Book Description 

A swoon-worthy YA rom com about an ambitious college student whose plans get derailed when he discovers his roommate is the prince of hell.

Owen is not going to college to have fun. Nothing is going to stop him from achieving his goals: study hard, get a good job, and set himself up for the rest of his life. The last thing he needs is to have a loud, obnoxious, and infuriatingly hot roommate. Especially since said roommate just so happens to be the prince of hell.

Prince Zarmenus has come to Point University for the first-ever Earth/hell exchange program, and he’s determined to make the most of it. Which may or may not include wild parties, bringing in random boys to his and Owen’s room, and accidentally setting Owen’s furniture on fire. Sparks fly (literally) as Owen and Zar clash, but Zar’s actions threaten to not only ruin Owen’s peaceful college life, but demon-human relations as well. To clean up his image, he asks Owen to be his fake boyfriend and teach him how to be a better human in exchange for an internship that will secure Owen’s future. That, and Zar will consider being a better roommate.

A deal is struck, and the two start pretending to be in a relationship where they each have agendas of their own. Only Owen has a secret—dating his mortal enemy, even if it’s fake, is the most fun he’s ever had.

Charming and fun, My Roommate from Hell is a rom com with a magical twist. Think just one bed, but that bed is in hell, surrounded by fire and brimstone.

My Review 

This is a fun book that combines the coming of age of starting college and everything that entails with a supernatural element: demons. Throw in a fake dating, and that’s a fairly encompassing summary of this book. 

Owen is a fairly unremarkable kid. I don’t mean that in a negative way, but rather, he’s more of an everyman than a wunderkind protagonist. Perhaps this is why the university administration chooses him to be roommates with Zarmenus, the demon exchange student. 

While there is a romance subplot, it is most certainly not love at first sight for the two roommates. Zar doesn’t seem to be aware of the unwritten rules of sharing a room, which leads to multiple instances of breaking social norms: bringing multiple boys over in the middle of the night, leaving trash around, and even a demon cat for a pet. Naturally, this frustrates Owen, but a frank discussion sets them on a better path. 

As an aside, it’s always refreshing to see positive conflict resolution modeled rather than passive aggressiveness or deus ex machina. 

The supernatural element is a unique addition. There are anti-demon factions trying to hurt Zar, and he has a “true form” that is non-human, but one of the most interesting parts is that Zar wants to stay at the university for longer than the single semester exchange, but he’s afraid to tell his parents. 

Back to the romance— there are the usual hallmarks of the fake dating— specifically, the point when neither of them is faking the dating, but neither wants to admit that they have Real Feelings. Such a classic! 

I would absolutely recommend My Roommate From Hell. I’ve read a few of Dietrich’s books, and they’ve always been enjoyable. I’m already looking forward to his next book!     

I received a digital ARC of this book from St. Martin’s/NetGalley.