Name: Roomies
ISBN: 9781501165832

Christina Lauren

From subway to Broadway to happily ever after. Modern love in all its thrill, hilarity, and uncertainty has never been so compulsively readable as in New York Times and #1 international bestselling author Christina Lauren’s (Beautiful Bastard, Dating You / Hating You) new romance. Marriages of convenience are so…inconvenient. Rescued by Calvin McLoughlin from a would-be subway attacker, Holland Bakker pays the brilliant musician back by pulling some of her errand-girl strings and getting him an audition with a bigtime musical director. When the tryout goes better than even Holland could have imagined, Calvin is set for a great entry into Broadway—until he admits his student visa has expired and he’s in the country illegally. Holland impulsively offers to wed the Irishman to keep him in New York, her growing infatuation a secret only to him. As their relationship evolves from awkward roommates to besotted lovers, Calvin becomes the darling of Broadway. In the middle of the theatrics and the acting-not-acting, what will it take for Holland and Calvin to realize that they both stopped pretending a long time ago?

Roomies

Lilya Smaoui

Condamnée à être l’amie, la fille, le pivot des histoire des autres.

C’est une citation de working girl. Faites attention cette page contient un spoiler pour ce film!

« I’m not steack! You can’t just order me! »

Loved this marriage of convenience book!!! 

It plucked me out my hometown and right into the New York theatre scene ! I loved these characters and story  so much! 

Brittany Peterson

Loved this marriage of convenience book!!! 

It plucked me out my hometown and right into the New York theatre scene ! I loved these characters and story  so much! 

I can’t even begin to express how much I loved this novel. I ate it up. The main guy was scrumpdillyicious (imagining him as Callum Turner also helped with his great personality). I actually bought one of those claddagh rings after 😭 Only a little shame in my game. Also, “Rock me” by Great White is officially in my soundtrack.

Sarah Campbell

Kelci

When you have three books due to the library in three days so you stay up until 3am to finish a book you start at midnight. Aka this book was phenomenal and kept telling myself, “I’ll go to bed after the next chapter.” BUT obvi that didn’t happen. I’m so in love with Calvin! Fingers crossed I meet a Calvin when I go to Ireland in March😅

So good! Such a sweet love story, although the ending did feel like it all got wrapped up very abruptly 

Alyssa deRaad

Krystyna 

This was my first Christina Lauren book and I loved it! These 2 authors are a fantastic writing duo! This was such a fun, romantic comedy of a book. It was a very entertaining read and I loved the cute romance. There were parts in this that made me smile and there were parts that made me laugh. 

I enjoyed Holland’s character. She was a twenty-something trying to find herself in NYC. Her passion is writing, she has a degree in creative writing, but she is undergoing a major case of writer’s block, so to speak. In the process, she meets Calvin...can we say swoon-worthy?! He is Irish, a musician, and is like the perfect guy. I also loved Calvin’s character. I was not a fan of Lulu, she was really bratty in my opinion. But I loved Holland’s uncles, Robert & Jeff. I also loved the relationship they had with Holland. 

I thought that some of this book was realistic. There were other parts that left me feeling like I needed more from it for it to be realistic, like with immigration and Holland’s family. The beginning of the book took me a little bit to get into but after that initial slow part for me then I didn’t want to put it down. I was rooting for Holland and Calvin the entire time!

This was a very enjoyable read and I will definitely be reading more books by Christina Lauren I feel like they are quickly going to become favorite authors of mine. If you like contemporary romance and you haven’t picked this one up...do yourself a favor and read it 😁.

Victoria

I didn’t want to put it down and kept hoping for more pages.

dija

I tink  i love this so much and i also tink  i want an Irish boy like Clavin. 

RTC .....i tink?

'Christina Lauren have fast become my go-to for sexy, honest contemporary erotic romance' Heroes and Heartbreakers From subway . . . Monday night. Wednesday morning. Friday lunchtime. Holland Bakker plans her journeys to work around the times the handsome Irish musician, Calvin McLoughlin, plays his guitar in the 50th Street subway station. Lacking the nerve to actually talk to the gorgeous stranger, Holland is destined to admire him from a distance. Then a near-tragedy causes her busker to come to her rescue, only to disappear when the police start asking questions. To Broadway . . . Keen to repay Calvin, Holland gets him an audition with her uncle, Broadway's hottest musical director. When he aces the tryout, Calvin's luck seems to have turned - until his reason for disappearing earlier becomes clear: he doesn't have a visa. To happy ever after? Impulsively, Holland offers to wed the Irishman to keep him in New York, still keeping her infatuation secret. Calvin becomes the darling of Broadway, while their relationship evolves from awkward roommates to besotted lovers. Yet surrounded by theatre and actors, what will it take for Holland and Calvin to realise that they both stopped pretending a long time ago? Praise for Roomies: 'This book has everything that makes romance novels great: a heroine's journey to self-discovery, a leading man worthy of a woman's love, and plenty of misty tears and full-on belly laughs along the way. Another knockout by Lauren' Kirkus Reviews ' Lauren masters rom-com banter and plotting, while also reminding us that the best entries in the genre are all about recognizing our own value regardless of relationship status. One of our 10 best romances of 2017. A+' Entertainment Weekly 'Lauren brings her characteristic charm to the story. Holland's tale is more than an unrequited crush; it's about self-expectations, problematic friendships, unconventional family, and the strange power of love' Booklist

Jennifer Eggleston 

First comes marriage, then comes love, and who knows ...

about a baby carriage since there was no epilogue. Yeah, no epilogue. It doesn’t ruin the book but I love the confirmation of a HEA. When you get invested in a story you want to know all. 

Roomies is a sweet book (romance) about when marriage comes before love while trying to figuring out your place in the world. This is not like a Beautiful book or Wild book. Holland and Calvin’s story is more on a chic-lit spectrum than the holy hotness Batman side. Roomies is an enjoyable book with a cast of characters that you will love and hate. 

If you are a fan of Susan Elizabeth Phillips’ books then give this story a try. 

3.5 stars

Gisela Ayala 

"What will I feel when I think of these times? Will I think, Wow, those were the hardest days, trying to figure out who I was? Or will I think, Those days were so easy and free, with so little responsibility?” 

Christina Lauren has been killing it with stories. Absolutely, positively killing it. Everything about this story I loved, the plot, the setting, and most of all the characters. Holland is one of the brightest, goofy, and personable characters I've had the pleasure of reading. Her anxieties and hopes mirror many 20-somethings- "What will I do with my life?" "Am I going to be able to pursue my passion?" "Can I be there for the ones I love?" "Is this friend still good for me?" "Should I take this opportunity?" So many questions Holland asked herself, I ask myself on a daily basis. 

It was also a breath of fresh air that the female protagonist took her time to evaluate her feelings before diving headfirst back into a relationship. I love swoon-worthy moments where the guy does a dramatic grand gesture. I'm always for it, but it was lovely to see Holland become her own woman and discover who she is first. That made the chemistry and relationship with Calvin so much more authentic to me! They were adorable. 

ALSO, her uncles are the absolute cutest!!!!!!!!

Demi

4.5/5

This review has really been so long over due but here am I FINALLY with my review!

This book absolutely stole my entire heart!!! I absolutely adored our two main characters and I just fell head over heels for their relationship and the dynamic they had with eachother. I don’t know why but there is something about this authors writing that just sucks you in from start to finish!! I loved the plot and the pacing was also absolutely spot on! The only reason this book wasn’t a full 5 star rating for me is purely because I did take me a little bit to really become invested in the characters and their relationship. Other than that, this book was honestly perfect and I highly recommend this to all my romance lovers!

Taniareads 

it was a nice reading, but this book is full of little misunderstandings and of course full of cliches (but i don't mind the good cliches) overall it is a nice romance, it's funny and sweet.

Dee B. 

3.5. Something is missing in this one for me.

Inês Filipa

a solid 4-star read, but it wasn’t memorable. i had high expectations for this one.

Phee

this is the third book i’ve read from Christina Lauren and the only one, so far, that i have not given a full 5 stars to. 
the beginning was too slow for me and the book did a lot of story jumping in parts where it felt unnecessary.. however, i really loved the main couple and the ANGST throughout the last chapters was far too good to give this book anything under 4 stars. (also, ethan is my favourite christina lauren love interest by far but calvin isn’t too far behind - i absolutely adored him)

Noelia Abreu

* 4.5 STARS * 

I had so much fun reading Roomies, literally once I started reading, I couldn't stop!! I felt instantly connected to the characters and I really love seeing Holland and Calvin's relationship developted. I liked both main characters, I thought Calvin was a dreamy hero and Holland was just great, I really connected and related to her. Overall - super fun, cute and heartwarming read.

Pretty good. I really liked the main character, love interest was okay. They both made major mistakes but made up realistically. Probably not a re-read but still good.

Allie Herrington

Librarian: Not for my library (we don't have any need for this genre at the moment), but definitely for others. If I were curating a romance collection for a public library I would definitely add this to the collection. It has the sweet, almost saccharine nature of many a romance novel, and the overly complicated plot set up of a romantic comedy.
Reader: Romance is not my genre. Just ask my sisters. They will tell you that I get embarrassed during the mushy scenes in movies and generally refuse to go anywhere near their beloved Hallmark movies. So I'm really not the best person to judge the quality of a romance novel. The best I can say is that I found it to be fine. Not great, but not horrible either. It was worth the $2 that I paid for it at the used bookstore.

Did not love this love story, characters fell in and out of love and I got whiplash 😒

Shanice Thomas 

Ella Patterson

i really only read this as i had no other romances left on my kobo to read. I didn't properly read the summary before and therefore didn't realised there was a focus on music which I'm not normally the biggest fan of in books. Considering that I quite enjoyed it (the ending did feel a lil rushed tho)

Natasha S

3.5 stars

I liked the slow burn of this and there were parts that made me laugh out loud. I do wish there was a bit more oomph to the relationship though - I don't know it just feels like there was a little something missing. I will say I do like an Irish love interest though ;)

Kate B-L

Interesting concept, not great execution. I found myself often feeling frustrated with the lead character (maybe because I see some of her in myself), and in all honesty, I think the romantic interest is a conceited dingus.

That being said, I read it all in one sitting.

Maggie K

16+
4/5 stars 
.5-1/5 spices 

Compared to their other books, this one is more low-key. This is a marriage of convenience trope. 

This romance was cute, definitely read this book if you are looking for something light and sweet. The romance is definitely the main focal point of the book. I definitely had to listen to this with an audiobook. The plot of marrying and fooling immigration was a fantastic idea.There were some moements that make me laugh out loud, however, those were towards the end of the book.
 
 I think it's cute, but that's all I have to say. Not my favorite book from them

Megan Williams

Great rom-com romance! At first I was a little unsure of the characters because I felt like Holland seemed really obsessive about her crush on a busker, but the book picked up some speed and some surprising twists were thrown. In the end this book was a great read that got me out of a reading slump of the century so I would definitely recommend this novel to any reader looking for a great romance!

Lauren Sullivan

I enjoyed reading this book and found Holland extremely likable and Calvin adorably hot, but my goodness did this book have issues. Holland has some serious spoiled rich girl issues. She lives in NYC, with her rent 2/3s paid by her rich uncles, who've also created a job for her. She's got a great education, but seems to be just sitting around waiting for something great to happen to her. Enter Calvin, subway busker and dude who has overstayed his student visa apparently also waiting for something great to happen to him. Of course, things conspire to make Holland take an insane leap and marry Calvin in order to make him legal... 

On the plus side, the book is frankly hilarious. I loved the fake text conversations and the vibrator in the couch scene had me giggling like a loon. I liked the author's writing style, and despite rolling my eyes constantly at how oblivious Holland is, I liked her, though her inability to actually get her life in gear reminded me of all the things I don't like in the new adult genre. I also loved the NYC off-Broadway setting.

The big issue for me was that the handling of the immigration issues felt completely tone deaf. Holland's uncles are rich and well connected, so they basically bulldoze through the process with money. I guess it helped that Calvin was white. I have many friends who've immigrated here legally and the depiction here is... well, pretty much completely false. Yeah, it's fiction, but it kept jarring me out of the book, nonetheless.