This was such a fun YA paranormal romance. The concept was so fresh and I liked exploring the world where humans and demons learn to coexist. Both characters were great to follow but in particular Zarmenus had great character growth and had won me over by the end of the book. I will definitely be recommending this one when it comes out!

Thank you to Netgalley for this ARC!

This is a very sweet story! Owen was just adorable and his consternation with Zar and the situation of rooming with him was really funny. I would say this is a fairly standard YA college romance with the paranormal twist.

Rating: 3.5 rounded up

This young adult romantic comedy was such a fun and entertaining novel! It was heartfelt, lighthearted, emotional and hopeful. This book also comes with fantasy elements, which I loved! I felt that the author did a wonderful job at creating the plot of the story and I found it to be well executed. It is beautifully written and contains lovable characters. I felt like I related to the character Owen the best, because of his awkwardness and softness. This book is about two young college boy roommates that are completely opposite of one another. One of them likes to party, comes off as very annoying, loud and rude. The other roommate likes to study and work hard for his future. However, you can feel the chemistry develop between these two main characters.

These boys start off as enemies, then became lovers. They start a fake dating trope, for reasons of their own. This builds a strong bond between these opposites. Both the main characters and side characters really stood out in the book to me! Some of the themes explored in this book are opposites attract, acceptance and authenticity, first love and identity, and reality versus fantasy. This book is one of a kind, full of humor and a bit chaotic! Overall, I give this book a 4 out of 5 stars!

Thank you to NetGalley, author Cale Dietrich and St. Martin's Press | Wednesday Books for this charming electronic arc of this book in exchange for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.

I think readers that love a great young adult romantic comedy, mixed in with some chaos, would really enjoy reading this book! Content warnings include bigotry, religion and kidnapping.

This book is expected to be published on November 11, 2025!

Hell Yeah!
I felt a lot of emotion reading this book. Owen was a very relatable character and his flirting with Zarmenus, especially while they were fake dating, really made me smile. I loved the connections to real life with how the stigma from demons seemed to symbolize the hate currently destroying the world, especially here in America, it was empowering. And like the driver told Owen, their relationship was great for helping change peoples minds and normalize demons. I also really loved Ashley, Tyrell, and the rest of the cast of friends.

Also, not exactly a part of the story, but when I read the end of the acknowledgments, I thought it was absolutely perfect and I applauded! YES!!

This was a fun story! I really liked how the author made the Hell dimension and incorpated it into the story. Zar was a great character but his development was a bit weak and shallow. I really wanted a bit more from him. I liked Owen and found his inner panic completely relatable. Some of the plots points seemed a but too easy, but it didn't take away from my overall enjoyment of the story. I really liked all the side charcters and felt they rounded out the story nicely.

Thank you to the author and publisher for an early copy.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for the eARC of this deeply unique and fiery romance! I was immediately drawn to the cover and the clear divide between the two main characters. When I read the synopsis, I noticed that our protagonist was named Owen; which just happens to be my nephew's name. I kept getting more and more excited, and when I saw that the overarching trope was 'fake dating', I knew this was going to be the book for me. It absolutely did not disappoint! I fell head over heels for both Owen and Zarmenus, and I could not get enough of the Will They, Won't They from the very first chapter. Not to mention the way that the author was able to create a reality in which Hell is real and devils were (mostly) welcome on earth.

We start with Owen, who is going to college without the presence of his best friend. Feeling totally out of sorts, he hopes he will be able to make friends easily and pursue his dreams at the same time. He is surprised, however, by a living situation he did not expect. When he walks into his dorm room, he is met with the Prince of Hell himself. Owen is wary of Zarmenus but decides to give him a chance, and it goes about was well as you might expect-- at least at first. Zarmenus is totally unused to not only normal human life, but also to taking care of himself in any way. From rubbish around the room to a ghoul in the bathroom... it's a living nightmare. Owen almost gives up, but then a twist of fate brings the two into a mutual agreement to act as boyfriends; one that changes not only their lives, but the world at large.

What I loved about this book more than anything is how tight and genuine the narrative is. With a fake dating romance, there is usually a lot of miscommunication and hurt feelings, and that gets really grating to read. However, the author here has taken that miscommunication and given the characters the ability to talk and work out their problems before the situation escalates to an unbelievable level. Of course, I was also smitten by the flourishing relationship between Owen and Zarmenus, the long distance friendship between Owen and Ashley, and the view of a college life I never allowed myself to have. This was such a cozy, lighthearted, and meaningful read. I very much recommend that YA romance lovers take in this novel and lose themselves in the heat of the moment.

honestly it's been a while since I read anything YA, kinda got bored of the genre, so it was a pleasant surprise how much I enjoyed reading this book

Thank you NetGalley for this gifted copy. This was really reminiscent of a book I read a few years ago where the FMC found out she’s dating the son of the devil. It was cute and easy.

Going off to college to live in the dorms is always an exciting adventure. Meeting a roommate who was raised with different family standards can create friction, but when your roommate is nobility from a different dimension it can be downright dangerous. On top of their interpersonal dynamic, there are politics at play to prove to the world that interdimensional relations can be friendly. Close proximity and a fake dating scheme make everything extra interesting.

Adorable new adult romance about a rule following ingénue and a party boy prince makes a great slow burn love story. Would recommend to romance lovers.

Thank you to NetGalley, Cale Dietrich and St. Martin's press for the advanced reader digital copy. All opinions expressed are my own. I can't wait to recommend to my romance loving patrons.

My roommate from hell is a romantic comedy story following our main character Owen, who is going to college for his first semester and he was planning on going with his best friend, but she got pregnant and had to stay behind so he’s entering this whole New World by himself, and in this universe, another dimension was discovered, and this dimension was full of demons and goals. Owen finds out that his roommate is THE actual prince of hell. Zarmenus, the Prince of hell is nice at first and Owen & Zarmenus get along nicely as people. The dean speaks to Owen and offers him a chance to work at Google (his dream job) as an intern in return for trying to uphold a good human/demon relationship to make a change in not only the college but in the world as well. As orientation week draws out Zarmenus is becoming more of a nuisance to Owen because he never cleans, is always playing video games loudly and is also bringing home boys in the middle of the night keeping him up. As time goes on, Owen tries to keep a good relationship going with Zarmenus, trying real hard to become friends and keep a good relationship. He finds it harder and harder to keep all the annoying stuff that Zarmenus is doing to himself. Zarmenus is one of the . One day after apathy many articles and magazines talk about Zarmenus being a “party boy” the King of hell comes and scold Zarmenus for his behavior and talks about how he needs to be more responsible, talking about how he needs to be a better role model and to stop messing around. Zarmenus’s response to this is to tell his father that he and Owen are in a relationship. Zarmenus promises that if Owen becomes his fake boyfriend that he will become a better roommate and start cleaning up and being more mindful. Through the rest of the book they try to keep this fake relationship going, and to make everyone around them believe in this love story But the ties between fake and reality start to slip as their relationship grows.

This book overall was funny and sweet. One thing that I really liked about this book was that the character Owen and his best friend Ashley stayed in touch, called and text throughout the book, because I feel like something that authors do a lot without realizing is putting friends on a back burner during any kind of romance book. I also really liked both characters. Neither of them annoyed me. Even being the prince of hell I feel like he was quick to apologize for his actions and was really good at communicating (besides saying liked Owen) but there were a lot of moments Zarmenus and Owen where he would just say “talk to me.“ and they would talk through Owen's feelings. I really enjoyed that because that’s something that you don’t really see often in romance books is actual communication between the two characters now there was a few miscommunications here and there, but I felt that the communication between the two were really good and really realistic.I enjoyed the writing style of the author. I’ve never read anything by this author before, so it was fun to learn and go along with the story in their writing style. It was definitely fast paced and easy to follow along. I am so excited to read more by this author, and maybe even have the opportunity to read more of the books to come out later in the future. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who’s looking for a funny, slightly dramatic romance with a demons, ghouls and magic and of course gayness.

This book was adorable. Once I started reading, I couldn't put it down. Owen is a college freshman who was paired to room with the prince of Hell, Zarmenus. To be honest, I did not care for Zarmenus much in the beginning of the book, especially as he kept bringing hook ups back to his dorm room (reminded me of my freshman year roommate, *shutters*) but he definitely grew on me. He was a sweet little demon after all. I do think some things were glossed over in the book like the doll - what was that about? The eye that randomly showed up with no explanation at all and even the whole cult situation was wrapped up fairly quickly without any major inconveniences. However, I did like the fact that both Owen and Zarmenus did discuss their feelings a lot and there were not a lot of miscommunications which is so annoying. Also, there was no third act breakup!! I really enjoyed this book and would recommend it for anyone who wants a whimsical, low-stakes faking dating story. Thank you Netgalley for the ARC.

First off a big thanks to the publisher St. Martin's Press , as well as the author Cale Dietrich and Netgalley for the invite to read My Roommate From Hell. I Absolutely loved it , it's a slow burn type of romance but it actually works in so many ways ,because it helps set up the storyline . And makes the story so much more enjoyable and entertaining especially with the choas as well as the banter that happens between our two main characters, like I said it may be a bit of a slow burn but it's funny , flirty , and the tension builds up naturally between the two of them , and will have you smiling though out the book.

My Roommate From Hell was a very simple romance with a hint of supernatural. I found both main characters likable but the story wasn’t really holding my attention for very long. It was a classic college slow burn romance with some fake dating. I know there will be people who will enjoy this but unfortunately it’s nothing new or exciting on my part.


Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the free digital copy for my honest review

This book is pure chaos in the best way. It’s funny, flirty, and absolutely packed with heart. I had so much fun reading it I kept catching myself smiling for no reason. Their banter never misses and the tension builds so naturally I was rooting for them way before they realised it themselves. I loved how it balanced laugh-out-loud moments with genuine tenderness. It’s chaotic and absolutely delightful. I loved every page of it.

sweet and cute although owens monolouge read a childish at times so i wasn't a huge fan of it.
super quick read that i binged on my 5 hour car ride with fun banter and silly vibes :)

thank you netgalley and wednesday books for the arc!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC! Love a fake dating book and to have one set in literal hell? Sign me up. So entertaining

“He is chaos, I am order. We make no sense.”

Cale Dietrich' MY ROOMMATE FROM HELL is a sinfully sweet YA mm romance between a gay-mer (Owen), and his terribly hot college roomie that also happens to be the Prince of hell (Zarmenus). I loved how this enemies to lovers, low stakes rom-com infused magical realism, and the concept of an exchange student from hell was quite fun. Zarmenus is one helluva hot devil with bulging biceps and Owen is one cutie-patootie, and this mismatch had me unexpectedly squeeing. Don't even get me started on Bell - the cutest lil' demon cat. If you like fake dating and colleges where everyone is seemingly queer, this one will check all your boxes.

Even though they're in college and this is technically new adult, this reads as very juvenile as the stakes are incredibly low. There's a terrible thing that happened to Owen the year prior, but once it's revealed I was like, "That's it?" It's YA so you get shirtless demons and cute kisses, but if you're expecting super spicy scenes then look elsewhere you perv! These two are super cute, but after reading so many adult romances, this seems like a glorified Disney channel original movie - that's not a bad thing mind you. Now I need a second book that follows them in hell. Please and thank you!

Special thanks to NetGalley and St. Martins Press for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I loved this book! It is based on a fairly crazy concept, with a shy inexperienced gay cutie rooming at college with the prince of Hell. They embarked on a fake dating romance that took until almost the end of the book to stop being fake, but that was fine, I really enjoyed the journey!

Thanks to NetGalley for an ARC of this.

The fact that 25% into the book the summary on the back hadn’t happened yet is weird to me. Also I thought the book was boring.

4.25 out of 5 stars

Cale Dietrich created a cute, laugh out loud romance, with self-growth and exploring coming into your own skin to perfection. This was such an enjoyable experience and I could not put this book down. I absolutely loved the balance of sweet, heartfelt, and funny moments.



Owen is stoked to start college, only it is not looking the way he has always planned, first of all, his best friend isn't with him, second, he ends up with the literal prince of hell as his roommate. The roommate situation isn't easy though, Prince Zarmenus isn't used to living with others and it shows! Additionally, relationships between demonkind and humans are hinging on these two getting along. So to help them both get what they want, they come up with a plan to fake a relationship (which always goes well)! What do they do when real feelings appear?



We get to see Owen and Zarmenus balance different responsibilities all while pursuing college life and it is spectacular. I kept turning the pages and was excited to see where this would go! I loved the resolution and all the friends they made along the way.



If you love humor, a good time, and seeing people fall in love I would highly recommend this book! Thank you to the publisher for providing an advanced readers copy via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.