Book Review - The Roommate Arrangement by Samantha Markum

 

The Roommate Arrangement by Samantha Markum follows college student Blair, who ends up living with her brother’s best friend, Jamie Atwater. Blair has always been type-A. She enjoys planning and prefers everything to be in its place and clean. She never thought she was overbearing until her two best friends, just a week before college, decided they no longer wanted to live with her.

Blair must hurriedly find new living arrangements but is in a tight spot. She knows if she tells her parents, they will make her give up her expensive sculpture classes with her dream mentor to pay for new housing. Desperate, Blair looks for an alternative and finds an ad for a fifth roommate for four off-campus sophomores seeking a new roommate. Blair is relieved to find a solution but then becomes upset when she learns she will be living with her brother’s best friend, Jamie.

Blair fears Jamie will tell her brother, Sawyer, about her new living situation. She knows her brother would then inform their parents, who wouldn’t approve. So Blair strikes a deal with Jamie: she will help him finish coding an app he’s building if he promises to keep her secret. As they spend more time together, Blair begins to notice Jamie romantically. Will she be able to keep her side of the dea as she is struggling to keep up with life’s demandsl?

I thought the book was an okay read. I liked that the main characters didn’t fall into insta-love and instead gradually developed feelings. Without revealing too much, there are other romantic elements in the story as well. I enjoyed the playful petty bickering and passive-aggressive reactions between Jamie and Blair, which kept the novel from feeling overly sentimental.

I wish the book included more background about certain characters. I would have liked to see more history between Blair, Jamie, and their families. The book hints that Blair’s parents didn’t really like Jamie or her friends but doesn’t explain why. I would have appreciated more details about Blair and her family’s history; at times, it feels glossed over. I also enjoyed the scenes where Blair and Jamie spent time with their roommates, which were some of my favorites. Overall, I liked the book, and I would be interested in reading more from this author.

**Disclosure: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are entirely my own and were not influenced by the publisher or author.**