Lesbian medical romance is one of the greatest sapphic tropes and hundred of authors use this to captivate their readers. Lesbian medical romances are uplifting, life-affirming romances at heart and having the two main characters working together on high-octane cases in a pressurised ER department is bound to get their and our pulses racing. And there is something quite sexy about women in scrubs!
From the adrenaline-fueled rush of an emergency room to the quiet intimacy of a hospital room, lesbian doctor romance novels offer a wide range of settings for passionate encounters. Whether it’s a stolen moment in a supply closet or a heart-pounding rescue on the operating table, these 21 lesbian medical romance books will keep you on the edge of your seat.
The list below represents a tiny fraction of my favourite must-read medical sapphic books. All my love goes out to the amazing authors, who are paving the way when it comes to genre and boundary-pushing, writing dark and toxic love stories, unlikeable women main characters, or writing a cracker of a sapphic novel with the brightest dedication to love and kindness.
I read all my lesbian books on my Kindle Paperwhite, I just love it and take it everywhere with me so I can read all the best sapphic fiction book recommendations. With the Kindle Paperwhite’s built-in front light, I can fall asleep to a good lesbian book without leaving the lamp on and disturbing my wife. It comes with Bluetooth connectivity too, so I simply pair my airpods and doze off to a best-selling lesbian audiobook. The display has increased to 6.8″, so it‘s even easier to read, but it’s still super easy to pop in your bag or jacket pocket. The best bit though is that it is waterproof, so when I was recently on holiday in Vietnam and Cambodia I could lounge by the swimming pool whilst still being immersed in a good sapphic book. With 8 GB of storage and up to 10 weeks of battery life will see any bookworm like me through a holiday.
Don’t have time to read them all? Why not try listening to these great lesbian romance books? Audible is a great platform for listening to audiobooks because it offers a wide selection of lesbian books, including bestsellers and exclusive content. With Audible, you can listen to your favorite Sapphic books on the go, whether you’re commuting, working out, doing household chores, or simply relaxing in bed. Simply connect your headphones or airpods to your favourite device and you are good to go.
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So without further ado, here are my top 21 best lesbian medical romance books for you read in 2023.
1. Rescue Me by Michelle L. Teichman
Life is exciting if you’re one of the top RCMP officers in the country. With a few good years under her belt and a promotion so close she can almost touch it, Staff Sergeant Kristen Bailey of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police has everything figured out. Until she meets Ashleigh Paige. Beautiful, naïve, intelligent, and trusting, Ashleigh is the perfect possible lead for Bailey’s case. All she has to do is get close to her. The only problem is Ashleigh’s a paramedic, and in Toronto, paramedics and cops don’t mix. Undercover and searching for answers as a Toronto police officer, Bailey uses her charm to get Ashleigh to trust her and open up about what she knows surrounding the case of a dead police officer and the paramedics who might have murdered him. The trouble is, the closer she gets to Ashleigh, the more the line between informant and intimate gets blurred. A brilliant lesbian medical romance that will keep your pulse racing.
2. Heartsick by Tracey Richardson
An ER physician and a paramedic must heal the most painful affliction of their lives—their own broken hearts.
A seasoned paramedic and former soldier, Angie Cullen has spent many years helping to put people back together again. But her battle-tested heart is no match for the devastation of discovering that her partner has been cheating on her with the wife of ER physician Dr. Victoria Turner. When a car crash exposes the infidelity one evening in the ER, Angie and Vic find themselves unlikely and wary allies as they attempt to pick up the broken pieces of their lives. While each holds the remedy to the other’s broken heart, can Angie and Vic trust enough to love again?
From the best-selling author of The Candidate, By Mutual Consent, and Delay of Game comes an unforgettable lesbian medical romance about finding love again in the wake of a shattering betrayal.
3. Dr. Park by Clara Ann Simons
Dr. Laura Park has a promising career as a surgeon ahead of her.
A former child prodigy, she has been educated in one of the best medical schools under the supervision of the prestigious Daniela McKenna.
At the age of twenty-seven, she moved from Boston to Los Angeles in search of a smaller hospital that would allow her to grow faster as a surgeon.
Little did she expect that by a quirk of fate, she would find herself as interim chief of surgery, fighting for the permanent position against much more experienced doctors.
Perhaps it was also destiny that her former teacher showed up in that small hospital one day, awakening old memories but not telling her real reason for being in Los Angeles.
Meet the ambitious Dr. Park, the elegant and enigmatic Daniela McKenna, the cautious Sofia, and the funny Arya in this lesbian medical romance full of friendship, self-improvement, and maybe a few tears.
4. Healing Of The Heart by Ruby Scott
Prepare for some heart-stopping moments. Ruby Scott’s best-selling lesbian romance series continues.
Meredith Asquith is a talented Neurosurgeon at the top of her field.
That is as much as anyone knows… but who really is the woman behind the scalpel? Is there nothing to tell, or too much to reveal?
When her professional path is crossed by Emily Porter, a beautiful young psychologist, whose job it is to assess the top surgeon’s mental fitness to operate, Meredith’s contained life begins to unravel forcing devastating choices to be made
Sometimes the strongest forces of nature belie a very fragile truth… the only certainty is change.
Prepare for loss, angst but most of all hope in this slow-burn lesbian medical romance with a sexy little age gap. Just when you think you know where life is taking you… think again.
Have you read the other sapphic medical novels in the City General: Medic 1 series?
Open Heart
Love Trauma
Diagnosis Love
Hot Response
Trails of the Heart
5. Fated Love by Radclyffe
What do you do when your carefully planned life takes a wrong turn into hell? When Quinn Maguire, a dashing young trauma surgeon, unaccountably accepts a position as an ER physician, her new boss, Honor Blake, suspects that Quinn is hiding a dark secret. While the two declare an uneasy truce in an effort to work together, both struggle with mutual, and unexpected, attraction. Honor, however, has more than one reason to resist her growing feelings for the attractive newcomer—not the least of which is that her heart belongs to the woman whose wedding ring she wears. Amidst the chaos and drama of a busy emergency room, Quinn and Honor must contend not only with the fragile nature of life, but also with the mysteries of the heart and the irresistible forces of fate.
Have you read the other lesbian medical romance books in the PMC hospital romance series by Radclyffe?
6. Reservations Of The Heart by T.B. Markinson
Can two wounded souls find solace together?
41-year-old doctor Stella Gilbert used to have it all. Her career was on fire, and she had a picture-perfect family–until she was blindsided by her wife doing the unthinkable. Three years after her divorce, Stella’s loved ones worry about her non-existent personal life and her stubborn belief that focusing on her career and raising her daughter are all she needs to be fulfilled.
Reeling from the revelation of a long-held family secret, 29-year-old Aurora Shirley is just over it all. If her parents could lie to Aurora all her life, won’t everyone else? Women are the last thing on her mind as she starts a temporary job at a local medical school. Unfortunately for Aurora, she needs to find a date for her best friend’s wedding or be deemed the worst maid of honor in history.
When Stella and Aurora unexpectedly come together, sparks fly. Neither is looking for a relationship, but what they discover in one another is so much more than a physical connection. Can two wounded women who believe love is the last thing they want overcome their fears to find healing?
Best-selling lesbian romance author T.B. Markinson brings lesfic readers a heartwarming age-gap story about facing one’s demons to live a fuller and loving life. Grab your copy of the standalone lesbian medical romance novel that will make your heart sing.
7. Who’d Have Thought by G Benson
Top neurosurgeon Samantha Thomson needs to get married fast and is tightlipped as to why. And with over $200,000 on offer to tie the knot, no questions asked, cash-strapped ER nurse Hayden Pérez isn’t about to demand answers.
The deal is only for a year of marriage, but Hayden’s going into it knowing it will be a nightmare. Sam is complicated, rude, kind of cold, and someone Hayden barely tolerates at work, let alone wants to marry. The hardest part is that Hayden has to convince everyone around them that they’re madly in love and that racing down the aisle together is all they’ve ever wanted. What could possibly go wrong?
8. Ask, Tell by E.J. Noyes
Where can you turn when you’re caught in a crossfire of war and passion?
Captain Sabine Fleischer is a skilled and dedicated U.S. Army surgeon deployed to a combat hospital in Afghanistan. She is also one of the thousands of troops who are forced to serve in silence because of the military’s anti-gay policy of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell (DADT).”
Usually driven and focused, Sabine finds that battles raging both inside and outside the perimeter walls are making it more and more difficult for her to deal with her emotions. Dealing with loss and mortality, lack of privacy, sleep deprivation, loneliness and the isolation forced on her by “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” are all taking their toll. Plus, her long-term relationship with a civilian back home is quickly becoming another casualty of war.
Colonel Rebecca Keane is an enigmatic career officer who runs the surgical unit like clockwork. Well liked and respected by those who work with and under her, she walks a fine line to preserve the military’s chain of command while connecting with those under her care and supervision. Sabine knows the Colonel is way off-limits, but can’t help fantasizing about her. Especially when she starts picking up unspoken cues—a stolen glance, a secret smile, an “accidental” brush of hands. Or is it just wishful thinking? After all, Rebecca’s wedding ring shines almost as brightly as her deep blue eyes…
Have you read the other lesbian medical romance books in the Ask, Tell series?
9. Mouth To Mouth by Cara Malone
Sparks fly as a people-pleasing paramedic and a hardened ER nurse collide in the final installment of the bestselling Lakeside Hospital medical romance series.
Sarah would do anything for her friends. From babysitting to wedding planning, and even going beyond the call of duty for her patients, ‘no’ isn’t part of her vocabulary – until her body reaches a breaking point.
When Sarah faints into the arms of the prettiest nurse in the ER, it could be a sign that it’s time to do something about the crush she’s had on Veronica for years.
Instead, all Sarah gets is fluids and a lecture.
Veronica has too many problems of her own, including an evil ex-girlfriend who won’t stay gone, to fuss over a lightheaded paramedic – even if it is the hardworking one with the gorgeous blue eyes.
While everyone else at Lakeside Hospital is coupling up and settling down, there’s no room for romance in the life-or-death chaos of the emergency room. But sometimes love is where you least expect it, standing right in front of you all along…
Have you read the other lesbian medical romance books in the Lakeside hospital series?
10. I Belong With Her by Domina Alexandra
Tajel Pierce loves the thrill of being a paramedic. Every call she goes on gives her a rush. She makes no time for a personal life. No one can ruin her love for her career.
Then there is Arianna Castaldi, who just transferred to her new paramedic position in a whole new state. All she needs is a new start without any distractions.
Arianna and Tajel’s relationship doesn’t start off perfect. Embarrassed of the one night stand Arianna believes she had with Tajel, she wants to pretend they never met and make their relationship strictly business.
The only choice they have to keep from strangling each other is to go from denying their feelings to accepting them as they work through intense 911 calls.
11. Protecting Her Heart by M.T. Cassen
When work and school become too much to handle, can a young woman fight the fight to make all her dreams come true? And when love blossoms in the most surprising way, will she recognize what’s right in front of her eyes?
When an opportunity opens up in a new nursing program at the hospital, Bella Strong quickly accepts it. Now she has her life all mapped out, with full-time school, her relationship with Jackson, and her career blossoming; and she’s prepared to make all her dreams become a reality.
Then she meets Dr. Leona Guillano, and suddenly everything she thought she wanted, has gotten a little hazy in the process.
Luckily, Bella has too much on her mind, and that doesn’t include falling in love with the beautiful doctor. She has a boyfriend, and will soon be graduating college and headed for the nursing career she’s longed for.
Leona left New York City for a new chapter of her life. What she didn’t anticipate was finding the younger woman appealing, to the extent that she would do anything to protect her. Even if it puts her own job at stake.
In Leona’s eyes, their chemistry sparks flames immediately. However, Bella seems to be focused on her work and that causes Leona to take a step back. If the younger woman is distant, then perhaps she should tread lightly. It’s best, anyway, because the last thing Leona needs is another broken heart.
Yet, Bella’s eyes have a way of drawing her in and tossing Leona towards her in a way that is hard to ignore. If only she could break through those barriers that Bella keeps putting up between them.
Can Leona break through those barriers, revealing a secret that Bella has kept from her? Plus, will Bella allow her to get close enough to knock them down, when it includes being honest with everyone, including herself — e specially herself?
Bella and Leona share a love that could surpass all expectations, but it will take true courage for Bella to succumb to her deepest desires. And she’s been protecting her heart long enough, will Leona be the woman that can let herself go?
Have you read the other lesbian medical romance books in Healing Hearts Series?
12. Irregular Heartbeat by Chris Zett
After nearly a decade as a professional drummer, Diana Petrell leaves her rock-star life behind to continue her residency in emergency medicine. She’s determined not to let anything stop her—not even falling in love with her aloof mentor, Dr. Emily Barnes.
Emily has only ever focused on her career as a senior attending in the emergency department, and she isn’t happy about having to babysit a resident with a ten-year gap in her résumé, no matter how intriguing she is.
But every time they work together, it’s not just their patients’ heartbeat that gets a little irregular. Soon, the once-clear lines between work and personal life begin to blur.
When Diana’s unorthodox secret past is revealed, putting her job in jeopardy, Emily has to choose between her career and her relationship. A lesbian romance that asks how much we’d risk for love.
13. The Fifth Surgeon by Faith Prize
A lesbian medical romance about the powerful breakthroughs we can’t always see.
Nadia Keating has barely started her cardiothoracic fellowship training, but she already has the archetype nailed—she’s direct, uncompromising, and suffering from a God complex.
Before she can focus on her impressive research, deeply closeted Nadia has a personal project: getting her inconvenient attraction to women out of her system. She picks a stranger online for a one-night stand.
Ashley Rylan, the chief of Nadia’s department, is her polar opposite—sweet, agreeable, and soft-spoken—and the stranger Nadia unwittingly chooses.
The two women’s meeting is a hostile disaster and they would love nothing more than to never see each other again. However, their paths keep colliding as Nadia embarks on an ambitious experiment that could lead to a historic medical breakthrough.
Despite warring egos and the secrets they keep, their connection is powerful and growing. Maybe having sex would help them get over their distraction at work? Or would that just ruin everything?
14. Major Surgery by Lola Keeley
An enemies-to-lovers lesbian medical romance about sexy, smart doctors cutting to the heart of what matters.
Skilled surgeon Veronica Mallick runs her London hospital department like she runs her surgeries: with hawkish efficiency. Then her perfect world is turned upside down by the arrival of a new Head of Trauma.
Cassie Taylor is a brash, no-nonsense army surgeon, fresh from the front lines, and trying to find her way in civilian life. She’s all action and sharp edges, not too interested in rules. She’s even less interested in bureaucracy, or playing nice with her uptight, paper-pushing colleague, Veronica.
While they’re circling each other warily at St. Sophia’s hospital, Cassie becomes entangled in some shady financial dealings.
Their shared search for the truth draws them closer together, sparking heated moments as they try to see justice done. But in exposing a scandal, can they also find some common ground? How will they both deal with being attracted to a woman they don’t even like?
15. Thursday Afternoons by Tracey Richardson
Thursdays aren’t simply another day of the week for Amy Spencer and Ellis Hall. Thursday afternoons sizzle with no-strings sex for the two women, who meet each week in a hotel room to forget their past—and their present.
The arrangement works perfectly for Amy, a busy surgeon who’s still smarting from a failed relationship. For Ellis, Thursday afternoons act as a pressure valve from her cutthroat job and the mistakes in her personal life she’s trying to rectify.
But soon the pair discover that their outside worlds are on a collision course with the carefully constructed world they’ve created on Thursday afternoons. What will happen when they discover the truth about each other? Will their weekly assignations come to a screeching halt, or will they turn into something much, much more…
16. I Want It All With You by Aleks Mitchell
It’s been one bad relationship after the other for Josslyn Tait. She can’t seem to find one person that wants to be in a committed relationship with her. After finding her ex in bed with another woman, she’s just about ready to give up on finding love altogether.
Enter Kate.
Kate Parker. The sister of her best friend and roommate. Also the biggest player in Riverside, and Josslyn’s least favorite person. Okay, that position was already filled by the guy who just cheated on her, but she was still pretty low on the list.
When Kate offers to be her wing woman and help her out in the dating department, Josslyn is hesitant to agree. But Kate has a good track record of getting people to fall for her. If anyone can help Josslyn find that special someone, it has to be Kate.
Only Josslyn gets a crazy idea. Maybe she needed a break from trying to find that special someone. Maybe she needed to be more like Kate. And who better to learn from than Kate herself.
The two women take their relationship to the next level and everything goes downhill from there.
Kate warned her not to fall in love with her. Josslyn never thought she’d fall for someone like Kate. But the heart is a confusing organ, and Josslyn’s heart is growing fonder and fonder of the woman every second she spends with her.
Josslyn’s dealt with a broken heart before. She could get over her feelings for Kate. There’s only one problem. Josslyn’s not the only one catching feelings.
17. High October by Elena Graf
Liz Stolz and Maggie Fitzgerald were college roommates until Maggie confessed to her parents that she’d fallen in love with a woman. Maggie gave up her dream of becoming an actress and married her high school boyfriend. Liz became a famous breast surgeon. Maggie is performing in a summer stock production near the Maine town where Liz is now a general practitioner. When Maggie breaks her leg in a stage accident, she lands in Dr. Stolz’s office. Is forty years too long to wait for the one you love?
18. Wounded Souls by RJ Nolan
Dr. Ashlee Logan’s world changed forever on a snowy December night in Boston. She has spent the last two years on the road, trying to escape the memory of that fateful night. With only her Great Dane, Drake, as her companion, she has worked her way across country from the Atlantic to the Pacific, working as an ER physician along the way.
While serving her country, former Navy doctor Dale Parker had her life shattered in a single moment on a hot, windswept desert roadside. Now, three years later, although her physical wounds have healed, Dale is forever changed by the experience. Struggling with her self-image, she has dedicated her second chance at life to helping other wounded veterans.
LA Metropolitan Hospital brings the two women together. Drawn together as kindred spirits, neither wants to face the stirring of emotions the other woman invokes.
Together can Dale and Logan move past the horrific events of their pasts, or are they forever destined to be…Wounded Souls?
Have you read the other lesbian medical romance books in the L.A series?
19. Tricky Wisdom by Camryn Eyde
Darcy Wright is a closeted lesbian who has been infatuated with her best friend, Taylor, since junior high. Leaving her small northeast Minnesota town for Harvard in a quest to become a doctor, she moves in with med-student Olivia Boyd, a neurotic, anal, gigantic pain in the backside. The first year of juggling medical school is gruelling, but it’s nothing compared to living with Olivia.
Coming out to her friends and family with an anti-climactic flop, Darcy uses her newly publicised sexuality to try and win Taylor’s affections through an ill-hatched scheme that crosses uncomfortable lines. The result is as unexpected to Darcy as Darcy’s affinity for medicine is to Olivia.
The first year of medical school is a nerve-wracking encounter in medicine, learning lessons the hard way, and finding what her heart desires.
Have you read the other lesbian medical romance book in The Tricky Series?
20. When We’re Meant To Be by Skye Von Triessen
When Dr. Alexandra Edison’s world was ripped apart, the last thing she expected was to end up in a casual affair with Blake Westmore. Soon after she was forced to choose between her past and her present, when her strong sense of obligation forced her to leave the woman whom she shared one of the most unforgettable experiences with, and head back to L.A. to help the woman who broke her heart. At that moment, it didn’t seem like she had a choice. She did what she thought was right, even if nothing felt right about it. Life made choices for her, which she had no control over, or did she?
Dr. Blake Westmore allowed Alexandra to walk away from her without putting up a fight. She felt she had no choice but to accept Alexandra’s decision. Will she just allow Alexandra to leave her behind, or will she realize that she made a big mistake in letting her go, without telling her how she feels about her? Did she really have a say in the decision that life had made for them in some ways? Nothing felt right or fair about life just intervening and ripping from her grasp, what could quite possibly be the best thing that had ever happened to her.
So, the questions remain. What will both women do? Will Alexandra remain in L.A. with the woman who broke her heart or will she return to the one who had healed her broken heart? Will Blake go after Alexandra or will she just let her go without a fight? The even bigger question is, will they get their happily ever after? More importantly, will their happily ever after be together? In the end, life will make choices for them and maybe it was just not meant to be, or was it?
Have you read the other lesbian medical romance book in the series?
21. Heart Trouble by Jae
Award-winning author Jae’s lesbian novel is a medical romance with a few unexpected turns.
Dr. Hope Finlay loves her job as an emergency room physician, especially since it allows her only brief encounters with her patients. She learned early in life not to get attached to anyone because it never lasts.
Laleh Samadi, a waitress at her aunt’s restaurant, is the exact opposite. She easily connects with people and loves her big, boisterous Persian family, despite their tendency to meddle in her life.
When Laleh needs to be rushed to the ER with heart trouble, Hope saves her life. Afterwards, strange things begin to occur: Why does Laleh suddenly know even the most obscure diseases, while Hope is fluent in Farsi?
Soon, they can no longer deny that there’s a mysterious connection between them—one that becomes stronger with each passing day.
Are they losing their minds…or their hearts?
I hope you enjoy my 21 must-read Lesbian medical romance book recommendations.
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2 Responses
Loved your City General Medic series. Medical romance is one of my favorite genres. Thank you for this list. I have more than half of the books on this list but am looking forward to acquiring those which I have not read. Sally
Thanks Sally, I’m really glad you enjoyed the City General Medic 1 series, I have plans to write book 7 in the series so watch this space. Happy reading!