ARC Book Review: The Girlfriend Agreement by Rowan Croft

The Girlfriend Agreement

Rowan Croft

Conwick U, #1

Publisher: Shire-Hill Publications

Published Date: July 29, 2025

Genres: Romance, Contemporary, Fiction

581 Pages

Date Read: May 18-23, 2025

Format: 📱

Source: Netgalley

As always, if you prefer a spoiler free review please read my quick review instead of the in depth review below.

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About the Book

Lexi is a literal genius. Damian is enjoying his freedom during his senior year before he will go off to work in the family business. Lexi and Damian have history... history that Lexi would love to forget. Damian needs Lexi's help. He needs her to pretend to date him to show his parents that he is capable of commitment and prove he's ready for the family business. Lexi wants anything but dating Damian, but she also needs the money he's offered to pay her. Lexi's IQ manages to slip and she agrees to help Damian. The equation they now have to figure out is will they make it through their charade until graduation, will they continue to harbor secrets, or will they find their happily ever afters?

Quick Review (Spoiler Free)

The plot and character development was well written in this one. I did get a little underwhelmed with the pacing and found myself skimming a couple chapters until it picked back up. The friendships of the secondary characters in this one were well set up which leads me to believe we will be seeing more of them in stand alone books within this world. The writing style felt off to me. It was a little repetitive and had some cringey lines.

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Now, let's get into the details!!

What I really enjoyed was the plot and the character development. It was a classic enemies to lovers story with a realistic development of redemption, angst, and spice. The spice was well written and not over the top. The plot made the characters relatable even with the billionaire MMC aspect of the story. The friendships of the MCs in this book where also very well put together.

What I did not click with was some of the writing style. There were many phrases that were a little cringe/repetitive and I felt myself skimming through a few of the chapters with the way it was written. I understand that it is supposed to be from the viewpoint of college students but there was too much of it for my taste. I did like the references to Twilight and Pokémon and Coco and such to keep it real to the times but sometimes it felt oddly placed. This is the only reason I’m giving 3 instead of 4 stars.

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I would like to thank Netgalley, Shire-Hill Publications, and Rowan Croft for this eARC opportunity!

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Ratings