A review by bookishmillennial
The Roommate by Rosie Danan

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. 

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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 🌶️

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