A review by kfmcf
The American Roommate Experiment, by Elena Armas
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
While I liked this better than TSLD, I just...I don't know. There were no stakes, there was no real reason why they couldn't be together.
For a definite positive - I think Armas has a real skill for writing male love interests. Aaron was the best part of the first book and Lucas is adorable. However, the FL in TSLD is obnoxious and in this one she's just wishy washy nothing. Also Lina being back was, uh, not my favorite. It's a bummer.
I think I also struggle with the prose in these books. I'm not someone who needs the author to wax poetic, but a lot of Armas' writing is telling and not showing, which is not super fun to read.
I also have one really glaring issue with this book and that is the treatment of Rosie's younger brother, Olly. This is not a sex or sex-adjacent work positive book at all and I definitely understand that things can get dangerous but from the get go his work as a dancer was looked down upon and seen as bad. Also ALSO - the part where they almost fooled around in a BED in a STUDIO APARTMENT when her brother was ON THE COUCH?! Ew and none of that.
Also, there was a lot of bathroom located spice in this book - I mean it was just two scenes but that's still surprising. The scene at the party was odd because it being a public bathroom was not utilized in a way that made any of it sexy. The other bathroom scene was good, no complaints.
Last thing, but the epilogue was UNNECESSARY. If you've read my previous reviews you know I love an epilogue but NOTHING HAD CHANGED. I wanted to see how their lives had progressed and grown and we didn't really get that?! It could have been the next day for all I knew.
I dunno, I'm probably going to sit out the next book unless I'm convinced otherwise.
For a definite positive - I think Armas has a real skill for writing male love interests. Aaron was the best part of the first book and Lucas is adorable. However, the FL in TSLD is obnoxious and in this one she's just wishy washy nothing. Also Lina being back was, uh, not my favorite. It's a bummer.
I think I also struggle with the prose in these books. I'm not someone who needs the author to wax poetic, but a lot of Armas' writing is telling and not showing, which is not super fun to read.
I also have one really glaring issue with this book and that is the treatment of Rosie's younger brother, Olly. This is not a sex or sex-adjacent work positive book at all and I definitely understand that things can get dangerous but from the get go his work as a dancer was looked down upon and seen as bad. Also ALSO - the part where they almost fooled around in a BED in a STUDIO APARTMENT when her brother was ON THE COUCH?! Ew and none of that.
Also, there was a lot of bathroom located spice in this book - I mean it was just two scenes but that's still surprising. The scene at the party was odd because it being a public bathroom was not utilized in a way that made any of it sexy. The other bathroom scene was good, no complaints.
Last thing, but the epilogue was UNNECESSARY. If you've read my previous reviews you know I love an epilogue but NOTHING HAD CHANGED. I wanted to see how their lives had progressed and grown and we didn't really get that?! It could have been the next day for all I knew.
I dunno, I'm probably going to sit out the next book unless I'm convinced otherwise.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content and Injury/injury detail