Thank you NetGalley for this eARC!

The American Roommate Experiment follows Lina's best friend, Rosie, and cousin, Lucas as they navigate a forced proximity situation... with pretty predictable consequences.

Just because it was predictable, though, doesn't mean it was any less enjoyable! It was a fun, light read. I enjoyed it just as much as the Spanish Love Deception (perhaps even a bit more, since it didn't have such an obvious comparison like SLD and The Hating Game).

The American Roommate was very cute! This book isn't for you if you like a fast-paced love story. Rosie and Lucas were accidental roommates in a studio apartment. Rosie was disappointed that Lucas (her cyber crush) did not attend his best friend's wedding (Read: Spanish Love Deception) but met him while staying in Lina's studio apartment when she thought he was an intruder. They eventually go on "experimental dates" to help Rosie get inspiration for her romance novels, and both lie by omission a bunch of things to each other and their loved ones. This book was a great fast read, and I enjoyed reading it, also note that you do not need to read the first book to enjoy this second one, but both of Elena Armas' books are good.

What an interesting concept! I truly appreciate the story that Elena Armas has created, and enjoyed the chaos of life she created. A little bit of love, little bit of questionable choices, and a whole lot of chaos! Another great book that I simply couldn't put down!

Thank you to Atria books for the review copy of this book!

For full transparency, I read this book in a very odd way. I started reading it, picked up Spanish Love Deception in the middle, and then finished this one. So I started this book with no context and finished it with the full picture.

First, I do think readers could enjoy The American Roommate Experiment without reading The Spanish Love Deception first. There are certainly sweet little nods to SLD in ARE--it was nice to understand Lina and Aaron's love story popping up here--but not knowing their story wouldn't ruin anything for Rosie and Lucas. And I did enjoy this book. In fact, I think I enjoyed it more than SLD. I liked the premise of Rosie and Lucas sharing a studio apartment together and I loved Lucas's golden retriever energy. I loved the fun dates and NYC setting, and I enjoyed the plot of Rosie's writer's block.

However, as in SLD I found that I am just not a slow burn girlie. And this is slooooow burn mostly because the novel is quite chunky, coming in at 400 pages. The spice doesn't hit until like 80% in, which is a lot of "come on and just kiss already!" for me. The secondary plot lines weren't quite strong/interesting enough for me to be as invested in those as I was in the emotional payoff of these two lovely character FINALLY leaning into their mutual crushes.

As in most romance novels, I struggle with the characters getting too wrapped up in worrying about their fears and miscommunicating with each other as a result. There are so many moments when they would have kissed but Lina is like, "but he's a player and doesn't want to be in a relationship, so he *can't* fall for me" or "but he lives far away so we can't kiss." Maybe it's the uhaul-ready lesbian in me that just wants all romance heroines to just TALK ABOUT THEIR FEELINGS and DISCUSS HOW THEY CAN MAKE AN LDR WORK, but geeze...it's exhausting.

Curmudeonly rants aside, I did like this. It's still a romance novel, I still got kissing and spicy bits and the emotional swell of a happily ever after. The spicy bits were fun and I enjoyed that the dual perspective narration allowed me to see into Lucas's inner thoughts as well. I do think many readers will enjoy this one more than SLD and should definitely pick this one up if they enjoyed Lina and Aaron's story.!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Guys...guys...I think I liked this book more than The Spanish Love Deception! I was so surprised by that because I really enjoyed the first one but there was something about these two characters that just made me happy and I wanted more and more from them. Usually I don't love the friends to lovers trope but in my opinion, that trope was done right in this book! I can't wait to read more from this author and this is definitely going to be a romance book I will recommend to friends and customers.

The American roommate Experiment is a extremely well done novel! Elena Armas did a great job of carrying over the characters of her previous book without making them the star of this one. We follow Rosie, Lina's best friend, and Lucas, Linas cousin. After a miscommunication both Lucas and Rosie end up staying in Lina's studio apartment while she's on her honeymoon. Lots of sparks fly as they end up living together in close quarters but with Lucas on a time limit, it's unclear how things are going to work out. I really enjoyed this book and can;t wait to see what Elena Armas writes next.

thank you to netgalley and the publishers for providing me with an arc for an honest review.

A romantic comedy with a Spanish heart throb who will make his way into your heart. Rosie meets Lina's (from The Spanish Love Deception) cousin, Lucas, in a meet cute and they end up being roommates. Rosie is a writer and Lucas decides to help her gain inspiration while they go through a series of "fake" dates. De Armas makes you fall in love with both Rosie and Lucas. You'll be rooting for them the whole time and hoping for that happily ever after.

Such a cute spin on a love story. A man and woman meet unexpectedly and their love develops through “experimental” dates. While unconventional, I think we all know what a happy ending looks like and Armas doesn’t disappoint!!

Loved this book! It was funny, the plot was unique and fresh, the characters were well developed. It did not hurt that the man could cook! I am a big fan of men who cook. Well crafted all around.

I enjoyed this one more than the authors previous book. Overall a good read. Thank you for the opportunity to read and review.

4.5 stars! I loved The Spanish Love Deception and I loved this one just as much. I’m not usually one for a slower burn but all of their banter made this book so enjoyable.

Thank you to the publisher via NetGalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Unfortunately, this wasn't my cup of tea. I still think it's a decent romance, but I felt like Rosie was a little too dramatic for someone who used to be considered a take-charge person in the office. I understand being nervous around a crush, but she was a little too much. Also, it was a little too slow burn for me.

Thank you to NetGalley for my ARC!! I was so excited for this book and I feel like it lived up to my expectations. I was seeing it all over the bookstagram world and was afraid I would end up being disappointed. I should start off by saying I have not read “The Spanish Love Deception” but I most definitely will be now! Everyone deserves a Lucas in their life and I am completely jealous of Rosie. Their love story was just so adorable. I did start to get a little frustrated about half way through because this is considered a slow burn. I just wanted to scream kiss her already! Every time I was convinced it was going to happen it never did. But I promise it’s worth the wait.

I did not finish this book at 25%. The characters seemed good and enjoyable but at the same time they still didn’t do anything to move the plot along! Eight chapters and in but it felt stuck at chapter two.

Firstly, I gotta say that when I requested this book I did not realize it was a sequel to The Spanish Love Deception (which I have not read yet).I just liked the cover and thought the concept was cool. That being said, it does technically work as a stand-alone in the sense that I had no issue understanding the story despite not having read the first book in the series. Ok, that out of the way now, my opinions on the book are that it was a rather enjoyable read. The main complaints I heard about the first book was that it was somewhat dragged out, and too slow for people's liking. I got that a little bit in this story, but for the most part thought the pacing was fine. My favorite part of the story by far were the characters. Rosie and Lucas were the cutest MCs and their slow-burn, friends to lovers, fake dating romance was an enjoyable journey to come along on. I also feel like the author may have been setting up a possible third book... Aiden the contractor anyone? I guess only time will tell. But overall, I would say I enjoyed The American Roommate Experiment and would be interested in reading other books by Elena Armas.

I enjoyed the romance between Rosie and Lucas, but I feel like I should have read the first book in this companion series first so that I would know the back story of Lina and Aaron. However, this is a great romantic comedy with the right amount of humor and the right amount of romantic steam. I also liked the relationships between friends and the fake dating trope.

If there is one thing that Elena Armas does better than anything else, it's create the ideal book boyfriend. I fell oh so in love with Aaron Blackford in Spanish Love Deception and Lucas Martin is my newest ideal man. I loved watching Rosie go from having had a crush on Lucas over Instagram to falling in love with him. I absolutely loved that road there. One thing that is important to note with this one is that it is highly dependent on having read Spanish Love Deception first. Often series aren't quite so reliant on being read in order but this one really, really is. Don't worry though, you'll love that one too!

LOVED this book! I didn't read book 1, but that didn't hinder my experience. This was such a sweet, swoonworthy book - I will read whatever the author writes next. Light on the steam but it was excellent - the banter & dialogue was so good. A very cute story that I recommend to rom-com fans!

I loved following this story from a continuation of the Spanish Love Deception. Lots of heart, humor, and sizzle moments!

The American Roommate Experiment was a solid read for me. I didn't love it as much as I loved The Spanish Love Deception, but it was still a great romance. Lucas was seriously a perfect book boyfriend. Lucas and Rosie were a perfect match and there were definitely some funny shenanigans that happen in this book. I would definitely recommend this book!