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Review

4.5 “Bea-u-tiful” stars!

The way it was meant to Bea.

RoomHate is another enjoyable read by Penelope Ward. I loved that she combined so many of my favorite book themes together (friends-to-lovers, forbidden romance, and another big one that I won’t mention so I don’t spoil anything). It is an angsty read that will make you angry and frustrated at times. It is also sweet, funny, and sexy, and is full of love and friendship, regret and forgiveness, has unexpected turns, and a whole lot of sexual tension.

When Amelia and Justin were younger, they were the best of friends and their friendship was quite possibly headed toward becoming something more, something even greater than what they had. But Justin was keeping a secret, and when the secret came out, there were major consequences. Though he kept the truth from Amelia to protect her, she couldn’t handle it and fled.

Amelia and Justin haven’t seen each other for nine long years. When Amelia’s grandmother, Nana, passes away and leaves both Amelia and Justin half of her beach house, we know they are in for a heated, tension filled reunion. Amelia arrives at the beach house without knowing Justin’s plans. When Justin finally shows up with his leggy, blond girlfriend in tow, the exchange is intense and not in the good way. There is so much hate and animosity in Justin’s eyes that we are immediately left wondering what exactly went down between these two.

As Amelia and Justin spend the summer together, the sexual tension is out of control. They say there is a fine line between love and hate and we see this completely with the two of them. The passionate feelings they have toward each other are palpable and you know if they could figure out a way to be together, it would be explosive! Though it sounds like there is a love triangle, there is not. And there is no cheating (phew!).

“The way I see it, if you want to cheat on someone, you should just break up with them. Cheating is for cowards.”
…
“Temptation is natural. That doesn’t mean you should act on it.”

Penelope Ward throws some major twists and turns into this story that I didn’t see coming. Just when you think they are no longer going to be able to resist each other, a situation develops that will presumably pull them apart again.

The book jumps in time and we are back at the beach house with Amelia. Keeping in touch mostly through short text messages over the past several months, she hasn’t seen Justin and she doesn’t really know what is going on in his life except what she sees through social media posts. When he suddenly turns up, Justin finds Amelia in a “rough patch.” We follow them as their friendship grows and we hope they can get to a place where their hearts can love freely.

I enjoyed Amelia throughout the book. I think she was relatable and likable. She tried so hard to push her feelings aside and be a friend to Justin and reconcile with him. I loved how much Amelia cared about Justin and how selfless she was at times.

I vowed to be strong, to let fate take its course. I wouldn’t act stupidly and sabotage anything one way or the other, because I loved him. So much. I wanted to best for him, wanted him to be happy even it is didn’t involve…me.

I absolutely adored Justin when we get snipets of him as a teenager. Though there were times when he acted like an asshole, I loved him in the second part of the book and he won me over completely. He was sweet and caring. He especially made my heart warm at the end!

“There is no music without you. Music is an expression of all of those things you live for…a reflection of the passion within your soul. I live for you. You’re my passion. You’re my music…”

We see the grow and change throughout the story. Amelia and Justin have a lot of feelings to work through to get to a place where they can move on from the past. Amelia isn’t the only one at fault though. Both need forgiveness from each other as well as the ability to forgive themselves for the choices they made. I loved when they finally confronted the past.

“We both came from broken homes, but from the moment I met you, my world seemed a little less broken. I always felt like my job was to somehow protect you. And my keeping what they were doing from you was only an extension of that. It wasn’t meant to be deceptive.”
…
“I ran away because I couldn’t handle my emotions. It was more than just your keeping that secret from me. It was what it represented to me, that there would be other things in the future that you would keep from me, too.”

I loved that this story was about true love and what is meant to be will be. Amelia and Justin had to go through a lot of pain and heartbreak to get to their HEA, and in the end it was worth it!

“It happened the way it was supposed to,”
…
So, no…I would never go back and change anything. Never.”

I enjoyed the book as a whole but I do think the second half of the book was stronger. I wanted Amelia and Justin to resolve their issues quicker, but I did love the ending and I think everything worked out as it was supposed to.

RoomHate is another great book written by Penelope Ward and I look forward to reading more from her!

Check out our Penelope Ward Author Spotlight for more books!