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Book Reviews

Roomies by Christina Lauren

8/19/2019

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SYNOPSIS
Marriages of convenience are so...inconvenient. 

For months Holland Bakker has invented excuses to descend into the subway station near her apartment, drawn to the captivating music performed by her street musician crush.

​Lacking the nerve to actually talk to the gorgeous stranger, fate steps in one night in the form of a drunken attacker. Calvin Mcloughlin rescues her, but quickly disappears when the police start asking questions.


Using the only resource she has to pay the brilliant musician back, Holland gets Calvin an audition with her uncle, Broadway’s hottest musical director. 
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When the tryout goes better than even Holland could have imagined, Calvin is set for a great entry into Broadway—until his reason for disappearing earlier becomes clear: he’s in the country illegally, his student visa having expired years ago.

Seeing that her uncle needs Calvin as much as Calvin needs him, a wild idea takes hold of her. Impulsively, she marries the Irishman, her infatuation a secret only to him. As their relationship evolves and Calvin becomes the darling of Broadway—in the middle of the theatrics and the acting-not-acting—will Holland and Calvin to realize that they both stopped pretending a long time ago?
Synopsis from Goodreads

PERSONAL REVIEW
My first Christina Lauren book was actually the most recent one, The Unhoneymooners, and while it was cute, it wasn't my favourite romance novel (full review here). However, I already add a bunch of their other books on my TBR, so I decided to go ahead and give some of them a read...and I'm so happy I did! Roomies was a completely different experience and I ended up loving it.

Solid Character Development 
I really felt connected to Holland and thought her growth throughout the novel was really well done. Holland sees herself as a secondary character, I loved watching her realize that she's not. She's so creative, but doesn't see this aspect of herself, something that I feel like a lot of people can connect to. It's so human to feel like we don't deserve something or that someone else might be better for that position, etc, so it was great to have a protagonist who does a wonderful job coming to find her true worth.

Romance (and Sexual Tension) Is Great
Man, Christina Lauren is excellent at creating sexual tension! The "will they, won't they" tension throughout the first half of the book is great, and the tension around if there's actually feelings involved when they finally have sex. Holland and Calvin go through so many sexy moments, which actually makes their love story more complicated because Holland just doesn't know how she (or Calvin) are really feeling. It was a lot of fun to watch them stumble through their feelings!

Loved the Drama
The numerous awkward moments and drama in Roomies is both hilarious and tense, which is the perfect mix of drama I like to read in my rom-coms. Plus, there's also the moment where you're heart honestly breaks for Holland when we find out what Calvin has been telling his family; I literally felt like my heart dropped to my stomach. We all knew this was going to be a dramatic marriage of convenience and it completely lived up to my expectations.

Overall, this was such a fun read and I loved my second attempt at reading a Christina Lauren book! I really enjoyed the way this story unfolded and it was exactly the kind of rom-com I enjoy reading. I'd recommend Roomies to anyone who likes contemporary romances, romantic comedies, or has enjoyed other Christina Lauren novels. Roomies come out a few years ago, so have you read it yet or (like me) are you just picking it up now?

FINAL RATING: 4/5
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    About Me

    Hi, I'm Alexandra! I love reading (largely YA fiction, but sometimes I'll read "adult" books), playing board games, Nutella, and binge-watching TV shows on Netflix with my husband. 

    I absolutely love to travel, but home will always be in Toronto. Books come with me everywhere and I can't wait to hear if you agree or disagree with my reviews. 


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  • Book Reviews
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