One Week Girlfriend

A Novel

By: Monica Murphy

Narrated by: Kate Rudd, Luke Daniels

Length: 6 hrs

Publisher's summary

Temporary. That's the word I'd use to describe my life right now. I'm temporarily working double shifts - at least until I can break free. I'm temporarily raising my little brother - since apparently our actual mother doesn't give a crap about either of us. And I always end up as nothing but the temporary girlfriend - the flavor of the week for every guy who's heard the rumor that I give it up so easily.

At least Drew Callahan, college football legend and local golden boy, is upfront about it. He needs someone to play the part of his girlfriend for one week. In exchange for cash. As if that's not weird enough, ever since he brought me into his world, nothing really makes sense. Everyone hates me. Everyone wants something from him. And yet the only thing Drew seems to want is…me.

I don't know what to believe anymore. Drew is sweet, sexy, and hiding way more secrets than I am. All I know is, I want to be there for him - permanently.

©2013 Monica Murphy (P)2013 Brilliance Audio, all rights reserved.

A Charming Young Love Story

One Week Girlfriend is flirty and fun in some moments and then serious and emotional in others. Both characters are struggling and lean on one another. And while there's no HEA, readers can see it coming in the next book. The secondary characters add to the depth but aren't terribly likable - they do explain a lot about Drew and Fable.

One Week Girlfriend is dual narrated with the story switching between the two main characters’ points of view. I liked the concept but what was confusing is hearing both of them do the other's voice during dialogue. For the most part, I enjoyed the narration - it was just that one little glitch for me.

I plan to read Second Chance Boyfriend soon because a love story just isn't a love story without that HEA.

AMAZING!

Heartbreakingly beautiful! Can’t wait to see what is next. Drew and Fable have the start of an epic love story which only makes those of their children MORE because they came from this wonderful loving relationship that started with so much heartbreak.

Wish I’d read this. Cliff hanger.

I did enjoy the story line but there was so much more potential
To start with the narrators ruined it. Kate Rudd was to loud and harsh. Luke Daniels was over the top with his acting as well as sounding cartoonish. I actually preferred when Kate did Drew’s voice. Also his voice sounded way too old for a 21 year old and nothing like some “hot”guy.

I read the Callaghan’s stories before I read this. I can’t even picture that Drew sounding so crazy(voice). He seemed like a tough but caring Dad and calm in his demeanor.

The character Adell revealed herself too soon. I knew the minute Drew stepped in the house what happened.

Other than that I loved the development of Drew’ s character and Fable’s as well. The romance was fun to see develop.

There is subject matter that is hard to handle.

loved it!

loved the story, I also enjoyed both narrators but the male narrator made Drew'!a dad sound like a frail old man.

very real heartache & love story

this was more than just a romantic story but a flawed individual & another who feels flawed & unjustly judged come to life & thaw out of their personal frozen hells to come alive. I would have liked an ending or an epilogue that connects these to the others but still a great story. the ending was more romantic.

Drew & Fable story is heartwrenching, but I loved!

Marshmallow! Seriously, that's all I can say after that ending! I wasn't sure what to expect when I started One Week Girlfriend but the crazy twists, secrets and romance made me unable to stop listening.This book is intense, gritty, emotional and at times completely devastating! But it’s also a beautiful story about two lost souls finding each other, and I absolutely loved it! The beginning sucked me in, Drew and Fable both needed each other in ways they didn't even imagine. The characters Drew and Fable are both damaged and have a troubled past. Drew is a hunky football player with a lot of secrets. Fable is townie who works at a local bar to provide for her 13 year old brother & alcoholic mother. When Drew offers her a larger check to pretend to be his girlfriend during a week-long trip home for Thanksgiving, she agrees. What starts out as a fake relationship slowly turns into romance.This story was twisted, torturous while also portraying a true romantic love story! Drew and Fable had some major HOT chemistry!!! There are many twists in this book, many of which you can predict fairly early in the story. Regardless, I still enjoyed this book. I am really looking forward to the next part of Drew and Fable's story. I believe this book would be categorized under the "New Adult Romance" genre.

Sexy & Dark

I’m still pretty new to audios with more than one narrator. One Week Girlfriend is narrated by Kate Rudd and Luke Daniels. With the story switching between the two main characters’ (Fable and Drew) point of views the narration switches. Kate Rudd narrates for Fable’s POV and Luke Daniels for Drew’s POV. But both narrators do both characters’ voices. This is where it was different for me.

Kate Rudd’s narration was very good for both Fable and Drew. She really pulls of the male voice while making Fable sound very different and feminine. Honestly I would have enjoyed the narration with just her as the narrator not to say that I didn’t enjoy Luke Daniel’s narration.

Luke Daniel has a great masculine voice but with Drew only being 21 I felt like his voice was too old sounding for the character and his female voices had me laughing at first. But then I got use to them and thought a man with that deep of a voice can only do female voices so well and he did do an ok job with them.

Over all I enjoyed the narration job of both narrators and I’m interested in seeing how the narration for the second book, Second Chance Boyfriend goes since there is a third narrator. Ok enough about the narration let’s move on to my thoughts of the plot.

Why did I purchase the audio for One Week Girlfriend? I received the 2nd book for review on audio and I wasn’t about to start the series there. Also I’ve been looking for more contemporary romances to enjoy and One Week Girlfriend has been getting some great ratings by other bloggers I follow so I thought why not give it a try.

The story is about Drew a college student at a small university that’s the football star. It’s Thanksgiving break and he doesn’t want to go home to visit his dad and stepmother. So he gets the idea to ask the pretty girl who works at a local bar to be his girlfriend for the week, Pretty Woman style. He pays her for the week, not for sex but just to play his girlfriend so that he has a buffer between him and his family.

Fable the bar waitress is a townie and the same age as Drew (21) but she doesn’t attend college because she doesn’t have the money. She may only be 21 but she is the only thing keeping her family together. Her mother is a drunk that moves from one lousy boyfriend to another so that leaves Fable being the mother to her 13-year-old brother, Owen.

Fable agrees to Drew’s crazy plan because she needs the money he offers to pay her for the week but she has no idea what she is getting herself into.

Just when Fable thinks her family is messed up she gets a look into Drew’s dark family past and it breaks her heart. Drew is so damaged from his past that Fable wants no needs to help him and the two end up falling in love with each other by the time their week is up. But because Drew has a ton of stuff to work through he is always pushing Fable away.

One Week Girlfriend is not a sweet and happy romance and don’t read it thinking you will get a HEA. BUT there is hope for a HEA later with the couple and I’m hoping they get it in the 2nd book, Second Chance Boyfriend which I will be starting very soon on audio so look for that review coming soon.

Very good start to a 2 parter :D

4 stars

This was a very good story. I really liked Drew and Fable and was really drawn in to their story. This is the first thing I've read by this author but I liked it enough that I intend to read more. Specifically, I'll be reading book #2 [book:Second Chance Boyfriend|17316075] to see how Fable and Drew's story turns out as this story ended with a cliffhanger that left their relationship in flux at the end.

Fable is a young woman that works in a bar and takes care of her little brother, Owen, (who is 13 yrs old). She takes care of Owen because they have no father and their mother is a drunk who is barely around. Fable had to grow up fast and does everything she can to take care of Owen. The town she lives in is a college town but she can't afford to go to school. She knows of Drew Callahan, the local football star, but doesn't know him. She's surprised as hell and not interested in what she thinks he wants when he approaches her after work one night. When he makes her a proposition that'll give her money that she could really use to take care of Owen, Fable decides she'll hear him out.

Drew is in college and is the "golden Boy" of the football team and at his college in general. He may seem like he has it all but he has bad things in his past that makes him avoid emotions and women in general for the most part. When his father insists that he has to come home for Thanksgiving holiday, Drew doesn't want to face his father (and even more his step-mother) on his own. Drew gets the idea to hire himself a girlfriend to go home with him for Thanksgiving vacation. He decides to ask Fable, thinking that she'll be the perfect shield against the waiting drama.

When Drew approaches Fable after she gets off of work she thinks he's just trying to approach her for sex and she tells him to leave her alone. She's not very interested in dealing with another guy that comes on to her due to a reputation that's been blown out of realistic proportions. Drew manages to get her to stop and listen and tells her he wants her to be his fake girlfriend for a week and offers her $3k for the week. Fable is surprised when she finds out how much he's offering and decides she'll do the job but makes it clear she's not a whore and sleeping with him wont be part of her "job". Drew agrees to this and they make arrangements on when they leave and all. Fable isn't happy about being gone for a full week because her mother is rarely around and she doesn't like leaving Owen on his own. She tries to make sure that her mother will be around while Fable is out of town but she doesn't know how long her mother will actually do what she should do.

Fable and Drew head to his hometown for Thanksgiving vaca and they talk a bit but things are rather strained between them. When they arrive, Fable is introduced to his father and step-mother and gets some weird vibes that makes her wonder just what the heck is going on. As they begin to spend time together, Drew and Fable both start to like each other (as people) and find an attraction to each other. There is some confusion about what's real between them and what's part of the act for others, but both of them start to feel more for each other. Drew is shocked that he actually likes Fable as much as he does since no other woman has drawn out feelings like this before. He closed down his emotions years before and he's not used to feeling anything but he finds that he likes what he feels with Fable. While Fable and Drew start to know each other there is much drama that's thinly covered (and sometimes not covered at all) which makes both Fable and Drew very stressed and causes issues in their growing relationship. Fable tries to be there for Drew but it's hard when Drew tends to pull away rather than share his pain. The week is a combo of good and bad as Drew's step-mother causes much drama and pain (the bad) and Drew and Fable become more engrossed in each other and more interested in something real that will extend past the 1 week limit (the good). Fable and Drew go through some emotional times as she tries to help him deal with guilt and shame over things in his past. Things look to be going better for them but there is more drama and angst right before they leave which includes a final emotional blow from Drew's step-mother that causes Drew to freak out. The ending of the book has Fable and Drew apart because of Drew's determination to handle his emotional issues on his own (pushing Fable away again) but there's a possibility of them being together in the future.

Despite my disappointment with the cliffhanger ending, I thought the book was very good. Fortunately for me, I already knew the book was a cliffhanger so I have book 2 ready and waiting for me to read as soon as I finish this review. I really liked Drew and Fable and can't wait to see them get their HEA...they deserve it. I'd recommend this book.

* note - This audiobook had 2 narrators, one female for the parts that came from Fable's PoV and the other male for the part from Drew's PoV. They did a good job and there were a few times (especially on the narration of Drew's PoV) where the narration surprised me with how well it expressed the emotions of that point in the story.

Worth a credit? 🤷‍♀️

One Week Girlfriend by Monica Murphy was one of my least favorite books that I’ve listened to so far. Between the story and the narration, I had a hard time getting through it.

Is it worth a credit? IMHO, I don’t think it is. 👎

Horrible male narration

The male voice sounded like an old man. It felt like my dad was reading sex scenes to me. The story being compelling is the only reason I was able to finish it. I will have a VERY hard time getting book 2. Probably will just read it on kindle.