Member Reviews
You had me at firefighter Graham.
This book was cute ands kept you smiling throughout. These two were adorable together already but then throw in an accident, being roommates, and she’s a nurse who can assist after his accident. It’s all there. Don’t skip this one!
Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for a chance to read and review
This book was so cute! I loved the premise of friends to friends with benefits to lovers. I loved how she took care of him and that scene where she washed his hair 🥰! This story was so sweet and swoony while also covering some more serious topics of being unwanted and fear of losing people but not wanting to let that fear control your life. This is a fade to black romance so if you want some spice, this may not be for you. But I would recommend this book regardless as it still gave me butterflies. I haven't read anything else by this author yet but I do want to go back and read her other books.
This was a fun, opposites-attract type of story. Claire Harper is a nurse whose seen firsthand what being adventuresome can get you. So, she believes her Mister Right is someone who's going to want to keep both feet firmly on the ground.
Her friend and roommate, Graham Scott, is as adventuresome as they come! Climbing cliffs, hiking, trail riding, etc. If he could spend every moment in the great outdoors, he would! If there's anything his mom's illness has taught him, it's that life is short. So his focus is on squeezing every drop out of life and enjoying it to the fullest.
While they work as friends, Claire doesn't believe they'd ever work as anything more, but she reluctantly agrees that if neither of them are married by the time Graham turns forty, a friends-with-benefits arrangement couldn't hurt anything.
But when Graham suffers a climbing accident, Nurse Claire can't help but jump in to take care of him. And their unexpected constant contact causes sparks to really fly!
I enjoyed this story a lot as each of the main characters had to come to terms with how past experiences shaped their current responses, and then decide whether those responses were still serving them or getting in the way.
This was my first story by Allison Ashley, but I really enjoyed it and look forward to reading more of her work.
Thank you to Allison Ashley, Harlequin Trade Publishing, and NetGalley for an advance review copy.
I read and really enjoyed Would You Rather, so I was excited to read this companion novel! Would You Rather features Noah and Mia, both of whom make multiple important appearances in The Roommate Pact. Both of them are close friends with Claire and Graham, who take center stage in this book. So while The Roommate Pact works fine as a standalone, I recommend you reading Would You Rather first for Noah’s and Mia’s sweet marriage of convenience love story. One thing you can expect with an Allison Ashley book is an emotional story with some humor thrown in, and that’s exactly what you get with The Roommate Pact!
1. Friends to lovers is one of my favorite romance tropes, so I was happy Allison Ashley chose to use it again in this book. Claire and Graham are roommates and good friends. He’s a firefighter (mmmmmm) and she’s a nurse. They made a silly pact to become friends with benefits at 40 if they are not in serious relationships at that point, so you know they already have a tiny thing for one another. While chatting outside one night, Claire realizes how seriously Graham took that pact. The feelings start to bloom between them then and there, and go into overdrive when Graham is injured. Claire offers to help him recover at home, and that’s where our love story begins.
2. I really liked Graham and Claire! Both of them have some trauma from their pasts that make them reluctant to entertain any kind of relationship with the other, which is where the friends with benefits idea came from. Graham has a risky lifestyle, being a firefighter and a hiker/rock climber, and Claire experienced loss as a child as a result of someone else’s risky lifestyle, so he’s kind of off limits for her. She doesn’t want to constantly worry about losing the person she ends up. Graham was burned as a teen, and vowed never to fall in love again. Both of them are in for a rude awakening when they discover that love always finds a way around these kinds of rules people set for themselves.
3. I said I liked Claire, but Graham has my heart and deserves a little more discussion. Claire suggests that he journal during his recovery, and he decides to write her long emails while she’s at work instead. He sends them to an email address she hasn’t checked in ages, and finds this outlet to be very therapeutic. He learns a lot about himself and is so vulnerable. I really felt for him and loved seeing him grow and change. He’s just such a good guy. He’s a protector, a provider, and I love him. Oh, and he falls first. So good.
4. GERTRUDE. There is a tiny dog with a huge attitude in this book and I LOVED her. Gertie is Graham’s little princess, and boy is she spoiled. This dog hates Claire with every fiber of her being, and it was the cutest and funniest journey for the two of them. Gertie brought a lot of comedic relief to the story, which I loved.
5. The romance is a little formulaic as far as the friends to lovers trope goes, but it was sweet in the end. Graham is unable to speak for a little while due to a small injury in the hospital after being intubated, so OF COURSE this means Claire needs to sleep in his bed with him every night even though he texts her all day long. How convenient! I enjoyed their friendship and their conversations. I loved the trip they take together to his parents’ house, and Claire’s interactions with his parents. SO sweet. I really enjoyed delving into their minds and learning what they truly think about one another. Graham’s emails, where he pours out his heart had me in a puddle. There’s so many feelings on both sides. On the surface, though, there’s a lot of physical attraction and that’s the bulk of what actually propels the romance forward. Because they decide to become friends with benefits a few years earlier than originally planned their relationship starts out very physically driven, even though the actual intimate scenes are fade-to-black (which I thought that was an odd choice considering the nature of their relationship). Their foundation was formed before the book begins so readers arrive on scene just in time for things to get physical. I guess I just wanted to see more of that depth, rather than be told it’s there. I felt like I was missing a lot of info that I needed to be able to fully believe the love story. There was a lot of telling and not much showing.
6. There’s a lot of discussion surrounding grief, loss, illness, fear of the unknown, and processing trauma. These topics were handled with respect and sensitivity, which I really appreciated. I don’t tend to enjoy heavier topics like these in my romance because I read to try and get away from my own inner demons. But Allison Ashley does such a good job tackling weightier subject matter, and juxtaposing it with humor and flirtatious banter.
So all in all, I enjoyed this! I really loved Graham and his little Gertrude. I enjoyed seeing Claire and Graham open up and express their fears and grapple with what they have been through individually in their pasts. I do wish I had been able to see more depth to their relationship, rather than being told about it, but I do really like them as a couple. I’m definitely interested in seeing what Allison Ashley has in store for us next.
I love a good friends to lovers story and Allison Ashley’s new novel The Roommate Pact, filled with lovable characters, flirty banter, and a heartwarming romance, was an absolute delight!
The story follows Claire, an ER nurse, and Graham, a firefighter. Claire and Graham are good friends, roommates, and they’re both also hesitant when it comes to love and relationships. They have a great time together though and one night make a slightly drunken pact that if they’re both still single with no prospects by the time they’re 40, they’ll become friends with benefits. When Graham is seriously injured in a rock climbing accident, Claire becomes his caretaker while he recovers, which puts their friendship and any other feelings they may have to the test.
I adored both of these characters and their relationship with one another. Even their chemistry as friends was just so much fun to read and you could tell they would be great together if they would take a chance. They are both held back by traumatic experiences from their past and I was fully invested in the two of them finding their way past that.
As much as I loved Claire though, Graham is the only who really stole my heart. This story becomes such a journey for him when his injuries sideline him from his usual active lifestyle. He’s going stir crazy and Claire suggests that he try journaling as a way to work through his feelings. At first he scoffs at the idea, but once he tries it, he realizes it’s actually very helpful and he ends up learning so much about himself and about his true feelings for Claire. I loved this journey for him and that layer of vulnerability it added to his character.
This was my first time reading one of Ashley’s books and I can’t wait to read more from her. I loved her writing style and these characters she has created. I also loved how she handled the more emotional topics and blended them seamlessly with the more traditional rom com elements. Just an all around delightful read!
If there was an award for Most Amusing First Lines, Allison Ashley would win it, hands down. She’s also a master of witty banter and this book, as with her others, delivered on that big time.
But I have to confess…I was a little less excited to read The Roommate Pact than I was Allison’s first three books. I’m a reader who isn’t a fan of the friends-with-benefits trope. But I am a HUGE fan of this author and didn’t hesitate to low-key hound her for an ARC.
So I dove in because I had every bit of faith she wrote a story that stays away from the things that make me cranky (mainly non-communication), and packed in all the things I do love: lots of humor, lots of heart, likable characters, realistic relationships, and so much swoon.
Nurse Claire and firefighter Graham became roommates when her best friend moved out after marrying his best friend (you can read that fantastic story in Would You Rather). They have a marginally combative relationship on account of Graham’s pseudo-overinflated ego and his constant “is he flirting or not" banter with Claire. One night the previous year, they made a pact to get married if they’re both single when Graham turns 40. Only now they have differing memories of how things went down that night and over drinks they decide to amend the terms to friends with benefits instead.
Just as they start to consider “eh, why wait on this friends with benefits thing” Graham gets seriously hurt in a rock climbing accident and Claire’s nurse’s instincts go into hyperdrive.
Of course, all that time together has Graham rethinking his stance on relationships and OH MY SWOON LOVING HEART the notes he sends to Claire’s unused email address are the best. I love when the hero falls first!
Claire is a tougher sell though. With a tragic loss in her past, she’s not interested in a relationship with someone who not only has a risky hobby, but a dangerous profession as well. Did I like the third-act breakup? No. But if I'm honest my objection was mostly because this author usually stays away from the oft-used formulaic romance storylines. But I also completely understood it. And ultimately, I liked how things went down in the end.
This author’s books usually pull me in from the start and don’t let go until the end. The Roommate Pact took a bit to get its hooks in me, but once it did I was all in for the heartwarming, hilarious ride. There’s nothing better than a cute, sweet book that leaves you with a smile the whole time you’re reading and that’s what Allison Ashley does every single time. I can’t wait for her next book!
* thank you to NetGalley and Allison Ashley for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review
The Roommate Pact by Allison Ashley is a captivating novel where chemistry leaps off the pages. Fans of friends-to-lovers stories will undoubtedly find immense pleasure in this book.
This was an adorable read! I didn’t realize this was book 2 in a series, so I haven’t read "Would You Rather" (although I will be going back to read it now), but this worked so well as a standalone. The one extra thing I wish had been included is how Graham and Claire originally met and how long they’ve been friends.
Graham and Claire have an amazing dynamic in every stage of their relationship and I absolutely loved all of their interactions. It’s clear in the writing that they’re close friends who know each other really well and the development from friends to lovers happens so organically.
I especially loved Graham’s journey and how it played into their relationship. From being injured and losing his voice to trying out journaling, he has to face being vulnerable, and it was so delightful to see that side of him.
And Gertrude! Every romance is better with a pet, and having to win the affection of a tiny dog is absolutely hilarious.
*Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
⚠️cw: trauma, grief, anxiety, chronic illness⚠️
ER nurse Claire Harper and her roommate, firefighter Graham Scott have a pact should they still be single when he turns forty. But rather than getting married, they'll be friends with benefits. It seems like a safe enough bet. But then Graham is injured while rock climbing and needs Claire's help. Suddenly, all bets are off.
I was immediately invested in the story, and loved both characters. Claire was funny, and I liked how sassy she was with Graham. Graham was hilarious and such a secret cinnamon roll (my favourite type). I enjoyed the development of both characters as the story progressed. Claire goes from being deeply traumatised by her past to learning to accept and live with it. Meanwhile, Graham starts the book afraid of commitment because of his own childhood. I particularly loved the journaling/epistolary aspect of this story, and I think it was in those moments that I most loved Graham. There was so much emotion in his words,and I really adored his personal journey. I also thought the way Gertrude was written as a barometer of their respective feelings was adorable. Speaking of adorable, I will definitely have to go back and read Noah and Mia's story because they were so cute together. If I have one observation (and it's not a criticism), it's that there was so much talk about Graham and Claire hooking up even from early on that I was expecting more spice. The chemistry between them was SO hot that I wasn't expecting it to just cut off so abruptly. I honestly felt like I was being edged, without any satisfying release 😂. But that's a me problem and it certainly didn't affect my overall rating or my enjoyment of the characters and their story. The romance was SO swoony. I always love a story when the commitment-phobic man falls first and turns out to be a big softy. This was my first book by Allison Ashley but it definitely won't be my last.
If you like sassy lead characters, secret cinnamon roll MMCs, plenty of banter, and a truly deep connection, this one's for you.
Overall Rating: ❤️❤️❤️❤️.5
Heat Rating: 🔥.5
Emotional Rating: 😂🥰😉💓😲😍💔😢💓💓😂🥰😂😊😍😂💓🥰💔💓😢🥰😍😢💔💓😂🥰😍💓🥰🙈😂😍🥰💓😢💔🙄😲👏🏻💓🥰
*Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to leave an honest review. Saving The Roommate Pact is published on 1st August in the UK*
Favourite Quotes:
“They say love drives out fear. That it brings light into darkness. As long as I have a choice, I’ll choose love and light and hope the power of that choice, and the person that comes with it, does the rest.”
“A ship is safe in the harbor, but that’s not what ships are made for.”
The BANTER. The HEART. It’s swoon-worthy, clever, hilarious, and heart-pounding all at once, making for a story that’s too easy to binge through. No matter how much you want to savor each page, you can’t stop turning to the next, needing more and more and more. Allison Ashley's The Roommate Pact is one of the best books of the year. I might never get over it. Full review: https://marvelousgeeksmedia.com/2023/08/01/the-roommate-pact-by-allison-ashley-review/
🥀The Roommate Pact Review📖✨
4/5 ⭐️
Quick and easy read, that can be read in a day! Sequel to Would You Rather. I enjoyed this one more than Would You Rather, but thought it was a little too fast paced. While there were mentions of grief throughout, it wasn’t as heartbreaking as the previous book. I LOVED the emails Graham wrote and really enjoyed this story. 🥹💗 You should definitely check this out if you want to read a steamy romance with a firefighter with fade to black romance scenes! 🔥Thank you for this ARC. ❤️
Summary:
Claire and Graham have a pact to get married when they turn 40. After Graham is in an accident, it seems the timeline will move up. Will they be able to keep things causal?
🥀Dual, 3rd person POV
🥀Friends with benefits
🥀Forced proximity
🥀Nurse🩺/Firefighter 🔥
🥀She takes care of him
🥀Healing
⚠️Grief, loss of parent, loss of friend
I was blessed enough to receive this arc from @netgalley , Harlequin and MIRA the thoughts and opinions of this review are my own.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌶️🌶️
This book is perfection. The characters individual growth and self actualization is so real. The unraveling of their own trauma and not only coming to terms with it but overcoming it, was beautiful. This was the perfect amount of heavy, heartwarming and humor that was so easy to read. Between the banter, the emails(swoon) and the dog, I could not put this book down. You are missing out if you don’t read this one!
I was so exciting for this one, because I was an ER nurse for years; but for me- this fell flat. I didn’t realize that it was the second book in a series which I think may have been the reason I didn’t love it. I don’t want to give spoilers giving exact examples, but I feel like the romance and spice happened too fast without really getting a backstory on the characters so you weren’t really invested In them. It was just ok to me.
THE ROOMMATE PACT by Allison Ashley is a delightful and fun roommates to lovers rom-com, contemporary romance. I fell right into the premise, banter, and romance from page one. This is easily read as a standalone romance even though it does have some carryover characters from book one, Would You Rather.
ER nurse Claire Harper is not interested in any man who is a risk-taker after the loss of her father, but with a hectic work schedule and no boyfriend, she makes a pact one night while at the local bar with her roommate that if both are still single at forty, they will marry each other. She really doesn’t believe it will happen because besides being a firefighter and a recreational rock climber, both very risky, he also has a small rescue dog, Dorothy, that hates her. But a weird chemistry is starting to build between them.
When firefighter Graham Scott is seriously injured in a rock-climbing fall, Claire rushes to his side and will do anything to help him heal including putting up with Dorothy. Can they move from roommates to friends with benefits, to something more?
I loved Claire and Graham both so much. They are both interesting characters on their own, but Ms. Ashley takes them on an emotional journey of growth that is both believable and heartfelt. Graham is so carefree, and you can feel shallow, but when opening up emotionally with his journaling, he pulled at every one of my heartstrings. I always love the addition of a dog to a story and Dorothy was great as she was on her own journey of acceptance. There is something very special about these two, not only their chemistry, but also their emotional journey to love.
I highly recommend this exceptional rom-com, contemporary romance!
4.5⭐
Genre ~ romantic comedy
Publication date ~ August 1, 2023
Page Count ~ 320
Audio length ~ 8 hours 14 minutes
Narrator ~ Ann Marie Gideon
POV ~ dual 3rd
Featuring ~ nurse, firefighter, forced proximity, one bed, friends with benefits, friends to lovers, roommates to lovers, he falls first, fade to black, no steamage
Claire & Graham have been friends for years and roommates for 1. Both still single in their 30's and agree to marry if they haven't found the one by 40. Claire is looking for love and Graham is not the relationship type when they step into a friends with benefits situation.
Graham is on my book boyfriend list. He's so sweet and lovable, and his devotion to his family and his dog, Gertrude, was adorable. He's used to being super active and always down for an adventure ~ camping, mountain biking and rock climbing are his favorites, so when he breaks his leg and is practically bedridden for weeks he gets really frustrated, which I felt was realistically written. He really grew as a person throughout the book and I liked the email/journal entries he wrote as a form of therapy.
Claire was a great caretaker and friend. I liked her for most of the book, but her character went downhill for me at a certain point, stayed down for a bit and then eased her way back up the hill into likable territory.
Overall, I loved these two together ~ great chemistry, great banter and they just seemed like they had a great time together. Love that we had both POV's, too. I have to round down my 4.5 because I absolutely hated the 3rd act breakup, which I usually do. There's maybe a tiny part of me, like my hangnail size, that understands the reasoning, but I'm a YOLO'er. Anything can happen at any time to give you the boot out of life....ya never know, so live it.
So technically this is not listed as a series, but the characters from Would You Rather are very involved here since they're best friends, so do with that what you will.
The Roommate Pact is my first book by Allison Ashley, but I don’t plan on it being my last. This friends-to-lovers romance had just come under my radar when I was invited to read it. Seeing the early glowing reviews from my fellow bloggers had me quickly accepting. And once again, they haven’t steered me wrong. I adored this one. Witty banter, moments that had me laughing, and heartbreaking moments that had me rubbing the pain in my chest.
When I started The Roommate Pact I’d either forgotten or didn’t know that our main characters, Claire and Graham appeared in Ashley’s previous book Would You Rather. In fact, it was the author’s note at the end of the book that brought it to my attention. So it didn’t affect my reading at all. But now that I know, I can’t wait to pick up Would You Rather and get a glimpse of how these two started.
Friends and roommates, Claire and Graham both have some baggage, issues from their past that keep them rooted in their current mindsets: Claire has sworn off dating adventurous men after witnessing her father’s tragic death and Graham has sworn off serious relationships. Period. But one night they find themselves agreeing to a pact: if they’re both single at forty, they’ll become friends-with-benefits. Just as Claire decides to not wait and give their pact a much earlier start date, Graham, a thrill-seeking firefighter, is brought into the emergency room where she works. She soon finds herself taking care of him, even sharing his bed when he needs her, and Graham finds himself being forced to be vulnerable. Their building feelings toward each other quickly overtake the relationship rules they’d set for themselves, creating quite the conundrum.
I was so here for this ride. It’s the perfect romance setup: two friends refuse to acknowledge they have feelings for each other, but are forced to face those feelings when life has other ideas. I also love a good friend group, and Claire and Graham have great friends. They know when to step in and offer advice and when to step back. They have history and have become a found family for each other.
I was rooting so hard for these two and the payoff was rewarding. Plenty of steam in this dual point-of-view romance, but with a surprise closed-door during the sex scenes. It clearly didn’t influence my rating for this one, but just took me by surprise. Probably because my reading experience was reminding me of Christina Lauren and Ali Hazelwood. And probably because I’ve read two romance novels back-to-back about friends-with-benefits and both were closed-door, which seems a bit contradictory, doesn’t it?!
The Roommate Pact has made me a fan of Ashley’s and now her previous book has moved up my TBR. And it’s definitely a book I could see myself re-reading someday. If you’re a fan of emotional, swoon-y romances, give this one a try. Oh, and there’s an adorable puppy, as well. And I’m not even a dog person.
3.5 stars! I really enjoyed this sweet romance book. It was a super quick read for me - read in just two days! I liked that they were roommates, turned friends, turned lovers. If you like this trope along with forced proximity you'll probably really enjoy this one!
I thought it was sweet and while there was some sexy tension between the two main characters, it was pretty much closed door as far as steam went. In truth, I was expecting more steam in this one considering the two mains had a bit of a sex pact going on. I really liked Graham and the way he opened up more as the story went on.
Parts of it felt a tad rushed to me but overall, I thought it was a cute book and enjoyed the story.
The Roommate Pact, by Allison Ashley, is a fun, sweet, and charming romantic comedy. Firefighter Graham and ER nurse Claire have been roommates and friends, but neither has had much luck in love. Graham and Claire make a pact that if by the time Graham is 40 and they are both single, they will become friends with benefits. However, after the pact is made, Graham breaks his leg in a climbing accident. Claire becomes Grahams bedside nurse. When they are forced together will they come together?
The story is funny and cute. Claire and Graham have great banter. Graham refuses to make any kind of commitment, except to his dog, Gertrude. Claire desperately wants to get married and have children. Despite both Graham and Claire stating that they aren’t interested in each other, there is clearly immediate sexual tension in the book. When Graham is injured and Claire has to help take care of him the sexual tension can no longer be contained. When they do finally come together, they have to decide if there is more than sex to this relationship.
I love the letters that Graham writes to Claire when he can’t talk after the accident. You can really tell that his feelings genuinely change throughout the book. It’s sweet to see him realize that he wants to do more than just sleep with Claire, and that he might have genuine feelings for her. I found Graham’s inner struggles to be compelling. Similarly, Claire has compelling inner struggles. Claire has to get over her childhood traumas before she can allow herself to be in a relationship with Graham. Their inner struggles add conflict to the relationship, and it adds some much needed depth to the story.
One small issue that I had when reading this book was the changing perspectives. Ashley changes between Graham and Claire’s points of views throughout the book. I always like to read a romance from the point of view of both characters. However, the point of view changes often, and it is sometimes hard to determine which character is talking. It made reading the book a little bit challenging.
I would recommend this book to anyone who likes friend to lovers romance. It’s cute and sweet. It’s a very quick and fun read. It made me laugh and cry. This book did everything that you would want out of a romantic comedy
The Roommate Pact was a cute read! Claire and Graham were well developed, and I especially enjoyed Claire being in the medical field. It was very authentic in the way it was represented. The chemistry between the two characters were there, but when it got down to the nitty gritty- it was pretty lacking. The sex pact plot line but making it fade to black is just slightly disappointing.
I came into the ARC not knowing of the first book in this universe, so if I read it I feel like I would’ve enjoyed the book more. I had a hard time with the formatting of the book as well, with random text in red (mainly Graham’s emails), weird spacing between letters of words, and sometimes the sentence just cut off like the thought wasn’t finished. It was difficult to read with how often there was weird formatting issues. I don’t expect ARCs to be perfect, but I just feel like it should’ve been caught before becoming an ARC.
If you’re into roommate turn lovers, a sassy pet, and medical field representation- this book is for you!
I liked it, but didn't love it. I don't love it when I go to read a bo0k, and then realize it's a companion novel. I liked it fine. I didn't *have* to read the other novel to get the characters or follow the story at all, but it always feel a bit like FOMO when I realize I'm missing something.
As the sister of an ER nurse, I did like Claire. I liked how the author portrayed her work realistically, and her transition to NP seemed organic and logical. I know nothing about being a firefighter, so I can't follow Graham's side as well.
I didn't love the third act breakup, and the *dramatic life happening* leading to the reconciliation always seems a bit tired to me.
Thans, NetGalley!