Amy Ruttan

Alejandro's Sexy Secret is the perfect dose of romance and medical drama.

I've been craving a sweet romance with a happy ending in a long while, and this book fit the bill. It's not depressing - it's upbeat, lighthearted and sugary sweet!! It was just what I needed with all the depressing news that has been going on in the world recently.

Amy Ruttan's novel is a Harlequin romance, but that shouldn't scare you off. While quite of few of the Harlequin novels have bored me to tears, this medical show more romance was fast paced and full of ooey, gooey excellence!! The romance doesn't start off at the beginning and seem unrealistic, which was a nice change in my Harlequin reads. I liked that it took about half the book for the love interests to finally start their relationship - it seemed more realistic in a romance book setting.

Our lead characters are also unique and diverse. They are doctor with different backgrounds and provide a nice splash of diversity into the usual all white character cast list that seems to pop up in some of these books. I am SOOOO SOOO SOOOO happy to see diversity in this book!!! So happy!

This is such a beautiful story! There's grief, hope, loss, love and so many themes and plot driven dramas within it that I couldn't put this book down. This book deserves so much more circulation! I hope Amy writes more and more of these books get read!! What a great novel!!! I literally read it in one sitting, that's how attached I was to these characters.

I 100% want to read every other book in this series and by Amy Ruttan. I'll have to try to get my hands on these books because this book had me hooked and addicted to Amy! This is one worthy Harlequin Medical Romance read!!!

Side note: I LOVE that this book is signed by Amy!! That made my day! Along with the cute doctor bookmark as well!!

Five out of five stars.

I received this book for free through Goodreads First Reads. show less

Good second chance romance. When they were growing up, Finn and Maeve had crushes on each other. But Maeve was Finn's best friend's little sister and off-limits to him. Neither knew how the other felt until the night before Finn left for college when they gave in to their feelings. But Finn couldn't wait to get out of Kansas, and once he was gone, he didn't return.

Ten years later, Finn returns to Wichita to settle his parents' estate and learn American Sign Language to improve his chances show more of getting the California-based job he wants. While doing so, he fills in as the local hospital's ENT surgeon. He often wondered what had happened to Maeve and is stunned to find her working in the same hospital.

Maeve is mostly deaf and had an over-protective mother. Her best memories are the times she tagged along with her brother, Rolf, and Finn. She works as an audiologist at the hospital and teaches ASL. She lives with Rolf and his deaf son, helping to care for them.

During their ten years apart, Maeve and Finn never forgot each other and never entered into relationships with other people. Finn has been too busy with his career. He also has no plans to marry and have a family. After being raised by indifferent parents, he fears that he would be like them and refuses to inflict that pain on children of his own. Maeve is comfortable with her life as it is, caring for her brother and nephew. She was affected by how other people treated her as a child and keeps her emotions tightly controlled.

The sparks between Maeve and Finn are intense, but he has no intention of staying in Kansas, and Maeve has no plans to leave. They attempt to bury their feelings and limit themselves to being friends only. But the time they spend together brings them closer, and emotions bubble to the surface. I ached for Finn, who realized he was lonely and wanted Maeve to stay in his life. But he fears rejection, so he says nothing about his feelings. I ached for Maeve, who longs for a change but won't desert the people who need her. I liked seeing them work through their issues and find the courage to be honest with each other. I loved the advice both received and the difference it made. The epilogue was terrific, and I liked how their future worked out.

Maeve's nephew, RJ, was a sweetheart and stole the scenes he was in. I especially enjoyed seeing his effect on Finn. A crisis at the end involved him, and I was glued to the pages to see how it worked out.

I enjoyed the medical theme of hearing loss, its causes and treatments, and its challenges. The information was integral to the story, not just an info dump. show less

I love reading Harlequins, but on the rare occasion I come across a side character who happens to be gay, they are more often than not the villain. I am disappointed to say that is the case with this story.

The gay side characters in this story are Mindy's ex-husband and best friend. The hubby hid his sexuality from her while having an affair with the bestie. He is portrayed as ambitious and jealous of Mindy's success as a surgeon, and probably married her in the first place to ride on her show more coattail. When they divorced, the hubby and bestie got together and are working on adopting children.

It doesn't makes sense to make the side characters gay other than to vilify them because the story flows the same with a heterosexual couple. Plus, they're all from California in the 21st century, the total opposite of an ultra conservative state. It's not realistic for the hubby to hide his sexuality unless there is some crazy back story, totally unnecessary for a side character! show less

Una storia semplice, lineare, priva di qualsiasi coinvolgimento o emozione, del tutto prevedibile tanto da sembrare di averla già letta perché tutto quello che accade non è altro che quello che già sai che deve succedere.
Nessuna sorpresa, nessun colpo di scena, una storia banale e piatta che una volta finita si è già dimenticata.