Review - - Five Alarm Love

Five Alarm Love

by Jillian David

Yukon Valley, Alaska Hospital Series - Book 3

Publisher: Tule Publishing

Release Date: August 7, 2025

Reviewed by PJ

Lives—and hearts—are on the line in Yukon Valley, Alaska.

Yukon Valley Fire Chief Tuli Sampson has spent years protecting his hometown, but the only thing he’s ever wanted to save is Louise Wright’s heart. His childhood best friend has always been his anchor, steady and unyielding like the Yukon River. Now, with his career thriving and his charm earning him fame as a tourist influencer, Tuli is ready to risk it all for the woman who’s been his forever girl.

Louise Wright, a shy and dedicated medic, has spent her life dreaming of more—more courage, more love, and maybe even Tuli. He’s always been her secret wish, the one man who could make her heart race faster than a snowstorm. But just as their undeniable chemistry sparks into something real, Lou receives devastating news that threatens to shatter their future.

Caught between her own happiness and Tuli’s, Louise chooses his. But in a town where matchmakers never quit and love runs deeper than the salmon-filled rivers, can these childhood friends turn years of longing into a lifetime together?

PJ's Thoughts:

I've thoroughly enjoyed the first two books in this series but admit that I've been eagerly anticipating Tuli's story the whole time. Happy to say it did not disappoint. 

If you enjoy small-town, friends-to-lovers romance with a good-hearted hero (with a Golden Retriever personality), a shy heroine who has been publicly humiliated by her ex, meddling friends and family, and a twisty mystery (seems like someone is out to derail the whole town), all set in beautiful - but treacherous - rural Alaska, give Five Alarm Love a try. Then circle back and get the first two books in the series too. I enthusiastically recommend them all.

Review - - Paging Dr. Breakup

Paging Dr. Breakup

by Jillian David

Yukon Valley, Alaska - Book 2

Publisher: Tule Publishing

Release Date: April 29, 2025

Reviewed by PJ

 

Widow Deirdre Steen has spent the last five years making sure she’s the best chief nursing officer Yukon Valley Hospital has ever seen. It cost her a personal life—and protected her heart. But now her childhood friend, Dr. Calvin Garrett—the one who got away—is temporarily lending his emergency medicine skills to their rural hospital in Alaska’s interior. The community’s relentless matchmaking network loves a challenge, which leaves Deirdre with one viable option: a fake dating pact with Calvin until the spring Breakup Festival and his inevitable departure to his regular job and his life in Seattle.

Calvin moved away years ago rather than watch his best friend marry Deirdre. Now, amazingly, she’s in Calvin’s bed and the center of his world. Yet a woman like Deirdre deserves forever—as well as a man who didn’t finish as runner-up the first time around.

Can an Alaskan spring thaw help two wounded healers thaw the ice surrounding their hearts and fulfill this second chance at love?

PJ's Thoughts:

Jillian David takes readers back to small-town Alaska with a new story in her Yukon Valley, Alaska series. This time, it's a second-chance romance between Deidre and Calvin, former best friends with some hefty emotional baggage between them.

I really enjoyed this book. Reading it was like taking a trip to Yukon Valley, experiencing all rural Alaska has to offer, and catching up with good friends. The author does an excellent job of staging, within the hospital, in the town, and in the wilderness. 

I love the foundation of friendship between Calvin and Deirdre. Even with the cracks in that foundation formed by their years of separation, it still provides a solid basis on which to build. David explores deeply emotional facets of both characters as they grapple with feelings of desire, guilt, grief, and hope without allowing the story to get too heavy. 

As with book one, the citizens of Yukon Valley play pivotal roles in this second book, especially of the meddling matchmaking type. Well meaning, yes, but also hilariously nosy in their attempts. 

If you like a story that explores second chances with the one who got away, moving forward after a spouse's death and best friends-to-lovers, all wrapped up in a charming small-town romance with humor, a bit of danger, community spirit, fake dating, hospital situations, and a hard-won happy ending, pick up a copy of Paging Dr. Breakup. It's a humorous, heart-tugging, enjoyable read. 

Review - - Dr. Alaska

Dr. Alaska

by Jillian David

Yukon Valley, Alaska - Book 1

Publisher: Tule

Release Date: January 14, 2025

Reviewed by PJ

Grey’s Anatomy, meet Northern Exposure…

Lee Tipton, MD, takes running from her past to an extreme, hotfooting it from Georgia to a temporary position at Yukon Valley Hospital in chilly Alaska. Her newly purchased winter gear may protect her from the elements, but no amount of insulation can protect her from her deep-seated fear that a romantic partner will once again use her for personal gains. Despite the hospital staff’s matchmaking efforts, Lee swears she has no interest in the town’s cocky lead paramedic, even if his sexy smile sets off palpitations.

Maverick Steen learned his one simple rule of romance the hard way: no dating outsiders. That includes the hospital’s newest fish-out-of-water doctor, whom he finds himself paired with as they navigate critical care cases and snowmobile accidents. Yet when Lee embraces the beauty in the Alaskan interior and cottons to his sled dog team of misfits, suddenly, Maverick’s heart—and his bed—feel a whole lot warmer.

But can they say yes to love before Lee’s assignment ends?

PJ's Thoughts:

They had me at "Grey's Anatomy, meet Northern Exposure." As a huge fan of both shows (though I finally tossed in the Grey's towel a few years ago), I was already predisposed to enjoy this book before turning the first page. Happily, the story itself kept me entertained and left me eager for book two. 

I love a fish out of water story and from the first pages we are made delightfully aware that Georgia-born Lee is exactly that. Then, of course, one of the first people she encounters before even arriving in Yukon Valley is a paramedic who, well, let's just say, doesn't make the best first impression. But, dear readers, there be sparks between these two! Adversaries to lovers, anyone?

What follows is a fun, somewhat emotional, and a bit suspenseful journey that had me happily immersing myself in dogsled rides, hospital emergencies, newfound friendships, slowly rebuilt trust, complicated family dynamics, quirky matchmaking locals, and a heart-tugging romance. 

Bring on book two, please. I'm ready for a return visit to Yukon Valley, Alaska.