“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.”

These characters were so cute! I was giggling, blushing, and spamming my fellow book loving friend about how she needs to add this book to her physical TBR ASAP!

This book has:
- friends (roommates) to lovers
- marriage pact
- he's a firefighter, she's a nurse
- email love confessions
- he falls harder... realizing this might not be the best way to word that…
- "will you please stay with me? I feel more comfortable knowing you're sleeping beside me."

I found that the pacing was off in certain spots so I found it hard to focus at times but overall I really had a great time reading this book and will be looking into the rest of Allison Ashley's books!

Rating: 4.5/5
Warnings: parental illness, death of a parent, bullying due to low-income/poverty (in past)
Steam: Closed Door (implied)
Tropes: friends to lovers, forced proximity, only one bed, let me take care of you, just a hookup, epistolary via emails

Thank you to MIRA and NetGalley for access to this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Things I loved: the banter in this book was so freaking good. I love the pact concept and how they amended it. Graham and Claire had amazing chemistry and I enjoyed watching them grow individually and together. The emails, I love when this is used in books and it just made me so happy. getting to catch up with Noah and Mia. I generally just the tenderness these two showed for each other. foodie moments.

Things I didn't love: I made this comment with would you rather and I will say it again with this book...Ashley write great tension/banter and to have the book be fade to black can me pretty disappointing for me personally.

2.5 I wanted to like it but I didn't. I didn't feel the writing as good, the characters were good but I never wanted them to end up together. It was also closed door which just isn't my thing > I'm sure plenty of people will adore it, I just didn't

Alison Ashley is an auto-buy author for me and she did not disappoint with The Roommate Pact. Honestly, the author can teach a master class in how to write chemistry between characters! I believed in their attraction and love for one another, and considering this is a mostly closed door romance (PG-13), she brings the heat between the two! I loved this roommates-to-more book and highly recommend it!

Advanced galley copy provided by the publisher via NetGalley.

This was a fast paced, easy read. Lots of humor and heart. There was a bit of confusion with the formatting which I'm assuming is due to the early copy and will be fixed by the time the book is released. I'm actually think I enjoyed the relationship between Claire and Gertie more than anything ;-) I would have like to have seen a little more disclosure and transparency between Graham and Claire - more than just emails. It felt like some of their issues were just skimmed over and never really addressed between them. Overall a light and fun read - perfect for summer!
Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing, MIRA for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

The chemistry between these characters was off the charts. I forgot I was reading about fictional people! I love how they grew and fell for each other naturally. But they ultimately had to take a leap to get out of their own ways.

Thank you for allowing me to read this early. I can’t wait to suggest this to fellow romance readers!

I loved Allison Ashley's book, "Would You Rather?", so I was incredibly excited to see that she has a new book out! "The Roommate Pact" follows the lives of roommates Claire and Graham (who were featured in the previous book), who are both commitment-phobic and incredibly devoted to their demanding jobs (ER nurse and firefighter). While the two of them have a long-running joke that they'll marry each other if they can't find spouses by 40, there's also a spark between them. This spark is lit every time they argue, which is a lot. Add in a yappy dog that doesn't like Claire, and there's a lot of tension.

This book has everything: humor, romance, lots of chemistry, two humans who communicate like actual adults, love notes, and even some adorable, lovable parents! I absolutely loved this book and stayed up all night to read it. I would highly recommend this book and will probably even read it more than once myself!

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

Claire Harper, an ER nurse in the process of becoming an NP, hasn't had much luck on the dating scene, lately. Her adventure-seeking firefighter roommate Graham has never been looking for anything serious. So the pact that they create to get married if neither has a significant other by age 40 is the perfect arrangement.

But when Claire's "why wait" mentality suggests they simply become FWB now, the two enter a new phrase of their relationship together. Almost as soon as it starts, Graham is in a climbing accident that leaves him housebound and requiring Claire's nursing assistance.

The tension and chemistry between the two continues to build despite Claire's online dating attempts. In a predictably happy ending, the two work through their past traumas and realize that what they were both seeking was there all along.

Allison Ashley has created complex characters who intricacies and backstories develop throughout the novel. Great writing and a fast read! Look for it in stores this August.

**I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

EEK!! I loved Would You Rather and this was sequel perfection!!

Roommates Claire and Graham make a pact that if they are single in four years, they would act on their attraction and get together. However, all that changes when Graham gets injured and Claire, being the nurse she is, offers to help nurse him back to health.

I love Allison Ashley’s writing and this book reminded me why. It is heartfelt, humorous, engaging and a quick binge. She uses her knowledge of working in the medical field and brings this background into her work, and what can be better than a heroine who’s a nurse and an outdoorsy firefighter hero. Claire and Graham had not only the most beautiful chemistry but also strong character growth. One of my favorite parts was reading the emails Graham sends to Claire’s unused email address as a form of therapy. I am also a big write to no one person and there was something special about seeing Graham open up in these letters and how much it helped with the healing process. Also, for WYR fans, there is a lot of Mia and Noah scenes integrated throughout the story <3

Read if you like:
-Forced proximity
-Medical settings
-Lighthearted reads with emotional substance
-Journaling for therapy
-Fade to black romance scenes

Thank you HTP and Mira for the ARC! Pub date 8/1/23

Allison Ashley does it again! This time with Graham and Claire, two characters from Would You Rather? Neither of them seem to be “relationship” people, so they decide to enter a pact of friends with benefits…what could go wrong…?

The banter in this story is some of the best. I absolutely loved the character growth in this story, and the use of emails/journaling to get Graham’s perspective really added to the story. It’s great when we get to see the male MC be emotionally vulnerable. I cannot wait for everyone to read this one!

Thank you to Mira and Allison for my ARC.

This one was a bit clunky in the beginning- veryyy quick pacing that took me out of the story a bit. However, it found it's rhythm towards the end and ending up being quite a sweet story.