The American Roommate Experiment by Elena Armas: Book Review

The American Roommate Experiment is a highly entertaining romance novel where two strangers with undeniable chemistry share an apartment under unusual circumstances. I absolutely loved it!

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From The Publisher:

From the author of the Goodreads Choice Award winner The Spanish Love Deception, the eagerly anticipated follow-up featuring Rosie Graham and Lucas Martín, who are forced to share a New York apartment.

Rosie Graham has a problem. A few, actually. She just quit her well paid job to focus on her secret career as a romance writer. She hasn’t told her family and now has terrible writer’s block. Then, the ceiling of her New York apartment literally crumbles on her. Luckily she has her best friend Lina’s spare key while she’s out of town. But Rosie doesn’t know that Lina has already lent her apartment to her cousin Lucas, who Rosie has been stalking—for lack of a better word—on Instagram for the last few months. Lucas seems intent on coming to her rescue like a Spanish knight in shining armor. Only this one strolls around the place in a towel, has a distracting grin, and an irresistible accent. Oh, and he cooks.

Lucas offers to let Rosie stay with him, at least until she can find some affordable temporary housing. And then he proposes an outrageous experiment to bring back her literary muse and meet her deadline: He’ll take her on a series of experimental dates meant to jump-start her romantic inspiration. Rosie has nothing to lose. Her silly, online crush is totally under control—but Lucas’s time in New York has an expiration date, and six weeks may not be enough, for either her or her deadline.

My Thoughts:

I loved this book right from the very beginning. The way that Rosie and Lucas are thrown together is a new take on the forced proximity trope. The fact that Rosie had been social media stalking him for months just added to the chemistry.

The premise of the book is a fun one. Rosie is a successful author trying to write a second romance book with a deadline fast approaching. She lacks inspiration and can’t seem to get started. Enter Lucas from Spain who not only lives with her but agrees to take her on a series of dates meant to motivate Rosie to start writing. These dates stimulate more than Rosie’s need to write.

It is this level of electricity between the two that sealed the deal on my love of this book. While each of them tried to deny these feelings knowing that Lucas’ stay in the U.S. had an expiry date. The passion is real and both continue the dates knowing that it will never be able to last.

While the book is part of the author’s Spanish Love Deception series, it can certainly be read as a standalone. This was my original intention. After reading this book, however, I want to go back and read the first book in the series The Spanish Love Deception. There is an overlap of characters in these books.

The American Roommate Experiment has well-developed, likeable characters and is one of my favourite romance books I’ve read this year. I look forward to reading other books written by the author.

What I Liked:

• The well-developed, likeable characters
• The chemistry between Rosie and Lucas
• The excellent execution of the forced proximity trope

Acknowledgments:

Thank you to Simon and Schuster Canada and Netgalley for the ARC of the ebook in exchange for this honest review.

Similar Books I’ve Reviewed:

Eight Perfect Hours by Lia Louis

Book Lovers by Emily Henry

Part of Your World by Abby Jimenez