Roomies

Christina Lauren

Dec 2017 · Simon and Schuster · Narrated by K.C. Sheridan

About this audiobook

From subway to Broadway to happily ever after. Modern love in all its thrill, hilarity, and uncertainty has never been so compulsively readable as in New York Times bestselling author Christina Lauren’s Roomies.

Marriages of convenience are so...inconvenient.

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 talk 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.

Using the only resource she has to pay the brilliant musician back, Holland gets Calvin an audition with her uncle, Broadway’s hottest musical director. When the tryout goes better than even Holland could have imagined, Calvin is set for a great entry into Broadway—until his reason for disappearing earlier becomes clear: he’s in the country illegally, his student visa having expired years ago.

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—in the middle of the theatrics and the acting-not-acting—will Holland and Calvin to realize that they both stopped pretending a long time ago?

Ratings and reviews

AudioBook Review: Stars: Overall 4 Narration 4 Story 4 I adore the tensions and narrative voices in a Christina Lauren book, and Roomies is no exception. Smart characters, humor and a touch of sparkle that makes them feel oh so absolutely right together, each one of her books makes me happy. In Roomies, the setting is New York and the influences of Broadway, buskers, coffee shops and the hustle and bustle of the “city that never sleeps” are tactile and present in the story – always waiting stage left to make an entrance. Holland is an aspiring writer, working for her uncle on Broadway. She loves music and the city, and a well-turned phrase. A bit at loose ends, the opportunity to be in the middle of the New York scene is too good to resist – and then she spots him. A busker, playing his guitar on the platform, gentle melodies that speak to the heart. Calvin is a talented musician with an Irish accent that is beyond adorable and a heart of gold. He just wants to stay in the city for opportunity – but with his visa set to run out, his only chance may be a marriage. Together these two are off the charts adorable – a flirtation and crush on Holland’s part lead to an offer of marriage so Calvin can stay. But there’s so much more here: Calvin is sweet and gentle, challenging Holland to take those chances and grow in ways unexpected. For her part, Holland’s feelings for Calvin are developing, but there are obstacles to cross and secrets to reveal. The development of their relationship, with plenty of input and interference from secondary characters with sharp comments and questions reveal more layers and moments for both Calvin and Holland to grow, together and separately. Each moment of their relationship – full of firsts and revelations drags listeners along through the relationship as it grows and changes: allowing the emotions and firsts to feel plausible and possible – and the relationship and romance grow to be real and tangible as the story progresses. Narration for this story is provided by K. C. Sheridan, and the gentle performance clearly allows the text to speak to readers, while giving moments of additional emotional impact with pauses, hesitations, breathy releases and even a bit of bubbly smiles. Holland is clearly presented as someone searching for a purpose and attempting to do the best for all in her circle along the way: Calvin has that touch of Irishness that clearly presents in his phrasing and approach to telling a story, smooth and graceful. A lovely listen and hopefully just the first of many with this narrator. If you (like me) enjoy a Christina Lauren book – you won’t go wrong here. If you’ve not tried one – go for a trope that is rare in contemporary romance and take a chance with this marriage of convenience story: you won’t be disappointed. I received an AudioBook copy of the title from Simon and Schuster Audio for purpose of honest review. I was not compensated for this review: all conclusions are my own responsibility.

4 stars — Ahhhh, a marriage of convenience to screw over immigration! I’m a sucker for that trope…and the meltworthy Irish accent didn’t hurt either. This was my first book narrated by K.C. Sheridan, and she was delightful to listen to. I loved her pacing, her level of emotion, and her Irish accent for Calvin was swoonworthy. The only thing keeping her from the Love column for me is that her voices for different characters weren’t super distinct, and so I had a hard time knowing who was talking quite often (Robert was the only exception). Because her accent comes through a teensy bit in her normal narration, I even sometimes wasn’t sure between Calvin and Holland. I will admit I also had a hard time knowing when Holland was thinking something vs saying something. I rely heavily on both of those things when listening to audiobooks, so I always prefer it when a narrator can make it easier for me. But otherwise she was fantastic! I really love the way Christina Lauren writes unique but relatable characters. This was another story where I legitimately saw pieces of myself in Holland. Not all of her obviously, but that feeling of being a background character in your own story, of not having anything remarkable to contribute to society, I felt that SO HARD. It’s not something I see so starkly addressed in romances, but I sincerely doubt I’m alone. I really felt for Holland, and how trapped she felt by her own anxieties over failure. And I loved the fact that she had this crush, but never intended to see it through…I think we’ve all had those. She was adorable and awkward, a combination I can always get behind. I wanted her to figure out her worth maybe a bit earlier, and ditch Lulu, but I also understand how high those barriers are. I loved Calvin’s line about outgrowing friends, because I’m sure we’ve all had those too. I really appreciated that while she was insecure in so many ways, she stood up for herself when it really counted. Calvin was such a strange hero for me. There are aspects of him that I absolutely ADORED and totally swooned over. But his missteps were HUGE. I think my ability to connect to him was limited by not seeing anything from his POV. I would have loved to just catch a glimpse. A consequence of only having Holland’s POV is that she is an extremely unreliable narrator when it comes to Calvin and his intentions, and I had moments listening to this book where I honestly started to doubt him along with Holland. I’d tell myself I have to be mistaken, there has to be a happy ending. But I was just so disappointed with Calvin’s avoidance and lack of backbone. Don’t get me wrong, Holland didn’t help herself with the misunderstandings and lack of communication, but the whole Amanda thing really brought Calvin down a bit in my eyes. Bummer. Despite that, though, he was ADORABLE, and hilarious, and having come out at the end of the story, he was really genuine and sweet and caring. I seriously loved the way he would tease Holland, and you could tell he was genuinely interested in getting to know her. As such, they had pretty great chemistry. Again, only marred a bit by Holland’s unreliable narration. One of my favourite aspects of this story was the whole setting of a Broadway musical, and the struggles that Uncle Robert faced along the way, and the way Calvin fit into it all. I want it to be real, and I want to hear that music. I loved how Holland FELT Calvin’s talent, and how much it affected her. I will admit, there were a few moments in the story where I was distracted by continuity/inconsistency type things. Probably nothing anyone else would notice, but I have a stupid ear for details, and I think about the weirdest things (when did he bring over his stuff, when did she get her cast off, where did he go live, etc). So basically, a solid romance, just a few things keeping it from being an absolute fave from Ms. Lauren.

This is my second Christina Lauren novel. I am in love! Seriously couldn't stop listening. Bravo!!! Now, on to my third! :-)

About the author

Christina Lauren is the combined pen name of longtime writing partners and best friends Christina Hobbs and Lauren Billings, the New York Times, USA TODAY, and #1 internationally bestselling authors of the Beautiful and Wild Seasons series, Autoboyography, Love and Other Words, Roomies, Josh and Hazel’s Guide to Not Dating, The Unhoneymooners, The Soulmate Equation, Something Wilder, The True Love Experiment and The Paradise Problem. You can find them online at ChristinaLaurenBooks.com or @ChristinaLauren on Instagram.