The American Roommate Experiment is a contemporary romance novel, a subgenre that indicates that its events take place in roughly the same world and time period in which it was written. This is in contrast to historical romance, which takes place in a defined period of the past, or paranormal romances and romantic fantasy, which may take place in alternate universes or timelines. The romance genre has two essential requirements: First, it must focus on a romantic relationship, and second, the story must culminate in a happy ending.

Elena Armas sets up a story in which Rosie, as a romance writer, is especially aware of the genre and its conventions. She further lampshades this by having Rosie’s own second book feature the best friend of her first lead character—the exact relationship between Rosie and her best friend, Lina, in Armas’s novels. Rosie’s breakdown of her “experimental dates” with Lucas coincides with the structure of many romance novels, as Lucas himself notes during their awkward first meeting: “[W]e have the meet-cute in the bag” (140). The pair’s sharing of Lina’s apartment allows for regular interaction between them, a romance trope known as forced proximity.