Tag Team Review: The Doctor's Secret (Copper Point Medical #1) by Heidi Cullinan

The brilliant but brooding new doctor encounters Copper Point's sunny nurse-next-door... and nothing can stand in the way of this romance.

Dr. Hong-Wei Wu has come to Copper Point, Wisconsin, after the pressures of a high-powered residency burned him out of his career before he started. Ashamed of letting his family down after all they’ve done for him, he plans to live a quiet life as a simple surgeon in this tiny northern town. His plans, however, don’t include his outgoing, kind, and attractive surgical nurse, Simon Lane.

Simon wasn’t ready for the new surgeon to be a handsome charmer who keeps asking him for help getting settled and who woos him with amazing Taiwanese dishes. There’s no question—Dr. Wu is flirting with him, and Simon is flirting back. The problem is, St. Ann’s has a strict no-dating policy between staff, which means their romance is off the table… unless they bend the rules.

But a romance that keeps them—literally—in the closet can’t lead to happy ever after. Simon doesn’t want to stay a secret, and Hong-Wei doesn’t want to keep himself removed from life, not anymore. To secure their happiness, they’ll have to change the administration’s mind. But what other secrets will they uncover along the way, about Copper Point… and about each other?

2.75 Heart average


Lost in a Book - 2.5 Hearts

Ermm… *checks author name*

Heidi Cullinan wrote this?

I was all ready to play doctor when I cracked this open but the sugary fluff was wafting off the page very early on.

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My past reads with Cullinan have raked my emotions over the coals while chasing it down with tissues and a bottle of wine. This wasn’t that experience at all. I’m all about branching out but The Doctor’s Secret left me wanting more substance while trying to come down from a sugar high.

Dr. Hong-Wei Wu moves to Copper Point to live a slower paced lifestyle and just be a general surgeon. He ran away from Texas to a small town and is greeted at the airport by his new surgical nurse, Simon.

Simon is a very positive and competent surgical nurse that has lived in Copper Point all his life. He’s very involved in the community and has a thing for K-Pop, Asian TV, and apparently hot AF Taiwanese doctors. Unfortunately for both of them, the hospital policy prohibits getting together with other employees.

I didn’t get Simon and Dr. Wu together. They had insta-love with no real depth. They wen’t from we can’t date to I love you way too fast. Dr. Wu remains closed off throughout (which might be more his culture than poor character development) and the way his “secret” was hyped, I was ready for something huge. Like it has to be a BFD. *sigh*

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Everything seems so fantastical and the lack of strong characters was off putting. I hate to say this but I was bored reading the story.

I did enjoy the town, the endearing secondary characters, and the antics of Simon’s surgeon friends- My favorite parts didn't involve the MCs. I’m still a big fan of Heidi’s other works but this just wan't for me. Not recommended but YMMV.

Adam - 3 Hearts

Dr. Hong-Wei Wu, or Jack, moves to a small-town Wisconsin hospital to escape the pressures of a demanding family and an exhausting city hospital residency. He questions his decision to move, but the one-man welcoming party goes a long way in making Hong-Wei feel better.

Surgical nurse Simon Lane wasn’t expecting the new doctor to be his living wet dream. Simon’s immediately smitten.

But the hospital’s policy against inter-staff relationships throws cold water on anything happening between the two.

However, it’s impossible for the two men to deny what’s building between them. They begin as friends, with Simon going out of his way to make sure Hong-Wei feels welcomed to Copper Point, Wisconsin, all the while trying to hide what he really feels for the handsome doctor.

And as Hong-Wei begins to build a life in the community, he falls head-over-heels for Simon.

While Simon toes the line, Hong-Wei refuses to let a silly rule get in the way of something that could be special. So Hong-Wei sets out to woo his slightly gun-shy nurse.

Despite the forbidden-love angle, the romance in this book is fairly low-drama. Simon and Hong-Wei’s relationship grows slowly, as the two become comfortable with each other.

Though low on the heat, Simon and Hong-Wei bring lots of soft touches and sweet words.

Slowly, Hong-Wei and Simon begin building a life around the no-dating work policy.

I have to admit - I found myself bored for most of the middle section, because nothing really happens. Plus, Simon’s damsel-in-distress routine got a bit old.

Most of the slight angst/drama comes in the latter half of the book as the two MCs fight against the no-dating policy. It’s resolved pretty quickly.

I was happy to see Simon and Hong-Wei get their perfect HEA, though I wasn’t as invested in their romance by the end as I was before the story dragged a bit around the halfway point.

Even so, this was a very sweet romance, and I’m looking forward to seeing where the series goes next!



1 comment:

  1. Thanks for the reviews. For some reason while reading the reviews the thought that this might be a yellow fever/asiaphile kind of book crossed my mind. *shudders* Love the details and sorry to hear it didn't quite meet expectation.

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