Review: The American Roommate Experiment

The American Roommate Experiment by Elena Armas (Spanish Love Deception #2)
Published: September 2022

“Remember to pick the boy that will plant a garden for you instead of just getting you the flowers.”

Rosie Graham has a problem. A few, actually. She just quit her well paid job to focus on her secret career as a romance writer. She hasn’t told her family and now has terrible writer’s block. Then, the ceiling of her New York apartment literally crumbles on her. Luckily she has her best friend Lina’s spare key while she’s out of town. But Rosie doesn’t know that Lina has already lent her apartment to her cousin Lucas, who Rosie has been stalking—for lack of a better word—on Instagram for the last few months. Lucas seems intent on coming to her rescue like a Spanish knight in shining armor. Only this one strolls around the place in a towel, has a distracting grin, and an irresistible accent. Oh, and he cooks. Lucas offers to let Rosie stay with him, at least until she can find some affordable temporary housing. And then he proposes an outrageous experiment to bring back her literary muse and meet her deadline: He’ll take her on a series of experimental dates meant to jump-start her romantic inspiration. Rosie has nothing to lose. Her silly, online crush is totally under control—but Lucas’s time in New York has an expiration date, and six weeks may not be enough, for either her or her deadline.

Rosie is a dreamer, seemingly cautious in life whilst simultaneously dicing into everything head first. She’s fun and bubbly and adorably awkward which I loved. She constant blushing and wandering thoughts were so relatable that I could do nothing but like her. We get glimpses of her in the first book and I did like her character then, but I really grew to love her in this story. I adore her awkwardness, her stuttering tongue and flirty demeanour. Watching her get swept away by the experiment made me smile because her inhibitions dropped and we got to know more and more of the real Rosie. And the more we saw, the more I liked. I would very much like to have Rosie as my best friend!

Goodness, where on earth can I find me a Lucas? A man who cooks, is kind and considerate, cares for others and is a flirt without being too cocky? Because I need one in my life, without a doubt. Lucas is portrayed as quite a boisterous character by Lina in the first book but getting to know him now, he is entirely different. He hides a lot of pain behind his jokes and quick wit and I just wanted to give him a hug. As the story progresses and we got to know Lucas more, I could really see how genuine he is and I feel like that type of person can be all too rare nowadays. Damn, why does Lucas have to be fictional?!

After reading The Spanish Love Deception, I knew I would have to read the sequel – even if it was with different characters. It was nice staying in this universe but living with different characters and getting to see different perspectives. The romance and underlying tension… my goodness it was brilliant. I was desperate to reach into the book and shove their faces together. It felt so natural to watch their progression from friends to more, seeing both of them hold back and bottle up their true thoughts and feelings. Armas really sent me through the wringer through this one but my god, I loved every moment. Something that I did struggle though with was that on quite a few pages, there are editing errors: spelling mistakes, missed words, spacing issues. As a writer myself, these inconsistencies just immediately threw me out of the story which is incredibly frustrating. Despite this, I do think that this sequel of sorts is actually better than the first book. I think I just really vibed with both characters quicker and found my enjoyment a lot earlier in the story. It’s not very often I like the second book more!

Overall, The American Roommate Experiment is a great continuation in the Spanish Love Deception universe that makes you feel all warm inside.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5