Review: The Professor's Green Card Marriage by Heidi Cullinan

I’ll marry you.

Professor Valentyn Shevchenko isn’t sure how to react when, after months of ineffective flirting, the cute barista’s first words to him are a proposal. In many ways, Peter Grunberg is the solution to all his problems. With his work visa inexplicably denied, Valentyn is running out of options to keep from being deported. But is a green card marriage really the answer? Is it still a marriage of convenience when he’s this attracted to his potential spouse?

Peter came to his uncle’s coffee shop in Boulder, Colorado, to reset his life after his struggles with selective mutism returned with a vengeance. He never meant his first words to the handsome ecology professor to be an offer of marriage, but he’s not backing out now. It doesn’t matter that Peter struggles to find words. He can say everything he needs to with his body.

Though this relationship may have started out back-to-front, Valentyn and Peter are determined to make their fake marriage real. But one misstep in their immigration interview could bring everything crashing down. They’ll have to hope that their love is enough to overcome all their obstacles and give them the prize they’ve both been dreaming of: a certified happy ever after.

Cute and heartwarming.

Professor Valentyn Shevchenko is about to lose his job, and the country he has come to call home, after his visa runs out.

Peter Grunberg, the cute barista with selective mutism, offers the solution completely out of the blue - a marriage proposal.

Those first words set off a whirlwind romance that neither man expected, or could have hoped for.

The fake relationship trope is one I generally enjoy. Peter and Val up the ante with a full-on marriage, very real communication hurdles, and a race against the deportation clock.

Though their relationship begins quite suddenly, both men are genuinely committed to giving it a real go.

Fair warning if it isn’t your thing - this is pretty close to insta-love. It doesn’t take Val and Peter long at all to begin thinking of their green marriage as a forever-after commitment.

While things did move along a bit too quickly for my usual tastes, I was all on board for it.

The connection between the two men is undeniable, right from the first date. And it only grows and strengthens with each subsequent date, and as each man learns to make space for the other in his life.

I absolutely adored Peter. His daily struggles are real, but he refused to let his selective mutism dictate his relationship with Val.

And I loved how patient and understanding Val was, giving Peter the time, support, and space he needed.

Also, their physical chemistry - wowza. Good on them for letting their dirty sides out to play!

The big issue is of course the immigration process. In classic Cullinan fashion, there’s a lesson to be learned here.

Peter and Val come through at the other end the stronger for it, and their HEA well-deserved! Overall, I quite enjoyed this read and would definitely recommend it.

A review copy was provided.

Tag Team Review: The Doctor's Orders (Copper Point Medical #3) by Heidi Cullinan

Once upon a time Nicholas Beckert was the boy who stole kisses from Jared Kumpel beneath the bleachers. Now Jared’s a pediatrician and Nick is the hospital CEO who won’t glance his way. But everything changes when they’re stranded alone in a hospital elevator. Ten years of cold shoulders melt away, and old passions rekindle into hot flames. Once out of the elevator, Jared has no intention of letting Nick get away. He wants a full, open relationship, which is a step further than Nick is willing to go, and it looks like the same arguments that drove them apart in high school might resurface. Jared’s determined not to let it happen again. He won’t order Nick from his shell—he’ll listen to what he needs to feel safe. Maybe this time he can prescribe his lover a happily ever after.

Wow! The Doctor’s Orders is quite the interesting read but luckily we (Adam and Lost) didn’t endure the ride alone. So, sit back, buckle up and prepare yourselves for a joint review *gasp* from us, Adam and Lost in a Book.

With this installment being the third in Cullinan’s Copper Point Medical series, we are thrust back to St. Ann’s with the CEO, Nicholas Beckert and the pediatrician everyone loves, Jared Kumpel. What once was a high school romance between these two men turned ice cold with Nick not wanting to come out and Jared not accepting anything less.

Many years go by and they find themselves in the same hospital, lonely, hurt, and quietly longing for each other from afar. Until the elevator breaks…

It’s all quite dramatic. The elevator dangled precariously from the third floor, but given the uproar and health resulting health scares, you would think it was a twenty-story drop, at the least.

What follows the elevator incident is a rollercoaster of will they or won’t they, what will the townspeople think, shitty parents doing shitty things, a whole host of social ills, and *drum roll please* ‘is the killer inside the house?!’ (or the hospital, as it were). It was a lot.

Heidi Cullinan has a penchant for dramatic flair, which ordinarily can be quite entertaining. In this case, it quickly became too much. This time around, the plot was everything and the kitchen sink.

Inevitably, we found ourselves skimming to get to the point.

Jared and Nicholas are endearing in their own ways and even likable together at some points throughout. However, that gets lost in the soap opera shuffle that is rampant throughout The Doctor’s Orders.

Both men go through a lot, particularly with their families. Plus, being gay men, and one of them black, in a small town comes with specific challenges. It’ll make you indignant on their behalf, and root for the two to come out on the other side happy.

But neither of us really connected to Nicholas and Jared in book #3. It was good to see them finally get their happy ending, but it wasn’t particularly memorable and by that point we were no longer invested in the story.

Of course, your mileage may vary!

Blog Tour: The Doctor's Date (Copper Point Medical #2) by Heidi Cullinan

Welcome Heidi Cullinan! She's here today with some insights on the second in the Copper Point Medical book, The Doctor's Date. Find out more about this enemies to lovers romance & read an excerpt below.

Thanks for having me today. I’m here to talk about my new book The Doctor’s Date, available in ebook, trade paper, and mass market from Dreamspinner Press. It’s book two in the Copper Point: Medical series, and it’s the story of Erin Andreas, no-nonsense hospital administrator, and Dr. Owen Andreas, the cantankerous anesthesiologist.

One of the subplots in The Doctor’s Date revolves around Owen’s relationship with the violin. Though he was known for playing it in his youth and was expected to make a career in music, when he was in high school he abruptly put it down, never to pick it up again. Not until circumstances in the story force him to. Once reintroduced, Owen slowly works to reclaim his relationship with the instrument.

There is no outright music therapy in the story, but the characters  are essentially using the same base concepts as actual music therapists. Owen is trying to come to terms with painful aspects of his past, and he learns  how to move forward, with violin in hand.

I didn’t include a music therapist at St. Ann’s Medical center because I wasn’t sure they could get one.  My daughter is about to go to college to study to be a music therapist, and her last year of high school is filled with shadowing therapists and getting hospital volunteer experience. Music therapists work with all kinds of clients, helping them improve their health and quality of life. Music therapy can help with developmental work (motor skills, speech) and with patients with dementia, stroke victims, and cancer patients.

Music truly is a powerful force, moving us subliminally and consciously toward emotions and actions. It often helps me write too. For this story, I listened to a lot of violin work, especially that by Vanessa-Mae. My favorite was “I’m A-Doun for Lack O’ Johnny,” and it was always the song for the final scene, to me.  I also loved “A Flat” by Black Violin.

They’re not in the story, but my daughter has gotten me hooked on Bretty and Eddy, the geniuses behind TwoSet Violin. They’re funny, and they love a good takedown, but they also love music, straight up.  And then there’s the infamous Ling Ling—they have many videos referencing him, but basically he’s the fictional overachieving Asian son who practices 40 hours a day. My daughter covets the Ling Ling 40 hours practice shirt.

In the story, there’s no Ling Ling, but we do get to see more of Owen’s rivalry with Jack/Hong-Wei, this time in regards to violin. Jack ends up helping Owen too, in some pretty sweet ways.

I hope you enjoy the story (and the music) of The Doctor’s Date, and all the books in the Copper Point series!

Excerpt:

The last set dragged on much longer than Owen cared for, but he got through it one note at a time. He distracted himself from the dull horror of playing by being irritated over Erin’s touch of his shoulder. Erin hadn’t touched him before.

Whatever. He didn’t care if Erin never looked at him again, so long as he could get the hell off this stage.

Soon enough, he managed it part of the way, stiffly half bowing with the quartet before abandoning his instrument and disappearing behind the curtain to join the rest of the bachelors, including Jared.

Jared waved at him and patted a space beside him on the wall. “Good job, Crankypants. You made it through. I warned people not to compliment you, but feel free to snarl at anyone who doesn’t listen.”

Owen shut his eyes. “Can I go first and get this over with? I want a drink.”

“Unfortunately they’ve assigned us numbers. I’m number eight. You’re number seventeen.”

“Hell.” Owen shrank into a crouch.

Jared reached into his jacket, lowering himself to Owen’s side. “Here.” He handed Owen a bottle. “I thought it was overkill, but after interrogating Simon and me to figure out why you were behaving the way you were, Jack wrote this script for you and had the hospital pharmacy fill it, making me bring it just in case. It’s a handful of Xanax. Don’t take enough that you’re too stoned to stand, but maybe enough so you can remain upright without sweating.”

Owen checked the dosage, popped the lid, and dry swallowed a tablet. He hadn’t taken a short-term anxiety med in years. He was pissed that he needed to, annoyed Jack had noticed he was so off his game he required medication, but he was also grateful.

Jared grimaced. “Jack regrets making you play.”

Owen rubbed his thumb over the top of the prescription bottle. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

“Trust me, the message has come through loud and clear. All I’m saying is, don’t worry, we’ve got you, okay? You’re not going to have to do anything more tonight except stand on the stage long enough for Jack to pay up. I’m chipping in too if it comes to it, but I can’t imagine it will.”

“Just pay for the booze.” Owen willed the Xanax to work faster. “Why didn’t Jack give me this before we played, anyway?”

“He was afraid you’d fuck up.”

Owen snorted. No, idiot. I’d have played ten times better.

Whatever. It was over now, and he was never touching a violin again. For tonight, the damage had been done. He’d put the instrument down, but he still felt it in his hands, heard it in his head. Stirring up things he’d buried for good reason.

He could see her. Hearher. He hadn’t spared his mother a thought in years, and now she reverberated, starring in the memory that made him want to curl in a ball and vomit. It didn’t end there, though. Older ones began, tinged with the darkness of that day. All the times he trudged across the snow with the violin case clutched in his hand, his house in the distance, wondering if he’d hear her at the piano or hear his father shuffling across the kitchen, searching for another beer. He saw her profile at the piano bench as he played beside her. He saw himself crouching underneath it as he watched their arguments from between the legs.

Broken glass. The broken legs of the piano bench. The jarring discord of her back as it hit the keys, the crunch of his first violin when it slammed against the wall.

The day he’d come home from high school and she’d been sitting at the piano, waiting for him, her back in profile at the bench as she played, then stopped. Come here, Owen. I have something to tell you.

Owen reached for a second Xanax. He could push most of the memories away, but his mother sitting at the piano with her back to him lingered like something out of a horror film. If she turned around and gave him that haunted smile, he was a dead man.

Jared held out his hand. “Give me the bottle.”

Owen tucked it deep inside his interior vest pocket. “Go to hell. And never let anyone ask me to play again. Not if it’s the only way we keep the world from ending.”

By the time the auction kicked off, so had Owen’s drugs. He didn’t have any more memories playing on repeat, and he didn’t feel haunted any longer. He still felt raw and peeled back, but he was more objective about it, as if observing himself on a hospital gurney. Adult male, age thirty-four, acute anxiety attack brought on by unwanted remembrance of bullshit past. Vitals are stabilized, but recommend patient be placed in front of a bottle of Scotch and more Xanax and left alone until he forgets he ever knew how to play violin in the first place.

When Owen chuckled, Jared poked his arm and held out his hand insistently. “Seriously, give me the fucking bottle.”

Owen did, mostly because at that point he had no need for it. She wasn’t drifting through his mind anymore, but if she did, it wouldn’t matter. God bless alprazolam.

Jared made him stand to prove he wasn’t going to act drunk on stage—it was going to be a near thing, but he could fake it. “You’re a mess,” Jared said as he went off to be auctioned, and then it was Owen alone, glaring at the other bachelors for fun except when he wanted to laugh at them instead. He was freaking them out, so he stared at the wall, which thanks to the drug had become suddenly interesting.

At last they called his name, and honestly Owen thought someone should give him a medal, because instead of stomping out like a cloud of doom, he sauntered onstage with a cheeky salute. Jared, seated by a beaming elderly woman in the front row, gave him dirty looks, but Owen didn’t care. He rocked on his heels and waited for them to finish his introduction so the bidding could get over with and he could get out of here.

“Bachelor number seventeen.” The middle-aged woman Owen recognized as Mimi Roberts, the wife of one of the clinic doctors, gave an annoyingly knowing and theatrical wink to the audience. It would have bothered Owen normally, but he was too spent and high to care. She lifted her card and read, “Dr. Owen Gagnon, local boy through and through, who left Copper Point to get his degree, then returned to be our first and only anesthesiologist. He may be short on charm at times, but he’s long on loyalty, and he’s always ready to help a good cause.”

Cripes, who wrote these intros? He cast an eyebrow at Simon, but his friend was too busy staring at the emcee, paddle primed. Owen relaxed.

Oh, and there was old asshat John Jean Andreas, sitting with the other stuffed shirts from the board. Owen was surprised the jerk wasn’t tormenting his son, or at least keeping him on a short leash. Must be in the middle of greasing the old-white-man society wheels—

Owen’s blood chilled, curdling when Christian West leaned over to speak to John Jean, smile glinting in the dim light. After shutting his eyes on a long blink, Owen dove deep into the sheltering embrace of the Xanax and averted his gaze.

Mimi beamed at the audience. “As with all our bachelors, we’ll start the bidding at one hundred dollars, but I’m sure we can get—”

“Two hundred,” someone called out, and it wasn’t Simon or Jack. Oh hell, it was a clutch of drunk nurses with their pooled money on the table. Shit, this was exactly what he’d been afraid of—

Simon’s paddle whipped into the air. “Four hundred.”

The crowd erupted in murmurs, and Mimi clucked her tongue. “My, my. What an exciting beginning. It’s so good to see bidders enthusiastic, but as a reminder, we don’t need to jump up with quite so much drama this quickly—”

“Ten thousand dollars.”

Now the room was a wall of sound and a sea of chaos, people standing and trying to figure out where the bidder had come from. Owen recognized the voice, but he was sure he had to be wrong. He hadn’t heard someone bid ten thousand dollarsfor him.

Except someone had, and once again, it wasn’t Jack or Simon, who were pale and conferring with one another desperately as Jared extricated himself from his date and rushed to their table.

“Well.” Mimi laughed nervously into the microphone. “Someone certainly wants a date with you, Dr. Gagnon. I can’t see who it is, but I can’t imagine anyone else is going to top—”

“Um, eleven!” Jared’s voice broke as he held up Simon’s paddle and arm at once. Visible sweat was running down his face, but Simon and Jack nodded at him, their jaws set in determination.

“Twenty-five thousand dollars. I bid twenty-five thousand dollars for a date with Dr. Owen Gagnon, and I’m prepared to go muchhigher if need be.”

This time there was no mistaking the voice. Owen had known it before, but his brain had issued flat denials. He couldn’t get out of reality, though, when Erin Andreas walked down the aisle, holding his paddle high as the room whispered and gasped around him. Jack and Simon argued, panicking, and Jared shook his head. They were out of the running.

Owen collapsed on the edge of the stage, staring at Erin as he calmly closed the distance between them.

Well. Owen didn’t know what the hell was going on, but he did know he was going to need the bottle of Xanax back.

Blurb

The hospital’s least eligible bachelor and its aloof administrator hate each other… so why are they pretending to date?

Dr. Owen Gagnon and HR director Erin Andreas are infamous for their hospital hallway shouting matches. So imagine the town’s surprise when Erin bids an obscene amount of money to win Owen in the hospital bachelor auction—and Owen ups the ante by insisting Erin move in with him.

Copper Point may not know what’s going on, but neither do Erin and Owen. Erin intends his gesture to let Owen know he’s interested. Owen, on the other hand, suspects ulterior motives—that Erin wants a fake relationship as a refuge from his overbearing father. 

With Erin suddenly heading a messy internal investigation, Owen wants to step up and be the hero Erin’s never had. Too bad Erin would rather spend his energy trying to rescue Owen from the shadows of a past he doesn’t talk about.

This relationship may be fake, but the feelings aren’t. Still, what Erin and Owen have won’t last unless they put their respective demons to rest. To do that, they’ll have to do more than work together—they’ll have to trust they can heal each other’s hearts.

Release Date

June 18, 2019

Price/ISBN

• ebook    $6.99   978-1-64080-852-2
• mass market    $7.99     978-1-64108-066-8
• trade    $16.99       978-1-64080-853-9
• audio   coming soon    
• Library of Congress Control Number: 2018907092

Buy Links

Goodreads • Publisher • Audible • Ripped Bodice • Barnes & Noble • Google Play Ebook • Google Play Audio • Apple Books • Kobo (US) • Kobo (Canada) • Amazon (US) • Amazon (Canada) • Amazon (UK) • Powells

Tag Team Review: The Doctor's Date (Copper Point Medical #2) by Heidi Cullinan

Sequel to The Doctor's Secret
The hospital’s least eligible bachelor and its aloof administrator hate each other… so why are they pretending to date?

Dr. Owen Gagnon and HR director Erin Andreas are infamous for their hospital hallway shouting matches. So imagine the town’s surprise when Erin bids an obscene amount of money to win Owen in the hospital bachelor auction—and Owen ups the ante by insisting Erin move in with him.

Copper Point may not know what’s going on, but neither do Erin and Owen. Erin intends his gesture to let Owen know he’s interested. Owen, on the other hand, suspects ulterior motives—that Erin wants a fake relationship as a refuge from his overbearing father.

With Erin suddenly heading a messy internal investigation, Owen wants to step up and be the hero Erin’s never had. Too bad Erin would rather spend his energy trying to rescue Owen from the shadows of a past he doesn’t talk about.

This relationship may be fake, but the feelings aren’t. Still, what Erin and Owen have won’t last unless they put their respective demons to rest. To do that, they’ll have to do more than work together—they’ll have to trust they can heal each other’s hearts.

Averaged!

Lost in a Book - 3.5 Hearts

The Doctor’s Date is the second installment in Cullinan’s new series and I’m glad that I gave it a try. After the first book I was hesitant to dive in but this book has a little more depth to the characters. It’s still sweet with low angst but doesn’t flatline like the last one did for me.

The story starts off with Erin’s childhood background story that provides context on his behavior as an adult. Erin’s in charge of human resources for the hospital. He’s skittish, isolated, and has had a long life of intimidation and neglect from his father (who is also the president of the board). He has never done anything with another person (not even a kiss) and has been starved for affection, touch, and kind words. Erin has been looking for a mighty ogre to rescue him since he was boy and the ogre has a name, Owen. It’s always been Owen. Always.

Owen’s an anesthesiologist that has quite the reputation within the hospital as pretty much being an asshole. His glower sends the gossiping nurses scurrying but, with those he loves, he's loyal and a protector. His favorite past-time is rubbing up against Erin until they are both breathing fire… not in a sexual way, that comes later. Much. Much. later.

My thoughts on Erin and Owen are a little confusing. I liked them together sometimes because there’s respect, patience, and a connection of building a deeper friendship. As I was reading though, I kept wondering if some chemistry would appear- I don’t think it ever really did. This lacking of chemistry has nothing to do with sex. I’m not sure where Erin falls on the sexuality spectrum but I would guess closer to asexual than not. I appreciated that they didn’t rush to sex and instead took little steps that added some depth to their friendship. The sex scenes are fade to black which doesn’t really bother me if the characters have a great connection and chemistry.

Owen’s a natural leader that takes charge and that’s no different when it comes to Erin. It takes a while for Owen to reveal himself and his childhood trauma because he’d rather be helping others. Erin lets himself be rescued with his backbone appearing a few times in his role as HR director and the auction. Other than that, Erin just goes along and enjoys the fruit of his ogre coming for him and fully caring for him (almost helpless at some points). There’s not many medical situations taking place in The Doctor’s Date but there’s an underlying mystery to solve that adds some suspense.

As I mentioned, I enjoyed this installment and will possibly continue with the next book. If you’re looking for a really sweet, low angst M/M romance, with a little bit of humor, this could be your cuppa.

Trigger Warnings for abuse.

Adam - 3.5 Hearts

Dr. Owen Gagnon and HR director Erin Andreas are notorious for their bickering and public battles. Owen goes out of his way to push Erin’s buttons, and Erin responds in kind.

That is until Erin bids $25K for a date with Owen. Erin’s father is shocked. The hospital is shocked. The town is shocked. Erin and Owen are..kind of shocked, but mostly down.

So begins the transformation of their relationship from enemies to friends, and eventually lovers.

Suspecting that Erin bid on him to escape his borderline-abusive father, Owen goes into protective overdrive mode, moving Erin into his home and telling the town that the two have been lovers all along.

And Erin, swept along in the moment, finds himself unable to tell Owen the truth - that he bid that much money because he’s been half in love with Owen since they were teenagers.

I thought the initial set-up, though definitely OTT, was very cute. The men put aside their previous animosity pretty quickly, with Owen making it his mission to look after Erin.

They’re cute and sweet. And when things move from friends to romantic, it’s fairly seamless.

But this is a very slow burn romance. As in, the heat is almost non-existent. It makes sense to an existent, given Erin’s inexperience, but I would have liked more physical chemistry.

Similar to book 1, the relationship itself is fairly low-drama. Yes, both men have their baggage and that affects how they approach love. But they aren’t huge insurmountable obstacles.

I loved seeing how Erin and Owen worked through their issues together, and how being together gave them the strength to be happier people.

The relationship develops in parallel to Erin and Owen’s investigation into the hospital’s shady board of directors. The plot was pretty interesting, and kept me entertained for most of the book.

My main issue - the damsel-in-distress routine got old pretty quickly. Erin, like Simon in book 1, was a bit too helpless for my liking at times.

Even so, I really liked ‘The Doctor’s Date’. Though I would have liked more heat, it still gave me the small-town romance feels that I always enjoy. If you like a slower pace and UST with a low heat level, this is the series for you!

Blog Tour: The Doctor's Secret (Copper Point: Medical Trilogy #1) by Heidi Cullinan

Heidi Cullinan and Dreamspinner Press visit on The Doctor's Secret (Copper Point: Medical Trilogy #1)! Not only does the author deliver a (slightly) steamy excerpt, but the author shares April book recs! Check out today's visit below!

Copper Point: Medical Series

Copper Point may be known as a small northern Wisconsin town famous for not wanting to change, but things are certainly shaking up at St. Ann’s Medical Center, the city’s quirky, county-run hospital. Secret romances, fake relationships, second chances at love, scandalous liaisons in an elevator—all while longstanding and shockingly deep corruption are exposed. St. Ann’s young new leadership and upstanding team of doctors will lead the way to truth, and to love.

The Doctor's Secret

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?

Buy Links

Goodreads • Publisher • Audbile • Ripped Bodice • Barnes & Noble • Google Play Ebook • Google Play Audio • iTunes • Kobo (US) • Kobo (Canada) • Amazon (US) • Amazon (Canada) • Amazon (UK) • Powells

Excerpt

“Are you all right?”

Breathless, dizzy, Simon glanced up at Hong-Wei. Oh, he was so close. So handsome. Simon could still feel the ghost of the heat of Hong-Wei’s chest against his back, that temporary feeling of being cradled. Now Hong-Wei stood in front of him, one arm braced against the brick as he leaned in close, his face full of concern.

Simon ached for him. He knew he shouldn’t, knew he couldn’t, but in that narrow space, with the object of his affection a literal breath away, there was no way to stop himself.

Especially when Hong-Wei’s hand rose to stroke Simon’s face. Nothing more than a brief, lingering brush, but Simon shuddered all the same, his lips parting on a gasp as he stared, caught in Hong-Wei’s gaze.

“I’m sorry I got you involved.” Hong-Wei rested his hand on Simon’s elbow. “Are you hurt?”

Unable to make a sound, Simon shook his head. He couldn’t move, couldn’t look away.

Simon chided himself for letting his fantasies run amuck. Hong-Wei was simply checking on him after an intense encounter. Any second now he’d smile, release Simon, and they’d go to the OR for surgery.

Except Hong-Wei didn’t smile, and he didn’t let him go. If anything, he moved closer. His smell engulfed Simon: spice, crisp linen, and Hong-Wei. Simon’s hands itched to fall to Hong-Wei’s hips, and he had to ball his fists, resting them on his thighs so he didn’t reach out. Hong-Wei leaned closer, his lab coat draping around them as his arm bent against the wall. His gaze never left Simon’s.

Wu is into you.

Simon couldn’t exactly argue with Jared’s assessment any longer. The question was, what did he want to do about it?

Never mind, that wasn’t a question. Simon wanted him like he’d wanted nothing in his life. But he didn’t know if he should have him. Not the doctor he worked with. Not with Andreas’s policy hanging over his head.

What he should do was an easy answer. Funny how knowing that didn’t motivate him to move at all.

Hong-Wei touched Simon’s cheek again, stroking with more purpose this time, his thumb scraping Simon’s chin, lingering on his neck. “Should I stop?”

Author Visit

Heidi’s April Book Recs

Hi there! Thanks for having me today. I’m here to talk about my new release, The Doctor’s Secret, the first book in the Copper Point trilogy. It’s an easy-reading, small town series with just enough drama and feels to make it fun. Doctor meets nurse, and sparks ensue!

But also while I’m here, I want to talk about some other great books I’ve read recently. Some romance, a little manga, a little light novel. Hope you find something you like!

Romance Novels

Red Envelope by Atom Yang. It’s been a few months now since I read this, but I still think about it a lot! A lot of people have mentioned they’re excited to read my Asian hero in The Doctor’s Secret, but let me tell you, even after all my research and help from all kinds of people, Hong-Wei is a creation of a white woman, whereas Atom’s Asian hero is the real deal! Every detail of this story was so well-crafted and exquisite. You’re going to love this sweet second chance story. It’s just so good! Please go give it a read today.

Under His Protection by Laquette. This book had me on the edge in such a good way. I knew it’d work out, but I was never quite sure how, and I just kept turning those pages like crazy. Another one I keep thinking about long after. Bodyguard romance—doesn’t get better!

Kyle’s Reveal by Royal Blue. So many feels in this story! SO. MANY. Just an emotional ride from end to end, and characters you’re going to love so much. Sports romance, athlete/teacher romance, hurt/comfort…it’s all here! Get your copy ASAP.

Manga/Light Novels

I’m always reading manga and light novels, some online, some in print. Still keeping up with World’s Greatest First Love and Takane & Hana in manga, as well as The Water Dragon’s Bride, but I’m also reading light novels of The Rising of Shield Hero and Is it Wrong to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon?

Don’t miss My Brother’s Husband, an amazing manga about a Japanese man and his daughter’s getting to know the Canadian husband of the man’s estranged brother, who has since passed away. Comes in two volumes.

Webcomics

My daughter taught me to love web comics, and I’m keeping up with probably about one hundred, but here are my favorites. Stealing my heart right now is Lily, a great GL (girl’s love) story out of China. This can be found on the Webcomics app. On Webtoons my daughter and I both swoon over Mage & Demon Queen, a lesbian fantasy/comedy/love story. Also on Webtoons we both enjoy Ghost Wife, a Korean comic about a girl who can see ghosts (demons, spirits) and becomes the wife of an elder. She’s assured human ghost wives are mostly there for support and not what she thinks it means, but her ghost partner seems to have other ideas…

Still on Webtoons we have Novae, a BL/ace comic with a heavy fantasy bent. That Awkward Magic chronicles the fake (but is it?) relationship between a “straight” boy and a gay teen, the latter who is also discovering he’s the next witch in his family. Castle Swimmer is still getting started, but it’s the quiet, beautiful relationship between a chosen merman doomed to fulfill overblown prophecies and the shark boy who is fated to kill him to save his people.

Back on Webcomics, I love Be the Bad Boss’s Man and Twenty, which have slow-developing gay romances, but then there’s Men’s Wear Store and Her Royal Highness, which is anything but slow. Bromance is fun, though I’m not entirely sure where they’re going with this.

A word on Asian gay comics, especially those from China: Western audiences are going to find a lot of mores expressed in these eyebrow-raising. Men’s Wear Store is , sort of, a trans/genderfluid story, but go in with caution because it’s not always the best rep. LGBTQIA rights vary between Asian countries, with some of them being quite starkly repressed—Chinese authors of gay novels/comics have been and continue to be arrested, even as other stories become hits.

Speaking of: do NOT miss Mo Dao Zu Shi, translated as The Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation. It’s an absolutely thrilling, engaging fantasy gay romance saga which has also been turned into a manhua (manga) and donghua (anime), but the ultimate experience is the translated novel, which is in process at Exiled Rebels Scantilations. Don’t miss the audio drama, which has been subtitled in English. (Buying the audio drama is also currently the only legal way to support the show.)

This is a lot for you to read, and I hope you have fun checking some of these out! I also hope you enjoy The Doctor’s Secret and all the books in the Copper Point: Medical series!

Heidi's Bio

Author of over thirty novels, Midwest-native Heidi Cullinan writes positive-outcome romances for LGBT characters struggling against insurmountable odds because she believes there’s no such thing as too much happy ever after. Find out more at heidicullinan.com.

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.

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*

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!

Review: A Private Gentleman by Heidi Cullinan

To seal their bond, they must break the ties that bind.

Painfully introverted and rendered nearly mute by a heavy stammer, Lord George Albert Westin rarely ventures any farther than the club or his beloved gardens. When he hears rumors of an exotic new orchid sighted at a local hobbyist’s house, though, he girds himself with opiates and determination to attend a house party, hoping to sneak a peek. He finds the orchid, yes…but he finds something else even more rare and exquisite: Michael Vallant. Professional sodomite.

Michael climbed out of an adolescent hell as a courtesan’s bastard to become successful and independent-minded, seeing men on his own terms, protected by a powerful friend. He is master of his own world—until Wes. Not only because, for once, the sex is for pleasure and not for profit. They are joined by tendrils of a shameful, unspoken history. The closer his shy, poppy-addicted lover lures him to the light of love, the harder his past works to drag him back into the dark. There’s only one way out of this tangle. Help Wes face the fears that cripple him—right after Michael finds the courage to reveal the devastating truth that binds them.

Albert/Wes (same person) and Michael were surprisingly good together. Their meet-cute was pretty funny and definitely left me wanting to know more about these two men, Michael in particular. After a quick bout of mistaken identity an immediate connection is felt and these two quickly became drawn to each other. What I really liked was even though that connection was immediate, the progression of deeper emotions occured throughout the book, with love not being confessed until they had been through their own journeys.

I found the main focus of this book to be about their individual healing and how they had to overcome their vices/pasts alone before they would work together. That being said they both played a part in each other's healing.

There wasn't a heap of sex, but Cullinan does write great sex and this book is no different.

There are a couple of reasons this book rated lower for me, the first one being the major theme of child abuse with no trigger warnings. There are partial on-page abuse scenes, (as in detailed memories, recollections etc) of pre-pubescent boys getting sexually assaulted. Rather horrifying. Definitely needs some trigger warnings.

There was also a really weird happily ever after for the time period. Still very happy though!

SPOILER

Wes’ family all knew he was gay, basically hated him his whole life and then at the end of the book, they're all like, 'Whatever, it's all fine, come over for dinner and bring that fine man with you’, yea…. I don't buy it. I would have bought apologies and then indifference, not a happy family.

END SPOILER

All in all I enjoyed the read, it definitely needs some trigger warnings but it went by quickly and was a very unique story.

Audiobook Review: Family Man by Heidi Cullinan & Marie Sexton

Sometimes family chooses you.

At 40, Vincent "Vinnie" Fierro is still afraid to admit he might be gay - even to himself. It'll be a problem for his big, fat Italian family. Still, after three failed marriages, it's getting harder to ignore what he really wants.

Vinnie attempts some self-exploration in Chicago's Boystown bars, far from anyone who knows him. Naturally, he runs smack into someone from the neighborhood.

Between working two jobs, going to school, taking care of his grandmother, and dealing with his mother's ongoing substance abuse, Trey Giles has little time for fun, let alone dating someone who swears he's straight. Yet after one night of dancing cheek-to-cheek, Trey agrees to let Vinnie court him and see if he truly belongs on this side of the fence - though Trey intends to keep his virginity intact.

It seems like a solid plan, but nothing is simple when family is involved. When Vinnie's family finds out about their relationship, the situation is sticky enough, but when Trey's mother goes critical, Vinnie and Trey must decide whose happiness is most important - their families' or their own.

Narrated by: Colin Darcy
Listening Length: 7 hours and 40 minutes

Sooooo much to like!

This book has been in my TBR mountain since forever so I pounced when it came up in audio. Before I go into my thoughts on the book, let me just say that Colin Darcy did a wonderful job narrating. His Vinnie put a smile on my face repeatedly. My experience with Italian Americans is limited to The Sopranos so I've no clue if it's spot on or too much but I LOVED it. His Trey melted my heart. It was the sweetest voice! I don't know what he did to his voice for Trey but the timbre or whatever melted my butter. So, I will be actively looking for other books narrated by him in the future.

There are few tropes I like more than the age difference one and Family Man put the additional twist on of both men being virgins too! Well, Vinnie's only a virgin in same sex relations, but regardless I really liked this twist because it sort of leveled the playing field between them.

Vinnie having struck out in the marriage department three times decides maybe it's time to try to explore those attractions he's sublimated since college. Trey makes him feel things he's never felt before, things that are confusing and wonderful simultaneously.

What I liked so much about Vinnie was his authenticity. He's from a big, loud, very close knit family and they're important to him; he doesn't want to lose them. He also is falling hard for Trey and doesn't want to shortchange him either. The gamut of emotions he runs all felt very genuine, heartfelt and without artifice. He says what he thinks and does what he says he's going to. He also embraces his desires even though he fears being emasculated by them.

Trey is from the opposite end of the family spectrum. He's had to be self-reliant his whole life because his mother is an alcoholic. He has his gram but they are struggling to make ends meet and they are proud people. I could talk ad nauseam about Trey's childhood and how that probably relates to him still being a virgin who's waiting for The One at 25, but I won't. Suffice to say, he and Vinnie have much to learn from each other.

Family Man is a slow burn with oodles of UST and not a whole lot of sex, but their connection to and desire for one another is on display through both of their perspectives. However I would've liked more focus on their relationship development. There were so many things that occurred off page. Were this a movie a montage would've likely sufficed to show them spending more and more time together but as it stands it's just time jumps of them still being together and offhand references to past events.

I appreciated how the differentiation in their families was illustrated. Vinnie's family takes over.; if you're "family", you're family and they're in your life whereas Trey has had to live with disappointment. As someone with alcoholics in her family I felt for Trey, identified with his anger and respected his wariness. However, I think the focus shifted away from Vinnie and Trey to Trey's dysfunctional relationship with his mother towards the end. Unfortunately, the romance never regained traction and that overshadowing of the romance left me wanting. The ending felt rushed and left me wondering what about gram? what about Trey's mother? are the Fierro's just going to babysit her forever?

Unquestionably the ending is sweet and affecting but it also felt a wee bit disingenuous and I wasn't there yet. I needed Vinnie and Trey to have more time together. Another couple of chapters with them together, being fully immersed in each other's lives and getting acclimated to being out with Vinnie's family would've gone a long way.

Nevertheless, it's still a worthwhile read especially with regard to coming of age no matter your age and embracing who you are even if that person bucks traditional stereotypes.

A review copy was provided by the publisher.