I enjoyed a medical romance with so much hospital time. I was also really excited to read a lesbian romance. Maybe this would be better for those who are fans of this author already. I just had trouble getting invested in the characters. I might read the first book in this series and see if it grips me more and then come back for this.

When former lovers are thrown together in a high intensity and competitive environment anger and sparks are bound to fly. Emmett and Sydney are suddenly on the same track, same year and same expectations of being the best, but there is only ever one chief.

Radclyffe’s Quinn and Honor series was always one of my favourites, and now they are back, albeit as the mentors to a new generation of medical students, and the overseas of the trauma and surgical patients at the centre of the story. We have a whole new cast of friends, lovers and rivals but set in the familiar backdrop, and it’s great to be back.

The medical drama is excellent as always, the characters are a good mix, the main characters and their closest friends realistic in their hopes and fears, and the sexual tension is perfectly held as Emmett and Sydney fight the pull of their attraction.

I’m delighted Radclyffe has revisited this excellent series, and look forward to many more if they are as good as this. Most enjoyable way to spend time with old friends.

This book was so gripping I finished it in a single day. I loved the two leads, the fast-paced atmosphere at the hospital and the camaraderie between the residents. The medical scenes were very well written without being too in-depth and had me on the edge of my seat. The chemistry between the leads was palpable and I really related to both characters. And it was refreshing to see some really unlikeable, lifelike friends as supporting characters for a change!

Radclyffe really shines when it comes to medical romances - her knowledge and experience comes through strongly in these books and immerses the reader into the fast paced world of trauma, emergency and surgical medicine. This one is set in the same hospital as some of her previous books and some old favorite characters make an appearance (Honor and Quinn). You can enjoy the book without having read Fated Love or the other stories set in the same hospital - but you have to read Fated Love just because it is a fantastic book.

Emmett is in her last year of residency and the shoo-in for Chief Resident - at least until a new group of residents from a hospital that is closing arrives. Enter Syd - a woman Emmett was involved with in her early years of medical school and is now her competition for the Chief position. As always, Rad's MCs are strong, smart, passionate doctors and the medical scenes are tight and tense as they balance life and death. On the romance side, there's a smoldering slow burn between Emmet and Syd that works particularly well.

This was a very enjoyable read - make sure you set aside a solid few hours as you will be unwilling to put this one down.

I really enjoy Radclyffe books. I love her Rivers series, and listen to her audiobooks often. I own this one in audiobook format, and I just didn’t love it as much as some of her other books. It started slow for me. It got better as it went, but I did struggle in the beginning just getting into the story. It was nice to catch up to some of those characters from previous books. I thought it was a good listen, just not as good as some of Radclyffe’s other books. I do love the hospital setting, and enjoyed the chemistry between the two mains. Secondary characters were good additions and I overall enjoyed the book. If you are a fan of Radclyffe’s previous books you will enjoy this one. If it isn’t broke no reason to fix it.

I honestly have such a weird history with this book. I never, in my three years of blogging, have forgotten to review a book…until now. I was 100% sure I’d already put up a review for Passionate Rivals, until I checked my blogging schedule and I figured I hadn’t, and by the time I realized that, my arc had already expired to I couldn’t get a quote and hence why there’s none in this post. So, bare with me for this review as I give my brain a mental slap for forgetting.

The writing is quite simple, it does its job of being a vessel through which we experience the story but in and of itself it doesn’t have anything going for it and it came across to me as fairly generic. Which is only my taste, but I think it could work for other people better than it did for me. There were also some medical mistakes that had me cringing especially when one of characters was capping a seringe, WE DON’T CAP USED SERINGES THAT’S DANGEROUS!!! But I feel like people outside the medical field wouldn’t have as much of a hard time with this as I did haha.

Passionate Rivals is mostly written in two POVs with a third one thrown in there, which…was confusing. So, we have both main characters, Emmett ad Syd, right? But THEN, there’s also a third POV from a main character in a previous book in this companion series, and when it comes to companions you’re supposed to be able to read them separately without anything throwing you off, and to me, someone who hasn’t read that first book, having that third POV felt like the randomest thing because I have no information about that story and I’m given the continuation of it. That being said (and yes, eventhough I just ranted about it), this didn’t affect my enjoyment of the book to drastic levels.

This book is the slowest of slow burns, I waited nineteen chapters for them to kiss (more than 70% of the book)!!! NINETEEN! It was agonizing but I enjoyed every second of it. This plays on one of my favourite tropes which is second chance romance and I lived for it, especially with all the angst, and Syd having issuesTM that got in the way. I gotta say though, that the angst got too much at time and was quite frustrating, it was a lot of flip-flopping, on Syd’s part and we have no idea why she does what she does until the end of the book, and even then I wasn’t 100% sold on it. It just all felt a tad too dramatic for what the backstory actually was.

I did like both girls though, they have distinct voices and I knew who’s perspective I was reading from no matter what and where in the book I was. Emmett is a natural leader, ambitious, driven and doesn’t want to be tied down, she has hook up after hook up and a friends with benefits situation (that never turns into anything else!!!) with her best friend at the start of the book. But then Syd shows up, the one woman she’s even considered breaking her rules for in the past and she starts questionning everything again. Syd is all of those things as well but softer, a little bit mored jaded and wary because of the issues I talked about above so she keeps her distance. Mostly.

Because truth is, Syd can’t resist her feelings for Emmett either so she keeps getting close, getting scared and running away again, which, if I was Emmett, I would Not Be Happy about. But it’s all understandable in hindsight. Kind of. What I appreciated most is that Emmett always respected Syd’s boundaries even with all the maddening back and forth, she gave Sydney the space she needed without ever giving up on her, letting her make the first steps whenever she felt comfortable doing so and never chasing after her when she scurries away, while still making sure to let her know that she will be there waiting. And that eventually pays off (duh).

One aspect of this book that I really loved is that something that started as intense resident rivalry between Emmett’s friends and Syd’s has turned into a tight knit group of friends who form a sort of unconventional but very heartwarming family.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an e-arc in exchange for an honest review. This was a great book. I’m in the medical field so I really enjoyed this!

I loved the details of this book. You truly feel as if your standing on the hospital floor with Emmett and Sydney and their fellow doctors. The medical drama is done to perfection. However the romance I felt was a bit lacking. Still good mind you, Radclyffe's always are. I just would have liked more heat and tension.

You know unequivocally you are going to get your money's worth when you read Radclyffe. This is no exception, not my favorite but a quality read nonetheless.

I was so excited to read this book as I’ve followed the PMC Hospital Series from the moment I read ‘Fated Love’. I love Quinn and Honor (Fated Love) so to know I would get another book with them in the story had me reading this book the moment it hit my kindle.

As well as an update on all the loveliness that is Honor and Quinn, the plot centres around two new characters, Emmett and Sydney. Emmett and Sydney meet again under unexpected circumstances and are pitted against each other for the role of Chief resident in PMC Hospital. The problem is that the attraction they feel to one another is still strong… Can they work together/ against each other when their feelings are still so strong?

This book is definitely more a of slow burn for most of the book and then it really speeds up from 75% in which really finished the book nicely for me.

I adore how after four books in the series Honor and Quinn are just as much in love if not more than in ‘Fated Love’. There is something about those two (and also Tori and Reese from Ptown series) that makes me measure all of Radclyffe’s protagonists against them. So to see them still as madly in love made me incredibly happy.

Sydney and Emmett’s back-story intrigued me from the beginning, how did they know each other? Were they lovers? Or was it a fling?
The more we got to know them the more I couldn’t believe they hadn’t gotten serious the first time they met but Sydney’s story develops into all the reasons why and I have to say, it was an interesting twist in their story.  

I saw a lot of Quinn in Emmett and I think that’s what made her my favourite character in this book. She was really something special and characters like her are one of the many reasons I keep returning to reread Radclyffe’s books.

The secondary characters in the book really made for some interesting moments and I really hope they are continued into this new phase of the PMC romance series. Especially Dani and Zoey, who I really hope Radclyffe writes a story around as I reckon them as a couple could be explosive on the page.

One of my issues was the cover of the book. I’m not a fan of people on the front covers of books because I like to have an image in my mind of what I think the character looks like and I can never really do that when there is quite a defined picture of the protagonists on the front. It’s a personal thing though but I wanted to mention it as it throws me a bit off.

Not my favourite from Radclyffe but another great hospital romance I’ll read again.

4 stars

I really struggled to get through this. I found both Emmett and Sydney to be dislikable characters that were written to show how flawed characters are changeable. It just wasn't for me at all.

Reading this book was like visiting old friends you haven't seen for a while. I know it's about the new generation of doctor's but meeting Quinn and Honor again was really nice.

In this book we meet Emmett who seems to be a rising star and boy does she know it. We also meet Syd who transfers into the program, who seems to also be a rising star. An interesting rivalry develops. On and off the speed so to speak.

Radclyffe has an excellent writing style which makes it really easy to read. I also love the how easy it is to read. When I'm reading one off her books I really seem to connect to the story. The time and book flies by.

So, Yes I will definitely be recommended this book to anyone who will listen. Enjoy!

*ARC provided by publisher via NetGalley*

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2587027567

https://www.amazon.co.uk/review/RW6TSWEDLZLJN/ref=pe_1572281_66412651_cm_rv_eml_rv0_rv

Excellent depiction of a love story in the medical field. The story of a lost love coming back after disappearing and needing the answers to their previous relationship. Taking place in a hospital, this story is great for those looking for a lesbian love story in a drama filled environment.

More on the meh side for me. I enjoyed the scenes with Quinn and Honor, but didn’t really warm up to either of the leads.

Most of it had to do with the past they had together that was hinted at but purposefully left unclear to work up to a big reveal, I guess. But I never much like all the hinting.

I kept with it because there was an early season Grey‘s Anatomy feel to it that I enjoyed.

Another fun surgical romance from Radclyffe. I read this in one setting. I liked the characters and the passion between them. Though the book is pretty much the kind of romance that you would expect from this author, I don't think you'll be disappointed. I recommend.

Even though this is the fourth in a series, I read it as a standalone and it worked pretty good - but after reading this I am eager to read the other books in this series!

I highly enjoyed the story of Emmet and Syd, who had a little something during the beginning of their apprenticeship. then Syd disappered. Now, years later, both worlds collide again when Syd has to change her workingplace - a hospital.

Both Syd and Emmet are working as surgery residences and now have to work side by side to save lifes. While doing so they have to work out what happend to them almost 5 years ago and what will happen with them now.

It was great to follow along with them. I really like both leading characters. From that point this would be a 5 of 5 stars but I had the feeling that the ending was way to fast. Syd changed her mind at a moment's notice without any really lifechanging moment … I whish there would be something more in the end but I still really like the book.

I am Looking Forward to reading more of Radclyffe's work.

An honest review thanks to NetGalley. This is another great read by Radclyffe. What I love so much is the characters from previous books being interwoven with the new characters that are introduced to us. It keeps the connection alive to prior characters and gives us an insight into their lives now. I liked the long lost love and now rival storyline, the characters jumped off the pages as well as their chemistry. If you are looking for a romance to read, this is a great book to do so with.

This wasn’t typical Radclyffe. The intimate science were stifled and short, not at all like her previous books. There was too much time spent talking and not enough doing. I mean it took six pages to learn what happened to Syd when it could have been told in one. Overall the story was different. We usually don’t get a pregnant lesbian storyline. The characters were fine, but they just sort of dropped Jerry and he disappeared from the book, it sucks cause I would have like to see his character more. I wasn’t the biggest fan of this book so it took me a long while to get through. Overall it was a bit boring a little too technical. I couldn’t understand a lot of the medical terms so having to look them up really pulled me out of the story. Not the best one I’ve read by Radclyffe. Maybe she is losing her touch.

This was an unexpected and very welcome surprise. I have been mildly disappointed by the last few novels by Radclyffe, so I was more than happy to go back into the lives of leads from Fated Love.
This had enough medicine, medical cases and romance to keep it interesting. Loved and enjoyed reading it enough to go back and re-read Fated Love.

This book keeps pretty much in line with the whole series, although because we're now in with the residents it did remind me more of Grey's Anatomy, which wasn't a bad thing. It's a pretty run of the mile story by Radclyffe, so good but nothing that I'll go back and re-read. I much prefer when she goes away from the normal.

Some people have said that there is a lot of medical jargon, and there is. That's her strong suit of course, but I did get bored because it's not my interest. It all starts to sound like another language to me at a certain point, so I did start to pass it over.

If you are interested in hearing more from Honor and Quinn, then you'll also be happy with this book as they do make a few appearances and actually have some action from their POVs.

Passionate Rivals is hopefully the first of several books focusing on a newer generation at the Philadelphia Medical College. I believe the publishers missed the book’s subtitle though – Passionate Rivals, or A Layperson’s Introduction to Emergency Surgery…
This book is everything I love about Radclyffe’s novels. It has an excellent twisty story, tortured and interesting characters, drama and hot romance, and an ending that came too soon. Some more-than-cameo appearances from some old favourites is a bonus. I’m certainly looking forward to more stories focused around PMC.
Highly recommended.