Reviews with content warning for Death - My Roommate Is a Vampire

This was a light, fun book, so long as you don't think about it too hard (which I'm not very good at). The characters were adorable and the romance was lovely. I got quite tired of the over-the-top physical attraction between the main couple. The writing was good on the whole, if a bit repetitive – characters were constantly staring at the floor or their shoes. I didn't really find the humour that funny

(apart from "the Tiktoks")

and kept forgetting it was a romcom rather than romance, but that's just me. The juxtaposition of quirky romcom with actual vampires was jarring but in a fun way.

The title is quite confusing for a British audience – I'd assumed they actually shared a room, but actually they're more flatmates than roommates.

Two things that did really irritate me:
1. The texts and letters were completely unbelievable throughout; they read like spoken dialogue and were never convincing for written language. For example, near the beginning Frederick writes in a handwritten letter "Not... Exactly" – who writes with ellipses like that on paper?! Let alone someone from his period, who's trying not to act suspicious. This kind of thing ruined my immersion in the story whenever there was a letter involved.
2. Following on from that, the author clearly did not research the historical period Frederick is from. She keeps saying he looks like he's stepped out of a Jane Austen novel, but the way she describes his clothes (suits and wingtip shoes) is more like early 1900s fashions, i.e. a century after Austen's time. His speech and style of letter writing also didn't feel convincing enough for the time.

I was also a bit disappointed that there was never a solution to the whole stealing from bloodbanks thing. I know the author didn't want Frederick preying on people, but that still seems like a pretty big ethical issue. Cassie also was just way too comfortable and accepting of the fact that vampires were real and she was living with one.

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natashaleighton_'s review against another edition

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funny lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

What We Do In The Shadows meets Kate & Leopold (minus the time travel) in this fluffy, feel good paranormal Rom-com about a down on her luck artist and the eccentric, marshmallowy vampire she moves in with after being evicted by her landlord.

I absolutely LOVED this! It has just the right amount of humour and the adorably eccentric Frederick, our cinnamon roll love interest (and vampire roommate) stole my heart with his humorously old timey mannerisms and general awkwardness surrounding modern society/ social conventions.

Cassie, our protagonist was really likeable too and though she’s painfully oblivious at first (both to Frederick’s not so subtle feelings and vampire status), I really enjoyed watching her slow realisation and inner thought processes as Cassie begins to come to terms with her new circumstances (and vampire filled) reality.

She did give me slight Jess from New Girl vibes (which I’m not mad about) and if this is ever optioned for TV or a movie, I can totally see Zooey Deschanel playing her.

Reginald, Frederick’s friend (and fellow vampire) was also a firm fave of mine, and I’d love to see more of him (and his roguish charm) in future— I’ve also got my fingers crossed for a spinoff, as his brief mention in the epilogue has me all kinds of intrigued.

Overall, a fun, fast paced read that you should definitely check out if you’re a fan of Sarah Hawley, lighthearted vampire stories or cosy, low stakes style Rom-coms.

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bookcheshirecat's review against another edition

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funny lighthearted medium-paced

4.0

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callidoralblack's review

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lighthearted

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes

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deetabz's review against another edition

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funny lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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rickireadss's review

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3.5

i think this was a cute little vampire x human rom-com. it wasn’t anything too memorable or spectacular to me, but it wasn’t bad either. the ending and “conflict” felt so like mid and very basic. the resolution was just too lackluster imo.

⚠️: sexual content, blood, kidnapping, confinement, misogyny, death, violence

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wilybooklover's review against another edition

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funny lighthearted medium-paced

3.5

This was really fun! It's so nice to read a romcom that's actually funny and light in tone. I really enjoyed how most of the book was just Cassie and Frederick having conversations and getting to know each other, especially the epistolary element with all of their notes and letters (reminded me a bit of The Flatshare in that way). Their romance was really cute and I loved how low-conflict it was. Frederick trying to adjust to the modern world was hilarious.

It went a bit downhill at the end for me. Although

I appreciated how Cassie and Frederick didn’t break up,

the third act conflict fell flat and felt a bit underwhelming. I think it would have been better if it had been more of a surprise to the reader and had more urgency to it. The resolution was honestly ridiculous.

I also wish the worldbuilding was a little stronger. It felt more like a contemporary in which one of the characters happened to be a vampire than a paranormal. I wanted to know more about vampire society, their rules, how they’re governed. There’s no apparent concern when Cassie unexpectedly finds out Frederick is a vampire and runs off, even though he later says humans finding out can be dangerous. It’s never really explained why Frederick moved to the US or how he became wealthy. Some of the editing in regards to timelines was a bit off as well.

Overall though, this was a cute, entertaining romcom and I had fun reading it!

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smasson13's review against another edition

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funny lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

This book was so strange. I went the first 200ish pages believing the author was writing a cute, fun, silly little vampire book. Then...you learn about Frederick's hobby?!

I literally laughed out loud and proceeded to read the rest of this novel vaguely confused if I was supposed to take it seriously or not.

It was funny at times, super cliche, but fun.

My biggest issues were the pacing (again, the last 100 some pages were wildly different from the rest and the ending was rushed) and just the lack of depth from the characters. Cassie was boring and I just wish I cared more about her 🤷🏼‍♀️

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