Have you ever read a book that left you so perplexed? That you had to ask yourself “What the **** did I just read!?” But in a good way? The Roommate by Caroline Macon Fleischer has entered the chat.
Prepare for a Wild Ride
In this debut novel, we follow Donna who has just recently inherited a house from her deceased grandmother. That came as a shock to Donna since she was not close to her paternal grandmother. Deciding to take a leap of faith, she packs up her life from a dead in job and her single mother in Chicago. She begins to imagine the type of life she really wants in her new (to her) home in Topanga, California.
How It’s Going
Only a few chapters in, you get the sense that Donna is young (in her early 20’s) and is quite inexperienced. Couple that with wanting to have someone around in her lonely house, she decides to find a roommate.
I’m not sure what year this story takes place, but Donna puts an ad out on Craigslist. Pouring her words out to the internet world, she soon gets a few hits to her ad. The first candidate, she wasn’t really feeling the selfies the woman sent her. Scrolling on, she reads a reply from Joshua.
The First Clue
Her first red flag should have been that his name began with a J. In his reply to her ad, he lets Donna know that even though she preferred to live with another woman, he was just the match she was looking for. In his late 30s, no baggage and he is a gay man so she wouldn’t have to worry about him falling in love with her. She decides to throw all the caution that has ever existed to the wind and give him a chance.
How It’s Going
Upon their first meeting and the first night in her home, she is absolutely enthralled by Joshua! Donna is amazed how well they click together and they bond over their love of Food Network and being distant from their respective families. Donna has fallen in friend-love for her new roomie and can’t imagine how she would ever get by without his friendship. Sadly, nothing great last forever. Especially when she invited chaos incarnate into her home and life.
Joshua Flowers is a Godsend to Donna’s simple and basic life. In him, she see’s a real friendship growing and is in love with their date nights and long gab fests. Within a few weeks, Donna not only relies on him for companionship, but after taking a hard fall; Josh steps up and tries to nurse her back to health.
And So It Begins…..
After taking care of Donna, Josh begins to show his true colors. He lets her know that he doesn’t feel appreciated enough and that she may be taking advantage of him. Donna is confused and a little hurt at Josh’s accusations. Instead of setting him straight, she tries her best to appease him. Big mistake!
As the tension grows between them, Fleischer does a great job of upping the stakes and keeping you engaged with having to know what happens next and how Donna will handle the craziness that Josh throws at her.
How It Went
As frustrating as the main character can be, especially her choices, she is young and naïve and the type of antics that Joshua executes can make anyone question their whole exitance. Fleischer writes a suspenseful, disturbing and dark tale that will keep you asking “What is going to happen next!!??”. If you’re looking for a good psychological thriller where you can suspend some disbelief, this is the perfect debut for you.
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