A lovely will they, wont they? romance with strong characters and great situational comedy moments as Hunter tries to hide her feelings for Dylan whilst sharing a flat with him! After all, not only does he have a girlfriend but he is also her best friends brother...and she doesn't think she should or can go there...or should she?

This book delivers a heartfelt, trope-filled romantic comedy with emotional depth and likable leads. Set around a forced proximity scenario, the story follows Hunter, a STEM-savvy engineer harboring a decade-long crush on Dylan—her best friend’s brother—who unexpectedly becomes her roommate. The twist? Dylan has a girlfriend.

Hunter is an especially strong protagonist: relatable, funny, and refreshingly grounded. Her dating attempts to move past her crush are hilarious yet realistic, and her response to misogyny on a date is empowering. Her role as a woman in engineering adds a layer of representation rarely explored in rom-coms. Dylan, meanwhile, is the quintessential golden retriever love interest—sweet, loyal, and slightly oblivious. His prolonged struggle over his existing relationship is drawn out but ultimately sincere.

Despite being told in third person (which may not be everyone’s favorite), the writing is engaging, and the mutual pining, seduction plans, and slow-burn chemistry create a rewarding emotional payoff. The inclusion of fertility issues like PCOS and endometriosis adds real-life relevance, though these could’ve been explored more deeply. Still, the story ends on a hopeful and satisfying note.

This book is ideal for fans of slow-burn angst, friends-to-lovers tension, and plenty of romantic humor. It’s warm, witty, and well worth the read.

This is a good book if you want a romantic read that does not delve too deeply. It's a very surface- level romance with surface- level characters. It's fun and keeps your attention.

I absolutely loved *The Roommate Experiment*! This slow-burn romance completely pulled me in with the perfect mix of chemistry, heart, and emotional depth. Dylan and Hunter’s story was so well-paced—I found myself rooting for them every step of the way.

Their dynamic felt authentic and sweet, with just the right amount of tension and vulnerability. Watching their relationship shift from friendship to something more was so satisfying and full of those little moments that make slow burns so worth it.

Camilla Isley does such a great job of building characters you care about, and this book was no exception. A total feel-good read that left me smiling—highly recommend for fans of roommates-to-lovers and slow-burn romance!

First, thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read and review an ARC of this book it was so cute!! Roommates to friends to lovers! I really enjoyed reading this and I loved both the main characters!! My only complaint is that we didn’t get more enjoyment of them once Hunter and Dylan finally got together. But given that it’s a series maybe I can get more of that in another book!

This book was adorable, a quick read and fun. I just wish there was a little more oomph in the middle of the book. It had a strong start and a strong end, but the middle fell a little short for my liking. Not enough drama, banter, and chemistry for my liking. I loved that Hunter hid many years of love for her best friend's big brother, the brother, Dylan, does not wake up to similar feelings until he moves in with Hunter. The chemistry was there from the start. I loved that we had the perspective from both Dylan and Hunter in this book, both were entertaining and strong. The story flowed seamlessly. The part that bugged me was Dylan being in a relationship that he wasn't feeling from the start. It just did not seem to support the other parts of his personality and character. It felt very forced instead of natural. I did enjoy the banter between the characters, the awkward moments, the sweet moments. I found myself laughing and smiling throughout the story. A predictable ending, but it did not ruin the fun of the book. Overall, a great easy read for the beach! 
Thank you netgalley for my advanced reader copy.

Thank you to Camilla Islay, Boldwood Books and NetGallery for this ARC in return for my honest opinion.

Hunter has been in love with Dylan, her best friends brother, for as long as she can remember (11 years to be precise) and she's suddenly found herself having him as a roommate. This her chance to have him fall for her. Except a bomb is dropped, he has a girlfriend.
Dylan has moved in with his sisters best friend, thanks to her moving in with his best friend and leaving him in the lurch. Great move until he starts to see Hunter in a different light and suddenly begins being attracted to her even though he has a girlfriend, Olivia.

I was attracted to the book thanks to its tropes (forced proximity, best friends brother, slow burn, angst) and in my eyes it delivered everything I wanted.

I really liked Hunters character. Yes she's wanted Dylan for years without ever having done anything about it and comparing exes to him, however I really liked the fact she was willing to try dating to get over her long standing crush. These dates are amusing and I can imagine this is what real life online dating is like now. I did like how she's a woman in STEM (especially in engineering!) and I loved the way she handled her 3rd date being very misogynistic towards her.

Dylan is a golden retriever type character. His anguish at having to break up with his gf went on a bit too long but I do like how he tried so hard not to upset her. I can just about forgive him for the scoffing at Olivia's attachment to her dog.

Even though I'm not one for third person writing, I was invested enough in the characters and the story to enjoy it. I especially enjoyed the seduction plan and the counter seduction plan.
The author touching on Hunters fertility issues (with PCOS and endometriosis) could have been expanded more, but I do like that it was written into the book and that there was a HEA to this at the end.

I did not know this was part of an interconnected standalone series and I will definitely be adding other books by Camilla Islay to my TBR as I enjoyed it.

This book is is a fun twist on a classic roommates-to-lovers trope. The characters are endearing and witty, and the story is heartfelt and funny. The dynamic between the MC's evolves beautifully, and the supporting characters add an amazing depth.

Thank you NetGalley for an ARC of The Roommate Experiment by Camilla Isley

I was lucky enough to get this ARC from Netgalley. I loved the ending, but the slow burn was so slow. I wish it would have picked up sooner. This is the third book of the series. I have added the other two books to my TBR and am excited to learn more about the other characters as they played pretty big roles in the story.

In The Roommate Experiment we follow Hunter and Dylan in dual POV from moving in together as roommates to discovering feelings for each other. At least for Dylan it's a journey of discovery because they have known each other for years as Hunter is Dylan's little sisters friend and they have spent part of their teenage years in proximity already. Hunter had a crush on Dylan for all these years but no one knows about it, not even her best friends. As they move out to live with their respecitive new partners, Dylan grabs the opportunity to move in instead. He has recently started dating Olivia and Hunter has to cope with the heartbreak of living with the person she's in love with but who seems to be loving someone else. But this wouldn't be a romcom if Dylan didn't eventually come to the conclusion that there are more sparks with his roommate than with his girlfriend.

This book is the third in an interconnected standalone series which I hadn't known before. There were some references to the other two books which I found to be a bit annoying as there is one couple which seems to be in a fake-engagement situation which was part of the story as everyone went to the engagement party, but it wasn't further explained. I have not experienced such deep entanglement with the other books of a series of romance before and would have prefered either more separation or more information.

The story includes some of your favourite romance tropes like the one bed trope but it felt a bit forced. I thoroughly enjoyed Dylan being dyslexic as I've not seen it in any book and it was very interesting seeing him cope with it and finding out strategies to not hinder him in his worklife. Other than that the workplace parts felt a bit boring and did not really add to the story and the characters. Also I'm not a fan of dropping the "L-word" so early in a relationship.

Overall it is a fun read but it will not make it into my top romances of all time.

I read contemporary and feel-good romance once in a blue moon, but after finishing Sunrise on the Reaping lately, I was craving something sweet, light, and quick to read — and this one definitely hit the spot.

We’ve got a classic friends-to-lovers situation: they’ve known each other for 11 years, and now they end up as roommates. Oh, and he’s her bestie’s brother. So yes… forced proximity, dual POV, slow burn, and just the right amount of romantic tension.

It’s the kind of story that flows effortlessly and simply makes you feel good. Perfect for the upcoming months.

Highly recommend if you’re in the mood for something cute and sweet.
And also — a huge thanks to NetGalley and Boldwood Books! At this point, everything from this publisher is an instant add-to-TBR for me.🩷

"Real love is knowing you don't have to be perfect to be enough"! There was definitely a lot of tension in this book. It's a slow build with heated glance and lots of longing!
Dylan and Hunter both have feelings for each other but the hurdle of Dylan's new girlfriend means they are both oblivious to how each other feels. The slow burn is perfection.I loved the way it was written, light hearted and witty but including some difficult themes without it becoming heavy.
It's time line pretty much runs alongside Rowena's and Adrian's book (book 2 in the series). It was fun to revisit them as well as Nina and Tristan! I love Camilla Isley's books for an easy read with lots of tension between the main characters! Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced reader copy!

(3.5 rounded up)
This was a nice and cozy light hearted read, and definitely a good break from all the heavy stuff that most books have nowadays.
The roommate experiment had me from the very beginning, the characters were really well written, and the slow burn was just right.
I felt at some points that all the Olivia problems were a bit dragged out.
This isn’t the usual sort of book i’d go for, but i’m happy i left my comfort zone for this one.
As always, thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me the chance to read this book, all opinions are my own.

The Roommate Experiment follows Dylan and his sister’s best friend Hunter. I was drawn to this book for the tropes. I love a good roommates / forced proximity. However this book just felt a bit flat.

I did feel that the Olivia plot line was dragged out for too long. I can enjoy a good slow burn when done right but I felt this slow burn was almost a bit unnecessary. I just found myself getting more frustrated as it went on.

There were a lot of cute moment between Hunter and Dylan that I did enjoy but they weren’t enough to out shine the other issues in this book.

I do feel that some people will enjoy this book but it just wasn’t for me.

3.75 ⭐️

the slow burn was slow burning in this but really enjoyed it. I haven’t read the first two books (didn’t realise it was part of a series) however it didn’t feel necessary to have read them others, however i will be doing so as i loved all the characters within this book, Hunter was smart and stood her ground when needed to, Olivia was just annoying and snippy, which is great writing as the villain of the book! some of the parts with Olivia made me laugh.

The writing was really good and easy to follow, didn’t take me long to read at all, read this book in two sittings as i just needed to know how it panned out for them all!

i also loved the representation of issues between the main characters, its not something ive seen a whole lot within the books ive read and i really enjoyed it, it makes you think twice i feel about how many people suffer with things you can’t really see and have to make several adaptations to their regular lives!

thank you Netgalley & Boldwood Books for the ARC🙌

This was a fun, breezy read with some of my favorite tropes - forced proximity, slow burn, friends to lovers, only one bed, and no third act breakup! Hunter and Dylan and loveable leads and it was satisfying seeing the conclusion of the friend groups love stories and all of the happily ever afters. Thank you NetGalley and Boldwood for the ARC.

This one was so much fun. Just what I needed for a cozy Friday night curled up with a book. Thanks for the opportunity to read it early!

Camilla Isley books are usually hit or miss for me; this was mostly a miss. It was cute for sure, but the slow burn was unbearable especially with the prolonged side plot of Olivia. Those two were not a good match from the start, I don't know why they came to be and after a point it felt like Isley was just finding new ways to put off the inevitable breakup. I'm not opposed to forbidden romance, definitely not best friend's brother, but I found the way the bonds were dealt with a little icky. I love that Dylan bought some good Dyslexic representation and so did Hunter with endometriosis and PCOS. I wish there was more to that representation and more detailing with these topics not getting enough attention and being pretty misunderstood (I'm not diagnosed with any of them but always keen to learn more). This book wasn't hard to read and I would say it's entertaining, not something I would reread, however.

The Roommate Experiment is a sweet, funny and entertaining romance about Dylan (MMC) and Hunter (FMC) suddenly finding themselves living together after knowing each other their entire lives (Dylan’s sister is Hunter’s bestie).

I enjoyed the chemistry between them and I felt the author did a good job at portraying the forbidden element of their relationship.

That being said, the first kiss happening after 90% of the book was pushing the slowburn a bit for me. It didn’t give me enough time to enjoy their love story and this felt a bit rushed at the end.

Thank you to Netgalley and Camilla Isles for this ARC in exchange for an honest review. These thoughts and opinions are my own.

I really really enjoyed this one!! It had so many tropes that I just can’t resist!!! I am
A sucker for unrequited love especially when it’s a best friends brother! As well as forced proximity, and I ran and devoured this one!!
I loved that they were monetary equals and it was just so fun and swoony!!
Hunter and Dylan were a match made in heaven! I needed a good rom-comer and this was exactly it!