I do love the Random Romance series – they’re so fun and well written. What’s been missing so far in the series is a medical romance – but never fear, Dr No Commitment is here! I’m not always a fan of this subgenre because the hospital parts can be a bit hit and miss (it is really rare that you have more than 5-10 minutes to socialise), but Virginia Taylor does this setting well. (Plus, she acknowledges that she’s taken some liberties with the way the hospital runs – she’s now star status in my book).

The book’s heroine is Ally, a new nurse consultant at the Women’s Hospital. She’s travelled from Melbourne for this promotion and she’s aiming to be the best nurse she can be. Ally knows from her mother’s experience that you need to have a good career to look after yourself – you can’t rely on a man to do it. She moves into a beautiful old house with three men, all doctors. Angus and Hamish are twins, quietly focused on their careers and genuinely friendly. Rohan, their cousin, is cocky and self-assured. He and Ally have an immediate camaraderie that keeps getting steamier and steamier. Ally’s been warned that Rohan doesn’t commit – he’s a society boy with models dangling off his arm, but is that the real Rohan?

Ally’s a lovely girl – she’s smart, friendly and not afraid to stick to her guns when she thinks she’s right. When it comes to Rohan, she’s less assured, but still has the self-control to stop things when she’s not ready. Rohan was a different kettle of fish for me – he can he charming and thoughtful, but I found him to be rude and arrogant at times. Kissing another woman in front of Ally to make her jealous? Ew. Some of the things he says to Ally as well were condescending – I was glad to see him taken down a peg or two in the workplace. Fortunately, when all is revealed he is (almost) redeemed in my book.

Taylor writes very well – the hospital scenes were well done and the banter between Ally and Rohan was humorous. I liked how she made one of the models, Jo, a fully fleshed character rather than a stereotype. The twins were also sweet and caring supporting characters – I wouldn’t mind reading about either of them in their own story! As for the romance, there’s some fairly steamy stuff but the most important thing to learn is the front seat of a Porsche is not for getting it on!

Dr No Commitment is set in Adelaide, and again Taylor does a great job with the setting. I haven’t visited Adelaide for several years, but now I have the urge to wander through the greenbelt and take in some great food in lovely green surrounds.

The only part of the book I disagree with is that the cover states ‘novella’. I read this on a Kindle, so can’t tell you the page numbers, but it took me two nights of solid reading. The story is multilayered and well fleshed out, so I’d call it a novel.

This is a great book for summer nights – fun and flirty!

Thanks to Random House for the eARC.

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