ROOMIES

Lauren's (Dating You, Hating You, 2017, etc.) latest romantic comedy features a marriage of convenience between an up-and-coming Broadway star and a woman desperately trying to find her place in the world.

Holland Bakker isn’t expecting to get married anytime soon, but when she's rescued from a drunk who attacks her on a subway platform by an Irish busker, the situation changes. Her knight in shining armor is Calvin McLoughlin, and Holland has had a major crush on him for ages, even memorizing his performing schedule in her local station. To thank him for his gallant behavior, she offers to get him an audition for her uncle's wildly successful Broadway musical. The audition goes better than expected, and Calvin is offered a spot, but there’s just one problem: his visa has expired. Impulsively, Holland offers to marry Calvin so he can stay in the U.S., saying the two of them will simply be roommates. It will be a marriage on paper but nothing else. While the setup requires some suspension of disbelief, Lauren makes Holland and Calvin relatable and, most importantly, believable. Holland is the standout character, so used to filling roles for other people—niece, confidant, errand girl—that she has no concept of who she is for herself. While Holland’s journey is integral to the lovely, heart-melting romance, her point of view is the only one readers receive, making Calvin’s presence slightly less dynamic than it could have been. However, that's a minor quibble given that this book has everything that makes romance novels great: a heroine’s journey to self-discovery, a leading man worthy of a woman’s love, and plenty of misty tears and full-on belly laughs along the way.

Another knockout by Lauren.