Title: The Roommate Pact
Author: Allison Ashley
Genre: Romance
Published on: August 1, 2023
Publisher: MIRA
Source: digital (Netgalley)
Pages: 320
Synopsis:
All of the fun, none of the heartache…as long as they stick to the agreement.
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.
My thoughts
(Spoiler free)
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.
“Claire Harper was holding a penis when the commotion started. Nothing to get excited about—the appendage belonged to an eighty-six year old man and she was a nurse inserting a much-needed catheter so the poor guy could pee. Still, not where one wanted to be when all hell broke loose.”
Allison Ashley, The Roommate Pact
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.
I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. Thank you to MIRA and Netgalley for providing me with an advance copy.
(All quotes are taken from the advance copy and are subject to change in final print.)
My Rating:
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About the Author
Allison Ashley
Allison Ashley is a music-loving, coffee-drinking mom of two who loves love stories. She’s an oncology pharmacist and spends her days focused on helping patients through the hardest thing life can throw at them. Her escape has always been books—specifically reading books about happiness, love, and laughter—and it was inevitable that she’d eventually write her own. She promises to always write stories with deep romance, intense connection, and humor…but most of all, that coveted happy ever after.
A Song For A Book
Sometimes all it takes is a line in a book to make me think of a song, which is what happened with The Roommate Pact. I’ll be highlighting Ed Sheeran’s “Shape of You”, which I found myself singing as I was reading.
…Girl, you know I want your love
Your love was handmade for somebody like me
Come on now, follow my lead
I may be crazy, don’t mind me
Say, boy, let’s not talk too much
Grab on my waist and put that body on me
Come on now, follow my lead
Come, come on now, follow my lead
I’m in love with the shape of you
We push and pull like a magnet do
Although my heart is falling too
I’m in love with your body
Last night you were in my room
And now my bedsheets smell like you
Every day discovering something brand new
I’m in love with your body…
Have you read The Roommate Pact? Or did you add it to your tbr? Let me know in the comments!
Happy Wandering!
Ooooh, I didn’t know this was in the same world as Would You Rather. Outstanding! I am even more excited now
Yes! I wish publishers would make that more obvious. I would have still read it, but it’d be nice to know going into it.
I love seeing the 5 star rating! I saw one with 3.5 today, so this helps round that out. I didn’t realize it was the same world as the other book! I’m excited to listen to it!
Yes! This one hit all the feels for me. I hope you enjoy(ed) it!
Great review! So far, all the ratings I’ve seen for this one have been glowing 5-stars. Now I know why the author’s name sounded familiar—I have her first book on my TBR but I haven’t read it yet but thanks for pointing that out in your review! 😂 Does this mean it’s about the same characters or is it about different ones?
Thanks Dini! Different characters, but they’re all in the same friend group, so same world. Would You Rather is about Noah and Mia. The Roommate Pact is about Claire and Graham, who are friends of Noah and Mia. And they all appear in each others’ books. But I had no issues reading this one first, so they can be read as standalones. 🙂
I loved Would You Rather and I want to read this even more now! Wonderful review, Dedra. I love your song choice too.