This one was so fun! A little modern forbidden love, star-crossed lovers kind of thing going on. They row for rivalry schools, and how dare they be in a relationship! So therefore they have to keep it secret. Also, when I think of sports romances, rowing is not even in the top 10 that I think about, so kudos to the author for making rowing on my radar now. Also the pun in the title…genius. I enjoyed that there was character depth too, like a subplot beyond just “hey, we row for rivalry schools”. Kate could lose her scholarship, and Oz just wants a real chance with her. He has quite the reputation… it’s unwarranted, it’s mainly due to his father’s actual reputation; but he really likes her and the gossip and publicity is ruining his chances. But where there’s a will, there’s a way right?

Thank you to Valentine PR for the copy! Loved this one!

“How many unanswered texts does it take until you’re labelled a stalker? Or worse, a total loser. Six? Seven?”

Review: 4/5 ⭐️
Steam: 2.5/5 🔥

#oarthanfriends is the new standalone from @lulumoorebooks

Oz has the looks, muscle and personality that can pull anyone in. But unfortunately he’s also judged by others through gossip. He meets Kate who doesn’t know anything about him, so she doesn’t judge and sees him for the man he is. For the both of them, it was attraction and comfort at first sight. They shared thoughts that weren’t out in the open.

Kate and Oz both knew that their relationship had a forbidden element to it. Both rowing for rival schools, they couldn’t flaunt what they had. As much as she tried to stay away, Oz was a man on a mission. She wanted to be strong and not cross that line but it was a lost cause. Oz was relentless but in the best ways.

It took me a bit to get into this book but I ended up loving their relationship. The side characters always make me love a book more. Who doesn’t love a strong friend group with great banter?? Interested to see where things go from here.

Oar Than Friends is book #1 in the Oxbridge series by Lulu Moore

The way I screamed when I saw Lulu was writing a rowing romance book!!

THIS BOOK WAS AMAZING!!!!

I don't think Lulu can write a book at this point that I won't LOVE!!!

My rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Spicy rating: 🔥🔥🔥

If you love these tropes, you are going to love this book!
- Sports Romance (Rowing)
- Enemies to Lovers
- Campus Setting

STOP WHAT YOU ARE DOING! RUNNNNN TO BUY THIS BOOK!!!!!

Kate and Oz HAVE MY HEART!!!!

Kate moves to the UK from America to study at Cambridge University. This is where she meets Arthur, aka Oz, who studies at the rival university - Oxford. The first time they meet had me in fits of laughter!!!

I loved all the enemies to lovers vibes between these two but what I loved most was just how perfect they were for each other. The flirty exchanges between the two of them made me want more!

I loved all the rowing elements as this was my first romance novel based on this sport!!

Overall, Lulu did such an amazing job and I cannot wait to read more from this series!!!

𝒐𝒂𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒏 𝒇𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒔 ⚓️🩵

author: lulu moore
publication date: 3/14/24
rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
spice: 🌶️🌶️

tropes:

🚣🏼 sports romance
🚣🏼 college rivalry
🚣🏼 unknown identities
🚣🏼 secret relationship
🚣🏼 he falls first
🚣🏼 dual pov

what i liked:

oar than friends is the first book in the oxbridge series and my first rowing romance! we follow kate who is a medical student from american studying at cambridge and arthur (oz) who is in his final year at oxford. 🎓

i loved kate as a character! she was so fun and hardworking and oz was very supportive and patient with her. their story was so much fun to read & i loved their meet cute and endless banter! 🤭

i can’t wait for the rest of the series! hopefully we get more from charlie & violet! 🩵

favorite quote:

જ⁀➴ “𝙄 𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙘𝙡𝙖𝙞𝙢 𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙩 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙙, 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙨𝙝𝙚 𝙝𝙖𝙙 𝙘𝙡𝙖𝙞𝙢𝙚𝙙 𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙚.”

final thoughts:

HUGE thank you @lulumoore & @valentine_pr for allowing me to receive an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. all opinions are my own. 🫶🏻

✨ARC REVIEW✨

Oar Than Friends, a college sports romance by @lulumoorebooks is releasing March 14th!!

Rating: 11/10
Spice:🌶️🌶️
POV: Dual

Tropes:
College (Cambridge vs Oxford) 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿
Rivals to lovers 🔥
Rowing Crew 🚣‍♀️🚣
Forbidden 🚫
Banter 😍
Found Family vibes

Holy crap @lulumoorebooks and sports romance are 😚👌 *chefs kiss* and she did NOT disappoint with Oar Than Friends!
Literally didn’t want to put this down and finished it in less than 2 days. Who knew rowing crew could be so 😮‍💨😮‍💨

SYNOPSIS:

Kate is an American transplant who is pursuing her medical degree at Downing University while also rowing crew on Cambridge’s woman’s team. When she literally trips over Oz one night she has no idea that the hot, sweet man she starts texting is on the Oxford crew aka Cambridges biggest rival in the yearly boat race.

Will their crews rivalry keep them apart or will they figure out how to make their love go the distance?

Ladies get yourself a man like Oz who will come running because you’re upset and crying and he needs to make you feel better 🫠. It was SO freaking good and I can’t wait for the next book in the series 😍😍

Thanks @lulumoorebooks and @valentine_pr_ for the ARC!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

ALL THE STARS FOR OZ!

I adore everything Lulu writes and this was absolutely no different. I don’t normally read college-aged romances but I loved this! And rowing? What a fun sport to read about!

Kate is an American in her first year at Cambridge where she’s on a rowing and academic scholarship. She meets Oz after her first night out and soon finds out not only is he attending a different university, but he’s a true rival as he’s Oxford’s boat club president.

But Oz is unable to get his Yankee Doodle out of his head after their first meet cute and the rest is the perfect sports romance!

Oz was the sweetest book boyfriend I’ve ever read and I loved all the nicknames he had for Kate. I couldn’t help but grin through most of this book if I wasn’t tearing up. I absolutely cannot wait for more in this series from Lulu!

This is the first book in a new series about college kids in England. She is 19 and he is about 21. When Kate and Arthur meet magic is in the air. But they have some huge stumbling blocks ahead of them. He is Oxford and she is Cambridge, they are separated by 100 miles, rival rowing teams, college rivalries, in this very forbidden romance.

But that's not really what this book is about. It's about family. The family we love, the family we lose, through life, circumstance or the toxicity of those relationships. The family we have and how we choose to view it, whether we hold tight to their dreams or the time that we finally realize that it's our life and we only have one life to life. Whether you are American or British, we share the same fears, love and dreams.

The writing of this story seemed complicated. The author took a long time to really build this story and the characters we met in this book and will meet through this series.

It also takes place in England at Christmas time which was awesome as I got to experience my first British Christmas and it sounded awesome with the way the author chose to portray it. I adored Arthur's friends and cannot wait to read more in this series.

I was SO excited to get this book as an ARC, as someone who rowed in high school and college and met my husband on the rowing team! I have been dying for a rowing romance. Oz and Kate are a couple you fall in love with, with complex personalities as they navigate collegiate rowing as opponents. I found myself smiling from ear to ear and feeling the adrenaline rushes I remember as a coxswain. I loved it!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌶️🌶️🌶️

Lulu Moore did it again! She’s back again with a 5 ⭐️ read.
Everything about this book was just perfect for me. The chemistry of Arthur and Kate’s chemistry was through the roof. The first time they met was just iconic! Their relationship was full of passion, tension and swoon. The sports side of the story gave a thrilling aspect to the plot. Even though I know nothing about rowing, Lulu Moore explained the terms and situations well where you can easily imagine the scenes and also understand the sport. The Boat race so was exciting to read. It was full of emotion and really kept me on the edge of my seat. The side characters were also likable. The scenes with Kate and Arthur’s friends and also with Arthur’s family were very heartwarming. It really touched my heart of how welcoming and how sweet Arthur’s family was to Kate. She’s really meant to be part of them 🩵.

Kate & Oz have my heart! Their story was so much fun, starting with their hilarious meet cute & ending with the famous Boat Race. I loved the college rivalry, it gave this a little bit of a forbidden aspect and for a moment we got a little taste of enemies to lovers! I know absolutely nothing about rowing but everything was explained so well and by the end I was so anxious and nervous to see who was going to come out on top 👀

Miscommunication is always frustrating but it’s to be expected with college students who are falling in love for the first time, while also trying to figure out who they want to be. They were so supportive of each others dreams and gave each other the push they needed to pursue them.

We also got a glimpse of their relationships with their family and friends which added another fun element - I can’t wait to read about Charlie and Violet next!

You better ROWWW b*tch.

Did I ever think I would love a rowing romance or Google what a coxswain was? No, but here I am.

Kate Astley is a med student from America rowing for Cambridge while Arthur Osbourne-cloud, aka Oz, is the equivalent to British Royalty for Oxford and is the rowing team’s captain. They’re supposed to be rivals but que será, será.

I should have beef with Oz for calling Kate his Yankee Doodle except it’s lowkey cute and he’s obsessed with her so I’ll let it slide. He’s down BAD. Sending pie for thanksgiving bc you miss home. Sending multiple texts when guys IRL leave you on read for a week… Completely understood why Kate folded. and ofc there’s a “who made you cry scene” 🥹

Although there’s low angst, I loved how the author included how women are more scrutinized in public relationships vs. men (WHERE IS KATE!!! and ofc Miss Swift). And what I thought was going to be the conflict ended up showing how meant for each other Kate and Oz are.

Oar than friends is such a cute romance and I need y’all to read it and appreciate my first ever edits that I made with a pro’s help ofc @jaclynslibrary.

Thank you to @valentinepr, @netgalley, and @lulumoore for the arc in exchange for an honest review! Oar than Friends is out now ✨

DEFINITELY READ THIS; ESP IF YOU ENJOY: College romance + Sports romance + MCs playing for rival schools (Oxford vs Cambridge) + British MMC and American Girl + Rivals to Lovers.

I loooove everything about this book, and that's saying something since I usually steer clear off NA/College romance. Kate and Oz met one night before realizing their rowing for their respective schools WHICH HAPPENED TO BE RIVALS SINCE THE SPORT ORIGINATED. Oz is also a celebrity (by proxy ish) and therefore does not have the best reputation right now so when Katey girl learned about she tried to get away but Oz is determined bc he's head over heels and the rest of their banter and communication is soo fun to read. I enjoy being in this part of England (in my delulu ofc) and now that Lulu introduced the second book at the end of this I CAN HARDLY WAIT FOR IT TOO!

Thank you NetGalley, VPR, and Lulu Moore, for the eARC in exchange for my honest review!

Oar Than Friends by Lulu Moore was such a cute book. If you like contemporary romances, athletes, billionaire, boy obsessed, enemy to lover, love at first sight, Ivy League, secret romances then you are going to love this book.

Kate, is an American received a rowing scholarship to study medicine at Cambridge. After losing her brother to an undiagnosed heart condition she decided to continue her brother’s plans of becoming a doctor and attending Cambridge. Kates dream is to open a restaurant.

Arthur “Oz” is the President of the Oxford Men's Team. Oz has a reputation of being a ladies man. He is the son of a wealthy politician, who expects Oz to follow in his footsteps into politics. Oz wants to be a teacher. After Oz does some convincing, Kate agrees to give him a chance and get to know him. Because they are rival rowing teams they agree to keep their relationship a secret.

This book is my first Lulu Moore book and not my last! I enjoyed learning about rowing and seeing the bond over it. I loved the characters and the way she wrote the friend being so supportive. I really enjoyed this read and cannot wait to read more Lulu Moore characters and book 2 in this series. I was given an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest thoughts and opinions.

This is an author I’ve only recently discovered and I’m so happy I did. I loved everything about Oar Than Friends. From the play on words title to the hero and heroine’s meet cute beginning where the development of their relationship was just perfect. With fantastic writing laden with humour, some angst and fantastic secondary characters not forgetting a storyline based around the classic rivalry that is the annual boat race I read this book in one sitting. Arthur aka Oz is the president of the Oxford rowing eight while his Yankee Doodle love Kate, is the one in the light blue of Cambridge. Their attraction was mutual and instant when Kate fell over his body practically the minute she’d arrived in Cambridge but when she found out where his allegiances lay, fear of losing her scholarship made her hesitate plus our Oz had a bit of a reputation. But Oz following the rule of ‘faint heart never won fair maiden wooed her with texts until she gave in. Oz was a cinnamon roll type of hero. He was a gentleman to Kate and loved his family …... well apart from his father who put him under a lot of pressure to follow in his footsteps while Kate had her own burdens, fulfilling her dead brothers dreams for her parents. Perhaps together they’ll find the strength to follow their own dreams. Now consider me a rowing fan and after the teaser of Charlie and Violet at the end of this book, I can’t wait for their story.

In order to honor someone she loves Kate has decided to attend university at Cambridge and become part of the women’s rowing team even if it is way outside of her comfort zone. When she meets Oz she is drawn to him in a way she didn’t expect however not only does she consider him off limits due to his reputation but the fact that he attends a rival university.

Oz’s life has been planned by his politician father both when it comes to his education and his career. His first meeting with Kate left quite the impression on him and he isn’t about to let anyone, or anything come between them and now he just needs to convince her.

Kate and Oz were exactly what the other needed in their lives from the fun times to the heartfelt moment and to the way they helped each other realize what and who they wanted in their lives both now and in the future.

I did a legit happy dance when this hit my kindle! It’s no secret that I absolutely adore Lulu’s books, so I knew I had to get a copy of this one !

I have never watched a boat race, or heard much about them but this book makes me want to hop on the wagon.

I loved Oz and Kate from their very first meet cute, to all the tender moments together.

This is very much a forbidden/secret relationship trope!

Also, Kate is just straight badass for all the hard work she put in for herself and the towing team.

This book is one you will want to add to your TBR immediately !

(Advance Readers Copy)

Rating ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
Spice 🌶🌶.5

Oz and Kate were the sweetest things I've read in a book in a long time. They are on competitive rowing teams from Cambridge and Oxford. From the moment Kate tripped and landed in Oz's lap, he knew she would be his.

Oz had to be one of the sweetest MMC I've read in a book in a long time. He's swoony and everything in-between. He's a billionaire, but that doesn't affect his attitude when it comes to his behavior. He calls Kate his Yankee Doodle since she's from America.

This author also did a great job at existing what rowing was. I never thought I'd be interested in a book like this, but I'm glad I read it. If you're looking for a good palette cleanser or just a sweet romantic book. This is the one I'd recommend. I smiled a lot during this book, and I'm glad I got a chance to read this.

Tropes:
- Athletic Competition
- Secret Relationship
- Billionaire MMC
- Rowing Athletes
- British Book
- Swoon-worthy MMC

* I got this book in exchange for an honest review. Thank you Valentine PR.*

This book is about Arthur (Oz) and Kate.

Kate came here to fulfill her brothers idea and she is also on Cambridge rowing team as a Cox. She meets Oz one night and they hit it off. She comes to find out that he is a rower on the Oxford team.

They finally decided to date but as he is "kinda royalty" they get found out and it is too much for Kate. Arthur loves her so much and things take a bad turn.

This story is so sweet and fun. I had to the watch rowing races and look up what all the different jobs were on a rowing team. This is a great book and I love her writing style

brb I’m going to England and joining a rowing team 🚣

Honestly though, Oar Than Friends was SO MUCH FUN!! AND SO ADORABLE!! It was so British and so cute and will have you kicking and giggling 99% of the time.

Oz and Kate were perfect. I loved how they clicked and how much they supported each other despite attending competitor schools. Also, I loved how sweet they were, but not in an overbearing/ridiculous way lol.

The rowing team aspect was so unique and I want more rowing romances asap! I know zero about the sport, but Oar Than Friends was easy follow while also being pretty sporty! Lulu did a great job simplifying it for us non-rowers.

This was my first Lulu Moore book and I can’t wait to pick up another! Also, looking forward to the rest of the Oxbridge series now 🫶

And now I’m a fan of Rowing!!! Never saw that coming but anything for Oz & Kate!! These two have one of the best meet cutes ever! Ball trauma & I totally swooned with this quote from Oz:

‘Did you know that according to Greek mythology, humans were born with two heads and four arms and legs? Zeus, sitting on his throne in Olympus, became worried that humans were going to be strong enough to overpower the Gods, and so split them down the middle. Ever since, humans have searched the earth for their other half. Their soulmate.’

One of my favorite tropes is Boy Obsessed & this was so Oz & I am here for it. Oz & Kate also have a great banter & fun flirting but I really enjoyed how Lulu addressed Kate’s Survivors Grief & both of the characters emotional baggage. I really enjoyed all things British in this book & can’t wait for more. Especially hot mess Ollie’s story!!