Disclaimer: This post may contain affiliate links. If you click on one, we may receive a small commission at no cost to you.

Rating: 3 out of 5

Genre: Romance 

People who should read this: If you want a cute, cleaner romance with a bit of a cheeky relationship and a small portion of female empowerment. 

When you keep giving the same duo three star ratings and you’re starting to get bored, do you give up the ghost and call it quits on the authors? But you also know that they have it in them to pull off another Josh and Hazel’s Guide to Not Dating, so you keep returning just for the chance. 

Maybe it’s time to regulate them to the audio only option… 

Why am I even doling out three stars when I was so bored? There were a few moments I found enjoyable making it all a wash in the end. That’s what three stars means to me - a straight down the middle feeling. 

There are things that I need to really love a romance book. Characters I can’t live without, a great back and forth with some fun antics, and sex. Lots of sex. All of this was missing in Roomies, especially the sex part which kept a PG-13 rating with their fades to black. I get the plot was romance based, but couldn't this have been a regular fiction book? The depth was there. The side plots were strong enough to be the main point. And it was an interesting idea about a tale as old as time. 

Oh look… a marriage of convenience to get a green card. Not a story I haven’t heard before. I’m guessing they’re just going to have to fall in love in the end. The musician angle was a little bit newer, but how about we freshen it up even more. 

I feel like I’m starting to sound like a broken record. Please refer to my numerous other reviews where I say the same line - the writing kept me from fully diving in. I can’t be the only reader that runs into this issue. Sometimes it can be entirely personal. I just don’t like how the writers write. No big deal. But sometimes it’s for a technical reason and the writing needs some work. In Roomies, I want to say that it’s solely on me. I take the blame. No matter the reason though, the facts are still the facts, and I wasn’t able to fully delve into the story or the emotions. A huge issue in a book that’s sold for its emotional connection. 

However, it was a technical issue when it came to Holland. Here was a girl that was painted demure from the beginning. If that's not true, well… I don’t know what to tell you. That’s what I saw in the book. From her clothes to her personality to her interactions with the people in her life, she’s not an edgy girl with tons of life experience. So when she dives in head first to the sex deep-end without a comment to it, I was taken aback and altogether struggled to piece together the two sides of her. This left me with a split personality. 

Okay, in the end, the story is cute. The idea was interesting enough that I finished the story. I mean the uncles alone could steal the book if they really wanted to. I could use a book on the play alone. And since I’m obsessed with Broadway, I was happy enough. The main characters fall in love. Something happens to pull them out of love. The couple rekindles the relationship (if you think I’m spoiling the book, have you ever read a romance plot before?). Book is done. Could we have had just a tiny bit more there? I was most definitely not ready for the last page. It didn’t help that my Kindle said there was still 8% left. It was like they made up, not resolving any issues really, Holland was still just as insecure in their relationship, and then boom, dust off your hands, you’re done. 

Can I get a sequel here????

Happy Reading

Love Kait

Reading Challenge: 144/175