{"id":19800,"date":"2017-12-13T07:20:14","date_gmt":"2017-12-13T12:20:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/?p=19800"},"modified":"2022-10-11T18:06:59","modified_gmt":"2022-10-11T18:06:59","slug":"review-roomies-by-christina-lauren","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/2017\/12\/13\/review-roomies-by-christina-lauren\/","title":{"rendered":"Review \u2764\ufe0f Roomies by Christina Lauren"},"content":{"rendered":"<!--themify_builder_content-->\n<div id=\"themify_builder_content-19800\" data-postid=\"19800\" class=\"themify_builder_content themify_builder_content-19800 themify_builder tf_clear\">\n    \t\t\t<!-- module_row -->\n\t<div  data-lazy=\"1\" class=\"module_row themify_builder_row tb_ijb8226 tb_first tf_w tf_clearfix\">\n\t    \t\t\t<div class=\"row_inner gutter-narrow col_align_top tb_col_count_2 tf_box tf_rel\">\n\t\t            <div  data-lazy=\"1\" class=\"module_column tb-column col3-1 tb_4u5z209 first\">\n                                                        <div class=\"tb-column-inner tf_box tf_w\">\n                        <!-- module image -->\n<div  class=\"module module-image tb_vyk8260 rounded drop-shadow customBorderRad_top image-top auto_fullwidth tf_mw\" data-lazy=\"1\">\n        <div class=\"image-wrap tf_rel tf_mw\">\n\t\t    <img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/roomies-christina-lauren.jpg?w=640\" title=\"Review \u2764\ufe0f Roomies by Christina Lauren\" alt=\"Review \u2764\ufe0f Roomies by Christina Lauren\">\t\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<!-- \/image-wrap -->\n    \n    \t<\/div>\n<!-- \/module image --><!-- module text -->\n<div  class=\"module module-text tb_kabk770 customBorderRad_bottom repeat \" data-lazy=\"1\">\n        <div  class=\"tb_text_wrap\">\n    <p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #ffffff;\">Marriages of convenience are so<i>&#8230;inconvenient.\u00a0<\/i><\/span><\/p><p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #ffffff;\">For months Holland Bakker has invented excuses to descend into the subway station near her apartment, drawn to the captivating music performed by her street musician crush. Lacking the nerve to actually\u00a0<i>talk\u00a0<\/i>to the gorgeous stranger, fate steps in one night in the form of a drunken attacker. Calvin Mcloughlin rescues her, but quickly disappears when the police start asking questions.<\/span><\/p><p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #ffffff;\">Using the only resource she has to pay the brilliant musician back, Holland gets Calvin an audition with her uncle, Broadway\u2019s hottest musical director. When the tryout goes better than even Holland could have imagined, Calvin is set for a great entry into Broadway\u2014until his reason for disappearing earlier becomes clear: he\u2019s in the country illegally, his student visa having expired years ago.<\/span><\/p><p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #ffffff;\">Seeing that her uncle needs Calvin as much as Calvin needs him, a wild idea takes hold of her. Impulsively, she marries the Irishman, her infatuation a secret only to him. As their relationship evolves and Calvin becomes the darling of Broadway\u2014in the middle of the theatrics and the acting-not-acting\u2014will Holland and Calvin to realize that they both stopped pretending a long time ago?<\/span><\/p>    <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<!-- \/module text -->                    <\/div>\n                            <\/div>\n                        <div  data-lazy=\"1\" class=\"module_column tb-column col3-2 tb_h7qm026 last\">\n                                                        <div class=\"tb-column-inner tf_box tf_w\">\n                        <!-- module text -->\n<div  class=\"module module-text tb_j3a5070  repeat \" data-lazy=\"1\">\n        <div  class=\"tb_text_wrap\">\n    <p><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-16466 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/3-hearts.jpg?resize=135%2C44\" alt=\"\" width=\"135\" height=\"44\" \/><\/p><hr \/><p><strong>Release Date:<\/strong>\u00a0Dec 5, 2017<br \/><strong>Heat Level:<\/strong>\u00a0Sensual<br \/><strong>Publisher:<\/strong>\u00a0Simon &amp; Schuster<br \/><strong>Imprint:<\/strong>\u00a0Gallery Books<br \/><strong>Price:<\/strong>\u00a0$7.99<\/p><hr \/><p>\u00a0<\/p><p style=\"text-align: justify;\">I want to preface the review with a couple things. It\u2019s been a while since I\u2019ve read New Adult and this book popped my Christina Lauren cherry. That in mind, those who love Samantha Young and Christina Lee (without the dark and dramatic) will enjoy this book.<\/p><p style=\"text-align: justify;\">It\u2019s a first person POV from the heroine, Holland. Holland has a nice unique voice that reminds me of so many young 20-something women. She\u2019s having fun, enjoying life, and trying to figure out where she fits into everything. \u00a0Included in that is a serious crush on a busker. For those who don\u2019t know what that is it\u2019s anyone putting on a performance, typically musical, in public for gratuities. The busker of course is our hero and he quickly becomes enveloped in Holland\u2019s life, once by chance and twice on purpose.<\/p><p style=\"text-align: justify;\">I won\u2019t go into all the details because reading the story, even the blurb, is a lot better than my half-baked explanation. Let\u2019s dig into what worked:<\/p><p style=\"text-align: justify;\">This is a replay of the marriage of convenience trope, but it works. It\u2019s modern and fits the times, the situation, and I think this is a good, fresh take.\u00a0 The budding romance is a good case of falling in love gradually, which I appreciate among the fast number of insta-lust\/love stories available. I also appreciate the author(s) ability to make me truly wonder if our hero, Calvin really cares for Holland or not because he puts on a pretty convincing performance at the drop of a dime.<\/p><p style=\"text-align: justify;\">A couple other things that hit me \u2013 this book centers around a musical production, with pointers to music numbers, classical works, etc. Having a musical background, myself, I could easily relate and get into Holland\u2019s head from that perspective. That being said, it\u2019s not so comprehensive and deep that a person with no musical inclinations can\u2019t appreciate the story. The vivid descriptions of the city, from traveling on the subway to New York nightlife \u2013 those were perfect and amazing.<\/p><p style=\"text-align: justify;\">What didn\u2019t work? The start of this story is slow\u2026 so slow, it took me until chapter five for things to really pick up. Anyone looking for a fast pace, this is not that book. Once things take off with the hero and heroine finally coming together things take on a steady pace of budding relationship, conflict, and plenty of sexual tension. My only other caveat is that I felt the heroine was a bit wishy-washy, and some of the conflict between the couple is built on her inability to just communicate with Calvin. Again, this is something that\u2019s probably prevalent in New Adult romance, and buyable because let\u2019s face it when I was in my 20s I wasn\u2019t very good at communicating either.<\/p><p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Overall, I liked it. The concept, the plot, both were unique. If you\u2019re a fan of marriage of convenience trope, enjoy hero\u2019s with accents, or possess a love of Hamilton I encourage you to check this out.<\/p><p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><em>~ Landra<\/em><\/p>    <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<!-- \/module text --><!-- module text -->\n<div  class=\"module module-text tb_gmqu011 customBorderRad repeat \" data-lazy=\"1\">\n        <div  class=\"tb_text_wrap\">\n    <p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong><span class=\"s1\"><a href=\"http:\/\/amzn.to\/2BZHnDK\">Amazon<\/a><\/span><span class=\"s2\">\u00a0|\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/geo.itunes.apple.com\/us\/book\/roomies\/id1227575429?mt=11\"><span class=\"s3\">iBooks<\/span><\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.barnesandnoble.com\/w\/roomies-christina-lauren\/1125897924?ean=9781501165849#\/\"><span class=\"s3\">B&amp;N<\/span><\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.kobo.com\/us\/en\/ebook\/roomies-16\"><span class=\"s3\">Kobo<\/span><\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/play.google.com\/store\/books\/details\/Christina_Lauren_Roomies?id=O7WuDgAAQBAJ\"><span class=\"s3\">Google Play<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>    <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<!-- \/module text -->                    <\/div>\n                            <\/div>\n            \t    <\/div>\n\t    <!-- \/row_inner -->\n\t<\/div>\n\t<!-- \/module_row -->\n\t<\/div>\n<!--\/themify_builder_content-->","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Marriages of convenience are so&#8230;inconvenient.\u00a0 For months Holland Bakker has invented excuses to descend into the subway station near her apartment, drawn to the captivating [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":19801,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"pagelayer_contact_templates":[],"_pagelayer_content":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[103,112,48,55],"tags":[146,216],"class_list":["post-19800","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-gallery-books","category-landra","category-reviews","category-simon-schuster","tag-3-stars","tag-contemporary"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - 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Lacking the nerve to actually\u00a0<i>talk\u00a0<\/i>to the gorgeous stranger, fate steps in one night in the form of a drunken attacker. Calvin Mcloughlin rescues her, but quickly disappears when the police start asking questions.<\/p><p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Using the only resource she has to pay the brilliant musician back, Holland gets Calvin an audition with her uncle, Broadway\u2019s hottest musical director. When the tryout goes better than even Holland could have imagined, Calvin is set for a great entry into Broadway\u2014until his reason for disappearing earlier becomes clear: he\u2019s in the country illegally, his student visa having expired years ago.<\/p><p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Seeing that her uncle needs Calvin as much as Calvin needs him, a wild idea takes hold of her. Impulsively, she marries the Irishman, her infatuation a secret only to him. As their relationship evolves and Calvin becomes the darling of Broadway\u2014in the middle of the theatrics and the acting-not-acting\u2014will Holland and Calvin to realize that they both stopped pretending a long time ago?<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/3-hearts.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"135\" height=\"44\" \/><\/p><hr \/><p><strong>Release Date:<\/strong>\u00a0Dec 5, 2017<br \/><strong>Heat Level:<\/strong>\u00a0Sensual<br \/><strong>Publisher:<\/strong>\u00a0Simon &amp; Schuster<br \/><strong>Imprint:<\/strong>\u00a0Gallery Books<br \/><strong>Price:<\/strong>\u00a0$7.99<\/p><hr \/><p>\u00a0<\/p><p style=\"text-align: justify;\">I want to preface the review with a couple things. It\u2019s been a while since I\u2019ve read New Adult and this book popped my Christina Lauren cherry. That in mind, those who love Samantha Young and Christina Lee (without the dark and dramatic) will enjoy this book.<\/p><p style=\"text-align: justify;\">It\u2019s a first person POV from the heroine, Holland. Holland has a nice unique voice that reminds me of so many young 20-something women. She\u2019s having fun, enjoying life, and trying to figure out where she fits into everything. \u00a0Included in that is a serious crush on a busker. For those who don\u2019t know what that is it\u2019s anyone putting on a performance, typically musical, in public for gratuities. The busker of course is our hero and he quickly becomes enveloped in Holland\u2019s life, once by chance and twice on purpose.<\/p><p style=\"text-align: justify;\">I won\u2019t go into all the details because reading the story, even the blurb, is a lot better than my half-baked explanation. Let\u2019s dig into what worked:<\/p><p style=\"text-align: justify;\">This is a replay of the marriage of convenience trope, but it works. It\u2019s modern and fits the times, the situation, and I think this is a good, fresh take.\u00a0 The budding romance is a good case of falling in love gradually, which I appreciate among the fast number of insta-lust\/love stories available. I also appreciate the author(s) ability to make me truly wonder if our hero, Calvin really cares for Holland or not because he puts on a pretty convincing performance at the drop of a dime.<\/p><p style=\"text-align: justify;\">A couple other things that hit me \u2013 this book centers around a musical production, with pointers to music numbers, classical works, etc. Having a musical background, myself, I could easily relate and get into Holland\u2019s head from that perspective. That being said, it\u2019s not so comprehensive and deep that a person with no musical inclinations can\u2019t appreciate the story. The vivid descriptions of the city, from traveling on the subway to New York nightlife \u2013 those were perfect and amazing.<\/p><p style=\"text-align: justify;\">What didn\u2019t work? The start of this story is slow\u2026 so slow, it took me until chapter five for things to really pick up. Anyone looking for a fast pace, this is not that book. Once things take off with the hero and heroine finally coming together things take on a steady pace of budding relationship, conflict, and plenty of sexual tension. My only other caveat is that I felt the heroine was a bit wishy-washy, and some of the conflict between the couple is built on her inability to just communicate with Calvin. Again, this is something that\u2019s probably prevalent in New Adult romance, and buyable because let\u2019s face it when I was in my 20s I wasn\u2019t very good at communicating either.<\/p><p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Overall, I liked it. The concept, the plot, both were unique. If you\u2019re a fan of marriage of convenience trope, enjoy hero\u2019s with accents, or possess a love of Hamilton I encourage you to check this out.<\/p><p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><em>~ Landra<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong><a href=\"http:\/\/amzn.to\/2BZHnDK\">Amazon<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/geo.itunes.apple.com\/us\/book\/roomies\/id1227575429?mt=11\">iBooks<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.barnesandnoble.com\/w\/roomies-christina-lauren\/1125897924?ean=9781501165849#\/\">B&amp;N<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.kobo.com\/us\/en\/ebook\/roomies-16\">Kobo<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/play.google.com\/store\/books\/details\/Christina_Lauren_Roomies?id=O7WuDgAAQBAJ\">Google Play<\/a><\/strong><\/p>","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19800","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19800"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19800\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19800"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19800"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19800"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}