I really enjoyed the aspect of this very old vampire being in a coma and waking up 100 years later. Him learning the world was so funny. I loved all his notes, texts, and letters included at the beginning of every chapter. Honestly these were some of my favorite moments of the book. Otherwise I didn't really feel the romantic connection. I don't feel like I really knew the characters after the book was over either.

My Rooommate is a Vampire is a delight of a paranormal rom-com. Readers that grew up loving Twilight, True Blood, and any other media that featured old-fashioned vampire heroes falling in love with quirky, contemporary heroines will devour this book. 100% will read again, and recommend to all of my friends.

Review for my roommate is a vampire

3.5 out of five

I actually loved the characters and world building in this book. I also loved that the conflict was not an easily cleared up misunderstanding. The little bits of Fredericks letters/lists/texts we saw were delightful and such a good insight into his personality.

The reason I took some points off is simply it’s extremely rushed. 72 percent of it is build up and the conflict and action is maybe ten percent the book and introduced way too late. I would have loved it if this book had maybe a 100 more
Pages.

However it’s very funny and charming and I am looking forward to the sequel she has set up!

I got about 80% through this book before I threw in the towel and gave up. I kept waiting for it to become funnier or to care about the characters more, but it wasn't happening. I feel like Cassie is flat and is just waiting on the guy to give her value. She is also clueless to obvious things that I found annoying. And the vampire? I just... He is meh. I hope the author keeps writing, but this book was not a win for me.

The premise was good. It started out well but the writing just didn't live up to the possibilities.

I will try to give a review with as little detail as possible for anyone who would like to read this story. The basic premise of the story hooked me right away. Cassie Greenberg is being evicted and in desperate need to a new place to live and she finds an ad on Craigslist (does anyone still use Craigslist?) offering a room in a luxurious apartment in a sought after neighborhood for only $200 a month? There has to be something very wrong with that. $200 doesn't even come close to what must be half the rent, so why would someone be renting a room for so little? Maybe he's a serial killer looking for his next victim? Beggers can't always be choosers so Cassie takes her BFF along to meet her possible new roommate.

Frederick doesn't seem like a serial killer and since the $200/month listing is really his fault, he won't burden Cassie with his error and if she wants the room, it is hers for $200 a month. Beggers/choosers and Cassie agrees to move in and hopes not to end up on a milk carton.

What grabbed me would be why is this vampire renting a room for so little money. He obviously doesn't need a roommate financially, so what's the deal. Of course, we only know Frederick is a vampire due to the title of the story but there is no question that there is something very weird about Frederick. He is wearing a suit right out of a Jane Austin movie casting. He leaves the most formal notes for Cassie written in perfect penmanship over mundane roommate concerns instead of jotting on a post-it note. He doesn't own any pots or pans or even has any food in the house. So I was pulled into the story right away waiting to find out just why a vampire needed a human roommate.

First, I felt rushed by the romance between Cassie and Frederick without enough interactions or even note leaving that would really foster the sudden obsession. Also, some of Frederick's one (long) step out of modern society felt too oblivious or flip-flopped between too old world vampire and modern society. For example, Cassie and Frederick are at a party and they end up in the bathroom together. When someone knocks on the door and Cassie says "We'll be right out." Frederick is shocked that Cassie isn't worried about her reputation being found alone with him. Uh, she's been living alone with him for several weeks before this, yet he never mentions any concern for Cassie's reputation as an unmarried woman living with a single man. Later that evening the sexy times occur, but Frederick isn't concerned about Cassie's virginity or saving herself for a husband. He doesn't concern himself to even question is Cassie has had lovers before.

Yes, some of these things are intended to be funny fish-out-of-water moments but they didn't all jive. Frederick was still wearing old fashioned clothing, but unless he just popped his head out of the coffin today after a 100 year nap, he had to know that his clothing was old fashioned and what vampire survived so long who didn't learn to blend into his environment. He even had a vampire friend, who he didn't fully like, but he saw the other vampire wearing modern clothing. Why was he still wearing his out of date fashion?

I had hoped that the big event at the end of the story could have been an excuse to pull out some obscure Buffy the Vampire slayer plot twist for fun so Cassie can save the day, but the solution was kind of a nonsensical attempt for human Cassie to win against the big bad vampires which left me going "Really? That's it?" It was a lost opportunity to be campy and fun, especially when Buffy was brought up once Cassie finds out about vampires.

This appears to be a debut story for Jenna Levine and when I picked up this story it had a lot of promise for fun but the character development and the story execution fell flat which was disappointing.

Overall I thought this was a pretty good book! It was definitely very sweet and very funny. I don't know if it ended up being super up my alley, but I definitely have an idea of the sort of person I might recommend it to and I totally would.

This was not what I was expecting at all but its a really cute read! It's definitely on the quirkier/non threatening end of the vampire scale. It reminded me of those Hallmark movies where a guy from the past somehow gets transported to the present and falls in love with the woman who shows him the ways of the modern world. There were definitely some laugh out loud moments as Frederick tried to figure out the modern world. He and Cassie are definitely an opposites attract story.

Cassie has some serious self esteem issues and it was nice to watch that grow as the book goes on, even if. I'm totally one of those people that understands but just is not a fan of her type of art. Frederick also has some self growth that he experiences throughout the book. The thing I liked least about the book was definitely the third act conflict. The resolution felt very silly to me but other than that this was a really fun read.

Great introduction to a new author for me, and a wonderful addition to our collection for our patrons. I look forward to more! THANK you!

A fun spin on a vampire romance, with hilarious voice and characters. Frederick and Cassie's banter was hilarious as was his correspondence with her and Reginald. I hope we see more light paranormal crossover books in the future!

This book was so fun! It’s always great to see a different take on a vampire, and I feel like this book allowed for that. Cassie is struggling financially and finds an amazing deal on rent in a wonderful area in downtown Chicago. Only catch? Her roommate is a vampire. Frederick needs help navigating the 21st century without drawing attention to who he is. These two are total opposites and yet it works out perfectly.

Right when I thought I had read everything under the sun, and nothing could make me experience joy and laughter again in a book (I was in a bit of a reading rut), I came upon this absolutely delightful book by author Jenna Levine. I am hoping it is optioned for a movie. I would give it 6 out of 5 stars if I could. The writing was fantastic, very relatable, funny, witty with real life romance combined into a great "coming of age" story for a very old vampire and "the girl next door". Highly recommended in my library!!

My Roomate is a Vampire by Jenna Levine, was a fun, light, and quick romance. There wasn't as much chemistry or banter than I like in my romance, but it was still cute and readable.

I absolutely adored this book. My Roommate Is a Vampire is a sweet, funny rom com by Jenna Levine.
When Cassie sees an ad for a roommate, she's sure something must be wrong since the price is listed at 200 dollars per month. Especially when the apartment is in the Lincoln Park neighborhood of Chicago which means rent can easily cost 10 times that amount. However, Cassie is working several jobs, and just trying to scrape by so the offer is too good to pass up. Plus her new roommate, Frederick J Fitzwilliam, is very hot. A little strange sure, and seems to act like he's fresh out a Victorian novel, but for the price, she's determined to make it work.
This was so fun to read. There were parts of this book that I could not stop giggling at and I absolutely loved the relationship between Cassie and Frederick.

Hello my paranmoral romance friends, My Roommate Is a Vampire is a great beach read for those who love a simple m/f romance. It's fun, it's got some great witty text and interaction, and it's a quick read. If you want an easy vacation read that will put you in a good mood, this is for you. Like all paranormal romances, there are some things that happen where the reader will have to suspend reality - obviously as this is a paranormal universe. And the trope of a person over 100 years and then entering the present world has been done many times before. BUT this one is still fun and our hero, Frederick J. Fitzwilliam is cute. As long as you go into knowing it's not going to win any pulitzer prize or booker award for fiction, and you like a simple m/f rom-com, this will fit the bill for your next beach read.

I saw this book on bookstagram and it had such a nostalgic vibe (I’m thinking late 90s Disney Channel Original Movie or romcom with too much silly to actually spook).

The story was, indeed, pretty silly. It was fun. It was light. It was quick.

I didn’t walk away feeling particularly touched or like there was anything fully developed (character or plot wise). It was entertaining enough to speed read. The conflict and resolution are both ridiculous. But if you’re looking for a fast palate cleanser between heavier reads this might be one to consider.

I throughly enjoyed this one and will be adding the book to my collection. It was such a fun rom com I highly recommend it. And I love that it’s gaining traction on bookstagram it deserves it! So so good!

This was ok. I liked Frederick's outdated mannerisms and how they created comedic relief. I didn't care for the various epistolary sections in place of actual face-to-face interaction to build the relationship. It's a pretty generic romance and didn't have the wow factor I was expecting, although I definitely clocked the Reylo fanfic aspect before I knew this started as a Reylo fanfic.

Cassie Greenberg is a struggling artist with an out of the ordinary art style very few people understand. She is once again being evicted from another Chicago apartment do to financial troubles when her friend finds an ad on Craigslist for a roommate that is just too good to be true. She knows something must be up for such a cheap room in such a ritzy part of town, but she's hard up for a place to stay so she decides to check it out.

Fredrick J. Fitzwilliam is a far cry from normal. He dresses like he's striaght out of Downtown Abbey, keeps weird hours, likes a dark motif in his antique ladened apartment, doesn't like sunlight and his weird I Love Lucy looking kitchen appears like it has never been used. But he is kind and considerate, leaving Cassie cute notes around the apartment, occasional gifts of fruit, etc. Let's not forget he's mouthwateringly hot.

So what did I think?

This book started off as everything I hoped it would be. It was definitely the Com in rom-com. There was even one instant it got me to laugh out loud. After all, the blunders of a vampire over 200 years old after he's been out of it for roughly 100 years can be truly funny. I enjoyed Fredrick's scathing texts to Reginald, the cute back an forth notes to Cassie and even some of the emails. It's true that Fredrick's POV pieces were a bit short, which is a shame because I liked him far more then I liked Cassie, but what we got, was good.

Cassie was okay as the female lead in the book....yeah, that's what I got for her. lol I also didn't quite understand her art medium, though you could argue some of it could reflect the negative impact humans tend to have on their environment with all their trash. I dunno. As a person I found her...average. A little bit of a Mary Sue who believes she's nothing special despite being described as having cute little freckles, enough boob and curvy hips. Oh and utterly hot in a bikini to a 200 year old vampire. As a Mary Sue, she obviously needs some rescuing. And it's financial rescuing this time (something new) as she works two jobs, upcycles a lot of her art material, but still can't make rent. Student loans are a b**ch.

But I did like that one of her jobs was in a library, helping create children's programs that exposes them to art and a love of reading. But obviously I am VERY biased. Though I don't know why anyone would find a library a negative thing...

The second half of the book lost a lot of the Com but picked up on the Rom. Ancient vampire blunders were less funny and more...awkward interactions with humans? After the coffee thing, I didn't find anything else overly humorous, although I am sure the Taylor Swift thing was supposed to be. I know people like that though so, meh. The romance was alright. When they finally got 'busy' all I could think was "blood kink?" even though I knew he was a vampire. If you are looking for a lot of smut, this vampire book isn't it. There's only one part I would qualify as any sort of smut. lol

But as a romance, not bad. The two of them had time to get to know each other, they didn't rush into anything. The epilogue was set an appropriate distance from the end of the book for what happened to keep any realist romance lover, such as myself, very happy with the pacing of events. Literally a VERY believable ending.

The writing quality was good, which isn't always a thing with romance novels. None of the dialogue felt clunky to me. I have nothing to complain about when it comes to quality...though the formatting of the text messages was a little weird on my e-reader, but that, I believe, was totally my e-reader because it likes to do that for some reason.

Conclusion?

Cassie, unfortunately, is a bit forgettable as she fit into the stereotypical female lead role without too much to define her from others. I confess that despite finishing the book this morning while cooking my breakfast, I had to look up her first name cause all I had in my head was "Miss Greenberg." lol Thanks Fredrick. But I'll probably remember the names of Fredrick and Reginald for awhile because those two gentlemen, though only briefly together on page, were hilarious together. The contempt from Fredrick...divine comedic effect. I approve.

Probably going to mention this book to several people...and ask my local library if they would be willing to get it. It's worth reading again in the future.

This was such a cute and quirky romcom!

Cassie is a down-on-her-luck artist looking for an apartment. When she sees an ad asking for a roommate, and the rent is only $200, she's skeptical but desperate, so she moves in. That's when she starts noticing her roommate is, a. devastatingly hot, and b. he's a bit ... odd. From his dated decor preferences to the fact he doesn't own any cookware and only comes out a night, something isn't adding up. When she comes home early one day to find a bunch of stolen bags from the blood bank in the fridge, she realizes the truth; Her roommate is a vampire.

This was SO CUTE! The letters between Fredrick and Cassie had me swooning, and her lessons teaching him how to blend into modern-day society were so funny. She helps him navigate social media and convinces him to trade in his cravat for blue jeans. And Fredrick? He was sooo sweet. I mean, he saw ONE picture of her in a bikini on Instagram and couldn't look her in the eye FOR TWO DAYS. Adorable. The third-act conflict was even resolved quickly, which I really liked. Overall, I really enjoyed this. A fun, easy, comfort read.

A ridiculous, but fun take on the ever relevant paranormal romance!

Starving artist, Cassie is about to be evicted, so despite a sketchy Craigslist ad, she jumps at the chance to live in a massive apartment in the city for only $200 with the aloof Fredrick J Fitzwilliam. But Freddie has some secrets...

I was expecting a something different, but I still enjoyed the premise of this one.

Freddie is a 18th century vampire trying to explore the 21st century for the first time, so the majority of the plot is his lessons on how to live in 2023, while the romance takes a backseat. I wouldn't say I really got to know Cassie and Freddie, but I enjoyed their banter and letterwriting.

While I struggled with the seemingly underdeveloped characters and somewhat stale plot devices, I found this to be an overall enjoyable light read, similar to a regency novel or novels like Dial A for Aunties or Finlay Donovan is Killing it. Low stakes and just enough heat to keep you reading!

Thank you NetGalley and Berkley for my advance eCopy in exchange for my honest review.