This was like She’s the Man hit for real. It was so cute and I loved the characters and the acceptance and love. It was a good read. Heartwarming.

A really cute book about a second chance at love when everything about you has changed.

I really liked this book, I loved the characters and I feel like the secondary ones gave it a lot of substance to the world that surrounds them, I would have even liked to see more of them and get to know their stories, and while the two main character were not my favourite I did learn to love them too.

In general, the development of the relationship between the two main characters was a little weak at times, mostly because they could just not communicate but once you remember they are teenagers and chances are you were much worst I feel like it's easy to let it go and enjoy it.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me an arc in exchange for an honest review

4.5/5. This was so cute and fun! The writing was delightful and the characters were quirky and unique. Charlie is a wonderful ball of stress (rightfully so) who has so much going on that we actually struggle to get to know him outside of his problems, but we do get glimpses of a boy who cares for his friends and family, works so hard, and is incredibly smart. Jasper is…. Delightfully odd. He’s dramatic and can be self absorbed, or at least that’s how Charlie sees him at first. But he cares so deeply and tries so hard.

The side characters are nothing short of delightful. There’s no other word for this crew of opposites attract friends. I love how Charlie is so self conscious, but the other boys won’t let him push them away. They fight to get let in to his little bubble and he finally caves, creating a lovely found family.

The romance is also fun, but a bit more of the side plot than I imagined. However, the way this book is written, I have no issues with it not being as front and center. I love working through Charlie’s struggles of accepting himself, making and keeping friends, and making rank. The addition of him being attracted to his roommate and ex semi-boyfriend feels like a delightful extra.

The only thing I wish we’d been able to see more of is jasper’s struggles. Through Charlie’s eyes, he doesn’t struggle, but we know he does. At the end of the day, I want even more from these characters because they were so fun.

I loved this story so much! It was such a fun and sweet story. Rooomates to lovers. I enjoyed the overall premise as well as the characters.

Thank you so much for the arc and the chance for this adventure!

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

This book was everything I had hoped it would be! I loved the one sided enemies-to-lovers dynamic, and I think Charlie and Jasper’s relationship was really well written overall. Anytime there was a lack of communication or miscommunication, it felt like there was a genuine reason for it, so it wasn’t as frustrating as miscommunication often is. I think one of my favourite things about this book is the total lack of transphobia and homophobia. There is kind of a looming threat of it (which comes from being in a school that places a lot of value on tradition) but that’s it. I also really enjoyed the platonic relationships between Charlie and the other characters. I loved his character growth, and the way he and his friends looked out for each other. There was just such a sweet community vibe throughout the book that made it really comforting to read.

There was only one thing that I didn’t particularly like. Throughout the book, Jasper is referenced as winning the “Sexiest Poet of the Year” award. But like... he’s 16. Is this award only for highschoolers? Because if so I don’t think there should be an award ranking highschool poets based on sexiness. And if this is an award for all poets, then I feel like it should probably be 18+. Obviously, that is a very minor issue and didn’t detract from my enjoyment of the book overall, but it came up enough that I felt like I had to talk about it.

*2.5
And see, I'm well aware they were roommates, but were they very original? I don't want to make a snap judgement after only two books, but Page Powars seems to write books based on different aspects of Ouran High School Host Club, or even just the same aspect. The Borrow A Boyfriend Club was very clear about that, but while I was expecting a tropey roommates romance out of this book, a large portion of it relied on, you guessed it, a secret club of rich teenage boys seducing under the guise of an academic pursuit. I didn't like the main characters in this one as much as BAB, especially because I felt like Charlie could be self-centered at times (valid for a teenage boy, but it bothered me how he treated some friends), and I didn't like how theatrical Jasper was; it was like if Tamaki was somehow even more insane yet less beguiling. I love a good spoof of Ouran, TRUST, but it blindsided me given I was expecting more original plotlines in this one than the last one.

I love books set at boarding schools, which is what initially drew me to And They Were Roommates by Page Powars. I also liked the forced proximity premise, but I didn’t especially love the whole secret society plot. It made sense that students on the boys’ side of the campus would want to secretly correspond with the girls’ side, but I just didn’t understand why literally everyone would outsource the writing of their letters. I also thought it was jarring how much the Excellence Scholar status was referenced by other students.

However, I genuinely liked the main character, Charlie, and could relate to his anxiety about starting at a new school sophomore year and trying to fit in.
I also appreciated the trans representation and Charlie’s character development over the course of the semester. I would recommend this book to fans of David Leviathan.

LGBTQ+ rep: trans male MC, multi-attraction but undefined LI, achillean side character

Summary: Charlie is all set for his first year at St Valentine's Academy as it's Excellence Scholar - all he has to do is keep his grades up enough to be Top 5 in his class, and keep his head down, and he's good to go! Unfortunately, things go wrong from the start: an unexpected gym class, a confusing campus, and worst of all, a roommate! And not just any roommate - the boy he was in love with 2 years ago, before he transitioned. Desperate for a single room, Charlie agrees to help Jasper write love letters on behalf of their fellow boys for their counterparts at the sister academy. Can Charlie get his grades up, learn how to write love letters, and make friends without letting Jasper know his secret? Only one way to find out...

Review:

This book is for you if:
- you want a light-hearted romance that is lots of FUN!
- a trans main character written by an own-voice author
- a delicious roommate boarding school romance

This side characters ended up being my favorite parts of this book, they added lots of dimension to the story and they made me smile. The reasons I'm not giving this book full marks are that I found Charlie to be too passive at times - *everyone* has to take a gym class and it's described in the welcome packet and yet somehow he misses it? He scrimps and saves for the single room fee but doesn't send it in himself or follow up about it? I wanted him to take a little more ownership. Second, I wished we had gotten more of a glimpse into Jasper and Charlie's first meeting at summer camp - so much of their romance and dynamic rode on the fact that they'd met before, but because we'd skipped that, I was left feeling like something was missing. Also I wish we'd gotten to read more of Jasper's writing/poetry, since that was supposedly what made Charlie fall for him in the first place.

I absolutely flew through this book, lovely and engaging read!

rating — 1.5 out of 5 stars.

no one is more disappointed about this rating than me. i’ve had this book on my tbr for literal years (genuinely since like 2022/2023), but it did not live up to my expectations at all :( i spent so much of the book waiting — waiting to see a speck of chemistry between charlie and jasper, waiting for charlie to show us some of those famous brains of his. seriously, how the fuck did he beat out thousands of people for this scholarship just to have this school beat his ass constantly? i understand the adjustment period makes narrative sense for anyone in a new place, but having him constantly be intimidated by everyone’s brains when HE is supposed to be genius-level felt a little silly.

one of the best ways i can describe reading this is that it felt like the author had a fabulous time brainstorming for this book, but struggled to string everything together. it felt like a lot of energy was spent on coming up with things that were supposed to be funny or ~quirky~ or whatever that didn’t quite land for me (things like robby’s horse trading cards or blaze’s entire deal. which was exhausting, by the way). i really loved the concept of the book, and there was a lot of possibility with STRIP and the whole ranking system (the whole silliness of the valentine homages throughout the school!! the pin thing!! obsessed with that) but the execution fell so flat for me.

don’t even get me started on there being not one, but TWO hugely famous 15 year old poets associated with this academy. lmfao. i don’t care how good of a school it is, how the fuck are P.M. and jasper selling tens of thousands of their rupi kaur knockoff poetry??? how did they get these pub deals?? one of my niche pet peeves in books is when characters randomly have a huge social media presence for no reason. why the hell does jasper have one million followers? ONE MILLION? the school famously does not allow phones during the school year, so how the hell did he get those? what does he even do? sorry if this is nitpicky, but it’s something that always irritates me so i’m hyper aware of it. it’s easier to let things like that go when the book is good otherwise, but there really wasn’t much i liked about it. please don’t text, i’m in mourning about it.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Despite similarities to Page Powers last book "The Borrow a Boyfriend Club," this book definitely had a different vibe. The academic setting and old timey school added to the pressure of Charlie keeping his secret in a way I thought lacked a bit in their other book. I enjoyed the banter between Charlie and Jasper, and I really rooted for the friendships he found along the way. I gave this book 5/5 stars, I love the trans and queer rep and I would highly recommend this book for anyone who likes books with queer representation.

*4.5 stars*

I loved this book as what it is: a cliché-y romance novel. I think it's very lighthearted, cozy, romantic and the characters are relatable, lovable and well written. Of course the plot is not anything crazy, but I personally love it anyway when romance novels do this. The only thing missing for me was a bit MORE YEARNING!!! But I loved it anyway as you can see by my rating.

arc review:
my 3 stars feels a little too harsh but alas. i did enjoy this book by the end but i found the beginning very tiring. at first charlie has an incredibly one track mind to the point of being insufferable and jasper seemed deeply irredeemable. thankfully neither were totally true by the end! Huzzah!
i enjoyed the lack of unnecessary homophobia/transphobia however! it was refreshing since many books i read lately are full of unnecessary moments of mean ness towards queer mc’s. while that can be very realistic to our world unfortunately, i liked being able to step away from that reality
if goodreads were less rigid i would give this book a 3.5
thank you to netgalley, edelweiss and the publishers for the arc!

There's NOTHING we need more right now than this type of rep. I fell head over heels in love with this book! It was funny, adorable, heartbreaking, and 100% relatable. It's the perfect summer read!

i’m going to start by saying, in this day and age (i speak as an american about america but honestly this sentiment can probably be echoed through out the world) having a book with a trans main character face zero instances of transphobia is absolutely a needed (and refreshing) story. there were still struggles charlie faced towards centering his trans-ness but were focused elsewhere (passing as a cis-man mainly). so i truly appreciate page powers for writing a story of a trans teen not experiencing that.

now, for the story its self! i genuinely had a freaking BLAST. charlie is truly grumpy to a tee, yes mostly because he’s trying to keep his head down when getting continually singled out by his roommate (and ex-summer fling). and said roommate is just so adamant™️ about spending time together that he literally lures charlie into a 100 year old tradition (shenanigan). charlie is truly just a relatable teen tying to find his way at a new school while simultaneously being pressured to do extremely well academically. now, i bet charlie could run circles around me in any class but i’m not too far removed from those days. and i truly felt and related to him a ton in his struggles.

i think powars balanced the seriousness and concern we should have for charlie with their academics taking over their world. while also giving us the humor and needed banter for his relationship with jasper to develop. i loved seeing the moments were you can see jasper’s gears were pumping about recognizing his mannerisms without realizing. seeing their relationship develop and evolve was so lovely. and jasper truly is a bit of a saint (valentine… ha!) himself to be putting up with charlie’s reluctance and outright avoidance at times. seeing them discuss their feelings at the end and discuss what they wanted out of a relationship, i always appreciate seeing those “emotionally mature” scenes in books because i know it will impact how a future teen goes about their relationships.

this one was so fun but i beg of you to deal with jasper’s poetic language. the boy will grow on you, i swear!!

Charlie went to summer camp 3 years ago before he transitioned, and Jasper broke his heart. Now, he’s starting at an exclusive all-boys boarding school and his accidental roommate is none other than: Jasper. After getting roped into a secret club writing letters to the all-girls school across the wall in exchange for a room to himself, Charlie has to balance classes, his extracurriculars, and trying not to let anyone too close…

This book was so much fun! It had all the ridiculousness and stupidity of teen boys without being too absurd. I’m sure it doesn’t reflect the exact boarding school experience, but it was so enjoyable and the characters were great. I loved getting to know not only Charlie and Jasper, but the whole STRIP gang.

The way the romance developed was filled with so much miscommunication, but it felt so natural that two teenage boys would struggle that way. I’m also a sucker for the type of unreliable narrator that thinks he isn’t doing much, then finds out that he helped so many people and everyone loves him.

Thanks to NetGalley for the e-ARC!

This book is nothing short of a goddamn delight. I admit, I was drawn in by the author’s post comparing Charlie and Jasper to Alhaitham and Kaveh, and this book absolutely lived up to my expectations — and surpassed them.

Charlie is a beautifully written character, with so many expectations and anxieties to work through as he makes a home for himself at Valentine, and becomes friends with people he never thought would accept him. His struggles feel so real to the reader and you can’t help but feel your heart ache just as much as it roots for him. Jasper is hilarious and flamboyant in the best way, a great complement to where Charlie is awkward and unsure. The ending was so sugar sweet I think I developed a cavity just from reading it. And then I was promptly brought crashing back down to earth when I turned the page and found there was nothing more to read. Sequel when?????

Ultimately, this book was just an utter joy to read. I don’t think the smile left my face for more than a few minutes at a time once I started reading. Plus, I devoured the whole thing in a day, which is something I haven’t done in a while!

As a side note, if the author hadn’t said this was written before Alhaitham and Kaveh released, I would have totally thought the book was inspired by them. Haikaveh fans, we’re eating GOOD with this one.

Thank you SO much to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

Insanely slow paced. A majority of the plot happened in the last four chapters (30 pages). There was a third act breakup, but lacked the romantic tension in the first two to make it worth it. The characters themselves felt flat, especially Charlie, the main lead. Wasn’t much world building and instead slammed a bunch of tropes together without any real progression.

All and all, I did like this but it wasn’t much of a romance to me. This book follows Charlie, a trans boy, navigating his first year at an all boys school. The school isn’t aware that Charlie is trans, and since it’s old fashioned, he’s determined to fly under the radar and stay focused on getting good grades to rank high enough, academically, to keep his scholarship.

Charlie fears his spot is put as risk though, when he is paired to room with the principal’s nephew, Jasper, instead of getting a single room like he requested. Jasper also happens to be the boy who broke Charlie’s heart at camp the year before he transitioned.

I do understand Charlie’s fear of Jasper realizing who he was and telling his aunt, but this whole story really just did not go the way I thought it would.

To start, Jasper was pretty annoying but i’ll admit he grew on me, so much so that I ended up feeling bad for him almost the entire book. Charlie spent the whole book not even giving him a chance when Jasper actually turned out to be pretty kind and caring. It was so obvious all he wanted to do was hang out with Charlie and then when everything came out about their past, Charlie gave him zero chance to explain.

I did enjoy the side characters and STRIP. And the whole thing with the letters started out fun but then it just went absolutely no where??
The school guidelines were just so odd too, so strict for no reason. They weren’t allowed to have contact with anyone at the sister school and I would’ve thought that maybe in the end the students could at least write letters themselves but nothing came of it when it was basically the entire plot of the book. It left me thinking what was even the point of the letters?

I will admit, the end was cute but I feel wildly dramatic calling this a second chance, considering it was one kiss at 13 and they’re only meeting again at 16. It get that its YA but this was hardly a romance to begin with. I did enjoy the writing though, which is why this is getting three stars but unfortunately, this fell very flat for me.

Thank you to Macmillan Children's Publishing Group and NetGalley for the ARC.

This book gave me all of the heart-warming feels! I loved the premise of two boys becoming roommates but only one of them is aware they know each other. It felt like a 90s teen romcom and I absolutely ate it up!

Charlie and Jasper were frustratingly bad at communication, but who isn’t as a teenager? Especially when they both are unwilling to share their thoughts and secrets. I loved the growth we see in both of them as they begin to trust themselves and each other. As they build their trust, they start to know themselves and each other more thoroughly. Their identities are theirs to claim and share with the world.

I adored all of the side characters and shenanigans that took place in this book. Blaze always came in with a profound revelation - or terror for arachnids - at the perfect time. Xavier is the perfect confidant to help Charlie grow into himself. The entire STRIP gang, and Delilah, brought such a fun element to the book. I absolutely loved it!

Of course, the representation and acceptance in this book cannot go without recognition. Stories like this are so important to young readers who look to books to help them figure out their identities. Page’s storytelling is compelling, relatable, and entertaining in a way that is enticing to readers of all identities. I can’t wait to read more of his books in the future!

Thank you so much to Roaring Book Press for trusting me to review an eARC of this book!

Unfortunately, this one was a bit of a miss for me. Surprisingly not because of the unrealistic setting and some of the more outlandish characters. Those were actually reminiscent of early 2000s era high school movies or like, Ouran High School Host Club. It was nostalgic and charming. The problem was the pacing was really, really off to me. The way things jumped around didn't work for me and made it a little difficult fully follow along. Plus, I really felt like the development of the romance didn't fully work. It definitely had the potential, but I really think the pacing let it down. It just made romantic and character developments feel really patchy and uneven. I do appreciate, though, seeing more trans-leads in romances. I hope this is a trend that continues, across all genres.