Reviews with content warning for Car accident - The Roommate

Closed Door Mods: Chapter 8 (some parts), Chapter 19 (some parts), Chapter 21 (some parts), Chapter 27 (some parts), Chapter 36 (some parts)

While The Roommate was not everything that I thought it would be when I first got it, I do think this rom-com of embracing who you are and finding people who can accept that is a worthwhile read.

Danan does a good job with developing the relationship between our two main characters, Clara and Josh. The meet-cute worked well and I liked how Danan focused on the personal growth that Clara and Josh go through because of their relationship. Despite his reputation, Josh really is a nice guy and throughout the book he learns how to challenge people’s misconceptions about him as well as challenge himself to try new things. On the other side of the coin, Clara is able to step outside of her comfort zone and abandon the preconceived notions that her family has in place for how she should live her life. That being said, you get some really solid character development as well as a well-developed relationship in Danan’s debut rom-com.

Another thing I want to point out is that The Roommate tackles a lot of topics relating to intimacy. Yes, there are a lot of spicy chapters, and I’m not really a fan of books with a lot of spice in them, but I did enjoy Danan’s messaging behind the topics of intimacy her book addresses.

Now, I really did enjoy Danan’s writing style. Her signature blend of humor/satire and heartfelt moments made The Roommate an enjoyable read. Tying in the complex topics of love and intimacy with humor and in a eclectic group of main and side characters, The Roommate does provide the comedy and tender moments needed for a romantic comedy.

Even though there were some things in The Roommate I wasn’t a huge fan of, I did think it was a good read. If you like your rom-coms on the spicier side but want a romance with solid character development and you like the roommate romance trope, you definitely should give The Roommate a try.

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purrson's review against another edition

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hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

I don’t read many romances of this genre, but the change of conventions was interesting, I enjoyed the sex worker angle, and appreciated the inclusion of queer characters. Good spice, very cute, but the ending felt a bit rushed.

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nomatophobia's review against another edition

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medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

idk if it was actually bad or if I should just not try to read smut books again. I will remain an avid smut reader when it comes to fanfiction, but that's because I already know all of the characters depth and know that I like them enough to seek out smut about them. but I don't like these characters or this situation. "and they were roommates" is one of my favorite tropes but this really didn't have anything to do with it. the girls personality was so inconsistent. the boys only character trait was "pornstar". my favorite parts were about her car crash trauma.

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wrappingpaper's review against another edition

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emotional funny lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This book positively surprised me. I definitely wasn’t expecting it to be so steamy based on the cover loll.
I really loved all the characters in this book. It took me a while to warm up to Clara (girl FORGET Everett) but I grew to love her as she grew more confident and independent.
I think the way the author uses this book as a criticism of corruption in the porn industry is super interesting because I wasn’t expecting to see such topics in a romance novel. Imo the author did a great job - I really felt her passion on the matter.

Overall I would’ve preferred for them not to spend so long doing the ‘oh I’m gonna try to ignore my feelings bc they don’t feel the same way’ bc spoiler alert: THEY DO but they got over it eventually lol. Great chemistry between the characters and I loved the dual pov :)

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kashiish's review against another edition

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funny lighthearted slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated

2.0

“i was stupid and scared. do sure you would reject me that i pushed you away. i wanted to point to you as proof of my own inferiority. i let society’s opinion of my worth declare me unqualified, before you got the chance. i thought if i could start by helping you get your job back that maybe you’d at least let me talk to you about the rest of it, the ‘loving you’ part.”

the song that describes the book is — if we never met by john k

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psistillreadyou's review against another edition

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funny hopeful lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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bookishmillennial's review against another edition

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funny lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

disclaimer if you’ve read other reviews by me and are noticing a pattern: You’re correct that I don’t really give starred reviews because I don’t like leaving them. Most often, I will only leave them if I vehemently despised a book.

I enjoy most books for what they are, & I extract lessons from them all. Everyone’s reading experiences are subjective, so I hope my reviews provide enough information to let you know if a book is for you or not, regardless if I add stars or not.

Find me on Instagram: @bookish.millennial or tiktok: @bookishmillennial

This was a steamy fun “teach me” romcom. It was hard for me to feel bad for Clara in the beginning because I was like “honey buns, what are you DOING?!” (wrt moving across the country to LA to move in with her bff that she has had unrequited love for in the past decade or so just because he suggested it?!). However, I can’t blame anyone for doing something wild for love and shooting their shot! Except, her bestie Everett immediately leaves her to go on tour with his band and rents out his room to Josh, adult entertainment star, so Clara spends exactly zero time with the guy she moved across the country for. Again, couldn’t be me (I think & also because I am perpetually convinced no man is worth that😭) but I understand why she tried.

Anyway, this was steamy, funny, and a fun lil romp to read in one sitting. Josh and Clara had lots of tension, and their dynamic of experienced x sheltered was entertaining but I also don’t entirely know how I feel about the trope of “teach me” in general. I clearly have lots to unpack in my own biases here 😂 I liked that Josh called out Clara’s financial privilege because she was a bit sheltered and naive. I also understand that the feelings were reciprocated but it made me sad that she fetishized him the moment she found out he was a porn star. Like I just imagine that happens to so many adult entertainers and the fact that she couldn’t not think about him sexually once during any interaction was wild to me. The steam is probably 2.5-3/5 🌶️

Content Warnings

takarakei's review against another edition

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lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Society girl moves to California in hopes of connecting with her childhood crush only to find out he's rented his room to a random guy (who turns out to be an adult film star). Education ensues...
Is the premise a bit absurd, yes. But I really enjoyed the message of sexual empowerment in this book.

4/5 🌶️

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