Loved this book! The chemistry between Lauren and Andrew is palpable, and this read had me both laughing and tearing up. Great job, Allison!

I only got 7% into this book and had to DNF it. I could tell it was going to be too cheesy for my taste. I didn’t like the way the author made the characters inner thoughts sound. It was so cliched, and focuses too much on looks.

I loved this one. The characters had so much chemistry and I was shipping them since the first meet cute :) What I really loved about this book is that the characters never let each other get pushed away. They always talked it out as soon as possible. Andrew was diagnosed with Hodgkin Lymphoma so he was constantly trying to push Lauren away on his bad days. The characters would also send each other puns through their texts and I loved it. I thought that it was cute. If you are looking for a cute romance but deals with some heavier topics than I would definitely recommend it.

Wow this book was just so good and so easy to get lost in. I thoroughly enjoyed myself and I just didn't want it to end. I just couldn't get enough of these wonderful characters and I just loved getting to see their journey. I will most definitely be reading more stories from this wonderful author.

As a romance reader, I've gotten used to the same old tropes and romance "formulas" out there. Few books I've read have surprised me and/or exceeded my expectations. Perfect Distraction is one of them. I can 't remember the last time I enjoyed a book from start to finish nor has a story invoked so many different emotion in me as this one has.

What I enjoyed the most about this story was the fact that it didn't seem forced. Everything on the page flowed seamlessly--from the first initial meeting between Lauren and Andrew all the way through their journey through friendship and romance. Be it the puns, the flirty banter or the candid moments shared between Lauren and Andrew, all this elements and more came to together to enhance and showcase how Lauren and Andrew's connection was developing and growing as the story progressed. I found myself laughing at times and crying in others. I was invested in the outcome of this story as much as the characters themselves! I loved it.

It looks like this is a debut novel for author Allison Ashley. I will certainly be looking for more from this author in the future.

I really liked this story and Lauren and Andrew were so sweet and relatable. Their romance was adorable and grew through a mutual understanding of both of their situations.

Andrew is diagnosed with cancer in the treatable stage but there is always an uncertainty.
Lauren is studying to be a pharmacist in the oncology ward where she hopes to get hired after her graduation.
She has to tell him about the treatment and what is going to happen during while his mother and his three sisters are in the room with them.
They become friends while the ordeal is going on and she kind of becomes the person he leans upon when things get though! But is it smart to admit their feelings for each other when he might not survive and when she is not allowed to date patients especially not when she is still a student and applying for a job there after graduation?

This story tells us how it is going through a cancer diagnosis and what the treatments can be and it was really hard to read at times. She has one patient were the cancer returns and his reactions was so though to read through but so understandable. All this frustration goes through his system and it’s out of his control wether he lives or dies. So just be aware that there might be a lot of triggers in this book if you or a loved one has been through a cancer treatment.
But the romance was so sweet and heartwarming and I loved the characters both main and side.

I can definitely recommend this book and this Is a voluntary review.

What a charming read! This is a very unique friends-to-lovers romance. Loved this one.

Many thanks to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for my ARC. All opinions are my own.

Allison Ashley delivers the perfect blend of sweet, heartfelt, and emotion in Perfect Distraction. Two people have a bit of a “meet cute” then later meet under unusual circumstances. There is immediate attraction but a bit of an ethical dilemma.

It was easy to see that this author has knowledge of the medical field and cancer clinics which made this story believable. As a clinical pharmacist Lauren sees Andrew on his first day of chemo treatment and while she only sees him for one day, she becomes somewhat of a lifeline to him and his family and their feelings grow. They really work hard at remaining just friends and while they spend time as friends volunteering and sharing terrible puns, their relationship blossoms.

This was a slow burn romance but it was done right and considering what Andrew was dealing with and Lauren’s job ethics, it needed to be. Anything else would have been ridiculous. I truly loved watching this couple grow closer while trying to maintain distance.

There is something to be said for a love worth waiting for and for Lauren and Andrew their journey was unique and wonderful. I thoroughly enjoyed each moment in this story.

This was a slow burn, mostly clean romance, which I really enjoyed.

Although pretty predictable in a lot of ways, I found the writing in this debut novel really well done. The way the friendship develops between Lauren and Andrew felt organic and very believable. I enjoyed the way Lauren was able to, with Andrew's help, learn to ask for what she wanted instead of putting others first.

Andrew's transformation was equally as impressive. For most of his life he was pretty much the golden child, so for him to have his eyes opened through his illness was inspiring as well as heartbreaking.

Overall, I think this author is one to watch. I'm definitely interested in seeing what her follow-up novel looks like.

The plot of this story looked so promising but I found myself very uninterested in the story for whatever reason. I really struggled to finish this book

"I went to a lecture once, about compassion fatigue for health care providers. The way the speaker put it was so perfect, and I'll never forget it. He said when a patient dies, they go into one of the three categories. Some are like a balloon released into the sky. Those are the ones that maybe we didn't treat for long, or we played a small part in their care. Though we're sad when they pass, they kind of float away from our memories as the days go by. Others are the ones that meant a lot, and whom we got to know well. When they die, we wear them like a backpack... where they'll always be, carried around with us and never forgotten." She paused and took a deep breath. Her chin trembled, and she swallowed. "Then there's the third category. For those patients, their loss is so painful, the grief is so debilitating and overwhelming, that we have to shut them away in a drawer, because thinking about them is too raw."

Thank you BookSparks for letting me be part of 'BookSharks' Pop-Up Book Tour and gifting me with an e-arc of 'Perfect Distraction' by Allison Ashley!

Note: Using the official description with minor changes to avoid spoilers.

Lauren Taylor has sworn off men who are too handsome for their own good. She has no thoughts on having a relationship or let alone being in love, especially not with the impossibly attractive man she accidentally spilt coffee all over. She knows he's out of her league and all she's focused on is finishing her oncology pharmacy residency.
Andrew Bishop can't stop thinking about the gorgeous redhead who crashed into him and then disappeared, even though he should have way more on his mind - like dealing with his Hodgkin Lymphoma diagnosis and finishing out his last year in law school.
When Andrew and Lauren run into each other at the cancer centre where she's working and he's being treated, they try to keep it professional. They can be friends, and nothing more.
But sometimes life has other plans…

As an excellent-stirring debut, Allison Ashley creates a beautiful and perfect dramatic blend of charming humour, heartfelt portrayal of emotions and sweetness that makes one's heart swoon or break with 'Perfect Distractions'.
The story captivates one in the very beginning and the transitions from each scene, in the plot, are so fluid that the moment one start's this, one will not be able to stop reading it. Except for occasional pauses to get more tissues since it is a true tearjerker: either because it is hilarious and too adorable or it is soul-crushing due to the constant pullback to the reality the characters have to face: it might be Andrew's cancer or Lauren's professional morality of not dating the patients even if she only treated him for a day.

The characters are non-toxic and unproblematic. There are so many reasons why they could be toxic and problematic but they choose to be compassionate, accepting and just so sweet when times go rough. Which it mostly does at every page turn. Toxic characters are so overrated in the present times that it is tiring and draining (not in a good way) to read books with characters as such in every damn choice. Even if they are not directly toxic, there lies layers and layers of toxicity in the plot and the way each problem is handled. Every character in the book beside Lauren and Andrew are just as sweet and nice. And they couldn't have been portrayed the way they were if it was not for the perfect development behind each of the characters.

The plot is woven with such fine delicate brilliance, powerful enough to entrance you in its spell and it wouldn't have been so if it was not for the genius writing of it by Allison. Her writing style is pure magic! I want more works by her right away!

This is the kind of book that puts a spell on you that when it comes to an end and you look up to see that the time has flown by, it leaves you with a sense of loss, but a welcome one at that because your heart feels so content about the time lost. A quick read that's going to halt you in the middle so you can wipe all the tears of your face and stop that stupid grin plastered over your face. This book is a Perfect Distraction (no pun intended, no pun intended with the pun either) during this time and all!

What a great book this was. I had it sitting on my TBR pile for longer than it deserved. You have to laugh at the way the main two characters Lauren and Andrew meet. The book had me laughing, cringing, smiling and almost crying throughout. I loved the writing style and the introductions of all the main characters, great settings and not too many intertwined stories.
Thank you to NetGalley for my ARC of this book, I would recommend it to anyone wanting a emotional rollercoaster romance read.

I really enjoyed this read and the slow-burn of the romance. It kept me turning pages and I wore my e-reader's battery to the bone! I was worried that it would be too sad like ME BEFORE YOU or that there would be too much drama from her male colleague, but was very happy the book didn't go in this direction.

I am very much hoping that the series will continue with companions and that Jeni and Emma will get their own books! (I actually just went to Goodreads to see if anything else was on the horizon!)

I absolutely loved this book! Whilst it was bittersweet, it was so heartwarming and refreshing to read. The characters so are warming... I couldn’t stop reading!

Thank you to Entangled and Book Sparks for gifting me a review copy of Perfect Distraction by Allison Ashley.

This book was refreshing and exactly what I needed right now. It was funny, and sweet, and moving without being too cheesy. The characters were so loveable that you can’t help but hope they get a happy ending.

Lauren (our heroine) is conducting her oncology pharmacy residency and has sworn off men after being treated particularly badly with her last serious boyfriend. Of course, fate has other plans and drops the gorgeous Andrew Bishop (who’s being treated for cancer) into her lap. She tries to resist him. She is, after all, a professional. But they find themselves drawn together time and time again, despite the terrible timing.

I loved how respectful they both were of each other, and the sweet, nerdy and punny banter that they shot back and forth. It had me laughing out loud on more than one occasion. Bad puns are how eye roll after all.

This book gets one eggplant out of five for some seriously steamy kissing sessions.

This book only lost a point for the (seemingly to me at least) out-of-the-blue turn it took at the end. I won't give any spoilers but it felt unnecessary to the storyline and I think the book could have done without it.

If you’re in the mood for some laughs (and maybe a tear or two) then definitely pick this one up.

A romance novel set in a Cancer Center! This book was made for me.

Perfect Distraction is about Andrew and Lauren - he is a cancer patient and she is a Pharmacy Resident. They meet cute in a coffee shop, have interactions at the cancer center, and have the most beautiful romance and monologues. It is a nice and sweet romance, with some very heavy topics. Trigger warning - this could be hard to read for someone who has lost a loved one to cancer.

I look forward to more books from this author.

I hesitated to start reading this book when I picked it up because I wasn't in the right mainframe for a sad, emotional read, but even though the book is about a cancer patient and a pharmacy resident in the oncology department, it wasn't depressing at all. Andrew and Lauren were very likable characters and watching their relationship develop was endearing and actually made me smile. So, totally the opposite effect I was initially weary of. In addition their friends and family formed a great cast of characters. It was a charming, endearing, even positive, book, go figure!

I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Wow! I'm surprised how much I liked this book. Andrew and Lauren were great characters and easily to like. Even though I have no clue about the medical field, following Lauren as an oncologist was pretty cool. I'm not one for womens lit but after this book, I just might be. So good.

Thank you Netgalley, the author and publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Great chick lit romance novel without all the overdone twists and turns that most romance novels have, so kudos to the author for that! Lauren is a resident pharmacist who runs into an amazing guy right before he shows up in her office for treatment. Lauren and Andrew then navigate this budding romance through all ethical dilemmas they face as well as his treatment for cancer. Each character was thoughtfully written and the story was really beautiful and emotional. First romance novel in a long time without all the cliche moments that make a book forgettable. Highly recommend.

Thank you @BookSparks for the gifted copy of the Perfect Distraction. The title could not be more fitting. I loved it from beginning to end. Finishing this beautiful written romantic story in one day! The puns....killed it! I loved every single one of them and LOL’d so many times! I would recommend a thousand times to anyone who loves a feel-good romance book.