Cale Dietrich does it again! I absolutely adored this book. The dynamic between Owen and Zarmenus was spot on perfect, with carefully crafted tension that kept you wondering “will they or won’t they?”

Enemies to lovers is one of my favorite tropes, and this was executed so splendidly. The perfect amount of animosity turned admiration.

Owen’s coming of age tale was a great backdrop to the budding romance between him and Zarmenus. It was nice to see him break out of his shell.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press for the ARC of this fabulous book. I am glad I decided to accept it.

Funny, romantic and heartfelt, this book is perfect for anyone looking for a read that will make you fall in love - with the idea of love.

From the first page, I was entertained by this novel. I loved how the worldbuilding in this book is essentially “demons from hell exist, apparently” and then we moved on with the plot. Perfect. No notes. I adore it.

I also really enjoyed the romance between the two main leads, and how while we - as the audience - can clearly see the pining from both sides, our main character very much cannot. I’m an absolute sucker for this dynamic, and I couldn’t wait until the cards would finally be revealed by the end.

A fun and overall lighthearted read - even with the heartbreaking tension in the middle - this book will have you wondering where your demonic prince, princess, or gender nonconforming entity is hiding.

A huge thank you to the author, Netgalley, and St. Martin’s Press/Wednesday Books for providing me this e-ARC.

This was a fun book, though I wish it had leaned a bit more into the "hell" element. In many stretches, this felt like an ordinary romance between two Freshmen roommates--one outgoing and one more reserved.

I liked both of the characters, particularly Owen (through whom we watch the story unfold). There were a bit too many mentions of his matcha lattes, but overall his experience nicely captured all of the angst of going off to college and hoping to transform into a new version of yourself.

Zarmeus is a bit harder to get to know. In some respects its his personality, not his connection to hell that poses problems in the relationship. As I mentioned above, I felt like this was a missed opportunity. But I did like the scenes with his parents and the idea that the success of this "exchange student" was critical for the college.

The version of hell in this book seems decidedly evil, but that element of Zarmeus' personality never gets explored. For the most part, he seems like a messy, fun, man-whore. As much as it might have been a downer to explore, I would have liked to learn more about his values and how his concepts of "right and wrong" played into the relationship.

But most people are admittedly not here for that, but for the swoon-worthy love story, and on that note this book delivers. Thank you to the author and NetGalley for granting me the opportunity to read this in exchange for an honest review.

My Roommate from Hell is a fun rom-com that follows our MC, Owen, an ambitious college student, and Zarmenus, the prince of Hell. When Owen discovers that he'll be roommates with Zarmenus, he's understandably worried. Zarmenus's behavior threatens to ruin his image, so in hopes of keeping his reputation as a demon on Earth intact, he and Owen launch their fake relationship. With a potential internship on the line, Owen agrees to the deal and has more fun than he expects as Zarmenus's fake boyfriend.

This was a super fun read! As someone who has had their fair share of roommate issues, I found myself relating to Owen for the majority of this book. I think this would be a great read for new college students, as it accurately portrays some of the awkward and frustrating roommate moments (minus the magic, of course).

As much as I enjoyed this, I do think it was a little repetitive. Zarmenus would do something that would make Owen mad, and Owen would think about it over and over, decide he needs to do something about it, and still give Zarmenus more chances to redeem himself. This issue was resolved eventually, but it affected the pacing.

For a YA romance, this moved a bit slowly. I could see younger readers losing interest because there wasn't as much romance as I had initially expected. To me, this seemed like a result of the lack of chemistry between the two leads. I also wish all of the characters had a bit more depth, because that could have helped the romance move forward at a much quicker pace.

I still had a great time with this! The supernatural elements added a fun twist to the story and made it enjoyable and super cute. :)

Dietrich has a knack for creating queer romance stories that are unique in concept and stand out from others. Unfortunately, I find that this book holds the same clunky writing that makes me feel like I'm reading a debut. Maybe it's his very matter-of-fact style that doesn't work for me, personally, but I struggle with it, especially when not being able to breeze through it with an audiobook. This was fun enough, and the main characters are likeable, but all of the side characters fall a bit flat. It's good but not great.

This was a very fun read!! If the premise interests you at all, I encourage you to pick it up!
I appreciate how Zarmenus eventually got Owen to open up so they could talk through his worries. I liked the way their relationship grew from frustrated roommates to actual friends. I loved Owens relationship with his best friend. The angst of wondering when the truth of Owen and Zarmenus’ relationship would come out had me stressingggg. I enjoyed the way everything played out, though. It all felt very mature and rational, and I appreciated that.

4 stars. I think the only thing I was missing was more dramatic pining on Zarmenus’ part. I wanted to see them both fall harder.

This is a queer supernatural romance book. This was quick paced with fun characters that actually had chemistry. While fake dating trope isn't really my favorite I thought it was done well and made sense in context. I liked Zarmenus way more than Owen, his character, who is the Prince of hell, was well written and had a distinct personality.

4 ⭐️ Thank you to NetGalley for this early ARC!

I really enjoyed this! I thought the pacing was great and the characters and their unique personalities were well done! While it truly was a cutesy romcom between a demon and a human, there was still a side storyline going on with a bigger evil.

It all came together perfectly and I’m so happy I asked for this arc because I truly enjoyed it and found myself giggling and kicking my feet for the cute things that happened!

My Roommate from Hell by Cale Dietrich was such a cute book. It felt a bit rushed at the beginning; they meet and right away he becomes messy and a terrible roommate, but other than that, it was such an amazing book, and I definitely enjoyed reading it.
Big thank you to NetGalley, Cale Dietrich, and St. Martin's Press Wednesday Books for the ARC. It was a joy to read!

1st person pov/5 Stars Read

Thank you NetGalley and Wednesday Books/ St Martin's Press for this arc for my honest review.

I loved it. Great characters. The pacing was great, I couldn't put it down once I started it.

Imagine you arrive at your college dorm to find out that your roommate is the prince of hell. Owen walks into his dorm room to find out that he is a part of the first ever Earth/Hell exchange program. Zarmenus's image is in a down whirl spiral until he decides to ask Owen to fake date to help his image. A magic cat? A ghoul in the bathroom? A seance? Anything can happen in a dorm room when you are sharing a bunkbed with the prince of hell. Feelings grow into something more.

This book is on fire. It had me smiling and kicking my feet at some moments.

This was a cute slow burn book. While I loved that it was queernorm with no third act breakup, I felt the story dragged in places. The characters were fun, and Bell might have been my favorite, but I didn't feel like there was a whole lot of chemistry between them. The audience of the book confused me as well, as some parts sounded aimed at the younger end of YA and others were almost New Adult.

Owen's plans for college have taken an unexpected turn. First, his best friend is pregnant and now their plans of going to Point University together have collapsed. Second, he's had an unexpected change in roommates. Now he's going to be rooming with Zarmenus, a literal demon chosen to participate in the first ever demon exchange program. At first, they experience the usual adjustment issues, Zarmenus is messy, brings guys back to the room while Owen is trying to sleep, and setting the furniture on fire. When Owen finally tells Zarmenus about the issues, things seem to improve a little until Zarmenus asks Owen for a little favor, pretend to be his boyfriend to get his demon parents off his back for some recent negative publicity. Owen reluctantly agrees because Zarmenus promises to be a better roommate and the dean agrees to introduce Owen to a contact that will set Owen on the path for his career. What Owen doesn't expect from the arrangement is the feelings that come along with it. A sweet rom-com and I hope there are more books to follow.

This book was SO cute. Love the concept and it was original. Got this from Netgalley and would recommend it to those who like young adult and LGBTQ+ themes.

This book was so fun—I had an absolute blast reading it. Owen and Zarmenus completely won me over with their delightful personalities and the emotional growth they both experience throughout the story. Their dynamic? Pure serotonin.

Fake dating is one of my favorite tropes, and it was used perfectly here. The chemistry, the chaos, the pining—chef’s kiss. I was totally invested in the plot and really loved how everything came together in the end. Some parts felt a little rushed, but honestly, that didn’t stop me from loving every second of it.

If you’re in the mood for a supernatural rom-com with heart, humor, and a devilishly charming roommate, this is it.

My Roommate from Hell was such a fun, lighthearted, and unexpectedly emotional ride. Cale Dietrich blended romance, comedy, and fantasy in a way that felt fresh and engaging. I don’t usually reach for fantasy reads, but I was pleasantly surprised by how well the supernatural elements enhanced, rather than overshadowed, the romance and character development.

The plot was well-paced and kept me turning pages, and I really appreciated the diversity between the characters. I found myself relating to both of them in different ways, which made their dynamic even more compelling. The enemies-to-lovers trope? Yes, please. And when you throw in fake dating? Chef’s kiss.

One of my favorite things? No third-act breakup. Thank you, Cale, for not taking my heart and stomping on it. That alone deserves a standing ovation. The relationship was allowed to grow organically, with humor, heart, and just the right amount of drama.

The only reason I’m giving this 4 out of 5 stars is because fantasy isn’t usually my go-to genre, but honestly, this book makes me want to explore more like it. It was a quick read, and I constantly found myself saying, “just one more chapter.”

If you love queer rom-coms with a supernatural twist, heartfelt moments, and a love story that makes you smile and swoon—definitely add this to your TBR.

Big thank you to NetGalley, Cale Dietrich, and St. Martin's Press Wednesday Books for the ARC. It was a joy to read!

This novel was a HELL of a time. I absolutely loved it. It was such a fun work of fiction. Our two main characters were painstakingly adorable. Watching them fall in love and do the whole “will they won’t they thing” was addictive. The world-building was unique. The rest of the characters were so wholesome and supportive. I truly enjoyed every last page of Owen and Zar’s cutesie little love story. Highly recommend!!!

A fun and sweet story about a college freshman who finds himself roommates with an actual guy from hell....as an exchange student. It is a great story and the main character is super relatable. Loved it!

One word for this tale: sweet. Owen is good-hearted, the prince of Hell is hot, the world they live in is mostly gay.

I'm not sure who the audience is--at times it read very simplistic, as if aimed at first year of high school instead of college, but on the other hand it's so gay-affirming that it's sure to please any kid who picks it up

Thanks so much @wednesdaybooks for the advanced copy to review!

Y’all - after having a kind of depressing few days, I really, really needed to laugh. This book delivered on that and so much more.

I genuinely had the best time reading this. So much in fact that I barely put the book down last night when I got home from coffee with my friend. I read about 40% in one go the night before and finished last night.

Owen is SO SO SO relatable to me. A late bloomer. Who wants a relationship to mean something. Kisses and touch means something to him. He’s just a genuinely good person who believes the best in others. I really felt like Cale was taking parts of me and putting them right into Owen’s character.

Zarmenus was such a great character. His arc was fantastic. He was so funny and dry and sweet and protective and just a cutie patootie!!!! I was rooting so hard for these two and some of my favorite moments were when Zarmenus could tell something was wrong and he just asked Owen to explain. I really loved their relationship.

This was fake dating done in the best way, and I really, really loved it. Can’t recommend this one highly enough.

Thanks for this story @calerdietrich

i was so excited to read this book, and even if it had some moments where i was enjoying myself, the miscommunication—or lack of communication—kind of ruined it for me.

owen arrives to college and finds out he has a new roommate- prince zarmenus from hell. the prince turns out to be a toad and basically starts ruining every single vision owen had for his college years, and this is where i found myself annoyed, because if i had a roommate as awful as zarmenus was, i would've—at the very least—ask him to stop, but owen did nothing.

there's a sentence he says that goes "I’ve tried my best to come up with something that could work for both of us. I truly have." - well, owen, you didn't speak with him, so how about you get on with that.

i didn't particularly enjoy the characters, and i found the plot dragged all thorught the book, which made me struggle to even finish it.

i also found it incredibly weird that having reached 25% of this book, the fake dating hadn't started yet, which was weird seeing as it is the whole premise of this book, and i wouldn't consider this a slow burn

thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC of this novel. All my thoughts and opinions are my own.