Margins
Lakeside Hospital book cover 1
Lakeside Hospital book cover 2
Lakeside Hospital book cover 3
Lakeside Hospital
Series · 5 books · 2017-2020

Books in series

The Origins of Heartbreak book cover
#1

The Origins of Heartbreak

2017

Alex McHenry’s world stood still the day her father passed. She was 19, studying to be an art teacher, and living happily like any other college student. Then abruptly, her life was reduced to funeral arrangements, depression, therapy, and the responsibility of caring for her mother, who retreated to the couch to take solace in the artificially cheerful hosts on the Home Shopping Network. After more than a year of living frozen in the moment of her father’s death, Alex decides to take the first steps out of her grief. She enrolls in a paramedic program and during one of her first classes, she meets Megan Callahan, a pretty but aloof medical student who comes crashing into her life at the most unexpected moment. It’s not long before Alex discovers that Megan has her own skeletons in the proverbial closet, and when a bacterial outbreak forces them together, they must both decide whether to confront their demons together, or continue to live in limbo. Can Alex and Megan work together to mend their broken hearts? Or will they turn away in fear? This is the first book in the Lakeside Hospital series. Each book can be enjoyed as a stand-alone novel and the series can be read in any order.
A Cut Above book cover
#2

A Cut Above

2018

Ivy Chan has always known her destiny. She would be the best neurosurgeon in the state, or maybe the country. Better even than her father, whose shadow she's eager to escape. Ivy has always been a student above all. Friendships, hobbies and romance come second… or more often, not at all. She's in the home stretch now, the final year of medical school, and her surgical residency is within reach. All Ivy needs to do is stay the course. Which would be a hell of a lot easier if she hadn't had the misfortune of falling in love with her study partner. Chloe Barnes is the kind of girl who can command Ivy's attention even across a crowded Emergency Room. She's smart and witty, she makes friends with everyone she meets… she's the polar opposite of Ivy's reserved, cynical nature. And one unexpected kiss in the hospital locker room changes everything. It shoves Ivy off her chosen path… Leaves her questioning everything… And wanting more. This is the second book in the Lakeside Hospital series. Each book can be enjoyed as a stand-alone novel and the series can be read in any order.
Love Trauma book cover
#3

Love Trauma

2018

Krys Stevens is the best trauma doctor at Lakeside Hospital. She runs the ER like a finely choreographed dance and her dedication to her patients makes up for the ones she cannot save. She’s got a small group of coworkers she calls friends and she’s a superstar at the free clinic where she volunteers. What more could an ambitious young doctor want? One day, a patient arrives in the ER intubated with a ballpoint pen and changes everything. Darcy is a combat medic, or she used to be. Her whole identity was wrapped up in the Army until she was injured and sent back to civilian life. After ten years away, there’s not much waiting for her at home, but she’s determined to rebuild her life so she starts going to meet-ups to make new friends. That’s how she befriends the meet-up coordinator, and how she discovers he’s allergic to shellfish. One creative intubation later and she’s following him to the ER where she meets the passionate, beautiful and untouchable Krys. She stops only long enough to give Darcy a piece of her mind, but that’s all it takes to know… Darcy wants Krys to be in the life she’s building. This is the third book in the Lakeside Hospital series. Each book can be enjoyed as a stand-alone novel and the series can be read in any order.
Labor of Love book cover
#4

Labor of Love

2019

ASIN B07N7SCW6P moved to the more recent edition Hot-shot obstetrician Mercedes Stone is killing it at work, but she has a dirty secret. She’s the daughter of a hoarder. She’s built her life around her research but when her mother’s condition reaches a crisis point, she must drop everything to come home. Lily Thomas is a pediatrician quickly approaching 40 and all she’s ever wanted is a family. She’s given up on finding Ms. Right, but the day she meets Mercedes – who’s taking a temporary job at Lakeside Hospital – is the same day Lily learns she’s finally pregnant. They fall for each other hard and fast – it has to be fast because Mercedes is going home in six months to wrap up a vital clinical trial and soon, Lily will have a newborn baby to love. What’s the harm in a quick fling? But as Mercedes digs out her mother’s house, she begins to realize there’s more for her at home than just junk. What she and Lily swore was just a fling is beginning to feel a lot more like… family. Labor of Love is a standalone novel in the bestselling Lakeside Hospital series. The books in this series can be read in any order.
Mouth to Mouth book cover
#5

Mouth to Mouth

2020

Sparks fly as a people-pleasing paramedic and a hardened ER nurse clash in the final installment of the bestselling Lakeside Hospital medical romance series. Sarah would do anything for her friends. Whether it’s dog-walking, babysitting, or even planning someone else’s wedding around her demanding paramedic shifts, the word ‘no’ isn’t part of her vocabulary. But everyone cracks under pressure eventually, and unfortunately for Sarah, her breaking point comes one day when she’s delivering a patient to the Emergency Room and finds herself the focus of the nurse’s attention, instead. When a cute paramedic passes out in her arms, Veronica wonders whether there’s anyone left in the world who can take care of themselves. First her long-time girlfriend cheats on her, then she expects Veronica to comfort her about the betrayal, and now the paramedics are dropping like flies. She hydrates Sarah – and lectures her on not letting her friends take advantage of her – and ignores the surprising chemistry that builds between them while Veronica is at her bedside. Even though all their Lakeside friends are coupling up, it would never work between them – Sarah’s too malleable and Veronica has an iron will. Once her mind is made up, that’s it, because if she’s wrong in the ER, people die. That’s why she’s not swayed when her ex shows up unexpectedly to collect her things from their apartment, or even when she makes such a fool of herself that the ploy ends with an emergency call. But when Sarah is the responding paramedic and Veronica watches her give mouth to mouth to her ex, something stirs deep inside her. Could this tender-hearted fool be the soulmate she’s been waiting for all these years? Unless Veronica can break her cardinal rule and give Sarah another chance, the chemistry building between them is doomed to remain hypothetical.

Author

Cara Malone
Cara Malone
Author · 41 books

I write stories that explore the thrills – and challenges – of falling in love as a woman-loving woman, including the bestselling Lakeside Hospital medical romance series and Rainbow Award honorable mention The Rules of Love. My books are for you if you’re a fan of contemporary romance, if you love strong women who aren’t afraid to be vulnerable, and if you like a little heat with your sapphic love stories. Grab a free copy of Mind Games on my website, CaraMalone.com

548 Market St PMB 65688, San Francisco California 94104-5401 USA
© 2025 Paratext Inc. All rights reserved