ARC Review: Would You Rather by Allison Ashley

Genre ~ contemporary romance

Tropes ~ friends to lovers ~ fake marriage ~ forced proximity

Release date ~ August 23, 2022

POV ~ dual ~ 3rd person

Page count ~ 320

Audio length ~ 8 hours 22 minutes

My rating ~ 4.5 ⭐

My review:

One of the best best friends to lovers/fake marriage books I’ve read.

Mia and Noah have been best friends since they were seven, now they’re in their 30’s and neither have settled down. An opportunity comes up for Mia to go back to school full time and she is elated. Problem ~ she can’t quit her job that offers medical insurance that she desperately needs for her chronic illness/kidney transplant. Noah has the perfect solution ~ they’ll get married, so she can quit her job and concentrate on her dream of being a pediatric dietician. It takes lots of chicken wings to get Mia on board with this plan ~ and yes, I had wings for dinner the day I finished this, not plain though.

Dual 3rd person POV was perfect for this story. I really enjoyed their easy friendship, Noah’s protectiveness (well actually this fits for both of them), the jokes they played on each other, and, of course, the would you rather game they’ve been playing for all these years. It took a bit, but they finally realize their feelings go deeper and they give in to their desires ~ in a clean manner.
I am a believer in YOLO, so I wasn’t feeling either of their decisions for certain things, but luckily it all worked out in the end.
Claire and Graham and Natasha and Barbara were great side characters too.

Overall, super cute ~ super fun ~ quick read ~ heartwarming ~ sweet ~ some teary moments ~ lovable characters (except one, there’s always gotta be one) ~ an all around delight.

I would absolutely be interested in reading more from this author.

*Thanks to Harlequin Trade Publishing, Allison Ashley and NetGalley for the ARC. I am voluntarily leaving my honest review*

⬇Purchase links⬇

Would you rather play it safe in the friend zone, or risk it all with a modern marriage of convenience?

Noah and Mia have always been best friends, and their friendship is the most important thing to them. Life is going great for Noah and he’s up for a promotion in a job he loves. But Mia’s life is on hold as she awaits a kidney transplant. She’s stuck in a dead-end job and, never wanting to be a burden, has sworn off all romance. So when the chance of a lifetime comes to go back to school and pursue her dream, it’s especially painful to pass up. She can’t quit her job or she’ll lose the medical insurance she so desperately needs.

To support her, Noah suggests they get married—in name only—so she can study full-time and still keep the insurance. It’s a risk to both of them, with jobs, health and hearts on the line, and they’ll need to convince suspicious coworkers and nosy roommates that they’re the real deal. But if they can let go of all the baggage holding them back, they might realize that they would rather be together forever.

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