Reviews are for readers.

I found this to be really badly researched. It's glaringly obvious from the get go that this is written by someone who enjoys the fantasy of English universities but hasn't actually spent the time researching them. The relationship is also incredibly instalove and cringy. The couple meet once, in the dark, and immediately fall in love. Where's the build up? And the thought that Kate could be a world class rower is laughable given she's so short. This might as well have been described as a fantasy rather than a contemporary given the amount of suspending of disbelief I had to do.

Not for me.

This was such a fun and unique read. #1 I know nothing about rowing so The definitely taught me a lot but I love an enemies to lovers plot line, especially when it comes to athletics. I love Lulus Writing so I knew that I would absolutely devour this book. I absolutely love their Mick as well as the progression of the relationship. Those boat races literally had me on the edge of my seat. I really appreciated the them being able to navigate their struggles together as well as their own personal ones separately because a lot of the times it’s trying to solve the other.

Love Love Love!

This was my first Lulu Moore and I am obsessed! Kate and Arthur are such great MCs! Their banter was amazing!

Arthur Osbourne-Cloud is destined for a future in politics after graduating from Oxford, but his true passion lies in rowing, aiming for Olympic gold, and winning The Boat Race. Kate Astley has secured a scholarship at Cambridge to study medicine and fulfill her dream of joining the legendary Boat Race crew. When Arthur and Kate meet, their fierce school rivalry complicates their undeniable chemistry. As they challenge each other's beliefs and struggle with their own expectations, they must face the reality that in The Boat Race, there can only be one winner. Who will triumph, and who will be left behind?

What you will find in Oar than Friends:
Sports Romance
Enemies to Lovers
College Rowing Teams
American FMC
British MMC

I am so please to say that this is one of my top reads of 2024.

This novel follows Kate Astley, an American who received a rowing scholarship at Cambridge.
One night as she was returning to her dorm, she stumbled across Arthur Osbourne-Cloud, or Oz for short. Unknown to Kate, Oz rowed for Oxford, Cambridge's top rival.

Because there has been an ongoing feud between the schools for years, both Kate and Oz were hesitant to even start a friendship considering they're natural enemies.
As time goes on, Kate and Oz realize there's much more to each other than school rivals.
After an injury occurs, Kate is promoted to being the coxswain of the Cambridge mens team just weeks before the biggest race against the Oxford men's race...
There can only be one winner and both odds are stacked against Kate and Oz.

There isn't enough words to say about this book, so i'll start by saying that Kate and Oz are my absolute favorite book couple.
There is so much depth to both of these characters and I fell in love with watching them falling in love. Kate may be a feisty American, but she has so much weighing on her shoulders and when Oz is around, those weights seem to be lifted.
Oz cares for Kate int he most romantic way and I can honestly say he is the perfect boyfriend.
He is such a golden retriever and cinnamon roll boy wrapped in one and it was heartbreaking to know that even after the beautiful and touching moments, at the end of the day, he was Kate's rival competitor.
Lulu did a great job showing both closeted and professional sides of their relationship in such a lovely way.

I cannot wait for the second installment of this series!

Tropes galore!

Banned romance/'no dating allowed'
'Rivals'
Studying for an unwanted career
Lil' touch of spice
The best of friendships
Cutesy when needed

I'll be 'oar' to look out for more from Lulu!

At first as I read I was feeling that this book felt a bit childish if it was supposed to be set in university, but as I read the story it definitely grew on me and I was finding it very cute and I loved reading about the relationship of Kate and oz grow! Now I've finished I don't want to leave this universe and I can't wait for the next book!

4.5 stars

Gah I really loved this one!!! And I seriously loved the rowing aspect! Give me more rower romances!

I love how Oz and Kate meet! So funny and cute and the way it builds from there is just amazing! It’s got a little bit of a forbidden romance touch to it which was great! I loved their easy banter and flirting and just their beautiful budding relationship. They had such great chemistry and brought out the best in each other. I loved them so much.

The other thing I loved was all the friendships. It was a cute, fun read with elements of depth you didn’t except and I loved every second! It was so hard to put down! Definitely recommend!

Lulu Moore is such a fun author to read. I love the characters she writes and her stories are so much fun. If you've read other Lulu Moore books you'll enjoy this one.

⭐️: 4/5
🌶️: 2/5
☕️: 4/5

Hi friends!

Kate Astley, an American accepted into the Cambridge medical school is riding on her rowing scholarship to keep her there, while trying to make her family proud of the work she’s put in and how far she’s come.
Arthur Osbourne-Cloud is the STAR of the Oxford rowing team, with her future in politics mapped out for him, as his father did, and his father, and his father’s father, and so on and so forth.
The two meet and it’s an instant connection…until it’s not….now the pair push and work towards each winning the boat race…on the opposite teams…

While I would like to say that I know all things rowing, which made me want to read this book, that would be a lie. I very much enjoyed this book and I think that was because I don’t know anything about rowing. It was cute, it was funny, and overall entertaining! I loved getting the American/British romance (makes me think of Red, White and Royal Blue, as that is the first American/British romance I can think of that I absolutely love🥰) and getting a rivals to lovers romance type vibe. While I don’t believe it was a true rivals to lovers, it it had almost a forbidden love type, feel with Kate’s scholarship riding on her rowing career. Thank you Lulu for this ARC giveaway win, and thank you Netgalley for providing the ebook copy!

I was drawn to this book as it is set to the backdrop of Oxbridge and specifically the Boat Race, which I do tend to watch each year without any allegiance.

So Arthur and Kate's enemies to lovers, rivals to friends' romance really caught my attention, And I loved every second of reading of this.

From the descriptions of the rigorous training the crews have to do, to the rivalry, to re-examining your dreams, just everything really worked for me.

I was loving every page of this book, which certainly kept me entertained on my flight home from my holiday

I kept rooting for our heroes, even when circumstances were making it really tricky for them both. I also enjoyed getting to know their friends, and generally get more of proper feel about the rivalry. And reading about the heists were entertaining too.

I believe this might be the start of a new series, in which case I'm certainly keen to read more, as I was loving this so much.

Thank you to Penguin and Netgalley for this copy which I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily.

I have been provided with a review copy of this title from NetGalley for an impartial review. I was just drawn into this wonderful story and I just couldn’t get enough of it. It was just so easy to get lost in this great story. I just didn’t want it to end. I just lost myself in and I just couldn’t get enough of these interesting characters. I can’t wait to see what’s next from this author.

4.75⭐️!

Love at first sight ✔️
College Rivals ✔️
Golden Retriever MMC ✔️

*~*~*~*~*

"𝗦𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗮𝘀𝗻'𝘁 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗮 𝗴𝗶𝗿𝗹. 𝗦𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗴𝗶𝗿𝗹."

Firstly, I would like to thank Lulu Moore and Valentines PR for allowing me this ARC. I absolutely adored reading this book, and having it as my first book of Lulu’s just made it even more enjoyable for me.

I’ve slowly been delving into the sports romance genre, but I’ve never seen a sports romance that focuses on rowing! It’s because of Lulu that I will be paying closer attention to whenever rowing is on TV, especially to see if I can find a man like Oz. I also want to watch more rowing so I can appreciate and love the glossary that was the front of the book because that made it even better for me!

Instead of a reformed playboy, you have a gentleman with a heart of gold who has so much passion for a sport that it is remarkable to say the least. He’s been so many great milestones within rowing (ones that I didn’t even know existed until now) and yet he keeps finding more milestones to achieve. I like that Lulu strayed away from the cliches that you find within sports romance and made something fun and beautiful. While I am a sucker for a cliche, I do love when things happen differently, I’d be crazy not too. Oz is a golden retriever in human form and I refuse to believe anything else. He’s kind, warm, genuine, funny, handsome and all around perfect, hell, it’s hard to find a red flag attached to him! My heart breaks for him regarding his dad; Oz deserves much better when it comes to him, a dad who won’t be an asshat or someone who treats his family so poorly. Despite his dad, the rest of Oz’s family are lovely, and the dynamic they have is something that others would do illegal things for. Getting to see him spend time with his family while having Kate there was one of my favourite moments and one I’ll be thinking about for a long time!

Kate being an American was something that I really liked in this story. I had no idea that rowing was popular in America so it was nice to learn that little fun fact. Another thing that I liked about this story was that Kate was involved with the sport, once again Lulu is straying from the cliches and allowing something unique to be a part of the story! I would just like to point out that while some have branded this story as an enemies to lovers, I wouldn’t describe that as one of the tropes, if anything it’s not even a rivals to lovers and there’s love at first sight taking place. Kate is someone who exudes confidence while being down to earth, loyal and unique. Kate goes for what she believes in but also strays from achieving her own dreams in the hopes that she’ll achieve her brothers instead. Kate did frustrate me at times but I can also understand why her scholarship was so important to her; I just wish that she had a bit more trust in Oz considering he had showed he would do anything for her if it meant she was happy.

Friendships played such an important role in this story, and I love that even with rivalry, friendships were still present with both teams. It showed you more about the characters while also creating a great support system on both sides. The friendships also make you want more stories for the characters, and that is something that I am BEYOND excited for! I loved how mature the friendships were and that instead of silly arguments and judgments, the friends rallied around one another and spoke through things logically. I truly believe that without the friendships that Kate and Oz had, they would’ve gone crazy.

The little sneaking around, the moments where you got to see the sport in action, the dreams the characters had. All of these things made the story more beautiful and created something incredible. Everything was so well thought out with this story that it’s hard to think anything negative, and it breaks my heart that I did find three little negative points.

The reason I rated the book down a little was for three reasons:

1. Lack of representation. There were no mentions of characters who had different races, sexualities or disabilities. This left me feeling a little disappointed as I believe that representation is important.

2. Plot holes. The press and a certain situation played a big part through out the story, if not, made the turning point, and yet we never found out what happened to those involved. You cannot have something play a major part and then leave it hanging, it leaves the reading wanting to know more and unsatisfied due to having no outcome.

3. Oz’s dad. I guess this blends in with the plot holes. He was an absolute dock and once Oz finally stood up to him, everything became radio silent. What happened to him? What happened to his contact with the rest of his family? The man deserved to be called out for his shit and yet it didn’t happen.

If you’ve made it to the end of this review, I hope it’s clear that I loved this story and that I would happily read it time and time again. Also, please can we just appreciate the stories name? IT’S SO FREAKING CUTE.

I thoroughly enjoyed Oar Than Friends by Lulu Moore. It was my first book by her and I must say I am a fan of the way she writes.

I absolutely enjoyed this; it was very cute, enjoyable, lovely, and entertaining! I love the writer's way of writing.

Oz is kind and loving, while Kate is cute and smart. Honestly, their relationship is adorable. Their first meeting was hilarious and entertaining, and they clicked right away. They were incredibly supportive to one another, and I adore how their relationship is evolving!

The author did an excellent job in the story portraying grief-related subjects. I especially liked the rivalry between the colleges, which gave couples a sense of forbidden and rivals. And every single one of the supporting cast was great! Looking forward to reading more from Lulu and more in this series!

Thank you Valentine PR, NetGalley and Lulu Moore for providing me with this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book, from the very first page, pulled me in and was just a happy, funny, sweet read. There was tension and rivalry and chasing dreams and love conquering all and I now have a new favorite book of 2024.

Oz is sweet, thoughtful, persistent, and a gentleman - he’s down to earth, despite being “famous.”

Kate is also down to earth, but comes from more humble roots. She’s at Cambridge following her brother’s dream, but also rowing for herself.

QUICK THOUGHTS 💭
🚣 I love the meet-cute and insta-lust that turns into so much more.
🚣 Most sports romances (especially written by Lulu!) have teammates that become amazing found family and hilarity ensues. This book is no exception and I absolutely loved it!
🚣 Rowing is a sport I haven’t read about yet and what better way to introduce it than through the Oxford/Cambridge rivalry!

I’m really looking forward to a second book in this series; Charlie’s must-be “fed, watered, and further rested” lifestyle is one I relate to. 😂

Thanks so much to Lulu Moore and Valentine PR for the ARC of this book.

This book was such a gem! I loved the rivals aspect, especially since they already met and had chemistry before they realized. I always enjoy romances where they are trying to resist each other but just can’t and have to give in. The setting was super fun and atmospheric, i LOVED all the side characters. Just an all around good time and I cant wait for more in the series!

At first as I read I was feeling that this book felt a bit childish if it was supposed to be set in university, but as I read the story it definitely grew on me and I was finding it very cute and I loved reading about the relationship of Kate and oz grow! Now I've finished I don't want to leave this universe and I can't wait for the next book!

Oar Than Friends is a sweet and entertaining dive into the world of rowing and romance. Arthur Osbourne-Cloud and Kate Astley row for rival universities. I mean like Duke and Carolina level rivals. Like Iowa State and the University of Iowa. Like Harvard and Yale. (You get it). We’re talking about Cambridge and Oxford. With a rivalry so intense it could set the Thames on fire, sparks fly off it, and the chemistry between them is hotter than a summer regatta.

This book had me hooked from the get-go with Arthur and Kate's meet-cute. Adorable doesn't even begin to cover it! And can we talk about the British charm? Moore absolutely nails the setting, and I was living for every moment of it. Plus, Arthur as the swoony, fast-falling MMC….*Chef's kiss*

There were a few details that left me wanting more follow-through, but honestly, I was so engrossed in the story that it didn't bother me much. And let's not forget about the side characters and setups for future books—Moore's found family game is *strong*, and I'm already counting down the days until I can dive back into this delightful corner of the Luluverse.

So, if you're in the mood for a sports rivals-to-lovers romance but make it British, I definitely suggest adding this to your TBR!

What I loved:
- Main character dynamics
- Fun, uncommon sports romance (rowing)
- Setting (England!! Oxford/Cambridge!)
- A super cute read with great characters!

What I struggled with:
- While an interesting start, I felt like it took a while to pick up
- I struggled with staying invested in the story
- I heard some unsettling things about the author's actions, so I was a little put off

While it wasn't my favorite, it certainly wasn't bad! I would recommend this to anyone who wants to read a love story with some cute scenes and a fun angle, plus an English college setting.

THIS FREAKING BOOK!! i'm completely and utterly obsessed with both kate & arthur. kate's character has been by far my favorite mfc!! she's so caring, smart, loving and dedicated that she became someone i looked up to. she's my bestie irl i don't care what yall say 😗. oz(arthur) was just perfect in every way possible! he is completely obsessed with kate and i was absolutely there for it 100%. he was just *chefs kiss* dare i say top 5 mmc!!