AUTHOR: Allison Ashley GENRE: Adult Romance PAGES: 400 pages RELEASED: 1 August 2023 SYNOPSIS: The proposition is simple: if ER nurse Claire Harper and her roommate, firefighter Graham Scott, are still single by the time they’re forty, they’ll take the proverbial plunge together…as friends with benefits. Maybe it’s the wine, but in the moment, Claire figures the pact is a safe-enough deal, considering she hasn’t had much luck in love and he’s in no rush to settle down. Like, at all. Besides, there’s no way she could ever really fall for Graham and his thrill-seeking ways. Not after what happened to her father… Just as things begin to heat up way before the proposed deadline, Graham’s injured in a serious rock-climbing accident—and he needs Claire’s help to heal. She’ll do whatever it takes to nurse him back to health…even if it means moving into Graham’s bed and putting up with his little dog who hates her. But with this no-strings arrangement taking a complicated turn, keeping “for now” from turning into “forever” isn’t as easy as they’d planned. There’s nothing like a friends-with-benefits arrangement to help you fall in love…
Friends and housemates Claire and Graham have always had a pretty easy relationship, except for the fact that Graham’s dog Gertrude can’t stand Claire, even though they’ve been living together for a year. Since trying to get their friends Noah and Mia to realise they are made for each other, the pair have had a marriage pact - if they’re still single by the time their forty, they’ll marry each other. Marriage has never been on the cards for firefighter and thrill-seeker Graham, and marrying someone with a dangerous job has never been on the cards for ER nurse Claire. So they renegotiate the terms of the pact - if they’re still single by the time Graham hits forty, they’ll embark on a friends-with-benefits arrangement. They’re four years out from the pact kicking in, but when Graham injures himself rock climbing, the already simmering chemistry between them goes into overdrive as Claire helps with his recovery. A no-strings attached arrangement should be a harmless and mutual bit of fun, but it’s not long before the lines begin to blur and temporary looks more like forever… Gosh this we such a fabulous friends-to-lovers / roommates-to-lovers romance! Allison served up everything I love about both these tropes, and more, and I just could not get enough of Graham and Claire. I’ll admit, I totally didn’t realise this was a companion to Would You Rather, and I had completely forgotten about anything we learnt about these two in that first book. If anything, that just shows you don’t have to have read Noah and Mia’s story to absolutely love this one! Just like with Allison’s previous book, I was instantly hooked on Claire and Graham and the romance that followed. And just like with Noah and Mia, Allison’s writing style really showcases the history and friendship between the characters as if you the reader have known them for years also. This is one of my favourite things about friends-to-lovers stories and adds so much depth to their chemistry. Graham and Claire’s relationship was fun and flirty, and sweet and swoony, with just a tiny sprinkling of spice to top it all off. I loved getting to see Graham fall first and coming to terms with his change of perspective on settling down - Allison did this in such a great way that allowed for a beautiful and emotional scene for when Claire discovered Graham’s love for her. This was such a fabulous romance read and one where I didn’t want to say goodbye to the characters by the time we reached the final page. If you’re a sucker for a sweet and swoony romance, this is for you! |
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