Anatomy of a Meet Cute

By: Addie Woolridge

Narrated by: Jeanette Illidge

Sparks fly when an ob-gyn butts heads with a doctor at her new hospital in this delightfully charming romance about bad timing, good friends, and fresh starts.

The last thing I ever expected was to insult a colleague before I even started a new job.

But here I am, already on thin ice after I mistook a fellow doctor for a patient on a bad drug trip. Oops.

No matter how handsome or infuriatingly aloof he is, Grant Gao isn’t going to spoil my fresh start. Instead, I’m going to keep myself (maybe too) busy with my roommates, work, and passion: starting a new program to improve pregnancy care in the community.

But getting the hospital bigwigs on board with my idea is proving to be more difficult than I anticipated, and I may be forced to swallow my pride and ask Grant for help.

But will working with Grant bring us closer, or will I be crushed under my ever-growing list of responsibilities?

©2023 Alexandra Massengale. (P)2023 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.

Critic reviews

“Jeanene Illidge narrates Sam, capturing her tenacity and tenderness as she navigates her work-life balance and boundaries. Woolridge uses inclusive language when talking about patients and includes a wide range of characters, which further enhances how the novel deploys its romance tropes.… This slow-burn romance from an established author should appeal to readers who appreciate strong, well-developed characters and a thought-provoking story line. For fans of Farrah Rochon, Ali Hazelwood, and Kate Spencer.”—Library Journal

“The will-they-won’t-they dynamic between Sam and Grant makes the romance sizzle, while the tension between Sam and her family adds some much needed drama.…This is a delight.”—Publishers Weekly

“Readers interested in a contemporary drama in a medical setting with well-developed characters and closed-door romance will appreciate this slow burn from Woolridge.”—Library Journal

Mixed feelings on this one

I had some mixed feelings about this one. I loved the meet cute (two doctors treating the same patient on a plane). I also loved the program Sam developed and her dynamics with her friends. I also found the story about a heroine who wants to over commit to people please very relatable. What I wasn't a huge fan of was that this was a book about someone in her late twenties (I don't think the book said her exact age but given she was a fellow at a hospital I guessed). How did the over committing and issues with her mom not cause problems in college, med school or residency? I would have liked this more if the characters were in their early twenties but that wouldn't have worked for the setting. I ended up feeling bad for Grant and feeling like Sam took advantage of his feeling for her. That being said I think it is a fun and relatable romance. Great for fans of Grey's Anatomy.

A long winding road

first and foremost, let me say that I enjoyed this listen. The story just felt a little long winded. I found myself zoning in and out of the story quite often.

Pretty meh

This book was fine, but ultimately it was pretty boring and nothing really new or interesting was at play here. It was so predictable and I would have DNF’ed it if I hadn’t been halfway through from a car ride. 🤷‍♀️

We had a POC female protagonist in STEM with an amazing idea to help her hospital and I honestly feel bad that she was given this bland and uninteresting plot. The mother plot line was terrible; the friend’s side plot was terrible. The main plot was mostly terrible. It was so long-winded too. The ending was fine but not impressive or unique.

Overall, this felt like a book I will never remember and ultimately I’m disappointed that happened because the premise was really good.

Cute but extremely corny

There were a few laughs but the book was probably longer than it needed to be with too many unrealistic assumptions and predictable outcomes. Very corny almost childish in many areas. Maybe the narration was too poppy but no the back and forth banter was it. But if you like corny rom cons this is it, it would’ve been much better with realistic modern dialogue.

The narrator is outstanding!

The story is cute and I was entertained but the narrator had such a great performance l. I loved her “Duke voice” the most!

A let down

I’ve enjoyed all of Addie Woolridge’s previous books so I was looking forward to this one. Sadly, I was disappointed. It started slow and never really picked up. A better performance might have made the story more palatable but instead, what was offered made it almost unbearable.

Love & Basketball Meets Grey's Anatomy

Wow! As a former basketball player I truly LOVED this read! It showed the maturation of an athlete into the professional and adult dating world! I found myself laughing out loud on the plane while listening to this book! Excited to check out the other books from Addie