In a Heartbeat

L.A. Metro #2

by R.J. Nolan

Veteran police officer Sam McKenna has no trouble facing down criminals on a daily basis but breaks out in a sweat at the mere mention of commitment. A recent failed relationship strengthens her resolve to stick with her trademark no-strings-attached affairs.Dr. Riley Connolly, a successful trauma surgeon, has spent her whole life trying to measure up to her family’s expectations. And that includes hiding her sexuality from them.When a routine call sends Sam to the hospital where Riley works, the two women are hurtled into a life-and-death situation. The incident binds them together. But can there be any future for a commitment-phobic cop and a closeted, workaholic doctor?

Genres: Romance, Lesbian, Audiobook, LGBT, Medical, Lesbian Romance, Butch Femme

402 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 5, 2014

About the author

RJ Nolan lives in the United States with her spouse and their Great Dane. She makes frequent visits to the California coast near her home. The sight and sound of the surf always stir her muse. When not writing, she enjoys reading, camping, and the occasional trip to Disneyland. (from the publisher's website)

Reviews

[Luce · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 Stars rounded up to 5 Stars for the audio book narrated by the 5 star narrator Angela Dawe. If you see any audiobook that you have even the slightest interest in listening and Dawe is the narrator - snap it up. You won't be disappointed. I'm also rounding up to 5 stars because Nolan writes San Diego pretty well - I've lived in San Diego for a number of years.

I've read a version of this story numerous times in its various forms - first the original online version, the published version and now the audio book. Its been a long while since I read the original online, but I do remember there are differences. Such as in the original, the uncle plays larger nefarious part of making Riley's life difficult and Sam's family (Jess & Kim from book 1) have larger parts. I think concentrating on Sam and Riley made for a stronger story. It is a slow burn romance. Sam is commitment phobic and Riley in spite of being an excellent surgeon has a self image problem. I enjoyed revisiting Sam & Riley.

[Alexis · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's difficult to rate this book, because although I almost read it in one sitting*, I didn't love it like I did book 1. Though technically well written I found this to be far more exaggerated in a lot of ways. For instance the parental figures for one of the main characters and their subsequent behavior just felt really over the top including the interactions with her ex girlfriend that led to her self esteem issues.

I feel like I couldn't really connect with this story because MC 1 felt to dramatized and MC 2 wasn't very likable being as judgmental as she was, though I did end up liking her in the end. Book 1 was for me far better simply because the characters felt more real. The other thing that influenced my rating is that the relationship buildup in book 1 was very natural and therefor very believable whereas book 2 can be classified as a super slow burn with some very dramatic moments that almost forced the two MC's to become close.

I'm pretty sure, despite my rating of this book, that I will begin book 3 soon... I think. This however ends in a 3,5* rating. Not bad but there is definite room for improvement.

*I sprained my ankle and am stuck at home so yay for reading (and working) around the clock but boo for limping around like herr Flick.

[Luce · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this book. I'd been waiting impatiently for it. I was a big fan of the series when she posted the stories online years ago. I was expecting the book to be the same as the previous version with a few changes here and there. However instead Nolan rewrote the book making sweeping changes but yet it was just as enjoyable if not better. The differences puts more emphasis on the two main characters, Sam & Riley as they develop their friendship and relationship. There was less of the supporting characters such as Sam's family - Jess & Kim from the first book LA Metro. Even though there was less of them the supporting cast were well characterized including a few new additions. I am looking forward the the sequel! I hope it's not a long wait.

[Jude Silberfeld-Grimaud · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've read LA Metro (the 1s in the series) twice and gave it 4* twice. When I began In a Heartbeat, I was a bit worried because Riley's issues reminded me a little too much of Jess'. But it didn't last, and I really enjoyed the chemistry between Riley and Sam, and everything around them. I really like how R. J. Nolan doesn't shy away from complex and difficult topics.

[Kexx · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yea, she tells a good story, does R J. Love the L.A. series, Police and hospitals, what more can you ask for. Excellent supporting cast, many from book 1 (recommend you read bk 1 first). Enjoy!

[Natsu · Rating 4 out of 5]

Instant attraction. Push-pull drama. Family drama. Insatiable couple. hahaha. Sorta figured out the connection between Kim's condition and the events during Sam's first few days out of the hospital. Liked it better than L. A. Metro.

[Lorraine Rusnack · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sam and Riley share a traumatic event and become friends. They both however have some very deep emotional scares from their past. Sam is always trying to hide her feelings and be the tough cop. She has met her match in Dr. Riley Connolly however. Riley has major self esteem issues and my heart breaks for her. The story is handled with sensitivity and love. I liked getting to catch up with Jess and Kim from book 1 in the series. I loved this as an audiobook and Angela Dawe she is a wonderful narrator.

[Andrea · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was a very enjoyable, fun, easy and quick read. The chemistry between the main characters was believable and the characters were very likable. There were a few backstories that explained some of their actions and decisions better but there wasn't much detail given to them. I think it would have been better if the situation with Riley's aunt and uncle would have been more explained or the situation with Linda.
All in all I really liked it and would recommend it.

andreazupanc.wordpress.com

[Elske · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a re-read for me. Last week I again read LA Metro, the first book in this series and I loved that one as much as this one. Well written, great characters and a very nice romantic story with just a little bit of drama and nearly no angst. In these troubling times I like to read books like that. Recommend.

[Jane Shambler · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's great!

I admit I had to read it twice before I decided on my rating. The first time I read it was straight after I read L.A. Metro. I had enjoyed that one so much I felt kinda disappointed. So I didn't write a review. Well I've reread it and decided differently. I can't even give you a reason for my scepticism, only that I'm a woman and I'm allowed to change my mind. Anyway, this book is about Jess's sister Sam a commitment phone who falls in love. It's a great story and very well written. RJ Nolan is an exceptionally talented writer who allows you to get to know the characters individually. You live their lives through her writing. It's a great story and you won't be disappointed.

[Joc · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this well enough and the story line was reasonable. The hospital and police station were really just background setting to the story with Riley and Sam only doing any doctoring or policing in the first ten percent. Riley burst into tears a lot which was quite sweet in the beginning but is one of those things that loses emotive impact when it is overdone.

I'll probably read the third in the series and this one is a nice read after something emotional taxing.

[Jenn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice slow burn romance from RJ Nolan once again narrated wonderfully by Angela Dawe. I thoroughly enjoyed this second novel in The L.A. Metro series which follows Police Officer Sam, who we met in the last book, and Dr. Riley Connely. I enjoyed watching their friendship and attraction flourish throughout the book and catching up with where Kim and Jess are now. Looking forward to reading book 3.

[Betty · Rating 4 out of 5]

In a Heartbeat is the second full length novel in the L.A. Metro series by R.J. Nolan. This book tells the tale of Sam McKenna, a veteran police officer in San Diego, California and Dr. Riley Connelly, a trauma surgeon at the local hospital. Sam is the sister of Dr. Jess McKenna from L.A. Metro, the first book in the series, and readers actually meet Sam in the first book. While it looks like this would be a cops and docs type of book, or at least a medical drama, I would say that it really isn’t either one. Except for the first third of the book, the story is really set outside the hospital. Also, there is little police drama though both professions do play a role in the story because of the main characters. This is really a slow-burn romance about the two main characters meeting, becoming friends and then more. The story also deals with some past trauma in both characters’ lives, and with one character going through a very unpleasant coming-out situation.

I’m giving this book four stars, but I want to mention here that this is a very strong four stars rating, almost a five. The story is well written, beautifully described, and interesting. The characters are real and complex. I connected with them immediately which is a must for my enjoyment of a book. I loved seeing Jess and Kim from the first novel as secondary characters in this tale. I enjoyed the building of the sexual tension between Sam and Riley throughout the story. The only problem I had with this book is I felt the slow burn was a bit too slow.

This is a beautiful romance and a great second book for the series. I urge you to read not only this novel but also the first book and the short stories that were published between the two. While I think In a Heartbeat could be read as a standalone story, I believe reading a series in order will always give the reader bits of information that could enhance the enjoyment of a book.

I received an ARC from Ylva Publishing for an honest review.

Rainbow Reflections:
https://rainbowreflections.home.blog/

[Sky. · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 ⭐️

[Angie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely love this sweet read about a police officer (Sam McKenna) and a trauma surgeon (Riley Connolly) who meet under very trying circumstances and slowly forge a friendship that turns into something more.

Unlike Nolan's previous book L.A. Metro, which is good but did not speak to me as much as this book does, In A Heartbeat moved me very much. It is adorable, sincere and extremely vulnerable in emotion.

Of particular note is the way R.J. Nolan deals with such heatbreaking issues as coming out to family members and how horribly strong self doubt can be and what it can do to relationships.

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely adored Sam and Riley. Great couple, lots of chemistry and revisiting characters from the first in the series make it a fun, satisfying read. Can't ask for more from a light romance.

[Val · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well written and I always love these cop and doc romances. Great job RJ.

[Andi · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved the premise and there were so many good parts, but the self-hate angst and lack of communication was too much.

[lauraღ · Rating 4 out of 5]

“I’ve been trying to think of how to create the perfect moment to ask you, but what I never realized, until now, is that the perfect moment comes when you say yes.”

Maybe more around the 3.75 range if I'm feeling picky, which, well. I'm always feeling picky. But this has a hell of a lot to recommend it, and it's written with a style and attention to detail and characters that you don't always see in romances. And that really made me love this. The bond between the two women was so captivating.

Sam is a police officer on a routine stop at a hospital; Riley is an ER doctor there. A dangerous situation develops and escalates, and Sam ends up saving Riley's life, getting hurt in the process. From there, a connection forms between them, from Sam's surgery to her time doing physical therapy at the hospital, to the weeks and months after, as they slowly become friends. I always say it, but there's truly nothing as satisfying to me as a good slow burn romance. Most of the romances I read aren't slow burn, but every time I read a good one, it just really sweeps me away. There isn't really a plot to this? Or, I guess there is, because we have to deal with Sam's recovery and lingering commitment issues, and Riley's troubles with her family, her body issues and coming out. But the bulk of this book is a slow friends to lovers as they get to know each other, really like each other, depend on each other like they haven't done with anyone else in their lives. The writing/prose is pretty simple, but so much of their banter and those early moments had me smiling fit to burst. It felt like real, organic chemistry, and I couldn't get enough of it. The little touches, the giddiness, finding excuses to be around each other. And when they started developing romantic feelings? Ugh!!! Mutual oblivious pining at it's finest. There were some moments of pointed lack of communication, but they felt natural, and not forced, like most miscommunication feels to me. Both women are a little frustratingly stubborn, but it was so nice to see them take care of each other, as they each fell deeper and deeper.

Some nitpicks. Lots of small things concerning cops (Sam) and rich people (Riley) that always get me riled up, so I won't go into that stuff in detail. But that one moment with the homeless guy really got on my nerves, for how it was written. This didn't happen too much, thankfully, but there were some instances of POV switching in the middle of a scene, which is one of my biggest writing nitpicks. Speaking of POVs, I guess it was kinda necessary to get outside perspectives from Sam's sister in those early scenes, but I really do prefer if romances just stick to the main two POVs. Sam's past trauma was really sad, but I hated how it was just dumped on the reader near the end, with almost no build up. It felt like something that should have been threaded throughout the narrative, like Riley's food/body issues.

Also, the book referred to one woman's 'Latin temper'. Sigh.

Listened to the audiobook as read by Angela Dawe, which is half the reason why this gets such a high rating. Okay, maybe not half the reason, but her voice is doing a looooot of heavy lifting. I can never praise her enough for how she does emotion and character voices, and she made these women really come alive. Even in the midst of some of my little annoyances, I kept falling in love with their love, and a lot of that is because of Dawe. This is one of those older lesfic titles that I've always meant to get to, and I'm so glad I finally did. I skipped over the first book in the series (with Sam's sister) because I knew it dealt with some really heavy stuff that I was just not in the mindset for. But this is a writer I'll be happy to come back to. Maybe soon!

Content warnings: grief, parent death (past), attempted rape

[Shoshana · Rating 1 out of 5]

Trigger warning for the book: attempted sexual assault, violent homophobia

So, this book is melodramatic. People overreact to everything. The way they talk and cry feels off at points. There are far too many scenes of character A telling character B their backstory (including the most melodramatic and out-of-nowhere one right near the end of the book, my god). And some of the word choice during sex scenes is so hilariously unsexy that *I* can feel it and I'm frickin' asexual.

But this book would probably be 3 stars for me if not for two specific scenes.

When I read a romance novel with a cop protagonist, I do so in part for the fantasy of police upholding truth and justice and serving the downtrodden, which is so often not the way reality plays out despite our hopes.

It's hard to do that if the book treats homeless people like ticking timebombs that shout "police brutality!!" at the suggestion that an off-duty cop may be present and attack poor, off-duty Hero Cop Protagonist Lady who was just being chivalrous. Super tasteful choice for a book set in a country with a huge police brutality problem. Or when the book mentions teens dressed as "gangbangers" that speak AAVE and are aggressively homophobic towards the Hero Cop Protagonist Lady. Their races are conspicuously not mentioned, by the way. The only description we get is "gangbangers" + AAVE.

I enjoyed the previous book in this series but this one has left a seriously bad taste behind.

[Ameliah Faith · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have had this book on my Get It Now list for MONTHS before it was released! The wait was worth it. In a Heartbeat is a companion piece to LA Merto. While Kim and Jess are present this book is also a wonderful stand alone tale of Jess' sister Sam McKenna and fiesty ER Trauma suregon Riley Connolly.

I could not put this book down! I read it in one sitting. I loved that Jess and Kim were back and I got to continue their story. But even if they had not been there I would have loved this book anyway.

This story is just so real! Truly any and everything in the book could have actually happened and most likely has.

I really, really enjoyd this drama and it is already back on my To Read list. I wonder if she would ever consider writing a follow up (HINT HINT)...

Thank you Ms Nolan!
This is a f/f book

[Jaie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was okay, but generally disappointing. I didn't really like either of the characters. And I thought their relationship was troubled from the get-go. It had power dynamic troubles that weren't addressed and long-term codependency patterns. Well written craft-wise, but I just didn't like the characters/story so much.

[C. Mack · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my second read of this novel, but it's been a long time and I had forgotten what an excellent read this was. Really enjoyable, struggled to put it down.

[currentlyreadingbynat]

DNF at 25% mark. 😞
I just didn’t feel the chemistry between Sam and Riley. I also wasn’t invested in the characters. So disappointed seeing as though I enjoyed the first book in the series. 😬

[Berry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Its an ok book. I would have loved more drama or angst. But its good, the writing is good, characters are likeable. If you want something light and not heavy drama, this is for you.

[mili · Rating 4 out of 5]

8/10*

I must say I liked this one only a bit more than the first book in the series, L.A. Metro.

10/10 audio

Angela Dawe. Flawless. Narrator I'm comparing every other narrator to. I'm set to listen to almost every book she's narrated, honestly.

* Now that some short time has passed (about a week) since I read the books and I barely remember either one I must say I'd probably give them both 7/10 ratings or maybe even lower. But since I rated them this high right after reading them I'll just go with it, I guess.

[Velvet Lounger · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sam McKenna is the ultimate chilled lesbian cop. Confident of her skills and abilities.. except when it comes to relationships. Like many she chooses to stick to no strings affairs while she sadly watches her sister find true love and pines for the same

The chance run-in of a local drunk takes her to the ER just when a madman drags a doctor into a cubical and threatens her life. Sam rushes to the rescue – but at what personal cost?

Dr. Riley Connolly, closeted trauma surgeon, has never met her family’s expectations and leads a very unsatisfying life. She feels a deep connection to the cop who risked herself to come to her aid and is drawn like a moth to the flame.

The incident binds them together. But can there be any future for a commitment-phobic cop and a closeted, workaholic doctor?

--------------

This is a follow up to LA Metro, but stands alone perfectly well. A very traditional romance full of lesbian angst over relationships, family rejection, fear of coming out and self-doubt.

Sam is very much the lesbian cop stereotype, but not in a bad way. She is strong, confident, fearless and sure of herself. But her heart has been broken too badly for her to trust herself in relationships. Riley is the archetypal-closeted career woman, repressed by family judgments and expectations, fearful of living her life. Attracted to the sexy cop, but terrified of acting on it.

The characters are likeable and believable. We can empathize with their pain and engage in their struggles. The relationship between Sam and her sister Jess continues to delight and is added to by glimpses of the ongoing relationship between Kim and Jess (LA Metro).

The plot is solid, but at times it did feel a little drawn out. The whole book is spent on the angst, and the romance felt a little rushed at the end. Riley’s fears, in particular, seem to melt away in an instant after a whole book of pain about them. And the antagonism Jess feels towards Riley may be a useful plot tool, but feels rather forced.

Having said that I enjoy Ms Nolan’s books and look forward to the next. She writes well, I like her characters and her style. If you loved LA Metro you will undoubtedly love this.

[PharmDoc · Rating 2 out of 5]

Maybe it's a style thing as I seem to be in the minority. I think if you were a fan of Ms. Nolan's first book, LA Metro, you might like this. I wasn't enamored with the previous book but received this as a loan from a friend and thought the author might have true potential and wanted to check out her progression. Medical drama always sucks me in. Sadly, this book was so frustratingly simple and obvious and laid out. The dialoque droned. The descriptive word that comes to mind most is 'stereotypical'. I never really felt strongly about the protagonists getting together and I spent the whole time annoyed at both. The writing is often far from clean, and plot/dialogue/decisions obvious. Wow.

[MJSam · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this follow up to LA Metro. Sam and Riley were more interesting than Jess and Kim and I liked how their friendship moved into romance. The two leads spend time getting to know each other and the development of their feelings seemed organic.

The only quibble I have is given the amount of time spent setting up their friendship the romance seemed rushed. So too did the issues Riley had about her appearance, which just seemed to be magically resolved at the end of the book. I also wasn't sure why Sam's 'issue' was revealed to Kim but not to Riley. Still the story is nicely written and the characters are interesting. A nice way to spend a few hours.

[Margaret · Rating 4 out of 5]

Detailed score: 3.75

If you liked LA Metro #1, read this one.
If you didn't, don't.
If you haven't read LA metro #1, read that first

While this book shares the same overall structure as the first, the characters are different enough to make this book feel familiar, without feeling a poor imitation of the first.