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paula_reads's review
4.25
this was so cute and wholesome! It made me giggle! I love the friendship between Seth and Evelyn and that the dual pov is with them instead of the love interest. I did see the Amelia plot line coming but the other thing at the end was really unhinged - still enjoyed it tho.
BUT TikTok made me realize that there is some really problematic poc representation: There is exactly one black girl at the school - the one everyone is scared of, she's over sexualized, absentee father, smokes... and her heart of gold only gets discovered by the good white girl. Don't get me wrong I love the whole good girl bad girl trope but not it they conceal problematic stereotypes...
BUT TikTok made me realize that there is some really problematic poc representation: There is exactly one black girl at the school - the one everyone is scared of, she's over sexualized, absentee father, smokes... and her heart of gold only gets discovered by the good white girl. Don't get me wrong I love the whole good girl bad girl trope but not it they conceal problematic stereotypes...
nyanyona's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
amymarsdenauthor's review against another edition
3.0
The premise sounded promising but unfortunately it wasn't for me.
It was like a cross between Harry Potter and Gossip Girl, and was mainly about Evelyn overcoming her past of being outed at her old school. In that, it was decent. Evelyn was a nice character who I was happy to see grow to be comfortable with herself.
However, other elements weren't good. I get that this is YA, but the 'Gossip Girl' identity was really easy to figure out. Like, it required no thought.
Seth is the other MC but he gets less chapters than Evelyn and his romance with Jasper didn't feel as fleshed out. I wasn't invested in him at all.
This is set in an English bordering school, both MC's are English, yet they say things like 'mom' and 'ass'. Americanisms sneaking into non-American places are a pet peeve of mine, and it really irritated me.
Now, the big issue. Noelle, Evelyn's LI, is black. She's described as mean, aggressive, and overly promiscuous, which fits a lot of negative racial stereotypes. It wasn't good. I suggest reading reviews from POC to determine the full extent of the damage.
It was like a cross between Harry Potter and Gossip Girl, and was mainly about Evelyn overcoming her past of being outed at her old school. In that, it was decent. Evelyn was a nice character who I was happy to see grow to be comfortable with herself.
However, other elements weren't good. I get that this is YA, but the 'Gossip Girl' identity was really easy to figure out. Like, it required no thought.
Seth is the other MC but he gets less chapters than Evelyn and his romance with Jasper didn't feel as fleshed out. I wasn't invested in him at all.
This is set in an English bordering school, both MC's are English, yet they say things like 'mom' and 'ass'. Americanisms sneaking into non-American places are a pet peeve of mine, and it really irritated me.
Now, the big issue. Noelle, Evelyn's LI, is black. She's described as mean, aggressive, and overly promiscuous, which fits a lot of negative racial stereotypes. It wasn't good. I suggest reading reviews from POC to determine the full extent of the damage.
logz_bear's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
4.5
lgbtrepinbooks's review against another edition
Trigger Warnings: smoking, coming out, internalized homophobia, fighting/violence, outed, homophobia, sexual assault, claustrophobia, panic attacks, underage drinking, kidnapping, bullying/cyber bullying, vomit, violence, blood, stalking, toxic relationship
Representation: Twins, Black, Bisexual, Lesbian, Gay
Never Kiss Your Roommate is a young adult, queer contemporary. At Seven Hills boarding school, it doesn’t take long for Evelyn to realize she is inexplicably drawn to her gorgeous and standoffish roommate, Noelle. Meanwhile Seth has eyes, and some serious heart palpitations, for budding thespian and school flirt, Jasper. Just as things start to heat up, the Watcher strikes. Always lurking on the anonymous Chitter Chatter Blog is the Watcher—who can’t wait to reveal all the latest hookups, hot lists, and secrets around campus. Will the secrets revealed turn their happily ever afters into happily never afters?
This eARC was provided by the publisher via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.
Although a good comfort read, it took me a while to get into this book. I think it starts a little slow but by the end, you are invested. The characters are very likable and you truly root for them. I thought the romance aspect was well done and the blogger gave some serious Gossip Girl vibes.
Representation: Twins, Black, Bisexual, Lesbian, Gay
Never Kiss Your Roommate is a young adult, queer contemporary. At Seven Hills boarding school, it doesn’t take long for Evelyn to realize she is inexplicably drawn to her gorgeous and standoffish roommate, Noelle. Meanwhile Seth has eyes, and some serious heart palpitations, for budding thespian and school flirt, Jasper. Just as things start to heat up, the Watcher strikes. Always lurking on the anonymous Chitter Chatter Blog is the Watcher—who can’t wait to reveal all the latest hookups, hot lists, and secrets around campus. Will the secrets revealed turn their happily ever afters into happily never afters?
This eARC was provided by the publisher via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.
Although a good comfort read, it took me a while to get into this book. I think it starts a little slow but by the end, you are invested. The characters are very likable and you truly root for them. I thought the romance aspect was well done and the blogger gave some serious Gossip Girl vibes.
ingingenous's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
capesandcovers's review
3.0
TWs: Internalized homophobia, public outing (off screen), bullying (off screen), cyberbullying, alcohol, kidnapping, gaslighting and abusive romantic relationship, kidnapping, stabbing, rape (off page).
I'm going to be honest, if you're an adult looking for a queer YA romance to read, this book probably isn't for you. Unlike a lot of the YA being published right now, Never Kiss Your Roommate actually felt like it was from a teenager's perspective, and written for teens, rather than the adult audience reading the category. While it was definitely a refreshing change of pace for me, I'm going to try to make sure I don't really complain about stuff that could be related back to it being aimed at a younger audience.
Never Kiss Your Roommate follows Evelyn and Seth, both new transplants at their boarding school, Seven Hills. Evelyn gets stuck rooming with Noelle, the beautiful and intimidating basketball star, who seems to hate her right off the bat, and isn't doing anything to help her awkwardness of accepting her sexuality. Meanwhile Seth is falling for Noelle's cute French BFF, the popular theater kid, while grappling with his parent's divorce. Both best friends have chapter POVs, as they fall for their classmates, and keep up with the school's anonymously run gossip blog.
I was surprised by how much I liked parts of this, to be honest. I was a bit hesitant to request Never Kiss Your Roommate, since it was originally a Wattpad story written when Harms was a teenager, but that cover made me change my mind. I liked Evelyn, Seth, Noelle and Jasper, each of them had unique personalities, and their own charms. I'd honestly would've loved to see Jasper get more page time than he did, just so the squad was a little more filled out (and I just enjoy characters with a flair of drama lol). The writing and plot were a bit clunky and unfinished in some places, but I honestly think that it probably has to do with it being written by an actual teen, who hasn't had the time and experience to write as many novels before getting published as a lot of authors. The way the gossip blog, Chitter Chatter, was used lowkey reminded me of Creekwood Secrets from Simon Vs. the Homosapiens Agenda, and it had the same softer queer contemp YA vibe to it (well, for most of the book anyway, things pick up a lot at the end).
I did want to mention that Never Kiss Your Roommate falls into the category of having a primarily white cast and then a POC as the love interest, and that it also could potentially be seen as having the angry Black woman stereotype when it comes to Noelle at the start. I'm not the right person to really make a judgement about the last part, but I thought I'd mention it.
If you're looking for a (mostly) cute queer romance, especially if you like rivals to lovers, this is the book for you! You might have to ignore some questionable writing at times, and a somewhat predictable plot, but if you're just looking for some entertainment, it's a fun story. Just don't go into it with the expectation that it's going to read like upper YA, because it isn't and you'll end up disappointed.
I'm going to be honest, if you're an adult looking for a queer YA romance to read, this book probably isn't for you. Unlike a lot of the YA being published right now, Never Kiss Your Roommate actually felt like it was from a teenager's perspective, and written for teens, rather than the adult audience reading the category. While it was definitely a refreshing change of pace for me, I'm going to try to make sure I don't really complain about stuff that could be related back to it being aimed at a younger audience.
Never Kiss Your Roommate follows Evelyn and Seth, both new transplants at their boarding school, Seven Hills. Evelyn gets stuck rooming with Noelle, the beautiful and intimidating basketball star, who seems to hate her right off the bat, and isn't doing anything to help her awkwardness of accepting her sexuality. Meanwhile Seth is falling for Noelle's cute French BFF, the popular theater kid, while grappling with his parent's divorce. Both best friends have chapter POVs, as they fall for their classmates, and keep up with the school's anonymously run gossip blog.
I was surprised by how much I liked parts of this, to be honest. I was a bit hesitant to request Never Kiss Your Roommate, since it was originally a Wattpad story written when Harms was a teenager, but that cover made me change my mind. I liked Evelyn, Seth, Noelle and Jasper, each of them had unique personalities, and their own charms. I'd honestly would've loved to see Jasper get more page time than he did, just so the squad was a little more filled out (and I just enjoy characters with a flair of drama lol). The writing and plot were a bit clunky and unfinished in some places, but I honestly think that it probably has to do with it being written by an actual teen, who hasn't had the time and experience to write as many novels before getting published as a lot of authors. The way the gossip blog, Chitter Chatter, was used lowkey reminded me of Creekwood Secrets from Simon Vs. the Homosapiens Agenda, and it had the same softer queer contemp YA vibe to it (well, for most of the book anyway, things pick up a lot at the end).
I did want to mention that Never Kiss Your Roommate falls into the category of having a primarily white cast and then a POC as the love interest, and that it also could potentially be seen as having the angry Black woman stereotype when it comes to Noelle at the start. I'm not the right person to really make a judgement about the last part, but I thought I'd mention it.
If you're looking for a (mostly) cute queer romance, especially if you like rivals to lovers, this is the book for you! You might have to ignore some questionable writing at times, and a somewhat predictable plot, but if you're just looking for some entertainment, it's a fun story. Just don't go into it with the expectation that it's going to read like upper YA, because it isn't and you'll end up disappointed.
gemandverity_sba3's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5