A review by venus_reads_
Get a Room by Casey Dembowski

emotional funny slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

This didn't end up being a huge hit for me personally, but I still believe it's worth checking out if it sounds interesting to you! Nothing groundbreaking, but could still be a nice read for many!

★ dual pov in 3rd person
★ best friend's brother
★ forced proximity
★ roommates
★ some fake-dating
★ forbidden/secret romance
★ enemies to lovers/hate to love (more like strong annoyance to love)
★ a pet cat named Chuck <3

The story felt like it dragged on a little at times but I wasn't ever super bored. Sarah Webb and Brian Hawkins' relationship developed at a pace that felt natural for them but was a little bit too quick for my personal preference. Though I see it made sense for their situation, I can't help but still feel like this could've been better with a slightly slower burn (completely understand that's just a preference of mine tho, you may prefer the exact opposite!)

I still don't really understand why they saw each other as full-on enemies at the start tbh. There wasn't really any good and believable reason for them to have such animosity towards each other. I still liked their dynamic though!

From the moment they'd met, one of her goals in life had been to be a perpetual thorn in Brian's side. It was just so much fun, watching his face scrunch up as he got worked up over absolutely nothing.

...this is what we do. He makes snarky comments, and I reply in kind.

I really enjoyed all the scenes relating to Sarah's job. She very clearly loves her job and whenever it was integrated into the plot I looked forward to it!

The career contemplations Brian struggled with throughout the novel were a nice way to connect and understand his way of thinking, but it also ended up feeling pretty repetitive.

One of my favourite parts was reading the development of Brian finding a life in Philadelphia. It felt really nice seeing him make new friendships — who, by the way, were great characters, especially Tasha!!
You really do end up rooting for these characters, not just in their romantic relationship, but in all aspects of their lives. 

Brian wasn't much of a cat person at the beginning, which, I must admit gave me some not great vibes (disliking cats is a red flag, I don't make the rules), but I am happy to report he gets some big character development in that area haha!

The biggest problem I had with this novel was Jess — younger sister of Brian and best friend of Sarah. Without getting into details, the extremity of her horrible immaturity and controlling behaviour felt unnecessary. Though Jess's behaviour *is* called out, I believe the damage was too severe for it to have been forgiven.

All in all, it was a fun enough read for me to still be interested in potentially checking out the author's other works.

Thank you to Red Adept Publishing and NetGalley for providing an eARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
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