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Love and Other Side Effects
Not yet published
Expected 14 Apr 26Two best friends start a collision course toward something more in this emotional romance for fans of Ali Hazelwood, Abby Jimenez and Gray's Anatomy.
Asher Foley is an imposter. Or rather, he feels that way sometimes. The "MD" after his name should mean he's got his life together, that people take him seriously, but as a lover of practical jokes, he can't shake the feeling he'll never lose his reputation as a jokester.
Jocelyn Maddox is a paradox - a confident, affectionate woman who refuses to love. After losing almost everyone she loves to tragedy, she's unwilling to open her heart and risk being hurt again. An anesthesiologist with zero pain tolerance. Who'd have thought? But that's why Asher's the perfect best friend. He's far too lighthearted to be a threat to her walls.
When a surgical complication compels Asher to confide his insecurities to Joss, she uncovers a whole new side to him. A deeper, more fascinating side. In soothing him through his self-doubt, Joss realizes Asher has struck a crack in her walls. With a storm brewing in the Caribbean and their friendship evolving into something else, she must face her demons head on, but the fortress around her heart may be too sturdy for even a hurricane to break.
Asher Foley is an imposter. Or rather, he feels that way sometimes. The "MD" after his name should mean he's got his life together, that people take him seriously, but as a lover of practical jokes, he can't shake the feeling he'll never lose his reputation as a jokester.
Jocelyn Maddox is a paradox - a confident, affectionate woman who refuses to love. After losing almost everyone she loves to tragedy, she's unwilling to open her heart and risk being hurt again. An anesthesiologist with zero pain tolerance. Who'd have thought? But that's why Asher's the perfect best friend. He's far too lighthearted to be a threat to her walls.
When a surgical complication compels Asher to confide his insecurities to Joss, she uncovers a whole new side to him. A deeper, more fascinating side. In soothing him through his self-doubt, Joss realizes Asher has struck a crack in her walls. With a storm brewing in the Caribbean and their friendship evolving into something else, she must face her demons head on, but the fortress around her heart may be too sturdy for even a hurricane to break.
- GenresRomanceContemporaryAdult
400 pages, Paperback
Expected publication April 14, 2026
446 people want to read
About the author
Deidra Duncan
3 books179 followersDeidra Duncan spends her days (and some nights) living the dream as a board-certified OB/GYN, where every minute is either routine monotony or sheer terror. She lives in Florida with two human tornadoes and the wonderful man who helped make them. She’s usually dressed in either scrubs or glitter, and would love for someone to magically combine them. She devotes every rare moment of free time to writing or reading.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews
December 16, 2025
જ⁀➴ 2.5 stars
Thank you to Harlequin Trade Publishing | Mira Books, Deidra Duncan, and Netgalley for this eARC in exchange for an honest review. Love and Other Side Effects will be officially published on April 14th, 2026!
⋆｡‧˚ʚ 🍍 ɞ˚‧｡⋆ ˚ʚ 🍍 ɞ˚‧｡⋆ ˚ʚ 🍍 ɞ˚‧｡⋆ ˚ʚ 🍍 ɞ˚‧｡⋆ ˚ʚ 🍍 ɞ˚‧｡⋆ ˚ʚ 🍍 ɞ˚‧｡⋆ ˚ʚ 🍍 ɞ˚‧｡⋆ ˚ʚ 🍍 ɞ˚‧｡⋆
(I promise the pineapples in my little divider make sense when you read the story lol)
As some of you may know from Instagram, I got into Harlequin's The Hive influencer program about a month ago! That comes with an auto-approval on NetGalley for their entire catalogue, so having read the author's first book, Love Sick, earlier this year, I knew that when I saw this book on NetGalley I HAD to get the book. I was originally going to read this later on when it was closer to the publishing date, but as soon as I realized this was about Asher, one of my favorite side characters from Love Sick, I had to read it right away! So...I started and finished this ARC in one day over the weekend haha.
Unfortunately, as much as I love Asher as an MMC—although I will say he wasn't without his flaws either—, I was not a big fan of Jocelyn, our FMC. I felt like Asher honestly deserved better than her and I had an extremely hard time trying to believe they were supposed to have chemistry.
✎𓂃Full, detailed review to come soon (closer to publishing date)!
⋆｡‧˚ʚ 🍍 ɞ˚‧｡⋆ ˚ʚ 🍍 ɞ˚‧｡⋆ ˚ʚ 🍍 ɞ˚‧｡⋆ ˚ʚ 🍍 ɞ˚‧｡⋆ ˚ʚ 🍍 ɞ˚‧｡⋆ ˚ʚ 🍍 ɞ˚‧｡⋆ ˚ʚ 🍍 ɞ˚‧｡⋆ ˚ʚ 🍍 ɞ˚‧｡⋆
"The man saved my life. Shattered my glass walls...I'm in awe. And so immutably in love with him."
Thank you to Harlequin Trade Publishing | Mira Books, Deidra Duncan, and Netgalley for this eARC in exchange for an honest review. Love and Other Side Effects will be officially published on April 14th, 2026!
⋆｡‧˚ʚ 🍍 ɞ˚‧｡⋆ ˚ʚ 🍍 ɞ˚‧｡⋆ ˚ʚ 🍍 ɞ˚‧｡⋆ ˚ʚ 🍍 ɞ˚‧｡⋆ ˚ʚ 🍍 ɞ˚‧｡⋆ ˚ʚ 🍍 ɞ˚‧｡⋆ ˚ʚ 🍍 ɞ˚‧｡⋆ ˚ʚ 🍍 ɞ˚‧｡⋆
(I promise the pineapples in my little divider make sense when you read the story lol)
As some of you may know from Instagram, I got into Harlequin's The Hive influencer program about a month ago! That comes with an auto-approval on NetGalley for their entire catalogue, so having read the author's first book, Love Sick, earlier this year, I knew that when I saw this book on NetGalley I HAD to get the book. I was originally going to read this later on when it was closer to the publishing date, but as soon as I realized this was about Asher, one of my favorite side characters from Love Sick, I had to read it right away! So...I started and finished this ARC in one day over the weekend haha.
Unfortunately, as much as I love Asher as an MMC—although I will say he wasn't without his flaws either—, I was not a big fan of Jocelyn, our FMC. I felt like Asher honestly deserved better than her and I had an extremely hard time trying to believe they were supposed to have chemistry.
✎𓂃Full, detailed review to come soon (closer to publishing date)!
⋆｡‧˚ʚ 🍍 ɞ˚‧｡⋆ ˚ʚ 🍍 ɞ˚‧｡⋆ ˚ʚ 🍍 ɞ˚‧｡⋆ ˚ʚ 🍍 ɞ˚‧｡⋆ ˚ʚ 🍍 ɞ˚‧｡⋆ ˚ʚ 🍍 ɞ˚‧｡⋆ ˚ʚ 🍍 ɞ˚‧｡⋆ ˚ʚ 🍍 ɞ˚‧｡⋆
August 19, 2025
I read an Arc of this and adored it! Asher was a lovable side character in Love Sick, and now we get to see the real him in this dual-pov romance! And boy does he pine deliciously for Joss!
This book is a snarky, angsty, slow-burn, friends-to-lovers joy-ride and you're going to love every minute of it! Just wait until you get to that epic, swoony ending!
This book is a snarky, angsty, slow-burn, friends-to-lovers joy-ride and you're going to love every minute of it! Just wait until you get to that epic, swoony ending!
December 25, 2025
Asher you absolute angel!!! Obsessed! This was so good, total Grey's Anatomy vibes! I really loved Love Sick by Deidra so I was super excited when she announced this, honestly even better than the first book. I loved reading about everything Joss over came and healed with in herself and Asher is just the best I loved this!
Thank you NetGalley, Harper Collins Publishers, and Deidra Duncan for this adorable eRC!
Thank you NetGalley, Harper Collins Publishers, and Deidra Duncan for this adorable eRC!
Want to read
September 8, 2025I need this like I need air!!!!!!!! Although maybe more!!!!
Want to read
July 15, 2025okay give me it
December 10, 2025
💙🩺 It’s very Grey’s Anatomy meets friends-to-lovers, with lots of medical chaos, emotional baggage, and slow-burn longing.
😬 I’ll be honest — the pacing felt off at the beginning. Around 20% I was bored and confused about why Asher was portrayed as this super-attractive, universally loved “masculine dream guy” while acting… kind of goofy? 😂 His nicknames and over-the-top friendliness took me out of it a bit. And their friendship was so intensely intimate that I kept thinking, “How is this not already a relationship??”
✔️ BUT the story really picks up after that.
Their first kiss ➝ their “we shouldn’t have done that” moment ➝ the wedding hookup… everything unfolds slowly and naturally as their feelings start to surface. Jocelyn’s emotional walls (because she’s lost so many people she loves) were frustrating but realistic, and Asher being patient yet vulnerable made their journey feel worth it. The storm/flood sequence near the end added tension in a realistic way, and the way they finally acknowledge their feelings felt steady and earned, not overly dramatic or “grand gesture”-like. And the spice? Totally fine for me, not overly detailed, and some scenes were pleasantly brief.
“She’s Pride and Prejudice-ing me, and her hands are cold.” 💕😂
📖 Overall: a heartfelt, medical-romance friends-to-lovers story with a great emotional payoff once it gets going.
Thank you to HarperCollins Publishers for the ARC via NetGalley! 💙
😬 I’ll be honest — the pacing felt off at the beginning. Around 20% I was bored and confused about why Asher was portrayed as this super-attractive, universally loved “masculine dream guy” while acting… kind of goofy? 😂 His nicknames and over-the-top friendliness took me out of it a bit. And their friendship was so intensely intimate that I kept thinking, “How is this not already a relationship??”
✔️ BUT the story really picks up after that.
Their first kiss ➝ their “we shouldn’t have done that” moment ➝ the wedding hookup… everything unfolds slowly and naturally as their feelings start to surface. Jocelyn’s emotional walls (because she’s lost so many people she loves) were frustrating but realistic, and Asher being patient yet vulnerable made their journey feel worth it. The storm/flood sequence near the end added tension in a realistic way, and the way they finally acknowledge their feelings felt steady and earned, not overly dramatic or “grand gesture”-like. And the spice? Totally fine for me, not overly detailed, and some scenes were pleasantly brief.
“She’s Pride and Prejudice-ing me, and her hands are cold.” 💕😂
📖 Overall: a heartfelt, medical-romance friends-to-lovers story with a great emotional payoff once it gets going.
Thank you to HarperCollins Publishers for the ARC via NetGalley! 💙
December 14, 2025
Love and Other Side Effects
by Deidra Duncan
Love and Other Side Effects is a quiet, emotional friends-to-lovers story that lingers long after the final page. Asher is an OBGYN who hides behind humor, forever seen as the funny one instead of someone worthy of being taken seriously. After a failed declaration of love years ago, he’s exhausted from being temporary and longs for something real—something lasting.
Joss carries her own scars. Having lost everyone she’s ever loved, commitment feels like a risk she can’t afford. She’s built walls around her heart brick by brick, determined to protect what’s left of it. But Asher—her best friend, her safe place—has been standing right there, slowly breaking through those defenses.
When they finally begin to open up to each other, the shift is inevitable and heartbreaking in the best way. A trip to a wedding forces buried feelings to the surface, stirring jealousy, longing, and the fear of not being chosen. Asher struggles with feeling like he’ll never be enough, while Joss wrestles with the terrifying possibility that love might be worth the pain.
Tender, vulnerable, and deeply relatable, Love and Other Side Effects captured my heart. This was an emotional 4.5-star read, and Deidra Duncan has firmly secured her place as an auto-buy author for me. I can’t wait to see what she gives us next.
Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin for the opportunity to read Love and Other Side Effects.
by Deidra Duncan
Love and Other Side Effects is a quiet, emotional friends-to-lovers story that lingers long after the final page. Asher is an OBGYN who hides behind humor, forever seen as the funny one instead of someone worthy of being taken seriously. After a failed declaration of love years ago, he’s exhausted from being temporary and longs for something real—something lasting.
Joss carries her own scars. Having lost everyone she’s ever loved, commitment feels like a risk she can’t afford. She’s built walls around her heart brick by brick, determined to protect what’s left of it. But Asher—her best friend, her safe place—has been standing right there, slowly breaking through those defenses.
When they finally begin to open up to each other, the shift is inevitable and heartbreaking in the best way. A trip to a wedding forces buried feelings to the surface, stirring jealousy, longing, and the fear of not being chosen. Asher struggles with feeling like he’ll never be enough, while Joss wrestles with the terrifying possibility that love might be worth the pain.
Tender, vulnerable, and deeply relatable, Love and Other Side Effects captured my heart. This was an emotional 4.5-star read, and Deidra Duncan has firmly secured her place as an auto-buy author for me. I can’t wait to see what she gives us next.
Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin for the opportunity to read Love and Other Side Effects.
December 16, 2025
Love and Other Side Effects is an interconnected stand alone with Love Sick. This book follows Asher from Love Sick. He is a charming, kind OBGYN looking to find a serious partner. He is having trouble because he is fun loving and kind and so women don't always take him seriously and use him as a "good time guy". Jocelyn is an anesthesiologist at the hospital where Asher works and they have become best friends. Joss is only interested in something casual and can't imagine having a serious relationship due to past trauma. When Joss agrees to accompany Asher to a friend's wedding, things start to change between them.
I really enjoyed this book, but at times it was very frustrating. Asher was wonderful and I appreciated his struggle in finding a partner and the friend that he was to Joss. I also appreciated Jocelyn for who she was, but the push pull between her wanting Asher and running away was exhausting by the end. I empathized with Joss and her traumatic past and I really appreciated some of the insights brought to Joss by Asher and her sister.
I highly recommend this book! I loved that there was a high stakes ending. I really enjoyed all of the medical cases included in this book and the interdepartmental relationships within the hospital that were depicted.
Thank you NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for the ARC!
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I really enjoyed this book, but at times it was very frustrating. Asher was wonderful and I appreciated his struggle in finding a partner and the friend that he was to Joss. I also appreciated Jocelyn for who she was, but the push pull between her wanting Asher and running away was exhausting by the end. I empathized with Joss and her traumatic past and I really appreciated some of the insights brought to Joss by Asher and her sister.
I highly recommend this book! I loved that there was a high stakes ending. I really enjoyed all of the medical cases included in this book and the interdepartmental relationships within the hospital that were depicted.
Thank you NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for the ARC!
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
4.5 stars rounded up - a great read for those who grew up loving Scrubs and/or Gray’s Anatomy.
In Duncan’s second book in her standalone interconnected series, she created a delightful love story full of banter, yearning, and all the heart. I adored the friends to lover trope, as both Asher and Joss struggle to acknowledge, hide, and ultimately come to terms with their feelings. I also loved their individual growth - Asher coping with an inferiority complex, Joss drowning in grief, especially as her crutches start to crumble. Last, but not least, I also appreciated Duncan’s humor and writing style. Everything from the jokes and the one-off-references (e.g., How to Train a Dragon) to the dialog (which actually felt believable).
There were several instances the pacing confused me, making me pause and have to figure out if I was missing something. But I was happy to over look it given my enjoyment in everything else.
Ultimately, this is the happily ever after I wanted so badly for Asher. I’m glad he got it, even if it was heartbreaking (for him and readers) to get there!
Thanks to Deidra Duncan, MIRA, and NetGalley for providing me with an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.
In Duncan’s second book in her standalone interconnected series, she created a delightful love story full of banter, yearning, and all the heart. I adored the friends to lover trope, as both Asher and Joss struggle to acknowledge, hide, and ultimately come to terms with their feelings. I also loved their individual growth - Asher coping with an inferiority complex, Joss drowning in grief, especially as her crutches start to crumble. Last, but not least, I also appreciated Duncan’s humor and writing style. Everything from the jokes and the one-off-references (e.g., How to Train a Dragon) to the dialog (which actually felt believable).
There were several instances the pacing confused me, making me pause and have to figure out if I was missing something. But I was happy to over look it given my enjoyment in everything else.
Ultimately, this is the happily ever after I wanted so badly for Asher. I’m glad he got it, even if it was heartbreaking (for him and readers) to get there!
Thanks to Deidra Duncan, MIRA, and NetGalley for providing me with an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
I really loved Love Sick, so I went into Love and Other Side Effects with high hopes, but unfortunately, this one left a lot to be desired. My biggest issue was Asher. I just didn’t like him at all. He came off weird and oddly written, and not in a charming or endearing way. He wasn’t at all what I expected after the first book, and it made it hard to root for the romance.
The pacing felt off throughout, and the story didn’t flow as smoothly as I wanted it to. The writing itself felt weaker this time around, and the chemistry between Asher and Jocelyn was… strange. They were somehow too close while also not feeling emotionally connected enough, which made the transition from friends to lovers feel awkward rather than natural.
Overall, it was just okay. That said, if you’re a big Grey’s Anatomy fan and enjoy medical drama with romance layered in, this might still work for you. It just didn’t hit the same way Love Sick did for me.
Thank you to NetGalley, Deidra Duncan, and Harlequin/MIRA for the eARC of this book.
The pacing felt off throughout, and the story didn’t flow as smoothly as I wanted it to. The writing itself felt weaker this time around, and the chemistry between Asher and Jocelyn was… strange. They were somehow too close while also not feeling emotionally connected enough, which made the transition from friends to lovers feel awkward rather than natural.
Overall, it was just okay. That said, if you’re a big Grey’s Anatomy fan and enjoy medical drama with romance layered in, this might still work for you. It just didn’t hit the same way Love Sick did for me.
Thank you to NetGalley, Deidra Duncan, and Harlequin/MIRA for the eARC of this book.
December 16, 2025
Thank you, NetGalley and Harlequin, for the eARC in exchange for my honest review!
I'm a bit of a hypochondriac so I tend to stay away from medical media, but I figured a romcom about doctors would be fine, and I was right! Love and Other Side Effects is a cute, friends-to-lovers story for anyone who enjoys reading about two people who are probably closer than they should be as adults realizing they've been in love with each other throughout the course of their friendship.
I want to be honest, I had a hard time connecting with Asher and Joss. I understand a lot of Joss' wounds and trauma, especially after witnessing her parents' death as well as all the other losses she experienced, and I empathized with Asher's imposter syndrome, but I was pretty annoyed with both of them at different points. Am I happy there's an HEA? Absolutely, but the payoff wasn't really worth it, IMO, because it was push and pull, back and forth for the last third of the book, and it got to be repetitive and frustrating and not in a good way.
It may just be me, though, and maybe you'll like this book more than I did. I hope you do!
I'm a bit of a hypochondriac so I tend to stay away from medical media, but I figured a romcom about doctors would be fine, and I was right! Love and Other Side Effects is a cute, friends-to-lovers story for anyone who enjoys reading about two people who are probably closer than they should be as adults realizing they've been in love with each other throughout the course of their friendship.
I want to be honest, I had a hard time connecting with Asher and Joss. I understand a lot of Joss' wounds and trauma, especially after witnessing her parents' death as well as all the other losses she experienced, and I empathized with Asher's imposter syndrome, but I was pretty annoyed with both of them at different points. Am I happy there's an HEA? Absolutely, but the payoff wasn't really worth it, IMO, because it was push and pull, back and forth for the last third of the book, and it got to be repetitive and frustrating and not in a good way.
It may just be me, though, and maybe you'll like this book more than I did. I hope you do!
December 22, 2025
I hadn't even had time to make sense of this infatuation, but the rejection smarts like acid on my skin.
Time speeds and lulls. Lights smear. Everything blurs together. Everything but her.
Oh my God. You're kidding, right? This book was so, so good. From the immediate start, I loved the banter between Asher & Joss. The storyline was everything I needed and did not disappoint me whatsoever. Jocelyn is the FMC who battles with trust issues over things she cannot control and has profound psychological distress from her past. And the MMC, Asher... ugh, what a YEARNER. What a perfect book boyfriend. 10/10, no notes.
I am a big fan of Deidra Duncan's "Love Sick" and was incredibly excited when I was approved for this ARC. As soon as I began reading "Love and Other Side Effects", I could not put it down. Literally devoured this in one day. Totally worth the read and I think others will definitely enjoy this book.
Thank you to Harlequin Trade Publishing and NetGalley for the ARC!
Time speeds and lulls. Lights smear. Everything blurs together. Everything but her.
Oh my God. You're kidding, right? This book was so, so good. From the immediate start, I loved the banter between Asher & Joss. The storyline was everything I needed and did not disappoint me whatsoever. Jocelyn is the FMC who battles with trust issues over things she cannot control and has profound psychological distress from her past. And the MMC, Asher... ugh, what a YEARNER. What a perfect book boyfriend. 10/10, no notes.
I am a big fan of Deidra Duncan's "Love Sick" and was incredibly excited when I was approved for this ARC. As soon as I began reading "Love and Other Side Effects", I could not put it down. Literally devoured this in one day. Totally worth the read and I think others will definitely enjoy this book.
Thank you to Harlequin Trade Publishing and NetGalley for the ARC!
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
I was fortunate to receive an ARC of this book on Netgalley. This is the first book I read by this author, and it was awesome! Duncan weaves beautiful storytelling with powerful, likable yet complex characters. The story follows best friends and doctors Asher and Jocelyn as they try to grapple challenges of the past and get what they want for their futures. The banter was really fun to read. Duncan includes lots of cute, relatable moments. To me, this was a slow burn yet had spice and passion. I felt a little nervous when there was some time hop included (flashbacks to parts of Asher and Jocelyn’s interactions in the past) because I dislike when every chapter alternates between past and present, as some books do, but fortunately this one only had a few and mostly takes place in the present. I believe this book is an interconnected standalone to another in a series, and I look forward to reading more from this rom com queen!
December 21, 2025
This was an okay read! I didn’t love it… but it did hook me in the beginning!
I actually liked Asher a lot as the MMC and found him easy to root for. Jocelyn, the FMC, was a tough sell. Her flakiness and repeated freak outs really started to annoy me, and I think if there had been two or three less, I would’ve enjoyed her (and the romance) more. By the time they finally got together for real, I was kind of tired and no longer that invested. Just upset someone would treat their best friend / love interest that way.
I also wasn’t invested about the workplace drama going on - it didn’t feel like things that would happen in a real hospital. Additionally, I found the story telling lacking a little in scenes that romance lovers anticipate. Holding hands, flirty banter, first kisses, steamy scenes and the like, all felt like a passing thought.
Overall, it’s a fine read, just not one that really stuck with me. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC!
I actually liked Asher a lot as the MMC and found him easy to root for. Jocelyn, the FMC, was a tough sell. Her flakiness and repeated freak outs really started to annoy me, and I think if there had been two or three less, I would’ve enjoyed her (and the romance) more. By the time they finally got together for real, I was kind of tired and no longer that invested. Just upset someone would treat their best friend / love interest that way.
I also wasn’t invested about the workplace drama going on - it didn’t feel like things that would happen in a real hospital. Additionally, I found the story telling lacking a little in scenes that romance lovers anticipate. Holding hands, flirty banter, first kisses, steamy scenes and the like, all felt like a passing thought.
Overall, it’s a fine read, just not one that really stuck with me. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC!
December 31, 2025
Asher had a crush on Grace, but she was interested in someone else. Now she’s marrying the other guy, and Asher is faced with a wedding invitation to celebrate being rejected. His best friend, Jocelyn, insists he go to the wedding and take her as his date. What could go wrong? This friends-to-lovers companion to Duncan’s Love Sick brings readers back into the medical world with doctors being real people with real insecurities. Most romance novels rely on miscommunication, and there is some of that here, but mostly the characters are dealing with real trauma that keeps them apart. It just makes their inevitable relationship that much more satisfying. Romance readers, especially fans of Grey’s Anatomy, will devour this novel.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
This story took tension to the next level. In good and bad ways.
Friends to lovers isn’t my favorite trope, so it takes more to get me into the story. It felt like this one did a good job setting up the relational chemistry between Joss and Asher - they joke, they poke fun, they’ve fully integrated into each others lives in a very comfortable way.
The middle (and key conflict) lost me a bit. Some of the conflict and action felt repetitive and it wasn’t really clear what motivation either character had to act the way they were. (Slight spoiler, but if someone treats you like Joss does in FL, probably leave).
Ultimately the story was cute and the middle didn’t drag too much to pull my rating or overall enjoyment of the book down.
Friends to lovers isn’t my favorite trope, so it takes more to get me into the story. It felt like this one did a good job setting up the relational chemistry between Joss and Asher - they joke, they poke fun, they’ve fully integrated into each others lives in a very comfortable way.
The middle (and key conflict) lost me a bit. Some of the conflict and action felt repetitive and it wasn’t really clear what motivation either character had to act the way they were. (Slight spoiler, but if someone treats you like Joss does in FL, probably leave).
Ultimately the story was cute and the middle didn’t drag too much to pull my rating or overall enjoyment of the book down.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Deidra Duncan is easily one of my new favorite writers. I love how she balances strong feelings with insight into doctor life in the OB world. Asher’s voice is a bit chaotic to read, but I appreciate that it’s probably true to form for a male doctor, and that there is an obvious, unique voice for each character. I teared up a few times reading and always love the tidbits of the hospital world. Admittedly, I did not like the last 10% and I feel it really should have . The slow burn was fun, and enjoyed every minute of the friends to lovers.
Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing Harper Collins for the ARC and the opportunity to read and review this title.
Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing Harper Collins for the ARC and the opportunity to read and review this title.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
I went in excited because I love Grey’s Anatomy and the medical romance setup really pulled me at first. There is clear potential here. The characters, the hospital setting, the emotional stakes. But the writing felt scattered to me, which made it hard to stay fully engaged. I kept wanting the story to settle and trust its own momentum. The pacing, especially, did not quite work for me and often pulled me out instead of drawing me in. This might really land for readers who enjoy a slower, meandering build, but for me it never fully clicked despite a premise I truly wanted to love.
Thank you NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for the ARC!
Thank you NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for the ARC!
Read
December 18, 2025Love & Other Side Effects
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
This was so cute! Friends to lovers with the MOST pining you have seen!
Two best friends and coworkers start to share their emotions they’ve been bottling up and it slowly shifts how they see each other.
I really enjoyed these main two characters even though I sometimes wanted to lock them in a closet to talk to each other for five seconds! Definitely had some funny scenes in the labor and delivery wing of the hospital they worked at too. Check this out when it comes out next year!
Thanks for the ARC copy, @netgalley @htp_hive
and @htpbooks
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
This was so cute! Friends to lovers with the MOST pining you have seen!
Two best friends and coworkers start to share their emotions they’ve been bottling up and it slowly shifts how they see each other.
I really enjoyed these main two characters even though I sometimes wanted to lock them in a closet to talk to each other for five seconds! Definitely had some funny scenes in the labor and delivery wing of the hospital they worked at too. Check this out when it comes out next year!
Thanks for the ARC copy, @netgalley @htp_hive
and @htpbooks
December 30, 2025
Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins for the eARC of Love & Other Side Effects.
I absolutely loved Love & Other Side Effects. Finished it in a single day. This friends to lovers slow burn with STEM themes was so good. Asher, our MMC, is an absolute cinnamon role. He also is just this lovable golden retriever type of character. There were some really good one liners throughout this story that had me laughing out loud. If you like Ali Hazelwood books, this one will be right up your alley. Highly recommend!
I absolutely loved Love & Other Side Effects. Finished it in a single day. This friends to lovers slow burn with STEM themes was so good. Asher, our MMC, is an absolute cinnamon role. He also is just this lovable golden retriever type of character. There were some really good one liners throughout this story that had me laughing out loud. If you like Ali Hazelwood books, this one will be right up your alley. Highly recommend!
December 10, 2025
Nothing is better than falling in love with the characters at the same time they fall in love with eachother. This book and the previous one do that very well. Especially in the case of Love and Other Side Effects, I found myself absolutely enchanted by both Joss and Asher. They are both very well rounded and their relationship is just so much fun. Friends to lovers is frankly the best.
I look forward to whatever else she writes.
I look forward to whatever else she writes.
December 10, 2025
I want to say thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for letting me read this book as an ARC. This book was okay for me. There were some things that I didn’t like in the book and some things that I liked. The pacing was a bit slow because I was having a hard time understanding these characters. But overall, the story was okay for me and I did enjoy on some parts. I liked the ending because it was very interesting to see how much the characters loved each other.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
I overall liked this book. I thought that the idea of how trauma affects different people was interesting to read about and I loved reading about how the friendship develops into love. The FMC was making me so mad I could have punched her lol also the MMC very much felt like a man written by a women who doesn’t quite know anything about men. If I hadn’t known he was the love interest I would have thought he was the gay best friend. Even with all that I still enjoyed this book.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
I absolutely loved Asher’s story. As a character he is just hilarious. The pranks between him and joss got better and funnier with every single one. I was dying laughing after a C-section prank and again dying at the ring prank. Joss and Asher were just perfect as characters. This was a slow burn but was definitely worth it in the long run. I’m so glad that Asher actually got his time to shine. Thank you NetGalley and Deidra for this ARC!
December 10, 2025
This book made no sense. It was very choppy and not cohesive.
Asher was such a creep in my opinion and his constant nicknames for Jocelyn made me cringe. Overall this was a cringy read.
Both of the main characters annoyed me beyond belief. They were not relatable or realistic. Unfortunately skip for me and wouldn’t recommend this to anyone.
I received this as an ARC from Netgalley.
Asher was such a creep in my opinion and his constant nicknames for Jocelyn made me cringe. Overall this was a cringy read.
Both of the main characters annoyed me beyond belief. They were not relatable or realistic. Unfortunately skip for me and wouldn’t recommend this to anyone.
I received this as an ARC from Netgalley.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 23, 2025
2.5 stars rounded up to 3.
I REALLY wanted to like it but felt like this took FOREVER to finish.
Complex characters but to a point where it felt almost still too surface level. I also could not relate to the FMC whatsoever.
I realized just now this is the second book in the series and will give the first one an honest try.
I REALLY wanted to like it but felt like this took FOREVER to finish.
Complex characters but to a point where it felt almost still too surface level. I also could not relate to the FMC whatsoever.
I realized just now this is the second book in the series and will give the first one an honest try.
September 12, 2025
Asher’s story is here and it’s everything I wanted it to be and more. This was sexy, fun, relatable and the tension was *chefs kiss*. Love the medical based story and I already pre-ordered my official copy of this! I’m so glad it’s dual POV, it was the best. 10/10.
December 11, 2025
Thank you Netgalley for the ARC!
This book was fun and I had a good time reading it, but I don't think it'll leave a lasting impression on me. There were some parts I wasn't a fan of but overall it was a decent book. I look forward to reading more from this author.
This book was fun and I had a good time reading it, but I don't think it'll leave a lasting impression on me. There were some parts I wasn't a fan of but overall it was a decent book. I look forward to reading more from this author.
Want to read
October 22, 2025YES!! I was praying her next book would be Asher’s story!
not-released
December 14, 2025Review coming at Gabic Reads. eARC received from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
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