in fact I keep picking it up and re reading passages since finishing it.
Libby is a single mother and second year medical student struggling to make ends meet, she is as beautiful as she is stubborn and determined to do the best for her 4 year old daughter Rosie. Rosie is a delight, intelligent and precocious she jumps off the page giving many laugh out loud moments.
Jamie an anaesthetic consultant and responsible for training the medical students has impossibly high standards both for himself and others. When they meet,after Libby falls asleep at one of his lectures sparks fly, and so begins a wonderful romance.
This is a book not to be missed, I loved it and can't wait for her next.
My thanks to net galley and publisher for opportunity to review this book.

Libby Penny is no stranger to sacrifice. Pregnant at seventeen, the now 22-year-old single mom is hip-deep into medical school. Unfortunately with school, rotations, and a demanding job as an exotic dancer (emphasis on dance) she's burning the candle at both ends. Her lovely light calls out to consultant anesthetist and the Medical Education Director, Jamie Grantham. Jamie holds himself and others to high standards, and falling asleep in class doesn't meet those standards. And he's sick of excuses... refusing to even hear them. It takes a strong-willed child to make him realize what an 'arse' he's been and open his eyes to what he really wants.

*** I received an ARC through NetGalley

I admit, I wasn't sure how I'd like this story. I have a fondness for single moms in fiction. But student/teacher relationships squick me -- all of my family are educators and I was one too for a time. However, the book hung a lampshade on the inappropriateness and actions definitely had consequences.... which is super important especially in strong power differentials like this. But the thing that made me love this story were the characters.

I loved Libby. She was strong. Stubborn. Single-minded. Loving. Compassionate. And filled with all sorts of faults. She reminded me in some ways of Jane from Big Little Lies. And it's a good comparison. I also adored Libby's daughter, Rosie. Yes, she's a cute kid. But she's also a kid. And as an only child surrounded by adults, she's learned to manipulate said adults. It's realistic and I applaud the author for that. I also loved Jamie. I like it when a character who has a stick up his anal regions realizes it and tries to remove it on his own. I also liked that he didn't magically become better overnight. Change, real change, takes time. And that is what happened over the course of this story. The side characters were great... although I do admit to getting lost a bit with some of them. I'd love to see what the author does with Millie and Kira especially. Because we need more Kira... it is known.

The author clearly knows what they're writing about when it comes to the medical side. It's an eye-opening look at the British medical system which is so completely different from the U.S. version. And the bits of color and knowledge added depth to the story.

This is the kind of book you want to share with your friends.

So I'm happy to give it Five Stars.

Beg, Borrow or Steal, Susie Tate

Review from Jeannie Zelos book reviews

Genre: New Adult, Romance

A new to me author so came into this read expecting from the cover a light and fun romance, and it is, but with a sharp dose of the harsh realities of life as a single mother too. 

Advice for would be authors is always write what you know, and Susie's medical background certainly shows here, not to the point I was boggled by terminology but just that the reality for the settings and the characters was very good, felt totally genuine. I hate when I'm reading and I think "but in real life..." 
Having said that, as a mother of three and grandmother of five kids, and having known lots more, I've never met a four year old quite like Rosie! She's four going on forty at times and TBH a very unrealistic character and yet she was so good, so funny that I can ignore that and just enjoy her. 

Jamie, he's a great guy, comes from wealthy family and has worked his way up the ladder. He's proud of where he's got, but had some unpleasant pre-conceived ideas about the realities of life, from students all out partying and that's why they're tired, to Libby's job, to which he has a typical male attitude.
I was so angry at him and yet sad too, because the way he saw it, the way his brother saw it, and even some of the other students was all too common. So much for a feminist world :-(
Libby was doing what she had to do to provide for her daughter. She could have given up school, and taken a shelf stacking job or similar, but that would mean working at min wage and very long hours, and there's no future of ever getting a better life for her and Rosie that way.
Yet so much of their outlook comes from not understanding what its like to struggle for money, from never having had to choose between being behind with the rent or the electric, from seeking pennies down the side of the sofa to pay the kids school milk money, so they aren't embarrassed by being the only ones not to have it, from eating toast yourself because its cheap and filling ,so you can give the kids a nutritious meal.
It's hard to understand what you've never experienced, and of course that lack of experience mean snap judgments tend to be made, of the "you can get a better job/car/flat surely?"
We all know people like that, they're judgmental, but really it's a lack of understanding of these issues that drives the judgement. Doesn't mean it hurts less though and I so felt for poor Libby when it happened to her. 

Jamie's actually a great guy though, and when he begins to see why Libby is late for lessons, why she's not suitably dressed, he wants to swoop in on his charger and take her away from all that. Its not what Libby wants though, she's aiming at independence and good for her. 
Libby, who couldn't admire her. Pregnant and 17 and abandoned by the father she's struggled and yet is so determined to make a good life for her and Rosie. I really liked her, loved her strength of character in standing up for herself and Rosie, her determination to not be pulled down by those with petty small minds. 

I loved the story, loved all the characters and the insights that things aren't always as they appear. Millie/Dr nuclear winter for example. Rosie had the knack of bringing out the best in everyone, Kiki (think that was her name) was a terrific friend to Libby and great source of support. I loved her nicknames for people, loved the snark between her and Jamie's friend Pav, loved the guys at the club Libby worked.

It made for a real read, one packed with honest humour, even if Rosie was a little OTT she still made me smile, filled with assumptions people make, snap judgments without knowing the facts, Jamie's dad for instance, and not just second chances but third ones.
A great read I really enjoyed. 

Stars: Five, a fun story, with some real life situations included. 

ARC supplied for review purposes by Netgalley and Publishers

I love Susie Tate's Broken Heart novels and couldn't believe my luck when I saw this one available on NetGalley - a rabid dog couldn't have lunged harder than I did for that request button! Susie writes humorous romances set against the backdrop of British hospitals, as a General Practitioner she knows her stuff and her novels are full of medical terms and puns - but please don't let that put you off because she can also be knicker-wettingly funny.

Jamie Grantham is a young successful anaesthetist and Medical Education Director at a London Hospital. He is pretty proud of himself for being a fun, engaged kind of guy so he is beyond irritated to see that one of the students in the back row of the lecture hall is asleep during his lecture. When he wakes her (in a rather sarcastic and unkind way) he is shocked that this young girl, dressed like a bag-lady, is the most arrestingly beautiful woman he has ever seen.

Libby Penny is struggling to keep her head above water. A single mother with an enchanting but ferociously precocious four year old daughter she is trying to balance training to be a doctor with caring for her daughter and earning a living the only way she can. At first Dr Grantham is openly dismissive of her, particularly scathing about her repeatedly falling asleep whilst he is teaching but when he comes face to face (well small foot to shin) with Libby's daughter Rosie all the pieces start to fall into place. Gradually Jamie tries to insert himself into Libby's life but having been brought up in a wealthy family he really doesn't understand the issues Libby faces or the choices she has to make.

Love, love, loved it. Jamie is well-meaning but his own childhood has made him aspire to be Peter Perfect in every way and Libby's choices don't always gel with that conditioning. Libby is such a contradiction, a stunningly beautiful woman who is also a sci-fi nerd and has no interest in clothes or make-up, a devoted mother, former athlete and brilliant student. Even the ancillary cast are great. I am so thrilled at the very quick sneak peak at Millie and Pav's story as they were both strong ancillary characters that I wanted to know more about.

If you've read the Broken Heart quartet I would say this is slightly less 'quirky', although there are still some brilliantly funny lines, but if you loved those books then I'm sure you will love this too. Heck, I stayed up until 3:30 am to finish reading this when I have a really busy day at work today!