
The Roommate Arrangement
Margaret K. McElderry Books · Hardcover · January 27, 2026
When Blair accidentally becomes college roommates with her brother’s best friend, sparks fly in this hilarious rom-com from bestselling author Samantha Markum, perfect for fans of Lynn Painter and Emma Lord.
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- Who it’s for
- A light, conversational romance pick with an easy comic pulse.
- Genres
- Romantic Comedy for Teens, Contemporary YA Romance, College & Uni YA
- Published
- Margaret K. McElderry Books, January 27, 2026
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Start with this bookAbout this book
When Blair accidentally becomes college roommates with her brother’s best friend, sparks fly in this hilarious rom-com from bestselling author Samantha Markum, perfect for fans of Lynn Painter and Emma Lord. Blair might be a little type-A, but she never thought of herself as completely overbearing…that is, until her two best friends drop her from their housing arrangement a week before her pre-college summer coding program is about to start.
Continue reading
Blair knows if she switches to an on-campus dorm, her parents will make her give up her expensive sculpture class with her dream mentor in order to pay for it. Desperate, she agrees to be the fifth roommate to four off-campus sophomores who are also in a last-minute bind. But things get complicated when one of her new roommates turns out to be her brother’s best friend, Jamie Atwater. Blair begs Jamie not to tell her brother about the new living arrangement. Her brother would go straight to their parents, who would definitely not approve, and all her plans would fall apart. So they strike a deal: she’ll help him finish coding the app he’s building if he promises to keep her secret. Spending more time together shouldn’t be a problem. Sure, Jamie has a new haircut, a mysterious tattoo, and a year’s worth of earned muscle, but it’s not like Blair is noticing. After all, they’re only roommates, right?
Playful Sparks
A light, conversational romance pick with an easy comic pulse.
Come here for
- playful YA romance energy
- book-club-friendly sparks
Expect
- college-age romantic comedy
- a familiar-adjacent read if you liked The Roommate Arrangement
Where it sits
| Romantic Comedy for Teens | 90% |
|---|---|
| Contemporary YA Romance | 39% |
| College & Uni YA | 31% |
Percentages are BookFrontier’s reading of the book.
Publisher categories
- Coming of Age
- Funny YA
- Contemporary YA Romance
- Authors
- Samantha Markum
- Publisher
- Margaret K. McElderry Books
- Published
- January 27, 2026
- Format
- Hardcover
- Reading lane
- Coming of Age