Wednesday, July 28, 2021

Reunited with His Long-Lost Nurse - Charlotte Hawkes (HMED #1190 - Aug 2021)

Series: Island Clinic (Book 4)

An unexpected reunion…
…in paradise!
 
Leading heart surgeon Liam Miller has come to St. Victoria to perform lifesaving surgery. He never imagined the distraction of bumping into the woman who loved him and then left him without a word! Avoiding nurse Talia Johnson is far harder than he thought -- especially when their inconvenient but still-burning attraction keeps boiling over! As their painful secrets come tumbling out, are they ready to finally confront the truth?

 
Good second chance romance. Talia is a nurse at the prestigious Island Clinic on St. Victoria Island, the small Caribbean island where she grew up. When she was younger, she couldn't wait to leave the island and spent some time at Duke Hospital in North Carolina. There she met and fell in love with Liam, a leading heart surgeon. But breaking through the walls around his heart proved to be impossible, and when her mother became ill, Talia went home without a word to Liam.
 
Liam is a man driven by the guilt he feels over his mother's death in childbirth. His father blamed him and hammered home his opinion of Liam's worthlessness at every chance. As a result, Liam has no experience with love and doesn't believe in it. Talia's departure reinforced his beliefs.
 
When the heart surgeon at the clinic is injured in an accident, Talia suggests Liam as a temporary replacement, knowing he's the best choice for an upcoming surgery. Talia plans to do a month's rotation at St. Vic's Hospital on the other side of the island to avoid seeing him. She's never forgotten how he broke her heart. There's no way Liam would refuse the invitation to work at the clinic. He knew it would be good for his reputation and career. He tried convincing himself that the chance to see Talia again had nothing to do with it.
 
I enjoyed seeing the rekindling of the relationship between Liam and Talia. Their reunion got off to a rocky start, with Liam confronting Talia over the way she left three years earlier. Though he wouldn't admit it, he still hurt over what he saw as her abandonment. Talia gave as good as she got, calling him on his inability to share anything of himself with her. But underneath the antagonism were the undeniable sparks of an attraction that had never died. Talia and Liam agree to put their hostility aside for the sake of their professional relationship and attempt to resume at least their friendship.
 
I loved watching Talia show Liam around her island home, seeing it through fresh eyes as she does. Spending time together allows their simmering attraction to grow until they can no longer resist it. Liam believes giving in will give him a chance to get Talia out of his system, but instead, she moves further past his walls. Talia knows she's falling for him all over again and attempts to get him to open up to her. Even when he does, his belief in his inability to love prevents him from seeing what they could have together. When Talia slips and confesses her feelings, Liam freaks out. After saying many hurtful things, Liam flees back to North Carolina, where he buries himself in his work while trying to forget. Meanwhile, Talia undergoes some soul-searching before going after what she wants. I loved the ending and seeing her show Liam how she feels and what is essential. Liam's "aha" moment was heartwrenching but opened his eyes to his feelings. I loved his big moment, and the epilogue showed a beautiful future for them.
 
As usual with the medical romances, there were several intense medical scenes. In this case, I liked the emergency they encountered on their island tour and their smooth teamwork under pressure. I also liked the detail provided on the heart surgery.


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