Never Kiss Your Roommate

Good book, perfect for fans of YA romance, mystery, and the boarding-school setting in general. I adored the imagery and the mood throughout the book, from the Seven Hills boarding school to the nearby town. Additionally, I liked how there were a few different scenes in the castle where scenes were set, because it made it feel different without being disjointed.
The characters? Perfect. I could really feel them developing throughout the novel, and could understand their hopes and dreams. The romances were so cute and sweet, and I found myself cheering them on at times.
My only complaint is the mystery: it feels like it was kind of crammed into the end of the book, and it didn't start developing until about the 70% mark (I read it on Kindle), and for the mystery of the Chitter Chatter we didn't get much view of the actual mystery solving. Still, I enjoyed the twists and depth that came from including a bit of mystery.
In all, this was a good book, and I recommend it.

I enjoyed reading both POVs but was much more invested in Evelyn’s but still liked both. Evelyn’s and Noelle’s romance was so cute and the things that Noelle did in order to help Evelyn with her nightmares were so adorable.

I also loved how it was a queer version of gossip girl. This book is fast paced and such a quick and easy read. It is unapologetically queer and is an adorable ya contemporary.

The ending felt a bit fast paced for it felt like it was just thrown in there even through it was foreshadowed throughout the book, but still was on the edge of my seat when reading it.

I received an ARC of Never Kiss Your Roommate by Philline Harms thanks to the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Review:
Never Kiss Your Roommate is about a group of teens who live in at a boarding school for various reasons. The story POV alternates between two main characters, Seth and Evelyn. Both are fun characters, although Evelyn feels a bit forgettable. She doesn't have something that makes her 'unique'. Coming out is major, but (I hate saying this but) when every other character is out, her struggle feels less genuine. I know it totally is and her history explains her reasoning but I just wanted something else to define her. Yes, she is likable and I enjoyed her interactions with others, but... I don't know... I prefer the other characters.

I did really enjoy watching the relationships develop, both friendships and romance. The writing was fantastic and all of the LGBTQ+ rep is amazing. I like the 'unknown' antagonist of The Watcher and how that unfolded. However, I wish there was more. I guess most of my complaints come down to wanting more depth, even if it resulted in a longer book.

There was no doubt that I was going to finish, even if it was only to see more of Jasper and Elle and watching the romance build.

Overall, I enjoyed the story. It reminds me of She Drives Me Crazy, which might be part of why this review is hard to write (I sound like I'm repeating myself a bit). However, if you enjoyed She Drives Me Crazy, I highly recommend Never Kiss Your Roommate but put a few weeks between them.

This book was incredible! The characters, the angst, the romance, the plot. It was EVERYTHING! Plus, add that element of a "gossip girl" character, and it's nearly perfect! I absolutely adored this book. My only issue was that it had this one plotline towards the end that was a bit unbelievable, but other than that, absolutely amazing!

I absolutely loved this book! For the fans of Her Royal Highness, this book also takes place in a boarding school and has lesbian, pansexual, and bisexual representation. I loved how the author embraces the variety of sexualities people can have and weaves it through so naturally. I loved the discussions of topics like consent and how it destigmatized being in the closet. I would read up on the trigger warnings as the book discusses some heavier topics. Other than that though, I can't wait for everyone else to read it and fall in love with it as much as I did. It helped fill the queer void left by certain other boarding school series. A perfect read to kickstart the summer. I can't wait to read more from this author!

Never Kiss Your Roommate is the perfect comfort read. With loveable characters, the sweetest romances and writing easy to sink into, it’s a wonderful story to get lost in. Harms’ talent shines through her characters whose distinct voices and personalities make you feel like you’re talking to a friend and whose relationships you can’t help but root for. Never Kiss Your Roommate is corny and full of clichés in the best way possible and an absolute joy to read.

This is not a book to pick up for the plot which was admittedly a bit over the top and all over the place at times but the strength of the characters rendered that inconsequential. These characters and their relationships were impossible not to root for and empathise with, even coupled by the overdramatics. They just had some quality that I can’t quite put my finger on that makes them feel alive and tangible and I fell for them early on. The relationships, both romantic and platonic were so believable and had such great chemistry that I was immediately invested and ate up every little interaction.

And that’s not to say the plot was terrible – I really enjoyed it, particularly relating to the romances. I did feel that the Chitter Chatter blog could have played a more significant role as it didn’t really come into play until later on and never seemed to be the Big Bad it was suggested to be. The plot acted mainly as a vehicle for character and relationship development and did so effectively while remaining entertaining and easy to follow, if a touch predictable and over the top. What I did find was particularly well done was the look at sexuality, particularly for Evelyn, our main character. She arrives at Seven Hills terrified of being out and struggling to accept herself following previous negative experiences and watching as she slowly learned to accept herself and grow confident in her identity was just incredible. This is such an authentic, relatable experience and I think it’s going to mean the world to some readers – I know it would have for me had I picked this book up a year ago.

If you, too, were active on Wattpad a few years ago (and maybe even now?) you will recognise many aspects and tropes this book employs, from secret pasts, teaching your crush how to punch (who actually tucks their thumb in??) and an unbelievably dramatic climax scene. I personally found this return to a structure I was so familiar with really comforting and fun to read and I imagine many others will feel the same, whether they’re familiar with the structure or not. However, I know that this book will divide readers, as some find it all too much and unrealistic and must admit that there were points where I felt this too.

Never Kiss Your Roommate is at once nostalgic and refreshing, taking a well loved structure and filling it with queer characters and a touching look at sexuality, coming out and self acceptance. I mean this in the best possible way when I say that this book reads like fanfiction – lovingly crafted characters and expert trope usage written with reader satisfaction and joy as the main goal. This book isn’t going to be for everyone but if you, too, are a lover of clichés and slightly ridiculous romances then I think you’ll adore Never Kiss Your Roommate.

I received a copy of this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.

I am going to give this book 3.5 stars. I really enjoyed it, especially the four main characters' developments. I guessed pretty early who the mastermind behind the Chitter Chatter was (also, the Gossip Girl vibes were real!), so it wasn't a surprise when we found out the culprit. All in all, pretty cute and sweet YA book.

If I had to sum this book up in a sentence, I would say this book is all the mcs being queer meets gossip girl meets pretty little liars meets being set in a UK boarding school. Sounds really good, right!! And I can say that this book mostly lived up to my expectations.

Before we go on, here are a list of tw (a short list was included at the beginning of the book which I really liked):
homophobia (off page)
outing
sex (fade to black)
bullying (cyber bullying)
assult
sexual assult
kidnapping

Ok, on to the review:

I think that the characters and relationships were hands down the best and strongest part of this book. Switching back and forth between Evelyn and Seth povs, you really get to know both characters and their love interests. I think both romances were done really well. Jasper was by far my favorite character :) his french accent lmao. Also, can we just take a moment to appreciate that all the mcs are queer. I don't think there is a single person who gets more than two pages of "screentime" that isn't queer which I absolutely love. I know that the bar is on the floor with me even saying this, but there was verbal consent literally every time anything physical happened and most of the time when anyone touched anyone else which I really appriciated. If I was just rating based on characters and relationships, this would be a solid four maybe five-star read. However, a book is more than that.

In terms of the plot, I was a little disappointed. I felt that the ending was rushed and slightly unnecessary. I don't want to spoil anything but around 80% through the book it just goes 0-100 real fast and then at about 95%, it goes back like nothing really happened?? You do learn some essential backstory about a character in this part and it wasn't at all hard to read, on the contrary, it was exciting and kept me gripped but it was very jarring compared to the pace and tone of the rest of the novel. The plot of the romance in the beginning of the book was good and I don't really have any complaints. There was a slight lull around 60% through once the characters get together, but nothing so major as to make me want to stop reading.

Overall, I'm going to give this a 3.5/5 but round up with my staring cause I did like the romance and I definitely would recommend this to anyone looking for a relatively quick, fun, queer read.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this book. All opinions expressed are my own.

I absolutely loved this novel, so much so I finished in in just two days. The characters felt three dimensional and the author provided insight into their backstories that made me care for them and understand them deeply. The LGBTQ rep was phenomenal. Having all four main characters (Evelyn, Elle, Jasper and Seth) be either but sexual, pansexual or gay was refreshing and their backstories were rewarding. I expected a coming of age—and this book definitely has this—but there were so many layers (especially the third act that felt like a crazy turn of events!) My only want I longed for was more chapters from Seth’s POV! Can’t wait to read more from this author— I highly recommend this for those who like a little bit of everything with their YA fiction.

I picked up this book for three reasons: it’s set in an English boarding school (attending one was my childhood dream), someone said that it was the book for people who feel let down by a certain author of a book about a wizard boy in a magic school, and because I did in fact kiss my roommate. Oh, and it’s super queer. After reading it: it’s got magic castle vibes without the magic, but it makes up for that with wonderful friendships and a great enemies to lovers romance.
When Eve and Seth meet on their train ride to boarding school they become fast friends, bonding over their love of the same Agatha Christie novel. They help each other navigate starting a new school senior year, difficult roommates, and their queer crushes. There’s an air of mystery but the mystery itself is mostly dormant until the last quarter or so of the book.
I was curious about the choice to follow both Eve and Seth’s perspective but focus much more on Eve, both in number of chapters from her point of view and marketing (even the cover leads you to believe it’s only a wlw romance). Later on, I found out this book was originally published on Wattpad and can see how this uneven structure came about—and I’m not saying I don’t like it, just that it’s an interesting narrative choice. I very much enjoyed reading this novel! It reminded me a bit of Sources Say by Lori Goldstein and Carry on by Rainbow Rowell.
I was provided with a digital copy of this novel in exchange for my unbiased review.

📚 Rep: #wlw #queer #bi #lesbian #mlm
⚠️ TW: alcohol use, kidnapping, homophobia; mentions bullying, sexual assault, dating abuse

OMG YES. This book was so good and I just can’t recommend it enough. The perfect book to publish during Pride Month. I think this will be great for LGBTQ youth.

This book was good. I really enjoyed Never Kiss Your Roommate, and it's even more impressive given how young the writer is!

This book follows the dual narrators of Evelyn and Seth as they are both starting at a new school in England after respective disasters in their personal lives a their old schools. They become fast friends, and once at school they find new things they will have to deal with, like jerk roommates and unavailable hearthrobes.

I actually really liked the dual point of view in this book. Usually when books have dual POV, it is both main characters gearing up to be in a relationship with each other. But that isn't the case here. This book tells very intertwined but separate stories and love interests in the two main characters. And I really liked how that worked. It gave an even bigger perspective on all of the characters involved as well as the setting. To be honest, as a lesbian I was a tad more emotionally invested in Evelyn's story than Seth's but I really enjoyed both.

Jasper and Noelle are really great love interests respectively- but especially Noelle. She always carried this air of mystery about her and kept you wanting to learn more about this enigmatic roommate of Evelyn's. And once they open up to each other about more of their lives they become so adorable. They so fawn over each other and they made me very happy to read. It's odd to think of the love interests in books as the secondary characters, I tend to think of them as mains- but with the interesting format of this book- that's how it goes.

I also really liked the setting of this book boarding school in England. It gave me a Hogwarts vibe except with more technology and less transphobia.

What I didn't love about the book was the huge tonal shift the book took regarding the final conflict. I guess in hindsight you could see it foreshadowed, with the mystery and self defense elements weaved in from earlier in the story, but once the events happened I felt a cute story start to go pretty sideways. I did still enjoy the story but it was pretty jarring. There was also a bit of miscommunication but it is what it is.

I did like this book overall. It was a fun and cute story and told in a interesting manner. 3.75/5

<i> Thank you to Wattpad and NetGalley for providing me and ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review</i>

“𝑾𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔: 𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝒓𝒆𝒗𝒊𝒔𝒆 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒎𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒊𝒏 𝒓𝒆𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒏 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒈𝒆𝒕 𝒂 𝒌𝒊𝒔𝒔 𝒂𝒇𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚 𝒄𝒐𝒓𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒕 𝒂𝒏𝒔𝒘𝒆𝒓. 𝑫𝒆𝒂𝒍?”
“𝑫𝒆𝒂𝒍, 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒐𝒏𝒍𝒚 𝒊𝒇 𝑰 𝒈𝒆𝒕 𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚 𝒘𝒓𝒐𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒏𝒔𝒘𝒆𝒓 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒈𝒊𝒗𝒆.”

Set in a prestigious boarding school in England, Never Kiss Your Roommate follows Evelyn and Seth, the two newest students, as they become friends, make memories and find love - Evelyn with Noelle and Seth with Jasper. When Evelyn meets Noelle, her roommate, Noelle is initially cold and standoffish, but eventually Noelle warms up to her, and they grow closer. Seth, on the other hand, has his eyes on the French boy named Jasper, who has a love for the arts and all things queer.

Evelyn is literally the sweetest. She has eyes for Noelle and Noelle only, even though Noelle seems pretty intent on pretending she doesn't exist. She can be a bit naïve at times, and she definitely doesn't always think things through, but I love her all the same. Noelle, ugh ! Angsty characters just have a special place in my heart. It's like oh you hate everyone? I'm in love with you now, thanks. She's definitely a bit harsh with Evelyn in the beginning, but it's really the way she is with everyone so it's not like Evelyn's singled out. I love the interactions between the two of them, especially once Noelle starts to open up. It's cute. It's funny. Pure fucking fluff, and it makes my gay heart sing ballads.

“𝘐𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘢 𝘣𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘥𝘺 𝘬𝘪𝘵𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘬𝘯𝘪𝘧𝘦?”
“𝘞𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘪𝘵’𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘣𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘥𝘺 𝘺𝘦𝘵.”

Seth and Jasper might just be the complete opposite of Evelyn and Noelle. Seth is sarcastic with a dry sense of humor. He loves mysteries and true crimes, and his perspective was really enjoyable. Watching him pine for Jasper from a distance was adorable, and the little moments they had when they were alone... my beating heart be still. Their banter is freaking hilarious. And Seth's gay panic moments... so accurate.

I really liked that the story was told in two POVs. Even though there were more Evelyn POVs, it was nice to be able to see the progress with Seth and Jasper, as well as whatever would happen when Seth wasn't with Evelyn. I absolutely love all the characters, which doesn't always happen. I usually find at least one of them annoying, but it wasn't like that with this book.

What I didn't like:
- Miscommunication Trope: I hate it with a passion. Nothing annoys me more. Like I get that with their age (17/18), it happens, and it was resolved fairly quickly if not dramatically, but it still grinds my gears. Like please if you're supposed to like and trust the person, take all of the five seconds needed to have a conversation instead of jumping to conclusions.
- The pacing towards the end of the book was relatively fast. Everything escalated in the final few chapters, and though it was set up from the beginning of the book, I do wish that it was fleshed out more - since it was such a drastic change from the cute, fluffy tone that the book had already set. If there were more hints dropped through out the book, it would've better set up the SVU turn that it took at the end, and a few more chapters to allow it to play out would've eliminated the abrupt, "wow why are we going so fast" feeling.

Overall I really did enjoy this book. I've already preordered it, and I'm excited to get the physical copy. It'll probably become one of my comfort reads. The recommended age is 14-17, but I personally wouldn't recommend it to anyone below 16, specifically because the ending does lean more towards darker content that no 14 year old needs to read. All in all, I loved it!

Thank you to NetGalley and Wattpad Books for the ARC.

Final Rating: 4.5 stars

Rep:
Noelle - black, bisexual
Evelyn - lesbian
Seth - bisexual
Jasper - pansexual

Content warning
Major: kidnapping, stabbing, blood, recount of abusive relationship incl. assault - physical and sexual
Moderate: bullying, slutshaming, panic attacks
Minor: outing (mentioned), homophobia, sexual content, claustrophobia

Content warnings at end of review.
Thank you to Netgalley and Wattpad Books for the arc of this book!

When Evelyn and and Seth meet on a train while reluctantly heading to the boarding school they've both been sent to, they instantly know they are going to be friends. What they don't know is that they will build memories and friendships they'll never forget while there, fall in love (but not with each other because Evelyn is definitely a lesbian), learn more about themselves and unveil multiple mysteries about the school.

I was immediately connected to these two nerdy, adorable, queer characters! Between Evelyn's love of classic books and escapism, and Seth's thirst for solving mysteries and dry sense of humor, I knew I would be in for a ride. Then we met Noelle and Jasper, two breathtakingly gorgeous and popular kids at the school with soft underbellies and secret nerdiness, and I was like...yup, this is love.

This book is so funny at times. I loved how sardonic Seth was and his jokes about being queer were absolutely perfect. I loved how upfront this book was with queerness and otherness and that it wasn't afraid to get right in your face with labels!

About 70% into the book it took a turn from more of a contemporary romance to more of an actiony/mystery/thriller and I'm not sure I really vibed with that turn. The situations the characters found themselves in started feeling kind of contrived and rushed, and the last chunk of the book didn't feel as polished and natural as the rest.

That being said, I am happy with the way this book wrapped up and I will not forget it!

Pub Date: June 1, 2021

Content Warnings
Graphic: Kidnapping and Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Bullying and Homophobia
Minor: Confinement, Vomit, Toxic relationship, and Sexual content

thank you so much NetGallery for providing me with an ARC of this book!

never kiss your roommate is the epitome of a romcom on pages. told from the pov of two different characters who are best friends, you get to see the way they each gradually fall for their love interests, and you also read two different experiences with coming to terms with sexuality.

the plot is extremely cliche, but even so, the book still works! its such a quick and cute read you can't help but not want to put it down. the events in the book carry out nicely, with non-rushed progression of relationship building and friendship dynamics.

all in all, my favorite part of this book was 100% the found family. the friendship that you see between the core four characters is just EVERYTHING and, in my opinion, the highlight of the book.

despite the recycled tropes and the slight obsecureness of certain events in the book, i can see "never kiss your roommate" becoming a big comfort book and quick read for many people. 4/5 stars.

tws: outing, assault & kidnapping

Oh. My. Goodness. This book. I'm on Cloud Nine after finishing it. It was so unapologetically Queer and beautiful. And it was fun to read about the book's journey from the Wattpad website to becoming published in the acknowledgments section.

Never Kiss Your Roommate is a boarding school story full of Queer friendship and Queer romance. That's literally the book. Besides the minor Law and Order SVU side plot. It was kind of dark after all the fluff. But, unfortunately, terrible things do happen in reality. Hopefully, the author meant for it to be viewed that way and that they didn't use Queer pain for the drama.

(quote)On a sudden moment of clarity, I thought if I could have shown my younger self any glimpse into the future it would have been this one; I would have wiped her tears away, kissed her on the forehead, and told her Look how much better it’ll get. You’ll find people you won’t have to hide from, and you’ll fall in love. With her, and with yourself too. Just hold on a little longer.(quote)

I CAN NOT wait to buy a physical copy of this book in June. I laughed and cried so much while reading. I already want to reread it.

***Thank you so much to Wattpad Books and Netgalley for allowing me to read an early review copy.***

I loved this book, It plays with my emotions, and seems to have exactly what I needed. Here are a few notes I jotted down:

- While Evelyn and Noelle clearly have a bad start, they soon get close simply because Eve decided to defend Noelle.
- When the author added the self-defense scene, I LOVED IT. They got closer by the minute and were just simply adorable. I loved seeing them get closer together.
- I enjoy how Noelle was tough before but became really soft after getting close to Evelyn.
- I love how the author adds a different point of view, and that OTHER point of view also falling in love. It's really sweet.
- The play was great, and it added more sexuality in the book, I could feel Seth and Jasper getting closer by the minute.
- I love how there are certain points where you HAVE to take the book seriously.
- I enjoy how she added stress into the book, something a few people don't do.
- The ending escalated very quickly.

I Loved this book, a five-star from me. I am DEFINITELY recommending this to my friends, and this is now one of my favorites.

Never Kiss Your Roommate was honestly such an utter delight to read. I think I found a new comfort read. I’ve recently been struggling with YA in general but I loved this book. It’s rare for me to love all of the main characters in a book but I really did with this one. There is absolutely nothing worse than an annoying YA protagonist, so I was so relieved to find that NKYR’s mc Evelyn was so loveable and highly relatable for me. Reading about her past struggles with her sexuality was so touching and felt so sincere. I wish I had this book when I was seventeen going through the same things and I love that this book will be there for other young girls with similar struggles. Evelyn and Noelle are adorable, I loved the growth of their relationship from nothing into friendship into more and the whole roommates to lovers trope is one of my favourites. It was just everything I think most sapphic YA readers would look for. Another aspect of this book that I loved was the alternating POVs between Evelyn and Seth. They both have my heart and Seth’s romance was really cute. The hogwarts-esque castle boarding school life is also just so fun to read about, I think Philline Harms’ writing is wonderful and reading this made me so excited to read any possible future works she puts out. This was just so FUN and comforting and I will be buying a physical copy so that it can sit proudly on my shelf (also the cover is just so pretty). I have already demanded that my girlfriend read it, and I genuinely recommend it to everyone. If you’re looking for a sweet sapphic romance, really loveable characters, a great setting, a mystery !!, and just an overall really great time - look no further.

The only two minor issues I had with this book are that the British characters use ‘mom’ instead of ‘mum’ and also they are all supposed to be in year 12/13 (17/18) but are working towards their GCSEs (which end in year 11). Like I said these are really small context issues which didn’t affect my rating.

rep: lesbian mc, bi li, pan, bi & lesbian side characters

cw: panic attacks, kidnapping, past sexual assault, violence, past homophobia

Honestly I'm so proud of this author for producing such an adorable sapphic read that we all knew we needed. The girls are so cute together and I'm honestly so happy to get some well written and heartwarming representation

This was a quick, indulgent read that I got totally swept up in. The romance between Noelle and Evelyn is just the loveliest, and the last 1/4 of the book took some unexpected turns, but I enjoyed them! I didn't know it was dual POV going into it, and Evelyn's POV was given more weight and was stronger. I would have loved to see a bit more of Seth's side of things. But it made me want to attend Seven Hills and hang out with this fab group of people!

Never Kiss Your Roommate is the lesbian romcom I never knew I needed. It's funny, it's sweet, it's realistic in its character building, and of course it's gay. When Evelyn moves to a new boarding school, she--you guessed it--falls in love with her roommate. This book is told from the point of view of Evelyn, our main character, and also her friend Seth (who for some reason wasn't advertised or really mentioned). While Evelyn is falling for Noelle, Seth is falling for Jasper, Noelle's best friend. This book has wlw and mlm relationships, though a much stronger focus is on Evelyn and Elle. It tries really hard to combat things like mental health, internalized homophobia, stalking, and more; it does it pretty well for the most part, but I found the mystery subplot a little unrealistic. That was but a small portion of the overall story, though, so I won't fault it much for that!

This book falls somewhere in the grey area between YA and NA, though perhaps leaning more towards YA. I thoroughly enjoyed it, and I can see it becoming a guilty pleasure for me. As debut books go, it was impressive, and I will definitely be recommending it and looking out for any of the author's future work. Anyone looking for a lesbian romance somewhere akin to Red, White, and Royal Blue or Her Royal Highness should look no further.

Sweet and trope-y and very queer, this book will hit the spot for a lot of readers who are looking for a light romp of a story. There are a few stumbles along the way: Seth and Jasper felt a little underdeveloped in comparison to Evelyn and Noelle. It felt strange to have Seth as a narrator when he had only one or two chapters for every four or five Evelyn had. It was a strange no-man's-land between a protagonist and a secondary character.

The kidnapping plot that cropped up at the end of story did feel slightly out of tone with the rest of the story, as well.

That said, I still greatly enjoyed the book, getting to know the characters, and rooting for them to find happiness. A fairy tale ending is still rare to find in queer stories, and so greatly appreciated.

I would especially recommend this book for readers that love The Rosewood Chronicles.

This was a really enjoyable story. It was exactly what I was looking for, as in it included a ton of diversity. My only issue with it was the writing. The writing style was a little repetitive, some words where used twice in the same sentence which can be a bother. Overall I think the story being portrayed itself drowns out the fact that the writing isn't the best. I love the fact that theres a relationship between two boys, one pansexual and one bisexual. Most relationships are portrayed as one character being gay and the other being Bi. You can really see that the author is bringing her story to life and making many kids feel valid.

I received this book for free for an honest review from netgalley #netgalley

Sexy and sweet a great LGBTQ read that I will be reading more than once I wish more authors wrote like this!

Unapologetically queer through and through, Never Kiss Your Roommate is a really fun contemporary YA which I enjoyed from start to finish. This is also quite a humourous book.

The book is set in the UK however some of the things didn't quite match up with the UK schooling system (referring to Public school when they mean State school, the exam years not quite matching) but if you are willing to suspend your disbelief a little, it is okay.

The only thing I wasn't a massive of fan of really was the random kidnapping subplot as it felt like a complete tonal shift but was also resolved quite quickly.

This is such an adorable story! I'm a huge sucker for boarding school stories and this one was just as good as I hoped. It had a little bit of a Gossip Girl vibe to it with the Chitter Chatter blog being written by the mysterious Watcher. I loved the friendship between Evelyn and Seth and Noelle and Jasper. I loved that this book is so inclusive to all aspects of the LGTBQ community and shows teens how it's ok to admit to and be who you are and that you shouldn't have to hide it. The romances and relationships that develop are so sweet. And the adventure at the end was exciting. For a debut novel by such a young author this was absolutely amazing.

I really enjoyed this book, I think it talked about a lot of different serious topics, but was not too heavy. It’s set in a boarding school so I really liked that aspect it reminded me of Her Royal Highness by Rachel Hawkins and the tv show Young Royals, which I loved both! I liked the main character Evelyn a lot, she dealt with being outed as gay and having trauma from that at her old school. Noelle, the love interest/roomate, has a lot of depth to her. She dealt with a lot of trauma too back where she lived, she is very spiky after first and no one really likes her. Swell besides her best friend Jasper, I think Jasper is one of my favorite, if not favorite, side character! He’s just so fun and has a cool sense of style and is just overall nice to most people, he’s also french and sometimes that slips when he’s speaking. Seth is Evelyn’s best friend, he’s super nice and likes mystery books. He also had dealt with some stuff at home and that’s why he’s at the boarding school, his parents got divorced and they didn’t know what to do with him. Now he doesn’t “believe” in love and has a hard time letting people in. Seth was the first friend Evelyn had at school and Jasper was the first person he thought he might be able to let in. Overall, I really enjoyed this book, it had some flaws, but they were not huge. If you want a boarding school, mystery, queer romance, and with book talk definitely pick this one up!

rep: gay mc, bi sc, bi li, pan sc, poc li
tw: sexual assault, kidnapping, knife, cyber bullying, outing, homophobia (past), stalking

I really enjoyed this one the romance was sweet and the characters were really well written and interesting I even found the supporting characters memorable which isn't always the case. I loved the school setting and just the overall vibe of the book. I will definitely be keeping an eye out for more from this author!

And they were roommates! This was a fun, tropey romance set in an engaging world. The writing could have been a bit more polished, but it was easy and fun to read and I was engaged in the romance throughout.

Oh this was so fun. I love when stories take place in school/university so this was just so fun. I highly recommend this for a fun and cute read.