Oar Than Friends

I enjoyed this book so much. I've read plenty of stories taking place at either Oxford or Cambridge over the years (mostly mysteries); it was especially fun to read a story that featured both competition and camaraderie between the two schools. And eventually romance, of course. And I'm sure I've never read a sports romance centered around rowing - so creative and interesting! Those are just the wonderful broad brush strokes of this novel. Kate and Oz are so much fun! Their meet-cute is hilarious, and their trials and tribulations make for great reading. I can imagine meeting them and their circle of friends and having great times. Ms. Moore does a wonderful job making the reader feel like the most careful observer, seeing all the action and following characters' thought processes. I think I even felt tired just reading about all their workouts! I am definitely looking forward to reading further installments in this series. I was gifted an ARC and asked to submit a review - certainly pleased to do so!

𝗧𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗲𝘀: Collage Romance, Sports Romance, Billionaire, Opposites Attract, Forbidden Romance 𝗢𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗥𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟  𝗦𝗽𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗟𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹: 🌶️🌶️🌶️  𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀: 💜💜💜💜  𝗧𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘀 𝗟𝗼𝘀𝘁: 💧💧  𝗣𝗹𝗼𝘁 𝗗𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹𝗼𝗽𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁: 🖊️🖊️🖊️  𝗣𝗢𝗩: Dual 𝗙𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝘁: Ebook I absolutely loved this book! This book was such a great read & I loved Oz and Kate’s story. I never realized I would enjoy a book about rowers, but here I am. Kate is a recent transplant from the US, coming over to Brittan for school. She just wanted to make her parents proud, Oz was not part of the plan. But the best plans go a bit haywire. Especially when it turns out you are both from rival teams. Oz was definitely the perfect book boyfriend & I loved his interactions with Kate. This whole book was so sweet, entertaining, hilarious & just an all around great read. I can’t wait to see where this series goes next.

OAR THAN FRIENDS Lᴜʟᴜ Mᴏᴏʀᴇ Oᴜᴛ TODAY!! 🇬🇧Bʀɪᴇғ Sʏɴᴏᴘsɪs/Tʜᴏᴜɢʜᴛs Okkkkk… whyyy didn't anyone tell me that ROWING romance existed??? THIS is my thing! Y’all can have the cowboys, gimme a Brit in a boat anyday. Especially if they’re Oz! Yep. New book boyfriend alert. He’s a keeper y’all. (And I sure did switch my iPhone voice text reader over to “Oliver” to read it to me. 🥰 So we’ve got Kate, who’s come from the US to Cambridge to go to med school and row and Arthur “Oz” who is “reading the classics” (aka studying English for us Americans) but his father expects him to go into politics. He’s also captain of the Oxford rowing team. They meet when she literally bumps into him in the most adorable meet cute, then find out later they’re on opposing teams and aren’t supposed to fraternize with each other. Chaos ensues. The insta-love works here. It’s what happens in college. Lots of texting, 500 questions, sneaking around, keeping each others clothes to smell like the other person. Adorable. There is a glossary of rowing terms in the front to help. I happen to LOVE rowing/crew and look forward to it during the Olympics every year. It’s not really a big sport down here like it is on the East coast but we do have a few teams that row out by City Park (if you’ve ever been here) This is going to be a new series so I will def be reading this one. Lulu, you’ve got a reader for life here. 🩵 🩵RIYL #SportsRomance #BoyObsessed #RivalstoLovers #ForbiddenLove #BillionaireRomance #BritHero Thank you #partners @valentine_pr_ @lulumoorebooks

I loved Oar than Friends by Lulu Moore; it is an incredible love at first sight love story. It is the first book in her new Oxbridge series. Lulu Moore shows that she is an amazing storyteller and is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors to read. Oar than Friends was impossible to put down and I loved every moment on every page. I really enjoy how the book is told in the first person from the perspective of the main characters. I love getting the insight and feelings from the different characters. Oar than Friends is filled with all those things that we have come to love and expect in a love story, Lulu Moore did not disappoint, especially with the poignant and bittersweet moments that filled this page turner. Oar than Friends is the story of Arthur “Oz” Osbourne-Cloud, senior and captain of the Oxford rowing team and Kate Astley, a freshman coxswain and member of the Cambridge rowing team. Kate and Oz meet when Kate is returning to her dorm following a night out with her friends and trips over Oz. Kate keeps hoping to run into Oz on campus but does not realize that he goes to Oxford and that he is the infamous AOC that her friends and teammates talk about. Kate is at Cambridge on a scholarship to study medicine. She is fulfilling her late brother Jake’s dream of becoming a doctor. I love the secrets that Kate and Oz share with one another that first night. They meet again when the coaches of both universities call a meeting to discuss a recent incident regarding the mascots for the rowing teams. Because of the incident the teams must clean the riverbanks near the river Thames so that it is clean for the annual Boat Race between Oxford and Cambridge in March. Conversation between Kate and Oz flows so easily. As Kate and Oz spend time together cleaning up, texting, and video calling things change between them and quickly heat up. I love the tips that Oz gave to Kate about how to race on the Thames. They agree to keep their relationship private because she does not want to jeopardize her scholarship, since the women’s team captain does not like Oz. Things truly change between them when Oz takes Kate home with him at Christmas, so that she does not have to be alone. A plot twist changes things between Kate and Oz and puts their relationship in jeopardy. I loved that Oz is more than just a romance, there are issues that both Kate and Oz are facing that need to be resolved. I love how each one of them revealed to their parents that their goals were not the same as their parents’ dreams for them. I love how the storylines get so beautifully resolved. I love everything that Oz does to resolve the plot twist and everything that Oz is willing to do to have a life and future with Kate and that Kate was willing to make changes in her life to have a future with Oz. My favorite part is how the plot twist gets resolved and the heart-to-heart conversation that Kate has with her mom. I love the phrases at the beginning of each chapter. I also love how Kate calls him Ozzy and his mother calls him Arthur. I love how the epilogue is the perfect ending to their love story, and the sneak peek at the next book reveals the identity of the next teammate. Oar than Friends is filled with poignant and bittersweet moments as well as plot twists. I love the characters and the family dynamic in Oar than Friends. The characters feel like family and friends. I enjoyed all the interactions between Oz’s teammates as well as his siblings, it feels like real family love and makes me laugh at their teasing. I loved all the characters in Oar than Friends, and I am looking forward to reading the other books in the series. Who does not love family and friends that always have each other’s backs? I thoroughly enjoyed Oar than Friends, who does not love a love at first sight love story. Highly recommend this incredible love story. Received an advanced copy from the author.

𝐎𝐚𝐫 𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐅𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐬 by Lulu Moore is a new enemies to lovers sports rom-com with a love-at-first sight twist. Kate’s an American on a rowing scholarship to study medicine at Cambridge, and he’s the President of the rowing crew at Oxford trying to outrun his father’s plans for his life. They connect in an inexplicable way, but between their grueling schedules, the monstrous rivalry between their schools, and the all-important Boat Race that’s on the line, are they rowing right toward a broken heart? When you’ve read as many romance novels as I have, diving into one with a brand new to me sport is an unexpected gift!! Learning so much much about the dynamics of the college rowing scene in England was a blast! These characters were well-developed and grabbed me immediately, and their meet-cute was perfect and totally unique!!😍😂 Both Kate and Oz were more than meets the eye, with emotional backstories, and struggles between pleasing others and living life for themselves. The world building was fantastic with several compelling characters that brought the banter, fun, and camaraderie. I loved the rivalry, the romance, the drama, and the emotional moments. It was quite a long book, and there were a few times where it started to lag a bit for me, but I stayed interested. However, the way it came together in the end was amazing, with a sweet little epilogue to top it off!🥰 I can’t wait to see more from this intriguing Ox-bridge world! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5 🌶️.5