Member Reviews
I thoroughly this book, likely more than I expected.
The story is sweet and heartwarming, capturing the chaos and excitement that comes with living with an irresistible yet off-limits roommate. Paula Ottoni does a brilliant job of weaving together chemistry, playful banter, and the tension of navigating the blurred lines between friendship and something more. The dynamic between the characters kept me hooked from start to finish.
A big thank you to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for allowing me to read this book in exchange for an honest review.
When Sol needs somewhere to live one of her work colleagues recommends Eric Storm. Eric is a Viking, something beautiful, but he's not interested in having a female roommate, even Vikings have feelings and he's been burnt before. But Sol is desperate and he soon agrees.
But soon the two decide to work together and business becomes pleasure and soon feelings are mixed.
Sol needs to find where she belongs and Eric needs to ensure his heart stays safe, but love is in the air and maybe the two love birds won't be the only things that flourish.
This is a really cute romance novel. I love the character of Sol and the way she was trying to find herself and make sure that this is the place she can belong.
I love the way Eric is guarded and how he lets down his Shields for Sol.
I was begging for the two main characters to get together and when they finally did, I was grinning from ear to ear. They make a beautiful couple and it's exactly what you want in this happily ever after.
Ottoni puts in a villain, Martin, also gets his karma, and everything really does work out for the best.
There were some really deep themes within the narrative, such as love, lies, visas and corporate stealing. These are all series and everyday topics which are addressed in a way to keep this narrative light.
Never Date A Roommate by Paula Ottoni is a fun, witty, and heartfelt romance that explores the chaos and excitement of living with an irresistible yet off-limits roommate. Ottoni crafts a story filled with chemistry, playful banter, and the tension that comes from navigating the blurry lines between friendship and something more. The characters are relatable and endearing, each dealing with their own vulnerabilities while trying to balance life, love, and the complications of cohabitation. With its mix of humor, charm, and emotional moments, Never Date A Roommate is a delightful read that captures the rollercoaster of emotions involved in falling for the person right across the hall.
This book is a super slow burner romance. It was a super nice easy read to listen to on my commute . If you enjoy fake dating and roommates to lover you will enjoy this.. Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for allowing me to read this in exchange for an honest review.
This is an absolute slow burner. If you're wanting a book which fills time then read it. I wasn't a fan of the audio version, I had to concentrate quite a lot as the accents were quite strong.
The storyline is ok but takes a long while for it to pick up any pace.
Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.
Thankyou @harpercollinsuk for the audio copy of this book.
3.5 ✨
I enjoyed the storyline but it never fully had me hooked so it took me a while to fully listen
3.25,⭐
Never Date A Roommate had some strengths: It stood out against other romances because of the Copenhagen setting and the Brazilian FMC.
Despite the novelty, the plot was a little lackluster and the romance suffered the same fate. Wasn't wholly invested in the characters and found the FMC's actions at the start a bit hard to justify.
But it picked up more in the end so it was a decent read overall.
Thanks to Netgalley and Harper Collins for providing me with an advanced copy of the audiobook to enjoy! I'm really pleased with the narration, it was great to hear all the accents in this story.
I enjoyed the story, it was well written and paced. A roommate's to lovers trope is always cute and good fun. An easy fun listen!
4⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
✨ Two worlds collide
✨ Roommate romance
✨ Viking😍
✨ the story goes to Sol . A Brazilian lady who moved to Copenhagen for a new life to be a director of a game company. Well, she wants to be promoted .
She started as an intern and wants to be promoted but the ending was she need to find somewhere to stay. So she looked and looked until she found Erik. A Viking, strong , long haired but caring man who wants to have a roommate. He did not agree at first but Sol makes a move through dating app and pretend until they got a deal.
✨ the story is pretty much the same layout of romance started as ‘ don’t fall inlove with a roommate’. But the difference on this book is the two have live and have a seperate life. From being a Brazilian I love to a Dane. They worked together through thick and thin and funny too. It’s a great airy read and definitely fast paced!
✨ Thankyou @harpercollinsuk for the audio copy of this book for a honest review.
🫶🏼shaye.reads
This one isn’t not much different to other similar storylines. It’s one of those listens that you know what’s coming but you continue on in the hope there’ll be a few surprises along the way. I really liked the characters of Sol and Erik and the different antics they got up to were enjoyable enough. It’s a listen that you don’t need to pay much attention to if your mind wanders. It’s a little slow to start but it does pick up the pace. The Dutch culture and being based in Copenhagen was an interesting touch and the feel good aspect is another thing it has going for it.
2.5/5 🌟🌟/🌟
Thanks to Netgalley and Harper Collins UK Audio for the opportunity to listen to and review #NeverDateARoommate
A giant THANK YOU to the author, Paula Ottoni, and the publisher, HarperCollins UK Audio, for giving me the opportunity to read and review this masterpiece of an audiobook!
I've got to start with the DEDICATION!! Like what?? That right there hooks you in from the start.
Then, the writing, the characters, the scene...everything was set so perfectly. Like a movie unraveling before your very eyes.
Very much recommend it,
It’s probably my age but I couldn’t get into this audiobook, nothing at all wrong with the storyline it seemed fun but I did give up on it. If I’d been in my 20,s -40’s it would be just up my street. I personally wasn’t keen on the narrator especially her voice as Eric! Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity.
I’m so happy went for the audiobook. I really enjoyed hearing the accents.
We have a multicultural romance between two game developers who are roommates and there’s faking dating involved.
I loved the the little fairytale talk that was in it. If only we also had a pov from Erik that to give it more substance but overall it was ok but I couldn’t really connect to our couple so I wasn’t rooting for them.
Roommates to lovers is always a fun trope for me and this was a super fun twist on it! I haven't read many books set in Denmark and it was really interesting. The pressure to have a family and work life balance was cracking me up. It's so the opposite of the American work culture.
I thought Sol and Erik were a great couple. I liked how well they worked together both as partners in fake dating and on creating games. I liked that Erik loved Sol for who she was and didn't want her to change to fit in with Danish society better.
If you want to read a romance set somewhere other than America or the UK this is a great choice! It's also perfect for fans of roommates to lovers and fake dating! I did find the end was a bit slow paced for me but I still enjoyed the story as a whole!
I listened to the audiobook version of this title and really enjoyed it. Gabriela Tola did the narration and did a great job with the different accents. This is one that I think is better as single narrator because dual narrators would inevitably do the accents differently.
Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for an advance e-copy of Never Date a Roommate, in exchange for an honest review.
Paula Ottoni's 'Never Date a Roommate' is a cute and heartwarming story that follows the lives of two gamers as they navigate love, career, and cultural differences.
The FMC, Marisol, is a driven and ambitious woman from Brazil who has come to Copenhagen to pursue her dream job. Erik, on the other hand, is a struggling game developer who has quit his stable job to work on his passion project. Despite their contrasting backgrounds, they form an alliance when Marisol needs a place to live and Erik needs a roommate.
Ottoni's writing is both humorous and insightful, deftly capturing the nuances of both characters' personalities and their evolving relationship. The dialogue is particularly delightful, as the characters interact in their own accented English and native languages.
Marisol's determination to succeed is inspiring, and her journey as an immigrant pursuing her dreams is relatable and empowering. Erik's struggles with self-doubt and insecurity are equally well-developed, making him a complex and sympathetic character.
The story also explores the themes of family and cultural expectations. Marisol's close relationship with her family is a source of both support and pressure, while Erik's strained relationship with his father adds depth to his character.
The setting of Copenhagen provides a vibrant and cosmopolitan backdrop to the story. Ottoni's descriptions of the city's landmarks and atmosphere bring it to life and make the reader feel immersed in the characters' world.
Overall, 'Never Date a Roommate' is a refreshing romantic comedy that explores love, ambition, and cultural identity in a charming and engaging way. It is a perfect read for anyone looking for a heartwarming and entertaining story with a multicultural perspective.
This book had its winning points and then there were things that did not work.
What worked
. The plotline was decently creative
. The location was brilliant. Loved the Scandinavian backdrop
. Description of the activities for happiness / coziness was cute
. The narrators accents were quite good especially when you consider it's quite disparate. Brazilian and then Scandinavian.
What I disliked
There could have been 2 points of view
. Sol could have discussed her issues with Erik too.
. A little bit more solid emotional buildup
Overall an okay fast read with an interesting cultural slant.
#netgalley #neverdatearoommate
I’m a big fake dating fan, and absolute adore roommates to lovers so was so excited for this one! And it was good, it just didn’t totally live up to my expectations 100%!
I liked Sol and I liked Erik. The situation and setup I thought was quite fun and while I had no idea why this company was wasting so much time on this ‘fun season’, it was all very much adding to the fake dating narrative, and I was here for it.
I found some of the dialogue, particularly between Sol and Erik, quite cringey?! Maybe it was just because I was listening to it and not physically reading, but ‘you are fucking hot’ just wasn’t accepted into my brain as how it was supposed to be!
Erik’s whole thing is that he dated his last roommate and she moved away and broke his heart, and there’s a very good chance that Sol could do the same and go back to Brazil. But at some point he obviously goes from not even wanting a female roommate incase they fall for each other, to being all over and totally fine with dating (even in a fake capacity) Sol. I really feel this book would have benefited from a dual pov narrative to get inside Erik’s head! He doesn’t have much of a personality otherwise!
It was a fun easy read, and really fulfills that fake dating need that I constantly have!
This is such a smart idea for a storyline, the characters are perfect and the audio artist did a perfect job of not only speaking from Marisol’s POV but absolutely aced the different accents of her culturally broad colleagues.
Thank you for the ARC
Synopsis: ‘Never Date a Roomate’ by Paula Ottoni is a stand-alone romance novel. The story follows Sol Carvalho, a Brazilian game developer, trying to find her feet, as well as her dream job, as an expat in Copenhagen. Finding somewhere to live, to put down roots in Copenhagen is essential to convincing her boss that she’s the perfect candidate for promotion to her dream job. Along came Erik, who reluctantly agrees to be her roommate, on the one condition that they can never become romantically involved, fate has other ideas!
Review: The story follows Sol, a Brazialian finding her way in Copenhagen, with no Danish! The narrator was perfect for this & matched perfectly with the voice of Sol in the book. It sounded, as it was intended, the voice of someone whose first language isn’t English. This was a really endearing quality of the book. Perfect for a light hearted summer read. The book would convince anyone to visit Copenhagen for some pastries! I’d recommend this for fans of romance books, particularly with tropes like fake dating & forced proximity.
This was reviewed based on an ARC copy of the audiobook, provided by NetGalley UK.
Every now and then you just need a quick, sweet spicy romance to recharge and give you a pep in your step and that's exactly what this book is!
Sol is a Brazilian game designer who wants to stay in Denmark but is struggling to find somewhere to live...until she ends up finding a room with Erik, a good looking 'viking' who is adamant that they will never be more than just roommates.
I will be honest and say at the start I struggled to get into the plot but Paula manages to cleverly intertwine the fake dating dynamic into the story in a way which suddenly had me hooked! This book is the perfect blend of cute quirky romance mixed with a slow burn sort of enemies to lovers dynamic that had me kicking my feet and giggling! For me this book had the perfect amount of spice and I'm an absolute sucker for a story where the man pretends he is unaffected and then you find out he's down bad absolutely obsessed with her!
My only criticism of the book would be it was quite fast paced at times and because of that some of the resolutions seemed quite fast and underwhelming. On top of that Sols personality seemed quite inconsistent and I wish we had more time getting to know the two main characters.
However, I really enjoyed all the insights into both Brazilian and Danish culture and ultimately it was a cute, fun and solid read. Oh, and the slow burn spice pay off was excellent 😏
*Thank you to NetGalley for an early copy in exchange for an honest review*