I was given the opposite to read major surgery via NetGalley, if you are a fan of medical hospital dramas feeling more Greys anatomy level drama than casualty / holby city vibes. Dramatic entrance by the new head of trauma, think Owen in Greys but a much hotter regimented female (that honestly does not bore the pants off you) who wants to shake things up but enter a frosty if not professional head of the acute medic unit. A medium pace burn of enemies to lovers with a lot of representation based in a west London hospital setting. Story was a good pace, bits of drama that lead to a massive twist however felt slightly rushed through. Enjoyable romance with minor spice but again their new relationship only just blooming at the end would have been nice to have seen how it progresses but enjoyable nonetheless always a good read with a medical workplace romance. Definitely enjoyable, thank you NetGalley for the opportunity and will now look into some more of Lola Keeleys work to read in the future.

Skilled surgeon Veronica Mallick runs her London hospital department like she runs her surgeries: with hawkish efficiency. Then her perfect world is turned upside down by the arrival of a new Head of Trauma.

Cassie Taylor is a brash, no-nonsense army surgeon, fresh from the front lines, and trying to find her way in civilian life. She’s all action and sharp edges, not too interested in rules. She’s even less interested in bureaucracy, or playing nice with her uptight, paper-pushing colleague, Veronica. While they’re circling each other warily at St. Sophia’s hospital, Cassie becomes entangled in some shady financial dealings. Their shared search for the truth draws them closer together, sparking heated moments as they try to see justice done.

I love medical dramas. Pair the chaos of the emergency room (or, as the Brits call it, the Acute Medical Unit) with some sapphic loving? I'm on board! I love how different these two women are from each other and how they become friends. Beautifully written characters. Fun plot. The romance aspect wasn't as strong as it could have been, but with such a well-written story, that wasn't a big problem. I definitely recommend this if you enjoy sapphic medical dramas!

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the advanced digital reader's copy (ARC) in exchange for an honest review!

An interesting hospital/doctor read. Drs. Cassie Taylor and Veronica Mallick are very different from each other which makes the read that much more interesting. The opening hospital scene is the best. Cassie is a former army surgeon looking to find her place in civilian life. Veronica runs her department efficiently. When the two interact, it provides for an entertaining story with a good description of hospital happenings. I liked how their interaction brought about an understanding and common ground. I also thought the scandal was well placed. Very nice.

This is a fun medical romance.
The main characters get off on the wrong foot just a bit. They clash about certain approaches but it’s clear from the start they admire the other as well. Professionally and personally.
The little bit of hospital dram that’s thrown in I could do without, it’s fine, I don’t mind it, but I’d rahther have fun with the leading ladies.
I find the passages about being a POC and having to deal with racism and all sorts of discrimination handled with care without it being preachy.

All in all pretty good. Nothing super special, but enjoyable nonetheless.

I really enjoyed this! Nice and easy read, I enjoyed the fact there was also a plot to the story and the fact they got to deal with their jobs as well as finding each other. It was a cute read and I will be looking into this author more. The story takes place when surgeon Vernonica Mallick is trying to get her right hand man a job as a department head she trained him herself so knows he is more then up for the job.. However whirlwind army surgeon Cassie comes in and makes a name from her self from the start securing head of trauma position. Whilst trying to work together they learn they work well together, whilst they learn to work together they also start spending time together outside of work. When Veronica receives a email from Cassie whilst they have been together it leads to questions about who sent this email and what is going on in the hospital.

A good read. Enjoyable but it felt like it was lacking something. Like it just needed a little bit more edge.
A very easy read and it was good to get lost in it.

Major Surgery is my first foray into a medical romance, and I was not disappointed! I would've preferred a little bit more spice, but the amount and the build up was still worth it! Would've liked a little more interaction with the son, but overall a good read!

I originally thought that this book would be similar to some of the ones I have read I. The past it was not. I will definitely be purchasing a physical copy.

This review has been posted to Goodreads and Storygraph on September 26, 2024. Links provided.

In a London hospital, skilled surgeon Veronica Mallick manages her department with precision until the arrival of Cassie Taylor, a brash army surgeon and the new Head of Trauma. Cassie’s no-nonsense approach and disregard for bureaucracy clash with Veronica’s structured methods, creating tension as they navigate their new working relationship. When Cassie finds herself wrapped up in questionable financial activities at St. Sophia’s, the two women are reluctantly drawn together in their quest for justice. As they uncover a scandal, their conflicting personalities ignite unexpected feelings, challenging them to confront both their attraction and their differences.

All in all I enjoyed this quick read! I felt the writing was easy to follow and the plot was mostly engaging. I didn’t love either of the main characters, but I still appreciated being able to get to know them individually and witness their hatred for one another slowly morph into friendship and even more. I think the author does a good job developing characters and providing the reader with detailed insights into why the characters are they way they are. I also liked the fact that the romance was not the only plot point of the story. I like mystery novels so the fact that this book had a bit of a mystery driving part of the plot also made it enjoyable to me. I don’t necessarily feel like the actual romance was anything to write home about but it was sweet in the end nonetheless.

Thank you to Ylva Publishing and NetGalley for the opportunity to read to an ARC of Major Surgery in return for my honest review.

An entertaining story with adorable characters, instant chemistry between them and a mystery to uncover makes this a book I would easily recommend.

Major surgery is a sapphic romance that has two strong women as main characters. It is fun to see their relationship evolve as they grow to know each other. They support each other even though they don't start off on the right foot. I would have liked to see more. The ending is fulfilling but I would love to see what is next in their journey together. This is great for anyone looking for a sapphic romance that has a spicy moment but is not only about spice.

A British medical romance originally released in Feb 2019. Major Cassie Taylor is the new Head of the Trauma department for a London hospital. She has left the military after several tours of duty and is a skilled surgeon. Veronica Mallick runs what I’d call the emergency room department with efficiency. She is also a surgeon, divorced with a teenage son. They get off to a rocky start but it quickly turns to friendship and eventually more. This is a medical romance with a lot of the story taking place in the hospital. There is some shady stuff happening in the budgets as well. Half the fun for me was translating in my mind the ways of working compared to US hospitals and the British expressions used in conversations.

I enjoyed the story and the two leads. I like that they were skilled professionals who enjoyed each other and their work.

Pros:

- The main characters feel very grounded, like actual people whose lives we're peering into. They have their likes, dislikes, quirks, way of working, etc. and there's not a lot of talk about said backstory because they are 40(ish) and most of it it's not relevant to the story, at this point in their lives it's just part of them as persons.
- There's also a definite lack of drama for the sake of drama compared to other romance books I've read before, which is certainly refreshing. When they have a discussion or fight either they stop talking without petty interactions or make up by directly apologizing without skirting around the topic. It definitely makes them feel like the inteligent adults they sure are.
- The antagonist also felt very real and like an actual person with their own interests instead of a caricature bent on ruining the main characters lives for petty reasons.
- The medical setting didn't felt like it was chosen just to have a quirky/cool medical romance and use it to "hinder" the romance until a certain word count ("oh we're so busy, we can't date"). The novel is actually set most of the time inside the hospital or in settings/situations surrounding the hospital (like a nearby cafe, or during a medical disertation(?), etc) and the characters are actually seen working, through the common everyday, mid disasters, and you can tell the author did their research and knows what she's talking about: there's actual medical jargon and more than once we peer inside the operation rooms and it's dynamics, wether it serves the romantic plot or no, because that's part of the life of the characters.

Cons:

- Sometimes the discussions or certain topics are glossed over with a time skip, so if, for instance, they fight in a chapter, they make up at the beggining of the next chapter, which makes it feel a bit unearned? Like there was no time for them to change their mind or meditate on the situation because there was barely a couple of pharagraphs in between one and the other.
- Although the book is classified as enemies to lovers the actual "enemies" portion was so brief that it felt more like a friends to lovers story, it would have been nice to spend a bit more time with the "enemies" dynamic since that's what the reader wanted to read and was expecting coming into the book.

I truly enjoy catching these back list titles from Independent publisher Ylva Publishing. They remind me how there's so much put there to read, but so little time.

Major Surgery by Lola Keely is the quintessential enemies to lovers, medical drama for those who miss the hey days of Grey's Anatomy. Truly good time.

Thank you to Ylva Publishing and NetGalley for providing an eARC for a honest review.

I enjoyed this book two very strong characters from different back grounds trying to make things better. I found the story good and interesting. Obviously very medically minded but highly enjoyable. Thank you for advanced copy.

I am not giving this a public review because I did not finish it. I found the writing stilted and the characters forced. I'm grateful to NetGalley for the chance to read it and look forward to more from this publish company.

Cassie & Veronica, two very strong and independent doctors, leaders in their respective fields, meet at work and try to deny their attraction. Add a dash if mystery in the form of Deputy CEO Travers who is up to no good with the Hospital’s budgets, and the lovable paramedic Alan who befriends Cassie and provides lightness to the story, and you hae a very enjoyable read.

As Cassie & Veronica grow closer professionally and personally, sparks fly and they can’t deny their attraction to each other any longer. But will they be able to stand the scrutiny of a work romance?

An enjoyable book with a coherent story. The MC’s are a little icey but that is to be expected given their chosen careers and responsibilities. I did find it hard to align with them at first, however they do melt throughout the story and show their true personalities.

If you have a medical background, you might find this book more engaging than I did. As an education major, I was constantly looking up medical terms, but eventually, I stopped because it felt like too much work.

The romance had potential at first. The author set up a good rivals-to-lovers dynamic (though it wasn’t quite enemies as advertised, definitely rivals), and their initial tension was fun to read. However, after about 25ish%, I found myself losing interest.

Once the couple got together, the relationship just fell flat. It wasn’t that they broke up—it just lost its spark, and the story shifted focus in a way that didn’t hold my attention.

There were also quite a few typos, so it could definitely use another round of proofreading.

This is definitely not my usual genre but I like a break from crime and thrillers every now and again so I went searching some other categories on @netgalley and stumbled across this title. I love Grey’s anatomy and was interested in a story about surgeons so dived in but I was a little underwhelmed with the storyline and the first 75% of the story I was waiting for something to happen- then when it did it picked up slightly but not enough to save the story! Romance lovers will enjoy this but it wasn’t for me!

I really enjoyed this book! I was honestly a little sad to let these characters go after I finished. Definitely worth a read!

Major Cassie Taylor has just traded in her military surgeon career for a civilian post as Head of Trauma at St. Sophia hospital. She instantly butts heads with Veronica Mallick, a no nonsense by-the-book surgeon with career aspirations. As the two of them try to learn to work together, sparks can't help but fly.

I really enjoyed the hospital setting, and the light political references to the NHS and bureaucracy. I genuinely liked the characters and was rooting for them from start to finish. A bit of an enemies to lovers vibe, which is handled deftly by Keeley.

Recommended if you like medical dramas and strong women!