Unrivaled

Medical drama, gossipy lesbian romance, and angsty backstory all get equal time in Radclyffe’s fifth PMC Hospitals romance (after Passionate Rivals). Fourth year surgery resident Zoey Cohen is mourning the loss of her friends-with-benefits setup when attractive ER attending Declan Black returns to work after a decade’s absence. Declan left her hospital job for married life, and struggles with rejoining her old team two years after the car accident that killed her wife. But as she and Zoey work together managing the case of a profoundly injured resident, they develop an easy rapport that makes Declan wonder if she’s ready to open herself up to new love. Radclyffe makes the hospital social environment believable in scenes that foreground the characters’ humanity without glossing over the technical details of their work in the trauma center. Longtime fans will be pleased that Honor and Quinn, the couple from the 2005 series debut, also get significant story space. Though the pacing is off—with Declan and Zoey’s jump from exploration to commitment coming both too late and too abruptly—fans of small community dynamics and workplace romance without ethical complications will find this hits the spot. (May)