The Roommate by Rosie Danan was super sweet a lot of fun.

We have the shy, academic, socialite woman, Clara, who has never stepped a toe out of line in her life. In a turn of events that she wasn't expecting, Clara ends up being roommates with a really sexy.... porn-star! We get to watch these two strangers learn about each other and about themselves, as well.

A sweet, cute, light-hearted romp of a romance.

I really enjoyed this book! I found the relationship development between Josh and Clara to be done so well. I loved that they didn't immediately fall in love with one another but instead became friends before entering into a relationship. The banter between the characters was also my FAVORITE thing ever. I found the relationship to be so natural and realistic. The steamy scenes were also done very well. The only gripe that I have with this book was how quick the conflict was resolved, I felt as though it should not have happened at all or taken longer to resolve.

T his book induced insomnia I haven’t felt since the summer The Deathly Hallows dropped. I’d wake up and crave it. Toss and turn in my sleep anticipating reading it. Have you ever had it bad for a book?!

I have never read a character quite like Josh Darling. He’s wholesome without being cheesy and horny without being gross. His charm radiates off the page almost immediately. He’s so casually respectful and self-correcting that it’s just in his nature. There is something so indescribably ... sexy about how Josh Darling approaches consent and respects boundaries. With everyone, not just with Clara.

Scenes I would think I’d cringe at actually had me fanning myself. I’d catch myself sweating and think “yeah, this is it”. I’ve read MUCH raunchier material, this book is not necessarily tame though, but so much of this book made even me blush.

I’ve never read a romance novel that presents sex work/ers with such care and respect. Even some of the kinkiest romance novels demonize sex work and villainize sex workers. The Roommate is so much the opposite in the sweetest way. I really loved it

Reviewed for Shelf Awareness. This review will be published around release date.
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The Roommate, Rosie Danan's debut romance is sexy, funny and absolutely charming. When Clara leaves her wealthy Connecticut family behind to move in with her childhood crush in California, she's shocked to find that he's taken off on tour with his band and in his place is Josh, a complete stranger who turns out to be a performer in the adult entertainment industry. As outgoing as Clara is reserved, Josh is easy to like and to live with. If only they could shake this pesky chemistry between them.
Danan treats her subject matter with a great deal of respect. The Roommate is feminist and sex-positive and Danan makes sure to center both the good and the bad within the adult entertainment industry. When Josh is threatened by the unethical production company holding his contract, he and Clara, along with Josh's performer ex, develop a project aimed at educating viewers on female pleasure. Moreover, while the book is high on steam and humor, it's not sexy because of the fact that the male lead is a sex-worker. While both characters are initially attracted to each other, their physical relationship builds in time with their emotional connection. Both have their own hang-ups to work through and their self-conscious pining is a nearly palpable thing.
Incredibly sweet and romantic, The Roommate serves up a passionate but buoyant love story between two slightly lost people who figure out they have more to offer the world than they ever thought.
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I received a copy of this book from the publisher for review.

This book was not what I expected, and I loved it! It feels strange to say that a book with a sub plot about positively portraying the adult film industry was quite refreshing. But it was, and for me this added plot line was completely unexpected and very well navigated (if a little too conveniently resolved in the end, but still, I'll forgive that because this isn't a legal drama).

Josh and Clara had amazing tension from the get go, and Danan did a wonderful job of building realistic tension while actually allowing the characters to be friends first, before ultimately declaring their love. Nothing felt too rushed, the characters were flawed, Clara and Josh's ex Naomi weren't enemies (finally, women can be friends!), and I'm so beyond happy that Danan wrote a male protagonist who cries to his mother when his heart gets broken- because that's exactly what would happen.

The only point in which the book fell a tiny bit short was the ending - I wish it hadn't wrapped up so fast and that we got to hear about Clara's family's reactions to Josh and Clara's business. And what happened to Everett? Did he ever return from his tour? Do Josh and Clara still live in his house? These questions aside however, this book was a delightful addition to the rom-com genre.

* ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

A woman who's never felt desirable moves in with "the hottest man in the world" who finds her irresistible and centers his world around her. It's a powerful fantasy and one readers will flock to. Add in the sex positivity and a few subplots about empowerment through a new business venture, a successful lawsuit, a fear overcome, and a family estrangement that gets tied up, and it has all the makings of an insanely popular read. While my personal tastes run more toward a focus on an emotional connection between characters, this one is already finding its readers and will no doubt continue to do so. I always appreciate books that celebrate female sexuality rather than burying it or treating it as a problem, and this book celebrates in spades.

Clara is uptight and inflexible because she’s the only person in her family who hasn’t inspired scandal in the WASP-y community she grew up in. But she decides to take a risk and move across the country to pursue the man she always thought she’d end up with but who has never made a move. Once she gets there, she finds out that she’s still unwanted and ends up living with a stranger instead of the guy she thought cared about her.

This story isn’t overly complicated or dark, and there’s little mystery in how the story will evolve, but the characters were awesome. Clara and Josh are polar opposites, but they get along and rely on each other in ways that seem to be foreign to both of them. The plotting was perfectly paced and I totally loved watching Clara grow throughout the story. This is a sweet and uncomplicated story about a woman who grows and changes and a man who figures out what he wants in life while also learning how to demand what he’s worth.

3.5/ 5 stars

The Roommate is a sexy contemporary romance. Even though the cover is cutesy this book is super sexy. And the topics in this book were much more adult than I was expecting.

The narrators are Clara and Josh (3rd person POVs).

Clara moves to Los Angeles to stay with her friend Everett. But things do not go as expected. Clara is a pampered socialite who has her doctorate in art history. She is very prim and proper.

There were definitely parts of this story that I was extremely fascinated by. Everything to do with her Aunt Jill and the job that Jill was working on were very interesting to me. Also the stuff with Black Hat held my interest.

I didn't read the book blurb before starting this book. But I did read it afterwards. And to me I feel like it did not accurately portray the type of book that The Roommate is. There are a lot of romance readers who like racy topics and very sexy books. But I would prefer to know that is what the book is in advance.

Overall, I enjoyed the book while reading it. It was a quick read. But it was not really what I was expecting.

The premise and the first half of the book were really great, but my enjoyment dwindled as the book went on because the plot got a little convoluted. Nonetheless, it had great characters with AMAZING chemistry & tension, and also some really important topics dealing with sex work and sex positivity.

Cara comes from the upper class Connecticut elite. When she moves across the country to follow her long time love, she is shocked when she arrives and he immediately leaves her at his house with a random roommate he found off craigslist. Then she finds out Josh is not just her roommate, but a porn star. This is NOT what Cara signed up for…but could it turn out to be for the best?

So it’s no secret that I can be a prude. My mom calls me a nun! While I am not a nun, I am also very much like Cara in the beginning of this book! I have never been super comfortable talking about all that jazz. So needless to say, this book was a bit too much for me. I love a good sex scene in a book, but this one was just a little too off for my taste. Maybe it was a little bit to textbook about it? I guess I expected it to be a bit on the funnier/sexy side. I felt like Cara’s character didn’t live up to everything should could have been. Overall, I still enjoyed this one, just not as much as I expected to.

𝙁𝙞𝙧𝙨𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙨 𝙛𝙞𝙧𝙨𝙩. 𝙏𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙨𝙝𝙞𝙩 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙃𝙊𝙏 🔥🔥⁣
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Anyways, I love a good roommate trope and this one was executed with perfection.⁣
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When you throw Clara an east cost socialite and super hot porn star Josh into one house for the summer you already know what’s going to happen. Predictable? Yes. Did this make me love it any less? Nope. ⁣
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Throughout the book I fell inlove with both of them and the connection that blossomed. I loved how Josh helped Clara grow from this timid girl into a full blown badass. And how Clara made Josh believe in himself.⁣
The ending was easily my favorite part. What can I say I’m a sucker for HEA 🙃💘⁣
I also loved how Rosie brought attention to the not so pretty parts of the porn industry.⁣
I can’t wait to read more from her 🥰.⁣
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I don’t know what else to say besides pick this up when it’s released on (9-15-2020) 💕⁣
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Thank you @NetGalley and @berkleyromance for this Arc in exchange for an honest review.⁣
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My preference is for romances that lean a little more into the story rather than the sex, and I did sort of feel that some of the plot elements were a bit perfunctory (the DA election storyline seemed especially forced in) and the world seemed to sort of stop where the characters did: the two leads have families, for example, but they don't feel overly real, more like ideas with some effect on the plot. Still, it's a fun little read, especially in the scenes of friendship/falling in love. And I have a patron who, during my first week of work, called up and said, "Honey, I was married to an Italian stallion for 35 years. I need you to recommend some of your raunchiest, filthiest books for me." I'll mention this one to her when we have it in.

Smart PHD graduate society girl moves cross country to get a relationship with her chosen man only to be dumped with a male porn star for a roommate. The odd couple plus. She’s conservative prude, he’s an unabashed endowed porn star. She doesn’t know who is for a while she just goes with the flow while making plans to get to her man again. Yes the same man who already dumped her, not that they ever had any relationship. It’s all on her, and felt obsessive. So, they live together, she is a tight rope he’s an easy flow type of guy.
I enjoyed the story but didn’t feel any strong connection between these two. His background her background, it just was too removed from each other. The story was very fresh, very new, I didn’t even care that the two main characters didn’t mesh for me I enjoyed the story.
I received a copy from the publisher for an honest review

As soon as I picked this up I knew I was going to love it and I did! Me being a sex positive person I loved this with all my heart. It was funny, it was hot, it was fantastic! Highly Recommend!

This was most definitely a steamy read. I’ve heard it compared to Fifty Shades, but feminist, and I think that’s an accurate representation. However, there was definitely a solid plot that held the story together. I felt like the magic in this book didn’t rely on explicit scenes and shock value. It was a solid story with enough depth on its own, the steam only added to it.

The premise of this book is a rom-com lover’s dream: two people forced to live in a shared space together. What could possibly go wrong? Roomies is one of my favorite Christina Lauren books so I jumped on the chance to read The Roommate, whose synopsis was similar. I found myself easily entertained and overall enjoyed reading The Roommate!

When I started the book, I was convinced I was going to adore Clara. At the risk of getting too personal, I found myself relating to her easily: we both have unrequited feelings and fantasize about being with someone who will, quite frankly, never be ours. I easily connected with her on that front. However, despite that connection with her character, she fell flat. Her character had no depth and she was underdeveloped.

My favorite part of the book was all the sex positivity and the steamy romance scenes. Josh is a well-known porn star, and I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t intrigued by that direction the author went in for his occupation. The book sheds a new light on the adult entertainment industry, which is often looked down upon in shame. I thought the author did a great job showing that industry in a more positive way, while also illustrating some of the more unpleasant aspects like abuse (mental, sexual, financial, etc).

And while the sex scenes between Clara and Josh were excellently written and very hot, the actual chemistry between the two was sadly missing. I could never feel the angst and sexual tension between them. The lack of connection between them affected my ability to really believe in their romance and the authenticity of their relationship.

The Roommate does a fantastic job with one of the best romance tropes: forced proximity. Overall, I enjoyed reading this book and would definitely recommend it to other fans of contemporary romance books. My only complaints were the lack of palpable tension between the characters and a flat heroine.

Rating: 4.5 Stars

Clara never does anything impulsive, however, in a bid to make her lifetime crush into more, she picks up and moves to California. But upon her arrival, she discovers that her roommate will not be the man she has been pining for, but rather, Josh Darling an, ahem, adult performer.

I have read many "roommate" books, but this pairing really stands out among the rest. On paper, Josh and Clara seemed like opposites. He was a college drop out, she had a PHd. He was relaxed and subsisted on junk food, while she was tightly wound and a religious veggie eater. He was happy to share his secrets to sexually please her, and she was considered a prude. They definitely appeared to be a study in contrasts. They found they had a lot more in common than they originally anticipated, and it was beautiful watching them share these hidden pieces of themself with each other.

As a lifelong romance reader, I have read a plethora of sex scenes, and there were several in this book, but they were used in a very different way. Normally sex is part of the relationship building, which it also was in this book, but they were also a path for self growth for Clara. She was very buttoned up and always worried about rocking the boat. As a people pleaser, she often made her decisions based on what others would want or think, and she rarely took her own desires into consideration. These steamy bits were all about Clara finding her own pleasure, and it was empowering for her. She discovered a lot of non-sexually related things about herself during these encounters, and I thought that was an interesting use of something we often see in most romance books.

Clara grew so much over the course of this story. She was mingling with people she would have never mixed with before. She was trying new things. She was moving outside of her comfort zone, and she was finding these talents and desires she never knew she had. She was facing fears head on and going after things she wanted. She was putting herself first, and I loved it.

Josh also grew quite a bit. He sort of bought into this image of himself that was crafted by other people. They thought he was only one thing, but he was so much more. With Clara by his side, he was bold enough to take some chances and reach for goals he never thought he could attain. He learned to stop underestimating himself and other people, and great things resulted from this.

These two were precious together. I love the smolder and the heat. Every time they fell into that we-don't-belong-together garbage, I wanted to scream, but I was willing to ride this ship to the bitter end. This lovable hero and evolving heroine won my heart, and I shouted and screamed as I cheered them on to their HEA.

Overall I enjoyed this read but didn’t love it. The steam factor, romance was there but it was just a little lacking for me for some reason.
Don’t get me wrong it’s a great romance read & I definitely will recommend it. I just don’t think I loved it as much as I wanted to.

When a member of the East Coast elite finds her ever-so-proper-self sharing an apartment with a hot, laidback, free-thinking porn star not only will passions rage, but so will humor and heart-melting romance!

Rosie Danan’s THE ROOMMATE is THAT read that defines fun, sexy and memorable reading guaranteed to leave romantics smiling. Imagine thumbing one’s nose at “The Establishment,” and getting away with it! Imagine stepping, no, leaping out of your comfort zone and into the arms of the last person on Earth you could ever have imagined!

Swoon-worthy, cute, quick and witty, a perfect feel-good read when you need a little sexy sunshine and shenanigans!

I received a complimentary ARC edition from Berkley! This is my honest and voluntary review.

Thank you Berkley for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review. So at first when I started this book, I was a little thrown. I honestly thought I knew how it was going to go. But then it caught me by complete surprise and took a turn for the best! I love Clara! Like sooooo much! I love that her character is more reserved and she’s okay with being exactly who she is. I think often times in novels we see female characters who are sexy and a little more scandalous and rarely do we get Claras. And Josh. Oh my heart! I loved Josh! He’s a dream! You can tell he has a sweet heart and he is falling for Clara and he’s just absolutely adorable. I love when men comfort women when they are embarrassed and he does so much for Clara to help her grow as a character.

Thank you so much for sending me this book! It’s on my top reads for the year !