Roomies by Christina Lauren
My Review
I freaking L-O-V-E-D this book!
Like I love a lot of books but this one goes in a special top shelf love category: it’s a favorite. It may not seem like a big deal, but I don’t really have “favorites” because I like or love a ton of different things. I can tell my top 10s but never a #1. But as of this moment, I’m pretty positive I have a Number One in Contemporary Romance.
I think the reason why I loved this book so much is because I saw WAYY too much of myself in Holland. I was starting to think that Christina and Lauren somehow mind fucked me because I related to Holland that much. You know, apart from the whole fake marriage to an illegal immigrant turned Broadway musical sensation thing. Her struggles with writing, the friend you should’ve dumped ages ago, but most importantly, the feeling of being a supporting character in your own story. I remember hearing a similar statement in The Holiday starring Cameron Diaz and Kate Winslet, and the quote had me shook then, but Roomies left me hella rattled.
This book is everything! It’s heart-pounding, thoughtful, romantic, and fun. Not gonna lie as soon as I finished, I wanted to hop on a plane to NYC, make my way to the subway station to find my own “Busker Jack”.
Final Rating 5+ Stars
Steam Scale Simmering
***Mild Spoilers Below***
Comments & Side Notes
§ As if I didn’t need to find another reason to like Holland I did anyway: she’s into the Vampire Diaries and that. Was. My. SHOW! Damn I miss it, and I completely balled my eyes out during the series finale. Holland and I would be great friends. Hell, probably best friends considering how much we have in common.
§ So I know I wasn’t the only one who was surprised that Brian, of all people, would be the one to suggest that Holland marry Calvin.
§ I loved how when she thought that Calvin’s phone was ringing his first night there and it was actually her vibrator, that she chugged her vodka instead of going over there first to get it, then chug her drink haha!
§ The chapter following the immigration interview...I feel like I’ve been longing for that moment as long as Holland had. But reading it whole working a candy kiosk in the middle of a mall may not have been the best place to read
§ Holland has more restraint than I do because after Lulu & her big mouth at the end of chapter 22, I would’ve beat her ass after spilling that obsession secret in front of Calvin. Even my most petty & childish friends wouldn’t have done that
Quotable Highlights
Ugh. Crushes are the worst, but in hindsight a crush from afar seems so much easier than this. I should stick to making up stories in my head and watching from a distance like a reasonable creeper. -p. 6
Girl who you tellin’! And the longer and harder you crush on someone, the worse it gets. Ugh is right…
“It was just a suggestion,” […] “Everyone here knows you’re the out-of-the-box thinker, Robert. I was trying to come up with an out-of-the-box solution.”
Michael speaks up. “It’s a bit more than out-of-the-box, Brian. It’s also illegal.”
-Brian and Michael, p. 63
But hey, an illegal immigrant + an illegal marriage solely for a visa = a still legal marriage (as far as the government’s concerned) *wink wink*
[…] I decide to make another list-this time of the pros and cons of marrying Calvin. This activity could probably be taken more seriously if I weren’t also wearing an old bridesmaid dress and a pair of knockout Valentino flip-flops […] -p. 66
The things we do in the middle of the night. My go-to late night try on sessions also include my old bridesmaids dresses too haha!!
“So we’d be married, and I’d get to be in the show?” he asks. “Just like that?”
“I think so. You’d have your dream, and Robert would have his new musician.”
“I’d also have a beautiful wife. What would you have? Other than a famous Broadway musician husband, that is.” -Calvin & Holland p. 79-80
Awwww!!! I love him already! <3
I wonder how big a lie that is for him to tell. Calvin, with so much talent and passion that he stayed here illegally hoping to get a job, telling me-a twenty-five-year-old selling T-shirts-that my job is very cool. It almost makes me feel more ashamed. -p. 84
I be feeling the same way girl
[…] Calvin ordered appetizers, and conversation exploded easily, as it always does when Lulu is around. I used to refer to her as social lubricant, but Robert made me promise to never use that phrase again. -p. 105
I am SO using that phrase from now on!
“What I said before was true,” he says quietly, as if he’s speaking only to me, “about how Holland tries to see herself clearly and seems to end up in a pretty good place. But I also think she sees herself as a supporting character, even in her own life story.”
-Jeff p. 146
Why is this book speaking to me????
“I don’t like to think of you playing a side part in your story.” […] “You’ve suddenly become a very large part of mine,” he says quietly. “And I yours. No? Why not make it epic?”
-Calvin p. 157
Be still my freaking heart!
What the hell am I going to do with my life? I only get one shot at this, and right now, I’m finding my value only in being valuable to other. How do I find value for me?”
-p. 201
While this is definitely good for my own thoughts, it’s almost scary how much I can relate to Holland. This is like literary voodoo.