Forced Proximity and the Roommate trope at its finest. I fell in love with these characters and this world. Can't wait to see more of Allsion Ashley.

I would like to thank MIRA & Harlequin Publishing for granting access to this advanced readers copy!

I should start by saying I was not aware this was a sequel until a bit later in the read. It certainly can be a stand alone read, but there are a few references and nods to Mia and Noah's story in Would You Rather.

The story itself was so good and had most, if not all, the elements I look for in contemporary romance! Claire and Graham had wonderful chemistry, and I do love. the leading lady being outspoke and headstrong with her convictions. We don't always see that, and I think Allison Ashley did a wonderful job with her character. The pacing was great, but I think the time jumps toward the end really broke the flow of the rest of the book. Also there were some continuity issues that I found detracted from the story but after reading this arc, it was abundantly clear it wasn't finished. I am certainly excited for the final product when it's out and will reread for the summer! :)


Notes for publisher:
Thankfully I enjoyed the story to finish it, but the arc formatting was awfully distracting (spacing, font color, unfinished sentences!!!, grammatical errors). I do realize the nature of arcs are well... arcs for a reason, but the reader experience would have been dramatically different if these issues were addressed or even disclosed beforehand.

ah this one was so cute! i had really loved these two in would you rather and i loved them in this too! it was different from what i had expected and the ending was a little rocky for me, but i loved their relationship and increasing vulnerability throughout! I'm excited to read more by this author!

This was a super fun and quick read. Claire and Graham make a pact that they’ll eventually get married. I expected time to pass and the pact come up but what I didn’t expect was the twist of Grahams accident forcing them into even closer proximity.
The characters were so well developed and the plot was great. I loved the banter between the characters and Gertrude was by far the star of the show.

Full disclosure I was unaware that this was the sequel in a series. I didn’t realize it until I was halfway through.

I really enjoyed this!! Besides the horrific arc formatting that made this almost unreadable the story had me hooked. I feel like there were things that were missing, because of sentences that would just end mid sentence, which was disappointing. Which again, was hopefully due to this being an ARC. Overall though I was impressed by everything past the first 20%.

Insta lust is not usually my go to but Graham and Claire were perfect. Loved the nurse + firefighter combo, the author did this without making it seem like a cliche. Loved the road-trip they took, it added a lot to the story and their relationship.

I enjoyed the minimal miscommunication. I wasn’t expecting this to be third POV, I think it would’ve served the story better if it was dual first POV.

What happens when you make a pact with your roommate/best friend to get married and become friends with benefits if you are both single when you’re forty??? Well things are about to drastically change for ER nurse Claire Harper and her firefighter roommate Graham Scott. Claire wants a safe relationship, she wants stability, and a serious relationship while Graham has never had a serious relationship in his life and is constantly seeking the thrills and adventures. They are polar opposites but their friendship is strong but after discussing said pact one day things start to change a bit as both Claire and Graham begin to notice each other more... and when Graham lands in an accident Claire starts looking after him.... but the more time they spend together the more things begin to heat up and what was suppose to be a pact to be friends with benefits four years from now is very much happening now. What starts off as just a simple arrangement soon gets complicated as Graham begins to fall for her and Claire begins to realize that her heart might be in danger of the person she never expected to fall for. Can Claire work through her past trauma and see that the right person for her might be what she never wanted but everything she ever needed? This was an absolutely hilarious and sweet rom com about two people who are best friends who begin to fall for each other despite what they expected. This was seriously so cute and I adored all the emails that Graham wrote to Claire and how you get to see him fall for her. It was such a fun read and I would definitely recommend it for anyone looking for a good romance book!

*Thanks Netgalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing, MIRA for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

The Roommate Pact by Allison Ashley
Thank you to NetGalley for providing me an ARC in exchange for an honest review. I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this book. The characters were refreshing and the twist on the “marriage pact” worked. This was the second book in a series, but I read it as a standalone.
What worked:
1. The main characters were so likable. Nurse Claire and Firefighter Graham are dedicated to their careers and hobbies and bring out the best in each other. I particularly liked Claire’s desire to find someone who loves her without sacrificing her strong-willed personality.
2. The family dynamics. Both characters had strong attachment to their parents and while they made difficult choices, it was their parents who guided them in the right direction.
3. What brings them together. Claire worries about Graham’s often dangerous lifestyle and when he gets hurt, she acts as his personal nurse, while taking his injury as a sign that if they were a couple, she’d always have to worry about him getting hurt. He is obviously attracted to her, but doesn’t want to ever settle down after having his heart broken in the past.
4. Claire’s rivalry with Graham’s dog is hilarious. Will they bond over concern for Graham?
5. Graham’s emails to Claire are beautiful and realistic. Especially when he believes she’ll never read them.

What didn’t:
1. Since I didn’t read the first book, I was confused about the timeline of Claire and Graham’s friendship.

This was a fun and easy thing to binge read over the weekend and I had a nice time, smiling all the way through the book!

Roommates slash good friends Claire and have known each other for a long time and they've enjoyed each other's company. Not until recently, the physical tension between them is top notch and a weird chemistry is building up that both of them cannot ignore, even if they try to.

Right in the middle of all these, gets injured and left bedridden and Claire, the ever dutiful nurse slash friend is left to take care of him. And man oh man things heat up from there and the pair of them are set to realise (separately) that they can be more than just friends with benefits even with several limitations in between them.


With well-developed characters who speak their mind and exhibit mature behaviours, The Roommate Pact is a lovely romance with minimal steam (although the scopes were high, the author chose to keep them low key!) that I absolutely enjoyed.

Many thanks to the lovely publisher who approved my request for an early reading copy. All opinions are solely mine.

I felt like I waited forever for this book to actually kick off (which happens in my opinion around 30% of the way through). I think I probably should have read the author's first book Would You Rather to figure out if her style was going to be for me and if the characters were going to be two I could get behind. I loved little sassy Gertrude, but just wish this picked up faster.

4.5 rounding up to 5!

This was absolutely adorable. I loved Would You Rather and screamed with excitement for getting an ARC of The Roommate Pact (thank you Netgalley!) and it didn’t disappoint!

I loved the little bits of Claire and Graham in WYR and they were exceptional in TRP. They were fun, snarky, witty, tender when needed, compassionate, kind, patient. I loved them so dang much! Graham is a sweet little angel baby who needs to be protected at all costs.

I loved Claire and how she cared for Graham and herself. She didn’t just have bad habits or experiences impacting her choices, it was true trauma. I appreciated the work she did on herself at the end, though I wish we had a glimpse into her healing a bit more.

The frank conversation Mia had with her was so poignant and heartfelt, I loved it. The friendships in this book are really special.

I loved this one and I hope everyone else does too! 💕

I loved this book so much! I really didn’t know what it was about when I started reading it, but I quickly was obsessed! The characters are well developed, and I couldn’t help but love them all!

This was a fun read and I devoured all of it! I'm so glad that I got the chance to read it early and will definitely be recommending it to multiple people who enjoy these types of novels. I enjoyed the characters and especially enjoyed the writing by this author. I'm excited to see what the author comes out with next as I'll definitely be reading it! Thank you to the publisher for my early copy of this book!

I really loved the way this story progressed, and loved getting to know Claire and Graham. Journaling-through-emails-you-expect-to-be-unread was a really unique storytelling device!

This was such a cute and steamy little rom com!! I really liked Allison Ashley's previous novel. Would You Rather, so I was really excited to see this was Claire and Graham's story!! The steam level, the banter, the small moments!! I loved the feeling this book gave me! Not only was it a cute rom com, but it also held a lot of emotional depth, which is something you don't always find in romance. Excited to see what Allison Ashley comes out with next!
Thank you so much NetGalley, Allison Ashley, and Harlequin Trade Publishing for access to this e-ARC!!

I ADORED this novel. The Roommate Pact has the perfect balance of sweet romance while still being believable. Claire and Graham’s chemistry was OFF THE CHARTS - the tension was thick enough to cut and I loved every minute of it.

I liked that they were friends/roommates for a while before taking things physical. It made the progression of their relationship feel honest. Claire never had an issue standing up for herself or speaking her mind. Graham gave the same lever of snarky-ness right back. That’s how you know these two are end game.

These two also opened up to each other slowly which made each milestone feel earned. Both Claire and Graham had very valid and real fears about entering a serious relationship, but ultimately knew that they could preserve for the promise of their love.

Although The Roommate Pact had zero spicy scenes (that’s right folks, it’s all fade to black), I never found myself missing it. And I love a good smut riddled book. That’s how amazing the writing is, I never thought twice about the lack of in page sex until I was done reading.

I will say, I hate small dogs so I was not a fan of Gertie. But she did win Claire over so I guess she can’t be too bad!

I loved getting to know Graham and Claire! I enjoyed both of them in the Would You Rather, but this gave them so much more depth.

This was a mostly closed door romance with some steamy make out scenes. There was amazing banter between the two of them.

While I didn’t like that Graham was injured, I did like that it was her taking care of him. I LOVED the journal emails that Graham sent to Claire to an email address she never uses.

Their hang ups for not dating each other made sense but the entire time I was hoping they’d be mature enough to realize they could get over their fears. So while I was bothered they even had to break up, at least the redemption scene was really good and I loved how they immediately fell back into their snarky banter.

I’d highly recommend this to anyone.

I adored Claire and Graham. I loved how they each had valid reasons for not jumping into a relationship, and how they dealt with those reasons in a timely and reasonable matter (rather than just getting over it like in other books). I especially loved how both main characters are first responders. Being able to see Noah and Mia was a plus, as well as getting to know the main characters' families more. I think this book tops "Would You Rather," but only slightly.
Okay, but can we talk about when Graham got hurt and Claire had to take care of him? I'm used to the "he takes care of her when she's sick" trope, but to have it reversed? I loved it. And I especially loved how they each stayed true to themselves while compromising in their relationship. An amazing read, and I'll for sure buy the physical version when it comes out.

ALSO: this is considered a closed door reading because it doesn't show/describe anything explicit, and yet the spice is wonderfully done. It's honestly better than most open door books I've read. If you're a fan of a little heat but don't want too much, this book is for you, for sure.

This book was sweet and steamy and made me smile. The Roommate Pact by Allison Ashley is the perfect companion to Would You Rather. I liked Graham and Claire's chemistry and tenderness toward each other more than the characters in the first book.

Read if you're interested in friends to lovers, excellent 'sick bed' scenes, a fresh take on 'only one bed' and a six pound dog that will make you smile.

It was a cute friends to lovers romance. I enjoyed the insert of emergency service workers in this and the work that they do along with all the crazy stuff they are bound to see at their jobs.

4.75 stars (really would’ve been 5 if it hadn’t been open-door romance, read on for why).

Claire and Graham were fun side characters in Would You Rather but WOW did they take on a life of their own in Ashley’s follow up book. I didn’t think I could like them more than I loved Mia and Noah…but I definitely do 🫢

What you get
-Grumpy girl & sunshine guy (they both had opposite moments too)
-Tangible characters that were relatable
-Realistic life scenarios that were believable
-A 3rd act breakup that actually works (honestly it was past the 75% mark so technically does that make it a 4th act)
-A feisty terrier
-He falls first
-Nurse x Firefighter
-Adventure and romance
-Open door romance that crossed into slightly spicy territory (I needed the spice to make it 5 stars but that’s just my opinion. I was always left a little thirsty, wanting more, but for those who like romance without the spice, this book is great)

I definitely want to check out this author’s other books now! Thank you immensely to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for the advance copy in exchange for my honest review.