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A review by koistyfishy
My Roommate Is a Vampire by Jenna Levine
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
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
3.5
3.5 Missing Name Tag Stars ⭐️
Spicy Level: 🌶️/5
I am really confused about how I feel about this... Now I listened to this in Audio and has nothing against Gilli Messer because she did a fantastic job of bringing this book to life but that almost heightened my issue with this book. Which is that Cassie has almost no personality, which is completely overshadowed by the amazingness of Frederick's personality.
So Cassie is down on her luck, she is broke and needs to find an improvement in her job and living arrangements. So she finds an ad on Craigslist which seems way too good to be true... an awesome apartment, in a good area with exceptionally cheap rent, so obviously cue warning signs and red flags, because who would rent a room so cheap besides a psycho? She checks out the apartment and her potential roommate seems a little too into "method acting an episode of Downtown Abbey or Bridgerton" than a guy from the 21st century - but otherwise isn't too weird... ANYWAY, after she agrees he won't murder her in her sleep she moves in and is welcomed by a bowl of Kumquats. NOW Obviously from the title, Frederick is a vampire who has just woken up from a 100-year naptime. He now needs someone to help him adjust to this date and time and calls on his lovely new roommate for help -especially in the CRAZY DILEMMA of ordering a cappuccino!
So Cassie is plain, boring and she lacks character. She just feels meh. I struggled to see that spark that made her special and couldn't understand why Fredrick was so enamoured by her, except for the fact that she was one of the few people he had interacted with who was nice to him... The only thing about her that makes her "appealing" is she is an artist and that's like almost her whole personality because she uses waste to make her pieces. It was too perfect, too cookie-cutter.... tooo bland and generic.
Then contrasting to her there is Frederick... he's so outdated, so outlandish and so formal - following proprietary rules of societal politeness from the 1900's. But because he is so formal and dashing he is a perfect adorable gentleman. Every scene with him in was stolen by his magnetism, and utter ridiculousness at his cute inability to understand modern society. It was insane and cute and I love him so much!
I am not going to comment too much on the depth of the story because it doesn't really exist - this is meant to be a light rom-com so take it for that because if you start digging deeper there are PROBLEMS...
1) His friendship with Reginald?
They dislike each other but Reggie REALLY cares about Fred... and this is just blown over
2) The Stolen Blood that never actually gets solved? Why keep putting these news snippets in? Like what does it add to the plot?
3) The Kidnapping? Like WHAT - that didn't feel thrown in there for no reason whatsoever...
The Tropes in this:
▶ Vampire X Human Romance
▶ Age gap romance
▶ Forced proximity
▶ Roommates to Lovers
▶ Slow burn
▶ Forbidden romance
▶ He falls first
▶ "Who did this to you"
I mean - I didn't hate it... but it's not AMAZING...
Spicy Level: 🌶️/5
I am really confused about how I feel about this... Now I listened to this in Audio and has nothing against Gilli Messer because she did a fantastic job of bringing this book to life but that almost heightened my issue with this book. Which is that Cassie has almost no personality, which is completely overshadowed by the amazingness of Frederick's personality.
So Cassie is down on her luck, she is broke and needs to find an improvement in her job and living arrangements. So she finds an ad on Craigslist which seems way too good to be true... an awesome apartment, in a good area with exceptionally cheap rent, so obviously cue warning signs and red flags, because who would rent a room so cheap besides a psycho? She checks out the apartment and her potential roommate seems a little too into "method acting an episode of Downtown Abbey or Bridgerton" than a guy from the 21st century - but otherwise isn't too weird... ANYWAY, after she agrees he won't murder her in her sleep she moves in and is welcomed by a bowl of Kumquats. NOW Obviously from the title, Frederick is a vampire who has just woken up from a 100-year naptime. He now needs someone to help him adjust to this date and time and calls on his lovely new roommate for help -especially in the CRAZY DILEMMA of ordering a cappuccino!
So Cassie is plain, boring and she lacks character. She just feels meh. I struggled to see that spark that made her special and couldn't understand why Fredrick was so enamoured by her, except for the fact that she was one of the few people he had interacted with who was nice to him... The only thing about her that makes her "appealing" is she is an artist and that's like almost her whole personality because she uses waste to make her pieces. It was too perfect, too cookie-cutter.... tooo bland and generic.
Then contrasting to her there is Frederick... he's so outdated, so outlandish and so formal - following proprietary rules of societal politeness from the 1900's. But because he is so formal and dashing he is a perfect adorable gentleman. Every scene with him in was stolen by his magnetism, and utter ridiculousness at his cute inability to understand modern society. It was insane and cute and I love him so much!
I am not going to comment too much on the depth of the story because it doesn't really exist - this is meant to be a light rom-com so take it for that because if you start digging deeper there are PROBLEMS...
1) His friendship with Reginald?
They dislike each other but Reggie REALLY cares about Fred... and this is just blown over
2) The Stolen Blood that never actually gets solved? Why keep putting these news snippets in? Like what does it add to the plot?
3) The Kidnapping? Like WHAT - that didn't feel thrown in there for no reason whatsoever...
The Tropes in this:
▶ Vampire X Human Romance
▶ Age gap romance
▶ Forced proximity
▶ Roommates to Lovers
▶ Slow burn
▶ Forbidden romance
▶ He falls first
▶ "Who did this to you"
I mean - I didn't hate it... but it's not AMAZING...
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood and Kidnapping
Moderate: Confinement
Minor: Death, Murder, and Alcohol