When being single starts to feel rather lonely, can love be found?

Synopsis

Sometimes, what happens on the nightshift, should stay on the nightshift…

As an A&E nurse, there’s not much that can catch Tilly off guard (not even those kinds of accidents). But when her bachelor flatmate gets a girlfriend and her sister announces she wants another baby, Tilly is surprised to find herself questioning her happily single existence.

Thankfully, the arrival of a new face on the ward offers a welcome distraction. With his lustrous hair, and charming personality, Dr Luke sets hearts racing all across the hospital. But as Tilly and Luke get to know each other better, she starts to wonder if he’s really her McDreamy after all…

Is Tilly being blinded by her determination to find someone? And while she’s looking in Luke’s direction, will Tilly miss what’s right in front of her?

My review

With being a nurse at the accident and emergency room of the hospital, Tilly knows that it isn’t easy to find love. With changing shifts, it’s not only difficult to find love, but also to build a strong and solid relationship. And to be honest, Tilly doesn’t mind her single status, no matter how much her mother is pushing her. However, when even her roommate and best friend Mike, known as a real player, appears to have found his match, and her Tilly’s sister is thinking about a second baby, Tilly wonders if she may ever find her own perfect match. Until there is a new face at the hospital. Dr. Luke immediately has Tilly’s attention, or rather there seems to be an immediate connection between them. But Luke’s current situation isn’t one where he can prioritize Tilly. And slowly, Tilly starts to wonder if there is a future for them, or that her own wish to find love has blinded her vision?

With a book written by Phoebe Macleod, I always think by reading the synopsis, that I know what this story will be about. However, I shouldn’t trust my instinct, as once again ¨Phoebe proved me that with her excellent writing skills, I never know where the story will go.

I have to admit, I felt a real a connection with Tilly, because we are alike in several aspects. I am happy with my single life. And I don’t feel that I need a man to make me feel happy or complete. Yet there are sometimes moments, just like Tilly has, that I wonder if there will ever be someone out there for me. And that at moments, despite me being happy 99% of the times, that I feel lonely and alone. So in that aspect, I could not only easily understand Tilly, but I could also relate to her. I felt her pain at those moments of doubt that she is going through.

But despite those moments of doubt, Tilly is such a warm and kind person (just like me! 😊). She is a great, supportive sister, an open – minded and non – judgemental roommate, and is just the kind of person whose motto is ‘live and let live’. She is happy when her loved ones are happy and if she can help in any way, she doesn’t hesitate.

That we also see when she is working as a nurse. I cannot imagine everything a nurse sees, from funny things, to terrible things. I admired how she can keep her composure in the weirdest situations, while I for sure wouldn’t be able to keep a real poker face.

I liked it to see how she is respected by everyone, not only her fellow nurses, but also respected by doctors and surgeons. She keeps her professionalism, but isn’t afraid to even reprimand when people are in the wrong. And what I LOVED about Tilly, is her kind heart towards patients. She keeps that same professionalism, but also gives so much warmth and kindness.

And doesn’t that kind of person deserve to be loved and cherished? Of course she does! So when Luke appears on the scene, or rather in the hospital, I had fingers, toes and every other crossable thing crossed!

Now there has to be a bit of honesty from my side, without trying to give anything away about the plotline… While on paper Luke seems to be truly perfect for Tilly, and yes, things aren’t that easy for him, I couldn’t truly warm towards him.

Whenever the love interest appears, I almost immediately fall for him, or even if he is a grumpy a**hole, the more the story evolves, the more I start to like him. However, this didn’t happen with Luke… Yes, I understood the position he is in, that the struggles with his mother isn’t something to diminish. And while Tilly starts to fall the man, still…

We see how Tilly initially covers everything through the mantle of love, yet slowly, with the help of those around her, start to ask questions.

And that shows a maturity of Tilly, because it is easy to see everything through rose – coloured glasses. But no matter how much we like a person, we also have to keep our eyes and mind open for the faults of that person, or the little irks. Is what the other see a red flag? Or can she trust the man she has just met and seems so perfect for her?

Perhaps that is the real purpose of the story that Phoebe is telling us. That love can at first sight be found, even in a hospital. But that doesn’t per se mean that we have to be blind to the possibility of red flags or doubts that arise the more time passes.

And let’s not forget the obvious message of the story, and that is that love isn’t only the romantic bit, but that it is in family, friends, even patients that become more. If you are kind and loving, karma will reward you by surrounding you with the same kind of people. And yes, sometimes with the people you love, you may (even severely) clash, but you should also never forget that even those clashes and disagreements are expressed out of worry and with the best interest at heart.

Phoebe MacLeod just did it again. She wrote a marvellous, heart – warming story about a young woman that deserves the world and is on the search of what is missing in her life. But finding what is missing, doesn’t mean losing yourself or your principles. And that all is written in this book that just swept me away!