I haven't been reading much lately as I'm in a slump, and so I did that thing where you just go on a whim and choose a random book and see how it goes. The American Roommate Experiment by Elena Armas was that book for me, and I got more than I bargained with this one. I loved it, and it brought my inner romantic out of hibernation. It was witty and sweet, and had an amazing romance and great characters. I read this book in one sitting, and I can't wait to talk about it.
This book is the second book, with the first being the Spanish Love Deception, and if you're wondering if I read that book first, no, I did not. Let's say this isn't the first time it's happened. I tend to read series out of order when they are in the same world, but don't necessarily need to be read in order. If you read the Spanish Love Deception first and choose to read this next one, then great, or if you haven't and just want to skip to the American Roommate Experiment, then that's fine too. Either way, I know that since I enjoyed this book so much, I can go back and read the first one. 🙃
This book opens with our protagonist Rosie who has let herself into her friend Lina's apartment since her ceiling fell at her own home. To her surprise, though, someone tries to open the door, and she panics and calls the cops thinking it's someone trying to break in. It turns out, though, that it's Lina's cousin Lucas who Rosie had been cyber-stalking for a while. This meet-cute between Rosie and Lucas immediately had me hooked, and their first conversations were really endearing with Lucas trying to be funny, but Rosie is just stunned, and he thinks his lines aren't good.
The dual POV wasn't something I expected, as I simply haven't read Elena Armas's books before, but I enjoyed it a lot. Witnessing the tension and feelings rise from both of them made me smile so much.
I totally empathized with Rose's writer's block, and I thought that this plot was really clever and so cute with Lucas taking her out on dates to inspire her to write. I loved seeing him talk about what each date was supposed to do since he was showing he remembered what she wrote and all of his dates were so well-thought out. Rosie getting great meals from Lucas, the expert chef(aside from burned pizzas 😉), going out on dates, and getting her inspiration back to write was so fun to see, and I was totally immersed in their relationship.
I think one of my favorite moments from the beginning was when Rosie was ranting during their check-in at her apartment to Lucas, and he remembered her craving and bought her cronouts. I want that for me. My heart melted at all these little things Lucas was doing for her. The way he saved her from the rat: I would've been screaming on that countertop as well. His grand gesture was so heartwarming to witness and the talk between Lina and Lucas when he left really felt like the whole story was tied together beautifully.
"I could see you in those pages, Lucas. It was you. I have no idea how she did it, how she turned something great into something breathtakingly beautiful, but she did. And it's like a goddamn love letter. To you."
Needless to say, I give this book five stars.
Here are a few more cute quotes I wanted to include!
"Rosalyn Graham," Lucas said, throwing the fridge open. "Your lack of enthusiasm is appalling." He pulled out a cardboard of eggs and a few veggies before turning and pinning me with a hard look. "Your doubting my frittata, and what's worse, my white chocolate cheesecake." He pointed a whisk in my direction. "And I accept the challenge. You just wait and see. You'll love everything."
"Do you want a hug?" he offered... "No. It's okay. I'm fine," I whispered. He was quiet for a few seconds. Then he said, "Do you think you can give me one, though? Maybe I'm the one who needs it."
"You said you wished we'd met at Aaron and Lina's wedding," he said, his expression turning grim. He took one determined step toward me. "I thought that tonight, for this one last date, we could pretend we were doing that. Meeting for the first time."
I really really enjoyed this novel, and I'm looking forward to reading the first book, The Spanish Love Deception, very soon.
Bye!