Book Review – The Roommate by Rosie Danan

Title: The Roommate (The Roommate #1)

Author: Rosie Danan

Publisher: Berkley

Publication date: September 15th, 2020

325 pages

4/5 stars

Goodreads Synopsis

House Rules:
Do your own dishes.
Knock before entering the bathroom.
Never look up your roommate online.

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.

Review

“Some fears kill us. They drain us our whole lives, and we die filled with regret. But this isn’t one of those fears. Make a plan.”

Rosie Danan, The Roommate

First things first – this book is STEAMY. Be aware of this going in!! Many open door scenes with a lot of description and detail. I say this as I know many people who don’t prefer this in books – but when the main character is a porn star I didn’t expect anything less. Steamy books are my jam, but this one had me fanning my face.

I found the main plot of The Roommate to be vaguely unbelievable just with the huge difference between the two main characters. It seemed unrealistic that Clara goes from being a completely tight laced woman to funding a sexual education venture. That’s just me. I thoroughly enjoyed this book don’t get me wrong, there is just some suspension of belief required to read it in my opinion.

I loved how confident Josh was not only in himself, but also in his profession. I personally am of the opinion that sex work is fine as long as it’s practiced consensually and by individuals who are of age. And I wholeheartedly respect reading about a man who is involved in this line of work and thriving in it unabashedly. I also love his growth throughout the book as he learns there is more to relationships than casual sex and that he is capable of lasting love. To be honest, I loved this book from start to finish and the journey was so worth it.

I truly LOVED Naomi as a side character, and I’m so excited to read her story in The Intimacy Experiment! Just waiting for my library hold to come through!

Happy reading, folks!