MY ROOMMATE IS A VAMPIRE by Jenna Levine – Review

I received this book for free from the Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

My Roommate is a Vampire by Jenna Levine
Published by Berkley on August 29 2023
Genres: Adult, Fantasy
Pages: 336
Format: Finished paperback
Source: Publisher
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The nitty-gritty: A sweet and sexy romance with plenty of humor, My Roommate is a Vampire isn’t perfect, but it is a lot of fun.

“Mr. Frederick J. Fitzwilliam’s Google Search History

– how do you kiss if it has been three hundred years since

– how can you know if she wants to kiss you

– is it a bad idea to kiss your roommate

– is it bad to think about or have sex with your roommate

– age gap relationships

– best breath mints”

I couldn’t resist the cover of My Roommate is a Vampire, and I’m very glad I had a chance to read it. This is a sweet and funny story about a girl who ends up rooming with a vampire and their romantic relationship. I found some of the elements to be a little too silly for my taste, which is why I didn’t rate this higher, but overall I had a lot of fun.

Cassie lives in Chicago and is an artist, although she’s having trouble getting people to take her seriously. She has two part time jobs, neither of which pays very much, and she’s just been evicted from her apartment. One day on Craigslist, she spots a room for rent that seems too good to be true: two hundred dollars a month and it’s in a ritzy part of town. Despite her misgivings, she ends up meeting the owner and agreeing to move in. Frederick J. Fitzwilliam’s apartment is full of old fashioned furniture and heavy curtains on all the windows, but he’s also the hottest man Cassie has ever seen, even if he does look like he just stepped out of a Jane Austen novel.

It doesn’t take Cassie long to adjust to some of Frederick’s strange rules and settle in. Frederick might be a little odd, but they hardly ever see each other. Frederick sleeps all day and leaves the apartment at night, so the two start leaving notes on the kitchen counter as a way to communicate. But one day, Cassie opens the refrigerator only to find it full of bags of blood, and that’s how she learns that her roommate is a vampire. Frederick was turned in 1734, but he’s been in a coma for the past one hundred years (due to a prank courtesy of his friend Reginald) and he has no idea how to act or dress in the modern world. Now Frederick needs Cassie’s help so he can blend in, and Cassie is more than willing to help him.

There are a lot of funny moments in My Roommate is a Vampire, and I found myself laughing out loud many times while reading. Frederick is clueless when it comes to modern life, social media and how to dress in the twenty-first century, and I loved his stilted way of talking. His conversations with Cassie were hilarious, and his interactions with strangers were even funnier. Frederick really wants to look and act like a modern guy, and Cassie has her work cut out for her.

I also loved the letters, text messages and diary entries that are scattered throughout the story. Cassie and Frederick leave cute notes for each other each day, and you can see their relationship start to change little by little. We also get letters between Frederick and his mother (who is also a vampire), who is trying to convince him to marry a vampire named Esmeralda. Frederick’s “bro” personality comes out in his texts with Reginald, his vamp friend who acts as a sounding board for Frederick’s questions about women. We even get a personal glimpse at Frederick’s diary (he’s not as innocent as you think!), which was a lot of fun. In some cases I liked these epistolary elements even better than the traditional narrative parts of the book, and I wouldn’t have minded having the entire story told that way.

Cassie’s journey as an artist is a nice touch as well. Cassie creates paintings that incorporate trash, like fast food wrappers and other found materials. She’s passionate about her art and the message she’s trying to convey, but she’s been turned down for art jobs over and over because others don’t seem to “get” her. Luckily, she stays true to herself in this story, and even Frederick supports her vision, even if he doesn’t completely understand it.

There were some elements that didn’t really work for me, though. For a book about a vampire, there was very little vampire action. Other than the bags of blood in the fridge and one scene where Frederick bites Cassie’s finger during sex, you would never know Frederick was a vampire at all. The subplot where Frederick’s mother is trying to force him to marry another vampire was very strange, and I honestly could have done without it (and all the characters involved). The plot is extremely low stakes, and there’s nothing wrong with that, but I think the author was trying to make the forced marriage the main conflict, and it just wasn’t that interesting.

I did like the romance between Cassie and Frederick, which starts out innocent and sweet with just a few hints of “wow he’s hot!” and Frederick beating himself up because he can’t stop thinking about his new roommate. Things are pretty slow burn up until their first kiss, and then bam! Suddenly the two are having hot, raunchy sex, and I was not ready for that, lol. The spicy scenes felt out of tune with the rest of the story, for some reason, and while I have nothing against spice in my books, it has to make sense.

I did like the way Levine ended her story, though. I don’t think this is the start to a series, but it sort of feels like one, if you know what I mean. Despite some of my reservations, I would definitely like to read more about Frederick and Cassie some day.

Big thanks to the publisher for providing a review copy.