The Doctor Falls First

Hearts of Midtown Hospital #2

by Cadence Rush

Dr. Soren Slater has everything he’s ever wanted. A stable and exciting career as an ER physician, a gorgeous penthouse condo, a Northwoods cabin to get away from it all, and a budding passion project to do some good in the world. He hasn’t won over the ER staff yet, with his serious and no-nonsense demeanor, but he’s accustomed to being a lone wolf. Short-lived trysts that don’t require commitment and certainly don’t involve any real feelings are the extent of his love life, and that’s the way he likes it.

Until one outspoken nursing student changes everything. Soren can’t stop thinking about Quinn after the horrible first impression he made, and every run-in with her perplexes him even further. His love life, his professional life, and everything he thought he knew about himself is turned upside down after meeting her. He already knows how to care for his patients, but he’ll have to learn how to love and risk everything if he wants a chance at being happier than he ever imagined. Soren’s finally giving someone his heart, but what will she do with it?

The Doctor Falls First follows Love, PRN in the Hearts of Midtown Hospital series, but it can be read first or as a standalone. It can also be read in tandem with Love, PRN- please see author website for tandem reading guide. This is a medical romance from his POV perfect for fans of yearning, obsessive, and angsty romances that are slow burn but spicy.

306 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 1, 2026

About the author

Cadence Rush writes romance with heart and heat. Her debut medical romance series, Hearts of Midtown Hospital, was crafted from her ER nursing experience and is beloved by readers obsessed with The Pitt and Grey’s Anatomy. When she’s not writing or reading, she enjoys spending time in nature, and daydreaming about projects she’s not supposed to be working on.

Reviews

[Morgan Goldfinch]

I struggled with this book because of it being the same story from another perspective. If I had read it as a stand alone I think I would’ve enjoyed it more or if I had not read it back to back from the first one.

[Brittany Steminist Booknerd]

STEM FMC: ER nurse, STEM MMC: ER doc
This review is going to cover both books in the series since I read them in tandem and they both cover the same story.
Love prn: her pov
Doctor falls first: his pov
Reading both books simultaneously is very repetitive. It is interesting to get both of their perspectives on the same scenes, but it’s a little boring. Also, can we talk about the fact that both characters are having sex with other people in the first ¼ of this book? I’m quite turned off by that… even though they aren’t together or even talking to each other in that time, it’s just weird to read about them boning other people I’m a romance novel when you know they end up together. And why is he still best friends and sort of pining for someone he used to fuck with in college and med school? I considered DNFing a few times but ultimately decided to stick it out.
If you like the Pitt, you might like this, but I will say that some of the scenes in this book felt like it was taken straight from the show.
I think if I had any advice, I’d say to just read her book and skip his. It didn’t add enough to the experience.

[Sarah]

Have you ever read a book and finished it, wishing you could read more of those beloved characters or from another POV?! That’s how I felt after I devoured “Love, PRN” with Quinn, the brilliant, hard working, and witty nurse. I absolutely loved that book and was sad that it was over, but lo and behold, our queen Cadence Rush comes in clutch this follow up book from the scrumptious Dr. Soren’s POV! Oh this book was so insanely good- I finally got to hear Soren’s inner monologue, and boy oh boy, it did not disappoint. Please check out the wonderful Cadence Rush’s social media pages to follow the tandem read guidelines between “Love, PRN” and “The Doctor Falls First”, because these two books line up magically. This was my first time doing a tandem read and Cadence hit it out of the park with these books. I’m beyond excited for the next book in this series, but until then, I will be reading and re-reading these two fabulous books with these adored characters! Thank you Cadence for sharing your wonderful characters with us and spoiling us readers with such delectable stories!

[Calliope Paige]

What’s more difficult than writing dual pov? Writing from a guys only perspective. Even more so than that, getting me to enjoy it all the way through as a fully thought out character arc. This book slapped my ass and made me call him daddy. 👁️🫦👁️

I’ve always struggled with the visuals of hospital shows because I can’t handle blood or needles so it was nice to read about the realities of an emergency room doctor x nurse romance plus the trauma informed and correctly written codes by Cadence Rush. She did such a wonderful job bringing Soren to life and I can’t wait for you guys to get to chapter 20. I was gagged sending her DM’s in real time. (Perks of being a client sibling.)

Couldn’t think of a more perfect way to celebrate Beltane than to read The Doctor Falls First

[Nikki H. Rose]

You cannot go wrong with this story OR this series!

I get nervous sometimes when it's separate stories, first from her POV, followed by one with his POV, but Cadence did it BEAUTIFULLY. This felt like it's own book (because it is), and Soren had his own life as this slow burn won over my heart.

I loved seeing the moments I loved from the first book pop up again, but from a new perspective.

And oh my gosh... I cannot WAIT to hear this story on audio. The things this man thinks and says... oh my.

You can read it as a standalone, but I also highly recommend reading Quinn's book (book 1) as well!

[Taya Schreiter]

I enjoyed the first book, so I was excited to have the book from Soren's POV, but was disappointed finding out it's the same story that is told in Love, PRN. The parts I really enjoyed were the additional chapters at the end of the book that weren't included in Quinn's POV. I would've liked to see more chapters that weren't already disclosed in Quinn's story. Nonetheless, it's still a good story and I enjoyed the medical aspects of it considering I read the first book during my last year of nursing school and finished the second book shortly after graduating! I'm excited to read Henry and Sam's story!

[Gemma Anacora]

Review of advance copy received from Author

This is not my usual choice of genre, but I read it as an ARC reader and thoroughly enjoyed it. It’s a brave idea to rewrite a story from another POV, but this author really pulled it off. I loved the way she brought the characters to life on the page and I loved the way she created the anticipation. Well written, perfectly paced and full of moments that made me want to keep turning the page.

[Jianna]

honestly loved this almost if not more than the first one! if i had read this first i think i would've but there was just so much retelling of the story i wasn't surprised but i really enjoyed the different ending and the addition of +1 year and +2 years, so cute !!!

im a sucker for a happy ending and a male pov bc it makes me delusional thinking men love and think this way bc ik they don't🥲🫪🥹😍but a girl can dream

i love quinn so much i really love a strong smart mouth er nurse🥹 #relatable

[Jessica L]

I loved this book! Soren is a phenomenal character, a doctor who can’t get his mind off of the nurse he can’t have. The yearning is top tier, peppered in with some banter, a little bit of snark, and sweet moments. And the spice. HOT. Especially from his side, love a man who sees his lady as a goddess (and worships her accordingly 😏) I can’t wait to read the next book in the series!

[Rebecca A]

This is his POV. Same book as the first.

[Sofia]

this was straight up stupid asf. it’s the same exact story as the first one. with just like 4-5 new chapters. i was disappointed nonetheless. i had better hopes for this

[Katey Miller]

I just didn’t relate to this like I did with Love PRN…while I liked the different POV, additional vacation chapters, and ending I just didn’t love it as much and didn’t feel like reading it :/

[Maddy Hewitt]

This book really was adorable it’s just I read it from Quinn’s perspective already and it was just very redundant. Overall really cute. Especially since I just finished nursing school.

[Jelena Vujadinovic]

This gave me the ick so bad omg

[Madeline Robles]

I tandem read these two books. While they were cute I did like this one more than the other. Pretty mid.

[Kenzie Maki]

I also loved this book! I do almost wish that both of these books were combined in a dual pov. I wish I tried to read them in tandem but I didn’t. I loved Soren so much, truly loved his pov

[Margaret Retsema]

I was intrigued by the fact that this was a male POV but it only cemented I really don’t care about men’s personal journeys even in romance novels. I don’t care to read about men working out to cope with the inner turmoil of a woman being mad at them having done something stupid.

[Courtney]

3.5⭐️⭐️⭐️
i wanted more & i heard/read quinn’s book is more medical focused

[Gelsy Salazar]

you HAVE TO read this in tandem with Love, PRN. It just puts so much more emphasis on how beautiful it is to live someone and to be loved🥹💞

[Cadence Rush]

I can’t believe it’s almost time for Soren’s book to be out in the world! This book took me almost a year to write, and I’ve learned so much and grown as a writer since Love, PRN. I hope you’ll love this story as much as I do!

What to expect:
💜his POV
💜YEARNING
💜medical romance like The Pitt but with a steamy Grey’s Anatomy vibe
💜One sided enemies to lovers (she can’t stand him, he becomes obsessed with her)
💜 he falls first and harder
💜he’s soft only for her
💜he’s an ER doctor that plays rec hockey
💜 a bromance! Soren and Henry’s friendship is so fun
💜a fast-paced and quick read for a weekend or to get out of a slump
💜a slow burn that’s spicy but also very emotional and sweet
💜 he’s never fallen like this and he has to learn how to love


Thanks so much for being a part of my author journey! Now, I’m off to write Henry and Sam’s book 🥰

[Alexandra Florence]

3.5⭐️ It was too similar to the first book, but I did enjoy the parts that were unique to Soren’s POV. They could easily have been one book instead of two.