Roomies

Christina Lauren

Dec 2017 · Sold by Simon and Schuster

About this ebook

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.

Unbelievably predictable. I didn't think anything could be worse than Hatingyou/Datingyou. But I was wrong. Their writing has become more nauseating with each release.

I read veraciously, and I haven't come across a book that speaks to me so vividly in a long time. In this book, more then once, i would read a particular line or paragraph and i connected so strongly with it, I would unconsciously shout, "OMG YES!" The writer has perfectly capture the heart and conscious state of today's young women like myself. I solemnly vow to buy a paper copy of this volume and and passionately recommend to every reader i know that they must read it. The main character is so beautifully fleshed out you would think this was more biographical vs fictional. I also love the dynamic of Holland's relationship with her romantic interest. The writing style and imagery carry you threw all the emotions of the events as if you were Holland yourself without pages upon pages of descriptive paragraphs. One of my favorite parts of this book is the first few sentences on the 1st page. You can see in your minds eye the main characters movements and environment perfectly like a movie within the first few sentences. You can tell a lot about a book and its author(s) in the first few sentences of a novel. Opening paragraphs are especially important and really difficult to craft successfully. This not only nailed it, they knocked it out of the park! Happy reading everyone. :)

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, and The True Love Experiment. You can find them online at ChristinaLaurenBooks.com or @ChristinaLauren on Instagram.