Book Review and GIVEAWAY: Roomies, by Christina Lauren {ends 12/12}

I see the cast and crew eying him, eyeing us. We look like any other married couple. Calvin touches me freely and kisses me—on the forehead. We come together and leave together, even though I'm not needed here a fraction of the time I'm around. And while I'm not completely unfortunate-looking, I know everyone is half wondering how I ended up with someone like him. I'm that girl with the freckles, the one with snagged tights who spills her coffee awkwardly on her boobs, the one who knocks into everyone with my camera. Calvin, by contrast, drifts gracefully in and out of spaces, and we've already established how he can eat a salad without greasing up his chin.

It really is unfair.

Roomies is the newest novel by Christina Lauren, the author duo who writes under one name as a pseudonym. I'm a big fan of their books, and Roomies is a big more PG-13 than what they normally write (the Beautiful Bastard books in that series are mostly R-rated). That being said, it still ended up being a cute story.

Official synopsis:

Marriages of convenience are so…inconvenient.

Rescued by Calvin McLoughlin from a would-be subway attacker, Holland Bakker pays the brilliant musician back by pulling some of her errand-girl strings and getting him an audition with a big-time musical director. When the tryout goes better than even Holland could have imagined, Calvin is set for a great entry into Broadway—until he admits his student visa has expired and he’s in the country illegally.

Holland impulsively offers to wed the Irishman to keep him in New York, her growing infatuation a secret only to him. As their relationship evolves from awkward roommates to besotted lovers, Calvin becomes the darling of Broadway. In the middle of the theatrics and the acting-not-acting, what will it take for Holland and Calvin to realize that they both stopped pretending a long time ago?

I was reading this novel while I was traveling to DC,  back in October, and it was on my Kindle. I then had to stop reading it, because I had a blog tour post due for another book, so I then picked it back up this past week. It took me a minute to get back into the characters' lives, but I'm glad I did, as the love story between Holland and Calvin is great.

Holland marries Calvin so that he can stay in NYC and be in her uncles' Broadway show, but later, real sparks can be found between the two of them. Many of the show employees think she's insane for marrying him, but meanwhile, he's able to pursue his musical dreams, and she's doing a favor for her uncles, who basically helped raise her.

I'm sure there are many "marriages of convenience" in this country, and this was an interesting read because it showed all of the hoops you have to jump through to make a marriage like that seem "real" or "convincing." I enjoyed seeing the relationship between Holland and Calvin develop, as well—first as a friendship and then as an actual romantic relationship—and I was curious to see if all would end well for the couple. 

3.5 stars out of 5

{Click here to purchase}

*Disclosures:

-I received a copy of this book for reviewing. The opinions expressed here, however, are my own.

-All product links are Amazon affiliate links; I make a small percentage off any purchases.

GIVEAWAY:

One of my lucky readers will win a print copy of Roomies!

Enter via the widget below. Giveaway will end on Tuesday, December 12th, at 11:59pm EST, and winner will be notified the next day via email, and have 24 hours to respond, or an alternate winner will be chosen.

U.S. residents only, please.

Good luck!

Paperback copy of ROOMIES, by Christina Lauren