I absolutely loved Clara and Josh. I was a little hesitant to read, because of the storyline, but it was honestly amazing. This book showcased both the struggles and the misogynistic behaviors found in the adult entertainment world. Real issues were addressed in a sensitive way, while the author also gave us an epic romance. It's just incredible!

Reminiscent of The Kiss Quotient in premise. I enjoyed this story from beginning to end, however, I felt the end was missing something, even with the epilogue. Engaging characters and worthwhile read but it could have used a little more time spent on the conclusion.

This review (after additional editing) will appear at All About Romance, in September.

Friends, there is nothing like reading a debut romance and loving it. Surprising, funny, sexy and original, The Roommate is on my shortlist of 2020 favorite books. It’s excellent.

Clara Wheaton has loved Everett Bloom since they were small children. Their families, part of the Connecticut east coast elite, are close friends, and their parents always hoped they’d one day wind up married. Unfortunately, Everett has so far seemed immune to any pressure from his family - or Clara, to take the friendship to the next level. Although other Wheaton’s are infamous for their lack of impulse control, Clara isn’t. Clara is the consummate socialite: over-achieving, well-mannered, predictable. But when Everett encourages her to “follow her bliss,” after completing her doctorate, and move in with him, Clara impulsively (uh oh) does. Her bliss, if you haven’t guessed, is Everett. Except Everett, a musician in a not very successful rock band, is following his own bliss (not Clara) - and going on a summer tour. He picks Clara up at the airport, explains why he won’t be sticking around, tells her he’s found someone to sublet his room for the summer, and drops her curbside at his LA house. Clara tries not to freak out and we all mentally agree Everett is a jerk. She’s just managed to quell her panic exploring her new home, when a deep male voice responds to her “So this is how it feels to be well and truly fucked,” with “I get that a lot.”

Josh Darling couldn’t believe his luck when he found this cheap summer sublet. After his most recent break-up with on-again/off-again girlfriend Naomi, he was convinced he’d be sleeping on friends' couches all summer. He’s surprised by his buttoned-up new roommate, but since she is clearly having a bad day, he does his best to put her at ease. She finally introduces herself, telling him a little bit about herself and the circumstances that brought her to LA, and he shares that he works in the entertainment industry and lucked into the sub-let. Clara is still clearly uncomfortable, so he tries to put her at ease by teasing her about her fancy degree and background. Annoyance quickly replaces her nerves, and she breaks out a laminated list of apartment sharing rules for the summer. Josh thinks they’re funny, Clara isn’t amused (and she’s trying desperately not to gawk at her handsome roommate), and they pass the afternoon figuring out how to live together.

Although the apartment sharing situation starts off awkwardly, Josh and Clara quickly form a tentative friendship. That all changes after Josh encourages her to call her mother’s sister. Aunt Joan relocated to LA after an impulsive decision led to her banishment from the family. Joan now owns a successful PR agency, and much to Clara’s surprise, is happy to meet her. After giving her aunt the highly condensed version of her move to LA, she casually mentions the name of her new roommate. A name, it turns out, her aunt recognizes - Josh Darling is a porn star and minor celebrity. Clara - predictably - freaks out. Her disastrous move to LA is a Wheaton scandal in the making, and now she can’t stop imagining Josh naked. Later that night, after trying and failing to resist, she googles him. Flushed with arousal and caught up in the scene, she fails to note Josh’s arrival at the apartment. Oops.

Almost immediately after Josh catches Clara watching him perform, their conversation devolves into a discussion of Clara’s lackluster sexual history, and Josh’s prowess at giving women pleasure and orgasms...which he’s happy to demonstrate and she quickly allows. Look, this is an ‘only in Romancelandia,’ plot twist, and while I thought the scene was sexy and hot, it was a tad disappointing in its predictability. But much to my surprise, The Roommate quickly pivots in a different direction.

While Clara is trying to discover herself, find her way, and confront her fears, Josh is at a professional cross-roads. Josh likes to fuck, and he gets paid for doing something he enjoys. His back story isn’t tragic, and he’s quick to defend his career choice. Unfortunately, despite his popularity, he’s locked in a contract that mostly only benefits his employer, and Black Hat Studios is now pressuring him to join their harcore, extreme division. Josh wants to work in the adult film industry, but can’t see a way forward...until Clara shows him a different path. Intrigued by Josh’s insistence that female desire and pleasure matter, and determined to help him, Clara suggests he start his own production company with her financial backing. Utilizing Josh’s “skill set,” and industry knowledge, the company could produce films to help women erase the stigma against female desire and empower them to pursue pleasure. Plot twist!

The Roommate cleverly dovetails three seemingly disparate plot threads - Clara’s search for an identity; Josh’s positive experiences in a notoriously exploitive industry; and opposites/friends/roommates falling for each other - when Josh and Clara (and Naomi) partner up. Shameless, the new company, forces Clara and Josh to spend more time together while slowly but surely cranking up the sexual tension, while helping Clara find herself and Josh find purpose. Neither believes they can have a future together, and Naomi, their third badass partner, explicitly warns Josh not to mix business and pleasure. Clara - convinced Josh belongs with someone like Naomi (smart, tough, and sexually confident) - doesn’t believe she can attract a super hot, sexy and sweet porn star. Josh doesn’t think he’s good enough for Clara. And yet.

Clara’s characterization is much like you expect. She’s a controlling and controlled Type A personality, who is slightly repressed, and more than a little lost. Her one attempt to detour from life’s predictable path backfired, and she’s slightly overwhelmed by the drastic changes in her life. Less predictably, she faces her choices head on and makes the best of them. She trusts her instincts about the business, and despite feeling like a less experienced, outsider, she gamely goes all-in. She’s also deeply in lust/love with her porn star roommate. Josh works in an industry known for exploiting women, but he contravenes our expectations at every turn. He’s a charming, underachiever who pretends to be unaffected but is actually Extremely Soft (credit: @rosiedanan), and Clara can’t resist him (neither can we!). As you’d expect, the steam level is quite high for much of the novel, but it isn’t gratuitous. The scenes that feature Clara and Josh are particularly well done, and they wonderfully illustrate the intensity of their emotions and physical connection.

Although I like almost everything about this story and its sex-positive, female empowerment message, it’s an idealized version of the porn industry. Danan narrowly focuses our attention on the villainous Black Hat, but only fleetingly references the challenges performers face, and the often traumatic backstories of its entertainers. This is a light hearted depiction of the porn industry, and while it works in the context of the story, I can't think it’s accurate or realistic. I also had a hard time segueing from Josh’s hearty sexual appetite to his laser focus on Clara so quickly after they meet...but since I was highly entertained by his constant state of sexual frustration for most of the novel, I can forgive it!

The Roommate is a delightful opposites attract romance I couldn’t put down. Likeable principals, great secondary characters, clever plotting, funny dialogue, and lots of sex...it’s one of my favorite books of 2020.

3.5 stars rounded up. I can't believe I wondered whether or not this book would be steamy enough for me when the love interest is literally a porn star lmao but anyways it hit the mark

I liked the focus on female pleasure, and I liked how the main conflict resulted in the male love interest's feelings being hurt (not because I wanted his feelings hurt, but it's almost always the woman who is done wrong in the conflict!!) Josh (the porn star love interest in question) had a lot of insecurities about his love life and the way that his career would affect the way romantic partners would view their future with him. It wasn't necessarily relatable in that sense, but it felt genuine and sweet. Josh in general was a very caring person and I liked his role in the book.

There's nothing I didn't like about this book, it was super entertaining and fun and fluffy. I just don't see myself ever revisiting it.

Also I love the cover!! So eyecatching. I wish the title reflected a little more about the story, but I mean, they were roommates (vine voice)

This is not bad but I expected more! I wanted to read something funnier, sexier and more enjoyable!

I love any story-line about two strangers: having totally opposite character traits, sharing a same house, forced to spend more time together, slowly leaving their comfort zones and something dazzlingly hot, sexy starts to build around them: yes, my friends: an incredible, fiery, passionate chemistry.

As soon as I read this book’s blurb, I screamed: “Yes” till my vocal cords hurt! ( I even forgot I was at the grocery store line when I was grabbing my ipad and pushing the request button. Now my local Trader’s Joe employees are giving me strange looks and performing 600 feet social distancing as soon as they see me walking. ) And guess what: I didn’t even know about the hero’s occupation: Yes, he’s a celebrity in the entertainment industry: he’s a famous porn star. So I got more excited because I can hear the “party-fun- humorous romcom bells” in my ears.

But unfortunately the plot that I visualized: the lovely and also annoying characterization and frenemies theme kind of undeniably hot and sexy story already left the building and there were only:

1) Unlikable heroine: Actually she was not unlikable, she was just flat, boring and her character was undeveloped. She just reminded me of a spinster with a stick stuck to her ass. Her name is Clara but she reminded me of Miss Rottenmeier from Heidi, instead of gold-hearted Clara. I did everything empathize with her. But taking risks to leave her privileged life, her pretentious, snob family’s scandals, running after a man named Everett (no better name choice) she’s having a crush for nearly two decades without back up plan, proper job opportunity already made me lose my sympathy points for her from the beginning.

2) ATTRACTION AND CHEMISTRY ALSO LEFT THE BUILDING: Josh is charming pop star but he is also smart, sassy and he didn’t choose this profession for desperation or making ends meet. He truly believes free expression and he’s open about the sexuality. So he doesn’t do anything reluctantly or without consent which worked for me. But from the beginning I didn’t see any chemistry and slow burn romance alerts between characters. I still don’t have any idea why they attracted each other. The emotional building of the story was missing element of the story.

3) IT COULD BE MORE ENTERTAINING AND EMOTIONAL: I wish there were more sexy, sassy, entertaining banters and awkward situations with full of clichés that we get used to read or watch at the romcoms. But I haven’t found them either. I cannot believe that I’m saying it but I wish there would be more cliché, more sighing, heartfelt, romantic moments or humiliating situations the characters find themselves into.

Overall: Even though there are hot sex scenes, I didn’t find them convincing because I never believed that characters truly like each other and I didn’t believe in their attraction or chemistry. So this is unpopular review and I might have reserved my special place in the minority but I think I’m giving 2.5 stars and rounding them up to 3 ! I gave all the stars because I loved the hero and I also have to say: the cover of the book is so unique. I wish I could love the book as much as its cover but that’s not my cup of Chardonnay. I was expecting something more.

Special thanks to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing for sharing this ARC with me in exchange my honest review.

4.5 rounded up to 5.

Sweet, super sexy, and very heartfelt! I was so excited for Danan's debut that I sort of let it skip the line on my ARC list of books to read while in quarantine and I'm so glad I did. The description of this book as a "raunch-com" is definitely accurate (namely because the love scenes are <i>steamy</i>), but there's a lot of emotion in this story too and I appreciated the thoughtfulness that went into building the relationship. Josh is a communicative cinnamon roll who cares about his partner's pleasure before his own and let me tell you, there's nothing sexier than that. Clara is the straight-laced type-A personality, but never in a way that felt irritating or repetitive. And bless this book for not falling prey to the evil ex stereotype and letting Naomi and Clara be friends! (Is Naomi getting her romance at some point? PLEASE SAY YES.)

My one criticism is that I wished we could have seen the conversation between Clara and her family that was alluded to towards the end of the book but never actually transpired on-page; the potential conflict there felt a little too neatly resolved/handwaved for me.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

3.5 stars. I feet like we were sort of thrown into the love story quite quickly. I feel like the family dynamics of Clara weren't really developed other than the author wanted us to know she was a Type A girl from a wealthy family. Initially, I thought it was going to be more of a frenemies to lovers type situation but the initial romantic build up between the two main characters was seemed a little rushed to me. Clara goes from laminating things to getting super cozy on her couch with her new roommate? It all felt a bit too fast for me and I feel like we were expected to root for Clara & Josh very quickly. In my opinion the book isn't believable but that doesn't necessarily detract from being able to enjoy the story though a few times I did roll my eyes at some of the plot developments. While I didn't ultimately connect with the two main characters, this book is definitely original and more unique than a standard boy meets girl, they fall for each other etc. story. Josh's profession and the stereotypes around it and the sex positive message in this book all stand out to me and actually gave me something to think about. Unrelated, but as an Angeleno, I wish the waffle house/drag restaurant was real.

This book was just ok for me. The setting made it unique but the storyline between the two main characters was very predictable

This book was HOT! Within the first 3 chapters, you could feel the sexual tension between these two wonderful characters. Josh is a porn star, and Clara is straight out of a doctorial program and thinking she was moving in with her best friend instead of a random guy. This story is full of empowerment and tender moments. I read this in one sitting and I don't regret it at all!

I wasn't to sure about this book in the beginning?! But it ended up being very um enlightening lol it definitely made you think about things or at least had me thinking! There was some heartbreak and heartache and definitely a lot of funny moments! I really enjoyed reading this book! Thank you NetGalley and the publishers for sharing this book with me!

Are you ready for another 5-star review from me?! Because here it is! I loved The Roommate, so very much. It’s the kind of book you don’t want to stop reading, yet you force yourself to because you don’t want it to end, either.

Clara has just dropped her socialite life on the east coast & followed after her childhood crush to Los Angels. When she shows up she’s surprised to find that her living arrangements for the summer are going to look a bit different.

In walks Josh. Oh Josh! Get ready to swoon. He is every bit the sweet, goofy, & HOT new roommate. Immediately his charm and charisma was beaming from the pages. It’s safe to safe that Josh stole the story for me. Not long after, they set some ground rules as new roommates, and Clara quickly learns that Josh is an adult entertainer. This shocking bit of news sends proper & poised Clara over the edge. These two could not be more opposite if they tried.

There’s a deeper story here than just a fluffy rom-com, though. This book brings attention to the importance of positive sex and the sex industry. It can come in all forms & sizes, and we shouldn’t be embarrassed, or think negatively by it just because it’s something so many have labeled as taboo in the past. It really opened my eyes to another side of this industry, and I’m better for it.

I’ve never read a romance before that begins with the physical connection, then leads to an emotional intimacy, quite like this book did. It felt fresh and unique, a romance novel I was fully immersed in. Readers should know that there are very steamy moments, lots of swoon, and explicit content. All of it was told in very good taste and I kept wanting more, more, more! Expect to see me gushing about this book for awhile!

Easily one of my favorite books of the year! I loved this smart, funny, steamy romance so very much. Its depiction of the adult entertainment industry is something I haven’t seen much in popular media before, and I found it enlightening. I loved how sex-positive the book was as a whole, and focused on women knowing their bodies and taking their pleasure without shame. Following Clara’s journey to letting herself do those things and take control of her own life was as empowering and hopeful as it was just plain fun. I loved her chemistry with Josh, and what a supportive and encouraging guy he was. His journey to finding his own voice and talents and using them how he wanted was also fun to see. I just loved these characters and their story so much! Contemporary romance at its best.

THE ROOMMATE is charming and refreshing and totally what I needed in these stressful times.

I see everyone labeling this as a rom-com, but I wouldn't. (Though, it should be noted, that I'm not really a rom-com kind of person.) Instead THE ROOMMATE is the kind of high-chemistry and low-angst read that sizzles without stressing you out.

There's a healthy bit about our own perceptions of self and how they can get in the way, but also plenty of high-heat-level action.

Special thanks to Berkley for providing our copy in exchange for an honest & fair review.

Y'all - this may be my new favorite romance. I am just so in love with this book!

First, it's open-door & so steamy & sexy. Honestly, this book is dripping with hot sex. There were times I had to put it down, wipe my brow, take a deep breath & go back for more. Like, it's time for a cold shower.

Let me tell you, Rosie Danan can write a sex scene. If you're here for the steam, take a seat & stay a while. Not a letter was skimmed as I took in every syllable of the hot, steamy & lust filled sex scenes.

Now, there's a big part of this book (regarding Josh's occupation) that is not mentioned in the synopsis. For me, I think this such a missed opportunity. I'm afraid readers may join in thinking this is a cute romance not realizing that Josh is a hot & sexy porn star. And guess what? The porn industry as a whole is a large part of this book.

And I am HERE FOR IT! Clara is so straight-laced so when she's thrown into a living arrangement with a porn star, I am giddy. Like, cue the lights, steam & high jinks. I'm ready for her sexual revolution. Give it to me Rosie!

Can I brag for a bit about Josh? I just love him. He's authentic, communicates, is thoughtful & the sweetest porn star I've ever "met".

Now, time to brag about Clara. She is who she is! She communicates openly with Josh & sets her boundaries. She also has gumption and although she is shall we say less experienced than Josh she is not a wallflower.

Next, it's time to brag about Rosie Danan. Now, if I find myself cackling several times while reading, that is always a great sign! There are so many pop culture references in this book too. I always love that. I'm a huge fan & can't wait to read more from Rosie!

THE VERDICT

I am enamored with this book. It's fun, memorable & did I mention it has great sex scenes? I cannot wait for more readers to get their hands on this book!

This book was hot and steamy!

Clara is a Wheaton, Wheaton's, follow and rules and gets disowned if a sandal is ever involved in their life. When Clara feels lost she decided to up and move from New York to LA to live with her forever crush/childhood best friend Everett, but when he picks her up from the airport he drops a bombshell on her. No, he's not seeing someone, he's going on the road with his band all summer and is leaving that day. Not to worry Clara though he has a roommate lined up for her.

This roommate is gorge and no one mentions he works in adult entertainment. This is a great coming of age story for those 20 something-year-old adults where their careers after a few years are not what the wanted and to face the fears of the unknown.

I thoroughly enjoyed this story. While both the characters are in their late twenties at the start of the book, it had coming of age as well as romantic elements, and was very much a book about figuring out who you are and how you want to live your life. I loved seeing Chloe overcome her shyness and need to be the good, well-behaved one at all times. and I loved seeing Josh look for and find more value in himself. I also really liked the way both Josh and Chloe accepted and respected each other in ways that neither was used to. The storyline about creating an online, sex-positive resource for women was a lot of fun, too. And the humour was delightful.

2.5 stars

While I felt the writing was enjoyable, this story overall lacked substance. Neither hero or heroine had any skin in the game - Nothing to lose. Each of them could walk easily away from the opportunity - romantically and business-wise - that tumbled into their laps. And it steadily felt that if things didn’t work out it didn’t really matter.

There was little build up to their relationship. I’m not sure what they saw in one another. Perhaps the theme was that they started out falling for the stereotypes each represented and then saw the true beauty beneath. I’m not certain because we never got below the surface their emotions, motivations or fears.

I won’t call it cute. But it was a quick easy read - like reading about the idea of a book. Plenty was unrealistic but that’s not a thing I hold against romance books much - id come to loathe the genre if i always needed reality.

Bland Sexy Guy and Uptight Girl With Family Issues were non-offensive. Parts of the story related to the exploitation of porn workers was interesting and had so much unfulfilled promise. The ideas certainly stepped out of the comfort zone even if the execution didn’t.

*thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the opportunity to often my unbiased opinion*


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