e-ALC, 08:33:16
Narrated by: Heather Firth & Robert Hatchet
Release Date: May 5, 2026
Published by: Macmillan Audio
Read from: May 9-11, 2026
The Undergrads, #1
Source: Libro FM (I received this ALC free from the publisher and Libro FM. This did nothing to influence my review.)
Content Warning: Bullying, Sexual Content, Body Shaming, Fatphobia, Sexual Assault. Rape, Vomit, Medical Content
For Readers of: Audio, Contemporary Romance, Body Diversity, Contemporary, Dual Narrators, Dual POV, New Adult, Realistic Fiction, Romance, Marriage of ConvenienceFrom #1 New York Times–bestselling author Julie Murphy comes a sexy rom com about a college marriage of convenience that goes way beyond chemistry 101…The first in a trilogy of romance novels that follows a group of girls as they navigate love, friendship, and new adulthood, this is perfect for fans of Elle Kennedy and Hannah Grace.
CLOVER ROWAN WALSH knows The Plan.
1. Get a full ride to her dream school, Wexley University.
2. Conquer the school of business.
3. Say goodbye to the paycheck-to-paycheck life she and her mom have known for years.
There’s just one hiccup. With the first semester rapidly approaching, Clover learns her housing grant has fallen through. But a loophole presents Married couples can live in the dorms for the price of one student. Clover is willing to sacrifice the sanctity of marriage . . . even if it means proposing to the one person she swore she’d never speak to again.
Bennett Andrew Graves is the only heir to the Graves Coffee empire. After spending his first year at Wexley, squeaking by in classes and becoming personally acquainted with the female student body, he is looking forward to living off campus. Until the girl he grew up with (and whom he completely devastated years ago) walks back into his life with the most absurd Will you marry me?
Bennett can’t refuse Clover. He owes her this, but that doesn’t change the fact that these two can barely carry on a conversation without getting at each other’s throats. Forget about sharing a dorm—much less one bed.
But as Clover and Bennett hide the true nature of their marriage, they find that playing house isn’t all that bad—especially with certain marital benefits in the mix. In fact, Clover and Bennett are soon forgetting the most important part of their fake marriage of convenience . . . that it’s supposed to be fake.
*MY THOUGHTS*
I’m not gonna lie, when I saw this I thought this was the sequel to the series she’s writing with Sietta Simone. I don’t know the last time I hit “Request” so fast lol But as it turns out, it isn’t that LOL But it’s STILL Julie Murphy so I’ll take it lol
Ok the plot was cool, but I had to let go of all suspension of disbelief to get through it tho. Because I do not believe college students are actually going to get married for anything lol I just don’t believe it. But after I got over that, I just wanted to be entertained. And listen, it worked. I found myself falling into the story. After that it was a lot of fun.
The characters I was ok with, but at one point I almost considered DNFing. Because why would you do that to someone that you claim you love? After I learned what happened I was so mad at him. I wanted him to do her a favor and leave her alone. ESPECIALLY since there wasn’t a real reason for them to do that. That made it infinitely more terrible to me. Because why would you do that?
The romance was cute but I kept feeling like the reason he was there was to make himself feel better about what he did. He had to prove it to me, but we got there in the end. He spent the whole book feeling bad about it and he tried saving her from that one asshat, so I gave him some grace. She also forgave him, so I didn’t push too hard. As long as she’s happy, I was fine lol
I’m always weirded out with marriage of convenience. It’s not my favorite, but with a Julie Murphy I will always pick it up. This one wasn’t my favorite, but I think it was my thoughts about it more than anything. It was all just things I wasn’t expecting. But in the end, I still loved it. I can’t wait to read the next one!
Overall, I give this
