this is the first book i've read by this author and sadly it will be the last.
Don't get me wrong i loved the plot, i loved the main characters i loved the story as a whole it just that the author's writing style just isnt for me

I was so excited to see a new, standalone new adult romance from Julianna Keyes on NetGalley. It's no big secret that I've loved her Burnham College series — and her adult offerings, for that matter — but I was still looking forward to seeing what she would do with new characters. I'll admit, I was a little leery going in because of the subject matter. A guy trying to steal his roommate's girlfriend? Would there be cheating? Could I find a guy like that swoony? There was NO REASON for me to be concerned. Julianna did an amazing job with this book and even if I was a little iffy towards Aiden in the beginning, it didn't take long before I was singing his praises and putting him on my swoony book boys list.

I don't want to get too far into the storyline on this one because, honestly, I think it's a book it's just best to experience. What I will say is that it took me by surprise in a lot of ways. Both Aiden and Aster were multi-dimensional and they each had some great development over the course of this book. For some reason, I expected this book to be a light and maybe even dirty book. It wasn't heavy, but it did punch me in the feels quite a bit. Unexpectedly, even. I was in deep with these characters and rooting for them both together and separately.

I read this one from cover to cover in a matter of mere hours. Aiden and Aster were totally addictive and I couldn't stop once I started. The romance was sweet and, yes, sexy. I enjoyed the character development nearly as much as the romance. It was wonderful to watch these two learn who they really are and come into their own. I absolutely loved this book. It's definitely going on my "reread in the future" pile.

FAVORITE QUOTES

"If someone cheats, it's not out of character. It's out of line. Out of bounds. Out of the realm of possibility. He's just another guy who looks like one thing but acts like another. I've had enough of that."

When I met Aster, I thought she was the light I'd been waiting for. But I was wrong. She was the spark.

Aiden's the only guy in my life to see all of me. The person I was and the person I want to be and the person I am now. And for whatever reason, he's still looking.

I didn't think happiness was real, and I definitely didn't think it was tangible, something you could hold, touch, feel. But now, as I slide my fingers through Aster's hair and press my lips to hers, I see that I was the best kind of wrong.

My Roommate's Girl is such a fun read. There is a nice balance of comedy and drama. Or the comedy of drama, more or less.

Immediately in the book you understand that Aiden, our hero, is a bad boy that may in fact be a bad man. You also understand that Aster, our heroine, is a lovely young lady who is so perfect and unflawed she is practically pasteurized. Basically, Aiden is shady and Aster is a sunny day.

I cringed watching Aiden's machinations to break up Aster and Jerry. Aiden's behavior was appalling. He destroyed a good relationship so he MIGHT have a chance to have sex with Aster. However, I always liked the Aiden character and came to really like the Aster character as well. No one is perfect in this book, even Jerry, and he comes close.

The character development in the book was really good. The characters actually learn from their mistakes! Also, I'm always happy to read a book where you don't know everything about a character by the third page of the book. I didn't know how the story would resolve itself by the third page either.

I would highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys New Adult or Contemporary Romance.

Wrong choice of title and cover, if you ask me.
It made me go into this book with pretty low expectations. Made me expect a light-hearted, rather shallow story about a bad boy going after the good girl, maybe even a little love triangle thrown into the mix. Some steam, a lot of fun and forgettable characters.
What I certainly did not expect was all the emotions, ranging all the way from hate to love, from compassion to anger, from aggravation to amusement.

Aidan in particular was such a sneaky little bastard. God, I hated his guts in the beginning. What a despicable asshole, and a constantly horny one at that. Really not my kind of book boyfriend.

Still, I kept reading because I thought, even though he doesn't seem to have any redeeming qualities, I kind of like the other characters well enough to keep going, and it was pretty entertaining. But then, about halfway through the book, it suddenly struck me: I'm crushing on Aidan. Well hell, when exactly did that happen?!
Well, I'm still not sure. I guess at the beginning, what made me gradually warm up to him a little was his dry sense of humor. Later, I caught myself swooning over his determination to have Aster and his lack of composure and self-control at times. What eventually really won me over, though, was the immense character growth he went through within just a couple of months without losing any of the few appealing character traits he had in the beginning (don't you hate it when a bad-ass hero gets all mushy and limp once he falls in love?).

As for Aster, she started out as such a bland and dull goody two-shoes character and, while I didn't exactly dislike her, I just didn't care about her, either. Surprisingly, she quickly grew on me too, and I couldn't have been more surprised at the turn of events when I finally learned that she had secrets of her own. I loved how ambitious and proud she was, and that she didn't take crap from anyone, including Aidan.

The romance is beautiful and real, a classic slow-burner with heaps of tension, but it's a lot less focused on sexy times than one might expect, given the cover and the blurb.
Rather, it's a story of personal growth and wanting the best for yourself, and how friendship and love can help reach your goals. And while this book deals with some heavier subjects, the tone is still light and hopeful, backed with endearing secondary characters, subtle humor and a lot of fun and witty banter.

This book was such a pleasant surprise to me. It's so much more than meets the eye.

3.5 Stars!

Julianna Keyes is an author I've come to love this year. I became a fan of her writing after reading her Burnham College series. I was very excited to get to read her new release, My Roommate's Girl. From the title, I could tell this was going to be one of those books that was going to have some uncomfortable moments, but I had faith that Keyes could make me fall in love with her story.

I didn't immediately fall in love with My Roommate's Girl. It wasn't the dreaded love triangle that kept me from it. It was the main character, Aiden Shaw. His cocky, tough guy talk didn't endear him to me. He seemed really scuzzy and I didn't like his tactics. I think my biggest problem was that his motives weren't good. Everything was based on his lust. It wasn't until he and Aster truly started to form a friendship that I could see the good in Aiden, and appreciate him. There was more to him than I thought, and it took until half way through the book to understand that. I wish it would have happened earlier.

Aster wasn't what I expected at all. I was pleasantly surprised by her when her point of view finally showed up. She was more than the princess Aiden described her to be. I loved her back story and how it affected her feelings for Aiden.

Aster and Aiden had a very unique connection. Their similarities tied them together in a special way. It enhanced their already sizzling chemistry. The more they discovered about each other, the more I liked the story. I wish more time had been spent within their relationship. There was so much build up to it. I only got to experience their relationship for what felt like a minute before a conflict started to ruin things. I wasn't a fan of the conflict, so that time in the book frustrated me. It did lead a super cute ending, though.

I probably would have given My Roommate's Girl a higher rating if I had immediately connected with the characters. I liked them, but I never really got the chance to love them. The book was still a lot of fun to read and it was incredibly fast-paced. If you're looking for a college romance that isn't centered around sports or normal college students, I would recommend My Roommate's Girl. It's different from any college romance I've read.

I loved Julianna Keye’s previous New Adult books, my favorites being Undecided/Undeclared (those books are amazing so if you haven’t read them get to it!). When I saw the summary for My Roommate’s Girl I was instantly intrigued.

The whole premise makes me cringe a bit if I’m being honest because OMG how am I going to like a guy who is trying to sabotage a relationship simply because he wants her… but I can’t lie. I actually really found myself liking Aidan and sympathizing for him at certain points.

Aidan is trouble, and you can tell right from page 1. He’s in college because it was either that or prison, but he’s determined to make good use of this second chance, but after two years on campus he’s realized that he needs to be in an apartment… which leads to renting a space from Jerry!
Jerry’s pre-med and kind, and honest and friendly… and he has a super-hot girlfriend named Aster. From the first meeting, Aidan can’t help his attraction to her, and despite knowing he’s not a commitment kind of guy, he’s determined to break Jerry & Aster up just so he can sleep with her.
So he creates a plan… and makes it happen.

What he doesn’t expect is how he feels once he realizes that his actions really hurt both Jerry and Aster and what that means for him going forward with his plan to get her in his bed.

This book is written in dual pov’s, however, we don’t get to Aster’s pov until a bit later …and I’m just going to be honest… Aster is not the girl you’re led to believe she is from Aidan’s point of view. He’s made a lot of assumptions about her and I was just as surprised as Aidan was when the truth comes out.

What I liked the most about this book was the character growth that you can see for both Aidan and Aster. They are completely different people from the first to the last page and I love when that happens.

The hardest part of this story… the sacrificial lamb Jerry. I actually really loved him, and I kind of hope that if this becomes part of a companion series that we’ll get his story. I think he has a lot of potential as a character and I would love to read more about him.

Honestly, while I enjoyed this one, Undeclared still remains my favorite of all the Julianna Keyes that I’ve read so far, but if it’s any indication, I started this and finished it in one evening. The story is compelling, the characters are complex and the chemistry between Aster and Aidan is wonderfully developed. If you’re a fan of New Adult, I highly recommend grabbing this one as soon as you can!

Thank you to the publisher for an early copy in exchange for my honest thoughts!

Firstly before I start going on about My Roommate's Girl, does anyone else think the guy on the cover looks like a younger Stephen Dorff (Think Blade era)? No, Yes, Anyone? Ok maybe it was just me.

I read this book over the course of 2 sittings. 1 was at 12:30am as I couldn't sleep and then finished just now. The story is spoken from Aiden's point of view initially and then later on we get Aster's. Aiden at first I just didn't warm too. Maybe its because he openly admits he wants to split Aster and Jerry up. Maybe its the way he goes about it with Sindy... seriously? Or maybe its just that he can't seem to be honest with himself let alone Aster. I will say this book is about growth and by the end I did like Aiden, but it took a long time. I understand temptation of all kinds. I think we all do. But I just didn't get why he even considered stuff towards the end of the book. Just made no sense to me when it was obvious what would happen. Moving on to Aster. I liked her more. I liked her spunk and the things we found out about her. I felt she was the most real character in the book which is weird when even she wasn't totally upfront about stuff either. Jerry deserves a mention just because he's Jerry and I could picture him with ease in my mind. And Missy? Or Shamus? Yeah they were pretty good characters too.

The story has an ok pace, although it was a little slow for me. Aiden's constant moaning about how long he hadn't had sex got old (Hasn't he heard of man's best friend? And no I don't mean a dog, I mean his right hand?). Also I got why Aster didn't like giving second chances, but talk about judgement at times. I got whiplash how quick she changed her mind about stuff. Generally this isn't a bad new adult romance, it was original but I felt lit lacked... something. I can't really say what. Maybe it needed more drama? Either way this was just a 3 star read for me. I do still recommend it but I didn't love it.

The cover is good, the story for me didn't work. I struggled to finish it and found myself skimming it. It just seemed like there was pieces of the puzzle missing for me....

loved this book

3.5 stars
I enjoyed this book...There are some books out now with the whole "roommate's girl" story but this one is very different because of the way the hero wants to steal her :)
Aidan is a thief and when he's caught stealing, he has two choices...go to prison or go to school. He chooses the latter and does a lot of the right things to become a better person...until he meets Aster.
Aster is his roommate's girlfriend and he can't stop thinking of her. While I didn't agree with how he went about to try and break their relationship, it takes two to tango as they say so Jerry made his bed and now has to lie in it. All Aidan did was give the little push.
Things turned for the unexpected here and I was seriously blown away because I did not see some of these things happening. But I'll be honest and say it made me like the characters more because it felt more relatable and an even playing field (I know I'm being vague so read the book!)
I loved the dialogue, the banter and Aidan is completely adorable. I just wished to feel more of their chemistry and rather than be sitting on the sidelines, I wanted to feel and be immersed in them more if that makes sense.
I also wished for more when it came to the parental units...maybe some more conversation with Aidan's and more feeling when it came to Aster's because it felt a little flat to me...I think more of an emotional connection here would have lifted my emotions here too.
Overall I did enjoy this book...the author writes great stories and I truly enjoy her words...I look forward to reading more from her ❤️

Julianna Keyes' books are what I want all NA romances to be like. They are swoony, entertaining and tend to be low on the drama. All that being said, I was quite nervous to read My Roommate's Girl because I mean, it's about a hero who has no shame and wants to steal his roommate's girlfriend! Still though, I was willing to give it a shot, and lo and behold, I loved it! I think by now I should just learn to trust Keyes, because she can take even the most unpleasant scenario, and make me fall for her stories.

As you can tell, going in, I was very very wary of Aidan. Just from the first page, he gave off vibes of being selfish and completely thoughtless. But dammit if I didn't fall for the guy as the story progressed and we got to know more about him. There was a lot more to him than reformed car thief, and I liked how complex his characters are. Julianna Keyes knows how to develop and flesh out her protagonists, and it was no different here in My Roommate's Girl. Aidan was hard-working, driven and wants to make a good life for himself. More than anything, he's willing to go to lengths for his friends and loved ones and damn if that doesn't warm my cold heart. At first glance, Aster, is the complete opposite of Aidan. Sweet, wholesome and the good girl. But she has her secrets too and I have to say, I was quite surprised when they were revealed. But again, like Aidan, it really added to the richness of her character. I liked her a lot too, and loved how much she too wanted to change her life for the better.

I'm sure you're dying to know more about the romance between Aidan and Aster, and how it develops. Well let me tell you. Yes, Aidan pulls a stunt that causes Aster and her boyfriend, Jerry, to break up. Yeah, it will probably make you mad, but Aidan definitely shows regret and he grovels hard! Plus, there was no cheating involved AND Aster finds out very early on about what happens. Despite not wanting anything to do with him, they find themselves around each other, and they start a friendship that develops into more. And what a romance it was. I was completely invested in them, and wanted nothing more than for them to find their happily ever after together. There was no denying their emotional connection, and their physical connection was even hotter. Keyes knows how to write sweltering and swoony kisses, as well as some very steamy sex scenes. What I love best about her sex scenes are that they are never gratuitous - they serve a purpose in the book and that is to show the depth of the relationship between Aidan and Aster.

There's just something about Julianna Keyes writing that makes putting her books down impossible. You might have hesitations about My Roommate's Girl, but I say give it a try. I bet, like me, you'll be pleasantly surprised by how much you wind up loving Aidan and Aster's story. :)

Loved this book! I wasn't expecting the emotions in this one but I enjoyed it along with the humor, banter and steamy scenes. This is the perfect NA book for anyone who loves a good college romance! I really enjoy this authors writing and can't wait to read whatever she writes next!

In the beginning Aiden was such a jerk! I didn't really like him because he purposely set out to break up Jerry (his roommate) and Aster. Aiden saw Aster as this perfect girl that he just really wanted to get between the sheets. The thing I can't get over is how easily Jerry cheated ... yeah Aiden set the scene, but Jerry took the bait almost without hesitation. But as the story goes on Aiden became this likeable guy who just made a lot of wrong choices, but really wanted to change. And Aster ... well I don't want the say too much and spoil the story for others ... but WOW!

This story has lots of twists and turns and the connection that Aiden and Aster share is definitely there. I recommend you take their journey ... you won't regret it.

I received an ARC copy courtesy of the author through NetGalley in exchange for a honest review.

Full review to be published online in mid June.

MY ROOMMATE’S GIRL is Julianna Keyes latest NA entry. The premise is a bit cringe-worthy, as Aidan is difficult to like in the beginning. He is actively trying to sabotage his roommate’s romance because he’s decided he wants Aster for himself. Actually he wants to get her into his bed, but he’s willing to break them up for that opportunity. This puts him in a hole for the reader that he will have to dig himself out of to redeem himself to the reader. Fortunately, Keyes writes him as a sympathetic character that the reader eventually begins to root for.

Aidan is trouble, that’s a given from the beginning. He has been given a second chance at college, but that’s only there because he was given the choice of going to college or to prison. After two years on campus he has realized that he needs to be in an apartment, which leads to renting a space from Jerry.
Jerry’s pre-med and kind, and honest and friendly… and he has a super-hot girlfriend named Aster. From the first meeting, Aidan can’t help his attraction to her, and despite knowing he’s not a commitment kind of guy, he’s determined to break Jerry and Aster up just so he can sleep with her. Aidan creates a plan to break the couple up, and sets out to make it happen.

MY ROOMMATE’S GIRL is written in the standard NA dual pov, although we don’t get to Aster’s pov until later in the story. At that point, the reader (and Aidan) discovers that Aster is not quite the girl the reader is led to believe she is from Aidan’s point of view. Aidan has fixated on her as being ‘something special’ and has made a lot of assumptions about her. The reader is just as surprised as Aidan was when the truth comes out about Aster and some things about her are brought out into the open.

MY ROOMMATE’S GIRL is a great romance, well written and angsty as is typical of a NA novel. While I prefer Julianna Keyes more adult romances, the story definitely hits all the right spots. The writing is tight, the story interesting, and the character growth well done. The most difficult part of the story for the reader is the sacrificial lamb Jerry. He really needs to have his own story. He has a great deal of potential as a character and I would love to read more about him.

Don't be fooled by first impressions: Aidan isn't who you think is and neither is Aster, and that is the gorgeous riddle of their story. I thought this was going to be a fun, flirty college romance but it went in a direction far deeper, sexier and sweeter than expected.

At first, I was almost turned off by Aidan's self-absorbed and immature quest to get Aster to leave his roommate Jerry. After all, Aster and Jerry were happy and Aidan just wanted to have sex with Aster, nothing more. I was about to write off Aidan as nothing more than a cocky jerk, until wham, layers were peeled and secrets revealed. I shouldn't have doubted Julianna Keyes, the new queen of NA romance.

I can't describe much more than the blurb itself for fear of leaking spoilers. Like Aidan, you need patience when reading this. Wait for the big reveals. Then savor.

So I will admit. When I read the title I asked myself, is this an erotic novella? Because for me those are the only instances where a trope like this works.

Well somehow, Julianna Keyes, MADE wanting your roommate's girl work. She made me fall for the guy who was pretty crappy at first. It wasn't forced either. It just worked. Really really well. The story that's weaved really helps you fall for this characters without making you sympathize really. You get mad at them as you should, but then you are shown that even the bad guys can be redeemed.

Aidan makes poor choices. By the end. I love him.

Aster does some crappy things. By the end. I love her.

When I started reading it felt like a 3-star read. As it progressed it definitely earned all its stars back. This story is unexpectedly deep. The characters were multi-faceted and flawed. Although their flaws made them easy to be annoyed with, they made them even easier to love.

Sidenote: can we get a story about Missy and how her current situation ends up? I mean how fun would that story be?

Such a good concept- unfortunately this one didn't work for me and I didn't feel a connection between the characters at all!

I totally enjoyed this and I liked Aiden but I didn't really like Aster. Entertaining read but not something I'd re-read.