Thank you to everyone for this arc. I’ve been reading many heavy sad books so this is a perfect light hearted fun read. We have chemistry and banter forbidden love. It’s a recipe for a GOOD book. I loved the rival schools and it just gave a whole new perspective to sports romances.

I loved both mcs which is rare recently, I find usually in some books like this the mmc is one dimensional but I loved his character, both characters were charming and captivating. I loved Oz, oz can do no wrong in my eyes. I also loved the aspect of tje friend group, i loved the dynamic and am hoping we see them have a book, I truly am really invested in this universe. I’ve really been wanting another sports college romance after off campus, and although it isn’t hockey I think this has satisfied that itch!

Highly recommend! Thank you Michael Joseph, Penguin Random House and net galley

Thanks Netgalley and Lulu, I loved Oar than Friends! The chemistry and banter between Oz and Kate was perfection, also the banter fullstop within the friend groups. Seriously, I can’t nitpick anything wrong with this book. Loved it and high,y recommend, A cute sports romance. Hoping there will be more books picking up the story with Oz and Kate’s friends.

4.5 rounded up.

Who knew I’d be reading and loving a rowing romance?! Not me. Rowing is not something that has ever been on my radar but this book was so good! Lulu Moore does a fantastic job of writing sports romance. I knew nothing about rowing, but I think it had the perfect amount of information to explain it and keep me interested.

During the boat race I was literally on the edge of my seat!

Now, let’s talk about Kate and Oz. They had the best meet cute that was giving me those warm fuzzy feelings. Oz was determined to prove to Kate he liked her and to give him a chance. I love a man who doesn’t give up.

They both had personal struggles they had to navigate and some struggles together. They were rowing for rival boat clubs after all. Can’t be seen canoodling with the enemy, ya know?

Oz was so sweet. The pumpkin pie 🫠

I absolutely loved the setting of this book. I could really picture it. The vibes were so British, and it was a fun change of pace for me.

If you haven’t read any of Lulu’s books, you definitely should! She writes about the swooniest men and strong women.

Lulu Moore knocks it out of the park AGAIN with Oar Than Friends! Oz and Kate were SO BEAUTIFUL! I was full on crying on a plane at the end of this book. And their chemistry was off the charts. I thought this was going to go into a very YA direction, and then Lulu suddenly took a sharp left into steam-ville. The audiobook narrator was also FIRE, I could listen to Sebastian Humphreys ALL DAY LONG!

This is the first book by Lulu Moore that I've read, and I'll definitely read more.

Kate and Oz are two captivating characters, and right from the first chapters, the story hooked me.

I had so much fun following these two, even though their relationship was forbidden, it was impossible to deny the chemistry and connection between them.

Thank you so much, the publisher and NetGalley, for sending me this ARC .

"Oar Than Friends" by Lulu Moore, readers are dived in the cut throat world of rowing as Arthur Osbourne-Cloud from Oxford and Kate Astley from Cambridge encounter an extremity on and off the water. Arthur is a young man who is committed to pursuing politics and is in love with rowing , while Kate whose whole life ambition is to study medicine is bent on achieving the following in the Boat Race . With merging of these two rivals the next stage will come of handling of rivalry, expectations and the complexity of their mutual attraction.

Moore effortlessly writes a captivated story, where characters become the highlight of the tale. Exhibiting a layer of determination, pride and conflict, Arthur Osbourne-Cloud struggles between his passion for rowing and his family's advice. Kate is very well portrayed to being a proud woman who is forced to choosing between following her own goals or accepted ways of life. Their chemistry is different - there is a clear sexual tension, which only his dreadful swim fails to dampen.

Both the conflict and the intrigue build up, with the reader immersing in the stadium of college rowing through compelling descriptions and the adrenaline-pumping race sequences. Moore has a good command of the ambition, identity and the search for life topics, and making the story interesting and understandable, as well as engaging. Supplementary characters make the story richer and more colorful, as the plot as well as our emotions become multi-faceted.

The writing style in which Moore uses is thrilling, having a perfect mix of emotions and activities that pulls the reader until the end from the start. Her lifelike descriptions build the setting report and enable the readers to see the thunderous races and get a glimpse into the victories and failures of the characters.

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.