Reviewed by Valerie

TITLE: Falling For My Roommate

AUTHOR: Garrett Leigh

PUBLISHER: Fox Love Press

LENGTH: 1250kb

RELEASE DATE: March 12, 2020

BLURB:

Falling for his roommate gives ex footballer Micah the second chance he deserves, and what could be better than loving your best friend?

Micah
I’m a broke ex-football player with a bum leg and PTSD. Last summer, I had two choices: the streets, or find a cheap room to rent in the city. I chose the second option, which landed me with a brand-new problem, cos I hadn’t banked on my roommate becoming my best friend. Or that before long I’d find myself head over heels in love with him. Trouble is, even if Sam likes me back, I ain’t fit to be no one’s boyfriend. I don’t know how. All I do is wade through every precious moment and hope that he doesn’t regret the day he ever met me.

Sam
I’m a gay book nerd with no business falling in love with hunky athletes. Micah is the dictionary definition of beautiful, inside and out, he just doesn’t know it. And he definitely doesn’t know I’m ridiculously in love with him. The embarrassing kind of love.

He’s all I can think about.

But it’s not as simple as loving someone who doesn’t love me back. Micah is damaged goods—at least, that’s how he’d put it. The world has chewed him up and spat him out, and he thinks he deserved it. That he’s still the battered mess he was a year ago.

I want to shake him, and shout in his face that he’s not. To force the truth on him and make him believe in himself the way I do. But I can’t save Micah. One day, perhaps he’ll realize that he already saved himself.

REVIEW:

Falling For My Roommate is quintessential Garrett Leigh with a hurt/comfort theme and overall gentle nature. It’s reminiscent of Leigh’s first novel, Slide, and the Roads series – one of my all-time favorite series – with Micah a reminder of Ash and Sam as an even kinder, gentler Pete. Micah couldn’t find a better man to fall in love with. Sam is filled to the brim with patience, caring, and empathy for Micah. We could all use a Sam in our lives. 

Sam, a London bartender, rents a room to Micah, a retired (much too early) footballer who is struggling his way through life. He suffers from complicated mental health issues and experiences both physical agony and mental anguish, including PTSD. It all stems from a cocaine induced incident that badly injured his leg and shattered his reputation and self-esteem. He’s also run ragged by the paps (paparazzi) and strives to protect Sam from that demoralizing headache he’s unfortunately susceptible to because of his proximity to Micah.  

Leigh does an admirable job intertwining the themes of loneliness, mental illness, and hurt/comfort into a package that’s raw and real. She captures the frustration, confusion, and heartache of both protagonists. On a lighter note, I love the Briticisms liberally inhabiting the dialogue and alternating first person narration. In my opinion, no one delivers dialogue that immerses us non-Brits into contemporary England more successfully than Leigh.  

There aren’t many characters, but Freddie and Cheryl, as Micah and Sam’s respective best friends, lend ears for good listening and shoulders to cry on. Dom from Lucky also makes an appearance at a critical time to help Micah when it’s most needed. 

By the end, Micah has moved beyond surviving, and past existing, to actual living. Leigh serves up a satisfactory happy ending with the love affair in full bloom. It seems to me there’s room for this novel to be built upon if Leigh desires a follow-up story, and there’s definitely a set up for a future book starring Freddie which I would very much welcome. He’s a fun and multi-faceted character. 

I’ll conclude this review by reiterating the last five words of the book – “I wouldn’t change a thing.” 

RATING:

BUY LINK: 

Amazon