Full review to be published online in mid June.

MY ROOMMATE’S GIRL is Julianna Keyes latest NA entry. The premise is a bit cringe-worthy, as Aidan is difficult to like in the beginning. He is actively trying to sabotage his roommate’s romance because he’s decided he wants Aster for himself. Actually he wants to get her into his bed, but he’s willing to break them up for that opportunity. This puts him in a hole for the reader that he will have to dig himself out of to redeem himself to the reader. Fortunately, Keyes writes him as a sympathetic character that the reader eventually begins to root for.

Aidan is trouble, that’s a given from the beginning. He has been given a second chance at college, but that’s only there because he was given the choice of going to college or to prison. After two years on campus he has realized that he needs to be in an apartment, which leads to renting a space from Jerry.
Jerry’s pre-med and kind, and honest and friendly… and he has a super-hot girlfriend named Aster. From the first meeting, Aidan can’t help his attraction to her, and despite knowing he’s not a commitment kind of guy, he’s determined to break Jerry and Aster up just so he can sleep with her. Aidan creates a plan to break the couple up, and sets out to make it happen.

MY ROOMMATE’S GIRL is written in the standard NA dual pov, although we don’t get to Aster’s pov until later in the story. At that point, the reader (and Aidan) discovers that Aster is not quite the girl the reader is led to believe she is from Aidan’s point of view. Aidan has fixated on her as being ‘something special’ and has made a lot of assumptions about her. The reader is just as surprised as Aidan was when the truth comes out about Aster and some things about her are brought out into the open.

MY ROOMMATE’S GIRL is a great romance, well written and angsty as is typical of a NA novel. While I prefer Julianna Keyes more adult romances, the story definitely hits all the right spots. The writing is tight, the story interesting, and the character growth well done. The most difficult part of the story for the reader is the sacrificial lamb Jerry. He really needs to have his own story. He has a great deal of potential as a character and I would love to read more about him.

Don't be fooled by first impressions: Aidan isn't who you think is and neither is Aster, and that is the gorgeous riddle of their story. I thought this was going to be a fun, flirty college romance but it went in a direction far deeper, sexier and sweeter than expected.

At first, I was almost turned off by Aidan's self-absorbed and immature quest to get Aster to leave his roommate Jerry. After all, Aster and Jerry were happy and Aidan just wanted to have sex with Aster, nothing more. I was about to write off Aidan as nothing more than a cocky jerk, until wham, layers were peeled and secrets revealed. I shouldn't have doubted Julianna Keyes, the new queen of NA romance.

I can't describe much more than the blurb itself for fear of leaking spoilers. Like Aidan, you need patience when reading this. Wait for the big reveals. Then savor.

So I will admit. When I read the title I asked myself, is this an erotic novella? Because for me those are the only instances where a trope like this works.

Well somehow, Julianna Keyes, MADE wanting your roommate's girl work. She made me fall for the guy who was pretty crappy at first. It wasn't forced either. It just worked. Really really well. The story that's weaved really helps you fall for this characters without making you sympathize really. You get mad at them as you should, but then you are shown that even the bad guys can be redeemed.

Aidan makes poor choices. By the end. I love him.

Aster does some crappy things. By the end. I love her.

When I started reading it felt like a 3-star read. As it progressed it definitely earned all its stars back. This story is unexpectedly deep. The characters were multi-faceted and flawed. Although their flaws made them easy to be annoyed with, they made them even easier to love.

Sidenote: can we get a story about Missy and how her current situation ends up? I mean how fun would that story be?

Such a good concept- unfortunately this one didn't work for me and I didn't feel a connection between the characters at all!

I totally enjoyed this and I liked Aiden but I didn't really like Aster. Entertaining read but not something I'd re-read.