Book review - Roomies by Christina Lauren

“Will anything ever be permanent? What the hell am I doing with my life? I only get one shot at this, and right now, I'm finding my value only in being valuable to others. How do I find value for me?” 

So this book (Roomies) has a story that surrounds a girl named Holland, who has been around music all her life. Her uncle and his husband practically have raised her, and one of them is a big name in Broadway! They obviously live in New York, and her uncle is under a great deal of pressure trying to find a musical performer who will help his latest hit production be even better.

“As I slip in, I wonder whether, in ten years, I’ll hear a riff or an opening chord to one of the songs and be transported back immediately to this time in my life. It makes the shadow thought follow—what will I feel when I think of these times? Will I think, Wow, those were the hardest days, trying to figure out who I was? Or will I think, Those days were so easy and free, with so little responsibility?”

 Holland’s first love is writing, and she is actually an aspiring author, but she still has an amazing ear for musical talent because of her upbringing. She can’t stay away from a subway musician who she has developed a bit of a crush on. One day, Holland works up the courage to actually speak to the mystery man, and they exchange names.

“Do you have cats?” I blink. “Cats?” “I’m allergic.” “Oh.” I frown. This is really where his brain goes first? Mine went straight to bare skin and sex sounds. “No cats.” 

Calvin McLoughlin is an immigrant from Ireland. He went to school at Juilliard and has been waiting for his big musical break ever since. Holland quickly puts two and two together and decides to introduce Calvin to her uncle, believing he will be the perfect fit for his show. And low and behold, Calvin truly amazes them all. Unfortunately, Calvin’s lack of authentic visa makes him unable to join the cast.

 Holland Bakker lives in a small apartment in New York City that her uncles help pay the rent on. She works for her uncle Robert whose musical is a huge hit on Broadway. Holland’s life is in limbo. She’s not pursuing her dream of becoming a writer. It seems as though she’s stuck in a rut and doesn’t know how to move forward. There’s one thing in her life that brings her joy and excitement—a handsome and gifted guitarist whom she sees several times a week playing outside her train station. For six months she’s been crushing on the guy but never has gotten the nerve up to talk to him, then everything changes when she is nearly mugged and pushed on to the train tracks by a homeless man, and her crush comes to her rescue.

When she wakes up in the hospital Holland is a little surprised when the police and hospital staff assumed she was suicidal. She learns that sexy guitar man never reported to the police what actually went down on the subway platform. A couple of nights later, her friend drags her to a dive bar to see a local band play and is floored when she sees a familiar guitar player. Holland approaches him after his set and Calvin’s apologetic demeanor and sexy Irish accent quickly wins her forgiveness. She’s still replaying their conversation over in her head days after their encounter at the bar. When the lead violinist who has several pivotal solos in her uncle’s Broadway show ends up quitting, Holland has an epiphany. She knows that Calvin could take over the lead and he would be brilliant at it and with a little convincing she gets an audition set up for Calvin. He blows everyone away with his raw talent but drops a bomb when he confesses that he can’t accept the job because he’s been in the country illegally for the past four years.

“I used to refer to her as social lubricant, but Robert made me promise to never use that phrase again.”

Holland normally plays it safe and never does anything truly crazy but her love for her Uncle and her desire to help Calvin achieve his lifelong dream has her ”proposing” that they get married so that Calvin can get his green card which would allow him to be in her uncle’s show. From the very moment she approaches Calvin with her crazy plan, you can feel this intense chemistry between them. Calvin is so incredibly sweet and charming it was easy to fall madly in love with his character. What makes the story perfect is that the heroine was also just as lovable. Her inherent nature to always put others before herself and her inability to see that she was someone worth loving made her character so endearing.

 I just spent an entire day getting lost in this amazing book! ROOMIES deserves all of the stars for a rating. The plot, characters, and even the vibrant description of the music made this story simply sublime! I never wanted it to end. I fell in love instantly with Holland and Calvin and their slow-burning romance had my heart pounding with anticipation, but never did I feel that there was a lull in the progression of their story. It’s so hard to find a book that has the perfect pace to keep me fascinated from beginning to end, but this one knocked me off of my feet!

“The thing about this music is that if you just stand here and listen, you’ll never appreciate it. You’re supposed to be part of it—part of the party. I think that’s why I like it so much.”

 So, “Roomies” it is. Can this relationship possibly work? With a girl like Holland who has crushed on this guy for ages and a guy like Calvin whose motives Holland can’t quite trust? What can I say except for the fact that there are sparks, some sweetness, witty banter and wild energy that makes you wonder.

What started out slow, grew into a delightful story between the unlikeliest of pairs, who I couldn’t help but root for. There were no “cover my eye” moments, which for me, was a plus! Christina Lauren’s “Roomies” is an endearing, fun and super fast read. Truth be told, it made me want to believe. If only these situations actually happened in real life. Maybe at the Car Wash or the DMV. BAAH!

If you’re looking for a light, fun read that will take you out of the doldrums, this is it.