Review: "Under One Roof" by Ali Hazelwood (The STEMinist Novellas #1) ★★★★★

Review: Under One Roof by Ali Hazelwood

A charming and very amusing opposites attract, enemies-to-lovers and forced proximity rom-com novella. One of my favourite stories Ali has written and I only wish I could read more!

he hugs me back. He lifts me up like he’s too happy for me to even consider stopping himself… like he’s been wanting this as much and as intensely as I have. And when he spins me around the room, one single, perfect whirl of pure happiness, that’s when I realize it.
How incredibly, utterly gone for this man I am.

PLOT SUMMARY
27-year-old environmental engineer Mara Floyd is given her PhD advisor Helena Harding’s house after she passes away. Little does she know, she owns half of the house and the other half is owned by Helena’s nephew, grumpy introverted corporate lawyer Liam Harding. The epitome of tall dark and, dare she say, handsome, aged somewhere in his 30s. Unfortunately, he happens to work for FGB Corp who are big on fossil fuels (an environmental engineer’s worst nightmare!) and he is not keen on her moving in at all.

At first, Liam tries to buy her out, but Mara is having none of that. He reluctantly lets her stay until she can afford to move out. Mara wonders what Helena was thinking, having her stuck with this arrogant roommate. Somewhere along the way – between her blaring Disney songs, his late-night dinner prep that could wake the neighbourhood, and various arguments – a truce is formed. And from that truce, there comes a friendship and from there, there grows an unexpected fondness.

The more time they spend in each other’s company, through the snow and rain, the venting and the now-reasonable meal times they share, the more she realises she has fallen for Liam – and fallen hard. But he cannot possibly feel the same way and cannot wait for her to move out… right?

This is told from the first-person past-tense narrative of Mara.

”Mara, you are fantastic. Brilliant.”
I feel fantastic. I feel brilliant, when I’m with you. And I want you to feel the same.

OVERALL OPINIONS
Okay but why is the average rating for this book on Goodreads 3.66 stars?! This book is so lovely! I adored it so much, I devoured it in a day. The pacing was decent, there was always something happening so I never felt bored. I had forgotten this was a novella (short story) until I began reading this and it honestly makes a nice change because Ali Hazelwood’s books are usually between 300-400 pages. Its length marks the main difference. We also have that instead of our main character being a scientist she is an engineer.

Ali really does churn out carbon copies of previous works because we have her usual stuff here: our rich, tall, broad, handsome dark-haired male love interest (which never matches your stereotypical nerd) and our rather broke STEM woman who looks up to her mentor. In this scenario, the mentor is not a villain, unlike the other books – though it could be argued we do get this with Liam and his mentor: he is the boss of FGB and Liam feels he owes him for everything he has done so that is why he works for him though he hates the job. Are the stereotypes a bad thing? Not necessarily, but I would like a variety and a less broke main character. We have the sexism that comes with STEM, which is unfortunately such a real problem I am glad it is addressed here. Would that we all had boyfriends who want to know our sexist bully’s last name!

I cannot stop saying how sweet this is! I love a grumpy but shy guy who is protective and a gentleman (in the streets anyway, in the sheets is another matter altogether ayyy). I loved every moment between Mara and Liam, it was all very amusing. I was grinning and laughing through this book a lot. From Liam trying to make awkward small-talk where they both have no idea what they are talking about to Mara stumbling in the shower because Liam gives her a fright, there is never a dull moment!

Also, Mara was so real for her observations at the start of the book, and has always been something I have thought about:

““Frankly, They get on like a house on fire is the most misleading saying in the English language. Faulty wiring? Misuse of heating equipment? Suspected arson? Not evocative of two people getting along in the least. You know what a house on fire has me picturing? Bazookas. Flamethrowers. Sirens in the distance.”

Having this as the opening line sets the scene up so well, because obviously she and Liam do not get on like a house on fire to begin with.

This was quite a slowburn but it was really worth it. I feel like I would pick this up again and again to read because it is both a quick and light read, there is nothing too deep about this as it mainly focuses on Mara and Liam’s friendship and romance but the emotional connection between them was done effectively.

<< Positives >>
🠚The relationship. Absolutely adorable, I love how the more time they spend together the more Liam comes out of his shell. I actually like that the reason Liam does not want Mara moving in is because he is jealous of her: she was closer to Helena than he was in her final moments and he resented that. And then when Mara sees it from Liam’s perspective, she tries to do better.
🠚The Disney references. There are lots of them, as a Disney fan I appreciated this. It added another level of charm to it.
🠚The spice, when we finally got to it, was delicious! There are some rare books where it gets me blushing and kicking my feet but this one got me good. It probably has everything to do with the fact he overheard *that* conversation that she wanted him and he wanted to make that a reality.
🠚No third-act breakup, unlike Ali’s tendency to do this. A lot of us hate this trope, I personally do not mind it, but it was nice that it wasn’t included.

<< Negatives >>
Most of the negatives concern the length of the book. Yes, of course, it is a novella so is meant to be short, so most of these issues are because of that.
🠚The ending was rather abrupt, I would have liked a few more chapters after their night together and then the epilogue. I mean, we don’t even have a vocal “I love you” moment!
🠚I wanted Liam’s hobby of photography expanded on. I just would have loved him to take a photo of Mara.
🠚I would have liked more depth in terms of both of them learning about Mara’s parents and Liam’s family, though it is nice neither of them really need to – especially when Liam gets the gist from a single snide remark and says that her parents don’t appreciate her.
🠚The structure of the story. The prologue gives us the present day setting when he is going to make out with her, then jumps back to 6 months prior, then the story works its way back to the present day. I think it would have worked better with the “6 months ago” timeline, and forget the prologue.
🠚No real conflict after the original clash when she moves in. Emma is introduced to provide a misunderstanding, but that was it and it was so short and it is clear to everyone (other than Mara) that she is only a friend of Liam.
🠚I feel the lack of condom thing could have been rewritten. Mara could have had one, considering she was planning to go on dates.

CHARACTERS
-ˋˏ ꒰ Mara꒱ ˎˊ-
↳ I love how Mara is unapologetically herself. She has the stereotypical redheaded fiery temper, blogs about the Bachelor TV show (the same way I blog about books), and thanks to Liam works up the courage to ask for a job position she wants after convincing herself that other people would do it better. She is sweet, she has my heart.
🠚I relate to the venting to my bestie on a call the (ventocall, as Mara likes to call it), and the fact that she and her friends used to vent because they couldn’t afford therapy really reminds me of my best friend.
🠚I couldn’t imagine what it is like to be overlooked and unwanted by parents, so her compassion and optimism is commendable.

I am catastrophically, ruinously in love with you.

-ˋˏ ꒰ Liam꒱ ˎˊ-
↳ Listen, I said no man in Ali Hazelwood’s world would come close to Adam from The Love Hypothesis but this is so close! I am obsessed with Liam.
🠚He embodies the many men of this world who are shy and keep their emotions to themselves, but show their love through deeds/acts of service. From him leaving the light on at night so she can see where she is going, to keeping her warm when the heating breaks down, to draping a blanket over her when she fell asleep on the couch, to reaching up to get something for her – I too fell in love with him even more as the story progressed! A precious man. And a sexy one too (we get a “good girl” moment!).
🠚That moment when Mara hugs him and he spins her around ahhh tugged at my heartstrings.
🠚The moment after Mara says it’s strange Helena never set them up, when he realises that she did, in fact, set them up through the roommate arrangement, was funny.

“You wouldn’t believe it, the things I’ve thought about doing.”

FAV QUOTES
• I’ve got it bad. Actually, scratch that. I already knew I had it bad. But if I hadn’t, this would be a dead giveaway: the fact that I cannot glance at a colander and twelve dirty forks without seeing Liam’s dark eyes as he leans against the counter, arms crossed on his chest
• I can safely state that living with some guy you used to hate and somehow ended up slipping in love with is not a wise move. Trust me, I have a doctorate. (In a totally unrelated field, but still.)
• “I don’t like this,” Sadie and Hannah say in unison. Any other time I’d laugh about their hive mind
• His voice is beautiful. Deep. Rich. A little hoarse. I could marry this voice. I could roll around in this voice. I could listen to this voice forever and give up every other sound.
• murder can be punished with up to thirty years in prison. I know, because I looked it up the day after I moved in.
• Liam Harding looks like he’d be able to murder someone (i.e., me) with a beach ball.
• his most egregious behavior is always directed at me (“I wonder why,” I muse to myself, stroking my woman-in-STEM chin).
• Our rooms are one and a half hallways away. I know he has a home office, but I’ve never been in there—a bit of a tacit Do-not-go-to-the-West-Wing, Beauty and the Beast situation.
• Maybe that’s what he majored in at Dartmouth: Snow Shoveling. Nicely complemented by a minor in Muscles. His honors thesis was titled The Importance of Armceps in Ergonomic Excavating. Then he moved to graduate school to study How-to-Make-a-Mundane-Winter-Task-Look Attractive Law. And here I am, unable to take my eyes off a decade of overpaid-for higher education.
• “Liam? Can I ask you a question that will possibly make you want to throw the bowl at me?” “It won’t.” “You haven’t heard the question.” “But the soup is really good.”
• He smiles at me then—a full, real smile. His first in my presence, I think, and it makes breathing that much harder, the temperature of the room that much hotter. How—*why* is he so handsome?
• I’m starting to know him, a little bit. I’m more attuned to his moods, his thoughts, the way he turns inward whenever he considers something serious. There is a wall of sorts that he builds between himself and everyone who tries to know him. Sometimes I wish it weren’t there.
• “You get annoying when you’re drunk.” There’s a hint of a smile in his eyes. “But cute.” | I stick my tongue out. “You’re annoying all the time.” And cute, too. • He holds my eyes. His are a dark, beautiful brown. “I like you very much, Mara. I like talking to you. I like watching you do yoga. I like the way you always smell like sunscreen. I like how you manage to say pretty much whatever you want while still being unbelievably kind. I like being in this house with you, and everything we do in here.”