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The Love Operation

by Melissa R. Collings

Love, ambition, and the past under the microscope

Critically Recognized
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Awards & Recognition

  • Critical praise

    Praise from Mindy Kaling

    Mindy Kaling praises Melissa R. Collings's writing as sharp, charming, and highly readable.

AlbakiReads Editorial

Love, ambition, and the past under the microscope

Dr. Cordelia Wren is a spine surgeon whose career and private life become entangled with a hospital memory study. After gaining the ability to vividly relive past moments, she revisits failed relationships in search of explanations. The study brings professional risks: she has obtained access without authorization, is secretly dating the hospital’s new COO while vying to become chief of surgery, and must reckon with the return of her first love. The premise links romantic complications with questions about memory, control, ambition, and whether revisiting the past can clarify the present. Medicine provides the workplace setting, while Cordelia’s relationships and career choices drive the central conflict.

Good fit for readers who enjoy

  • Readers interested in contemporary romance set in a medical workplace.
  • Readers who enjoy stories combining romantic complications with questions of memory and past relationships.
  • Readers looking for a protagonist balancing career ambition and a complicated personal life.

Themes

Memory and the pastLove and imperfect relationshipsAmbition and professional riskControl and uncertainty

Based on publisher information and book metadata.

Book overview

"I'm very picky about romance, but Melissa completely won me over--her writing is sharp, charming, and just incredibly readable in the best way." --Mindy Kaling

A brilliant spine surgeon gains the power to perfectly recall her past--only to discover that some memories are better left undisturbed. A witty, emotional story about the intersection of medicine, memory, and the messy reality of loving imperfectly.

Dr. Cordelia Wren has always been in control--of her surgical career, her emotions, and especially her memories. But when she joins a cutting-edge memory enhancement study at her hospital, she gains an unexpected ability: the power to vividly relive any moment from her past. It seems like the perfect opportunity to analyze her failed relationships and finally understand why every man she's ever loved has walked away.

There's just one problem. Actually, three:

  1. She may have...borrowed...access to the highly restricted memory study.
  2. She's secretly dating the hospital's new COO while competing for chief of surgery--a relationship that could destroy both their careers if discovered.
  3. Her first love has just reappeared in her life, stirring up feelings she thought she'd buried.

As Cordelia dives deeper into her past, the lines between memory and reality begin to blur. The truth she uncovers forces her to question everything she thought she knew about love, ambition, and what it means to be "in control."

With her career hanging in the balance and her heart pulled in two directions, Cordelia must decide: Should she trust the memories that have shaped her life, or finally let go of the past to embrace an uncertain future?

Perfect for fans of Emily Henry and Ali Hazelwood, The Love Operation is a witty, emotional story about the intersection of medicine, memory, and the messy reality of loving imperfectly.

(c) 2026 Melissa R. Collings, all rights reserved.

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Customer reviews

M
AlbakiReads
Malaika Taylor

I highly recommend to for anyone looking for inner clarity

T
AlbakiReads
Thomas DiMassa

Great service and fast service

Great shopping experience! The book arrived quickly, was well packaged, and matched the description perfectly. I would definitely shop with you again

O
AlbakiReads
Olivia

Smooth.