This book was so much fun! Just what I needed since I haven't been able to concentrate on anything heavy. Mutual pining is one of my favorite romance tropes, and this book has it in spades. The summary made me giggle --Connecticut socialist unknowingly moves in with a porn star--and it delivered on that and more. This is a must-read for anyone who likes romance, and I recommend it wholeheartedly

Thank you NetGalley for letting me read an early copy!

OMG I loved this book. It's exactly everything you want in a rom-com - funny, swoon-y, sexy, and sex positive! I devoured it in one sitting - straight cover to cover. I'd love a follow up book in the same world from Naomi's POV. I always hate reading books like this so fast because then I'm sad for the net few days that it is over. I hope Rosie writes another to fill the new hole in my heart.

The only thing I didn't like was when one the one antagonists was described basically as a fat, hungry slob. Words like 'portly' were used. I'd just like books to move away from demonizing fatter characters, especially when he was the only character described that way. Yes, LA valley agents can be sleeze-balls, but I don't think that needed to be shown through his weight.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3249791151?book_show_action=false

Oh, how I loved this book. Between the hardcore feminist message and incomparable sexual tension, THE ROOMMATE is officially one of my favorite rom-coms of all time, and I will read anything (I repeat: ANYTHING) that Rosie Danan writes in the future. This was cute, sexy, and all about female pleasure and the female gaze. In other words, it was perfect. Hands down one of my favorite books of 2020!

This was a fun story and I really enjoyed the positive depiction of those who work in adult entertainment. And Clara and Josh have great chemistry. I was surprised at the strong family themes throughout the story, but I loved seeing the expectations and pressures family can bring being explored.

In search of a contemporary romance read to escape into for a while? Allow me to tell you about the book that provided one of the most delightful reading experiences I've had in 2020: The Roommate. (Obviously, if you happen to be into the "and then they were roommates" romance trope, it is very much a given that this will tickle your particular fancy.) Clara Wheaton moves cross-country at the invitation of her childhood crush, only for him to leave her sharing a lease with a charming, handsome stranger named Josh who has made a name for himself as a porn star. Insert likable characters, witty banter, comedic shenanigans, heartfelt emotions, thoughtful commentary and the typical rom-com miscommunications, and the end result is this joy of a book! It had me laughing so hard I cried, text yelling at my friend DJ at just about every scene and deeply invested in this romance. Rosie Danan did such a great job bringing Clara, Josh and their love story to life in a way that entertained me from start to end. The Roommate was so much fun, dang it, and that's definitely something I know a lot of other readers will appreciate too. It's one of my favorite romance reads for 2020 and another title I'd recommend adding to your TBR!

I really liked this book and it has my favorite set up, the roommate trope! we follow our uptight, east coast socialite, clara, and she becomes roommates with josh, a laid back LA porn star with more charisma than clara knows what to do with. The opposites attract vibe of the story was really fun and I think the character's personalities complimented each other very well and the dialogue in this story was hilarious. This story also had so many heartwarming, cute moments of domesticity and i absolutely loved to see it. This was the forced proximity trope done right.

The story also delves into discussions about sex positivity, sex education, and it simultaneously validates performers in the adult entertainment industry while also calling out the unsavory aspects of porn production that often leaves performers at risk mentally, emotionally, physically and/or financially.

cons:
I really disliked some of the conflict near the end because it happens so quickly and while the issues that arose made perfect sense, I honestly could not buy the resolution of those issues, I think more time should have been spent unpacking that final disagreement instead of brushing it all aside with dramatic love declarations and rapidly wrapping things up. Either the book should have been longer to accommodate this narrative choice or the argument could have been avoided entirely because there was enough conflict to carry the story without it.

Also i really think this book wildly missed the mark in terms of clara's family prominence and her worries about reputation and the "society pages" and whatever the hell else. It really did not make sense to me that so much of her inner conflict revolves around this and yet we never encounter her family at all on page and we don't see her resolving her issues with them. It was a weird choice, or maybe i just don't care about rich girl problems idk. So the ending was not satisfying to me despite this book being really enjoyable prior to then so I'm feeling conflicted on how to rate my experience with the story.

3.5 stars but i suppose i'll round up.

The Roommate was sooooo much fun to read! I smiled so hard. My husband was making fun of me from across the room because of the gigantic smile on my face. I just couldn't help it. The Roommate was adorable, sweet, slightly innocent while also being extremely sexy. I don't know how Rosie Danan managed to combine those two things, but she did and she did it well.

What was so fun about this book? Well, it stars an uptight young women who is breaking free from her socialite upbringing. Clara thinks she's going to be roommates with her childhood best friend who she's had a crush on FOREVER. Everett throws a kink in her plans to seduce him when he rents out his room to someone else for the summer. Josh isn't at all what Clara was expecting for the summer -- he's a porn star. You can only imagine the shenanigans that take place once Clara figures out what Josh does for a living, and how things take a turn when Clara finds herself falling for Josh. It was all kind of crazy, sweet fun.

I guess what made me love this one so much was the writing and the romance. I am not a fan of third person, and this would have been that much better in first person, but I didn't care. I was so in love with the story and the way it was written. There was so much heart and that's what mattered. It was a fabulous read. I can't believe it was a debut novel! I cannot wait to find out what Danan has coming next.

First off, look at this cover! Right away, I knew I wanted to read about the characters on that couch, and thankfully, the story didn't disappoint.

Pairing a wealthy, sexually inexperienced socialite with a porn star hero as her roommate for the summer was pretty much everything you'd expect it to be, and yet I found myself pleasantly surprised at how sex positive and sweet the story was (it's sexy but not erotica).

I had a few editorial quibbles about some of the characterizations and conflict, but mostly that's just because there was so much potential with this story and setup. Overall, it was a quick, fun read, and I already can't wait to see what Danan writes next.

RATING: B+ (4½ stars)

*3.5* This was a really fun read! It offers a fresh twist on the "unlikely couple" trope with a prudish, good-girl finding herself roomates and eventually business partners with a well known porn star. The character and relationship development are well done and the steam-factor is just right. I will be reading more from Rosie Danan for sure!

I enjoyed this book, but immediately forgot I had even read it. While the concept is cute and original (shy rich gal trying to avoid the limelight runs smack into a famous porn star), what exactly happens in the plot was not. Clara is the quintessential poor little rich girl who is too naive to survive in Los Angeles let alone the socio-political maneuverings of rich society. She's a bit hard to root for. Josh is a woke porn star and the author uses him to make some excellent points about the industry and sex work...except the reality of that type of work is still dark and difficult. I enjoyed reading it and am looking forward to talking about some of the points the author made, but the premise and discussion points took precedence over the actual romantic plot. Which, honestly, is okay sometimes.

3.5 Stars
I can not in good faith give this 4 stars because it missed the mark for me in several places.

Positives: The premise of the story is about Clara a naive East Coast girl who travels across the country to pursue the guy she has been secretly in love with since she was a kid. When she gets to L.A. she finds the boy she moved across the country for has up and left with his band and in his place is a guy on Craigslist that applied to be a roommate for the summer. Her new roommate is not only hot but also a porn star. The story that follows is a sex positive story that is different than anything else on the market right now and will be catnip for those 50 shades of Grey fans. There is also some really great one liners and the banter can be great.

Negatives: This book needed to either have more sex in it to be an erotica or more romance in it to be a romance novel. It feels stuck in a weird place were it is sexually explicit but not in a thrilling way. The sex is very clinical in a way that it isn't in an erotica and the romance feels lukewarm. I needed more connection and more reason for these two to be together.

Maybe I just done reading about rich white girls who have sexual awakening stories? The writing is very good and there were several interesting characters. I loved Naomi and wished through parts of the book that I could be inside her head.

Give to fans of Helen Hoang, who can't wait for her to write another book already and 50 Shades of Grey fans.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Fantastic book. I found myself not wanting to put it down. The scenes are sexy and titillating. The realness of the characters and events make for a more interesting book. A wealthy socialite and a pornstar find themselves as roommates. His charming ways and her uptight ways make for an interesting clash. These two find love, but how feasible is it for them to make a relationship work?

The Roommate is WILD in the best possible way. It follows two roommates who team up to challenge the male gaze of the porn industry. I've never read anything quite like it and haven't been able to stop thinking about it since I read it. Can't wait till September to talk about it with everyone I know! We've already selected it as the October pick for my romance book club. I'm excited to see what Rosie does next!

Oh boy this took a turn I didn’t see coming at all—in a good way. It’s fun and steamy and totally different than anything I’ve ever read. If you’re in the mood for a romance that will literally make you forget about everything else, pick this one up!

Why yes I did just binge this in almost one sitting. Would I encourage others to do it? Absolutely!

I loved this book. Clara was such a fun character. I liked that she was a bit odd and knew she hadn't quite found her niche. As we progress we find out a bit more about her background that allows us to really love her character.

Josh's character was not what I was expecting and I loved it. He added the perfect banter and wit. He also has some baggage that we get to work through as a team.

Together Clara and Josh were so much fun. I love a close-proximity romance and this one didnt disappoint.

I enjoyed that the added baggage of this story didnt feel too heavy. It was necessary but didnt make the book feel overwhelming.

I dont want to give away any spoilers so I will remain vague. Just know... I loved it! I love when people get together and kick down the big man!

Thank you so much Berkley for the advanced readers copy. All thoughts are my own.

This book was everything I didn’t know I needed. Clara and Josh make a wonderful team and I love how fate brings them together. This book has empowered me and has the potential to empower many other women too.

Rosie Danan if you’re reading this right now, THANK YOU!!!! Thank you for writing a romance novel with great sex scenes and positive empowerment for women in the bedroom!!!

The storyline of the book was surprising for me. I went in to this one thinking it would be another stereotypical forbidden love story, but it was so much more. I loved how this story highlights the importance of a woman’s satisfaction in the bedroom and the importance of being comfortable when being intimate with someone. Besides the steam, the actual relationships between characters was very well written. I really felt connected to Clara and her sense of not wanting to disappoint people. It’s one of the things I struggle with daily. I honestly don’t think I can write enough good things about this one without telling you all the good stuff so just trust me when I say it deserves all the stars!! Way better than 50 Shades of Gray in my book!! 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 & 🍆🍆🍆🍆🍆 for steam

This book was fine for what it was, which was a very slight romance that never fully engaged me.

The premise of the book reminds me of Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, in which a woman upends her life and moves from NY to LA for a chance at unrequited love. In the book's case, her unrequited love flakes, and she ends up unexpectedly roommates with a porn star. It's a good meet cute!

I just never liked her character. Apart from the fact that it's hard to make me root for someone whose worries are about Greenwich, CT??? Gossip papers??? she just seemed to have the emotional intelligence of a teenager.

Nothing about the story felt lived-in or specific. She had a Ph.D. in art history, but nothing about her path to that degree seemed to bust her out of her sheltered and naive existence. She nepotistically got a job in politics, but the author didn't have the courage to be specific about even the political party. That and that the campaign was being run on a platform of "family values" made me side eye it.

Similarly, I don't think this book was written with deep knowledge of or research into the porn industry. It seemed to tee-hee at a lot of sexual things instead of incorporate them into the story in fun ways. And the project in the book that puts the two main characters together, a "feminist sex ed" kind of site, didn't feel actually new or vital in the way it was described.

All that is to say, the chemistry between the two main characters is there and makes the book readable, and every other part of the plot is weak.

Thank you to Berkley Pub and NetGalley for a gifted copy of this book. All opinions are my own. Pub Date - 9/15/2020.

You are going to need a cold shower while reading this debut novel because it's a hot one! I had a great time watching Clara squirm as Josh tries to rile her up. It's always fun to watch someone all prim and proper crack a little bit. They go from physical attraction to love quite quickly though and doesn't really address one of the main questions in the story - how will Clara's socialite family feel about Clara dating Josh? It does all wrap up nicely. Aside from the romance, I thought Rosie Danan did a fantastic job highlighting an industry/topic we don't usually read in a novel. She calls out the stigma and marginalization of the adult entertainment industry and shares a different perspective. People get into the industry for different reasons and are often judged automatically, including family and friends. This book is also very sex positive and celebrates healthy intimacy between partners.

If you love the Kiss Quotient, I think you will enjoy this one!

A delightful debut romance that is perfect for long time fans as well as new! Has both the romance tropes and themes we know and love as well as some new ones that turn the genre on its head. I loved the sex positivity and discussions surrounding sex work. Overall a great read!