My Roommate is a Vampire
by Jenna Levine
Usually when I DNF a book, it is quickly forgotten and I move on to the next book. I am rarely moved to write a review about a DNF. This case is an exception because it was so nearly good, but ultimately missed the mark. I managed to soldier through 55% of this book before it just got too frustrating.
Cassie needs a place to stay. Frederick is renting out his spare room for a laughably small amount of money. Turns out Frederick is an old vampire who has been in a coma for the last 100 years. Frederick wants Cassie to help him adjust to the 21st century. That’s it. That’s 50% of the book explained.
A book can be light on plot, but then make up for that with stellar character development. This book does not do that. Cassie’s depth is kind of there, but everyone else is as flat as a pancake. This absence is particularly egregious in Cassie’s alleged best friend. I say alleged because his Concern is so emphasized that I doubted he had any other emotion. He is a cardboard cut-out of ‘concerned friend’ and that’s a shame.
The thing that grinds my gears about this book is the missed opportunities. There is enough dynamism to the premise that I got to (for me) a record breaking 55% before giving it up. (Usually, I hit about 6% before giving up on a book.) There is clearly potential, but instead the story is a dragging, flat mess. It needs a vigorous edit (at one point it’s said that Cassie has lived with Frederick for 2 months and then a couple pages later, it says two weeks).
It also needs more depth and nuance in the characters’ dialogue. Essentially, the book needs to make up its mind about being a character-driven story or a plot-driven story and then lean into that. Either way, I was bored and frustrated with the characters. I couldn’t find enough interest to keep reading to see what happened. I didn’t care.
There is enough charm in the book that I think with an attentive edit and character development, it could have been a stellar addition to the vampire genre. I can’t recommend this book in its current form, but the author has me interested enough that I will definitely give her next book* a chance.
*There isn’t yet a second book and I have no idea if there will be one, but I hope there is because there’s so much potential there.
– Lara
True love is at stake in this charming, debut romantic comedy.
Cassie Greenberg loves being an artist, but it’s a tough way to make a living. On the brink of eviction, she’s desperate when she finds a too-good-to-be-true apartment in a beautiful Chicago neighborhood. Cassie knows there has to be a catch—only someone with a secret to hide would rent out a room for that price.
Of course, her new roommate Frederick J. Fitzwilliam is far from normal. He sleeps all day, is out at night on business, and talks like he walked out of a regency romance novel. He also leaves Cassie heart-melting notes around the apartment, cares about her art, and asks about her day. And he doesn’t look half bad shirtless, on the rare occasions they’re both home and awake. But when Cassie finds bags of blood in the fridge that definitely weren’t there earlier, Frederick has to come clean…
Cassie’s sexy new roommate is a vampire. And he has a proposition for her.
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Thanks!
Aw man, and I love the What We Do In The Shadows-esque/sitcom style Vampire & Human romance premise…books that had potential and failed hurt so much more than books that were never going to be good no matter what
I love vampire-human romances where character is a driver. The premise sounds interesting but I’m sorry it fell through – but thank you for the warning!
Too bad, the concept is charming!
This is apparently based off on a Reylo fanfic so I’m not surprised.
This seems like a prime example of what a good editor can do with/for a book and an author. What a shame! I am still half tempted to pick up this book and try, hoping the issues won’t bother me enough to cause a DNF. That’s how fun this premise is to me.
OT: not sure why, but I am unable to read comments in the post about today’s (8/17) books on sale. I’ve tried on both my laptop (edge) and my iPad (safari). I wonder of anyone else is experiencing this?
@Maria F
It’s also been happening to me.
Oh that’s very weird. Are you not seeing the comments from the community or do you mean the text in the post itself?
@SB Sarah
The problem seems to be fixed now. The comments list on the side of the page listed the comments but the comments themselves weren’t visible on the post’s webpage.
Well that is very weird – thank you for letting me know it’s all fixed! If it happens again please feel free to alert me.
@SB Sarah Fixed for me, too, thanks! Problem was I was able to read the text of the post, and see the number of comments, but not see the comments themselves.
@SB Sarah, I seem to be stuck in comment limbo again, LOL…