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carys_barnett's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
jackiehorne's review against another edition
3.0
An allergist is attracted to a restaurant-owning patient, and he's attracted to her, but medical ethics (dating a patient, especially when you're just starting your own practice) keep them apart. I enjoyed the sexual tension between sexy Ian and careful, pessimistic Petra, but Petra's worries strained credibility at times; I did not understand why even after Ian started seeing another doctor, she was still so hung up about potential conflict of interest issues. Petra's issues with her mom also felt a bit over the top.
I did enjoy Ian and Petra's cultural backgrounds being woven in as part of their character development (Ian has a European-American mother and a [I think] Spanish-South American father, while Petra's father was Asian Indian); as Ian says, "like you, I've got that ambiguously ethnic thing" (136). And I enjoyed the relationship Petra has with her two med school friends, who look to be the heroines in the upcoming books in the series. Enough promise in this one to check those out.
I did enjoy Ian and Petra's cultural backgrounds being woven in as part of their character development (Ian has a European-American mother and a [I think] Spanish-South American father, while Petra's father was Asian Indian); as Ian says, "like you, I've got that ambiguously ethnic thing" (136). And I enjoyed the relationship Petra has with her two med school friends, who look to be the heroines in the upcoming books in the series. Enough promise in this one to check those out.
tessisreading2's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Realistic, compelling romance, with maybe a slant towards "FMC comes into her own." There are a lot of complicated interpersonal relationships - all on the FMC's side - going on and taking up a lot of page space, and Lang devotes so much time to the ethics of a doctor dating a (former) patient that I got second-hand discomfort (like second-hand embarrassment). It looks like it's going to be a light romance, but it doesn't feel frivolous at all.
sleepycoffeecat's review against another edition
hopeful
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
brandypainter's review against another edition
2.0
2.5 stars
The beginning was promising. I enjoyed the exploration of medical ethics, and the interactions between the hero and heroine. But the things went down hill in the back half of the book. I'm not a huge fan of drama rama and even less of a fan when that drama is caused by an evil ex-girlfriend. I don't feel that added level of conflict did anything for the story and it completely turned me off. I finished it, but with way less enthusiasm than when I began.
The beginning was promising. I enjoyed the exploration of medical ethics, and the interactions between the hero and heroine. But the things went down hill in the back half of the book. I'm not a huge fan of drama rama and even less of a fan when that drama is caused by an evil ex-girlfriend. I don't feel that added level of conflict did anything for the story and it completely turned me off. I finished it, but with way less enthusiasm than when I began.
readingwithhippos's review against another edition
3.0
I love Ruby Lang, but this wasn't my favorite of hers. The conflict felt too real and I could never just relax into the story because I was worried about Petra losing her medical license.
themaus's review against another edition
There was not a single doesn't, couldn’t, won’t, can’t, don’t, and it made it feel like 8th grade fanfic. Also these people are in their thirties and greys anatomy has been on the air for over a decade, they would’ve just slept with each other, honestly.
catiecat06's review
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
sandlynn's review against another edition
3.0
I, myself, have mixed reactions to Ruby Lang’s Acute Reaction, published in 2015.
This book focuses on two smart people with a lot of emotional baggage who find acceptance and love with each other.
Petra Lale is a 31 year old allergist, who, unlike most of her medical compatriots, including her two best friends, decides to strike out on her own and open her own practice. 32 year old Ian Zamora is a restaurateur in Portland who spends more time attending to every detail of his successful business rather than with his girlfriend — a girlfriend who insists that Ian help take care of her cat even though he’s extremely allergic. That being said, Ian is determined to maintain the relationship since it’s the one thing in his life that isn’t quite on track. To help the situation, Ian makes an appointment with Dr. Petra Lale, the new allergist in the same neighborhood as his restaurant. When he visits her for the first time, he’s struck at 1) how little help Dr. Lale has and 2) how attractive and competent she is in spite of having to manage almost everything in her practice on her own. Petra, too, finds Ian attractive, but she’s very professional and would never act upon it. Besides, her life is currently wrapped up in trying to make a success of her business, worried that she took this big step too soon.
Not long after Ian’s first appointment, he finds he can’t stop thinking about Petra and decides to break up with his girlfriend … and her cat. However, since he knows no other way to keep seeing Petra, considering that it’s against medical ethics to date a patient, he continues seeing her professionally. Before long, he’s considering breaking off their doctor-patient relationship, but Petra strikes first by sending a letter stating that she can no longer be his doctor since he has feelings for her that she cannot return. That would appear to end that except, Ian and Petra keep running into each other and Petra begins to question her own professional ethics — let alone the worries she has about her business — and starts to wonder if she should’ve ever become a doctor. In addition, unlike Ian’s certainty regarding them as a couple, she’s unsure about her romantic choices, seeing herself as a projection of her mother whose been married a number of times. How will these two hard-working professionals make room in their lives for a romance that is off limits?
I was expecting to like this book a bit more than I did. On the upside, I love that Petra’s and Ian’s professions are such a part of the story. They are not wallpaper professionals, but are shown doing their jobs, worrying about them, and having them spill over into their personal lives as happens outside of novels. if you like competence porn, this is for you. Even though Petra is struggling in her business, she’s still extremely competent and Ian is, of course, a success, although his problem is not letting his business over shadow his personal life. In any event, this book does a great job of making Petra and Ian well-rounded people. There are a number of side characters who are more or less successful. Petra’s friends, her mother, and sister are there more as a foil for comparison in terms of Petra’s insecurities and anxieties. Ian’s friends are barely there — except at the very end. There is one character — a young patient of Petra’s — who was the most enjoyable and became important to both characters.
What didn’t work for me is that the plot seemed to stall in the middle — with both characters, but mostly Petra — spending most of the middle of the story going back and forth over their feelings, never seeming to progress. I began to lose patience with her and was surprised Ian hung in that long. Her neuroses were examined and re-examined in minute detail. It was only in the last 20 or so pages that things began happening to move the plot forward and one of those things was also a negative to my mind — Ian’s ex-girlfriend suddenly makes a re-appearance and becomes a big obstacle in Ian and Petra’s relationship despite not being a factor at all for most of the story. And, of course, she was the usual nasty “other woman”. Even though I was happy that events were happening that finally forced some action, you had to muck through a lot of annoying naval gazing to get there. I would give this book a B-.
This book focuses on two smart people with a lot of emotional baggage who find acceptance and love with each other.
Petra Lale is a 31 year old allergist, who, unlike most of her medical compatriots, including her two best friends, decides to strike out on her own and open her own practice. 32 year old Ian Zamora is a restaurateur in Portland who spends more time attending to every detail of his successful business rather than with his girlfriend — a girlfriend who insists that Ian help take care of her cat even though he’s extremely allergic. That being said, Ian is determined to maintain the relationship since it’s the one thing in his life that isn’t quite on track. To help the situation, Ian makes an appointment with Dr. Petra Lale, the new allergist in the same neighborhood as his restaurant. When he visits her for the first time, he’s struck at 1) how little help Dr. Lale has and 2) how attractive and competent she is in spite of having to manage almost everything in her practice on her own. Petra, too, finds Ian attractive, but she’s very professional and would never act upon it. Besides, her life is currently wrapped up in trying to make a success of her business, worried that she took this big step too soon.
Not long after Ian’s first appointment, he finds he can’t stop thinking about Petra and decides to break up with his girlfriend … and her cat. However, since he knows no other way to keep seeing Petra, considering that it’s against medical ethics to date a patient, he continues seeing her professionally. Before long, he’s considering breaking off their doctor-patient relationship, but Petra strikes first by sending a letter stating that she can no longer be his doctor since he has feelings for her that she cannot return. That would appear to end that except, Ian and Petra keep running into each other and Petra begins to question her own professional ethics — let alone the worries she has about her business — and starts to wonder if she should’ve ever become a doctor. In addition, unlike Ian’s certainty regarding them as a couple, she’s unsure about her romantic choices, seeing herself as a projection of her mother whose been married a number of times. How will these two hard-working professionals make room in their lives for a romance that is off limits?
I was expecting to like this book a bit more than I did. On the upside, I love that Petra’s and Ian’s professions are such a part of the story. They are not wallpaper professionals, but are shown doing their jobs, worrying about them, and having them spill over into their personal lives as happens outside of novels. if you like competence porn, this is for you. Even though Petra is struggling in her business, she’s still extremely competent and Ian is, of course, a success, although his problem is not letting his business over shadow his personal life. In any event, this book does a great job of making Petra and Ian well-rounded people. There are a number of side characters who are more or less successful. Petra’s friends, her mother, and sister are there more as a foil for comparison in terms of Petra’s insecurities and anxieties. Ian’s friends are barely there — except at the very end. There is one character — a young patient of Petra’s — who was the most enjoyable and became important to both characters.
What didn’t work for me is that the plot seemed to stall in the middle — with both characters, but mostly Petra — spending most of the middle of the story going back and forth over their feelings, never seeming to progress. I began to lose patience with her and was surprised Ian hung in that long. Her neuroses were examined and re-examined in minute detail. It was only in the last 20 or so pages that things began happening to move the plot forward and one of those things was also a negative to my mind — Ian’s ex-girlfriend suddenly makes a re-appearance and becomes a big obstacle in Ian and Petra’s relationship despite not being a factor at all for most of the story. And, of course, she was the usual nasty “other woman”. Even though I was happy that events were happening that finally forced some action, you had to muck through a lot of annoying naval gazing to get there. I would give this book a B-.