The road to happily-ever-after starts in Costa Rica in this passionate romance by USA TODAY bestselling author Traci Douglass.
Sometimes the future… … is just a fling away!
For single mom Sara, life has been all about raising her now adult son. But volunteering for a medical charity in Costa Rica is finally the nurse’s chance to focus on her passions. Only, her guarded new boss, Gabe, stirs something deep in her that she’d thought long forgotten… And as the devastatingly handsome doctor sends all her senses into overdrive, for once sensible Sara can’t help wondering—what if they didn’t resist temptation?
From Harlequin Life and love in the world of modern medicine.
Traci is a USA Today Bestselling romance author with an MFA in Writing Popular Fiction from Seton Hill University. She writes sometimes funny, always emotional stories about strong, quirky, wounded characters overcoming adversity to find their forever person. She believes Love is Love and hopes to accomplish brave, beautiful things with her one wild and precious life.
Represented by Jill Marsal at Marsal Lyon Literary Agency, LLC
Traci Douglass has become one of my favorite authors. I find myself being transported into the pages of her books. I never thought about visiting Costa Rica, but now I want to.
Costa Rican Fling with the Doc is a seasoned romance, featuring two people who are in desperate need of rediscovering themselves. Sara Parker has put all of her time and energy into being a PICU nurse at Chicago Memorial and raising her now-adult son after her divorce. Struggling with being an empty-nester, Sara decides to finally focus on herself and do something that she wants to do. She decides to volunteer at a charity medical organization sponsored by her hospital in Costa Rica. Dr. Gabriel “Gabe” Novak has been trying to give back and make amends for a horrible tragedy in his past, starting with his first mission trip over 20 years ago. Since then, he has helped countless people, but in the process, he has been hiding from life and never letting anyone get too close.
When the two meet, it’s an instant attraction, one neither wants to have or acknowledge. They both know they each carry baggage from their last true relationship and aren’t ready or willing to put their hearts on the line. What starts out as a fling, suddenly becomes very real, with one not wanting things to go further than their time together in Costa Rica. However, when tragedy strikes, their true character and the depths of their love can no longer be denied.
Costa Rican Fling with the Doc was a great read with great characters. I highly recommend it. Be prepared to have your heartstrings tugged.
Please note this story contains references to cancer, war, and death.
~ Favorite Quotes ~
“Change is hard.”
“Don’t force your assistance on people who don’t want it or deserve it.”
“None of us are insignificant.”
“We all have our own paths to walk.”
“Don’t judge someone else until you’ve worn their shoes.”
“Love is meant to teach us, to help us grow, to make us the best versions of ourselves.”
“No one knows what the future hold.”
“We all say and do things we don’t mean sometimes.”
“Sometimes you have to be brave and do the hard things anyway.”
“We must all do what we can, with what we have, where we are.”
“We can’t change who we are, and we can’t control what happens to us.”
“All we can do is keep surviving. Keep going until it gets better. Because it always does if we hang in there long enough.”
“Don’t let the worst day of your life steal the best ones.”
**Received a copy of the book courtesy of the author and voluntarily reviewed it.**
I am a volunteer ARC for this book in exchange for an honest review. I loved this book! Being a health professional myself, I always like books on the medical professions. The author has the setting of this book at a volunteer medical camp in Costa Rica. The descriptions of the setting and the village make you feel like you are there. There were a lot of emotions in this book and I found myself crying at one part. There is just enough suspense that you don’t want to put the book down. The characters are believable as well as the story line. Gabe and Sara are great characters who throughout the book need to deal with their past relationships in order for theirs to succeed. Sara goes to the medical camp and sees her friend Noah. This is where she meets Gabe who is the doctor at the facility. Gabe has high walls up around his personal life but starts to let Sara in. You will have to read the book to see what happens with their story!
A light-hearted romance with serious undertones, Costa Rican Fling with the Doc doesn’t disappoint. The characters were well-developed and the story moved at a great pace. Traci Douglass is definitely one to watch.
Sara Parker is a divorced single mother of a twenty-one year old son who moved to California for college. She has been a PICU nurse in Chicago for almost twenty years when she decides to take a sabbatical after her son moved out. Now feeling lost,lonely and unsure of what she wants to do with her life she decided to volunteer for a charity that her hospital sponsors in South America. A hospital called Los Cabreras where her friend Noah has been working for two years and now calls home. She wanted to find her purpose in the world her calling never did she expect someone to heal her broken and shattered heart too. Dr. Gabriel "Gabe" Novak was from Croatia he had his whole life ahead of him when tragedy struck that changed his life forever. Now thirty years later he is still fighting those demons by working constantly and not allowing people to get to close to his heart. Then a nurse from Chicago breaks down his defenses, steals his heart, and heals his soul. Their journey wasn't easy there was a lot of push and pull, ups and downs,denial then even the possibility of losing someone for the realization that life is to short to just walk away.
I enjoyed the secondary characters Noah, Tristan, Doreen, Matteo and would love to see a book about them.
I received an free ARC from the author through Bookfunnel an I'm voluntarily leaving my review.
The story centers around Sara Parker, a nurse from Chicago whose empty nester and single mom status, has her out of sorts. The other man character is Dr. Gabe Novak. A man that after a disaster left him without a family, has dedicated his life to helping those in need and has closed himself to any relationships. They meet in Costa Rica, where Gabe has been for years, and where Sara has decided to spend a month helping the local clinic while on a sabbatical. Neither expected to meet the other or to develop the feelings they did. Knowing that opinions are just that, personal , I have to confess that though the premise seemed interesting and the location in Costa Rica took me back to my visit there years ago, I never felt totally engaged with either the main characters or the story. For me it was just an ok story. I was entrusted a copy of this book. The opinions expressed are solely my own.
Costa Rican Fling with the Doc by Traci Douglass is a wonderful medical romance that I LOVED so much!!! If you haven't read the author's Medical Romance books by Harlequin your really missing out. I was super excited as the main characters are more "seasoned" meaning older in age. It is really nice to read about a character that is so relatable.
The setting is a volunteer medical camp and the descriptions of the village were excellent. I felt like I was right there living it.
I loved the main characters Sara and Gabe and the tension as they work through past relationships. The secondary characters were also fantastic , especially Sara's friend Noah.
The story was well developed and the romance was perfectly expressed, with angst and sadness at times.
I enjoyed this medical romance so much.
I look forward to more books from Traci Douglass.
She is a master story teller that puts such emotion in her characters, it shines through on the page.
Absolutely gorgeous read by Traci, an emotional, uplifting, raw story of Gabe who is traumatised and punishing himself for the loss of his wife and son years ago, believing he is undeserving and incapable of love. Sara is an empty nester who decides to take a trip to volunteer for a medical charity in Costa Rica. This story of redemption and finding happiness again after tragedy and betrayal is an absolute page turner, the secondary characters are delightfully real too. I loved this book so much and the characters being in their 40s and 50s was something I loved.
Empty nester and divorcee Sara decides to take a sabbatical from her job as a nurse and volunteer in a Costa Rican hospital. She meets and becomes involved with a war torn doctor who has been traumatized by the deaths of his wife and daughter years ago. The story is one of letting go of the past and looking forward to the future.
Costa Rican Fling with the Doc Traci Douglass ARC REVIEW Will he let his walls down? I love reading books written in the medical profession, so I jumped at the chance to take this ARC. This is a well written, entertaining and enjoyable read, which I find is true of the books I have read from Traci Douglass.
Loved this story by a new to me author! Great character and setting development. The descriptions made it feel like you were in Costa Rica and I can't wait to read more by Traci! I also love the fact that it was a medical story.