Journal Entry: The American Roommate Experiment by Elena Armas

Dear Reader,

So we start this sequel in a New York, Brooklyn in particular, apartment. Lina’s apartment. You remember Lina and Aaron from The Spanish Love Deception? Well, this is the next book, Rosie’s book. Rosie is Lina’s best friend and while Lina is away on her honeymoon, Rosie is staying in her apartment after the ceiling collapsed in her own. While in Lina’s apartment, someone tries to break in. Okay, so it’s actually Lucas, Lina’s cousin. Lina offered Lucas the apartment during her honeymoon and forgot to tell Rosie, which is how Rosie ended up in this situation. Once they figured out Lucas wasn’t an intruder, Rosie let him in and profusely apologized for taking the apartment from out under him. Lucas offers her the apartment for the night and goes off to find a hotel. This is also a good time to mention that Rosie has been stalking Lucas online, she had a minor crush on him.

The next morning Rosie finds Lucas sleeping, in a coffee shop. Turns out, he couldn’t get a room at a hotel because he lost his credit card and he went to the coffee shop to make some calls where he fell asleep. This is when Rosie and Lucas friendship starts, this very moment, where they both agree to share information about themselves to each other. Rosie admits that she no longer works at InTech with Lina and Aaron, that she quit to become a romance author and now she has been struck with terrible writer’s block. We also find out that Lucas will only be staying in New York for six weeks before he flies back to Spain.

Lucas and Rosie end up coming to an agreement to both share Lina’s apartment, since her roof caved in and he up and left his home country. In the first few days of them living together, Rosie doesn’t do so well hiding her attraction to Lucas. Lucas himself also finds himself sparing Rosie a few glances, but he puts the thought of anything happening aside because of her friendship with Lina.

One thing we come to learn to understand about Rosie is her constant strive for perfection, she doesn’t like to make mistakes or rock the boat. Rosie Graham always keeps it together, so when she starts falling apart and Lucas is there is pick up the pieces tensions rise. Rosie wants so badly to make her father proud and deciding to quit her stable job to become a romance author is so unlike her.

Lucas and Rosie devise a plan to help her out of her writer’s block. Experimental dating. Lucas would take Rosie on dates with the purpose of recreating the feelings of falling for someone to inspire her writing. Totally going to go smoothly.

On more than one occasion, Lucas and Rosie let some lines between them blur. While dancing, hugging, or half dressed in a bathroom stall. Lucas doesn’t want to give himself to Rosie, because he decided she deserved better than someone who he felt didn’t measure up. Still, things get complicated between them.

Rosie, in the midst of her writing, is falling undoubtedly in love with Lucas. Things are hot in the sheets and on paper too. Rosie’s writing better than ever and she’s also having the best sex of her life. So, on Lucas’ final moments in New York, she pours her heart out to him. Rosie all but proposes to the man, in my opinion, and Lucas doesn’t give her the answer she was hoping for. And with that, Rosie bids Lucas a final goodbye and leaves him.

Heartbreak like this is a special kind of annoying because the problem could be easily solved if somebody just talked. A truly simple solution that everyone somehow doesn’t see or chooses to avoid. Either way, Rosie and Lucas are both heartbroken and missing each other.

However, all it takes is a little help from Lina to bring them back together on a magical New Years. Rosie and Lucas finally meet again, and things between them change. Lucas picks up the pieces of Rosie’s broken heart so to speak. Their insecurities haven’t completely vanished, but they’re both making a promise to work on it together.

It wasn't what "The Spanish Love Deception" was, but it was cute. I enjoyed the dates and the banter. A little strange she almost hooked up with a guy with her brother in the same room. Overall, it was a good read, but it wasn't anything memorable.

- Grace Sofia