One Week Girlfriend (One Week Girlfriend, #1)

by Monica Murphy

[Cocktails and Books]

WRECKED! These two absolutely, positively wrecked me. I had heard so much about this book and really wanted to read it. But the book seriously needed to come with a warming label because it will provoke some pretty strong emotional responses.

Drew Callahan, star collegiate football player may look like he has the perfect life on the outside, but looks can be deceiving. He dreads going hom and comes up with a plan on how he can create a barrier between him and his family. Pay the sluttiest girl in town, Fable, to pose as his girlfriend for seven days. But Fable isn't what Drew expected. She has her own secrets and despite everything he's heard from his teammates and other guys around campus, she's not anything like what the rumor mill has said. She ends up being the lifeline that Drew needs to get through the holiday. But they both wonder if what they are feeling could possibly make it past seven days.

Neither one of these characters are what they seem from the very beginning. They are both broken by their own set of evil circumstances. While one's story might seen sadder than the other, they are both tragic and heartbreaking. Fable is trying to raise her thirteen year old brother, despite having a mother who would rather spend her time with whatever boyfriend of the moment she has rather than deal with her children. It's a lot of pressure for a twenty year old to handle. So when Drew makes his proposition, she's only thinking of her family. But no one thinks about Fable. Her brother tries, but he's too young to get passed that self-centeredness a thirteen year old feels. She uses sex as a way to, temporarily, feel something.

Then there is Drew. Of the two, Drew absolutely, positively breaks my heart. He is tormented and desperately trying to hold it together before he falls apart. His father is distant and his step-mother is overbearing (and that's being WAY too nice). The only way Drew can deal with all their emotional issues is to stay away and close down. But with Fable he can't seem to keep his emotions firmly behind the wall he's used. She stirs up feelings in Drew and shows him that with the right person, they aren't as bad as he thinks they are.

This is a tough read. Step Mommy Dearest will evoke all sorts of emotions in you as you read. Violent emotions. And even if you think you know where things are going with the story, when you get the climax is devastating. Monica Murphy, who was an author that was new to me, can draw out such an emotional response from the reader that you are as traumatized as the characters. This is a story that will stay with you well after you finish the last page.