Josh and Hazel's Guide to Not Dating was the perfect little rom-com in book form that had me gushing over the adorable pair all the way through. Josh and Hazel have great chemistry, an enviable relationship and so much hilarity in this new book from (writing duo) Christina Lauren. This was one of those fantastic books that you start wanting to just read a couple chapters and end up 80% into the book an hour later! It was such a fast and engaging read with so much to love and laugh about. I really enjoyed the dynamic not just between Josh and Hazel but also with Josh's sister and Hazel's mother.

Josh and Hazel's Guide to Not Dating by authors Christina Lauren is such a laugh-out-loud, easy reading. Hazel and Josh were fabulously entertaining from one chapter to the next in a novel that I did not want to close.
Review copy received from Hachette Australia via Netgalley

Enjoyed the first half but really disliked the second half, especially the ending and epilogue which dragged the rating down from three-and-a-half stars to about two stars. I have liked Christina Lauren's previous work so I'll definitely read their future stuff.

My Thoughts

When I read Christina Lauren’s ‘Love and Other Words’, I was hooked! There was just so much to love about that book. So therefore I was thrilled to be given the opportunity to read this current release, described as a romantic comedy. Well .... sadly, I seem to be in the minority (at Goodreads especially) with my opinion, which I can only deduce is on account of my prudishness (which I would beg to differ). I just found this story was not in the same league as ‘Love and Other Words’, which was disappointing.

“She thinks you’re a pretty funny girl.” Pretty funny? Or pretty, funny? Is that a half compliment, or two solid ones? Either way, my eyes widen and I grin. “Your mom is pretty comma smart.”

Firstly to the positives. I like the family and friendship themes that run throughout the book, supportive and encouraging. I totally loved the way Hazel embraced her eccentricities and was determined to remain true to herself. Also, how true friends supported that (friendship theme) and highlighted how people or society in general often frown on those who think outside the box as being too kooky. There are some fun moments here and memorable moments to make the reader smile.

“You know how many guys like to date the cute wild girl for a few weeks before expecting me to chill a little and become more Regular Girlfriend .... but at the end of the day ... being myself is enough. I’m enough.”

The problems I have occur when the funny blind dates stop becoming so funny. You know where this story is going and frustrating as it might be, it just didn’t continue to appeal to me stretched out over time. The ending itself was disappointing from the perspective of the easy way out was taken, or even the HEA inspite/despite it all. I also quickly got over the many steamy scenes and the lewd language; for me, they were detrimental to the overall package.

“A pipe burst, and normally I’d be making lots of terrible sex jokes about that but really, it just sucks.”

All up this is a funny romance read. You know the formula and where it’s going, Hazel makes an interesting, if somewhat over the top lead and Josh makes a great leading man. As I stated at the outset, I am in the minority, so if you are a Christina Lauren fan, you are sure to love this venture into romantic comedy.

“One more check of my outfit. I swear it’s not a vanity thing; more often than not, something is unbuttoned, a hem is tucked into underwear, or I’ve got an important garment on inside out.”



This review is based on a complimentary copy from the publisher and provided through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. The quoted material may have changed in the final release.

Huge thank you to Hachette Australia and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to review this book!

It’s been a while since I’ve enjoyed a contemporary romance as much as I did while reading this book. It had me hooked right from the first page and I found myself laughing out loud many many times while reading, something that very rarely happens, and by about 5% in I wanted to find every other book Christina and Lauren have ever written and read them all!

You might ask “Well if you liked it so much, why only give four stars?”. Let me assure you, if I could give it 4.5 stars I would; the only reason I took half a star off is because the formatting of the eBook is just AWFUL. It was clearly formatted only for print and whoever converted it to eBook didn’t bother to fix the text so there are weird line breaks mid-sentence in nearly every sentence and literally every paragraph has at least one missing space between two words, which is quite annoying when you’re really into the story and those kinds of things pull you up. However, as much as the formatting annoyed me, I still really enjoyed the story.

Full (spoiler-y) review here: http://wmsreads.tumblr.com/post/177360000632/

I received an advance reader copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. So thanks for that NetGalley! You've made my week.

After reading this book, I'm beginning to think Christina Lauren might be one of my favourite romance authors. Their books are just so funny! This one is no exception. The dialogue was witty and had me laughing out loud. The plot had excellent pacing and I didn't want to stop reading. The characters were fantastic, and I loved the dynamics between each of them, including the secondary characters.

I wasn't a huge fan of the ending, but the rest of the book was still such a fun time for me that I'm not too hung up on it. It was the perfect pick-me-up for my stressed brain.

"I received this copy from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review"

Hazel Camille Bradford knows she’s a lot to take—and frankly, most men aren’t up to the challenge. If her army of pets and thrill for the absurd don’t send them running, her lack of filter means she’ll say exactly the wrong thing in a delicate moment. Their loss. She’s a good soul in search of honest fun.
Josh Im has known Hazel since college, where her zany playfulness proved completely incompatible with his mellow restraint. From the first night they met—when she gracelessly threw up on his shoes—to when she sent him an unintelligible email while in a post-surgical haze, Josh has always thought of Hazel more as a spectacle than a peer. But now, ten years later, after a cheating girlfriend has turned his life upside down, going out with Hazel is a breath of fresh air.
Not that Josh and Hazel date. At least, not each other. Because setting each other up on progressively terrible double blind dates means there’s nothing between them...right ?

This is my first Christina Lauren novel and I am addicted. This book was such a fun addictive read and I could not put the book down. I ended up reading the book all in one night and wanted to go straight into another one of her books. I loved the writing style and the characters so much in this book. This book made me feel so happy and like everything was okay in the world (I love that feeling after reading a good romance book).

I gave this book 5 stars and like I said I am on the hunt for more of her books already. I have to read all her other books now so my TBR pile has gotten a lot longer. If you are after a good fun romance with amazing characters then this is your book.

This was such a fun and entertaining read. Hazel is one of those funny quirky characters that you want to be your best friend. Josh is a swoon worthy and lovable lead that you just fall in love with. I love the plot, tone and pace of this story, it's a great friends to lovers story. My only wish for this book is that there was more of it because it so enjoyable, I found myself smiling and laughing a lot through out this book. I read it in one sitting, so it's the perfect romance novel for the weekend or to take on a holiday.

This book was cute, but lacked depth.

The MC is kind of annoying at first which I think is intentional but then I really grew up love her and Josh and Hazel were really cute together.

But Josh had no flaws and everything was too easy. The characters themselves didn't really grow that much I felt. Josh did to some extent, but Hazel didn't.

The story also felt extremely short, my arc was 280 pages and the official release looks like it'll have 320 so hopefully there's more?

Christina and Lauren's books are usually a hit or miss with me, this one was somewhere in the middle.