Roomies Kindle Edition

I knew nothing of this book's premise or plot going into the novel. As per my usual, I will download anything that is written by this fabulous writing duo. So as I started reading it, I was a bit dismayed that it took so long to get to where the two characters finally meet. It was absolutely slow to start, and had this been a book by any other author, I would have set it down and not finished. But again, I love this writing team of CLo and pushed on. It took until 65% of the book for the characters of Holland and Calvin to finally consummate their marriage of convenience. Interpret that how you will, but it finally got to that level of intimacy - which is probably both realistic and fair if these two characters were IRL.The last quarter of the book was touching, heartbreaking and lovely. There's a twist - which I always love - and you will cry for Holland as she experiences her first adult heartache. From there, the book finishes flawlessly - but suddenly. I felt like I was pushed off the cliff with no warning signs. It just STOPS. So I wouldn't catagorize this as one of their Top 5, or even their Top 10, but it's still a lovely book with impeccable writing.

I don't know why I try. I'm really just not a fan of this genre. Full disclaimer I did not finish this one. It was too unrealistic and simple and I just found it very boring and ridiculous. Nothing about it gripped me.To begin, I don't see the appeal of the green card marriage troupe in romance. How is such a situation at all romantic and not just tragic and complicated? The levity taken in this troupe is absurd and not sexy at all. Because of this, I found most of the plot to be silly and the main characters to be...unintelligent to say the least. I kept finding myself stopping every few pages so my mind could wander and it took me forever to get anywhere in the book. I know Christina Lauren gets a lot of fan love & that's great. Some people need books like this. It's probably a great book for romance readers. It was just soooo troupe(y) you know? Simple plot line, generic female protagonist ("who doesn't understand her own value/worth/talent"), misunderstandings between the two main characters and a guy who's too good to be true, yadda, yadda, yadda. Congrats, all the boxes are checked! It felt like such a formula book. I am not a person for formula books. I was bored and just couldn't wait for it to end. Then I gave up. The best thing I could say about it was that the writing was simple and straightforward. Christina Lauren know how to tell a story and give you a good sense of what's going on. So that's a plus. And that's basically all I can say about it.

4.5On her way home after a fun night out, a little-too-drunk Holland Bakker is somewhat-attacked by a homeless man while waiting for the subway. She's rescued by the very talented street musician who may or may not be the reason she takes this particular way home everyday.When Holland's uncle's extremely popular Broadway musical is left without its lead musician, Holland immediately thinks of her savior, Calvin McLoughlin. The problem: Calvin is in the States illegally. Wanting to help out her uncle, and recognizing Calvin's talents for what they are, Holland proposes a marriage of convenience in order to get Calvin eligible to stay. The plan seems simple enough, they'll stay married for at least a year, convince immigration of their "love match", all while Calvin is garnering success doing the thing he loves most in the world, make music. But what happens when the feelings between Holland and Calvin move from convenience to true? Can either believe the other's motivations when their relationship started on a lie?I really loved this take on the marriage of convenience trope. It wasn't difficult to see that, yes, eventually Holland and Calvin would form feelings for one another. But what was great about this particular romance was the idea of being in the relationship for all the wrong reasons, and trying to figure out if those are the only reasons why Calvin and Holland are together. Would Calvin have given Holland another glance if he didn't need this in order for his dreams to come true?Filled with a lot of fun and zany antics, I loved the heart of this story. Since it's told from Holland's point of view, her side of the story takes more weight than Calvin's does. Holland has a MFA in creative writing, but after graduation, she's hit major writers' block and has barely been able to power on her computer, not wanting to be faced with her lack of work progression. So instead Holland has been kind of meandering throughout life for the past couple of years. She affords her apartment because her loving uncles help pay for it. She has a job working in the theater that houses her uncle's production because....well, her uncle. One of the first decisions she's actively made has been a whirlwind marriage. And as her feelings for Calvin deepen she questions what it is she truly wants. What direction she wants her life to take. It's a very relatable storyline for anyone who has struggle with the "what next" scenario after high school and / or college which I would guess is many people.Calvin's situation is a direct contrast with Holland's. Holland who has the opportunity and the means to achieve her goals, she just can't find the words or the inspiration. Calvin, though, has the inspiration and the talent to achieve his goals, but he doesn't have the means and if opportunity doesn't present itself soon he'll be deported. The true weight of Calvin's dilemma is probably more than Holland's but it doesn't really come across as such since we only get Holland's point of view. I would have liked to see just a bit from Calvin's point of view seeing as how the life he's built for himself hinges on the idea of he and Holland's union appearing realistic.Probably one of my favorite things about the story was the relationship Holland has with her uncles, who, since she was the youngest of six, all but raised Holland as their own. The love and affection they have for Holland (and vice versa) is sweet. And I love how supportive they are of her during her time of feeling aimless.Roomies is a perfect read as we start to wind down this year and begin moving into a new year. Its messages of trying new things and not giving up on your dreams work well with upcoming resolutions. It was a book that I didn't want to end, but just couldn't put down. One of my favorite romantic reads this year.

I love the writing duo of Christina Lauren, their “Beautiful” series is one of my favorites. This book, however, was really disappointing. Where was the character development for Calvin? Where’s the epilogue? Where was the steam! The sexy times are minimal and vague. Very vague when compared to previous books. Honestly, I wondered if they had switched to a new publisher and been asked to dial back the steam from nuclear to lukewarm. The writing is definitely there and Holland and her uncles are well written, but Calvin seemed more like an outline. Wish I had loaned from the library, not interesting enough to read again.

I was in a major slump in October and it's still kind of ongoing. This book was a book that I somehow managed to read in a few hours when I couldn't bring myself to read anything. There's something about the writing of Christina and Lauren that is just SO addictive.Holland is infatuated with a busker who is always playing on her commute. He suspiciously disappears after saving her from an attack. Once she finds him again she offers him a once in a lifetime chance to star in her beloved Uncle's musical. Here's the catch: he's an illegal immigrant from Ireland. So Holland does something a bit bizarre and offers to marry him so he can stay in the country.Fake dating is one of my favorite tropes because the situations that happen because of it always end up being hilarious and cute, so of course, this being fake marriage was such a draw for me.I really loved the 2 main characters both together and apart. Holland was such a people pleaser but part of her character development is learning to do things for herself and putting herself first in front of others. And then Calvin was an absolute sweetheart and you could see him falling. Together they were honestly super cute. Like I could feel the affection building and I was also beginning to really love the characters and it was just so nice.I really loved the surrounding cast of characters, especially Holland's gay uncles. They were so great and so supportive and I was just so happy whenever they were involved. I love seeing parental figures who are queer.I don't know what it was about this book because, to be honest, it wasn't anything completely groundbreaking, but it just drew me in when nothing else could. Whilst there was a bit of angst towards the end it didn't feel super angsty which I am always a fan of.

My first disappointment from the CL team. I normally love their books but this one just didn't work for me. Maybe it's because I'm Irish and the supposed 'charm' of the hero speaking English poorly and pronouncing words incorrectly really annoyed me. I know it's a nuanced accent - every 25 miles or so in Ireland you come across a variation of accent and vernacular and maybe to non Irish it's cute but it drove me nuts. Also, while our heroine was well drawn and supposedly a 'secondary' character in her own life I just wanted her to cop on to herself and grow up. The ending was way too hurried after a long slow burn and I didn't believe in their HEA or that they even deserved it after the hidden truths between them. The uncles were a delight and saved the book. My lacklustre response to this story will not, however, preclude me from purchasing more CL stories - though £9.99 is rather steep for an e-book....

Are you in a book-drought?Well look no further! I was entering into some serious book-reading-slums and this beauty was sitting on my kindle from a previous promotion...SO GLAD I BOUGHT IT!It’s one of those treasures you can read again and know it’ll be good. Something I can rely on!

This book is slow, quite frankly a good fourth could be cut and it wouldn't be missed, but the last 20% for me was the strongest and best part of the book.I'm so glad that Holland, quite a blank two dimensional character up until that point, found her strength. Her relationship with her uncles was my favourite part of this book.

I am a massive fan of Christina Lauren. I own most of their books and I've read a few of them. Their books are such fun reads. I enjoyed reading this one. I did think that the plot and pacing was slow, which is why I gave this book 3/5 stars, but it is an enjoyable read!