Roomies

by Christina Lauren

[EBookObsessed]

Roomies was my first Christina Lauren novel. Something drew me to this one and I am happy it did. I enjoyed these characters and storyline immensely.

Holland is obsessed with a subway musician who plays classical guitar. She call him “Jack” knows his schedule and although she can walk the few blocks to work, she takes a train well out of her way just to hear him play. It is just a harmless infatuation until her uncle’s hit broadway show is about to lose their main musician just as a new lead is about to take the stage.

It is Holland who thinks that the new lead has a voice that would be better suited to a guiter soloist than their former violinist. She convinces her uncle to come listen to her “Jack” play and while he is reluctant, he goes. As soon as he hears the music drifting up the stairs, he understands what Holland is thinking and is introduced to Calvin McLaughlin. Calvin comes to the theater to perform for the cast and the producers and everyone agrees that Calvin is the perfect replacement.

But when they offer Calvin the position, one which has been his dream since he came to New York, he is forced to turn them down. Calvin stayed passed the expiration of his student visa, four years past his expiration. He is in the United States illegally and can’t take the job which was one of the reasons he wanted to stay in New York.

What starts off as a joke that Holland can marry Calvin for the good of the production becomes Holland’s decision for the good of the show. She goes to Calvin and offers to marry him. This would save the show and allow Calvin to fulfill his dream. She just needs to make sure the Calvin doesn’t know about her bizarre and slightly obsessive crush.

It was a nice story of two stranges who come to care for each other and dealing with issues of getting to know each other and the odd issues which come up with suddenly putting their prior lives on hold. As the production comes together, so do Holland and Calvin as their own feelings toward each other develop.

I was a little put off by Holland constantly berating herself that she just graduated with a Master of Fine Arts degree but hasn’t begun writing anything yet. I mean, really, she is barely 25 years old and has no life experience but she sucks because she hasn’t written, or even started, the great american novel yet. I understand being nervous about her life choices but she spent more time berating herself on not writing than on what is she doing marrying a stranger.

I also believe that Calvin makes a choice near the end of the story, that is one of those big, clueless guy mistakes where he can’t understand the problem until someone all but draws him a diagram, but I would think would be really hard to get past. That whole twist was kind of over the top in a story where a girl fakes marries a man she met in the subway to keep in him the country, but overall I did enjoy this story and the romance between Calvin and Holland and how their fake marriage turns into a real relationship.

Since this is my first Christina Lauren novel, I don’t know if this was a plot twist that we would normally see, but on its own it was very delightful story.