On Rotation is a story that is part self-discovery, part romantic comedy. FMC Angie Appiah is a medical school resident experiencing a true millennial right of passage: the quarter-life crisis. Her boyfriend dumped her, she barely passed an important exam, her friendships are on the rocks, and the pressure from her immigrant parents has her spiraling.

While hiding in a community garden to cry it out, Angie is interrupted by the handsome and artistic MMC, Ricky. Instead of fleeing, he listens and comforts her and pulls the ultimate swoony artist move– he asks to sketch her. Needless to say, Angie is smitten. The rest of the story unfolds as a newly determined Angie sets out to prove her worth as a med student, friend, daughter, and sister. All while riding out the occasionally frustrating will-they-won’t-they storyline with the new unexpected fixture in her life, Ricky.

This was such a good read! I was initially intrigued by the med school element and the comparisons to Grey’s Anatomy. The Grey’s comparison is misleading IMO since this book lacks the non-stop rollercoaster of drama of OR bombs, plane crashes, forbidden romances, and doctors having sex on every surface in a hospital the show is known for.

The characters and everyday drama really reminded me of the HBO show Insecure. Both FMCs are fierce, yet insecure and experience similar issues and character growth. For this book, just think Insecure vibes with the medical elements from Grey’s. Consider your expectations appropriately managed.

I loved the dynamic between Angie and her friends. Their bond and the issues they face feel real and authentic and I was just as invested in their friendship HEA as I was the rest of the story.

I really enjoyed learning about Angie’s Ghanian heritage and customs and the ‘over-bearing immigrant parents’ element also adds another facet to Angie’s growth. I also loved that we get learn about Ricky’s Mexican heritage and the commonality the MCs share with their diverse backgrounds.

The romance between Angie and Ricky is a slow-burning bumpy ride. For the first 30-40% I honestly wasn’t sure if I’d end up on Team Ricky, but his significant character growth, romantic gestures, and chemistry with Angie won me over. Their miscommunications and issues feel authentic and realistic instead of forced or contrived and the underlying lesson of appreciating your partner’s love language instead of expecting them to conform to yours was well written.

Angie’s evolution is what really makes this book. She’s relatable and her growth feels tangible. Instead of giving Angie polished wins across the board, the author gives us a refreshing reminder that success isn’t always defined by being #1. It’s measured by growth and knowing your worth.

Overall, this was a fun, enjoyable read. The banter, diverse cast of characters, medical backdrop, and Angie’s loveable character balance the conflicts so I never felt emotionally overwhelmed (*COUGH*Grey’s Anatomy*COUGH*). I was invested in the characters and rooted for their HEAs which we get in the warm and fuzzy epilogue.

Can we also just take a minute to appreciate the author’s extreme level of Boss B*tch? She’s currently a med school fellow, an artist, and an acclaimed author. Legit, she’s my hero and I can’t wait to read her future books!

Anyway, add this book to your TBR! You won’t regret it.

Angie is a medical student that is in her 3rd year which brings her out of the classroom and into the hospital, bringing a new set of challenges. As if this wasn’t enough, life doesn’t stop outside of school, Angie still has to balance maintaining her relationships with friends, boys, and family.

I loved that this novel was complex yet light and realistic. This is a different type of novel, just as the author says not strictly romance or women fiction. It left me feeling good and the authors writing kept me interested throughout. Thank you for my ARC!

I had really high hopes for this book. I feel like the synopsis was the big boom and the book did not follow through. Fans of Grey’ Anatomy and Seven Days of June is way off base when compared to this book. I did not connect with the main character every well.

This book was highly relatable. As someone in their mid(ish) twenties, I've felt the way the mc does many times. The book was fun to read and while not my typical setting/trope, I loved the insight into a profession we don't see represented very much. Love!

From the first paragraph, I knew this book would be a good one. I immersed myself into the book from the first chapter and I cannot say enough good things about this book! Honestly amazing! The writing is incredible and the plot is just one to die for. I am absolutely obsessed with this book. My favorite part would have to be the character development throughout the book. Character development is something I look forward to and this book did not disappoint.

As a physician, this book was a breath of fresh air. I usually avoid books/ media about being a doctor, but this book was tongue-in-cheek enough for me to have fun. I really enjoyed Dr. Obuobi's portrayal of women of color, specifically a black woman, in medicine.

Angela Appiah had what some might call the perfect life. She’s in medical school, with an upwardly mobile boyfriend, and she’s surrounded by successful friends. Until it all comes tumbling down. She doesn’t do well on her latest medical exam, her boyfriend breaks up with her, and problems emerge in her friend group. How will she pull it together and how will this new man, Ricky, that she has her eye on factor into her life?

The first sentence I read of this book cracked me up! I was into it from the beginning because the easy flowing, but engaging writing really caught me. Some of the scenes were very relatable and others were incredibly cute! I enjoyed the secondary characters a lot. Especially Nia and Shae. We all need friends like them! My favorite part of this novel though was the conversations on medical racism. It is SO important that we bring attention to this because every Black person that has been around hospitals or doctors enough knows how we are treated. As someone who has experienced medical racism across years of my life, I’m so glad it was talked about prominently in this novel! I also loved other important things that were mentioned in the book like the way we as Black people are treated by Asian store owners, or how African children are often bullied in American schools. This novel brought up so many important things that must be talked about more.

But there were some things about this book that I didn’t like. The first thing that I didn’t like was the footnotes. This isn’t personal though, I just ALWAYS hate footnotes, it doesn’t matter what book it is. Footnotes always take me out of the story. And I feel like every footnote could’ve either been omitted or added to the text in an actual sentence. They always distract me. But my main problem with this book was the love interest, Ricky. He was just trash! One of those “nice guys” that will do you wrong, but then act like the victim when you call him out and gaslight you into thinking you’re wrong. He’s fun, sure, but he is not someone you take seriously because he changes his mind every two seconds. And the fact that Angie was so dumb for him, made me not like her either. Girl stand up!!!!!

I did enjoy this book, the main characters were just so exhausting that it was hard for me to read. I would’ve enjoyed it so much better is Ricky hadn’t been so terrible. The book was definitely more good than bad though, so I’m giving it 3.5 stars and rounding it up to 4.

Thank you Avon and Harper Voyage and NetGalley for this arc. All opinions are my own.

TW: medical racism, addiction, talks of illness and hospital related injuries

This was such a great book! I loved the story and the main character was perfect! I loved every minute of it! I highly recommend!

DNF at 30%. I was drawn to this book thinking it was a romance with a medical student heroine - yes please! Luckily before I started I had been warned it’s more women’s fiction than romance so I tried to manage my own expectations. However, this still wasn’t working for me and when I saw some reviews with details about Ricky’s behavior through the rest of the book - decided this one isn’t for me. Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the ARC to review.

I absolutely LOVED the character of Angela. It's so enjoyable seeing a successful woman of color in a book. And I was so happy for the successes she had in this story. Though I am not a med student, I found her extremely relatable.

I, however, wasn't incredibly fond of Ricky. At first I enjoyed his character, but when we get to the major conflict, my opinion of him had tanked.

It was fun getting to learn about Ghanaian culture, as the action of knocking was something I was completely unaware of.

On Rotation is a Romance, but it's also about family, friendship, and working hard to achieve your goals while staying true to yourself. Shirlene Obuobi did a great job with this book.

I really enjoyed On Rotation by Shirlene Obuobi. It's funny, relatable and it felt realistic. It's a fantastic book seeing how people live and the thoughts they have while doing so. I would definitely recommend this.

Angie has a lot on her plate and nothing seems to be going right. From family pressures to medical school to friends and her live life, it’s been a rough time for Angie. In this novel we route for and cringe for Angie along the way.

There were things I liked about this novel and some things that I didn’t. Honestly, I enjoyed everyone but Angie for the most part. She had a great group of friends and a sister, but it was the Angie show the entire time. She really didn’t have much time to show any care for her friends and flew off the handle multiple times at them. I found that super frustrating. But then she would be interacting with her mom and I’d feel so bad for her again.

Overall I liked this story, but a few parts of it were a little rough.

THANK YOU TO NETGALLEY FOR THE ARC! This is my honest review of the final!

ON ROTATION has some of the realest, messiest characters I’ve read about in a while. What intrigued me is that it’s written in the POV of a medical student by an actual doctor, but though it provides an authentic glimpse into that world, it’s more of a character driven novel than the soapy drama you’d expect on things like General Hospital or Grey’s Anatomy and I really enjoyed that.

Angie Appiah is having a TIME. Her boyfriend dumped her, her sister is getting engaged, and she’s failed her STEP exam, which she’s been working toward her whole life. Matters are further complicated when she meets Ricky Gutierrez while crying in a garden, and the two immediately click. I could NOT figure Ricky out for the longest time. I think the author did an excellent job drawing us into Angie’s perspective and making us doubt him with her. He was in many ways an aspirational guy, sweet and sensitive, but some of his seeming flakiness also felt very realistic. Angie is also a flawed character, who for understandable reasons (the complexities of dating and engaging with the world at large as a Black woman who comes off as too much to other people) hits quite a few snags along the way to her happy ending. We’re not the same, but I related to a lot of Angie’s diaspora experience.

I liked watching them circle each other and overcome misunderstandings. The book is more of a women’s fiction novel than a romance, with some serious medical topics and systemic biases discussed along the way, but both Ricky and Angie feeling like real, fleshed out people helped me immerse into a world I otherwise don’t know very much about and I felt satisfied with the conclusion.

Plus, I learned a few things about becoming a doctor, so that’s pretty cool too!

On Rotation follows Angie as she navigates her final year of med school, clinical rotations, balancing her Ghanaian family, and romance (of course!) I thought this book looked cute and as I'm a psychologist, I had a similar experience with different clinical rotations during my training and thought it would be interesting to read a book about a character going through similar experiences. Also the book is set in Chicago, where I live!

I really liked this book! I was a little nervous about having a book similar-ish to my career but I thought Obuobi did a good job showing the ups and downs of rotations without it seeming too formulaic or negative. I liked Angie a lot as a character, especially her nerdiness and desire to help her patients. I liked Ricky and the side characters as well and I enjoyed getting to see more of their personalities and how Angie fits into her friend group. I liked seeing her figure out how to work with her family as an adult and set personal and professional boundaries.

I think that this book is set in 2015-ish which is a little weird because that wasn't THAT long ago but the dates of graduation don't match up for current times. Also Beyoncé is sadly not touring for Lemonade anymore. It felt a little weird reading those details but I'm assuming that the author was reflecting on her time in residency during that time. Either way, it wasn't too distracting but pretty recent for historical fiction!

I thought the friend drama and miscommunications quite annoying, but to be honest I happily skipped over a lot of it to get to when the plot progressed more. Which thankfully did not take a lot of skipping! I guess we all turn off our brains once in a while for the drama.

Overall, I had a good time reading this book and recommend it to anyone wanting a good romance. 4 stars. Thank you to Avon and Harper Voyager and NetGalley for the electronic advanced reader's copy of this book in exchange for my honest review!

This book was fun! I was really excited about the premise of it - but I do wish that there was a little bit more about med school. I wasn’t as invested in Angie and Rickys story as I was invested in Angie’s career. The miscommunication 😖😖😖 … way too much back for me! Overall, fun and unique story!

I honestly don’t know why it took me so long to read this book. Well, actually, I do know why—I have been going through a miniature reading slump, and I’ve only been able to consume books via audiobook while playing an attention grabbing game on my phone. But luckily for me, I waited so long to read On Rotation that it came out, and I was able to download an audiobook copy. (The narrator, Mela Lee, was fantastic!)

Oh my god, this book was exactly what I needed right now. I will never shy away from reading books about children of immigrants who have tons of pressure on them and extremely complicated lives, so this book was right in my wheelhouse. The med school setting, the Ghanaian family, the wonderful circle of friends, and the dreamy love interest all enhanced the story of our protagonist, Angela, so incredibly well. I laughed; I cried. I am so smitten with this book.

This was a light and easy read. I was hoping for more of the medical side of things - I was expecting it to be more like greys anatomy!

Great debut! This was so good. I highly recommend it.

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

On Rotation was such a fantastic debut, one that's very much needed in the publishing world and will hopefully inspire and encourage other women in the STEM field. This book was for the first-gen daughters of immigrants, pursuing their passions and dreams in a field where women, especially women of color, are usually at the bottom of the food chain. Genuine, feisty, and heartfelt, this is one of the best debuts this year and I'm hungry for more!

I tried but just couldn’t get into this one. I’m not sure if it was the conversation style or the presentation of the content but I just couldn’t connect. I think the writing was strong and have recommend it to others, it just wasn’t for me.