Review: The Roommate by Rosie Danan
I didn’t know much about The Roommate by Rosie Danan before I picked it up, except that it was getting a ton of buzz. I dove in after only skimming the synopsis and I’m really glad I did that. It was a fun RomCom that tackled some taboo topics, which I always enjoy. I love when Romance teaches the reader something or opens their eyes to be more accepting. Was this book perfect? No. Was it fun? Heck yeah.
Synopsis: “The Wheatons are infamous among the east coast elite for their lack of impulse control, except for their daughter Clara. She’s the consummate socialite: over-achieving, well-mannered, predictable. But every Wheaton has their weakness. When Clara’s childhood crush invites her to move cross-country, the offer is too much to resist. Unfortunately, it’s also too good to be true.
After a bait-and-switch, Clara finds herself sharing a lease with a charming stranger. Josh might be a bit too perceptive—not to mention handsome—for comfort, but there’s a good chance he and Clara could have survived sharing a summer sublet if she hadn’t looked him up on the Internet…
Once she learns how Josh has made a name for himself, Clara realizes living with him might make her the Wheaton’s most scandalous story yet. His professional prowess inspires her to take tackling the stigma against female desire into her own hands. They may not agree on much, but Josh and Clara both believe women deserve better sex. What they decide to do about it will change both of their lives, and if they’re lucky, they’ll help everyone else get lucky too.” —from the Publisher
What I Liked:
The Exploration of Female Pleasure: I loved that this book took the limitations society has placed on women and was like “See yourself out.” It’s 2020 and women don’t need to be ashamed.
The Slow Burn—Honestly, this book surprised me in how it’s a slow burn, but not. It takes the trope and totally reworks it to mean something else. I love that focused on emotional vulnerability rather than physical.
The Steam—And I mean S T E A M. I’m still fanning my cheeks.
What Didn’t Work:
The Innocent Girl Trope—I didn’t *love* that we had a main character who was portrayed as The Innocent Girl. But to be fair, most readers will identify with Clara, as my dear podcast co-host, Ashley, pointed out to me. We love her brilliance.
The Cheese—Josh got a little cheesy for me and made me roll my eyes, but it IS a RomCom.
The Big Sell—This was sold as a “smash the patriarchy” book. And while I do think it tackled some major patriarchal ideas, I don’t think that billing is entirely appropriate.
Overall Thoughts—Fun, sexy, totally escapist.
Steam Rating: 4/5 Character Autehenticity: 3/5 Overall Rating: 3.5/5