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Broken Heart #1
Broken Heart Syndrome
Shy, reclusive Frankie and her best friend Lou obsess over Thomas G. Longley, as they reverently refer to him, for their entire first two years of medical school. So when he publically humiliates her at the student bar she is devastated.
Ten years later, Frankie has to work in the testosterone driven environment of Cardiology before she can start her palliative care training and, to her dismay, Tom is her boss.
Thankfully the subject of her long-term crush doesn't seem to remember her and, given her ability to blend into the background, she’s not really surprised. What does surprise her is how cruel he is. Sure he squished her self esteem like a bug at Uni, but the Tom she spent many a pointless lunch break or library session covertly watching seemed easy going and quick to smile; not an uptight, overly critical bully.
Between passing out whilst assisting in theatre, struggling to force the team to see their bed blockers, and being covered head to foot in the bloody vomit of ‘Scary Glenda’ (A&E’s most frequent, frequent flyer), she can’t wait to get through the six months.
Although she’s too timid to tell Tom to jog on when she is his only target, when it’s her patients that he starts trampling she decides to grow a backbone, and Tom begins to see that she is not the cold, aloof woman he once thought.
As the misunderstandings of the past come to light, Tom realizes that the ‘complete-bastard’ routine he has been clinging to out of hurt pride might not have been his most stellar idea. He has a fight on his hands to win Frankie over and, unfortunately, it's not just his past behaviour he's fighting against. You see, Frankie knows all about being pushed around. She’s dealt with enough verbal and even physical abuse before to last a lifetime and she’s not going to be fooled into thinking that this ruthless alpha male has turned over a new leaf.
Even if he could convince her that he's not really the bully he projected before, her low self-esteem would never allow her to believe that a man like Tom could really be into a boring, bland, nondescript girl like her.
Luckily for Frankie, Tom is used to getting what he wants. He’s determined to make her see herself clearly for the first time in her life and he's just arrogant enough to believe that he can break through her defenses.
But Frankie's past is not ready to let her go quite yet. There's a reason that she spends next to no money but is always skint: a reason that she keeps her flat door open: a reason that she holds herself back from him.
Maybe he won't manage to convince her and he'll allow her to push him away. Or maybe (as Lou rightly puts it) he should 'stop being a pussy and man up already.'
Ten years later, Frankie has to work in the testosterone driven environment of Cardiology before she can start her palliative care training and, to her dismay, Tom is her boss.
Thankfully the subject of her long-term crush doesn't seem to remember her and, given her ability to blend into the background, she’s not really surprised. What does surprise her is how cruel he is. Sure he squished her self esteem like a bug at Uni, but the Tom she spent many a pointless lunch break or library session covertly watching seemed easy going and quick to smile; not an uptight, overly critical bully.
Between passing out whilst assisting in theatre, struggling to force the team to see their bed blockers, and being covered head to foot in the bloody vomit of ‘Scary Glenda’ (A&E’s most frequent, frequent flyer), she can’t wait to get through the six months.
Although she’s too timid to tell Tom to jog on when she is his only target, when it’s her patients that he starts trampling she decides to grow a backbone, and Tom begins to see that she is not the cold, aloof woman he once thought.
As the misunderstandings of the past come to light, Tom realizes that the ‘complete-bastard’ routine he has been clinging to out of hurt pride might not have been his most stellar idea. He has a fight on his hands to win Frankie over and, unfortunately, it's not just his past behaviour he's fighting against. You see, Frankie knows all about being pushed around. She’s dealt with enough verbal and even physical abuse before to last a lifetime and she’s not going to be fooled into thinking that this ruthless alpha male has turned over a new leaf.
Even if he could convince her that he's not really the bully he projected before, her low self-esteem would never allow her to believe that a man like Tom could really be into a boring, bland, nondescript girl like her.
Luckily for Frankie, Tom is used to getting what he wants. He’s determined to make her see herself clearly for the first time in her life and he's just arrogant enough to believe that he can break through her defenses.
But Frankie's past is not ready to let her go quite yet. There's a reason that she spends next to no money but is always skint: a reason that she keeps her flat door open: a reason that she holds herself back from him.
Maybe he won't manage to convince her and he'll allow her to push him away. Or maybe (as Lou rightly puts it) he should 'stop being a pussy and man up already.'
309 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 4, 2014
About the author
Susie Tate
33 books2,544 followersSusie is a USA Today and #1 Amazon bestselling author who writes addictive, feel-good contemporary romance with heroes who may make you a little ragey, but who always redeem themselves in the end! She’s been a doctor in the NHS for over twenty years and lives in beautiful Dorset with her wonderful husband, three gorgeous boys and an even more wonderful dog.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 458 reviews
June 2, 2023
I like Susie Tate as a writer but the couple in this book was a miss for me. Frankie's issue is that she's extremely insecure. Tom's issue is that he's kind of a dick. Neither issue is really resolved by the end of the book.
Because I felt the relationship between the two characters was superficial I couldn't even enjoy the angst much.
Overall, both main characters were hard to like at the beginning and didn't change significantly enough for me to enjoy their happy ending.
Because I felt the relationship between the two characters was superficial I couldn't even enjoy the angst much.
Overall, both main characters were hard to like at the beginning and didn't change significantly enough for me to enjoy their happy ending.
May 26, 2016
1 extra foo foo star for the h, for not being interested in taking up her profession full time. For not being the usual ‘serious specialties only’ trooper and for not killing her feet, butt and herself in saving every last human from the scourges of disease, disability and infirmity.
I so get her plans of doing palliative care part time along with her true calling –the cake baking business.
Serious envy! So goes for me!
What else worked for me?
Good interesting cases and the medical jargon. The whole Brit medical system. Hail NHS!
All those Welshisms and Briticisms! Very cwtch and absolutely the bee's knees!
The h/H and their obvious smitten-ness with each other and being such blind idiots about it.
What didn’t?
The h’s never-ending propensity to down grade/demean her looks n attractiveness. Okay maybe she has some self-esteem issues but really? She almost goes into neurosis with her denials and she is supposedly beautiful, not just pretty. She is one of those who go all offended and grudging on getting compliments, which in itself is so unattractive and rude. Not cool!
October 25, 2015
Enjoyed reading this one - I ended up with a smile on my face. The characters are likeable, the story interesting, and the writing is funny. Lou is hysterical. Frankie and Tom are cute together and neither annoyed me at all. I can't wait to read other books by this author. Solid 4 stars.
July 8, 2016
Actual rating 2.5 stars. The following review was originally posted on my book blog The Book Challengers.
It's been a while since I read British chick lit and while the beginning was quite promising with this one, it grew rather tedious and repetitive after a while for me.
I first thought that the heroine was quite likeable and I thought that I could maybe even grow to love her.. But alas, it was not to happen as Frankie grew to be quite obnoxious instead with her insecurities about her looks and herself in general. She was ready to stand up for others, but never for herself. She thought that she wasn't good enough for practically anyone and honestly it felt a lot more like a pity party rather than a normal almost 30-year-old woman to me. It's impossible for someone to ignore so many good comments about herself for YEARS and take the negative ones to heart the moment she hears them.
And what was up with her studying medicine for a decade and then deciding that she doesn't even want to work in the field and prefers to open her cake business instead? What is it with chick lit heroines wanting to bake all the bloody time?? It does not make sense to me and I'm definitely in the camp of liking to bake stuff as well!
I also wish that there were more than a couple of chapters from the hero - Tom's point of view as he seemed to be an almost decent man. Though I have a hard time believing that even he can put up with Frankie putting herself down for so bloody long. He last saw her ten years ago and apparently he's still interested, but the man doesn't take no for an answer. But truth be told, I wish that he had backed off sooner as his interest in her didn't make sense and in my opinion all good men should be able to back off once the recipient of their feelings says "no".
So yeah... it worked as a story to pass the time, but nothing special for me unfortunately.
It's been a while since I read British chick lit and while the beginning was quite promising with this one, it grew rather tedious and repetitive after a while for me.
I first thought that the heroine was quite likeable and I thought that I could maybe even grow to love her.. But alas, it was not to happen as Frankie grew to be quite obnoxious instead with her insecurities about her looks and herself in general. She was ready to stand up for others, but never for herself. She thought that she wasn't good enough for practically anyone and honestly it felt a lot more like a pity party rather than a normal almost 30-year-old woman to me. It's impossible for someone to ignore so many good comments about herself for YEARS and take the negative ones to heart the moment she hears them.
And what was up with her studying medicine for a decade and then deciding that she doesn't even want to work in the field and prefers to open her cake business instead? What is it with chick lit heroines wanting to bake all the bloody time?? It does not make sense to me and I'm definitely in the camp of liking to bake stuff as well!
I also wish that there were more than a couple of chapters from the hero - Tom's point of view as he seemed to be an almost decent man. Though I have a hard time believing that even he can put up with Frankie putting herself down for so bloody long. He last saw her ten years ago and apparently he's still interested, but the man doesn't take no for an answer. But truth be told, I wish that he had backed off sooner as his interest in her didn't make sense and in my opinion all good men should be able to back off once the recipient of their feelings says "no".
So yeah... it worked as a story to pass the time, but nothing special for me unfortunately.
October 9, 2016
Susie Tate is one of my new favorite authors!
'Broken Heart Syndrome' is a fantastic debut.
If you thought that you can't die of a broken heart, you were wrong!
It's true that there is a condition called 'broken heart syndrome', it may be caused by the heart's reaction to a surge of stress hormones. The condition may also be called takotsubo cardiomyopathy.
Why is that the title of the book? Simple reason, Tom and Frankie are both doctors, well Tom is, Frankie needs a bit more experience before she starts being her own boss. Until then she has to endure working under grumpy and hateful man that she's secretly swooning over(not that she thinks he would ever look at her THAT way).
She has few unpleasant(to say mildly) memories of Tom from Uni, the more time she spends with him in the hospital the more sure she is that he's not the person she thought he was.
He might even care more about her than she firstly assumed...
I loved the characters!
Frankie, shy and quiet(but not a doormat), Tom, brilliant and handsome(there's more to him than you see), Lou(crazy and loud but with a big heart), Dylan(Welsh and a slut;) but a good friend).
I loved the storyline, it was funny at moments, really sad at times, but a good banter altogether.
Solid 4*
'Broken Heart Syndrome' is a fantastic debut.
If you thought that you can't die of a broken heart, you were wrong!
It's true that there is a condition called 'broken heart syndrome', it may be caused by the heart's reaction to a surge of stress hormones. The condition may also be called takotsubo cardiomyopathy.
Why is that the title of the book? Simple reason, Tom and Frankie are both doctors, well Tom is, Frankie needs a bit more experience before she starts being her own boss. Until then she has to endure working under grumpy and hateful man that she's secretly swooning over(not that she thinks he would ever look at her THAT way).
She has few unpleasant(to say mildly) memories of Tom from Uni, the more time she spends with him in the hospital the more sure she is that he's not the person she thought he was.
He might even care more about her than she firstly assumed...
I loved the characters!
Frankie, shy and quiet(but not a doormat), Tom, brilliant and handsome(there's more to him than you see), Lou(crazy and loud but with a big heart), Dylan(Welsh and a slut;) but a good friend).
I loved the storyline, it was funny at moments, really sad at times, but a good banter altogether.
Solid 4*
May 27, 2016
1.5 stars rounded to 2.
I'm not quite sure how to rate this book. I enjoyed the writing style of this author, even with the British, medical, and Welsh terms in the mix. However, I did not like the story. The h was too insecure and dumb, the H was too arrogant and lazy, and the general story was so full of unproductive angst that could have been prevented had people deigned to actually communicate years ago.
In general, I don't really enjoy stories where a lot of time has passed and misunderstandings have festered for that same amount of time. There are usually too many instances of miscommunication, hurt feelings, and all that jazz. It seems like the author's next story features the same kind of plot, so unfortunately, I'm not reading that one. I hope the author writes a book that isn't predicated on unrequited love, secret pining, and misunderstandings over many years. I think I'd really enjoy another type of story by her.
I'm not quite sure how to rate this book. I enjoyed the writing style of this author, even with the British, medical, and Welsh terms in the mix. However, I did not like the story. The h was too insecure and dumb, the H was too arrogant and lazy, and the general story was so full of unproductive angst that could have been prevented had people deigned to actually communicate years ago.
In general, I don't really enjoy stories where a lot of time has passed and misunderstandings have festered for that same amount of time. There are usually too many instances of miscommunication, hurt feelings, and all that jazz. It seems like the author's next story features the same kind of plot, so unfortunately, I'm not reading that one. I hope the author writes a book that isn't predicated on unrequited love, secret pining, and misunderstandings over many years. I think I'd really enjoy another type of story by her.
April 21, 2016
I really enjoyed this. The character interactions were fun. There was a true sense of the bond people form when they work together under stressful situations. I really enjoy the author's sense of humor too.
I thought the hero, Tom, was hot. He was a jerk at times, but there were several misunderstandings. He was mistakenly informed that Frankie was interested in his specialty (cardiology) and irritated when she was obviously just biding her time during her rotation with him. Also, he had a faulty view of the heroine thanks to her shyness and another person's meddling.
Frankie's insecurities did get a bit old toward the end, but it is entirely possible for a person to see themselves in a totally different way than others do. Your background sticks with you even when it seems no longer relevant to the rest of the world. I also identified with her being misjudged as cold/haughty. If I had a dollar for every time someone told me they were surprised how much they liked me due to the fact they hated me at first because they thought I was stuck on myself. I'm just reserved and I have to be around someone a while before I feel comfortable - jeez! They "hated me" because I wasn't hugging and kissing and gushing all over people I'd known for five fricking minutes?! People can be really harsh in their first impressions.
Some have complained about the editing mistakes. There were some, but they didn't bother me because I was caught up in the flow. I also enjoyed the English and Welsh terms/slang. The characters were in the UK, they shouldn't have to stop and explain everything in American. I got the gist and if there was any slang I was curious about, I just googled.
I thought the hero, Tom, was hot. He was a jerk at times, but there were several misunderstandings. He was mistakenly informed that Frankie was interested in his specialty (cardiology) and irritated when she was obviously just biding her time during her rotation with him. Also, he had a faulty view of the heroine thanks to her shyness and another person's meddling.
Frankie's insecurities did get a bit old toward the end, but it is entirely possible for a person to see themselves in a totally different way than others do. Your background sticks with you even when it seems no longer relevant to the rest of the world. I also identified with her being misjudged as cold/haughty. If I had a dollar for every time someone told me they were surprised how much they liked me due to the fact they hated me at first because they thought I was stuck on myself. I'm just reserved and I have to be around someone a while before I feel comfortable - jeez! They "hated me" because I wasn't hugging and kissing and gushing all over people I'd known for five fricking minutes?! People can be really harsh in their first impressions.
Some have complained about the editing mistakes. There were some, but they didn't bother me because I was caught up in the flow. I also enjoyed the English and Welsh terms/slang. The characters were in the UK, they shouldn't have to stop and explain everything in American. I got the gist and if there was any slang I was curious about, I just googled.
July 13, 2022
I somehow wished Frankie, the main heroine, should have been different, there's nothing wrong in being shy, in fact, it's an inner strength that can serve as a powerful defence mechanism, and God knows, we all needed that weapon at least one time in our lives...this one is just not that obvious than other in an arsenal...BUT Frankie's shyness actually comes from deep self-esteem issues and insecurities that really made me sad...
No one should put down oneself like that, even if it's a wicked painful vicious circle of self-deprication without seeing a way out of it...or even worse, without having a sense of self-preservation...
It was just sad...and yeah, the fact that words hurt more than the physical touch is a cruel truth and another vicious circle...*sigh*
I just wished she drew more strength from her friends who were there for here always...but yeah, we don't always get what we want...BUT we need to want to want it, you know what I mean...
No one should put down oneself like that, even if it's a wicked painful vicious circle of self-deprication without seeing a way out of it...or even worse, without having a sense of self-preservation...
It was just sad...and yeah, the fact that words hurt more than the physical touch is a cruel truth and another vicious circle...*sigh*
I just wished she drew more strength from her friends who were there for here always...but yeah, we don't always get what we want...BUT we need to want to want it, you know what I mean...
July 19, 2019
Started off good but then towards the middle and end, I lost interest..
A 3 stars for me!
A 3 stars for me!
December 16, 2022
I’m all for hospital romances, mutual pining, and a brooding hero…but despite all of that, I couldn’t finish it. Most of my issues relate back to the main female character, Frankie.
1. Frankie is unbearable. I understand that her self-esteem issues are a main plot point - probably something that will be addressed more throughly at a later point (though I’ll never find out because I stopped reading at 30%), but my god, her self deprecation was relentless…to the point that there’s no way that this person could realistically be trusted to be a doctor, a nurse, or any other type of health care provider. Even with my disbelief suspended, how does a doctor with years of medical experience pass out in an operating room and terrified of needles? It also comes up repeatedly that Frankie doesn’t give a “foo foo” (eye roll) around cardiology. Okay. Why are you working in cardiology? Why are you a doctor? This is a high stakes profession. It’s not accounting or marketing where it might be totally fine to say you don’t give a flying eff about Instagram ads. The unprofessionalism is out of this world.
2. Frankie misinterprets everything that Tom does even when there is literally no room for misinterpretation. I love misunderstandings in romance novels, but this got old real quick. Tom personally carries Frankie to A&E after she faints, stays with her and holds her hand, and then drives her home afterwards. What does Frankie think about this? Well obviously she thinks that he despises her. OBVIOUSLY. God. This makes no sense.
3. Tom seems fine, except for the part where he lashes out at Frankie’s patient for literally just being nice? Again, unprofessional and uncalled for. There was one chapter in the 30% that I read that was sort of written in Tom’s perspective, but it was in third person which confused the hell out of me because the rest of the book is written in Frankie’s first person perspective. Could we not have been a little more consistent with this?
Anyway, I’ve read too many shitty romance novels this week, and now I’m just mad.
1. Frankie is unbearable. I understand that her self-esteem issues are a main plot point - probably something that will be addressed more throughly at a later point (though I’ll never find out because I stopped reading at 30%), but my god, her self deprecation was relentless…to the point that there’s no way that this person could realistically be trusted to be a doctor, a nurse, or any other type of health care provider. Even with my disbelief suspended, how does a doctor with years of medical experience pass out in an operating room and terrified of needles? It also comes up repeatedly that Frankie doesn’t give a “foo foo” (eye roll) around cardiology. Okay. Why are you working in cardiology? Why are you a doctor? This is a high stakes profession. It’s not accounting or marketing where it might be totally fine to say you don’t give a flying eff about Instagram ads. The unprofessionalism is out of this world.
2. Frankie misinterprets everything that Tom does even when there is literally no room for misinterpretation. I love misunderstandings in romance novels, but this got old real quick. Tom personally carries Frankie to A&E after she faints, stays with her and holds her hand, and then drives her home afterwards. What does Frankie think about this? Well obviously she thinks that he despises her. OBVIOUSLY. God. This makes no sense.
3. Tom seems fine, except for the part where he lashes out at Frankie’s patient for literally just being nice? Again, unprofessional and uncalled for. There was one chapter in the 30% that I read that was sort of written in Tom’s perspective, but it was in third person which confused the hell out of me because the rest of the book is written in Frankie’s first person perspective. Could we not have been a little more consistent with this?
Anyway, I’ve read too many shitty romance novels this week, and now I’m just mad.
November 27, 2017
For some reason characters explaining their struggles with self esteem or bullying or the like always manage to hit me right in the gut. Some people might find Frankie's struggle to believe anyone could want her would get annoying, but I found it completely relatable. If you've struggled with self confidence your whole life, it can take a lot of time to convince you that something is true.
Other than those emotional parts, I loved the pacing of this romance and that it wasn't too heavy on the sex (and I don't just meet the sexy times, but also the narration. Don't get me wrong, I like a good sexy time as much as the next person, but I wanted a slow burn romance and a good slow burn shouldn't have people thinking about or having sex constantly throughout the entire book. The sex stuff should be light or limited to the very end IMHO).
My one complaint would be that I could have used more explanation of the medical stuff in the beginning. 1. I don't know too much about medicine and how hospitals work and 2. I know even less about this stuff in the UK. So I struggled a bit with some acronyms and terminology. Not so much that it took a way from the book, but enough that I noted it.
Anyway, I will definitely be continuing with this series and author!
Other than those emotional parts, I loved the pacing of this romance and that it wasn't too heavy on the sex (and I don't just meet the sexy times, but also the narration. Don't get me wrong, I like a good sexy time as much as the next person, but I wanted a slow burn romance and a good slow burn shouldn't have people thinking about or having sex constantly throughout the entire book. The sex stuff should be light or limited to the very end IMHO).
My one complaint would be that I could have used more explanation of the medical stuff in the beginning. 1. I don't know too much about medicine and how hospitals work and 2. I know even less about this stuff in the UK. So I struggled a bit with some acronyms and terminology. Not so much that it took a way from the book, but enough that I noted it.
Anyway, I will definitely be continuing with this series and author!
May 28, 2022
Susie Tate writes the misunderstood heroines like no other romance author. She also writes fabulous novels written in hospital settings, and it was clear to me, as a reader, that she knows what she’s talking about.
In this book, Frankie is overly shy and insecure, yet beautiful. Thomas misinterprets her distancing herself from him–her crush–as her being frigid and stuck up. They knew each other in school, and now, ten years later, they’re forced to work together. All these misunderstandings from their school days, along with new miscommunications cropping up, make for a somewhat angsty read, despite how hilarious it is at times. This is the perfect romantic comedy–lots of humour, but enough angst to keep the stakes high and the characters believable.
In this book, Frankie is overly shy and insecure, yet beautiful. Thomas misinterprets her distancing herself from him–her crush–as her being frigid and stuck up. They knew each other in school, and now, ten years later, they’re forced to work together. All these misunderstandings from their school days, along with new miscommunications cropping up, make for a somewhat angsty read, despite how hilarious it is at times. This is the perfect romantic comedy–lots of humour, but enough angst to keep the stakes high and the characters believable.
June 22, 2017
I use Susie Tate novels for book slumps, lol. I've loved everyone of them the first time around and by the third time I think my iPad has dog ears around the edges when I pull one up on kindle. ;-). I love that her settings are medical but really I think it's just the descriptive way she writes, I can truly picture the scene in my head. I read to get away from my real world for a bit, to relax and recharge, and her writing allows me to do that. If you haven't tried one if her books, you should. Who knows, you might find a book slump "shatterer" too!
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July 21, 20254.5⭐
I really liked this British author romance. (Part of my quest to read more GB, AUS, NZ authors this year.)
This is a warm, slow burn, enemies-to-lovers story which starts off with both Frankie and Tom in medical school. Frankie is shy and reclusive and has a crush on Tom who is outgoing and confident. Unfortunately one night at the student bar, he publicly humiliates her and she's devastated. (Girlfriend Lou is fabulous)
Fast forward ten years later... They're surprised to find they'll be working together in the same London hospital - and go into enemies mode. Oh no! So good. Great British vibe too.
I really liked this British author romance. (Part of my quest to read more GB, AUS, NZ authors this year.)
This is a warm, slow burn, enemies-to-lovers story which starts off with both Frankie and Tom in medical school. Frankie is shy and reclusive and has a crush on Tom who is outgoing and confident. Unfortunately one night at the student bar, he publicly humiliates her and she's devastated. (Girlfriend Lou is fabulous)
Fast forward ten years later... They're surprised to find they'll be working together in the same London hospital - and go into enemies mode. Oh no! So good. Great British vibe too.
July 1, 2020
Susie Tate does what she does best in this book -- she has a heroine who is bearing an enormous burden and whose self-esteem had been damaged as a result. At the same time, she is taking steady steps towards happiness as she defines it. The hero is nice, but I see him as incredibly lucky to have caught her while she was still working through these issues. In a few years, he wouldn't have had a chance.
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October 14, 2025DNF at 25%
This is just SO boring. There's no chemistry between the leads. It's all miscommunication, but not good miscommunication (yes, imo there is such a thing) it's just immature. The MMC, Tom, is her direct supervisor and he treats her horribly because he thinks she doesn't like him. That is extremely unprofessional. Speaking of unprofessional, Frankie is still in school and is, I believe doing the UK's version of interning at a hospital(??) and is currently in Cardiology. She hates Cardiology and half-asses it all the time and she faints during surgery due to the heat (I checked, operating rooms are between 68-75 degrees F, so not exactly crazy warm) and hates needles. But she does have a great bedside manner for patients, I will give her that.
When the chapters are in Frankie's POV it's in first person, when the chapters are in Tom's POV it's in 3rd person. I found this annoying. Frankie's 1st person has a lack of personality/voice, so other than pronouns and such, there's no huge difference between how the two POV's read. It made it a bit confusing, and it halted the flow of the book.
So I didn't read enough of the book to give it a rating, and I think I'm in the midst of a reading slump right now and don't want to give an unfair rating due to me being in a 'mood' but this book just isn't Susie Tate's best, I'd say it's one of her worst. It was written over 10 years ago, so maybe it was one of her first books published--in which case, she has improved SO much!
This is just SO boring. There's no chemistry between the leads. It's all miscommunication, but not good miscommunication (yes, imo there is such a thing) it's just immature. The MMC, Tom, is her direct supervisor and he treats her horribly because he thinks she doesn't like him. That is extremely unprofessional. Speaking of unprofessional, Frankie is still in school and is, I believe doing the UK's version of interning at a hospital(??) and is currently in Cardiology. She hates Cardiology and half-asses it all the time and she faints during surgery due to the heat (I checked, operating rooms are between 68-75 degrees F, so not exactly crazy warm) and hates needles. But she does have a great bedside manner for patients, I will give her that.
When the chapters are in Frankie's POV it's in first person, when the chapters are in Tom's POV it's in 3rd person. I found this annoying. Frankie's 1st person has a lack of personality/voice, so other than pronouns and such, there's no huge difference between how the two POV's read. It made it a bit confusing, and it halted the flow of the book.
So I didn't read enough of the book to give it a rating, and I think I'm in the midst of a reading slump right now and don't want to give an unfair rating due to me being in a 'mood' but this book just isn't Susie Tate's best, I'd say it's one of her worst. It was written over 10 years ago, so maybe it was one of her first books published--in which case, she has improved SO much!
July 3, 2019
This book had many elements that usually annoy me in books: misunderstandings, lack of communication, a beautiful heroine who has no idea she's beautiful and has no self-confidence, aaaand drama, angst, drama, angst.
And yettttttttttttt, it totally worked for me. It gave me the heart-pangs (especially in the first quarter of the book, which was my favorite bit). And Tom is the typical Darcy-esque misunderstood asshole that I'm always going to love.
My only real complaint is that I preferred when it was only in Frankie's POV. At chapter 6 it switched suddenly into Tom's POV - which really threw me off and ruined some of the delicious mystery of him. I usually love dual POV, but this time I think it might have been a mistake.
I also desperately wish it had a better cover!
And yettttttttttttt, it totally worked for me. It gave me the heart-pangs (especially in the first quarter of the book, which was my favorite bit). And Tom is the typical Darcy-esque misunderstood asshole that I'm always going to love.
My only real complaint is that I preferred when it was only in Frankie's POV. At chapter 6 it switched suddenly into Tom's POV - which really threw me off and ruined some of the delicious mystery of him. I usually love dual POV, but this time I think it might have been a mistake.
I also desperately wish it had a better cover!
September 18, 2020
2.5 Jealousy is the Sharpest Stars
Broken Heart Syndrome is a stand-alone contemporary romance novel by Susie Tate.
⚠️ Rant to follow: ⚠️
I seriously want to knock some sense into Tate after having read this sexist ridiculous drivel. Our MC spends the entire book acting like a complete and utter moron. I think it’s supposed convey some shy or insecure personality but it only comes across as willfully ignorant. The first, what, 20% of the book both MCs are acting like complete numskulls towards each other. Because apparently asking the recipient of your affection anything of value is just simply unheard of? They assume the other does not like them, get offended, and treat each other like utter shit. Somehow MC sees herself being asked questions and basically be treated like a real contender in the cardio thoracic field, over her colleague who is actually striving for the position and does not connect the dots until the supervisor is brought in. EVEN WITH MULTIPLE PEOPLE ASKING WHY SHE HAS NO INTEREST IN OR INFERRING SHE ONCE HAD INTEREST IN THIS FIELD!?! Was Tate trying to excessively convey that the heroine was an utter shit for brains, that somehow still studied medicine? Because if so, con-fucking-grats!
And sexist because the whole ENTIRE BOOK everyone is treating to hero as complete scum. FOR NO FRACKING REASON. Going so far as to call him a pussy when Frankie gave him such a run around and practically destroyed him because her own hang ups. This book makes me want to slap all the ladies in it(author included) with some fucking Elizabeth Cady Stanton knowledge and snap them out of their abject stupidity.
UGGGGGHHHHHH #almostragequit
So the last 10% is the only thing in this entire book that saved it from being a flat 2🌟 read. Thankfully, also, saving me from clawing my own eyes out. Maybe the next book won’t invoke such strong feelings of disgust in me. Since I loved the Kira, Libby, and Millie books I will give Tate one more Chance to renew my faith in her.
Broken Heart Syndrome is a stand-alone contemporary romance novel by Susie Tate.
⚠️ Rant to follow: ⚠️
I seriously want to knock some sense into Tate after having read this sexist ridiculous drivel. Our MC spends the entire book acting like a complete and utter moron. I think it’s supposed convey some shy or insecure personality but it only comes across as willfully ignorant. The first, what, 20% of the book both MCs are acting like complete numskulls towards each other. Because apparently asking the recipient of your affection anything of value is just simply unheard of? They assume the other does not like them, get offended, and treat each other like utter shit. Somehow MC sees herself being asked questions and basically be treated like a real contender in the cardio thoracic field, over her colleague who is actually striving for the position and does not connect the dots until the supervisor is brought in. EVEN WITH MULTIPLE PEOPLE ASKING WHY SHE HAS NO INTEREST IN OR INFERRING SHE ONCE HAD INTEREST IN THIS FIELD!?! Was Tate trying to excessively convey that the heroine was an utter shit for brains, that somehow still studied medicine? Because if so, con-fucking-grats!
And sexist because the whole ENTIRE BOOK everyone is treating to hero as complete scum. FOR NO FRACKING REASON. Going so far as to call him a pussy when Frankie gave him such a run around and practically destroyed him because her own hang ups. This book makes me want to slap all the ladies in it(author included) with some fucking Elizabeth Cady Stanton knowledge and snap them out of their abject stupidity.
UGGGGGHHHHHH #almostragequit
So the last 10% is the only thing in this entire book that saved it from being a flat 2🌟 read. Thankfully, also, saving me from clawing my own eyes out. Maybe the next book won’t invoke such strong feelings of disgust in me. Since I loved the Kira, Libby, and Millie books I will give Tate one more Chance to renew my faith in her.
April 29, 2015
Nice read. I didn't like Frankie as much as Lou, as she had this "no, I am not beautiful, all those people must be wrong" thing going. It was believably done with her back-ground, but still annoying.
I liked Tom.
I didn't understand why he involved his family so early on in his relationship and the whole wrap up was too fast for me.
Even if Frankie was soooo great, that everybody just HAD to love her, it might make some sense to date for at least a few months before deciding on the long run.
I liked Tom.
I didn't understand why he involved his family so early on in his relationship and the whole wrap up was too fast for me.
Even if Frankie was soooo great, that everybody just HAD to love her, it might make some sense to date for at least a few months before deciding on the long run.
March 17, 2016
Really wanted to like this one. The story itself was ok, I just couldn't connect with the characters.
June 20, 2017
This was a slow build romance with a fade-to-black.
What I found most amusing was how REAL this hero was. Sure, he was good looking and built like a hero - but he was a slob, and his mommy still does his laundry.
I enjoyed the first half of the book, but I wondered why the author chose to withhold so much information from the reader until toward the end.
Needs a good edit.
3.5 stars from me.
What I found most amusing was how REAL this hero was. Sure, he was good looking and built like a hero - but he was a slob, and his mommy still does his laundry.
I enjoyed the first half of the book, but I wondered why the author chose to withhold so much information from the reader until toward the end.
Needs a good edit.
3.5 stars from me.
December 7, 2018
I wanted more.
July 14, 2024
The nonsensical third act breakup ruined this for me. Why???????
And after what that 60 faced little weasel Dylan did I'm not even going to bother touching his book.
And after what that 60 faced little weasel Dylan did I'm not even going to bother touching his book.
April 6, 2015
3.5 stars
This was a sweet little read about an insecure girl named Frankie, who fell in lust with Tom back in college and never quite managed to fall back out. When they are thrown together ten years later as she trains to be a hospice doctor (more on that in a second), Tom's curt behavior is discovered to be because he likes her (the adult equivalent of tugging on her pigtails on the playground). Hijinks ensue.
The Good
One thing this author did that I really dug was to make Tom seem like a real person. Romance authors have gotten pretty good at fleshing out the heroines, making them seem real, but when you look at the alpha heroes, 95% of them are all pretty much cut from the same-old-same-old mold. Tom, on the other hand, was sloppy, messy, a bit of a mama's boy, and yeah, maybe a bit of a spoiled prat (particularly at the end), but he was also thoroughly alpha male, totally sweet, attractive, and thoughtful. He does some pretty asshat things during the course of the book, especially toward the end when he's hurting, but he always seemed like he could be a real person to me, which is pretty rare for the male half of a romance novel relationship. In fact, with the exception of him having very few close relationships that we actually witness in the book, he seemed like a real guy you might meet on the street, as opposed to, say, a billionaire businessman CEO who Businessing Business with the Business all the time when he's not sitting in his office brooding like Michael Keaton in "Batman Returns" waiting for the bat-signal in his spare time, until he meets the heroine who waves her magic wand and turns him into a real boy.
For all my complaints about Frankie (I'll get to them in a minute), she also seemed like a real person. Who isn't insecure and willfully blind? Maybe not to her extent, but as frustrating as she was, she managed to be sweet, loyal, intelligent, and hard-working. Yes, she bordered on Mary Sue territory at times given the extent of how sweet, loyal, intelligent, and hard-working she was, but I'm willing to let it pass.
And let me just say: I. Loved. Lou. Particularly toward the end when the author quotes one of my favorite lines from "A Midsummer Night's Dream" in regards to her: Though she be little, she be fierce. I'm really hoping she keeps up the awesomeness in her own book and we don't see a completely different version of the character. I've already got that one waiting on my Kindle.
The Not-so-good
I did have a few issues with this one. First and foremost, Frankie is training to be a hospice doctor... part-time... while baking cakes on the side (WTF?). Who goes to medical school so they can be a part-time doctor? I know the education system works differently in England, but wouldn't she have loans to pay? I just got the feeling that the author wanted Frankie to be a baker, not a doctor (do they call them something else in the UK? I noticed a lot of characters I would have thought of as "Dr." were referred to as "Mr." and I have to admit I don't know much about how their medical and/or collegiate systems operate so maybe I'm totally off-base on this complaint), but couldn't figure out a way to make that happen while still forcing her and Tom together for the first half of the book. This may not be a fair thing to complain about since I only know how these things work in my part of the world, so I'm not really going to judge the book harshly for this.
My other issue with her was Frankie's insecurities. I get that parents and cold-heartedbastards shitheads children on the playground can do a number on you during childhood (hoo boy do I get it), but to not even tell Tom the whys and wherefores of her history seemed really pointless, like it was just there to create drama.
My last problem with the book was down to editing. Honestly, there weren't a plethora of errors -- I've certainly read books with a lot more than this one had -- but they stood out. Repeatedly referring to a singular "woman" as "women", for example, or missing words. I spotted a couple of "it's" used in the possessive form -- that sort of thing. I didn't take off a star for it because it really could have been so much worse, but it was a little distracting.
Conclusion
This book was pretty adorable and for $.99, a good read. I got a lot of fun angsty drama from it and even though I had some issues with Frankie, overall I'm walking away fully intending to read the next book. I will tentatively say that the author reminds me of a British Kristen Ashley. (Not totally. Hear me out.) Yes, she uses full sentences and you don't get the weird syntax that is so peculiar to Ashley's work, but once the hero decided that the heroine was his, he went after her. I particularly thought of Tate a few times from Ashley's "Sweet Dreams" in that Tom wasn't perfect and was kind of an asshat at times and said some really horrible things when he was angry, but he had a good heart underneath -- even if Tom was a nicer guy on the surface than Tate was. Plus, I got some of the yummy angst that I got during the early Ashley novels. It's not a perfect comparison (and really, I wouldn't want it to be), I'm just trying to give a feel for the book.
One thing that should be noted (and this is where I drop the Ashley comparison) is that while the main characters do have sex during this book, it's not terribly detailed and there is only one scene. I wouldn't call it totally clean, but it is a far cry from erotica. The book definitely focuses more on the emotional build-up than the physical and it kind of worked for the world and the characters. Personally, I didn't feel like I was missing out on anything because I wasn't hearing the details about their bedroom acrobatics. It worked with the tone of the book, so no complaints one way or the other about that.
I can definitely see me re-reading this down the line, although I doubt it will be a favorite. I ordered it at the same time I ordered Lou's book, and while I think I'm going to take a bit of a breather before I start on Lou's, I am looking forward to seeing Lou take man-whore Dylan down a few pegs.
UPDATE
I just got the below rather lovely message from the author, clearing up some of my questions. Since I had questions, I thought maybe others who read this might as well. Ms. Tate agreed to let me post it on my review, so please see below.
I just wanted to message to say thank you so much for your review and help clear up any confusion about the medical stuff. I really appreciate all the feedback I get and it helps the books loads. To be honest they have only just taken off worldwide in the last month, so I'm still very much starting out. I have to admit that I didn't realise how quickly the books could go viral and I apologise for the errors but I have now sent them off to be copy edited.
I'm so glad that you liked Lou - she is actually based on one of my best friends and if you can believe it I had to tone her language down for the book! Another one of my best friends is cardiologist called Tom who I went to Uni with and played rugby with my husband (Tom likes to think that the hero is based on him, especially as his wife to be is a palliative care trainee like Frankie). One of my other friends gave up medicine completely to bake and that was where the idea for Frankie came from - although I still wanted Frankie keep working in medicine as well and palliative care seemed to suit the character. When we went to medical school (I qualified in 2003) it was free, so I think the debt accrued was a lot less for us than in America, although this has changed over the last few years.
The Mr thing is confusing - in the UK when you are training to be a surgeon and pass all your postgraduate exams you become a Mr again. I know, totally nuts, but is something to do with the fact that all surgeons were originally barbers or some such nonsense.
As you can see I steal a lot of the stuff in the books from real life - I promise you that some of the cardiologists and surgeons I know really can be that arrogant! I hope you enjoy the next one and that Lou lives up to your expectations. Thanks so much for reading and for taking the time to review.
Susie x
This was a sweet little read about an insecure girl named Frankie, who fell in lust with Tom back in college and never quite managed to fall back out. When they are thrown together ten years later as she trains to be a hospice doctor (more on that in a second), Tom's curt behavior is discovered to be because he likes her (the adult equivalent of tugging on her pigtails on the playground). Hijinks ensue.
The Good
One thing this author did that I really dug was to make Tom seem like a real person. Romance authors have gotten pretty good at fleshing out the heroines, making them seem real, but when you look at the alpha heroes, 95% of them are all pretty much cut from the same-old-same-old mold. Tom, on the other hand, was sloppy, messy, a bit of a mama's boy, and yeah, maybe a bit of a spoiled prat (particularly at the end), but he was also thoroughly alpha male, totally sweet, attractive, and thoughtful. He does some pretty asshat things during the course of the book, especially toward the end when he's hurting, but he always seemed like he could be a real person to me, which is pretty rare for the male half of a romance novel relationship. In fact, with the exception of him having very few close relationships that we actually witness in the book, he seemed like a real guy you might meet on the street, as opposed to, say, a billionaire businessman CEO who Businessing Business with the Business all the time when he's not sitting in his office brooding like Michael Keaton in "Batman Returns" waiting for the bat-signal in his spare time, until he meets the heroine who waves her magic wand and turns him into a real boy.
For all my complaints about Frankie (I'll get to them in a minute), she also seemed like a real person. Who isn't insecure and willfully blind? Maybe not to her extent, but as frustrating as she was, she managed to be sweet, loyal, intelligent, and hard-working. Yes, she bordered on Mary Sue territory at times given the extent of how sweet, loyal, intelligent, and hard-working she was, but I'm willing to let it pass.
And let me just say: I. Loved. Lou. Particularly toward the end when the author quotes one of my favorite lines from "A Midsummer Night's Dream" in regards to her: Though she be little, she be fierce. I'm really hoping she keeps up the awesomeness in her own book and we don't see a completely different version of the character. I've already got that one waiting on my Kindle.
The Not-so-good
I did have a few issues with this one. First and foremost, Frankie is training to be a hospice doctor... part-time... while baking cakes on the side (WTF?). Who goes to medical school so they can be a part-time doctor? I know the education system works differently in England, but wouldn't she have loans to pay? I just got the feeling that the author wanted Frankie to be a baker, not a doctor (do they call them something else in the UK? I noticed a lot of characters I would have thought of as "Dr." were referred to as "Mr." and I have to admit I don't know much about how their medical and/or collegiate systems operate so maybe I'm totally off-base on this complaint), but couldn't figure out a way to make that happen while still forcing her and Tom together for the first half of the book. This may not be a fair thing to complain about since I only know how these things work in my part of the world, so I'm not really going to judge the book harshly for this.
My other issue with her was Frankie's insecurities. I get that parents and cold-hearted
My last problem with the book was down to editing. Honestly, there weren't a plethora of errors -- I've certainly read books with a lot more than this one had -- but they stood out. Repeatedly referring to a singular "woman" as "women", for example, or missing words. I spotted a couple of "it's" used in the possessive form -- that sort of thing. I didn't take off a star for it because it really could have been so much worse, but it was a little distracting.
Conclusion
This book was pretty adorable and for $.99, a good read. I got a lot of fun angsty drama from it and even though I had some issues with Frankie, overall I'm walking away fully intending to read the next book. I will tentatively say that the author reminds me of a British Kristen Ashley. (Not totally. Hear me out.) Yes, she uses full sentences and you don't get the weird syntax that is so peculiar to Ashley's work, but once the hero decided that the heroine was his, he went after her. I particularly thought of Tate a few times from Ashley's "Sweet Dreams" in that Tom wasn't perfect and was kind of an asshat at times and said some really horrible things when he was angry, but he had a good heart underneath -- even if Tom was a nicer guy on the surface than Tate was. Plus, I got some of the yummy angst that I got during the early Ashley novels. It's not a perfect comparison (and really, I wouldn't want it to be), I'm just trying to give a feel for the book.
One thing that should be noted (and this is where I drop the Ashley comparison) is that while the main characters do have sex during this book, it's not terribly detailed and there is only one scene. I wouldn't call it totally clean, but it is a far cry from erotica. The book definitely focuses more on the emotional build-up than the physical and it kind of worked for the world and the characters. Personally, I didn't feel like I was missing out on anything because I wasn't hearing the details about their bedroom acrobatics. It worked with the tone of the book, so no complaints one way or the other about that.
I can definitely see me re-reading this down the line, although I doubt it will be a favorite. I ordered it at the same time I ordered Lou's book, and while I think I'm going to take a bit of a breather before I start on Lou's, I am looking forward to seeing Lou take man-whore Dylan down a few pegs.
UPDATE
I just got the below rather lovely message from the author, clearing up some of my questions. Since I had questions, I thought maybe others who read this might as well. Ms. Tate agreed to let me post it on my review, so please see below.
I just wanted to message to say thank you so much for your review and help clear up any confusion about the medical stuff. I really appreciate all the feedback I get and it helps the books loads. To be honest they have only just taken off worldwide in the last month, so I'm still very much starting out. I have to admit that I didn't realise how quickly the books could go viral and I apologise for the errors but I have now sent them off to be copy edited.
I'm so glad that you liked Lou - she is actually based on one of my best friends and if you can believe it I had to tone her language down for the book! Another one of my best friends is cardiologist called Tom who I went to Uni with and played rugby with my husband (Tom likes to think that the hero is based on him, especially as his wife to be is a palliative care trainee like Frankie). One of my other friends gave up medicine completely to bake and that was where the idea for Frankie came from - although I still wanted Frankie keep working in medicine as well and palliative care seemed to suit the character. When we went to medical school (I qualified in 2003) it was free, so I think the debt accrued was a lot less for us than in America, although this has changed over the last few years.
The Mr thing is confusing - in the UK when you are training to be a surgeon and pass all your postgraduate exams you become a Mr again. I know, totally nuts, but is something to do with the fact that all surgeons were originally barbers or some such nonsense.
As you can see I steal a lot of the stuff in the books from real life - I promise you that some of the cardiologists and surgeons I know really can be that arrogant! I hope you enjoy the next one and that Lou lives up to your expectations. Thanks so much for reading and for taking the time to review.
Susie x
March 9, 2026
Frankie is a 2nd year med student. She has a huge crush on Tom, an older student. She just admires him from afar.
One night, he drunkenly kisses her at the pub in front of the other med students. Then the other students end up saying something like, "Tom's right, you're frigid." She's shocked and embarrassed because she doesn't know why he'd say that about her, they've never even spoken. The reputation of being frigid follows her around the next several years of school, after Tom graduates.
The story skips forward 10 years. She has to train for 6 months in cardiology before she can begin training in her specialty, palliative care. She arrives at the hospital. Surprise, she gets assigned as Tom's apprentice. But he introduces himself, as if he doesn't know her.
Tom gets along with everyone, except Frankie. Tom makes the job difficult for Frankie, while making things easier for the other student, Rosie. He gets along with Frankie's Best Guy Friend Dillon, an orthopedic surgeon, and her Girl Best Friend, Lou.
From Tom's POV, he remembers Frankie and thinks she rejected him during the drunken kiss. He thinks she doesn't remember him.
She remembers it like, he turned green and Dillon had to take him away to the men's room or something. And then the other people mentioned the comment about her being frigid.
He's getting frustrated that she gets along with everyone but him.
He also doesn't understand why she mostly makes drawings while he talks about cardiology, for her side hustle luxury cake business.
Side plot: Someone beeps her from the ER, but it's obviously not one of the patients on her list, so it must be personal. But she doesn't tell Tom what's going on.
Tom keeps making comments like he doesn't think cardiology is her thing, because she fainted in the OR and stuff like that, and she's thinking, WTH are you talking about, of course it's not my thing. But she never asks him.
Then one day, there's a patient whom Tom is trying to convince to get a pacemaker, and Frankie takes Tom aside to tell him the patient doesn't want the pacemaker. She has come up with an end of life care plan. And Tom blows up at her, saying she doesn't know anything about palliative care. It turns out they mixed up the students. The other student, Rosie, is supposed to be the cardiology specialist, and was supposed to be assigned to Tom.
One night, he's at a club and he sees Frankie and Lou drunk, and one of the other doctors starts groping Frankie, nonconsensually. So Tom rescues her, and takes her to her apartment. Frankie's very drunk, and Tom's looking at her longingly, thinking how incredible she is. Frankie starts drunkingly telling him how incredible he is. He's shocked. He didn't think she liked him at all.
(He was at the club with another woman who I guess is his FWB, but we aren't given any details, and he breaks it off with her at this point.)
Frankie wakes up, and Tom is in bed with her (nothing happened physically). But Dillon has drunkenly eaten her wedding cake the night before. The wedding is that same day! Tom helps her make/decorate another cake, so he can talk to her alone.
He tells her he knows she likes him because of her drunken confession, and he likes her, and intends on dating her. But she says no, it's not possible that he likes her, it defies reality!
After they deliver the cake, he brings her back to her apartment and the front door's open. She obviously knows what's happening and who's in the apartment, but doesn't want Tom to know. After that, it's back to square one, she's avoiding Tom again.
He decides to talk to Lou. She says Frankie had a difficult childhood, then a verbally abusive boyfriend. Lou refuses to tell him what Frankie is hiding in the present, but she does tell him he really fucked up by being difficult with her when he was training her. Like just another bully.
She comes home to Dillon and Tom arguing in her apartment, but can't pay any attention to what they're saying, because something bad happened at work that day. An alcoholic lady threw up blood all over her and died. It's obvious the thing Frankie's hiding has something to do with an alcoholic. Like, she's taking it very personally.
She wakes up the next morning asleep with Tom on her couch, and they make out. Because beautiful people don't have morning breath. But anyway, he says kissing means they are now officially dating. 😆
So they keep going out and she keeps telling him they shouldn't date anymore, but now he just ignores her every time she breaks up with him. 😁
Because of this secret she's been hiding, she thinks Tom shouldn't date a girl like her. She's always going on about "someone like me." Tom doesn't know what she means. When she meets Tom's family, his mom seems distrustful of Frankie. As far as she can tell, Frankie is a beautiful woman who's been leading Tom on a chase. Frankie overhears his mom say, "We don't need a girl like that in the family," which is the worst thing his mom could possibly say.
But she wins his mom over by winning over the little grandkids. So the overhead conversation isn't a big deal.
As time passes, he's breaking down her walls and she is accepting his compliments and affection.
Then one day, he goes to her apartment, and there's a homeless man sleeping on the sidewalk. She goes up to the man, but Tom is like, you can't help people like that. Frankie tells Tom to go away. (Tom just doesn't want a drunk man to attack her.) Lou's there too, and she gets him to leave with her.
Next scene, Frankie is once again determined to break up with Tom, but have a goodbye fuck first. On one hand, her breaking up all the time, and lack of communication, is exhausting me and I think she's not worth the trouble. On the other hand, I can understand she's too embarrassed to say anything, because the homeless man is her dad.
So after they have sex, she tells him this isn't working for her anymore. Tom is so hurt he finally just gives up and says fine, you're not worth the trouble.
So she goes around all sad and mopey, but won't talk to anyone about it. Tom calls her to talk, but she won't answer.
Meanwhile, Dillon's been acting weird. He asks Frankie why they aren't together anymore. She says her dad showing up shows how different they are and it would never work out. Tom never even noticed her, he'd never want her if he met her dad. Remember how he was making fun of her after 2 years of med school? Dillon confesses Tom was always interested, but Dillon told Tom that Frankie wasn't interested, because Dillon wanted Frankie for himself. Tom never called her frigid, that was just one of Tom's friends.
Dillon had asked her out. Frankie thought they decided to just be friends. Dillon says no, Frankie decided to friend zone him. He never "agreed," he just didn't have a choice.
It's not much angst because she's not mad and doesn't end the friendship.
When she sees Tom at the pub, she asks him to talk, but he lashes out because he's hurt and tells her to go away. (He really doesn't think she wants to get back together.)
Ok, so Lou is the archetype of the "badass/ belligerent" annoying bitch female character. She approaches Tom at the hospital to see if he knows where Frankie is for Christmas, because Frankie told different people different things. Lou ends up stomping his foot with her metal stiletto, and bitching at him for not putting up a fight when Frankie dumped him for the 5 millionth time.
So anyway, Tom goes to see she's alone in her apartment. He takes her to Christmas dinner at his family's house. They are obviously all mad at her for dumping Tom. Then her drunk dad shows up because Tom had answered her phone when Papa Marco called. Everyone's shocked. But it ends up with them having a conversation and they reconcile.
Epilogue 2 years later and they have a 9 month old baby.
The audible is narrated by a single person, a woman with a mid-range voice, which I think works well for all the characters. I'd rather a woman doing male voices than a male doing female voices, that's just a personal preference.
One night, he drunkenly kisses her at the pub in front of the other med students. Then the other students end up saying something like, "Tom's right, you're frigid." She's shocked and embarrassed because she doesn't know why he'd say that about her, they've never even spoken. The reputation of being frigid follows her around the next several years of school, after Tom graduates.
The story skips forward 10 years. She has to train for 6 months in cardiology before she can begin training in her specialty, palliative care. She arrives at the hospital. Surprise, she gets assigned as Tom's apprentice. But he introduces himself, as if he doesn't know her.
Tom gets along with everyone, except Frankie. Tom makes the job difficult for Frankie, while making things easier for the other student, Rosie. He gets along with Frankie's Best Guy Friend Dillon, an orthopedic surgeon, and her Girl Best Friend, Lou.
From Tom's POV, he remembers Frankie and thinks she rejected him during the drunken kiss. He thinks she doesn't remember him.
She remembers it like, he turned green and Dillon had to take him away to the men's room or something. And then the other people mentioned the comment about her being frigid.
He's getting frustrated that she gets along with everyone but him.
He also doesn't understand why she mostly makes drawings while he talks about cardiology, for her side hustle luxury cake business.
Side plot: Someone beeps her from the ER, but it's obviously not one of the patients on her list, so it must be personal. But she doesn't tell Tom what's going on.
Tom keeps making comments like he doesn't think cardiology is her thing, because she fainted in the OR and stuff like that, and she's thinking, WTH are you talking about, of course it's not my thing. But she never asks him.
Then one day, there's a patient whom Tom is trying to convince to get a pacemaker, and Frankie takes Tom aside to tell him the patient doesn't want the pacemaker. She has come up with an end of life care plan. And Tom blows up at her, saying she doesn't know anything about palliative care. It turns out they mixed up the students. The other student, Rosie, is supposed to be the cardiology specialist, and was supposed to be assigned to Tom.
One night, he's at a club and he sees Frankie and Lou drunk, and one of the other doctors starts groping Frankie, nonconsensually. So Tom rescues her, and takes her to her apartment. Frankie's very drunk, and Tom's looking at her longingly, thinking how incredible she is. Frankie starts drunkingly telling him how incredible he is. He's shocked. He didn't think she liked him at all.
(He was at the club with another woman who I guess is his FWB, but we aren't given any details, and he breaks it off with her at this point.)
Frankie wakes up, and Tom is in bed with her (nothing happened physically). But Dillon has drunkenly eaten her wedding cake the night before. The wedding is that same day! Tom helps her make/decorate another cake, so he can talk to her alone.
He tells her he knows she likes him because of her drunken confession, and he likes her, and intends on dating her. But she says no, it's not possible that he likes her, it defies reality!
After they deliver the cake, he brings her back to her apartment and the front door's open. She obviously knows what's happening and who's in the apartment, but doesn't want Tom to know. After that, it's back to square one, she's avoiding Tom again.
He decides to talk to Lou. She says Frankie had a difficult childhood, then a verbally abusive boyfriend. Lou refuses to tell him what Frankie is hiding in the present, but she does tell him he really fucked up by being difficult with her when he was training her. Like just another bully.
She comes home to Dillon and Tom arguing in her apartment, but can't pay any attention to what they're saying, because something bad happened at work that day. An alcoholic lady threw up blood all over her and died. It's obvious the thing Frankie's hiding has something to do with an alcoholic. Like, she's taking it very personally.
She wakes up the next morning asleep with Tom on her couch, and they make out. Because beautiful people don't have morning breath. But anyway, he says kissing means they are now officially dating. 😆
So they keep going out and she keeps telling him they shouldn't date anymore, but now he just ignores her every time she breaks up with him. 😁
Because of this secret she's been hiding, she thinks Tom shouldn't date a girl like her. She's always going on about "someone like me." Tom doesn't know what she means. When she meets Tom's family, his mom seems distrustful of Frankie. As far as she can tell, Frankie is a beautiful woman who's been leading Tom on a chase. Frankie overhears his mom say, "We don't need a girl like that in the family," which is the worst thing his mom could possibly say.
But she wins his mom over by winning over the little grandkids. So the overhead conversation isn't a big deal.
As time passes, he's breaking down her walls and she is accepting his compliments and affection.
Then one day, he goes to her apartment, and there's a homeless man sleeping on the sidewalk. She goes up to the man, but Tom is like, you can't help people like that. Frankie tells Tom to go away. (Tom just doesn't want a drunk man to attack her.) Lou's there too, and she gets him to leave with her.
Next scene, Frankie is once again determined to break up with Tom, but have a goodbye fuck first. On one hand, her breaking up all the time, and lack of communication, is exhausting me and I think she's not worth the trouble. On the other hand, I can understand she's too embarrassed to say anything, because the homeless man is her dad.
So after they have sex, she tells him this isn't working for her anymore. Tom is so hurt he finally just gives up and says fine, you're not worth the trouble.
So she goes around all sad and mopey, but won't talk to anyone about it. Tom calls her to talk, but she won't answer.
Meanwhile, Dillon's been acting weird. He asks Frankie why they aren't together anymore. She says her dad showing up shows how different they are and it would never work out. Tom never even noticed her, he'd never want her if he met her dad. Remember how he was making fun of her after 2 years of med school? Dillon confesses Tom was always interested, but Dillon told Tom that Frankie wasn't interested, because Dillon wanted Frankie for himself. Tom never called her frigid, that was just one of Tom's friends.
Dillon had asked her out. Frankie thought they decided to just be friends. Dillon says no, Frankie decided to friend zone him. He never "agreed," he just didn't have a choice.
It's not much angst because she's not mad and doesn't end the friendship.
When she sees Tom at the pub, she asks him to talk, but he lashes out because he's hurt and tells her to go away. (He really doesn't think she wants to get back together.)
Ok, so Lou is the archetype of the "badass/ belligerent" annoying bitch female character. She approaches Tom at the hospital to see if he knows where Frankie is for Christmas, because Frankie told different people different things. Lou ends up stomping his foot with her metal stiletto, and bitching at him for not putting up a fight when Frankie dumped him for the 5 millionth time.
So anyway, Tom goes to see she's alone in her apartment. He takes her to Christmas dinner at his family's house. They are obviously all mad at her for dumping Tom. Then her drunk dad shows up because Tom had answered her phone when Papa Marco called. Everyone's shocked. But it ends up with them having a conversation and they reconcile.
Epilogue 2 years later and they have a 9 month old baby.
The audible is narrated by a single person, a woman with a mid-range voice, which I think works well for all the characters. I'd rather a woman doing male voices than a male doing female voices, that's just a personal preference.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 19, 2024
This book was released ten years ago in 2014, and it’s VERY obvious in the romance. To start, we’re introduced to the main characters through a college flashback when he drunkenly kisses and gropes her at a pub. And, I mean, he gropes her: hand up her skirt and her having to forcefully push him away. It’s very on brand for the 00s but doesn’t really fly in 2024.
And the number of times Frankie’s issues are just kind of pummeled through by Tom (and at times, her bestie Lou) so they can be together just really irked me. For example, there’s the time she was drunk, and he slept in bed with her while he was fully sober. He was shirtless, and she somehow had his shirt on when they woke up. Then there’s the time she dealt with a harrowing experience at work that made some old traumas rise up, and Lou and Tom practically manhandled her so Tom could cuddle her on the couch. She even explicitly says, “I’m uncomfortable,” and Tom just replies, “Sure you are,” before pulling her closer. I’m sorry; I hate that so much.
Yes, Frankie has A LOT of trauma to work through (seriously, it’s obvious this was one of Susie Tate’s first books because she battered the hell out of this character without giving a lot of those experiences any real depth. I.e., the bullying, her ex, even her mom’s alcoholism and death). And all that trauma is obviously a mountain of obstacles Tom has to push through for them to have their happily ever after. But the way it’s done in this book just felt kind of lazy, especially because Tate doesn’t really take the time to have Frankie work through her initial feelings of being hesitant or unsure to show the reader how she can be uncomfortable with Tom lying on top of her then reach up to pull him down for a kiss. It just made Tom seem like an insensitive ass most of the time and Frankie seem like a wishy washy heroine.
And the number of times Frankie’s issues are just kind of pummeled through by Tom (and at times, her bestie Lou) so they can be together just really irked me. For example, there’s the time she was drunk, and he slept in bed with her while he was fully sober. He was shirtless, and she somehow had his shirt on when they woke up. Then there’s the time she dealt with a harrowing experience at work that made some old traumas rise up, and Lou and Tom practically manhandled her so Tom could cuddle her on the couch. She even explicitly says, “I’m uncomfortable,” and Tom just replies, “Sure you are,” before pulling her closer. I’m sorry; I hate that so much.
Yes, Frankie has A LOT of trauma to work through (seriously, it’s obvious this was one of Susie Tate’s first books because she battered the hell out of this character without giving a lot of those experiences any real depth. I.e., the bullying, her ex, even her mom’s alcoholism and death). And all that trauma is obviously a mountain of obstacles Tom has to push through for them to have their happily ever after. But the way it’s done in this book just felt kind of lazy, especially because Tate doesn’t really take the time to have Frankie work through her initial feelings of being hesitant or unsure to show the reader how she can be uncomfortable with Tom lying on top of her then reach up to pull him down for a kiss. It just made Tom seem like an insensitive ass most of the time and Frankie seem like a wishy washy heroine.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 3, 2022
Hard rate. I enjoyed it in most parts but also found a lot of padding in the book to. And not to mention after a while the h’s insecurities really frustrated me I just wanted to shake her or slap some sense into her
March 28, 2021
3.5 in reality. It was a solid 4 until the end, some parts just brought it down slightly. Overall a good book 😊😊
February 28, 2018
I really liked this book by an author I have not read before! It was refreshing to read a book based in a hospital setting, that actually got it right and I believed what I was reading. I was a big fan of Tom and Frankie and willing them to find each other all the way through - I also liked the side characters especially Lou .. Great book and I am going straight into Lou and Dylan's story now!
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