I meant to review a different book but then I remembered this one that had me in stitches with characters and dialogues I never saw coming. Also, a lot of drama.
Roommates by Ola Tundun is a romantic comedy novel involving two hearts, Ariella and Caleb. Ariella being a girl who grew in a home where she lacked nothing most especially parental love. Caleb was the exact opposite. Whatever Ariella was, Caleb was not. While Ariella had the whole rich-good girl from the suburbs vibe, Caleb was the boy who worked his way to the top. Ariella was the perfect picture of conservative, while Caleb was more “outgoing”. Now, Ariella wakes up one day and discovers that she may not be as happy as she always thought. She had the perfect life and the perfect fiancé but is that all there is to it? In this novel we follow a young woman, who has known one side to life her entire existence, thrusting herself by choice to the other side of it. A part that may not be greener.
What I absolutely found endearing about this book was not just the pace. The dialogues were beautiful, the humour topnotch. My favourite character has to be Caleb. He always had the right words. Typical bad boy who gets laid every night and for some reason, you just couldn’t hate him. He laid the charm on thick and he had this way with his perspective that just left you in fits of laughter. One other thing I loved about him was how he processed stuff. You could tell when he was struggling, and I’m not talking in that generic conflict style, but one where his struggles become yours.
Would it be biassed to say that was the only character I loved? Why, he was the only one who made a long lasting impression on me. Ariella was “girl” in every sense of the word. Maybe because I am a girl too but her “goody-goody” outlook on life had me gritting my teeth sometimes. I know there are people like that and I can’t really blame her because she came from a good home but then, she had this tendency to not just listen. While I liked her boisterous positivity, it also worried me how much of her had been sucked because she let it happen. She knew how to play the blame game and knew how to carry the brunt of the entire thing. Sometimes I just wished I could smack her awake.
What I loved about this book is the balance created between fiction and reality. The deeper I got, the more the characters held weight and the more I found myself immersed, holding my breath for whatever comes next. Either things got blown up or people shut down. The drama wasn’t spared and it certainly made it one heck of an experience.
However, the drama I feel was too much. While it was fun, as the book drew to a close, I felt it was unnecessary especially with Ariella. I wonder if I am being too hard on her but I can’t help it. There are certain things that shouldn't have taken precedence on her list of “priorities” but they did and wreaked havoc on what otherwise would be a controlled situation. I’m not saying Caleb was perfect either, she just knew how to overdo it.
Anyway, I recommend it. It certainly was pleasant to read and helped me pass time.
Ariela sounds a lot like the cliched good life, dirty character kind of lass😂
I've read Roommates by Ola Tundun and it was really a good book
I enjoyed it
Definitely worth reading
From what you're saying, it seems like you were hooked with those unexpected characters and dialogue. I'm curious why you liked Caleb so much despite being the typical "bad boy." And yes, sometimes female characters in books really get on our nerves. Thanks for the recommendation!