This post contains affiliate links. In addition, I was provided with a free copy of this book in exchange for my review. All opinions are my own.
Title: The Roommate
Author: Rosie Danan
Sub-genre: Contemporary
Publication Date: September 15, 2020
Guys. There are no words to describe to you how excited I was when I finally got approved for an ARC of The Roommate. I literally squealed. I am tangentially connected to Rosie through Pitch Wars and lots of mutual friends and I have been hearing nothing but amazing things about this book for months. And I was SO JEALOUS of everyone who’d already read it. I’ve had it pre-ordered for months, so of course, as soon as I had access to the ebook I downloaded and devoured it. And guys. It lives up to the hype.
Clara Wheaton is an east coast princess who does all the right things in life. But when her childhood crush invites her to move in with him in Los Angeles, she decides to, for once, do the impulsive thing. So you can imagine her reaction when said crush tells her the moment she lands that he is going on tour with his band and has rented out the other room in his house to a guy Clara has never met before. Josh Darling turns out to be nice and not creepy and not too bad looking either, but Clara has some serious anxiety about the whole situation. Luckily, Josh turns out to be pretty good at soothing her nerves. Clara meets up with her estranged aunt, who hires Clara to work at her PR firm on a district attorney’s campaign. And she also reveals to Clara that Josh happens to be a super popular porn star. A porn star on hiatus as it were, as Josh is trying to renegotiate his contract after being taken advantage of by a slimy producer. Honestly, I don’t want to give too much away because this story is so unlike anything I’ve ever read before. Suffice to say, stuff gets sexy and they live happily ever after.
I know I talk a lot about books that make me want to quit writing because I know I’ll never be able to write anything as good, and this is definitely one of those books. From the first page, I was completely sucked in to the story, enamored by these characters, and in love with Rosie’s voice. Like there were many, many moments where I just put the book down and blinked a lot because a line or a sentence or a turn of phrase was so brilliant. And then on top of gorgeous writing, you have a pair of characters who are so endearing and real and lovable and perfect. I loved Clara’s insecurities and Josh’s heart. I loved that Josh’s ex-girlfriend Naomi is treated like an actual person and not just a crazy ex. I loved how Clara found herself and her independence and Josh learned to open up. It’s perfection.
And then on top of all that, this is a book that is unabashedly sex positive and feminist in a way you don’t see very often. And romance is definitely leading the charge in sex positivity and feminism, but The Roommate takes it to a whole other level. I am not lying when I say I loved every single second of reading this book. It is one I will return to again and again, and I am so excited to see what Rosie comes up with next!
Overall Rating: 5 stars