This review is for the revised edition scheduled to be released in June of 2025. I really enjoyed this book. It was a light and easy read that kept me guessing throughout the novel. I did not see the ending coming and was pretty surprised. A big thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the ARC!

I thought this was the perfect read to get me out of my current reading slump. I read it in one sitting since this book is very quick and easy to read. I think it’s absolutely the perfect thriller to read on a weekend, during summer and at the beach. You’ll be engaged to the story from the start and although the ending didn’t satisfy me as I had hoped it would, overall I enjoyed it and recommend it to readers that are looking for a book they can binge read and for fans of suspense and psychological thrillers.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with this ARC in exchange for my honest review and feedback.

2.5 stars rounded up.

This book was mid. I had high hopes since I loved Minka Kent's The Memory Watcher, but the book was underwhelming. The FMC was not my favorite, as she had an issue with persons lying and stealing, yet she did it and justified it.

Although the plot took an unexpected turn and avoided typical tropes, the ending felt overly neat and unbelievable. Despite this, the book was easy to read and had some surprising moments near the end. I am still open to reading more from Minka Kent but wouldn’t recommend this as a must-read.

Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for the ARC.

I didn't realize that this was a digital re-release. In any event, I enjoyed the book. Meadow is looking for somewhere cheap to live while she is in college when she stumbles across the perfect ad. She can't believe her luck when she sees the house as well as her wealthy roommate who is willing to share things with her. Things start to take a strange turn when she wakes up one morning not knowing how she got home, and realizes the data on her cell phone has somehow been erased.
She starts to do some investigating on her own when she sees other things that aren't adding up between her roommate and boyfriend, along with her friends. If you like twisty thrills that remind you of a Frieda McFadden book, then this is for you. Thank you to #netgalley and the publishers for this read,

This was a good one. Want to get out of a reading slump, choose this book. Pretty fast paced, twists you will never saw coming, though the reason behind everything is a bit cliché but you will definitely enjoy the whole ride!!
I enjoyed it and finished it in a few hours. Your nice, crispy popcorn thriller as they say.

Another great book by Minka Kent! I've read several by her and enjoyed them all. They are easy to read and flow nicely. This one kept me wanting to read to find out what happened and who did what. I finished it in two days! I would highly recommend.

All she needs is a place to stay so when she sees the ad for a room to rent within her price range, Meadow is ecstatic. After meeting the person who lives at the house and taking a tour, Meadow is so happy she moves in immediately. Meadow quickly forms a bond with her new roommate, who offers to introduce Meadow to her friends and give her a makeover. Meadow absolutely loves her new life until she discovers that her new roommate has a secret. Meadow quickly learns that not everyone can be trusted...

This was a great read! It was quick, twisty, easy to follow and hard to put down. The chapters were great lengths. The characters were good. The setting was good. The writing style was fantastic.

I would definitely recommend this one!

As all great thrillers do, this had me guessing until the absolute end. A short little read I thoroughly enjoyed so much I binged it between taking care of my kiddos in less than a day.

Hold on, let me pick my jaw up off the floor. Minka Kent does it again! I previously read Unmissing by Minka Kent and it was a 5 star book for me as well. This is for all of the people who just want to fit in. Although this book does not have twist after twist, it pulls you in from the start because the buildup to the major twist in the end is so great. The author’s writing is concise and at no point did it feel like it was just dragging on. I wish I could read this book for the first time again. This is a must read. Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!

Becoming Lauren’s roommate changes Meadow’s life for the better. The rent is reasonable, and soon Meadow finds herself strutting around in Lauren’s expensive hand-me-downs and becoming a member of Lauren’s circle. But once Meadow discovers a disturbing fact about her new roommate, she decides to give Lauren’s life a different type of makeover.

Meadow’s conflicts make her a sympathetic character. She becomes even more interesting as her story arc progresses. Minka Kent is a master at building suspense, while liberally dropping clues and red herrings. The epilogue is super fun. I really liked the unexpectedly twists and turns of the story, but I wasn’t always thrilled with some of the coincidences the plot hinged on. Nevertheless, I found the book to be a page turner, and before I finished it, I purchased a few books by the author and added several more to my wishlist.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Thanks to Thomas & Mercer for providing an Advance Reader Copy via NetGalley.

Minka Kent’s The Perfect Roommate is a quick popcorn psychological thriller you can devour in a single sitting.
The story follows Meadow, a friendless and socially awkward college senior who’s forced to sublet an apartment from her charismatic and well-off classmate, Lauren. Lauren offers Meadow not just a place to stay, but a confidence-boosting makeover and entry to her social circle. It feels almost too good to be true...
Kent’s writing is compelling and readable, with short chapters and that mounting sense of unease that we thriller lovers relish. It’s an engaging read that keeps you guessing — good if you need a hit of suspense — but nothing earth-shattering.

This psychological thriller is being re-released June 10, 2025 with editorial revisions. I did not read the original of 2018 but I can tell you about THIS one and what a ride it was!

When you pick up a Minka book you know someone is gonna be a little bit “extra” and have some psychotic issues. Usually you can tell right away. This was not one of those times. I kept trying to figure out if it was going to be the down on your luck poor college student who was one step away from living in her car. Or the too good to be true rich girl who seemed to have it all.

They seemed like an odd pair to become roommates, much less fast friends. Slowly little clues start to pop up that not all is as great as it first seemed. Add in some betrayal, secrets and a murder and the plot twists start to come faster and faster.

One of my favorite parts of a Minka Kent book is the Epilogue and how it all circles around to start all over again.

Have you ever had a roommate? Was it a dream or a nightmare experience?

Pretty average read, I love 2 others of hers.

Very slow paced, but the twist was decent. I don’t have much to say really.

The tone was not as serious, so it was a bit hard to get into the tense portion of it.
I didn’t care for any of the characters. Right off the bat you can tell things are off. But it just kind of felt dragging.

📚 E-ARC BOOK REVIEW 📚

The Perfect Roommate By Minka Kent
Publication Date: June 10, 2025
[Originally Published January 19, 2018]
Publisher: Thomas & Mercer| Amazon Publishing

📚MY RATING: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Thank you to Thomas & Mercer, Amazon Publishing, and NetGalley for this #gifted e-ARC in exchange for my honest review!

📚MY REVIEW:

The Perfect Roommate is a fun psychological thriller full of unreliable characters who all seem completely unreliable and suspicious. This was a popcorn thriller that was a fast and unputdownable read, and I loved every minute of trying to guess how this one was going to end!

Meadow is a quiet and meek college student who is living out of her car after being evicted from her apartment. When she replies to an ad for a roommate and meets Lauren, who quickly invites her to move on, Meadow can't believe her luck. She and Lauren become fast friends and Meadow is thrilled to finally have a close female friend for the first time in her life. Everything feels perfect, but how well can you ever really know someone you've just met? And can anything really ever be perfect?

Oh, I loved the twists and turns that this story took! From moment to moment, I had no idea what to expect next. Meadow seemed to be such a mess, going around making accusations and assuming the worst of everyone. But everybody around her seemed shady in their own ways too. Gossip? ✅ Betrayals? ✅ Obsession? ✅

Minka Kent has quickly become a must-read author for me! Her books are fast-paced dives into the lives of unreliable and unhinged characters, and each book is a one-sitting, sit-down-and-buckle-up kinda thrill ride. If you haven't yet discovered this author, don't wait any longer! The re-release of The Perfect Roommate is available June 10th!

#ThePerfectRoommate #MinkaKent #ThomasAndMercer #amazonpublishing #NetGalley #NetGalleyReviews #ARCs #thrillerreads #thrilleraddict #thrillerlover #psychologicalthriller #booklover #bookreviews #bookrecs #bookrecommendations

Check your shelf first because this is a reissue of a book originally published in 2019. You know that the title telegraphs the issue- there is no perfect roommate but these two well, they are snakes in a bottle. Meadow is the poor one, Lauren the rich one. It seems like a good arrangement but it's not. And they both have secrets. Thanks to netgalley for the ARC. Not sure why this was reissued but it's a fast read;

Who doesn't recall the days of college where the temptation for cheap housing always wins. The author not only kept my attention but the attention of the hairs on the back of my neck also. Great read!

3.5 stars

This book started off slow then it picked up. None of the characters seemed reliable except the one character who turns out to not be. The twists at the end I did not guess. I do feel the ending was the perfect chance to add another twist or two but overall a good thriller

I thought this was a good, quick, palate cleansing thriller (?not really), mystery (?not until the end), drama (we're getting closer).
Whatever we classify the genre as it was a good read. I blew through this book super fast as it is a quick read with lots of short, tense chapters. Great for a bingeable summer read.

The characters seem okay for the first little bit then quickly fall into unlikable territory. It's okay it propelled the story along. Then things got kind of wild and by the end, this went a little off the rails. It added to the drama but I didn't feel like the ending matched what was presented of the characters throughout the story.

Overall, I like the Author's writing style, I read through it super quick and it kept me invested in the storyline.

The epilogue for this was super weird. Like, why??? LOL

I really like Minka Kent's books. I consider them domestic thrillers since they involve close relationships. Meadow is a broke college studet who is evicted from her apartment. She finds an ad that a fellow student has posted looking for a roommate starting right away. Lauren has it all. A nice house, rich parents, a boyfriend who loves her....maybe too much. Lauren starts to groom Meadow, giving her clothes, influencing her new hairstyle and even what she eats. Meadow has a job outside of school cleaning houses and has become close to the pregnant wife of a professor.

Ms. Kent does a good job of tying threads together. The plot went a direction that I wasn't expecting and it was good.

The Perfect Roommate was twisty and so addictive! Minka Kent's writing style is fast-paced and this book kept me hooked. Her character development makes the main characters likable and you always want to see them come up on top even if they maybe don't always deserve it. So many twists keep you turning the pages well into the night. Definitely an entertaining read!