The Roommate

Starred review from July 6, 2020
Danan debuts with this wildly original and sexy romance about an uptight East Coast socialite and the stranger she inadvertently shacks up with. When Clara Wheaton’s longtime crush invites her to leave her Manhattan apartment and move in to his spare room in Los Angeles, she impulsively agrees. But then his band heads off on tour and he rents out his own room as well—to porn star Josh Darling. Clara, who’s always been squeamish about porn and has never had a satisfying sexual relationship, googles Josh, and, naturally, Josh walks in on her watching one of his films. He offers to make up for all the boyfriends who’ve left her cold by demonstrating his talents in person. Their no-strings-attached encounter simultaneously accelerates and complicates their budding friendship and also inspires a new business venture, with Clara financing and Josh producing videos that fall “somewhere between porn and sex-ed” designed to teach women’s partners how to better please them in bed. Meanwhile, Josh’s nefarious former employer, Black Hat Studios, works to undermine them. Danan makes this novel premise work with a charming, believable heroine; an offbeat hero with a heart of gold; and snappy, laugh-out-loud prose. Romance fans will especially appreciate that the steamy erotic scenes are used to further character development, rather than just for cheap thrills. This delectable rom-com is both red-hot and fiercely feminist. Agent: Jessica Watterson, Sandra Dijkstra Literary Agency.