This is probably going to be an unpopular statement but this is the first Christina Lauren I have enjoyed in a while. I tried to read Roomies but it just didn't grab me and I ended up not finishing it. Someday I will try it again because so many people love it and I want to love it too. Maybe it just wasn't the right time for me to read that book. Sometimes we have to put books aside because it's just not that books time.



Anyway, so I have to admit I was a little hesitant when I started Josh & Hazel. Almost like every Christina Lauren, it took a good two chapters to get into, but by the third chapter, I started finding myself not wanting to stop, and I didn't. I read this book in two days.



It was cute and funny. Hazel isn't your ordinary girl. She knows who she is and what she likes. She is very quirky and doesn't care if people think she is weird. Josh is Hazels best friend's sister. But Emily didn't know Josh knew Hazel from college. Throughout most of the book, Josh and Hazel make a pact to be best friends, so they set each other up on a series of blind dates and horrible ones at that. But when other things come between them, their friendship, things get intense, hot and heavy.



Needless to say, I loved Josh and Hazel. I loved how their personalities balance each other out perfectly. Now I am only giving this a four star because as much as I loved this story, I feel the ending was a bit rushed. I feel good about the outcome but feel like we could have gotten a little more. But no matter, it was cute, funny and sexy. It is a good book for a pick me up moment.

I just had to give this one 5 stars for the laughs alone!

I've never read a character like Hazel. She was hysterical....quirky, clumsy, outspoken, and just frigging funny, while Josh was the logical one, just a little bit laid back and calm.

After not seeing each other since college, they reconnect. But they only want to be friends. And they take this time trying to hook each other up with different people on double dates. Seriously, the dating fiascos were a riot, and of course the whole time in the back of my mind I'm thinking these two need to be together. They played off each other and their banter just worked!

It was nice to read something a little different with no predictability. Although this is only the third book I've read by Christina Lauren, she has not done me wrong yet!

A sweet and good book but not my favorite. I feel the beautiful series is much stronger. Still love these two writing together.

Josh and Hazel's first meeting in college is a disaster, as is all of their college meetings. He is mellow, and she is uncontrollable, and they are totally incompatible. Ten years later they meet up again and are just as incompatible as ever. They are each having a hard time finding the right person so they decide to go on a series of double dates. Just a funny story. Their dating escapades will leave you laughing. I will be looking for other books by this author.

With a fresh, jovial tale of two best friends looking for love, Christina Lauren delivers another must-read rom com hit.

This talented writing duo breathes new life into the friends-to-lovers story with unforgettable characters who try to set each other up, failing miserably, and sometimes… falling into bed together.

Hazel Bradford met Josh Im in college, when she threw up on his shoes. And that wasn’t even the worst of their initial encounters.
But bumping into Josh ten years later is the best thing that’s ever happened to her, because this time, she’s claimed him as his BFF (whether he likes it or not).

With an unapologetically electric, off-the-wall personality and style, Hazel never fails to make an impression. She’s deemed herself “undatable” – too out there for anyone long term.

Josh, on the other hand, is the complete opposite of Hazel, or so it seems. He’s reserved and mellow to her unrelenting exuberance. Her apartment is in a constant mess, whereas Josh’s is orderly. He’s a long-term relationship kind of guy, whereas she’s had a string of short-lived trysts that end when they tire of her eccentricities. Somehow, to Hazel’s delight however, Josh accepts her just as she is, quirks and all.

“I know I’m like Pig-Pen in Charlie Brown, and I have chaos around me, but it’s like he doesn’t even care. He doesn’t need me to change or pretend to be someone else. He’s my person. He’s my best friend.”

When Josh’s current relationship ends, Hazel is determined to get him back in the game. They agree to go on double blind dates in hopes they find a match. But date after date, everything goes wrong… well, all except Josh and Hazel’s relationship. They continue to get closer, in fact, sometimes they accidentally end up in bed together, even though they’re absolutely, most definitely not dating.

But when Hazel’s past catches up with her, it forces her to examine those feelings she’s been denying for way too long. Trouble is, could a man like perfect Josh Im fall for a girl like her?

With their signature wit, irresistible banter and two characters you just can’t help but love, Christina Lauren once again delights with a story that’s wonderfully quirky and charming.

I can't even begin to tell everyone that reads this book how much I loved it. I love all her books they all have lots of incredible characters but her books make me laugh so hard I have tears in my eyes. I just got done reading My Half Night Stand I won a copy from Gallery Books. You all are going to absolutely love it so much it comes out in December

After having a very stressful week at work Christina Lauren's "Josh and Hazel's Guide to Not Dating" was the perfect read that I needed. I was easily absorbed into this delightful romantic comedy and read it at every moment that I needed a break. I absolutely loved the characters. Hazel at first glance was too much, but like Josh I, too, was won over by her vibrant personality and discovered that she was living her life as being true to herself despite others wishes of her to be "normal". It broke my heart when Hazel kept mentioning she would not be appealing because she was too quirky. Josh is a character that is reminded me very much of myself-introverted and quiet but I loved the balance he brought to Hazel and that she was able to get him out of his shell too. I also enjoyed how this book didn't follow the typical meet-cute romantic comedy and watching Hazel and Josh go on double dates was hysterical. Highly recommended!

I wanted to like this book. I LOVED Hazel and her quirky personality. I needed a hotmess heroine and Hazel definitely fit the bill with her bad cooking and zoo of pets. However, after the drunk sex scene, I kind of lost interest. That scene didn't sit right with me and I just wasn't able to get back on track after that. I did like how they set each other up on dates, but that also went on a bit too long. I can see why people like this book, but ultimately, it wasn't my cup of tea.

Josh and Hazel's Guide to Not Dating is my FAVORITE Christina Lauren novel to date! I really look forward to reading each and everyone of their books. Real feelings and real characters. Can't put it down! LOVE

Thank you for the advanced copy of this book. My reviews can be found on my GoodReads page at https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/1335387-kelly.

Josh and Hazel's Guide to Not Dating is Christina Lauren's newest laugh out loud, sexy romance. I love their writing style with its quirky humor, fun playfulness, sexy characters and feel good emotions. Josh and Hazel are complete opposites. They haven't seen each other in ten years and now Hazel is Josh's sister Emily's best friend. They met under hilarious circumstances years ago and now when they see each other again, there are still some sizzling sparks. But she's a little crazy and he's very normal and quiet. This time they become friends. Best friends and what do best friends do? Set each other up on dates of course. After a string of really bad set ups and always ending up together, their attraction gets the best of them. Josh and all his muscley sexiness and Hazel and her carefree beauty end up naked together. But just that once. Or not. Their friendship is solid but when they both start to have more than friends feelings they are scared. Will someone make the first move before it's too late? What happens when your dreams change and then they all come through? I loved this story! These characters are some of my favorite from Christina Lauren! They are just so perfect for each other. The yin and yang. I laughed out loud so much and even shed a tear or two. Their witty banter is priceless and their chemistry is off the charts! I wouldn't mind seeing these characters again!!

Josh and Hazel’s Guide to Not Dating was a great read for me. I absolutely love the comedy that was established by Hazel. Josh and Hazel have known each other since college but their relationship has been strictly friendly.. in away. But as Josh’s world becomes flipped, dating Hazel is a nice break from all the lying. But they aren’t dating…right? Christina Lauren has certainly become my go-to author for a while now, not only because they write amazing romantic plots, but they make strong and relatable characters that seem to jump right off the pages. Every single time, I know, I’m in for a treat and can hardly can’t wait for the next one.

Highly recommend!

My 411: This is author duo Christina Lauren at their prime! Hazel shows you her flaws right from the beginning, and she’s not ashamed of them. She’s zany and unpredictable and a huge ball of fun. What she isn’t is serious about dating. Josh has known her zaniness from college, and life throws them together after some years apart. They dive into their new friendship with some hilarious dates in their attempt to try to set each other up, without realizing the right ship for them isn’t friendship but a relationship. (Listen to an audio excerpt on HEA from Josh and Hazel’s Guide to Not Dating.)

5+ stars

This is my first Christina Lauren book. And I have to say it totally blew me away! I don’t know what took me so long to read their stuff!!! I LOVED everything about this book! How everything played out. The pace of the book. The characters! Everything! I could totally see this book being made into a movie!

So, going in blind on new to me authors. I didn’t know what to expect. But right from the very first page. I knew I was not going to be disappointed. I was laughing my head off! Hazel was certainly a character. And the things she would do and say had me laughing like a crazy person in public!

The email incident! Omg! I loved it! That was just one of many little incidents that Hazel had been through.

I loved her character. She was a wild care free spirit who marched to the beat of her own drum. She never let anything get her down and she knew she was a little over the top for some people. But she didn’t pay any attention to them. She just kept being herself. And I loved that about her.

Josh was straight laced. But not over the top. He took things as they come. And I think that’s why he got Hazel so much. He let her be her. And never tried to change her. She brought him out of his shell and he let her be free.

I can’t express enough how much I loved this book. How everything played out. All the dates. All the over the top things that happened. This book is definitely one of my top 2018 reads.

Four stars: A cute, zany romance that is drama free. Light and fun.

Hazel Bradford has never followed the crowd. She runs with scissors, colors outside the lines and beats to her own drum. Perhaps that is why she has never had a long term relationship. Things change when Josh comes back into her life. Hazel first met Josh in college. She lusted over him and then barfed all over his shoes. Then she sent him an unforgettable email after wisdom teeth surgery. Needless to say, Josh probably thinks Hazel is a bit zany. When Hazel learns that Josh is the brother of her best friend, Emily, she decides she and Josh should be friends too. Hazel and Josh embark on a friendship, that morphs into trying to set each other up on the perfect date. The dates always seem to end in disaster, perhaps because they are ignoring what is right front of them?

What I Liked:
*If you haven’t read a book by the Christina Lauren duo, you don’t know what you are missing. This latest book by the dynamic writing team, delivers a fun, flirty friends to lovers romance without drama and angst and plenty of comedic moments. This is just what you need when you need a light, fun read. This book will drag you out of a rut.
*Let’s talk about the characters: Josh and Hazel. Hazel is unlike any character I have read before. She is the definition of quirky, zany and eccentric. Hazel brings hilarious chaos wherever she goes. She has her own unique style, she often forgets to censor herself, and she is flat out fun. It took some time to adjust to her, but after awhile, I fell in love with her craziness. Josh is the complete opposite of Hazel (opposites attract, right). Josh is organized, calm, kind and loyal. At first, he shies away from the Hazel tornado, but then he also falls in love with her quirkiness. I loved how patient Josh was, and that he never lost his cool with Hazel, even when she smacked him with an umbrella.
*The romance is adorable. It is a slow burning friends to lovers romance. It takes a long time to get there, and when it finally blossoms, it is perfect. I loved that the relationship was built on a firm friendship, and that Josh and Hazel talked about all things. When it turned romantic, it felt genuine and perfect.
*I liked that this book featured out of the box characters. Josh and Emily are American Koreans, and I loved the way their culture and their characters were depicted. Josh’s mother was adorable. I also loved that Hazel and her mother were women who weren’t afraid to be themselves. Neither Hazel or her mother worried about their appearance and how others would view them. So refreshing. Finally at the end, there was the introduction of a little boy who loved to wear princess costumes, and his parents were totally fine with the way he expressed himself. Big props to the authors for bringing us diverse characters.
*I loved that this book was without all the drama and angst. The romance, for the most part, is conflict free. There was a tiny moment of hesitation, but I never doubted that it would work out. I loved that this was light and fun the whole time.
*The ending was sweet and satisfying. At first, it was jarring the way the Epilogue jumped forward a few years into the future at a pivotal moment. I was anxious at first, but then things were explained and I was happy. I liked getting a peek into the future and seeing how things worked out.
And The Not So Much:
*Hazel may not be for everyone. Sometimes she felt a little unrealistic. However, I quit worrying about it after awhile and just enjoyed the book.
*I wish that Emily and Dave had a bigger part. I was especially curious to learn why Dave thought they wouldn’t have children??? I loved Emily and Dave. I especially liked how supportive Emily and Dave were.
*I listened to the audiobook version, and I didn’t like the narration at all. The male narrator, Tood Habberkorn, did a terrible job with the female voices. His voice for Hazel sounded like a comedian doing a bad female impersonation. I cringed every time he did Hazel’s voice. The female narrator was much better, but I felt like her voice didn’t capture the quirkiness of Hazel. This is one audiobook I would recommend skipping. I think I would have enjoyed this far more if I had read it.

Josh and Hazel’s Guide to Not Dating is the kind of romance you need to read. This book is light, fun and flirty. It is relatively drama free, which makes it more of a delight to read. I loved the unique characters, the cute romance and that this book left me with a big goofy grin. One hesitation is that the audiobook was not well done, the male narrator’s female voices were terrible. Read this versus listening to it.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher. All opinions are my own, and I was not compensated for this review.
Posted@Rainy Day Ramblings.

This was a fun, quick read! I loved the characters--though it did take me some time to warm up to Hazel a bit. As an Oregonian, I loved that it was set in Portland! The book was a fun read but I wasn't thrilled with how they got to the ending.

This story was just amazing, it was so funny to read, Hazel’s unfiltered mouth had me laughing all the book. Josh is just awkward but really cute. I just loved everything from this book. I couldn’t put it down. Reading how she faces her crush wrapped me in that moment and wished I was inside the story as a fly in the wall to see it all. Just a perfect modern romcom that needs to be read.

I loved this book so much! One of my favorite romance tropes is friendship to love and this was perfect. Josh and Hazel start off as acquaintances in college and end up in each other's lives years later, becoming friends who try to set each other up on dates. I enjoyed their interaction and how their friendship developed. This was romcom in its truest form.

Read this if you're looking for something lovey-dovey and light.

I loved this book so hard!
Hazel is quirky and prone to being a klutz and teaches Elementary school and is switching over to her friends school. When Hazel comes face to face with a past crush she decides they will be best friends instead of going that whole I like you route. Josh remembers Hazel and is intrigued by her from the start. Things happen and they are both single and to get Josh back out in the dating world they decide to set each other on double dates. That's what best friends do for each other right? The chemistry between these two is cute and hot. The banter between them is even cuter. After several interesting dates what happens next is worth reading! I loved this read it was refreshing, funny and sexy and the characters were not your typical billionaire! This was a huge winner for me, it has a great flow, laughter and well rounded characters, Huge hit for me!

This was one of the best contemporary romance novels I've ever read! I'm usually not a huge fan of the genre, but Josh & Hazel's Guide was just so fun and different from all the usual books I see in this genre that I couldn't put it down. Both characters were well thought-out and felt real, rather than like caricatures of actual people, which tends to be a big critique for me with other books in this genre. I also loved how naturally their friendship and relationship progressed. The end of the book threw me off a little, but I think it overall worked.

I've read some of this author's previous works, and I think this one is my favorite so far!