My Roommate from Hell

Gr 9 Up–This queer paranormal rom-com is one to watch. Owen and Zarmenus are college roommates who couldn’t be more different from one another. While Owen is a human young man who grew up seeing his artistic parents struggle to make ends meet, the handsome Zarmenus is a demon and a literal prince of Hell, here on the world’s first interdimensional exchange program. In this story, Hell is an alternate dimension accessible through a portal, not a world of nightmares where humans are punished for eternity. Currently, Hell is dealing with a PR problem, so the relationship between Zarmenus and Owen is under a microscope from the dean and the rest of the world. The kind of conflict to be expected between dissimilar people living together is omnipresent: Owen is a virgin who’s never been kissed and believes in cleanliness and order, while Zarmenus is a huge slob who is confident, experienced, and no stranger to hookup culture. A public fight leads to Zarmenus dragging Owen into a fake dating scheme to appease his parents. When the fake dating leads to real feelings, the chemistry is delightful. The character details make this story exceptional. While it takes place in college, the romantic scenes never go above PG-13.