Ok WOAH. I just have to say right off the bat that this was beyond a 5 star read for me. Noah and Mia are lifelong friends who are about to become a whole lot closer as they get married so Mia can maintain her health insurance when going back to school.

Soooo this has everything I love. Fake dating ( ? fake marriage), the cutest cinnamon roll male main character, friends to lovers, and some strong side storylines about family. It was also super refreshing to see some chronic disease representation in a romance book.

I truly enjoyed this book so much and would highly recommend. I’m also probably super biased as a dietitian myself who has never seen mention of dietetics in a book as a career before!

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin for the advanced reading copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

Omg this book was amazing and I love it so much!
Noah and Mia are the cutest thing ever and I wish I read this book sooner 😭, I love them so much!!!
And everything was so cute and bejdndkdn it has my favorite tropes and it’s amazing how everything is like jekdbskdn i don’t have words to describe it! But I’m so in love with this book I can’t wait to read more by Ashley ❤️

I was drawn to the cover and title but ultimately did not finish the book. Thank you for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

This was by far one of the best marriage of convenience romances I’ve read. The friends to lovers, the sentiment and bond between the two of them was perfect. I laughed, I cried & I enjoyed myself so much while reading this. There is so much depth, development & growth to the characters, as well as great chemistry between them. It was a very special romance book that made me swoon. Especially since the hero fell first, which you don’t always see in romance books.

Mia is stuck in a dead end job & is only pushing through because of her medical insurance. She has a chronic illness & is waiting for a kidney transplant, but at the same time she gets an opportunity to go back to school and pursue her dreams. Which is when Mias’s childhood friend, Noah, purposes them to get married in order for her to follow her dreams. Through Noah she would get great insurance, would be able to quit her dead end job, & focus on her school. Everything seems to be going according to plan, except they didn’t counting on falling in love.

If you enjoy marriage of convenience trope with wonderful communication & all the swoony vibes, this one is for you!

You can expect:

* Slow Burn
* He Falls First
* Friends to Lovers
* Forced Proximity
* Chronic Illness Rep
* Marriage of Convenience
* Sentimental & Raw Writing

Oh, look, here is me once again complaining about covers. I'm nothing if not consistent with my whining.

I changed the version of this book I'm reviewing on Goodreads to the original cover which is a photorealistic overhead shot of two people on a canoe boat. It gives off vibes and feelings, it has an actual personality, a point of view, a charm to it that sort of gives you an idea of what this book might be like even without reading the blurb. In fact, upon reading the book, I realized that the original cover is actually a depiction of an actual scene from the book, which is DELIGHTFUL!

The new cover is an illustrated cartoon cover of two people siting on identical green chairs. It gives off no vibes, has no personality, and is entirely forgettable amongst the sea of illustrated cartoon covers that have taken over the traditionally published romance genre. In a word, it's boring.

That said, let's speak to the book. I really liked the book. It's not a romcom, does not bill itself out to be one, and covers some heavy topics. It's a best friends who are secretly pining for each other to a marriage of convenience to a slow-burn, full of sexual tension, eventual lovers romance and I really enjoyed the hell out of it.

Mia and Noah have been best friends for a long time. Mia suffers from a rare kidney diseases which requires her to get a transplant. Her health issues caused her to drop out of college and she's stuck at a dead end job at Noah's dad's architecture firm. When she gets a scholarship to go back to school, she has to make the choice to quit working which means no health insurance to cover her ongoing medical treatments and prescriptions.

Enter Noah, an architect and all around good guy who has secretly been in love with Mia for years. He proposes a plan. They'll get married so Mia can go on Noah's insurance, quit her job, and go back to school to fulfill her dream of becoming a pediatric nutritionist. After all, what's a little insurance fraud amongst life long besties?!?!

Adding to this big plot point are some additional subplots which add layers to the characters and why both of them are so reticent about acting on their true feelings. Both of them carry a lot of guilt for various things, some of them quite spoilery. If there is one thing this book suffers from, it's that these two people who clearly love each other and have been in each others' lives for many years don't ever say what they truly feel, instead they are more than content to dance around their feelings and feign ignorance and pretend all they want is friendship.

I very much liked this book even as I'm still confused by the cover change.

Content Notes: FMC is chronically ill, multiple hospital visits, infusion clinic visits, insurance fraud, big family secrets, parental abandonment, adoption, off page death of MMC's brother, blackmail plot involving coworker;

Would You Rather by Allison Ashley
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Publication date: August 23, 2022

I loved everything about this book. This is my first book by Allison Ashley, and definitely not my last! I loved the tone of the writing and the way everything played out.

Noah and Mia have been friends since she moved in next door when they were kids. When a set of unexpected events keeps them from revealing the truth to each other, Noah and Mia resolve that being best friends is enough - until it isn’t.

This gave me some series Emily Henry vibes - it wasn’t as comedic as Henry’s books, but the emotional pull felt so similar. I LOVED the quiet, brooding male main character in combination with the outgoing, bubbly female main character. *chef’s kiss*

There is just something special about the connection between childhood friends in hand with facing some of life’s ugliest realities. I thoroughly enjoyed the characters’ story arcs and how they handled what life gave them.

This book had some of my favorite romance tropes, including: friends to lovers, marriage of convenience, forced proximity, and one bed trope. 10 out of 10 recommend picking this one up!

Perfect for you if you like:
He falls first 🥹
Slooow burn
Marriage of convenience

Thank you to Harlequin Trade Publishing and Netgalley for an advanced review copy of this book.

Review posted on www.Instagram.com/thereallifebookreviewer on 7/21/22.

This book was so good!
Noah and Mia have been friends forever. They work and spend so much time together. Then one day Mia has the opportunity to go back to school only she needs her health insurance too. Noah comes up with a plan and things take off from there.
It’s a nice love story, even tho at times I kinda wanted to shake both of them. Definitely add to your list
Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the early copy

I knew I'd love Would You Rather based on the description and it truly did not disappoint. The story follows childhood best friends Mia and Noah as they decide to get married "in name only" in order to help Mia fulfill her dream of going back to school to pursue her dreams and keep very necessary health insurance in place. Noah has been in love with Mia forever and their journey convincing their family, friends and his co-workers that their marriage is real led to some extremely swoon worthy, sweet and angsty scenes. I appreciated how Mia was the one to really push Noah to be his own person outside of their relationship, especially after the tragedy with his brother has held him back from truly living. The chemistry and connection between the two was extremely obvious and made it even more enjoyable to read since it felt so believable and real. The book does deal with some medical situations, but I found them to be handled very appropriately and carefully. Absolutely recommend this book to any and all romance fans. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this arc.

Unfortunately this romance novel just didn't do it for me. It fell flat for me; I didn't connect to either character and kind of just sped through it waiting for it to finish. It was a little overly cutesy as well (for me!)

flew through it, i think mainly because i just couldn’t WAIT to see what would happen next, where mia and noah’s relationship would go. classic marriage of convenience x friends-to-lovers, done very well. i appreciated how quickly things got moving on the marriage/forced proximity part!

#netgalley

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing.

Noah and Mia are best friends. They work together. Mia gets a scholarship but she cannot take it because she has chronic kidney issues and needs health insurance. Noah proposes they get married so she can go to school and she can have his health insurance.

I used to joke about this when I was in my 20s. There were lots of things I wanted to do, but I needed health insurance. Anyway, this is a sweet book because Noah and Mia have feelings for each other so they try to navigate that while being married. It's kind of a little too sweet and too perfect, but I enjoyed reading it very much.

Thank you Harlequin Trade Publishing for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. IYKYK, my reviews are ALWAYS honest.

DISCLAIMER: I am not a seasoned romance reader, so if you are a romcom vet, you may feel very differently about this book.

SYNOPSIS

Noah and Mia have been BFFs forever so when Mia is forced to choose between accepting a scholarship to finish her degree or declining it in order to keep her job and the healthcare benefits she relies on, Noah offers to marry her so she can use his benefits AND go to school. (WHEW what a run on sentence. Sorry folks.) WILL THEY FALL IN LOVE???? STAY MARRIED FOREVER????? FIND OUT!!

MY OPINION

OMGGGG THIS IS THE CUTEST THING I'VE EVER READ. This is only my fourth romcom I've completed in the last decade or so. After Twice Shy I was ready to throw in the towel, but I was craving a sweet and syrupy read so I thought YOLO and requested this. I am so glad I did.

Let me make something clear: this is NOT a literary masterpiece. My enjoyment is not based on Allison Ashley going full Shakespeare and taking me on a mystical journey with unique prose. The writing is simple and straightforward. A little awkward, especially at the beginning. No, my enjoyment is founded in the sweetness of the story and how Ashley wrote a romcom without getting on the Pander Express.

Pink—what's the Pander Express? Glad you asked guys. The Pander Express is a play on Panda Express because that's how simple my mind is. And yes, the way I wrote "getting on the Pander Express", implies that it's some kind of train... but I just said my mind is simple so take it or leave it. ANYWAYZ, I find that most contemporary novels—esp those of the romcom variety—read like a Buzzfeed article. A deluge of wokeness. Usually there's terms like manspreading, mansplaining, etc thrown around under the guise of GIRL PWR!! I don't want to be pandered to. I don't want to feel like I'm reading Shaun King's twitter feed. I just want to read about two people falling in love with some jokey jokes on the side. And that's EXACTLY what I got with Would You Rather.

Unlike Twice Shy which featured my nightmare male character, I was vibing with Noah. He's the ultimate Fridge—sturdy, cold, useful. Just how I like 'em. Apparently the veteran romance readers refer to his character type as a cinnamon roll. I prefer Fridge.

Mia didn't annoy the shit out of me with inane insecurities; given her illness and the big truth bomb dropped on her at the onset of her diagnosis, I felt for her. Both characters had the appropriate amount of depth and unique backstories for the genre. I did find Mia a bit immature for her age, but whatever.

All in all, if you want a cute read that will make you want to hug a thousand bunnies while running through a field of sunflowers, pick this up. It's harmless fun to read this "marriage by convenience" story.

<b> PROS AND CONS </b>

Pros: good jokey jokes throughout, super sweet and cute, solid characters, no Pander Express, just good vibes

Cons: writing was a bit awkward and basique at times

This was adorable and the tropes were done so well! I can't believe it was 320 pages because I flew through it in one evening.

Kindly received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you NetGalley and Publisher for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

The friends to lovers troupe usually not my favorite but after reading this book I might just change my mind. Their both so oblivious to each others real feelings and its so great when everything comes to light. The character development through the story is great.

Couldn't put it down. Friends to lovers with marriage of convenience and fake dating yes please! Couldn't stop the smile on my face while reading this
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing this ARC. All opinions expressed are my own.

This was a really warm and fun friends-to-lovers romance that featured the fake relationship/marriage of convenience trope, which I tend to enjoy!

From the beginning, I liked the dynamic between Noah and Mia. They were great as friends, even though it was clear from each of their respective narratives that they loved each other as more than friends (more Noah than Mia, but she was in denial). Their strong friendship made a great base for their long-awaited romance to flourish.

I loved Noah's obvious devotion to Mia and all the cute moments where he's pining after her. However, I also like that his character was flawed and fleshed out, with him having his own issues to work on rather than being a two-dimensional perfect boyfriend type character.

This also featured chronic illness rep in Mia, which is a great aspect to see included in the story. The author did a good job of exhibiting how Mia's illness affects her life and her emotions/actions, while ensuring that her illness wasn't her entire character.

My chief complaint is that I thought this could use a bit more spice. There were some steamy scenes where Noah and Mia kissed, but it would end with the 'fade to black' thing, which I'm not a fan of. I'm not saying there needed to be a ton of sexy scenes, just that it sometimes feels anticlimactic when the moment is cut off and we don't get to read what actually happens. Also, I do feel like the book could have wrapped things up a tad bit quicker, but it was really well-paced as a whole.

I recommend this for fans of the friends-to-lovers trope, and/or people who prefer less smut in their romance reads.

I was given access to this in exchange for my honest feedback, All opinions are my own!

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for this ARC publication for an honest review.

Would You Rather
by Allison Ashley
Pub Date: 23 Aug 2022

Aww, this book! I love childhood best friends who are secretly in love. Throw in a marriage of convenience, forced proximity, tons of chemistry, witty banter, a backstory/history of the couple just so real and pure that you will absolutely swoon...and smile like the Cheshire cat...and sigh ever so deeply as Noah and Mia unveil the hidden truth of best friends who are so much more!

Highly recommend!

4.5 Stars

I received this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This is a rom come trope for sure. But it is nicely done and it becomes a fun to read trope rather than a cringe trope. Pick it up!

FREAKIN LOVE MARRIAGE OF CONVENIENCE. If you do too, then you NEED to read this book. Good glory, it was perfect. It had all the feels, all the romantic tension, and all the wonderful couples communication. I'm a sucker for the trope where the guy loves the girl since the beginning, and Noah's cute words and actions for Mia melted me.

Some reviews mentioned that they felt frustrated with Mia's thoughts about not deserving love/marriage because of her chronic illness. However to me, I related to that part and thought her feelings about it (though flawed) made sense. Her character growth was incredibly strong, and Noah's was too. Them growing together and separately is the core strength of this romance!

Definitely pick this one up. So many sweet and tender moments. It deserves all the stars.

Writing Aesthetic/Style: 5
Plot/Movement: 5
Character Development: 5
Overall: 5

Thank you, Harlequin Trade Publishing and NetGalley, for the ARC!

Trigger/Content Warnings: chronic illness, transplant, car accident death (off page), brief open door(ish)

**Review will be shared along with a blog tour August 25th on my site and social media**

I’M NOT CRYING.

Uh, who knew this book would make me tear up? Some of those conversations before the final reckoning had my eyes a bit misty. THE EMOTIONS.

I was in love with this book from the get-go. Marriage of convenience where the guy is completely in love her? OH MY GOSH YES PLEASE. I love that this was dual POV and getting to see both Mia and Noah’s take on what was happening.

Noah was my absolute favorite. I loved watching love Mia in all of these small ways. And those heated kisses had me melting. Good heavens those scenes were stellar. I thought he also exhibited growth too. He had more demons than he realized he needed to work through and gratefully many people in his life helped him realize that.

I struggled with Mia’s character at times because I thought she deserved to let others love her and it was frustrating watching her push away over and over. When I thought this would be a reason I lowered my rating some key moments had my eyes opening and I felt like I understood. Mia and Noah were always inevitable it just took some time to get there.

The surrounding story was amazing. This is actually my second transplant romance this year and I loved how this worked out too. The side characters made me smile and there were enough forced proximity and kisses that had to happen in front of others to bring about all the things I love about this trope.

READ IT.

Overall audience notes:

Contemporary Romance
Language: a little strong
Romance: fade to black & closed-door
Violence: low
Trigger/Content Warnings: loss of a sibling (car wreck, recounted), kidney transplant, estranged parents, grief and loss depiction