Review: Roomies by Christina Lauren

Roomies
by Christina Lauren
Publisher: Gallery Books
Publication Date: Dec. 5, 2017
Genre: Romance
Rating:

Marriages of convenience are so…inconvenient.

Rescued by Calvin McLoughlin from a would-be subway attacker, Holland Bakker pays the brilliant musician back by pulling some of her errand-girl strings and getting him an audition with a big-time musical director. When the tryout goes better than even Holland could have imagined, Calvin is set for a great entry into Broadway—until he admits his student visa has expired and he’s in the country illegally.

Holland impulsively offers to wed the Irishman to keep him in New York, her growing infatuation a secret only to him. As their relationship evolves from awkward roommates to besotted lovers, Calvin becomes the darling of Broadway. In the middle of the theatrics and the acting-not-acting, what will it take for Holland and Calvin to realise that they both stopped pretending a long time ago?

I’m a huge Christina Lauren fan and have loved everything they’ve written. I find their books to be both laugh out loud hilarious and swoon worthy. While this one was no exception, I didn’t gravitate towards it as much as I thought I would. I loved the idea that Holland has a crush on a subway street performer. She’s built up his story over the last six months and has named him Jack. After one too many drinks, she gets the courage to talk to him and finds out that his name is not in fact Jack, but Calvin. Long story short, she talks her uncle, who just so happens to be the composer of a massive Broadway musical, to give Calvin a listen, and pretty soon he’s ushered in for an audition. The only problem is, he’s in the States illegally and is unable to take the job. A job that would not only save her uncle, but be her crushes lifelong dream. So, what does any sane, single, female in her 20’s do? She marries the guy. Yup, she marries a street performer in order to save her uncle’s Broadway show and her crush.

My problem wasn’t with the story itself, but rather with the lack of communication and intelligence between these two. Actually, more so on Holland’s part than Calvin’s. Obviously their relationship starts off as a fake relationship but soon they find themselves living their happily ever after. Except, there has to be drama. More drama than the immigration department looming over their head. I just felt like a lot of it could have been resolved, if not completely avoided, if Holland had not only talked to Calvin, but took a step back and assessed what was going on with the actions Calvin had displayed leading up to that moment. While some of her ire is justified, I just felt like a simple talk would have cleared the air. Which brings me to the fact that I felt like this story lagged a little big. I found myself getting a teeny bit bored in the middle. Which is really rare when I’m reading a Christina Lauren novel. I usually love everything they write but there was just something about this one that didn’t quite jive with me.

Now that’s not saying that I didn’t laugh my butt off or swoon heavily over Calvin. It’s just that I found myself wishing for more and less. Less random stuff that took up way too much time in the novel, and more progression into everything that was happening. There were a lot of loose ends that never get resolved. Do the cops ever find the homeless dude who pushed Holland onto the train tracks? Do her parents ever get clued in that their daughter is married? What about Calvin’s family who was there one moment and then just left without a word? I just felt like a lot was brought to the table, but then just sort of got pushed aside and forgotten in order to further their romance and angst.

While Roomies wasn’t my favorite novel by this amazing duo, I didn’t hate it. I suppose I just expected more from them and I felt let down when I didn’t get it. I honestly was hoping that in the end they would make it a unhappily ever after, like The Breakup with Jen Aniston and Vince Vaughn, but that wasn’t the case.

Favorite quote…

“Come out with me tomorrow night and let’s see if we can stand to be near each other. You’re not going to want me in your apartment if you can’t handle me at a bar.”