Roomies
– Christina Lauren
Genre : Contemporary romance, New Adult
♥♥♥♥♥
♥ The story ♥
Roomies : Marriages of convenience are so…inconvenient.
Rescued by Calvin McLoughlin from a would-be subway attacker, Holland Bakker pays the brilliant musician back by pulling some of her errand-girl strings and getting him an audition with a big-time musical director. When the tryout goes better than even Holland could have imagined, Calvin is set for a great entry into Broadway—until he admits his student visa has expired and he’s in the country illegally.
Holland impulsively offers to wed the Irishman to keep him in New York, her growing infatuation a secret only to him. As their relationship evolves from awkward roommates to besotted lovers, Calvin becomes the darling of Broadway. In the middle of the theatrics and the acting-not-acting, what will it take for Holland and Calvin to realise that they both stopped pretending a long time ago?
♥ My review ♥
What a rollercoaster ride! Like I said, I felt so many different emotions during this read.
First, I was really ecstatic. Five chapters in and everything is perfect. I meet this hero which is irresistible. I mean a sexy green-eyed Irish musician. Need I say more ? Oh yeah, the accent…
His accent is heavily Irish, and the sound of it makes my fingers tingle.
And Holland can’t just resist either. But the first chapters were more than that. They were funny! I love Christina Lauren‘s humor. I laughed out loud at some scenes that I won’t spoil because really the surprise is worth it. I smiled through all the first half and couldn’t put the book down. That’s when it happened and I became attached to those beautiful characters. But not only the main ones. I loved Holland‘s uncles and the relationship she had with her friend Lulu was so realistic. We all know (or knew) one Lulu.
“Club soda with lime, please.” “A real wild child you are,” Calvin teases.
As you may know, I’m a romance lover. But surprisingly it wasn’t the romance that got me into this story, but Holland. I can say this was the perfect time to read this book because I can understand her character so much. It felt like she spoke to me and I knew exactly what she felt. And God, it was so sad at times, then inspiring and in the end just overwhelming.
“But I also think she sees herself as a supporting character, even in her own life story.”
If only you knew how many people said that exact thing to me… I don’t think I’ve ever felt this close to a character before. And I’m certain I’m not the only one. Holland is a very relatable character. But then some people have their lives figured out early. While Holland is 25, she’s still asking herself so many questions about her life and what she wants to do with it. The more I read and the more I was thinking “this is me, this is so me“. I couldn’t not feel for this character. I keep asking myself so many questions about life and everything in general : important matters, insignificant things.
It makes the shadow thought follow – what will I feel when I think of these times? Will I think, Wow, those were the hardest days, trying to figure out who I was? Or will I think, Those days were so easy and free, with so little responsibility?
I’ve had the thought almost without realizing it – the encroaching awareness that I feel settled but in truth can’t see my future at all. I have a temporary job, a temporary marriage. Will anything ever be permanent? What the hell am I going to do with my life ? I only get one shot at this, and right now, I’m finding my value only in being valuable to others. How do I find value for me ?
It was like I was in her head. And it was reassuring and sad at the same time. Sad because you can’t help but think how older you get and how you still haven’t figured out the answers. But then reassuring because you feel like you’re not alone with this dilemma and it feels good. It gives you hope that if she can do it, you can too. That’s the magic of reading. And I want to thank those amazing authors for bringing us Holland.
“I think I’ve made it pretty clear you can have me if you want me. I practically refuse to put on clothes when we’re in the apartment.”
If Holland was the highlight of this read and she was the one that got me hooked to this story, I, of course, loved the romance as well. Like I said, you just can’t resist Calvin. They both were the perfect mix of sweet and sexy. I liked how their relationship evolved very naturally, loved the teasing, the friendship, how they both looked out for each other. I adored how they realized their feelings, how they both dealt with them. I especially loved the confrontation scenes (if you’ve read previous reviews, you know how much I long for those scenes!), how they came over everything that was thrown their way. Everything was so realistic. They were both endearing and you can’t help but fall in love with them.
When I love a book this much I just can’t help feeling like my review is lacking. There are so many aspects I loved that I didn’t put in this review but it’s hard to sort out all those feelings to give you my sentiment in a structured way. So I’m going to tell you only one thing and that is : to just go read it! It’s worth your time, sincerely. It’s entertaining, enlightening and so enjoyable!
“Come home and kick me in the teeth if you need to, but then kiss me.” – Calvin.
Seriously, no Christina Lauren books touched me that way before. I’ve loved some of their previous books but this one is different in what it made me feel.
Have you read it ? What did you ‘tink’ ? 😉
4 Comments
I want to read this😭😭
Awesome review btw ❤️
Do it!! It’s worth it.
Thanks Dear ❤️
i’m currently reading love and other words by them and i’m so excited to get to roomies! sounds so cute! 🙂
I loved Roomies. I bought Love and other words and can’t wait to read it as well. How are you liking it ? 🙂