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 received an Advanced Reading Copy of this book in exchange for an honest review
My Rating: 4.5 Stars
I know what you’re thinking, “Really, Erin? Another Christina Lauren review?” Well…duh. If you aren’t a fan yet, you really should be! Haven’t you read enough of my 5 star reviews to at least be curious?
As with all CLo books, the premise of Roomies is pretty freaking adorable. As a subway busker, Calvin manages to catch the attention of Holland, causing her to mildly creep on him for six months. When her Uncle needs someone to replace one of his lead musicians for a Broadway musical, naturally, Holland thinks of the cute busker she’d been captivated by. Because Calvin is illegal in the US, she volunteers to marry the hot, Irish guitar player so that he can be part of the musical. I know it sounds crazy, but you and I both know you’d do the same thing.
The chemistry between Calvin and Holland was instantaneous and insanely hot. I have no idea how Holland resisted ripping the man’s clothes off – I wanted to reach through the pages and do it myself.
What really made me love this book, however, wasn’t Calvin. Roomies is narrated solely by Holland, which turned out to be perfect. CLo turned what could have been a run of the mill romance story into a journey of self-discovery. Holland had to learn her own self-worth, and I adored that she did that without Calvin. While he may have pushed her in the right direction, she really grew on her own and it was riveting.
I’m going to keep this particular review pretty short and sweet – nobody wants me to start gushing and spew spoilers! Just trust me and go pre-order the book, you won’t regret it!
My Takeaway: One of my favorite love stories since Ansel and Mia. If you aren’t already a fan of CLo, pre-order this book, and read a few of her others while you wait for it to come out!
As The Book Ends 