Review: One Week Girlfriend & Second Change Boyfriend by Monica Murphy

One Week Girlfriend

Monica Murphy
Series: Drew + Fable #1
Publication date: January 10th 2013 by Monica Murphy
Rating: ★★★★★

Goodreads - Amazon

Temporary. That one single word best describes my life these last few years. I’m working at a temporary job until I can finally break free. I’m my little brother’s temporary mother since our mom doesn’t give a crap about either of us. And I’m that temporary girl all the guys want to get with because I give it up so easily. According to the rumors, at least. 

But now I’m the temporary girlfriend of Drew Callahan, college football legend and all around golden guy. He’s beautiful, sweet—and he’s hiding way more secrets than I am. He’s brought me into this fake life where everyone seems to hate me. And everyone seems to want something from him. The only thing he seems to want though is… 

Me. 

I don’t know what to believe anymore. All I know is, I think Drew needs me. And I want to be there for him. 

Forever.

When college football star Drew Callahan asks Fable to be his temporary girlfriend, Fable thinks this is some kind of a joke. That or that he listened to all the rumors going around that she gives it up easily and he wants something. What she doesn't expect is to be offered money to spend an entire week with him up at his dad's house with him and his stepmother.

A lot of money.

The kind of sum that would mean she wouldn't have to worry about paying rent or bills or making sure her little brother is okay, at least for a while.

So Fable agrees.

She figures that whatever reason Drew has for wanting her to tag along couldn't be worse than her own problems at home. If she can put up with her mother never being around and having to take care of her brother by herself, then whatever it is Drew is hiding from will be a piece of cake for her to deal with.

Fable couldn't be more wrong.

And not only Drew's secret is much darker than she thought, she also has to come to terms with her new-found feelings for him. Because as messed up as their lives are, Drew needs her. And she might need him right back.

One Week Girlfriend is a roller coaster of a book.

The entire pretend relationship aspect of it is one of my favorite things in fiction, and it was wonderfully written in the book. It was so much fun reading about Fable and Drew testing the waters and trying to make their fake relationship real, and ending up creating something between them.

It's not really hard to figure out what Drew's hiding, but to read it all as Fable puts the pieces of the story together and reading about Drew's reactions to certain situations had me hooked. As a reader, I could really see how Drew was struggling with everything around him, and I personally think that the way the author dealt with the kind of trauma he went through was really good. It was believable and it felt real, and it was one of the reasons why I liked this book so much.

Fable was lovely.

There was not a moment in the story where I wanted her to stop or do something different or just go away. I don't necessarily agreed with some of her choices throughout the story, but I could still relate to her and what she was going through and understand where she was coming from. And her relationship with her brother always brought a smile to my face.

Even with its darker edges, One Week Girlfriend was an amazing book and I'm really glad I picked up it.

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Second Chance Boyfriend
Monica Murphy
Series: Drew + Fable #2
Publication date: April 6th 2013 by Monica Murphy
Rating: ★★★★☆

Goodreads - Amazon

Lost. That one single word best describes my life at this very moment. I lost the last games of the season and both my team and my coach blame me. I lost the last two months because I drowned in my own despair like a complete loser. And I lost the only girl who ever mattered because I was afraid being with me would destroy her.

But now I realize how truly lost I am without her. She has become my story…and even though she acts like she’s moved on, I know she still thinks about me just as much as I think about her. She’s beautiful, sweet—and so damn vulnerable, all I want to do is help her. Be there for her.

Love her…

If only I could convince Fable to give me a second chance. Then I wouldn’t feel so lost anymore, and neither would she. We could be found together.

Forever.

Second Chance Boyfriend  picks up about two months after One Week Girlfriend ends, and it deals with the fallout of Drew leaving.

No need to say everything is a mess and everyone is miserable, with Fable trying to move on with her life and support her brother and Drew trying to come to terms with what happened to him and finding a way to help himself.

But it's not until Fable gets a new job working at a restaurant and Drew bumps into her while at a party at the same place that things start looking up.

Fable is a little hesitant to give Drew the time of day after the way he left her, but she can't deny her feelings for him and how much she misses him. All the while Drew realizes how stupid he was to walk away in the first place and tries his best to make it up to her and show her that now he's there for her, for whatever she needs.

So I have to say that, much like Fable and Drew's relationship, this book is kind of a mess. But, in my opinion, it all works out for the best and it was a very entertaining read.

We get Fable and Drew embarking on a new relationship after everything that happened to them. Both are still dealing with the aftermath of Drew living and Fable learning about his secret, all the while trying to figure out how they work as a couple. Seeing as they only had that little time together before everything turned upside down.

But what we don't see much throughout the book is Fable and Drew being a couple, doing silly couple things, learning how to be together and what works for them as a couple. What we have instead is a lot of drama and life throwing things their way for them to deal with.

I felt like there were some aspects of the plot that could have been explored to a greater extent, and the fact that they weren't left me feeling like something was missing in the story. Or maybe I'm just so used to having the other shoe drop when things seem to be okay that when they don't I get the feeling like something's not quite alright.

Despite all of that it was still a really good book, although not as good as the first one, with a satisfactory ending to Fable and Drew's story. And maybe all of the answers I think I'm missing will be answered on Three Broken Promises, where we'll learn everything about Colin and Jen's relationship.