Roommates, by Ola Tundun, is a fun rom-com filled with characters you'll love or love to hate. Predictable, for the most part, yes, but still a fun read. The girl leaves her fiance (whom she still loves) and finds herself with a male roommate and a parade of his one-night stands. Will this drive her to see that she should rethink her past choices and return to the secure life she had before? Thanks to NetGalley and to the publisher for providing me with an ARC ebook to read and review.

At 19% in this book I gave up with Caleb calling Ariella 'grandma' because of her knitting (crochet actually – nothing wrong with both), he criticizes her for the way she dresses, suggests she needs a date. Yuk. I am so fed up with men thinking they can say whatever the like about and to women. This is all too real in the world we live in today. Judgmental and hierarchic.

Hopefully, Roommates is about just that: the timely theme of expectations and pressure... about making it look like you've got your stuff together. About the world being unkind and demanding, and how to stay upright with everything implicated with that. About being imperfect, and making up your own description of 'normal,' whatever that may be.

It is just that I don't have the patience to read until the end of the book, if indeed maybe he gets it...

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of the book.

Has 35 Chapters and ends in a CLIFFHANGER.

The ARC was provided by NetGalley and didn't offer any trigger warnings.

Possible trigger warnings would have been severe panic attacks, abandonment, physical and mental abuse in a relationship, mention of child abuse, non-consensual sex, and/or drugging without consent.

What captivated me into reading Roommates originally was the cover. Under Roommates it mentions “His Space, His/Our Rule” scratching ‘His’ for ‘Our’ but I never saw that happen. One of the few conversations they had was for Ariella to not provide breakfast/chit-chat to the one-night stands Caleb brought late at night, and for Caleb to keep the noise to a minimum and announce his arrival when he walks in late at night to make Ariella know that is not a break-in. The extra title made me imply that they had a serious conversation where they made a list of who makes dinner, washes the dishes, laundry, clean, shopping, TV/Music use and schedule, etc. In addition, the cover has a quote stating that Roommates is ‘A totally uplifting, dramatic and emotional women’s fiction novel’. It is emotional and dramatic for the characters in the book, and I kept waiting to feel uplifted. There were 2 moments in the book where I giggled out loud but throughout, I was mostly confused as to how this relates to the information on the cover and with the summary provided.
Cover aside the content itself is good enough. I wanted to keep reading to know what would happen next even if it was predictable. As Ariella and Caleb started to grow on me, I ended up not appreciating how the book itself finished and their growth itself ended up being wasted in their final chapters. On the other hand, the writing style is not clear and mentions other characters without significant backstory to make a point. Organizing the message that the author wanted to convey as well as filling out plot holes left throughout the book would’ve been enough for this to be just one book. I don’t feel compelled to read a sequel to finish plot holes that were made with no real impact to the characters development.

Cover and writing style aside, the characters in Roommate for me were disappointing.
The two main characters are Ariella and Caleb. Every other chapter is from either one’s point of view, meaning one chapter is from Ariella’s POV and the next chapter is from Caleb’s POV. Depending on the book I don’t mind these changes but, in this case, I felt that jumping from one character to the next quickly felt that the information to the reader was incomplete leaving unnecessary plot holes.

Ariella works in this company with a questionable work ethic. She comes from a rich family that somehow protected her in such a way that is clueless about how the ‘real’ world works and is questionably naïve. She suffers from undetermined severe panic attacks and night terrors. Left her fiancée via a sticky note and throughout the book she is trying to understand if she truly loves Jasper (her ex-fiancée) or if she is falling in love with Caleb (her housemate).

Lara is supposedly Ariella’s best friend, but Ariella is also her boss. Lara also makes several questionable life choices such as putting Ariella (her boss and supposed best friend) in a difficult situation where she hits on her clients’ fiancée. Take this as you wish. The need for this information is to say that Lara is lesbian and to mention that the client provided drugs as a party gift just because and is used later in the book.

Caleb works at the same company as Ariella and Lara. Does not know how important Ariella is even if the books imply that they do similar work, and he should’ve been privy to her importance to the company. My immediate impression is that he loves hooking around with anything that moves and he believes he is being honest as to the intentions with those women but inadvertently string them on. At the end of the book, he judges Ariella in such a way that left much to be desired when he used to be a player.

Jasper is Ariella’s ex-fiancée. He gave me a rollercoaster of emotions whether to like his character but ended more into the dislike pile. He ‘inadvertently’ was keeping Ariella in a relationship that is borderline mentally abusive. Since he wanted her safe and sound, he wanted her to be at their house as soon as she was out of work. Groceries were brought to the house. They never went anywhere alone. She worked full-time plus kept the house clean and provided the meals HE wanted based on the mood HE gave during the morning. Zero relationship conversations were made.

Ariella’s parents. I have no complaints about her mom, but her father should be nowhere near Ariella in my opinion. Her parents ‘adopted’ Jasper into their life in a way. Jasper is Ariella’s brothers’ best friend. Ariella’s father knowingly decided to support Jasper in getting back with Ariella without appreciating or acknowledging her emotions and the decisions she made.

Caleb’s family involvement, I don’t believe was necessary to their character growth as well. Caleb’s mother emotionally abandoning her child and letting his father physically abuse him is not a character defining moment for me. As well as Caleb’s friends which were amazing except for the unnecessary included drama between Kyle and his fiancée Louisa who is physically and mentally abusing Kyle. Enough said.

A small back story about Caleb’s childhood and maybe a more optimistic change in Caleb’s friends’ history would’ve been enough as to merit a future book with a more dive in look into their worlds but not for Ariella and Caleb. In the end neither Ariella nor Caleb defined their relationship or discussed their feelings. Everything was more physical, and they ended up ‘cheating’ on their prospective partners with an excuse that they have not defined their relationship yet. I don’t see this as an uplifting book about their non-existing growth development.

This book has:
- Forced proximity
- He falls first
-🌶️
-Complex characters
- Dislike to friends to lovers
- Complicated relationships
- Opposites attract

When I saw this on Netgalley and the authors Nigerian name I had to request this. This book was very easy to read, it had a slow start but once it found its stride the pacing gets better. The main characters Ariella and Caleb become roomates after Ariella leaves her boyfriend. Caleb is a playboy while Ariella loves a perfect life. At first they don’t like understand each other but as they get to know each other and their families their friendship and relationship grows.

These characters were complex, they made mistakes and it was annoying at times but real. I liked the romance progression even when I didn’t always like the actions of the main characters. The ending felt a little rushed and ended abruptly but I saw that that there’s going to be a sequel so I think that’s why. Overall a nice debut it’s not without its issues but I would recommend it for romcom and women’s fiction lovers.

Thank you Storm Publishing and Netgalley for this arc for an honest review.
3.5⭐️

This is a new author for me and I must say I enjoyed the story. It was quite a long one with many ups and downs along the way. I liked the characters, especially Lana!

One thing that did bother me a bit is how American this book set in England was. Things right down to the use of feet instead of metres, Sesame Street as the beloved childrens show, words like feral and my personal grievance, the word Mommy. I know that her mother is Jamaican but growing up in England with an English dad...mommy??! No.

I was a bit surprised to find out there was a sequel as the book was very long. I think leaving out a very dramatic part to ensure the reader reads on, meant that the story wasn't whole somehow. I really wished she hadn't.
All in all, an enjoyable read. Thanks to Netgalley, the author and publisher for a temporary copy in exchange for an honest review.

4 stars

I dont often read romance, but on the off occasion that I do, I enjoy rom-coms

This book really hit the spot. It had lots of humor, loveable and flawed characters that felt real, and an overall plot that just fit. It is exactly the kind of romantic comedy I’m after when I want this genre.

Perfectly flawed characters navigating life and love!
My review contains mild spoilers due to mentioning possible triggers.

We've all read books where the main character has been jilted by their lover, but in this instance- our loveable mixed race (I'm mixed race so love to see characters with mixed heritage); Ariella decides to dump her fiance by post it note. Ariella has crippling anxiety and we begin with her suffering from a severe panic attack which led to her swiftly moving out and becoming a room mate with her womanizing colleague, Caleb.
This colleagues-turn into friends-turn into lovers whilst trying to find themselves is wonderfully written and kept me hooked. There were some scenes in the book they readers may find distressing such as domestic violence, involving side characters and unwilling drugging which could be interpreted as non consensual sexual intercourse. What was interesting is it appears to be the women are the 'villains' in this story that commit these atrocious acts on men. The side characters really help in keeping the reader engaged and keep the story flowing along nicely. Lots of spice in the book which I like and I look forward to seeing what lies in store for Ariella and Caleb.

Dear Ola Tundun,

OMG with this ending! Are you kidding me right now? Just yank the heart right out of my chest. You made me fall in love with this book, painfully rooting for these two flawed characters to get their acts together. To finally realize how much they mean to each other.

It was an absolute joy to read a story without the requisite over-the-top quirky characters. Loved it, great writing, so funny in spots, etc. Now long do I have to wait for more? Really, you’ve broken my heart just let me know when the next book will be out.

Sincerely,
Your newest fan

Thank you to NetGalley and Storm Publishing for this complimentary ARC. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

This novel was a real surprise for me. As a first novel, this being compared to some of my favourite authors made me slightly suspicious, however I was completely wrong.

The novel jumps straight away into building the reader’s relationship with the main characters. There are laughs and tears aplenty, and a host of secondary characters who prop up the storyline effectively. Like more accomplished authors, the strongest thing about this book, for me, is that the author has created a host of people who I wished I could meet in real life. That doesn’t happen often, so is a real feat.

The storyline itself moves at a steady and effective pace, making the book a quick read.

My only criticism is that the ending felt slightly abrupt - the reason for this, however, is made clear.

This is definitely a novel I will reread and buy for friends.

Warning - CLIFFHANGER.

One day, without warning Ariella Mason comes home from work packs her belongings and moves out of the gorgeous flat she shares with her fiancé Jasper and moves into Caleb Black's spare room. Caleb and Ariella both work for the same events company where Ariella is seen as aloof and Caleb .... well lets just say he knows most of the women there intimately.

Caleb was really looking for a male lodger to help pay his mortgage, but when Ariella offered 20% above his asking price (which was already higher than he expected to get), he can't say no, especially when it means she cooks him Michelin-quality dinners every night.

Gradually Caleb discovers why Ariella left Jasper and the two of them just might be falling for each other, but everything seems to conspire to keep them apart.

I was enjoying this at first but it seemed to go into a holding pattern just after halfway through, Caleb and Ariella kiss then retreat. They kiss, then either Ariella meets up with Jasper or Caleb meets up with one of his legion of women. There are misunderstandings. They kiss and then retreat. Over and over.

Then ... it just ends with a promise that the story is continued in the next book. Not cool.

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley in return for an honest review.