I had a journey with this book. I originally soft DNF'ed it at 30% in for two reasons: 1) I was having a hard time keeping track of all of the characters (so many doctors which I know is realistic in a hospital but my brain just could not keep up) and 2) I felt like the characters were being genuinely mean to each other, especially the male character. For example, Julian called Grace a witch and to me, it didn't feel playful enough, so it read as mean. Also, him calling her by a name she doesn't like over and over even when she tells him not to felt so rude to me! Also I felt that early on, Julian didn't do enough to stop the rumors about Grace and how she got her job.

However, both of those reasons are my preferences and me issues so I finish the book. I felt like it picked up and their chemistry became clearer and I felt more invested in Julian and Grace's story. There are also a bunch of people who said the portrayal of OB is very accurate so that was really interesting to read. I would recommend this book if you are in the medical field or want to know more about it!

Thank you to Harlequin Trade Publishing | Canary Street Press and NetGalley for providing this eARC! All opinions are my own.

Thank you to HARLEQUIN and NETGALLEY for the early copy of this ebook. I gobbled it up SO FAST. This dual POV book opens with our two MC beginning their intern year for OB/GYN program. We have a golden boy whom everyone adores, and a stunning woman who apparently who can only thank her looks for her success and not her brains.

Instantly, the tension and the banter between them is top-notch. Our characters are both realistic and flawed, and we love them more for it.

I also really enjoyed getting a look into what residency looks like from the inside. While we got enough details to understand it did not feel like too much.

I am a SIMP for fantastic cast of side characters, and Deidre Duncan supplied them in spades!

Also, we dealt with several important/heavy subjects like discrimination in the work place, misogamy, unethical practices that are the reality for these programs. Despite, how heavy some of the topics covered, the comedy aspect of this story provided a perfect balance.

While this is largely a character paced novel, we are following our characters through the years of their residency program so there is a lot of post following their success and failures as they navigate. Ultimately, I love a character based novel, but I also enjoyed the timeline we got to experience.

This is a debut novel, and I want the next 10 from this author immediately! Totally a 5 star read for me.

Should be a hit with Greys fans! This one wasn’t for me, but the premise is great and it’s a cute story.

A sweet rivals/dislike to lovers between two medical residents. They meet and start off on the wrong foot after a false rumor circulates about Grace at the start of her first year and she thinks Julian believes it. Loved how the author handled the passage of time. Julian and Grace had great chemistry and their banter was delightful. Life at the hospital seemed realistic and the misogyny plot was well done. I wasn’t huge fan of the third-act break up but it made sense.

I’m between 4 & 4.25 stars ✨ definitely would recommend, especially if you were a fan of early days Grey’s anatomy.


Thanks to Harlequin Trade Publishing, Canary Street Press, and NetGalley for this advanced copy. Pub date 5/13/25.

Love Sick by Deidra Duncan completely stole my heart! As a new fan, I wasn’t sure what to expect, but wow—this book hooked me from the very first page. Duncan's writing is fresh, emotional, and addictive, blending romance and heartache in a way that feels so real.

The characters? Absolutely unforgettable. The chemistry? Off the charts. And just when I thought I had a handle on the story, it took me on an emotional rollercoaster I didn’t want to get off. It’s the perfect mix of swoon, angst, and all-consuming love.

If you haven’t read Deidra Duncan yet, this is your sign to start. I’m officially a fan!

3.75⭐️ a cute medical romance book especially if you’re in the medical field. Was a good story and cute just didn’t spike or keep my interest long and took me a lot longer to finish than usual. Still cute tho!

4.5 ⭐️ I adored this book!!! It had serious Grey's Anatomy vibes! I love how this book showcases the difficulty of residency and working in healthcare in general, especially as a woman. I love Julian and Grace! There was so much banter and I love a good enemies to lovers trope!

Oh my god. This was so good. Grace was a fucking idiot for a second there near the end. I love Julian. No notes.

Review also on Goodreads.

This one just wasn’t for me unfortunately. I didn’t connect to the main characters, and actually found them a bit unlikable at times. As a healthcare worker, those aspects were very on target, so I did appreciate that.

HUGE shoutout to Dr. Deidra Duncan for sending me an ARC of this book!!

This was amazing. As a surgery resident I knew I had to read this and it did not disappoint.
It is hard for a book to combine the non-serious elements of a workplace romance with the very serious elements of sexism in medicine (and the world) but it was done flawlessly.
There was enough mix of what was exaggerated to keep it entertaining and what was spot-on to remind me of my real life as an intern.
I loved this and would recommend to any woman in medicine (or not in medicine!!)
I will read anything and everything else Deidra Duncan writes.

Love Sick is an expertly executed slow burn medical romance sprinkled with sharp banter between Grace and Julian, comedic relief from the side characters, and tasteful spice scenes. This was a stellar read that is perfect for fans of Greys Anatomy. I appreciated how Duncan highlights the injustices faced by women in medical fields as well as the joys and tragedies that come with being a female patient in the American healthcare system while weaving Grace and Julian’s story. Warning: there is a third act breakup, but the buildup to it and the final conclusion make it worthwhile! Well done!

I've read very few medical romances, partly bc I'm in the healthcare field myself, but I heard so much about this book that I had to give it a shot. Unfortunately it did miss the mark for me.
I did love the actual medical information in the book (the surgical rotation, the didactics). It was very realistic and I appreciated the medical humor too between the residents. Some things between nurse and doctor interaction was very on the nose.

I didn't really connect with Julian & Grace's love throughout the book. I mean Julian literally spends a good chunk of it calling her the wrong name on purpose, which I thought was pretty childish. The hazing of rumors being spread against Grace went on for such a ridiculous amount of time, I was getting very bored with it.
Julian and Grace had some banter and spice going, and it is a slow burn for sure, but the payout wasn't it for me.

Thank you Canary Street Press & Harlequin Trade Publishing for the ARC.

𝐀𝐑𝐂 𝐑𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰

🩺𝐄𝐧𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬
♥️𝐌𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞
🩺𝐅𝐨𝐫𝐜𝐞𝐝 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐱𝐢𝐦𝐢𝐭𝐲
♥️𝐒𝐥𝐨𝐰 𝐁𝐮𝐫𝐧
♥️𝐆𝐫𝐞𝐲’𝐬 𝐀𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐨𝐦𝐲 𝐯𝐢𝐛𝐞𝐬

✨𝒯𝒽ℴ𝓊𝑔𝒽𝓉𝓈✨
𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 story was filled with clever banter and workplace drama. Grace Rose and Julian Santini's initial meeting at a party was far from friendly. The tension only escalated when they started their hospital residency program, with gossip swirling around Grace, adding more strain to their already rocky relationship. As a female OB-GYN resident in a male-dominated field, Grace felt the need to prove herself even more after her reputation took a hit. In contrast, Julian faced similar challenges but was well-liked by his peers.

𝐈 was kicking my feet in excitement whenever Grace and Julian got into their heated arguments. There's nothing I love more than a good enemies-to-lovers story, and this was absolutely it! What made it even better was the satisfying slow burn - they genuinely couldn't stand each other at first. They took their time to turn into friends and then into something more romantic.

𝐃𝐞𝐢𝐝𝐫𝐚 𝐃𝐮𝐧𝐜𝐚𝐧’𝐬 debut is such a fresh and engaging read. She easily captured the essence of the characters and their internal struggles. She delves into complex themes such as the challenges faced by women in the medical field, mental health, and the destructive power of rumors. Overall, I was very impressed and cannot wait to read more of her work!

𝐈𝐟 you're a fan of enemies-to-lovers stories set in a hospital setting, this book is definitely for you!

Thank you to 𝐃𝐞𝐢𝐝𝐫𝐚 𝐃𝐮𝐧𝐜𝐚𝐧, 𝐂𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐭 𝐏𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬, and 𝐍𝐞𝐭𝐠𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐲 for this ARC. All thoughts and opinions shared here are entirely my own.

𝐑𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠: 𝟒.𝟓⭐️
𝐒𝐩𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐥𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐥: 𝟑/𝟓🔥

3.5⭐️ rounded up to 4.

Overall I really enjoyed this book. The chemistry between Julian and Grace was amazing. The playful hate-flirting gave exactly what it needed to. For a lack of a better way to describe it, it was like really good fan-fiction banter. Silly, but entertaining. The friendships between the five OBGYN interns was really special to me, and I loved watching them all grow during their residency.

I did have a few qualms that bothered me as I was reading. The misogyny from the male doctors was INSANE. I know it happens, but a lot of it seemed very far-fetched to me. If this is how hospitals are, I’m so so sorry to every female doctor.

In the last bit of the book, Grace’s decisions REALLY frustrated me. She knew what she was doing was wrong and insisted Julian couldn’t be trusted, and had no legitimate reason to feel that way. He had never given her a reason to not trust him, and even after he begged her to trust him, she refused. It hurt reading, and it left me really annoyed; however, something Julian said made me feel a bit better about the situation. He said something along the lines of “When an insecure woman decides she’s not good enough for you, there’s no changing her mind.” It helped me understand a bit more, even if I didn’t agree with Grace.
The ending redeemed Grace’s stupidity for me, and it helped me root for them finishing the book. I look forward to more from this author!

Thank you to NetGalley, Harlequin Trade Publishing and Canary Street Press for the ARC!

This book is a fantastic medical romcom! Considering I have absolutely no medical background, I wondered if I would understand that side of this story. But I not only followed along with what happened at the hospital, I loved getting a peek at what goes on behind the scenes! The romance was fantastic—Julian and Grace’s love story was so well written, and I couldn’t wait to find out how it would all play out!

nothing is quite as serendipitous as finishing this book while on my 24-hour OB shift.

✰ 3.5 stars

I usually keep my reviews short and sweet, with a witty quip or a snarky remark, but as a third year DO student and future OB/GYN, who saved this arc for her first OB/GYN rotation (for the utmost immersive experience, can you blame me?), I have more stake in the game here.

Julian and Grace have very unlikable tendencies. Julian denies he is a misogynist but then berates Grace for being overly emotional and reactive for confronting the men in her program for spreading sexist rumors about her. I felt like he could have done far more to call out the toxic masculinity and misogynistic commentary made by other men in his program. Grace’s prejudices surrounding DOs may have felt more personal to me than to the average reader, but for the smartest resident in her program, she was rather harmfully misinformed. She was also quite contradictory with her beliefs, mentioning she felt osteopathic medical schools were inferior but acknowledging her DO colleague had the same training as her and that the letters after a doctor’s name don’t really matter. I do not think Julian deserves a love interest with these ideologies. At the end of the book, she instigates the worst flavor of third act breakup possible: the "you deserve better" and "you're better off without me" breakup, which lasts for over a month before she gets enlightened and finally decides to communicate her problems.

A smaller critique: I absolutely despise the micro trope where one character calls the other character by a name they don’t prefer and the other character constantly corrects them. It’s a very weak form of banter. It’s not very clever, and it adds nothing to the narrative with its constant repetition (I'm talking more than ten times, easily). It surpasses teasing and becomes just plain rude and disrespectful. This is why I often do not find enjoyment in enemies to lovers contemporary romances. The trope just ends up being an excuse for the main characters to disrespect each other. Calling people by the name they prefer is the most inherent, necessary form of respect, especially between coworkers. To add more context, the name the male love interest calls the female protagonist is one that she has always hated to be called. It’s a real sore spot for her, yet he continues relentlessly.

As a medical student, I cannot accurately speak for how approachable the medicine is to someone uninvolved in healthcare. What I can say is I believe the author did a good job of explaining medical phenomena or residency dynamics when it got brought up, and she introduces the novel with a glossary of relevant terms so that every reader starts the book with some understanding of the building blocks of a residency program. What I can also say is that if you have ever binge watched a medical drama, you will likely follow along just fine.

To end on a positive note, the portrayal of an OB residency was impressively accurate, which is what you would expect for an author who is an OB/GYN herself. I loved the inclusion of imposter syndrome in medicine, something that affects us at all stages in training, and Julian's unique difficulties and insecurities being a DO surrounded by MDs.

thank you to Harlequin Trade Publishing for the ebook arc in exchange for an honest review

platform: netgalley ebook arc

Love Sick by Deidra Duncan is a lovely romance story with plenty of drama, friendship, family, & passion. I believe this is Diedra Duncan's fist book & I really hope she continues writing.
Love Sick is the story of Grace & Julian, as they navigate from enemies to lovers, then more all while going through OB-GYN residency. The medical references in this story were pretty fantastic for me being in heathcare myself, but don't worry if you're not cause overall, it's a great romance story with plenty of swoon & #relationshipgoals.
Thank you, #NetGalley, for allowing me to read Love Sick by Deidra Duncan. I voluntarily read and reviewed an ARC of this book on #NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own, but if you're a romantic at heart, then you'll enjoy this wonderful story.

This one was the ultimate slow burn and I devoured it. As a nurse practitioner I love a book set in healthcare, but so often there are inaccuracies and this one being written by a physician herself obviously did not have any! I was immediately sucked into the world of OBGYN residency and the drama.

DNF at 55%. I really like the premise of this book and the banter between the characters were great in the first 40%. I really just couldn’t get into it. It felt dragged and nothing really was happening. As a nursing student some of the medical terminology was really funny but otherwise eh…

I loved every second of this book! I couldn't put it down. I loved the insight into the medical field; it's something I've always been curious about and Deidra Duncan didn't disappoint. I found it hard to believe it was a her debut! It's so well written and I didn't see the twist coming at all! It blew my mind and tied everything up so nicely. Duncan also does a fabulous job highlighting mental health and the struggles we go through that are often kept hidden. Julian was the perfect, patient, loving book boyfriend, despite some trials with Grace. I loved this and you will too, I promise! Do yourself a favor and pick it up. It's so different from anything else I've read lately and I was sad when I finished. Oh, and the ending was absolutely perfect.