Original review posted on 9/28/20 at Forever Young Adult: http://foreveryoungadult.com/2020/09/28/roommate/

LET'S GET IT ON with The Roommate by Rosie Danan

First Impressions

Okay, so the cover artist CLEARLY took actress Melissa George’s likeness as, like, extreme inspiration for Clara, am I right or am I right?? It is literally all I can see. And while the cartoon version of Josh doesn’t ring any resemblances to anyone real, in my mind Josh is the spitting image of a smarter version of Ryan Kwanten’s Jason Stackhouse from True Blood. Also, the pink background and the neon title treatment are all just adorable and it seems like it’s a nod to the author’s note about how she appreciates that her dad was always willing to buy her “pink-covered romance novels”. Adorbs.

What’s Your Type?

Friends to lovers, frank and positive sex talk, smart characters, smart writing, frequent discussions of LA traffic

Dating Profile

Clara is an uptight East Coast socialite from a prominent family, where scandal means years of shame and atonement or, worse, banishment from the family name. Armed with her doctorate degree in art history and a sense that she has barely lived any kind of life worth living, she does her first impulsive thing ever and hops on a plane to LAX, (with a dream in her heart…ahem) to spend the summer with her childhood friend and unrequited love, Everett.

Josh was an aimless twenty-four year old with no drive when he was scouted by porn conglomerate Black Hat. In the last few years, he’s become very popular with female viewers for his endearing charm; on-again, off-again relationship with popular and brash co-star Nikki; and, his, ah, enthusiastic zeal to elicit female pleasure. After another "off period" in which Nikki kicks him out of their apartment, Josh rents a random room for the summer as he contemplates the next steps in his career.

Meet Cute

Clara’s “go get ‘em, girl!” daydream of a summer in LA where she systematically makes Everett fall in love with her bursts before the drive back to Everett’s place is even over. He tells her he’s leaving all summer to go on a last-minute tour with his band, and that he’s rented out one of his bedrooms to a stranger on Craigslist, but she can, like, totally have the other room no problem. Clara and Josh have never met anyone else quite like each other—and that’s even before Clara finds out what Josh does for a living. But there are lines you probably shouldn’t cross, and of course a rich socialite like Clara would never go for a lowly porn star, just like a person who has sex for a living would never be interested in a frigid East Coaster who’s never had an orgasm with another person. And you certainly don’t fall in love with your temporary roommate…

The Lean

Clara and Josh are warm for each other’s forms pretty quickly, especially as Josh always has sex on the brain and Clara is sex-starved, but Danan crafts plenty of reasons to keep them close but not TOO close to give me the unresolved sexual tension I desire. Even once the, ah, tension is abated, there’s still lots of completely reasonable emotional blockades for the two to sort out before any HEA could happen. Josh and Clara also just have great banter and camaraderie in every scene together, so I didn't mind watching them dance around one another.

Dirty Talk

For those of a certain age, remember how scandalous Christina Aguilera’s “Dirrty” was way back when? Now we’ve got random teenagers making up explicit sexy dances to “WAP” for the entire world to see. Someone get me my walker. On a scale of “Dirrty” to “WAP” this book will surprisingly fall in kinda in the middle?

Ms. Perky's Prize for Purplest Prose



While explicit, Danan’s sexy moments are refreshingly not overwrought, nor overly purple. When I looked back at my Kindle “notebook” though, I'd actually highlighted more that, surprisingly, wasn’t sexy-related, as I apparently enjoyed her life insights and little moments of observational humor:

“What’s the big deal? There’s no non-asshole way to say this, but I get about fifty women a week asking me to do this. It’ll be totally clinical, Scout’s honor.” He saluted her with three fingers.
“Yeah. I’m going to go out on a limb and say this conversation is not sanctioned by the Boy Scouts of America.” She couldn’t help imagining the havoc he could wreak with that hand.

Josh didn’t waver in his convictions. “If I can’t get you off with my hands,” he said, his voice soft and incredibly kind, “that’s my problem. Not yours. And if that’s the case, we’ll figure something else out. Every body is different, but none of them are wrong.”

Unfortunately, like grain alcohol, unrequited love grows more potent with time.

“Change always comes with a closing cost,” Naomi said. “But it’s still worth trying. Not because the odds are particularly good, mind you, but considering the alternative. There’s value in the struggle. Value in touching the raw and bloody parts of our souls, opening them up to the sunlight, and hoping they heal.”

We Need To Talk

There is so much to unpack here! Danan has crafted an unabashed, sex-positive story that feels both refreshing and also comfortably familiar. You’ve got some tried-and-true rom-com beats (a bit of a outlandish premise, yearning for “reasons”, a public apology) but it’s wrapped up in a thoroughly modern and feminist package. There’s critical thought and political discussion on the porn industry—its positives and negatives—and the stigma surrounding people like Josh and his costar Naomi (who, bonus because I loved her, will star in her own book, out next April!). Clara goes on a sexual journey that many young women will be able to relate to, and she’s never shamed for wanting to learn how to enjoy herself in whatever form that means. Even Josh isn’t without his own self-image struggles, which further helped to craft him into such a wonderfully three-dimensional character.

Was It Good For You?



Look, even if I had been on the fence until this point, in chapter thirteen Clara and Josh have a movie night and Clara tells him they’re watching her favorite action movie, Speed. Josh clarifies, “You mean you love Keanu Reeves?” and calls it the “poor man’s Die Hard” (uh, so wrong!). But Clara shuts him down about how it’s not ONLY about Keanu Reeves, but that “Speed is an action movie for the female gaze. Do you know how you can tell? The heroine has got on sensible shoes.”

Rosie—I mean, Clara, I completely agree!! Clara even refuses to acknowledge there’s a Speed sequel, and I do that all the time with another Keanu classic, The Matrix. (Who would be silly enough to mess with a perfectly good movie by adding 2 far inferior sequels? Not the Wachowski siblings, surely!) Throw in a throwaway line later in the novel where Josh mentions that one time Clara tried to convince him The Mummy is a love story (uh, doy!), and clearly Rosie Danan and I are pop culture soulmates who have excellent taste in movies and books.

FTC Full Disclosure: I received my free review copy from Berkley Publishing. I received neither money nor peanut butter cups in exchange for this review. The Roommate is available now.

First off, I’d like to say that this has plenty of the ingredients for an amazing contemporary romance. It’s got opposites attract and *roommates* and an LA setting and some steam. The writing is great. And lots of people are loving it!!

It... just didn’t work for me for some reason. I think it’s just a bit, ahhhh... much? for me. I like a slow build up and some good romance, but this one overwhelmed me and I’m giving it three stars because I think that it just boils down to personal preference. A book to be appreciated, just not my cup of tea!

Slow burn, friends to lover’s romance with some steam!

Clara is a smart, shy socialite with an impressive family and education. She uprooted her New York lifestyle and moved to LA to be with her childhood crush, Everett. But Everett has other plans and takes off with his band, leaving Clara to become roommates with an adult performer named Josh. Sparks fly as Clara and Josh get to know each other, and little do they know their lives are about to change in more ways than one.

I really like the characters- in some ways it has The Kiss Quotient vibes. It was a nice change to see Clara and Naomi becoming friends instead of enemies. I love that art history was represented, and both Clara and Josh reconnected with estranged family members. Also the retro cover art is pretty cool. I would definitely read the next book in the series.

Thank you NetGalley and Berkley Publishing for sending me a copy!

HOLY SPICY

this book was somehow incredibly sweet and swoon worthy and vvvvvv sexy. like a lot. It takes on important issues like the safety and content issues in the porn industry. Two characters in forced proximity but also forced to learn from each other- one to chill and one to care. Loved. Great debut!

I really liked the premise of this book, and the way it humanizes the profession of sex workers. It was definitely steamy, so I would need to very carefully recommend it to people, depending on their preferences.

woo! I stayed up until 2am one night reading this book because I just couldn't put it down. I love books where while I'm reading them I have to out loud react to things happening in the book. I loved this book start to finish. Very steamy.

I thoroughly enjoyed The Roommate! It pulled me out of a months-long reading slump, which to me is always a sign of a good romance. I loved the dynamic between the main characters, and I also loved how positively sex work was portrayed in this story; it was a refreshing change from most mainstream media.

The Roommate was fantastic! So sweet and endearing and hot as hell! Clara and Josh were everything I love about romance, really. So so good!

Summary
Clara has never done anything rash in her life. Her family is known for scandal so she has spent her life following the rules and staying outside of the spotlight. But when her best friend and life-long crush invites her to out to LA, she packs up her life on the east coast to try and win him over for good.
But when he abandons her, Clara finds herself living with a handsome and charming stranger - Josh. They probably could have worked as roommates, if only Clara hadn't looked him up online....

Overview
➸ POV: 3rd Person, Clara & Josh's POV

➸ Clara Wheaton: 27, East Coast elite, Over-achiever & well-mannered, Moved cross-country to live with life-long friend & crush - Everett, Doctorate in art history

➸ Josh Darling: 26, Clara's new roommate, Charming, Secretive about personal life & career, Works in "entertainment industry, Trying to win back ex-girlfriend

➸ Content Warnings: Blackmail, Car accident, Anxiety/panic (especially over driving), Sexual harassment

My Thoughts
This was amazingly feminist, sex-positive, and laugh out loud funny.

I think my favorite thing about this book was the way it highlighted and supported sex work. This book was so amazingly sex positive and brought up so many important discussions. I loved all the conversations around why the characters chose their career, the pros and (sometimes dark) cons of the industry, and impacts their career has on their personal lives. It was so well done and I absolutely adored that aspect of the this story.

I also loved the chemistry and banter between Josh and Clara! Their banter was hilarious and had me laughing out multiple times. I like that this book was told in dual perspective because the reader really gets to see the mutual pining happening between the main characters. The sexual tension was off the charts and those sex scenes were next level steamy.

There were 2 things that kept this from a full 5 star for me.

The first being - I thought Josh was more developed than Clara. Clara is constantly talking about pressures from her family back east but we never get on page interaction from them. So they never felt real or consequential. Which was a big deal since they were the main thing standing in Clara's way.

The second was the ending. I wasn't a huge fan of this ending. I thought it was a little corny and unbelievable. The main conflict between the characters felt really high stakes, and for the majority of the book I had no idea how they were going to work out these obstacles. And the conclusion just felt too easy and unbelievable.

Overall I really loved this romance and I can't wait for more from this series and author (Naomi's book is coming next year!!). It was sexy, funny, feminist, and full of amazing discussions. We love to see a a sex positive, roommate romance!

loved this book!!! it was adorable and unique. I also have to say it's a steamy one, but I want to read more from this author I really enjoyed her writing style.

*3.5

*Thanks to #NetGalley and #prhinternational for give me this digital copy of the book in exchange of a honest review*

I enjoyed this book, it is easy and funny and entertained me for all the time, even if it is nothing of what I expected from the plot.

Clara and Josh relationship is good represent. It starts slow and the author give them the time for discover each other. I really enjoyed all their interactions, they are both funny and cute.
The sexy parts are the only ones that I didn't enjoy much about them, I don't really know the reason, but I found them quite boring.

All the book seems to me that is well thought out and organized, but the last 15% ruin it a little. It all become too much fast.
The relationship between the two become really fast at the end and you can't understand really well how their thoughts changed.
Also I like the fact that the author talk about the adult film industry and she did a really interesting and, in my opinion, good job to show it, but at the end all this thing become a little unrealistic.

It is all too fast at the end, a lot of conversions that we are waiting from the start never happened and some secondary plots and characters never have the chance to shine like they could.

The writing style is quite good, but sometimes is a little confusing.
In some scene you don't understand really well how they arrived in that position and some scene should definitely been narrated to the other protagonist for give to the reader a grater emotional drive.

At the end The Roommate is a good book, that only get a little bit fast at the end, but it is perfect for some hours without thinking.

The Roommate by Rosie Danan is a light and fluffy romance featuring a bit of an uptight woman and her surprise roommate. Clara moved to California on an uncharacteristic whim to room with her longtime friend and crush. However, upon her arrival she discovers that he’s setting off on a and tour and leaving her rooming with a porn star named Josh. Lots of fun antics and awakenings occur. Read and enjoy!

I was not expecting the storyline, every twist and turn was a surprise. I really enjoyed this book. I wish there was more dialogue with the supporting characters. But overall the book a fun read.

The telltale sign of a great romance novel is one that pulls you in from the first chapter, makes you stay up late, and has you sneaking in chapters at every opportunity. The Roommate was that book for me. Readers who loved The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang will adore this close proximity romance that has tons of sex worker positivity and a beautiful emphasis on female pleasure. Rosie Danan’s debut is not just steamy but also hilarious with awkward situations for the protagonists as well as really sweet moments. I’m highly anticipating Danan’s sophomore novel following one of The Roommate‘s fantastic supporting characters.

🌿 REVIEW 🌿⠀
The Roommate by Rosie Danan⠀
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Thank you to @netgalley and @berkleypub for the #gifted copy!⠀
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This book was honestly so much fun to read. I went into it expecting the typical roommates to lovers trope and got something so completely different. Can you say STEAMY? Clara and Josh were both such great characters and I loved how well they complimented each other. Their banter, sarcasm + chemistry was wonderful. The whole book I was shouting JUST KISS ALREADY. ⠀
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Aside from Clara + Josh, my favorite part was how supportive Clara and Josh’s ex-girlfriend were of each other. New girl and Ex-girlfriend hating each other trope? We don’t know her!! The Roommate totally took that annoying cliche, turned it around, and said YES we are here to support other women and raise them up!!!⠀
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While this book is fun and enjoyable, it also discusses important themes and topics that people tend to shy away from. This book is sex positive + is about women having agency over their sexual wants/needs while also shedding light on the sex industry and the harassment sex workers experience. Rosie Danan really said f you to society norms in this one and i’m HERE for it. ⠀
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Overall, I picked this book up expecting something different and was pleasantly surprised with what I got instead. I highly recommend if you love a good rom-com with some steam, sex positivity and hella supportive friends.⠀

Absolutely phenomenal!! What's not to love about this book? Clara and Josh had chemistry for days! I swear I needed a fan to read this story. Just their glances at each other were smoldering. But the story was more than just sex. It had so many laugh out loud moments, but also emotional, heart tugging ones. Clara and Josh fell in love as they found themselves and I just adored everything about it.

Refreshingly sex-positive and progressive in its portrayal of the sex work industry. Danan's writing brings the leads' chemistry to life and makes for some very steamy scenes. Their backgrounds, particularly Clara's, are a bit vague, but ultimately not really the point. Some good chuckles throughout, too. Would recommend to contemporary romance readers who are up for a medium-high level of spice and open to underrepresented viewpoints.

I was intrigued by the premise of this romance as soon as the blurb was released. A porn star and an uptight east coast elite thrown together as roommates satisfied both my love of the forced proximity trope and my need for something fresh and new in the romance genre.

Readers are introduced to Clara, who has moved across the country so that she can finally find out if her BFF from childhood is also her true love. And to Josh, the darling of the porn scene who truly enjoys giving women pleasure, but senses that his life may be changing when he refuses demands made by the company who owns his contract.

The Roommate is a sex-positive, charming romance that was just what I needed. This couple had tremendous chemistry and even though I expected a little more angst to their relationship, there was surprisingly little until a late in the book break up that doesn’t even last that long. What you do get is a great strangers to friends to lovers to in love romance, a lot of super hot sex scenes, and a sweet HEA.

Recommend.

4.5
I got the Arc for this book I’m doing the review a few days late I know but I definitely recommended. It’s a book that you can laugh and learn.

Josh and Clara are really funny and I feel that you can related a lot to Clara in some ways. I love the way author explain and make Clara get out of get confort zone.
Josh is someone who you can see he is really sweet even when bad things happened to him.
I’m real,y easy to please when comes to book and did book didn’t disappoint even thought it is in 3rd person I still enjoyed I feel like if it wasn’t I wouldn’t love it as much as I did.
And it’s not fully 5 starts because I didn’t like how rush the epilogue was but overall I loved the book and I look forward to read more from this author.
Also the side characters were really funny I wish we had more backgrounds about some of them but not everything can happen.
Read this book please 🥺

** I've received this digital copy in advance by @phinternational in exchange of an honest review*
*Attention, there will be some little spoiler*

This book use an usual trope and develops it in something quite original and peculiar: a girl that has never taken a risk in her life because of her family history and reactions about scandals and a pornstar come to live together.
Two very different people that when they're in the same room make sparkles, and I'm not talking about physical attraction, but something more related to how much they well mix together.
Their dialogue were interesting and funny since the very beginning, the way they speak and move and touch each other expresses very well how they develop something more deep than a mere body need.
What unfortunately has been a clichè is their way of thinking: she is convinced she's not worth of male attention and that he doesn't want something serious; on the other side he's absolutely attracted by her, but at the same time he thinks that a girl raised in confort couldn't stay with someone that works in the pornography system. It would be cool if it had been the premise of something more, but at the end the "problem" is just that and I was a little bit disappointed.
It's a real pity, because the writing style is very enjoyable, the theme of fear to overcome and personal confidence to acquire were very interesting, plus the issue of blackmailing and workers exploitation by big industries could have been a strong plus point (not to mention that some phrases really touched my heart) but all of this wasn't enough because it has just scraped the surface of its real potential.
Let me clarify, I think, for the depth the author wanted to have this story, this book misses and needs something more: some introspection for both of the characters, more pages and events to take a look and develop or change their relationship with their family, and more interaction with other people, because it's more difficult than being confident with its own partner. Plus, the idea to discover porn business with its performers and problems has been very interesting, but even in this case it could be exploited more and not be just a sort of background. All has been fixed so quickly it results too simple.

I expected more from this author, but if this is her first book the premises are good.

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