Format: ebook
Published: 16th July, 2026
Age: Adult
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Rating: 5/5 Stars
You know that feeling when you sink into a book and realise, pretty quickly, that you’ve discovered a new favourite series AND author? Then realise how many books they have and hope you get to read, well, all of them, soon? That’s how I feel about Conflict of Interest and Zarah Detand. This is the second book in the Devon Memorial series, but I’ll be getting my hands on book 1 urgently – this can be read as a standalone, but there are two characters here who I loved who are, in fact, the focus of Operation Boyfriend.
I fell head over heels for this one as much as Finn and Jesse fell for each other, basically. New to the city, Finn meets a guy at a bar, plays along with the idea he’s an escort, and wakes up the next morning with the stranger gone and money left for him. Thinking he’ll never see the mysterious man again, Finn starts his new job at Devon Memorial, only to quickly bump into his ‘client’ Jesse, a paediatric fellow who might just hold Finn’s new career in his hands.
If you ever wanted “Grey’s Anatomy but Totally Gay” then this book is so, so for you. Early Grey’s, too – not the later seasons. The obstacles keeping them apart are clear throughout, especially considering where they are in their careers, but even that can’t quite stop them. The banter is great, and the way these two interact makes it clear they’re just destined to be together.
There’s an excellent cast of supporting characters, too – from the sympathetic Tay to Finn’s roommates to the two members of his class he befriends, not to mention Jesse’s bestie, they’re all well written and fleshed out and really give our characters that outside-the-main-couple interactions that really make a book shine.
I loved spending time with these characters, I loved the Devon Memorial Hospital setting, and I loved the ways Detand drew these characters together, pushed them apart, and drew them together again. Honestly, there’s little more you could want from a romance than what’s found in this book.
Reading Challenge
Musicals Reading Challenge 2026
Prompt: Enchanted – Happy Working Song – Set in a workplace
Progress: 13/24, +1 Bonus
Twenty Genres in 2026
Prompt: LGBTQIA+
Progress: 12/20
Unwrapping Words 