This medical drama is both funny and poignant with memorable characters and a laser focus on a current hot button in health care.

Dr. Georgia Brown, a urologist, and Dr. Jonah Tsukada, a specialist in family medicine, are best friends who promised to be family to each other. Currently single, Georgia stays busy and hangs out with Jonah, a gay man who appreciates the stereotype of having a woman as his best bud. They work together at a private hospital and clinic on the outskirts of Charleston, South Carolina.

Everything is going well for both when Georgia heads off to Amsterdam for a medical conference. While there, she gets a call from Jonah who is in terrible distress. It seems that their place of employment has "fired" all of Jonah's gay and transgender patients and his job is also on the line. The hospital says they have the right to refuse care to any patient who doesn't conform to their religious and moral beliefs and Jonah's lifestyle is also under scrutiny for violation of the morals clause in his contract. Georgia rushes to support her friend but they have underestimated the tide of popular opinion and soon find themselves in the battle of their lives. No spoilers.

I met these characters in the two other books I recently read by this author, but since I read the books out of publication order, I was happy to get more of the backstory. I just love the way this author writes. She's witty, obviously very intelligent, and she knows how to distill the complex medical jargon into understandable detail. I've loved everything about the 3 books I read back to back in the past 3 days, and am sure that any fans of women's fiction will appreciate the way Martin does friendship stories with memorable characters, interesting careers, and a bit of romance. I can't wait until I can get my hands on whatever book she writes next.

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for this e-book ARC to read and review. I highly recommend the series, but do start at the beginning!

Another great release from Kimmery Martin! I really enjoyed her previous book, The Queen of Hearts, so I was excited to dive into this one. I would recommend this one if you're a fan of shows like Grey's Anatomy -- I'm fascinated by the everyday lives and dramas of doctors; The Anatomy of Everything proved to be such an interesting meditation on the power of friendships and the bravery required to make tough decisions.

I read Kimmery Martin’s debut, Queen of Hearts (Reviewed December 17, 2017), and really enjoyed it, so I was looking forward to this one. Both books are drawn from her medical background and set in the world of medicine. However, the books are totally different. What I liked about this one is that it showcased discrimination towards LGBTQ and the fallout from baseless accusations. It touches on contemporary moral dilemmas concerning whether this community can be denied medical care. There was a bit of a mystery, too, in determining whether one of the characters had been set up and if so, who did so and why. I especially liked the bond between the two main characters and the support shown. The message toward the end of the book “the antidote for everything is integrity” was appreciated, and I like that message. I don’t think I liked this book quite as much as her debut, but it was still an enjoyable read with a positive message.

I enjoyed this book much more than I thought I would! I love when authors write books about topics they're well versed in, and that's clearly the case here. Not only was it an entertaining read, but it led me to do a lot of my own research around the topic of religious views and health care in the real world.

Really liked this book! I adored the strong friendship at the heart of the novel between two physicians—one female and straight, the other male and gay. The author is a physician and it shows. The backdrop of a medical clinic and a cast of medical professionals is extremely authentic. Discrimination of transgender patients is at the center of the plot and is riveting — but also sad and scary because it speaks to what happens in real life. There’s also a little romance to balance things out. The characters are very well developed. They are snarky, headstrong, vulnerable, complex and interesting. Well done! Now I need to read Kimmery’s first book!

An engaging story, but I don’t feel that our readership would be drawn to this one. A little obscure for what usually goes easily in our collection.

I’m happy to admit that I’m a bit soft on author Kimmery Martin. She is an emergency medicine physician and, as a hospital professional, I see the type of work she does everyday and I have so much respect for her calling. As a reader, I love the way in which this part of her life infiltrates her work as an author; her stories are so relatable to me. ⁣
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Having said that, I could take away all of my biases and would be left with an incredibly talented writer whose second novel, THE ANTIDOTE FOR EVERYTHING, is out in the world today. I knew that her debut (THE QUEEN OF HEARTS) would be tough to beat but, man, I loved this book! It’s topic is timely, the characters are so lovely, and their friendship had me swooning. I hope you’ll give it a try soon!

It has been a long time since I read a book that made me feel as good as The Antidote for Everything made me feel. I loved the story line, I connected with the characters, and the amount of drama, romance, excitement, and intrigue were perfect. Georgia is a urologist at a well-known clinic, where she works with her best friend Jonas, who is a family medicine doctor. Georgia saves the life of a man on an airplane, and that throws her into a romance she had not been expecting and is not sure she even wants. After a few weeks in Amsterdam, she returns to America when she finds out that Jonas is going to be fired from the clinic, where they are claiming he has a drug problem. Together, Georgia, Jonas, and Georgia's new-found love, Matt, try to figure out what exactly is going on, and why the clinic is turning away all of Jonas' gay and transgender patients. This book really hit me, from the friendship between Georgia and Jonas, to the blooming love between Georgia and Matt, I fell head over heels in love with this book and with this author. I cannot wait to read more from Kimmery Martin!

This was my first read by this author, and I enjoyed it. It tackled some tough subjects and handled them in a way that was thoughtful and realistic. I enjoyed Jonah and Georgia’s friendship, she was my favorite and they were thick as thieves. I wished they could have had more fun together and not been so burdened by these heavy problems right off the bat, because I wanted more of their fun times together.

That being said, I felt as if the heavy subjects did not quite match the personalities of Jonah and Georgia, and I needed the book to pick one side or the other, either drama or romcom. It straddled each a little too much for me, it was overall an important read but left me wanting more.

I received a physical copy of this, and will be doing a buddy read in the near future. Full review to come. But I love Kimmery Martin, so I know this is going to be fantastic! Her last book was so reminiscent to Grey's Anatomy, I hope this book gives off that same vibe.

I was extremely excited for the release of The Antidote for Everything. This book has a beautiful cover and as a long time fan of Greys Anatomy, I was excited for another medical drama book.

This book tackled discrimination, which is such an important and timely topic, but it missed the mark for me. The drama aspect of the discrimination just didn't sit well with me, and it seemed like too many additional topics, like substance abuse and depression were thrown in at the same time.

The book kept me entertained while reading, but it did not live up to The Queen of Hearts and is not one that I would likely recommend.

This, the second novel from Kimmery Martin, focuses on Georgia Brown, a urologist who lives in Charleston. She is close friends with Jonah Tsukada, a family medicine doctor who also works at the hospital. When the hospital threatens to fire Jonah for treating transgender patients, Georgia risks her own career to help him.
Georgia was a minor character in Martin’s first novel “The Queen of Hearts.”
Martin is an emergency medicine physician who is now concentrating on writing. The book is both heartwarming and humorous, although the underlying subject is serious.
Martin has a real future as a writer.

Dr. Georgia Brown is as vibrant as her fiery hair. A smart, witty, and tenacious urologist, Georgia is full of life despite her love life being somewhat lackluster. She works at a clinic outside of Charleston, South Carolina, with her closest companion being her coworker, family medicine doctor Jonah Tsukada. Georgia and Jonah are as tight-knit as they come, but Georgia has to head out to a medical conference without him

While Georgia is whisked up by the beauty of Europe and a magnetic ex-pat American called Mark, Jonah receives jarring news at work. His patients have been told to find a new doctor, and his LGBTQ+ patients are being denied care. The clinic intends not only to deny medical care to these patients but to enforce their morality clause, putting Jonah, a gay man, in the line of fire. Upon hearing this news, Georgia vows to fight for her friend and closest ally. However, amidst this battle for what’s right many people are harmed and dark secrets are unearthed.

Kimmery Martin, an emergency medicine doctor and author of The Queen of Hearts, delivers a captivating and provocative novel of friendship, difficult choices, and the intolerance still happening today. This story is both thought-provoking and heartwarming. It handles sensitive and timely topics such as medical discrimination, equality, and mental health while balancing them with love, friendship, and loyalty.

A terrific book that speaks of the personal consequences of political decisions, Martin's sophomore offering reminded me greatly of Kelly Rimmer's "Before I Let You Go." When her gay best friend is fired for treating gay and transgender patients, Dr. Georgia Brown will do anything to help him prevail. But the law in Atlanta is not on their side.

I have to admit, I did find her debut, The Queen of Hearts, to be more engrossing with its mystery subplot. Antidote, while timely, has the wrong protagonist (it should have been Jonah's story) and a romantic subplot that feels tacked on. Still, the combination of drama and medicine is a strong one, and I look forward to Martin's next book.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher I was privileged to read an advance copy of this book.

This is my first Kimmery Martin book. It won't be my last. The Antidote For Everything is timely, sensitively written, and well-paced. It's a story I easily fell in love with. You will too.

Kudos to Kimmery Martin!
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liked the themes of the book, being friendship and tolerance. But could t warm up completely to the main characters. Georgia is a urologist, attending a conference when she meets Mark, her perfect man. As the relationship heats up, her beset friend Jonah, a fellow doctor, finds himself about to lose his job for treating transgender and gay patients. As the story continues, there are some twists, but it was just okay for me. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.

I truly believe that this book was written with the best of intentions, but ultimately it fell flat for me. I picked up this title because I thought the center of the story would be about issues that transgender individuals face when it comes to healthcare. However, the single transgender character in the book spoke maybe once? The main focus of the novel seemed to be an underdeveloped relationship between Georgia, the main character, and some dude named Mark who she meets by chance on her way to a medical conference. I might have been able to forgive that if the romance was compelling at all, but for all the time the main character spent thinking about the relationship, the author barely showed them interacting for the whole novel (don't worry they still exchanged "I love you"s after being in a long distance relationship for only a few weeks). It was so underdeveloped that the author would give us pages at a time of info dump about Mark's past because she couldn't seem find space to include it in an actual conversation between him and Georgia.

Aside from that the tone was a bit off putting. As I said before, I really do think that this was written with the best of intentions. The author's note at the end confirms this, but the writing felt very much like that of someone who has very little understanding of lgbtq+ issues. Mostly this showed up in the dialogue between Georgia and her gay best friend stereotype, Jonah. Another weird aspect of the tone involved moments of "well a REAL Christian would never treat people this way," without ever addressing the very real ways in which religious institutions as a whole influence discrimination against certain groups. I think if this had been my only misgiving about the book I could have overlooked it, but added to everything else it was just salt in the wound. I read this because I wanted a book about transgender issues, and instead I got a lackluster romance novel without any of the fun parts.

Georgia Brown is a urologist at a clinic associated with a hospital in Charleston, South Carolina; her friend Jonah Tsukada is a family practice physician. Both the clinic and the hospital are owned by a fundamentalist megachurch, but until now they've been able to treat patients as they see appropriate.

But Jonah is an out gay man, and he welcomes gay and transgender patients. Georgia, as a urologist, treats some of the same patients. And hospital and clinic policy is about to change. While Georgia is away at a medical conference in Amsterdam, Jonah calls to tell her he's been ordered to drop all his transgender patients, or be fired.

Jonah and Georgia's lives are about to become very interesting.

But it's not just workplace drama and a threat to the integrity of how they practice medicine. While on the plane to Amsterdam, there's a small medical emergency, and Georgia meets Mark, a very successful, and also very hot and very likable, businessman.

Jonah is Georgia's best friend. Mark is the first guy in years who seems likely to be more than just a passing interest for her. And when Mark and Jonah meet, it quickly becomes clear that they, too, will be good friends.

Except that Jonah is being forced out at the hospital; he won't agree to drop his transgender patients, and as a gay man himself, isn't very welcome at the hospital or the clinic anyway. Georgia is an honest and honorable woman, but she's also determined to protect her friend and their patients. Mark is an honest and honorable man, and was badly burned in childhood by the lies around his mother's health and her, to him, sudden death. People lying is a real trigger for him.

And Georgia decides on a very risky path to saving Jonah's job.

It's fascinating, intense, and challenging for Georgia, Jonah, and Mark.

The issues here are real and critical. It's completely legal in more than 30 states to discriminate against LGBTQ people, not only in employment, but even, yes, in providing medical care. What the hospital and clinic are doing in this book is completely legal not just in South Carolina, but in over thirty other states.

And Kimmery Martin makes you feel every single bit of how cruel and destructive this is.

Highly recommended.

I received a free electronic galley of this book from the publisher via NetGalley, and am reviewing it voluntarily.

Stevie‘s review of The Antidote for Everything by Kimmery Martin
Medical Fiction published by Berkley 18 Feb 20

I requested this book ages ago, based on the blurb, but when I finally got around to reading it, I got a good chunk of the way in and then had to go back and recheck that the blurb matched the story I was reading. There’s an awful lot about our main protagonist, her work, and her unsatisfactory love life before we ever get around to seeing much that resembles the real bones of the plot. There’s also one short description of a minor character early on that I found problematic, especially given the plot’s central theme. Having said all that, I suspect that readers picking up the book based on the author’s previous works are being given a chance to get to know and like our heroine, before the difficult parts are thrust upon them, and if that gets more people to sympathise with the plights of Georgia, and – more especially – her friend Jonah and his patients, then so much the better.


Urologist Dr Georgia Brown works in a church-funded clinic attached to a community hospital in Charleston, South Carolina, as does her best friend, Jonah Tsukada, who specialises in family medicine and is particularly popular with patients from the LGBT+ community. While Georgia is finishing up on her last day at work before heading off to an overseas conference, and already preoccupied with worries about her beloved dog’s veterinary appointment and with the fact that her latest boyfriend just dumped her very publicly, she receives a series of disturbing texts from Jonah, implying he’s worried about losing his job. More rumours circulate around Georgia as she sets off for home, but she puts them out of her mind in favour of conference preparations.

Then on a flight to the Netherlands, Georgia has to deal with a medical emergency and finds herself leaving the airport with her (highly attractive) erstwhile patient. The pair have a merry few days together, Georgia’s conference all but forgotten, and it’s not until she’s nearing the end of her trip that she learns that her best friend really is in need of her assistance. The new hospital board has taken action against Jonah on moral grounds, both because of his sexuality and because he treats so many trans* patients. On top of that, it looks like he’s being framed for a series of thefts from the hospital. Georgia – aided by her new boyfriend – resolves to do everything possible to help Jonah reverse the board’s decision to fire him (and turn away his LGBT+ patients) and to clear his name over the theft accusations.

As I intimated earlier, the main plot of the book had lots going for it. However, I really didn’t need Georgia’s love life superimposed over it. Jonah spent quite a chunk of the story sidelined, either because Georgia was elsewhere or because he was literally, or medically, unavailable to take part in the plot. Yes, this could have the potential to bring the issues before a wider readership and raise awareness of the issues dealt with in the story to a wider audience, but I do wonder how many of those who need to be made aware would be put off by the blurb, just as I felt that the blurb misled me over the genre of story to expect.

Reading the author’s notes afterwards, I do get the impression that she picked the issues to dissect after she’d already fallen in love with her heroine, and so, while her decision to run with the central theme is admirable, I personally would have much rather have read Jonah’s story – and a version of it in which he was fully involved with the action, at that – rather than watching Georgia try to make a go of juggling her romantic- and friendship-based relationships at the same time of trying to hold onto a job where she had to answer to a lot of really unpleasant people.

Grade: C

An important and timely novel. The intersection of medicine and conservative Christianity. Interesting, detailed and an important read in this day and age.

**I received an electronic ARC from NetGalley in exchange for a fair and unbiased review of this book.