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A review by lizzye33
My Roommate Is a Vampire by Jenna Levine
emotional
funny
relaxing
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
I decided to try something new for a review, for a book genre I don't usually read, and because lately, most of my reviews get deleted before I finish them. I typically leave the star rating because of this, which does not help me remember how I felt or what I liked or disliked about the book when reviewing it. So, if you are wondering if the book is for you and what it is like to read it, look no further than this VERY HONEST review! I'll try to leave the spoilers behind. (potential spoiler in the last section)
WARNING: I did not like this book, so if you do like or even love it, please scroll to the next review and ignore this post (I am not trying to start a fight), but if you want my honest opinion and why it is so, and are not sure if you want to put in the time, then by all means, here you go.
Chapter 1/ first thoughts:
All the odd signs that something was off learning about the apartment and who was renting it out were all normal green flags to me.
The fact that it was somehow supposed to suggest a vampire is hilarious because nothing was off to me. So many people have different styles, and vintage furniture is amazing. It also costs more money than most modern pieces, and not having modern appliances does not mean living without them. Not everyone has social media, and it is possible to live happily without it. Speaking professionally with evidence of education, especially in an email, only points to the green flag of a person and even attractive and eloquent instead of wondering who the heck talks like that today and how strange this person is. What. If I didn't know this was a vampire story going into it, I would think the main character is just judgmental when, so far, it is very normal. The writing is good, but I have secondhand embarrassment after the hints of the upcoming situation, which could have been better executed. Imagining this is not even the vampire being advertised makes it even funnier. It is not hard to do. I hope her problematic life situation is not solved by dating a supernatural man; that is all that matters and will become her personality because I won't lie; that is a possibility.
I am 25% in.
I'm a quarter way through, and I checked the trigger warnings, and there is absolutely nothing within the book of the trigger warnings, so I am relieved they are not the book's focus so far, but weary that they will be. It should be fine. So far, I don't love the distance between the characters, but I laughed a couple of times at their cute moments, and the letters are incredibly cute. It's not romantic yet, but it's a bit of fun all the same. I still feel the MC is judgmental, but I do, and I don't believe she means well. Her actions suggest she does, as well as her words in the end of her decistions, but her thought process is frustrating as I imagine being in her shoes. There are a few moments of rude humor, but it is a good book so far.
I am 50% through the book and at the point where I want it to be over.
Cassie is either ridiculously naive or undoubtedly gullible. She finally gets to the part where she learns her roommate is a vampire and just numbly walks out of the apartment. I'm glad she did not have a screaming tantrum, but being sassy and taking it like a prank, but you know the truth route is just off to me. It easily could have been a prank, and she just believed it and walked off. Can we talk about that for a second!? In my mind, most of the characters, Fredrick, are normal people who hold themselves to a high standard in contrast to casual modern society.In contrast, the world has its narrow-minded preaching of open-mindedness that sulks in its own judgment of others and does not exclude the other characters. We are a contradiction of ourselves, and it seeps into the pages of these books. Cassie is still judgmental to me, and the whole section since the last entry has been about her wanting to go back because she is attracted to the mystery and person of Fredrick, a little too much in addition to a teenage-like way for me. I like his POV when we get flashes of it, but it just feels so dumb right now. I am waiting for it to get interesting with details and plot, not let's think about how he compares to other fiction stories I wanted to get away from in reading something light and interesting instead. The humor in this section was cruder than the previous section, and I will continue the book. Still, I am finding it harder to want to, though the pace is good, and the writing style, especially with the little notes (though fewer in this section), is quite bingable and pleasant to read. In a nutshell, halfway through, I feel disappointed in a lack of actual romance (we have moments of dismissive lust at best right now) and so far, zero paranormal activity, which is a surprising thing considering the main character is a vampire, excluding one moment from Reggie. It is pretty disappointing and is a contemporary story for YA with discarding YA boundaries in terms of wishing for the scandal to break the doors of the right two people. I don't mind that, but I wish I had more than I have right now. Unfortunately, the book will not pick up drastically from where we are, or at least, I don't expect it to. Despite how it sounds, I don't dislike the book, and I am genuinely happy for those who love it, but I feel slighted for the depth I was hoping to get out of it.
75% through, I nearly gave this book and DNF when, at this point, I realized the book is just not my thing.
There is hardly any character depth and almost no plot. Although they are respectively around their 30s, as I know the general audience may be as well, it feels juvenile and from the perspective of teenagers. This is coming from a 20-year-old female. They finally got together in this section, but though certain tropes are listed in this book, I bought snake oil. My greatest vexation is how unlikable the side characters are to me when I want to like them.The contrast between all characters gives off the feeling of receiving sad news from someone you dislike. That's how these guys make me feel. I only say that because this book is more crude than romantic, has little spice, and has not made me laugh twice. A lot of secondhand embarrassment, but definitely not the same thing. I'm only reading to the end because it's only a few chapters away. At this point, I only recommend this book if you are looking for a book that you don't have to commit to or if you need help following the plot or relating to characters in a deeper sense. You won't have the problem here with not much of that anyway. If you liked the book The Dead Romantics, the author of that very book is quoted to have loved it and gives off similar author vibes. I don't hate this book, but I don't feel like it was honest on more than the proverbial surface advertising.
I'm 100% through, and I was not expecting an amazing, all-shattering ending, but my goodness, what the heck was this!?
After everything, the climax finally comes with a passive interest and is immediately solved with notes about how unpleasant the non-main characters are, and then the whole thing is magically resolved. Are you kidding me with this? I'm so frustrated that as a few references came up from the start of the book, nearly nothing with detail, depth, or difficulty in keeping the characters from getting what they want, personal depth, or anything, just a resolution to a problem that was never that bad but feels so ridiculous I feel frustrated for giving so much time and energy into something I looked forward so much to enjoy. I did try and the idea sounds good in theory, after all I picked it up for it's appeal and finally find something comforting and light to read. My friend said it was perfect for what I was looking for and might help me have better success with my relationship with paranormal stories like we used to like the idea of when we were younger. (she is still heavily invested in all paranormal stories, especially vamps.) I did not mean something to read without true morals, characters with more than surface-level modern-day disregard for self and interest, focus on things aside from looks, social media, and finances, all things escapism gets away from, instead of feeling that that was more of a display case of content in this book. It felt more contemporary than anything.
Parts to rant about/ problems I have with certain parts of the book:
My feelings about Cassie have shifted a little. She needed some praise in herself and her work to have some of that faith in herself, and I get that. She relied a little too much on those around her to feel like making it through the day was an option and within her capability even to think tomorrow could have some good in it by her power if it didn't come on its own. Still, she is also a hard worker, and I give her credit for that. This modern age has made most people shallow and only care about doing what they can to make it through the day, and that was well displayed in this book. In contrast to slower times, Fredrick comes from having more decent actions and morals most of the time.
It was weird how much his character went from a classy sheepish vamp, too, "in my past I was like one of the Salvator brothers with the flip switched off in The Vampire Diaries, but that's not who I am anymore"; I'm a vamp. What? He did things back then, even for a vamp, that are unacceptable, and Cass is just listening, saying, "I don't care," "I know you would never hurt me," "You're different now." etc.
Why did she turn into Bella Swan, who likes kids? That is not character development; that is an example used to teach what not to do!
I am ranting because now I list many other vampire content I didn't particularly appreciate that my friend tried very hard to get me into, but I could not bring myself to do so. I like paranormal romance when it is done right but with no clean face-value resolutions as if there were never any consequences in its setup or ways to resolve it.
In my opinion (as someone who does not have but knows basic knowledge of social media), If I were told someone was going to post something on social media, it would not have mattered even if they had a large following because A, no one believes yet another monster conspiracy theory on the internet, and B, hearing there is only one copy of the video, hearing heartbeats to acknowledge she told the truth, delete it in her presence stealing the phone, and Cassie would be in danger, not immediately getting Fredrick back with absolutely no fallout or consequences. Come on. There is no way.
My last problem with this book is that it needs to be clarified, and how Fredrick has money mentioned. He is living in a place worth millions, with a great view of the city, and has no income; he is basically cut off, I imagine, from his family; all I can suppose is that he uses Reggie's money that he mysteriously acquired since it is also not mentioned. After putting him in his recent situation, he took care of Fredrick, which, I guess, meant sorting out a place for him to live, too. Still, their financial situation is perplexing and important if he means to keep paying for Cassie. Or work out the balance of supporting each other in that way. It makes little sense to me and is not talked about at all. Reggie wears random text t-shirts, and we have no clue, aside from his somewhat unpleasant character, what his living situation is like; for example, he could be so wealthy he lived in a mansion or a motel with most of the money long ago used to buy the current city apartment they live in permanently. (Even though they eventually will sell it to move after the epilogue) I have no clue, but I will never know if there was any of that money they kept or spent and had next to nothing or what. It's one of the most important details that was left out.
In conclusion, I will not read this book again, but I will recommend it to someone who wants to read a book that you don't have to take seriously and who wants to read because you can and have the ability and time for it. Sometimes, those moments can be nice, and this is a fine book to fulfill that purpose. If you love paranormal romance, you can easily imagine the paranormal characters as humans, but it's your little secret. You know the truth with a potential new comfort character/ vamp book boyfriend, all the better! This could be for you! I do hope people like this book, certainly more than me, but for a reader like me who values a deeper connection with the book I read, this was not for me. I still like paranormal romances and comedy, just not in the quantities I got from this one.
WARNING: I did not like this book, so if you do like or even love it, please scroll to the next review and ignore this post (I am not trying to start a fight), but if you want my honest opinion and why it is so, and are not sure if you want to put in the time, then by all means, here you go.
Chapter 1/ first thoughts:
All the odd signs that something was off learning about the apartment and who was renting it out were all normal green flags to me.
The fact that it was somehow supposed to suggest a vampire is hilarious because nothing was off to me. So many people have different styles, and vintage furniture is amazing. It also costs more money than most modern pieces, and not having modern appliances does not mean living without them. Not everyone has social media, and it is possible to live happily without it. Speaking professionally with evidence of education, especially in an email, only points to the green flag of a person and even attractive and eloquent instead of wondering who the heck talks like that today and how strange this person is. What. If I didn't know this was a vampire story going into it, I would think the main character is just judgmental when, so far, it is very normal. The writing is good, but I have secondhand embarrassment after the hints of the upcoming situation, which could have been better executed. Imagining this is not even the vampire being advertised makes it even funnier. It is not hard to do. I hope her problematic life situation is not solved by dating a supernatural man; that is all that matters and will become her personality because I won't lie; that is a possibility.
I am 25% in.
I'm a quarter way through, and I checked the trigger warnings, and there is absolutely nothing within the book of the trigger warnings, so I am relieved they are not the book's focus so far, but weary that they will be. It should be fine. So far, I don't love the distance between the characters, but I laughed a couple of times at their cute moments, and the letters are incredibly cute. It's not romantic yet, but it's a bit of fun all the same. I still feel the MC is judgmental, but I do, and I don't believe she means well. Her actions suggest she does, as well as her words in the end of her decistions, but her thought process is frustrating as I imagine being in her shoes. There are a few moments of rude humor, but it is a good book so far.
I am 50% through the book and at the point where I want it to be over.
Cassie is either ridiculously naive or undoubtedly gullible. She finally gets to the part where she learns her roommate is a vampire and just numbly walks out of the apartment. I'm glad she did not have a screaming tantrum, but being sassy and taking it like a prank, but you know the truth route is just off to me. It easily could have been a prank, and she just believed it and walked off. Can we talk about that for a second!? In my mind, most of the characters, Fredrick, are normal people who hold themselves to a high standard in contrast to casual modern society.In contrast, the world has its narrow-minded preaching of open-mindedness that sulks in its own judgment of others and does not exclude the other characters. We are a contradiction of ourselves, and it seeps into the pages of these books. Cassie is still judgmental to me, and the whole section since the last entry has been about her wanting to go back because she is attracted to the mystery and person of Fredrick, a little too much in addition to a teenage-like way for me. I like his POV when we get flashes of it, but it just feels so dumb right now. I am waiting for it to get interesting with details and plot, not let's think about how he compares to other fiction stories I wanted to get away from in reading something light and interesting instead. The humor in this section was cruder than the previous section, and I will continue the book. Still, I am finding it harder to want to, though the pace is good, and the writing style, especially with the little notes (though fewer in this section), is quite bingable and pleasant to read. In a nutshell, halfway through, I feel disappointed in a lack of actual romance (we have moments of dismissive lust at best right now) and so far, zero paranormal activity, which is a surprising thing considering the main character is a vampire, excluding one moment from Reggie. It is pretty disappointing and is a contemporary story for YA with discarding YA boundaries in terms of wishing for the scandal to break the doors of the right two people. I don't mind that, but I wish I had more than I have right now. Unfortunately, the book will not pick up drastically from where we are, or at least, I don't expect it to. Despite how it sounds, I don't dislike the book, and I am genuinely happy for those who love it, but I feel slighted for the depth I was hoping to get out of it.
75% through, I nearly gave this book and DNF when, at this point, I realized the book is just not my thing.
There is hardly any character depth and almost no plot. Although they are respectively around their 30s, as I know the general audience may be as well, it feels juvenile and from the perspective of teenagers. This is coming from a 20-year-old female. They finally got together in this section, but though certain tropes are listed in this book, I bought snake oil. My greatest vexation is how unlikable the side characters are to me when I want to like them.The contrast between all characters gives off the feeling of receiving sad news from someone you dislike. That's how these guys make me feel. I only say that because this book is more crude than romantic, has little spice, and has not made me laugh twice. A lot of secondhand embarrassment, but definitely not the same thing. I'm only reading to the end because it's only a few chapters away. At this point, I only recommend this book if you are looking for a book that you don't have to commit to or if you need help following the plot or relating to characters in a deeper sense. You won't have the problem here with not much of that anyway. If you liked the book The Dead Romantics, the author of that very book is quoted to have loved it and gives off similar author vibes. I don't hate this book, but I don't feel like it was honest on more than the proverbial surface advertising.
I'm 100% through, and I was not expecting an amazing, all-shattering ending, but my goodness, what the heck was this!?
After everything, the climax finally comes with a passive interest and is immediately solved with notes about how unpleasant the non-main characters are, and then the whole thing is magically resolved. Are you kidding me with this? I'm so frustrated that as a few references came up from the start of the book, nearly nothing with detail, depth, or difficulty in keeping the characters from getting what they want, personal depth, or anything, just a resolution to a problem that was never that bad but feels so ridiculous I feel frustrated for giving so much time and energy into something I looked forward so much to enjoy. I did try and the idea sounds good in theory, after all I picked it up for it's appeal and finally find something comforting and light to read. My friend said it was perfect for what I was looking for and might help me have better success with my relationship with paranormal stories like we used to like the idea of when we were younger. (she is still heavily invested in all paranormal stories, especially vamps.) I did not mean something to read without true morals, characters with more than surface-level modern-day disregard for self and interest, focus on things aside from looks, social media, and finances, all things escapism gets away from, instead of feeling that that was more of a display case of content in this book. It felt more contemporary than anything.
Parts to rant about/ problems I have with certain parts of the book:
My feelings about Cassie have shifted a little. She needed some praise in herself and her work to have some of that faith in herself, and I get that. She relied a little too much on those around her to feel like making it through the day was an option and within her capability even to think tomorrow could have some good in it by her power if it didn't come on its own. Still, she is also a hard worker, and I give her credit for that. This modern age has made most people shallow and only care about doing what they can to make it through the day, and that was well displayed in this book. In contrast to slower times, Fredrick comes from having more decent actions and morals most of the time.
It was weird how much his character went from a classy sheepish vamp, too, "in my past I was like one of the Salvator brothers with the flip switched off in The Vampire Diaries, but that's not who I am anymore"; I'm a vamp. What? He did things back then, even for a vamp, that are unacceptable, and Cass is just listening, saying, "I don't care," "I know you would never hurt me," "You're different now." etc.
Why did she turn into Bella Swan, who likes kids? That is not character development; that is an example used to teach what not to do!
I am ranting because now I list many other vampire content I didn't particularly appreciate that my friend tried very hard to get me into, but I could not bring myself to do so. I like paranormal romance when it is done right but with no clean face-value resolutions as if there were never any consequences in its setup or ways to resolve it.
In my opinion (as someone who does not have but knows basic knowledge of social media), If I were told someone was going to post something on social media, it would not have mattered even if they had a large following because A, no one believes yet another monster conspiracy theory on the internet, and B, hearing there is only one copy of the video, hearing heartbeats to acknowledge she told the truth, delete it in her presence stealing the phone, and Cassie would be in danger, not immediately getting Fredrick back with absolutely no fallout or consequences. Come on. There is no way.
My last problem with this book is that it needs to be clarified, and how Fredrick has money mentioned. He is living in a place worth millions, with a great view of the city, and has no income; he is basically cut off, I imagine, from his family; all I can suppose is that he uses Reggie's money that he mysteriously acquired since it is also not mentioned. After putting him in his recent situation, he took care of Fredrick, which, I guess, meant sorting out a place for him to live, too. Still, their financial situation is perplexing and important if he means to keep paying for Cassie. Or work out the balance of supporting each other in that way. It makes little sense to me and is not talked about at all. Reggie wears random text t-shirts, and we have no clue, aside from his somewhat unpleasant character, what his living situation is like; for example, he could be so wealthy he lived in a mansion or a motel with most of the money long ago used to buy the current city apartment they live in permanently. (Even though they eventually will sell it to move after the epilogue) I have no clue, but I will never know if there was any of that money they kept or spent and had next to nothing or what. It's one of the most important details that was left out.
In conclusion, I will not read this book again, but I will recommend it to someone who wants to read a book that you don't have to take seriously and who wants to read because you can and have the ability and time for it. Sometimes, those moments can be nice, and this is a fine book to fulfill that purpose. If you love paranormal romance, you can easily imagine the paranormal characters as humans, but it's your little secret. You know the truth with a potential new comfort character/ vamp book boyfriend, all the better! This could be for you! I do hope people like this book, certainly more than me, but for a reader like me who values a deeper connection with the book I read, this was not for me. I still like paranormal romances and comedy, just not in the quantities I got from this one.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing
Moderate: Blood
Minor: Confinement, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Blood, Murder, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail