Talia Hibbert literally never misses and this is a banger of a friends to lovers romance. And the narrators?? SO grateful this audiobook got remade, bc this was absurdly good especially compared to the original.

Everyone has been telling me how great Talia Hibbert is, and it’s like I’ve finally seen the light. Not to sound overly dramatic, but this book broke me in ways I thought I already was. It’s angsty in the best sense of the word, and touches upon themes of mental health, traumas, dependence and coping mechanisms with a lot of tact. I liked that it was established from the outset that there’s a tension and an attraction between the two characters, because I think it makes the evolution of the relationship more realistic. I didn’t fully understand all of their actions or behaviours at first (including a very disturbing flashback), but as I read on, I got where they were coming from and why they’d been holding back for so long, despite their friendship having always been very flirty and physical. Jasmine is almost uncomfortably relatable in her inability to be vulnerable or trust anyone, which makes her bond with Rahul all the more special, and the story does a good job of showing how his love and pining for her weren’t sustainable – and I kinda wish it had taken them more time to be reunited. The sex scenes are super steamy, but also convey a sense of need and urgency very well, and the narrators being British was the cherry on top.

TWs: parental abandonment, death of a parent, alcohol dependence

Talia Hibbert can do no wrong!!!! I have been waiting years for this book on audio and it did not at all disappoint. I am not always the biggest friends to lovers fan but this was just delightful and fantastic.

I enjoyed this a lot, the damage each had in their own lives was well drawn and the relationship between the two friends before and after and during the book was well done.

4.5 stars!!

I am such a big fan of Talia Hibbert and getting the chance to listen to one of her backlog romances was an absolute treat! Thank you Dreamscape Media for the audiobook!

I loved Jasmine and Rahul’s backstory of friends who had one night together but due to her pasta trauma, Jasmine tells Rahul she doesn’t sleep with her friends after their hook up. Rather than lose her, Rahul picks friend-zoning himself from the woman he is obsessed with. And he is in LOVE with her the entire time. She knows it, he knows it, they just ignore it until they can’t. These two are complete opposites and both are full of complexities that make for interesting characters and a more complex storyline, Jasmine calls upon Rahul when her apartment floods and she needs a place to stay. This friends to lovers, second chance, forced proximity arrangement is filled with delicious tension and tender moments.

Jasmine, a black British woman, carries the hurt of her mother leaving her as a child that makes her feel unlovable. She in turns doesn’t do love, has flings only, and excessively drinks alcohol to cope with her feelings. Rahul, a muslim man, is a clean freak, routine driven, health conscious workaholic who drowns himself in his job rather than properly grieve the death of his father. These two are polar opposites but whenever they’re together they just work. They make each other feel safe and seen and their 7 years of friendship is laced with sexual tension undertones. Once they finally take things to a new level, the spice is spicing and the beautiful and gentle way Rahul loves Jasmine comes out. This man was an absolute dream to read about!!! UGH love you Rahul!!! He was always patient, gentle, kind, and navigating Jasmine’s fight or flight modes expertly.

I love a Talia Hibbert romance, and while this one got a little more intense than some of her stories, it was still a lovely ride. Longtime friends wind up rooming together after Jasmine's apartment is flooded, but her aversion to romantic entanglement complicates the growing chemistry between them. Will they finally be able to talk things through and admit their feelings?

June 2024 update:

Thank you to Dreamscape Media for the audio ARC of the re-release of The Roommate Risk. I had been wanting to re-read this in audio but now I wish I had tried the original audio because the narration for this re-release sadly didn't work well for me. I found myself listening at warp speed until I remembered my goal not to speedread books rather than DNF. So as much as I do love Jasmine and Rahul, I stopped listening around 40% and I'll revisit this one with my eyes.

Original review:

This is it! The last Talia Hibbert in my back catalogue project!

I took my time with this one and it was a great book to finish on. While there were parts of the premise that made me a bit uncomfortable, it was pretty consistently challenged so I was able to move past it. I was wavering between a four and five stars but I really liked the way the story resolved so I'm rounding up. Talia Hibbert is so good at evoking those fizzy feelings between her characters. And her character work is outstanding - I feel like I know Jasmine and Rahul so well. Also this one is definitely extra spicy. Might try to re-read in audio soon.

This was my first read by Talia, and I enjoyed it! Slow burn, friends to lovers, he falls first. I mean, what's not to love? The narrator did a fantastic job as well!

Talia Hibbert is such a go-to author for me and all my friends, and the audiobook just made it even more fun!

I've been missing the angst, banter and steamy scenes that Talia Hibbert writes, so The Roommate Risk* was just the answer!

This dual point of view friends to lover’s romance has a dash of forced proximity added in for good measure and it's just plain fun! I loved how Jasmine's steadfast commitment-phobia and Rahul’s love at first site created a hands-off pining effect! Their tension built off one very hot moment early in the book, and I enjoyed how this allowed that itch to be scratched ASAP!

Rooke Kingston's audiobook narration adds extra steam to Jasmine's character. Just, oh my goodness - I'm in love with Kingston's voice! Keval Shah performs Rahul with an anchoring and stable tone, which adds to the character's depth.

This one just exemplified what I love about Hibbert's writing!

*The Roommate Risk was previously published as Wanna Bet?

Thank you NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for the complimentary audio copy to read and review.

Thank you to Dreamscape Media and NetGalley for the ARC. I have read The Brown Sisters series and loved it, but this book fell flat for me. The narrator was not my favorite, her voice just did not match the picture in my head of our main character.

The Roommate Risk was a spicy audio that I could not stop listening to (with headphones on)!

Jas has never believed in love, she's seen enough of it to know it doesn't last. All she needs is her best friend Rahul...who's been in love with her for SEVEN years. Thankfully, now she's staying with him in his apartment thanks to her maintenance crew not fixing a faulty pipe. Not thankfully for Raul, he is still in love with her. He can't help it if he gets those "oh shit she's attractive" eyes whenever she's around...especially in his apartment. But is a one night stand worth the risk, especially when roommates? One wrong kiss could lead to the best of times...or the end of a friendship.

Rookie Kingston & Keval Shah did a FANTASTIC job narrating both Jas and Rahul. I felt that I was in their heads with their emotional outbursts and those spicy scenes were well done! There were times even listening were I was like "oh snap Talia isn't going there blushing and hiding" but then she went there and it was okay-because of how it was voiced. I am so excited that it was brought onto audio as it allowed me to pick up more of Hibbert's backlist. Those looking for a spicy read to heat up your headphones this summer will want to pick up The Roommate Risk! Don't worry, it packs emotional and heat!

Loved this Talia Hibbert book (I'll read anything she writes), and the audiobook was great! Plus the redesigned cover is so swoony!!

Such a great friends to lovers story! I enjoyed the writing, the characters, the story! I feel like I was smiling the whole time I was reading this - it was light-hearted and made me happy.

The Roommate Risk follows two characters, Jasmine and Rahul, who have been best friends since they met in college (well, actually, since they had a steamy hookup!). Rahul has been in love with Jasmine for as long as he's known her, but Jasmine does not believe in dating AT. ALL. Several years later, Jasmine finds herself in a predicament: all of her belongings are flooded at her apartment, and she no longer has a place to stay. Enter Rahul, who lets Jasmine stay at his place while her room gets renovated.

The Writing
I really enjoyed the "Then" and "Now" timelines. When done right, they are one of my favorite writing styles. I thought the different timelines worked well together, and the flashbacks were essential to show how much these two adore each other. They were also essential in making me fall in love with Rahul, but we'll get into that a little more later. I really think their friendship was well-established, and it added to Jasmine and Rahul's future relationship. 

The Roommate Risk is written in alternating third-person perspectives. This is not something that is accomplished easily, but I was never confused about whose perspective I was reading. It was a nice change after reading so many romances in first-person present. 

Another positive of the writing was the spicy scenes. I have read a lot of spicy romances lately, and it has been a while since a book has made me make this face: 🥵 I did not keep track of how many open-door spicy scenes there were, but there were at least four. Honestly, if you really love reading smutty books, I'm going to have to demand you put this one on your TBR. It is WORTH it. 

The Characters
I enjoyed Jasmine as a character. Initially, I did not think I was going to like her at all. She came off as very cold and arrogant, especially when she was complaining about her friend's love life. However, it very quickly became clear that she was attempting to protect herself. She had some very real flaws that she had to work through, and I never felt like her feelings were invalid in any way. 

But Rahul?? Now, he was the winner for me. I am not kidding when I say he PINES(!!!!) for Jasmine, and the entire time, I was swooning. I was complaining to my friend the other day that I haven't read a book lately where a man was pining, and I definitely got my wish with this one. There were multiple points where I was literally kicking my feet with giddiness because I was in love with his character. He cares so much for Jasmine and will do anything for her to be happy, even if it means he isn't able to be with her. 

Both characters were dealing with previous trauma, shown through Jasmine's abandonment issues and Rahul's control issues. Jasmine was left by her mom when she was in high school, and Rahul has been dealing with the loss of his dad.  I think they both tackled their issues in extremely healthy ways, which was nice to see. Talia Hibbert does a phenomenal job when it comes to writing mental health rep in her stories.

The Romance

I was a little nervous this was going to be an extremely slow burn at the beginning, just based on how some of the scenes were moving along. I love a slow burn, but not when it lasts the entire book (I'm mainly talking about when the two characters don't even kiss for the first time until 85% of the book is done). Now, it is definitely a slow burn, but I think there was enough going on in the plot that it didn't feel like it was dragging on. 

Slight spoiler ahead: There is a third-act "breakup," which is usually one of my romance pet peeves. I say "breakup" because they aren't officially dating, but they've been sleeping together for a while. I think the separation is done in a way that makes a lot of sense. When I said earlier that the two characters start to cope with their mental health in healthy ways, the separation was a part of that. 

If you couldn't tell, I absolutely adored this book. It was a pleasant change from some other romances I have been reading recently. I definitely will be checking out more books from Talia Hibbert in the future.

Not my favourite narrator, or my favourite Talia Hibbert, but still overall a fun time. It took me a while to really get *into* the story but it ended up being a quick, enjoyable listen nonetheless.

Hot damn ya boy got skills when it comes to narrating. It's not often I read a romance that is solely told by a male narrator, but this one was fun and enjoyable.

loved this book! the narration was not my favourite, but overall the story was enjoyable and these characters were so lovable.

4 stars!

If Talia Hibbert has one fan, that fan is me. Her books are delightfully wicked, hilariously funny, and always add a dash of heartfelt. I loved "The Roommate Risk" and its delicious, devious new dual narration by the sultry Rooke Kingston and the incredible Keval Shah. It is a best friends-to-lovers, forced proximity, opposites attract, he-falls-first romance with two really interesting characters with a lot of baggage. I loved the back-and-forth between the main characters, Jasmine and Rahul, who are rooming together in Rahul's place while Jasmine's living arrangement issue gets sorted. Jasmine's is a bit of a mess as a person. She has endured a lot of trauma and pain at the hands of her mother, which has made her feel unlovable. She has panic attacks, anxiety, and uses alcohol to cope from time to time. Her intrusive thoughts have won out a lot concerning her romance life. Rahul also has baggage. His father died a few years ago, and he has been dealing with it ever since. Rahul has been in love with Jasmine for YEARS. Like, straight-up simp status for her. The two of them couldn't be more opposite if they tried, and yet, their friendship works... as long as Rahul keeps his hands, eyes, and emotions to himself. They hooked up once years ago, but Rahul has harbored feelings ever since. Jasmine comes to realize that she might also be in love with him, too. Being in such tight proximity brings all of these sentiments to the surface for both of them until a dam breaks! Once things move to a steamier territory, the two of them navigate what it means for their friendship, how to classify what they are, and how to resolve their issues so they can be the best versions of themselves for one another. The character development for both Jasmine and Rahul (but especially Jasmine) is excellent! And the steam in this book..... hubba hubba! It's *chef's kiss* scrumptious. The book starts a little slowly, but it picks up steam around the 35-40% mark and never lets up after that. I think the writing is great here. It's not too long and doesn't have a lot of unnecessary stuff going on. Overall, another wonderful book from one of my favorite authors!

Thank you to NetGalley, Talia Hibbert, and Dreamscape Media for the complimentary ALC of this book. All opinions are my own. I was not compensated for this review.

I’m so glad I found Talia Hibbert’s Brown Sisters books way back in 2019. The series was an absolute delight and I’ve since purchased a couple more of her books. So, when I had the chance to review the audiobook of The Roommate Risk, I took it!

Here’s the book’s description:
Jasmine Allen believes in bad luck, great wine, and the seductive power of a stiletto heel. What she doesn’t believe in is love. Her life is perfect without all that romance rubbish—until a plumbing disaster screws everything up and leaves Jas homeless. Luckily, she has someone to turn to: her best friend Rahul.
For seven years, Rahul Khan has followed three simple rules.
Don’t touch Jasmine if you can help it.
Don’t look at her arse in that skirt.
And don’t ever—ever—tell her you love her.
He should’ve added another rule: Do not, under any circumstances, let Jas move into your house.
Now Rahul is living with the friend he can’t have, and it’s decimating his control. He knows their shared dinners aren’t dates, their late-night kisses are a mistake, and the tenderness in Jasmine’s gaze is only temporary. One wrong word could send his skittish best friend running.
So why is he tempted to risk it all?
The audiobook was narrated by Rooke Kingston and Keval Shah. I do love when a romance with dual perspectives is a dual narration. It adds so much more to the story. That said…I think both Kingston (who narrated Jasmine) and Shah (who narrated Rahul) are talented. I just don’t know if I enjoyed listening to them tell me this story. One of the issues I had - and a really, really hard one to get over - was that Jasmine was 28 but Kingston sounded so much older. Is it a weird thing to fixate on? I’m honestly not sure. But I do know it didn’t help me really get into the story.

While I didn’t love the narration, I did really like the actual story. I liked Jasmine and Rahul and their relationship. The book was mostly told from the present day but there were flashbacks to important moments during their friendship. I really liked that Hibbert did this because it allowed the reader to really get to know the couple and how their relationship started and changed over the years.

Hibbert mentions in the author’s note that this is the angstiest novel she’s written. That she tried to pull back on it but the story just wasn’t having it. And honestly? The angst is a huge part of what makes it so great. Jasmine so clearly has issues to work through but Hibbert portrayed her in such a way that the reader knows that, eventually, she’s going to figure her shit out. And she’s doing it for herself, not for a man. Even if (not) being with Rahul is the catalyst. Rahul isn’t perfect either but he has less obvious work to be done. He has some honest conversations with those he needed to but…I think there’s more he needs to do, to heal himself, to become healthier, that wasn’t really addressed as much as the efforts Jasmine was putting in.

This book was exceptionally steamy. *fans self* It’s NSFW and make sure your headphones stay paired otherwise you might be in for some awkward moments! For the most part, I felt the sex scenes made sense in the book - they weren’t overly gratuitous. That kind of changed near the end of the novel but I think that’s because I was over the narration and ready for the official HEA.

The Roommate Risk wasn’t the winner I was hoping it would be but I’m still glad I read it. Talia Hibbert is always going to be an author I search out because she’s so talented. Her books are steamy, funny, and full of heart and characters you don’t often get to see in romance novels. All things that I think are really important in my romance reads!

*An ALC was provided by the publisher, Dreamscape Audio, via NetGalley, in exchange for review consideration. All opinions are honest and my own.*