This book was VERY good! It was such a feel good read. It was funny, it was sweet, it was sexy in the best possible ways! I loved Joshua! I loved his communication between him and Clara. Clara was almost a little too prim to be true. I don’t know a lot of socialite families, so that just might not be something I truly understand. It just seems like something that wouldn’t be so relevant now. Out of the two characters, I related to her the least. But in the end, it was such a sweet and sexy story. My whole thing is....we never got to see how her family truly reacted to Clara’s choice in career and man. Her mother has been apparently worrying about during the whole book and there was no consequences for Clara lying about staying with a stranger....not the most important bit, but it felt like a lot of build up with no pay off. But overall. This was five stars.

The Roommate by Rosie Danan was an opposite attracts story that was fun to read. With a easy-going porn star and an awkward and uptight woman, what can go wrong? Clara is as straight and narrow as they come. Josh is anything but. And now they are unlikely roommates. Their story was funny and charming as you see them explore out outside their comfort areas.

Happy reading!

I haven’t read a contemporary romance in over six months, side dishes in other genres and a historical here or there sure, but I haven’t been in the mood for a straight up romance. I accepted The Roommate by Rosie Danan because the publisher was over the moon excited by it, and I honestly got swept up in her enthusiasm. I am so happy I listened to her!

When it came down to read it, I admit I began reluctantly. But, let me tell you by the end of the first chapter I was completely hooked. The Roommate is a refreshing, original, and sexy tale with lovable, flawed characters that I rooted for.

I went into this cold, so I learned about Josh right along with Clara. Eep! First, Clara Wheaton is adorable, flawed and smarter than she gives herself credit for. She also doesn’t like to take chances. She is very relatable.

Despite excelling in a few departments and being able to eat donuts and still rock the jeans, Josh has his own insecurities and hangups. He’s a good guy who just needs to believe in himself.

The whole setup was cute. The romantic build-up with its sexy moments melted my kindle. I was afraid it might get awkward and this could have totally been weird, but it was perfect. I have zero complaints. Zero.

I laughed, cheered for our couple and held my breath when things got rough. The drama was low key thanks to outside forces and a little growth from our heroine.

If you are looking for the perfect, feel good romance to curl up with The Roommate is it.

A delightful romance, with a strong focus on sexuality as a thing to be explored and celebrated. I also love seeing a woman come into her own.

The premise (uptight, shy girl from a wealthy family meets porn-star roommate) is awesome, and the book promised a feminist flair, so I was incredibly excited about it! While the conflict was flimsy at times, overall I enjoyed the way the trust was built between Clara and Josh and how the book tackles issues in the sex-work industry.

When I started reading the roommate, I knew exactly one thing... it was a romcom. 🤷🏻‍♀️ Well, believe me when I say I was surprised at Josh’s secret but also quite intrigued. And I related to Clara in so many ways (aside from the socialite part...).

The way Josh and Clara’s relationship progressed seemed so natural... and it was so fun to read! I got lost in this book and read it in just two days... and wanted more! I would love to see a sequel around some of the supporting characters, just to stay in Josh and Clara’s world.

This book was definitely steamy... but the relationship was not an insta-love type. I would highly recommend The Roommate to any romcom lover!

This was so fun! Opposites attract, lots of sex positivity, and sexual explorations. It’s a unique romance novel approach that explores topics rarely mentioned, like sex worker etiquette while also teaching our heroine how to let her hair down. Our heroine is a straight-laced trust fund baby that is finally taking a leap of faith that takes her across the country. However, not all goes according to plan and she has to learn how to let life take her on a new unexpected journey. With the help of our hero, she’s navigating a path filled with porn, sex and lots of new friends.

I enjoyed this a lot! It was really fun and I really liked the dynamic between the two characters. I found their banter really worked well on-page. I also found the backdrop of the porn industry and the conversations around it interesting and it's definitely something I have not read about before.

I did however dislike the main characters on their own, and while Josh grew on me (he's like an annoying puppy that you have to end up loving), I found that Clara constantly got on my nerves. I also found the conflicts in to be a bit unrealistic, both because of the subject matter but also just in general. And while the conversations around the industry of adult films were interesting, they lacked nuance for me, and I feel like realistically there should have been a bigger conversations between the characters themselves that would have been to their relationship.

Ultimately though, I was rooting for this relationship and I really enjoyed how sex-positive this was, so I would still recommend this, it just was not my favorite romance ever. Still fun.

Josh is a porn star who's proud of his gifts on and off the camera. Clara is a straight-laced socialite from the East Coast who dropped her entire life to move to the opposite coast to room with her forever-crush, Elliott. Only when she arrives in LA, he picks her up and literally drops her off at the house telling her he's going on tour with his band and that he's rented out the other room. Even despite this inexcusable and god-awful behaviour, she still lusts after him. Come on, girlfriend. Josh finds Clara's buttoned up demeanor amusing and slightly appealing but he has no intentions of getting mixed up in her mess. His best intentions don't hold up though when he finds out Clara has been researching his day job.


As she and Josh get involved she helps him see a bigger future for himself. One where he has control over his name and his career. They come up with a brilliant project and marketing idea and decide to pursue it. They both become advocates for sexual empowerment, especially for women. Clara evolves into a vastly different person from the one who first arrives in LA.

The story also removes the 'othering' of adult entertainers by giving us a glimpse into the workings of that world. It can definitely be manipulative and because those in porn are treated as inferior by the rest of 'polite society', they don't get the attention or support they deserve when it comes to asking for better working conditions.

I thought The Roommate was charming and it’s kind of different from some other romances I’ve read recently but there's one thing that was nagging at me as I read it. Clara is super conscientious about her family's image - she's either thinking about it or talking about it - and thanks to shady family history she knows the consequences of bad publicity. Which is why I thought I'd missed something when she seems to jump into something with Josh. If she's always so worried about not letting her family down, how does she reason this out in her head? To be clear, I'm not asking for Clara to justify her decisions. I just wanted a better understanding of how she went from point A to point B when she's otherwise always consumed with propriety. My confusion was spurred on by her taking a job working for her aunt who's been ostracized by her family for unbecoming behaviour. This aunt has since gone on to have a successful PR career and has recently landed a high profile client and Clara is brought in to work closely with them. Clara's actions seem out of character for someone who’s a list-maker, rule-follower and who's so intent on not drawing any negative attention to her family. My point is that it's not clearly shown how she compartmentalized everything because she's smart and incredibly thoughtful, so surely she would've known that there'd be repercussions if someone got wind of her side projects.

Regardless, The Roommate is a fun and enjoyable read. It's honestly quite a sweet story about that journey towards owning one's sexuality and being unashamed of it. There are also other things that take up space in the story such has the lives of the adult performers. They aren't just presented as just porn stars but as multi-dimensional individuals with their own fascinating backgrounds. The Roommate was something a little different and I'm happy I read it.

Thank you Berkley for my review copy
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Am I on fire? I mean that literally....if you stand too close to this book you are going to be hot...🔥. I stood too close...and I’m not sorry!
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It has been a while since I read something naughty, sweet and funny. I loved it. Rosie is an author to keep your eye on.
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I love it when novels give women power. I truly believe fighting like a girl should be the glass ceiling. Fight gurl.
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Clara was one of those women I cheered for. Rosie took a stereotypical brand of woman and shattered that image. Josh was the same. You go in with an expectation of what kind of man he would be (greasy is the word that comes to mind) and says nay, nay. You are going to love him. Just wait and see. I was here for it.
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You can read the synopsis to get the gist. I will be recommending this book. Now, if we are being fair. I wouldn’t recommend it for some. It is Steamy....with a capital S. I mean. Wooo, I blushed the entire way through. Didn’t mean I didn’t enjoy it. Just be aware. The cover makes you think a good ol RomCom....it’s more. It is very sexy and if that is not for you, neither is this book!
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I can’t wait to see what Rosie brings us next.

I knew this book would be steamy, but I didn't expect it to be so sweet too! What I loved most was Danan's ability to deal with taboo topics with depth and care. On paper, Clara, a privileged socialite, doesn't sound like my favorite type of heroine, but I absolutely adored her! She is flawed, but inquisitive and kind. She and Josh had amazing chemistry, and I loved how sweet and caring he was with everyone in his life. I love that Danan didn't go with the usual and make Josh's ex, Naomi, a villain.

This book was fun from Strat to finish (*wink*)!

Thanks to NetGalley and Berkley for the ARC!

This contemporary romance was extremely steamy. Clara, an east coast socialite, has moved to Los Angeles to pursue her long-time unrequited love. When she gets there, she discovers he will be gone the entire summer, and he has rented out his room in the house she'll be living in. This is where Josh comes in, who she soon discovers is a porn performer. Josh in very swoon-worthy, and he soon falls for Clara as they get to know each other. There's great discussions of sexual stigma, body image, the exploitation rampant in the porn industry, and classism. But the shining moments are the hot AND sweet hook up scenes, Clara slowly letting/making herself try and experience new things, and Josh's passion for equal-opportunity pleasure.

Spicy as all get out, and I learned so much about the adult entertainment industry. Oh, how I adored the idea of Shameless!

I loved how this one started (opposites attract/strangers roomies/forced proximity/unrequited feels) then became a bit wary of the unfolding. I guess you could say I expected more conflict and resulting angst from the set up. I also had issues with the heroine's character development, she would act so out of character sometimes, almost fake in her endeavors. The Roommate was overall an easy, fun and sexy read.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.
I was pleasantly surprised with this one! I loved the message this book gave on not being ashamed of your sexuality and to face your fears and go for what you really believe in. With that being said, the main character, Clara, was so classist at times, I couldn't really stand her. She was embarrassed of Josh and (even if she didn't want to admit it) embarrassed of the work she did with Shameless. Not really sure where her arc was being one page, she was saying how her and Josh could never be and then the next she was running back to California for him.
With this being said, I did thoroughly enjoy this book and it successfully got me out of a reading slump. I will definitely be looking out for future works by this author!

Some of the most fun I’ve had while reading a book was spent within the pages of The Roommate by Rosie Danan. Dubbed a “raunch-com,” The Roommate is sexy and steamy, hilarious and heartfelt, and delightfully charming. Plus, it puts the fight for female pleasure front and center.

I’d already been hearing a lot of buzz about this book when I dove into an early e-ARC earlier this year, but oh man, did it live up to the hype. Just writing this review actually is making me want to go re-read the book all over again, because living within its pages was such a wonderful time. I read this one when my twins were still waking up every couple of hours overnight, and I was so eager to get back to reading this book, that I actually looked forward to those middle-of-the-night feedings, so I could keep reading. (Perks of my Kindle — reading in the dark while feeding a baby!)

The Roommate is just FUN. It’s a fun book. It entertains, it delights, and it still manages to make me feel like fighting for a cause. (Plus, the swoon factor is A+++ … Josh is my new favorite book boyfriend.) I absolutely adored this one, and I can’t wait to reread it again and again for a quick pick-me-up.

Who doesn't love a classic romance trope??

There are so many books about the forced roommate situation, but I have never read one quite like The Roommate. The banter between Clara and Josh was so, so funny and entertaining! The level of tension..the build up...immaculate!

I also loved how The Roommate turned a few tropes upside down. I liked that Daphne wasn't the classic "crazy" ex, but instead was actually very supportive of Clara. I loved the focus on female pleasure and the criticism of the porn industry.

This books was super steamy and might not be for everyone for that reason, but if that doesn't bother you, I would definitely recommend this for a fun, quick read!

Loved this! Sweet sexy and empowering! Josh and Clara have such great chemistry and tension and love it all. A wonderful story that is fresh and unique and sexy,

Clara is a trust fund kid from Greenwich. She goes to LA to chase her childhood crush, who promptly abandons her to tour with his band, informing her that he sublet his room to a stranger. The stranger turns out to be a porn star who is extremely hot and obviously very experienced, but having some issues with the porn industry. Together he and Clara set out to start their own pleasure website.

The writing was great. The chemistry was great. But the story was not that believable. There were things Clara did that were really out of character for her.

Over the past couple of years, I’ve started reading a lot more contemporary romance. While I love every happy ending that comes with them, my favorite ones are the stories that are about more than just the romantic gestures - the ones that touch on social justice and women’s rights being among my favorites - and without a doubt, I can say that The Roommate just catapulted its way to the top of my 2020 favorites list for being exactly that type of romance!

The Roommate follows Clara, a wealthy East Coast socialite, who moves to LA to be with the boy she’s pined for since she was old enough to know how, and Josh, the roommate she ends up with who also happens to be a popular porn star. While of course some funny hijinks ensue as we watch Clara and Josh fall in love, this story is really about women finding their own way as sexual beings and having “agency over their sexual needs and desires.” I had seen this book described as raunchy, and although it is certainly an open-door romance, nothing about this book felt raunchy to me. So often, romance books (despite being written almost entirely by women) do not put women’s desires first and foremost, and it was refreshing to read one where women were put first throughout the story. I really loved every moment of this one and if I could change anything, it would just be to have had the story be longer because I couldn't get enough of the characters! Clara, Josh, and the supporting characters, all felt so real and the character development throughout the story was so well executed - making it a perfect romance debut!

The Roommate was published on September 15, and even though I’m a little late in reading this ARC, I could not be more excited to be sharing this one! I really loved every moment of it and stayed up way past my bedtime to read just one more chapter! A huge thank you to @berkleyromance and @netgalley for the advance copy of this one in exchange for my honest review!