Anyone who’s read my previous reviews will not be surprised that I snatched up the latest Radclyffe as soon as I saw it and won’t be surprised that I enjoyed it.

Pathway to Love is the latest in the Rivers Community Romance Series introducing a new romantic pairing within the walls of the Rivers Hospital. There’s a number of the characters and some underlying plots from the previous books woven in with the main medical romance; so, if you haven’t read the other books, I strongly recommend you don’t start with this one. But I do recommend reading the series – some of Rad’s best works are medical romances and the town, characters and ongoing stories in this series make for a very enjoyable and binge-able read.

After seven books about the lives and loves in this small town, I do admit that I am starting to wonder if there may be some pheromone that lures unsuspecting, brilliant, handsome/gorgeous, brooding/plucky lesbians into town where they get sucked into the Rivers hospital community and find the one woman in the entire world who can 1) restore their jaded faith/hope/broken heart after a tragic loss/horrible break up/scandal; 2) reform their casual player ways/melt their resolve to not become involved/overcome their reservations/doubts/baggage and pave the way to a committed/passionate/forever relationship; or, 3) provide the safety/security/confidence/understanding/acceptance that they have always been looking for/didn’t know they were looking for/didn’t think was possible. All that with smoldering chemistry between the mains as well as lots of action in the ER/OR and the bedroom. But, hey … these are Radclyffe novels. And I get sucked into each and every one of them.

Things pick up in Pathway to love not long after Love on the Night Shift with the arrival of Dr Bennett Anderson as the new head of the fledgling Sports Medicine program at the Rivers Community Hospital. Crossing paths several times with Courtney Valentine, a supporting character from previous novels, before her first official shift intrigues Ben, and when multiple traumas come in, she and Courtney are thrown together on a number of cases.

I will admit that I wasn’t a big fan of Courtney from the previous novels, but she came into her own with this one and I particularly like Bennett. Pairing the two of them worked quite well and there was a strong chemistry between the two with relatively low key angst or drama.

There’s a lot of medical in this medical romance – so those who enjoy this genre will be happy. It kept the pace moving quickly as they jump from one trauma to the next and gives the opportunity to interact with characters from previous novels. There’s also the continuation of the overall development of Margie and Blake’s story and the will they/won’t they get together question get amps up. One of the things I’ve liked best about this series is the Blake/Margie storyline and, unlike most of Rad’s couples, this is a slooooooow burn. Even if they don’t end up together, the two are really well developed and the continued unfolding of these two characters keeps me coming back.

It’s a bit odd how the book is structured – at least 60% of it is one day, the first day, which made this very much of an instant-attract kind of romance and didn’t give as much time for the relationship to grow. After that first day, things skim over about a month or so. It seemed a bit uneven in the pacing/timing for the romance part, but even so, I liked the characters and got sucked into the romance, so it worked.