Roomies
By: Christina Lauren
Published Year: 2017
Publisher: Gallery Books
Pages: 368
Summary (Provided by Goodreads): 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?
First Impressions
As you know, I discovered and fell in love with Christina Lauren last year after reading Josh and Hazel’s Guide to Not Dating (review here). This is the third book of theirs that I have read and I was very excited about it. Since they have become a go-to author for me my first impression was excitement.
What I thought
I haven’t stayed up late to finish a book in a while but I could not put this book down. I devoured this book.
Holland has had a crush on a musician who plays in the subway for months. When her Uncle needs a replacement for a lead musician in his hit Broadway musical, Holland thinks of her musician, Calvin. But after he auditions and is offered the job, he shares that he is in the US illegally and can’t accept. As a joke, one of Holland’s coworkers suggests she marry him for a green card. After some thought, Holland doesn’t think it’s such a terrible idea and neither does Calvin, so they quickly get married and move in together as strangers.
Holland is a bit awkward and self-depreciating and Calvin is a hot confident musician. When she offers to marry him so that he can play in the musical she doesn’t share with him that previously she had a crush on him and had been watching him play for months. I really enjoyed the dynamic between the two of them, even if Holland is a bit naïve. It’s pretty obvious from the start that Calvin is attracted to her but she is completely clueless.
They have a fun banter and I was rooting for them from the beginning. The quick pace of getting to know each other and the awkwardness made me smile. I also loved Holland’s uncles and her relationship with them. It’s nice to see a unique family dynamic that works.
I also enjoyed Holland’s growth. Christina Lauren do not disappoint in this story. it has their trademark light-heartedness and I read it with a smile from beginning to end. I wanted to know how their story was going to play out, if their sham marriage was going to get caught, and how the Broadway show was going to do! Even though this wasn’t a mystery or thriller I got sucked in and couldn’t stop.
How can I not rate it 5 stars when I read it in a day? The characters were great, the banter delightful, and the writing is wonderful. Between this and Josh & Hazel, they have solidified themselves as auto-read authors for me. If you like quirky romances I highly recommend checking this story out.