I will not be finishing this book based on a review I read in which a character was described to play into harmful racial stereotypes.

Good book, perfect for fans of YA romance, mystery, and the boarding-school setting in general. I adored the imagery and the mood throughout the book, from the Seven Hills boarding school to the nearby town. Additionally, I liked how there were a few different scenes in the castle where scenes were set, because it made it feel different without being disjointed.
The characters? Perfect. I could really feel them developing throughout the novel, and could understand their hopes and dreams. The romances were so cute and sweet, and I found myself cheering them on at times.
My only complaint is the mystery: it feels like it was kind of crammed into the end of the book, and it didn't start developing until about the 70% mark (I read it on Kindle), and for the mystery of the Chitter Chatter we didn't get much view of the actual mystery solving. Still, I enjoyed the twists and depth that came from including a bit of mystery.
In all, this was a good book, and I recommend it.

I enjoyed reading both POVs but was much more invested in Evelyn’s but still liked both. Evelyn’s and Noelle’s romance was so cute and the things that Noelle did in order to help Evelyn with her nightmares were so adorable.

I also loved how it was a queer version of gossip girl. This book is fast paced and such a quick and easy read. It is unapologetically queer and is an adorable ya contemporary.

The ending felt a bit fast paced for it felt like it was just thrown in there even through it was foreshadowed throughout the book, but still was on the edge of my seat when reading it.

** Thank you Wattpad Books and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange of an honest review **

I really enjoyed the premise of the book, however the execution fell flat for me. The book tried too many ways of delivering tropes that were not executed very well. I tried to love it, but the characterization felt a bit flat and stereotypical, particularly Noelle’s character. Her character felt oversexualized and her mean persona fell into a stereotype many black women face daily. Frankly, while the storyline was promising, such enforcement of stereotypes makes the book not worth it.

Unfortunately had to dnf this because of the racist undertones and stereotyping of the only black character mentioned in the whole book. The premise was so interesting and the writing itself wasn't even that bad but I can't in good conscience support this.

This book was so exciting to here about. A sapphic boarding school romance, hate to love, multiple queer characters, however this book did not deliver what i wanted. The main character was the "perfect" shy blonde girl that really annoyed me. I did enjoy her relationship with her friends and i liked the pining between her and Noelle. The relationship between Evelyn and Noelle moved to fast in my opinion and I would have enjoyed another 50 pages or more to build up the characters.
Since Im white I'm speaking from what I've seen others say...
...and that is the depiction of Noelle is racist. Her character feeds on harmful black stereotypes and is not good representation for the world.
Now besides the characters I really didn't like the writing style. There were too many descriptions that were needless and i couldn't get lost in the story.
There were some cute scenes that I enjoyed.
I would say I was quite literally disappointed in this book but some people I think would enjoy it especially since it isn't very long.

Characters: 1/5
Plot: 1/5
Setting: 1/5
Themes: 1/5
Writing: 1/5

Edit: I've edited my review based on the new outlook on this book in regards to the racism and extreme stereotypes that play within it. I've spent some time contemplating how I felt about this book. In general, it was ok. I had a few positive things to say about this book at first, but no. This book was filled with stereotypes. Everyone in this story is white except for the headmistress (who we never see) and one of our main characters, Noelle but of course, Noelle is the bully that everyone is scared of, she’s sexualized, mean, has an absent father, plays basketball and is violent. Then we get a little white-savior complex happening when Evelyn (who is white) changes Noelle for the better……….

I saw the cover for this book on NetGalley and was immediately interested (I mean, wlw boarding school romance? Yes!). However, once I saw that it was published by Wattpad Books- and originally a Wattpad story at that- I was hesitant. I have not had a great experience with Wattpad. I hate to judge entire genres of stories based on stereotypes- for instance, I have read some great fanfiction. Seeing that something is associated with Wattpad, though, always gives me pause. I decided to push through any prejudice and request the ARC anyway. After all, not all Wattpad stories are bad. Right?

I should have trusted my initial instincts with this one.

Never Kiss Your Roommate can only be described as shallow. The characters are incredibly two-dimensional: we have the innocent book nerd, the mean basketball player (who is also Black, which rubbed me the wrong way. I'm white and cannot speak on racism whatsoever, but having the Black girl be a mean basketball player felt... not good), the shy boy who likes detective novels and is magically great with electronics, and the flirty French boy. Jasper, who was from France, was such a caricature. He would randomly throw in French words into the conversation in a way that felt very unnatural. There was also an Italian man who ran a pizza shop and... well, you get the idea.

The two POV characters, Evelyn and Seth, become best friends instantly. The romance in this book was also too sudden for me. One minute Noelle, Evelyn's roommate and love interest, is at her throat, and the next she's comforting Evelyn after she has a nightmare. I regret saying that they reminded me of Simon and Baz. Simon and Baz were roommates as well, yes, but they had build-up. Tension. Chemistry. Things that Evelyn and Noelle did not.

Seth and Jasper, our other couple, bored me as well. Seth got noticeably less POV chapters than Evelyn, which did not help with the build-up to his relationship with Jasper. They fell in 'love' much too quickly and we barely saw any progression in their relationship. Some stupid drama was thrown in that could have been solved with a two minute conversation, but of course nothing is that easy.

This book also tried to throw in a mystery, but failed spectacularly. The Gossip Girl rip-off website that the school had was just ridiculous, and I guessed who was behind it from the get-go. This plot was thrown into the last 70% or so of the book and was resolved in the dumbest way possible.

There was also a random kidnapping thrown in near the end, in true Wattpad fashion. At that point, I was just laughing. I felt like I was 12 again reading Victorious fan fiction on FF.Net. Even some of the dialogue and sentence structure reminded me of bad fan fiction. And this is a published work!

Never Kiss Your Roommate tries to be a cute romance novel that tackles important themes such as sexual assault and internalized homophobia. The keyword here is tries. While these themes are incredibly important, this book does not handle them- or its characters- with as much depth as they deserve.

I received an ARC of Never Kiss Your Roommate by Philline Harms thanks to the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Review:
Never Kiss Your Roommate is about a group of teens who live in at a boarding school for various reasons. The story POV alternates between two main characters, Seth and Evelyn. Both are fun characters, although Evelyn feels a bit forgettable. She doesn't have something that makes her 'unique'. Coming out is major, but (I hate saying this but) when every other character is out, her struggle feels less genuine. I know it totally is and her history explains her reasoning but I just wanted something else to define her. Yes, she is likable and I enjoyed her interactions with others, but... I don't know... I prefer the other characters.

I did really enjoy watching the relationships develop, both friendships and romance. The writing was fantastic and all of the LGBTQ+ rep is amazing. I like the 'unknown' antagonist of The Watcher and how that unfolded. However, I wish there was more. I guess most of my complaints come down to wanting more depth, even if it resulted in a longer book.

There was no doubt that I was going to finish, even if it was only to see more of Jasper and Elle and watching the romance build.

Overall, I enjoyed the story. It reminds me of She Drives Me Crazy, which might be part of why this review is hard to write (I sound like I'm repeating myself a bit). However, if you enjoyed She Drives Me Crazy, I highly recommend Never Kiss Your Roommate but put a few weeks between them.

The second I finished reading NEVER KISS YOUR ROOMMATE, I came here and left a fairly positive review. I tend to do that—let the high of finishing a book cloud my critical judgment of the actual content. I should’ve waited. I couldn’t stop thinking of all the problematic aspects of this book as I went about my day. Ultimately, I decided I couldn’t leave my 3 star review with such glaring issues staring me in the face.

I was apprehensive going into this book, as I haven’t quite enjoyed any of the releases coming from Wattpad Books. Still, I was willing to give this enemies-to-lovers boarding school slash Gossip Girl-style book a try simply for the wlw and mlm relationships.

Boy, was I wrong.

The fact that the one (1) single Black character, Noelle, who doubles as the innocent and perfect (white) Evelyn’s love interest/roommate, was repeatedly referred to as intimidating, rude, standoffish, and a “slut” (yes, we’re really calling girls sluts in the year 2021 as if we haven’t learned any better)—it was all off-putting. There was one other Black woman in the story, but the headmistress played such a minor role that it doesn’t even matter. Pair all of that with the complete and utter lack of any other non-white characters (and the weird, caricaturized portrayals of French and Italian people), and it’s pretty clear that not a single sensitivity reader laid eyes on this book.

Beyond the harmful racial stereotypes, the genre was pretty confusing (romance meets mystery meets thriller), the pacing was all over the place, the school gossip blog didn’t make much sense in the way it was used, and I’m still not sure why or how the title was chosen.

There are too many beautiful, actually diverse sapphic books already out there or soon to be published to be settling like this.

This book is riddled with racial strerotyping and constantly perpetuates harmful representation of Black women. The Black girl in this story goes to an all white school (like, literally no other diversity in this cast) and is type casted as the bully. She's aggressive, violent, rude, father-less, over sexualized, and a smoker. Then the white girl comes along to save the day by "fixing" her personality. Absolutely not recommending this to anybody, I can't believe this book wasn't put through sensitivity readers. It's 2021, the publishing and writing industry needs to do better than putting out garbage like this.

Never Kiss Your Roommate is a very over-the-top story with lots of queer rep and great characters!

I really enjoyed the relationships in this book! There is both an f/f and an m/m relationship that I enjoyed reading about, but while I did have fun following these characters, I am definitely more of a plot-driven kinda person, and due to this book having a very messy plot, this story didn't fully work for me. I'll definitely read more by this author, and overall this was a pretty fun book!

This book was incredible! The characters, the angst, the romance, the plot. It was EVERYTHING! Plus, add that element of a "gossip girl" character, and it's nearly perfect! I absolutely adored this book. My only issue was that it had this one plotline towards the end that was a bit unbelievable, but other than that, absolutely amazing!

I absolutely loved this book! For the fans of Her Royal Highness, this book also takes place in a boarding school and has lesbian, pansexual, and bisexual representation. I loved how the author embraces the variety of sexualities people can have and weaves it through so naturally. I loved the discussions of topics like consent and how it destigmatized being in the closet. I would read up on the trigger warnings as the book discusses some heavier topics. Other than that though, I can't wait for everyone else to read it and fall in love with it as much as I did. It helped fill the queer void left by certain other boarding school series. A perfect read to kickstart the summer. I can't wait to read more from this author!

Never Kiss Your Roommate is the perfect comfort read. With loveable characters, the sweetest romances and writing easy to sink into, it’s a wonderful story to get lost in. Harms’ talent shines through her characters whose distinct voices and personalities make you feel like you’re talking to a friend and whose relationships you can’t help but root for. Never Kiss Your Roommate is corny and full of clichés in the best way possible and an absolute joy to read.

This is not a book to pick up for the plot which was admittedly a bit over the top and all over the place at times but the strength of the characters rendered that inconsequential. These characters and their relationships were impossible not to root for and empathise with, even coupled by the overdramatics. They just had some quality that I can’t quite put my finger on that makes them feel alive and tangible and I fell for them early on. The relationships, both romantic and platonic were so believable and had such great chemistry that I was immediately invested and ate up every little interaction.

And that’s not to say the plot was terrible – I really enjoyed it, particularly relating to the romances. I did feel that the Chitter Chatter blog could have played a more significant role as it didn’t really come into play until later on and never seemed to be the Big Bad it was suggested to be. The plot acted mainly as a vehicle for character and relationship development and did so effectively while remaining entertaining and easy to follow, if a touch predictable and over the top. What I did find was particularly well done was the look at sexuality, particularly for Evelyn, our main character. She arrives at Seven Hills terrified of being out and struggling to accept herself following previous negative experiences and watching as she slowly learned to accept herself and grow confident in her identity was just incredible. This is such an authentic, relatable experience and I think it’s going to mean the world to some readers – I know it would have for me had I picked this book up a year ago.

If you, too, were active on Wattpad a few years ago (and maybe even now?) you will recognise many aspects and tropes this book employs, from secret pasts, teaching your crush how to punch (who actually tucks their thumb in??) and an unbelievably dramatic climax scene. I personally found this return to a structure I was so familiar with really comforting and fun to read and I imagine many others will feel the same, whether they’re familiar with the structure or not. However, I know that this book will divide readers, as some find it all too much and unrealistic and must admit that there were points where I felt this too.

Never Kiss Your Roommate is at once nostalgic and refreshing, taking a well loved structure and filling it with queer characters and a touching look at sexuality, coming out and self acceptance. I mean this in the best possible way when I say that this book reads like fanfiction – lovingly crafted characters and expert trope usage written with reader satisfaction and joy as the main goal. This book isn’t going to be for everyone but if you, too, are a lover of clichés and slightly ridiculous romances then I think you’ll adore Never Kiss Your Roommate.

Never Kiss Your Roommate by Philline Harms, was exactly as I imagined it to be. It was a Sapphic/Queer Gossip Girl Mash-Up (and I was here for it).

First things first, the characters were well fleshed out for the most part, I enjoyed the sincerity of Evelyn, the growth that we witnessed from snarky and entitled to warm in Noelle, and Seth by far had the best sense of humour, Jasper was less visible in the text, and not as well-developed among the others, but overall the characters are deserving of much praise.

As for plot, I feel like that's where the book struggled. Part of me wonders if it is due to the author's age, that the book became more character-centric versus plot. Since that is how we see our lives when we are younger (don't get me wrong, characters matter) but I found that plot truly suffered here. The conflict initiated by The Watcher, wasn't as intimidating, or haunting, as I anticipated its presence to be (i.e. Gossip Girl). The majority of the conflict didn't appear until toward the end of the novel, and by then we had mostly been witness to the day-to-day lives of the characters, who they are and what they want. This would have been fine, had I not been expecting more based on the blurb and reviews.

Third, as a Queer woman, Queer reader, and #OWN Voices writer, parts of the story felt like being Queer in the novel only existed, so that the book could simultaneously benefit from a queer character's pain.

Lastly, the book was good. Did it overwhelm me and blow my mind? No. But I can see why others read it and enjoyed it, I can see where a younger audience might benefit from a book like this. I worry some about the larger and darker themes that you aren't quite prepared for, but the book can hold its own. despite that fact. I think the author is still young yet, and we'll likely see her writing grow with her.

This book was cute and it was good but it wasn't fantastic or anything. I really liked the characters and it definitely has some really great things going for it.
First off this book is very much character driven and not really plot driven which is you are into that then this is for you. It also definitely feels like a fanfiction which again isn't a bad thing at all. I have read plenty of absolutely outstanding fanfics. This is just very much written in that style so future readers should be aware of that.
The only thing about this is that its just not all that original. It is definitely a plot and story I have seen and read before but that didn't make it bad that is just why I only gave it three stars.
I say if you enjoy this sort of cute romance or boarding scheme style stories then you will definitely like this. Also the author is only 19 and she did a really good job. Just be aware this book does have some triggers so please go check out warring first!

Thank you to wattpad books and netgalley for this e-arc!

Overall I really enjoyed the book. I thought the relationships and friendships we saw evolve throughout the story were very sweet! I actually loved Seth and Evelyns friendship so much, but I didn’t enjoy reading Seth’s perspective as much as I did Evelyns.

The writing was fine and easy to read but nothing special in my opinion. Sometimes I found it a bit cliche, which I felt like didn’t work that well for the story or the characters. I wish it was a bit more nuanced.

I loved the romance, and that’s partly why I kept reading. But when I saw the mystery genre come into play almost at the end of the book, it felt a bit rushed and unnecessary. Although it wasn’t a surprise, since there were so many Easter eggs throughout the story.

Overall I enjoyed it and it was exactly what I needed to get out of my reading slump

I wanted to like this book but could not get over the racist character depictions and confused attempts at three different genres.

To start off with our main characters: Evelyn is the true main character and Seth is our forgotten secondary main character that doesn't get nearly as much focus or development as Evelyn, making his story and perspective feel last minute and useless.

This book only has white people with the exception of basketball-playing, cigarette-smoking, overly aggressive, rude, oversexualized, violent, rowdy black girl and love interest to Evelyn, Noelle. The headmaster who we see in a few paragraphs is also black and then that's it. The scary black girl and the pure, innocent, bookish white girl fall in love and it made me very angry and uncomfortable from start to finish.

The author could've taken a moment to acknowledge how the student body's perception of Noelle was influenced by racism in how she seems to be the one non-white student in the entire school but no- it was just a vague exaggerated misunderstanding rooted in Noelle's constant "bad girl" behavior. Noelle's blackness in the context of oppression and being a minority is brought up a whole two times in throwaway lines that lead to zero conversation about it.

This book also tried to be a rom-com, a mystery (a mystery that was easy to solve within the first couple of chapters, by the way), and a thriller and none of it blended naturally.

The depictions of French and Italian people also felt very cartoonish.

Overall, I'm left very confused as to what I was supposed to take away from this story.

3.5/5 stars

This book was good- kind of. I really enjoy the beginning (like first 50% of it), but from there it went downhill. And honestly, I thought this was going to be a five star read, but unfortunately, it was not.

First of all, this book tried to be too many things. I couldn't tell if it was supposed to be a rom-com or thriller. I really, really would've liked this more if it just stuck with the rom-com genre. And of course, cross-genre/multi-genre books can be good- but only if they're done well. This one definitely needed work.

Second, you could tell this book used to be a wattpad book. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing, just something to note. Especially with the characters, who all felt kind of one dimensional.

Another thing that really bothered me at one point was that around the 76% mark, one character just acted out of character. It was as if they had switched personalities. Several other characters had little to no character development.

In terms of the good, I thought the romance(s) were very sweet, and the boarding school setting was super cool. I liked the pacing, too.

Overall, I think this book had a lot of potential, and that's what really bothers me. I adored a large part of the book, but the mystery part was just unnecessary and felt out of place. I would recommend this, but just note that towards the end things start going downhill.

*I received an arc from netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review*