I was not only wishing HEA for Carey and James, but for Melissa and Rusty. As usual with Christine Lauren, they took me on a roller coasters of emotions and events. Rusty was stupid doing what he did to get out of celebrity life, and Melissa was more stupid for not reading between the lines. James and Carey should have left the two grownups alone to bend or break. It was exhausting watching the proverbial train wreck. This took a lot out of the love story of the main characters.

I DNF this book. I just couldn't get into it. The secondary characters were so childish and manipulative that I just found the who plot annoying. I really wanted know see where the relationship between Carrie and James would go, but I was just too bored.

The Honey Don’t List was published a little over two weeks ago and I can’t stop thinking about it. Usually that’s a good thing. Unfortunately that wasn’t the case for this one. After really being disappointed in Twice in a Blue Moon, I had high hopes that this book would turn it all around. Nope.

I long for the days of old Christina Lauren. Think Sweet Filthy Boy era CL. In Honey Don’t, our main characters are Carey and James. They work for America’s sweetheart designing duo as assistants and are forced to go on a book tour with their employers. Did I mention their employers hate each other? Rusty is an alcoholic serial cheater and Mellie is just the biggest bully and I wanted to throw my Kindle every time she was on page.

So now we have forced proximity, opposites attract falling in love while their employers’ marriage implodes. Oh and there’s a disability sub-plot that gets thrown in there as well. Then James screws over Carey while knowing how awful Mellie is and she just takes it. This was the problem in Blue Moon as well.

I am so tired of women just rolling over and taking whatever bullshit the male love interest does and just explains it away. It’s not what I want in a romance novel. Give me the female main character who calls him on his BS and walks away. I’d rather be alone than be with someone who screws me over to save themselves. It’s not attractive and if Christina Lauren’s books keep up this trend, I’ll be done and that makes me 100% sad as they used to be a favorite and I looked forward to each book.

My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy of this book.

I absolutely loved Carey and James together but my favorite part of this book was how Carey spent it finding her voice and her strength. She saw what needed to be done and did it, and she didn't need James or anyone else to do it for her. She didn't hide behind her condition or try to use it as her reason to not change; nor did she let it change her.

I've only read a few of CL's most recent books - Unhoneymooners and Twice in a Blue Moon. I keep meaning to read more backlist of theirs because I know I'm in for a treat! But for now ... their new releases are keeping me happy and entertained for sure!

This one definitely was a fun read. Carey and James are both so likeable and I loved everything about their story from start to finish. This definitely had all the Magnolia vibes. I'm not sure if this was intentional, but holy moly is the comparison to Chip and Joanna Gaines so fun! I am one who is very suspicious of overly happy reality TV couples and if their chemistry is sincere. It was a fun plot to imagine such behind the scenes discord and phony TV personas, and the Tripps were an over-the-top trainwreck to watch!

Carey and James both work as assistants to the Tripps - a famous couple known for their home decor and design, much like the Gaines's. They are tasked to travel with Rusty and Mel on a tour, and keeping the "unhappy" couple's public persona to appear as shiny and happy as audiences like to imagine they are - and it's not an easy task.

While they both attempt to keep the peace in their bosses VERY tumultuous relationship - they each also have their own talents, goals, and desires they wish to attain - which are riding on the Tripps not killing each other.

It's a riot to watch the Tripps unravel and go at each other. And especially at the same time as a new relationship possibly starts to bloom between Carey and James. But are their contrasting connections with Rusty and Mel, and their individual goals, too different to sustain a possible new romance?

The story is fun - it's fresh - and it's definitely another home run by this duo!

I've said it many times before that I came aboard the Christina Lauren train pretty late - I started reading their books with THE UNHONEYMOONERS, which seems to be their first full departure from the straight-up romance novels they were writing earlier. They've shifted toward rom-coms with evidently less sexytimes. I've seen a lot of people move away from their books as a result, preferring their earlier works, but I enjoyed their latest releases (the first and only books I've read by this pairing).

THE HONEY-DON'T LIST centers around characters dealing with a "if-Chip-and-Joanna-Gaines-had-major-issues" kind of situation. The married couple in question, Russell and Melissa, became famous through their design skills and have been only increasing in popularity over the years. When Russell starts misbehaving and creating a potential PR nightmare, their two assistants have to wrangle everything and keep them on track during their book tour... a book about marital advice, nonetheless. Carey and Jim have different reasons for working with these two and dealing with the trainwreck, and also have very different feelings about how to do everything (at first).

This was cute and enjoyable - another "just what I needed" read for me. I'll say that I definitely thought this was going to be a bit more enemies/rivals-to-more but that element was practically nonexistent. There was a tiny bit of friction for like three chapters but I found that Carey and James quickly became friendly and more. The two of them were pretty meh overall too... They didn't have real personalities and felt like cardboard cutouts. Some of their banter was good but I was expecting a lot more from this book. Seems silly to say that because it's a rom-com and meant to be slightly fluffier than other books, but this was beyond superficial IMO.

The whole concept of this (fake Chip and Joanna drama) was fascinating and a highlight for me though. Her issues with Melly as an abusive boss were something I could understand, even though it was hard to read at times. Like I said, still enjoyed it, glad I read it, and will keep reading Christina Lauren. Definitely not my fave by them so far though.

Content Rating: 18+
Genre: Contemporary Romance, Adult
Published: March 24, 2020, by Gallery Books

The Honey-Don't List hit one of my favorite topics; the home remodeling shows- I watch them all, that is when I am not reading. This book was cute, and somewhat entertaining but unfortunately not memorable. There was a little bit of falling in love and a lot of the falling out of love. For me, the balance was off. I wanted more of the falling in love between the two main characters.

The Honey-Don't List is about two personal assistants, Carey and James, who are thrown together for the sole purpose of accomplishing the impossible. It's their job to prevent their bosses from a disastrous implosion of their marriage and, consequently, their business. Together with the help of Carey, they have built a successful home remodeling and design brand from the ground up. Melissa and Rusty Tripp were once head over heels in love. However, along the way, they have lost sight of themselves and their relationship.
"There's only one problem: America's favorite couple can't stand each other.”

Carey has had no life for the last ten years except for being Melissa Tripp's assistant. But Carey is so much more than Melissa's assistant. She has spent the last ten years being an integral asset, building the Tripp's home improvement brand, Comb + Honey, into a multimillion-dollar company. Their relationship started well; however, slowly over the ten years, Melissa changed and took advantage of Carey. I kept waiting and hoping that Carey would finally grow a backbone.

After Melissa dismisses yet another one of her husband's assistant, she hires James the cute nerdy engineer who knows nothing about home remodeling or being a personal assistant. James needs this job and will do anything to keep it- even babysit Rusty. And possibly along the way, he may make one of the worse decisions of his life.
"' You didn't tell me,' she says again, and the simplicity of that betrayal feels totally gutting.'"
The romance part of this book was a bit typical, boy and girl meet, they don't particularly like each other, and then they do. Then they don't, and then, well, you can probably figure it out from there. I liked Carey and James and would have liked to see more romance between the two of them. While Carey's character was well developed, James' character fell a bit short for me. There was too much of the ridiculous narcissistic, selfish behavior from Melissa and Rusty and it dominated this book. These two were over the top.

The Honey-Don't List is a well written cute read, but it just didn't rock my book world. I wanted a lot more of the sexy romantic elements that these two authors usually have in their books. It lacked in direction, trying to be too much, but in reality, not enough.

*Please note the quotes in my review are subject to change once the book is published*

**I kindly received this galley by way of NetGalley/publisher/author. I was not contacted, asked, or required to leave a review. I received no compensation, financial or otherwise. I have voluntarily read this book, and this review is my honest opinion. **

The Honey-Don't List was surprisingly fun and charming. No matter the situation, Christina Lauren can tell a love story around it, and these two co-workers were a joy to be around as they struggled to keep someone else's business and marriage together. Filled with humor, sweet moments, and a fast-paced plot, readers will devour this story quickly.

Carey and James were constantly evolving as characters and what they were to one another. Their dislike for one another slowly morphed into this wonderfully sweet love story, built over small moments among the stress and madness of their jobs. I adored that the stress and forced proximity had them opening their eyes to who they were underneath the restrictions and what was really important about their lives. The writing was effortless and had all the pieces of what makes a CLo book so enjoyable and I cannot wait for what they dream up next.

4.5 Stars
One of my favorite author duos have done it again. Christina Lauren delivered another fabulous book I couldn’t put down.

I watch HGTV all the time so it was really fun to have a story that reminds me of that. Carey has been working for Melissa and Rusty since she was 16. Now ten years later she is Melissa’s (Melly) assistant. She has watched the Tripp family’s fame grow in their home improvement ideas. Most people know who the Tripp’s are from their tv show and their books.

James is hired on as an engineer but quickly becomes Rusty’s assistant. He keeps hoping he will eventually start doing the job he was hired for. James and Carey are the glue that hold the Tripp’s together. From the outside looking in you think they are one big happy family. Carey and James don’t get along but finally decide to when they end up on the book tour together. If these two can survive the trip maybe their newfound relationship can survive.

The Honey-Don’t List is a fun quick read.

I officially have yet to meet a Christina Lauren book that I didn’t like. And while The Honey-Don’t List didn’t quite end up being a favorite of theirs for me, I enjoyed my time with it nonetheless. This was one of those fun, easy reads that you pick up and finish in one sitting because you just can’t help but breeze through it. As is their style, this story was on the lighter side as a whole with some great banter and humorous situations between the characters, but there was definitely a “serious” touch to it as well, which added a depth I felt was needed and something I really liked. Now, there was one big downfall here for me and that was the ending. I don’t want to give anything away, so I’ll just say that the way the ending played out felt rushed and then abrupt, and didn’t work for me at all. I really wanted to see more of the “how” that ending came to be.

To sum it up, this was a sweet “enemy coworkers” to lovers romance (with a forced proximity trope) alongside an honest and sometimes tough look at marriage, relationships, and the ups and downs of fame and fortune... all wrapped up with a Fixer Upper vibe. Definitely worth the read for you contemporary romance lovers!

Thank you NetGalley and Gallery Books for the gifted copy.

This is a title I would recommend to the adults at the library workshops I run. Personally, it wasn't my favorite Christina Lauren as I found that there wasn't great chemistry between the characters. I will still recommend and read all Christina Lauren titles but this was not my favorite.

When Christina Lauren combines romance with HGTV, I am there and I am a fan! I thoroughly enjoyed this book, but it was a lighter romance than I was expecting and I didn't really connect with the characters. Maybe more like women's fiction and less romance...? I also missed some of the sass and humor that I have come to expect with Christina Lauren. It was a satisfying read, but it's not going to be on my list of favorites.

Christina Lauren is a favorite romance writing duo of mine so I was extremely excited when I could get my hands on an early copy of their new book. I am a long time lover of a certain home remodeling show and love the concept of a behind the scenes look at what managing a famous couple might look like. This book follows two assistants, Carey and James who work for Melissa and Rusty Tripp. Mel and Rusty are America’s sweethearts who star on a home remodeling tv show. Here’s the catch though- appearances aren’t always what they seem. The two have newly come out with a relationship book and are going on tour to promote its release. Too bad their relationship has been in the toilet for awhile now. It is Carey and James’ job to help keep these two in line during the tour so that unsuspecting fans don’t get wind of the actual state of Mel and Rustys relationship.

Carey has been working for this duo since their start. And turns out, she’s actually been the one designing all of their spaces. She is loyal to a fault but has never been given the attention that she deserves. To be honest, Mel treats her like shit. The lack of resolution to this is one of the things I wish was different about this book. James is not actually an assistant although he absolutely gets treated like one. He has a degree in engineering and only took this job after a flub at his last engineering gig. These two characters actually kind of despise each other at the beginning of the book, but through mutual exasperation of their bosses, end up really bonding during the length of the tour and fall in love. I found their story to be so sweet and endearing. Their catty exchanges and slow evolution into more was what kept me turning the pages. Overall, something I would definitely recommend to contemporary fiction lovers.

Carey Douglas was only 16 when she wandered into Comb+Honey, a local home design store run by Wyoming home designers Melissa and Rusty Tripp. Carey got a job working at the cash register and slowly worked her way up. She helped design some of the window displays that drew customers into the store. Melissa did the decorating and Rusty built custom furniture, and the couple managed to take their store and turn it into an empire.

It’s now ten years later, and Carey is Melissa’s assistant. Through the Tripps’ home design television show, the growth of their brand, and now the release of their book on what makes a good marriage, Carey has been a part of it all. But the cracks are starting to show, particularly in the marriage. Rusty isn’t happy and has been looking for companionship elsewhere. And since the couple is about to embark on their book tour and getting ready to announce their new Netflix design series, there can be no cracks. It’s up to Carey and Rusty’s new assistant to make sure that the public face of the Tripps doesn’t trip up any of their coming successes.

Jim McCann took the job working for Rusty Tripp for two reason. As an engineer, he could use this experience to help design and build custom furniture for the new series and for the brand in general. James is looking for that kind of creative job. And second, it would look better on his resume than his previous engineering job, for the firm still being investigated by the Feds for embezzling client money. He needs this job. He needs it so badly that he’s willing to act as assistant, no—as babysitter—for one misbehaving Tripp for the duration of the book tour.

But the closeness of the tour bus only exacerbates Melissa’s anger, Rusty’s avoidance, and James’ growing crush on Carey. The only question is: who is going up in flames first?

Christina Lauren is an author duo known for their romances, but in my book, this one, The Honey-Don’t List, is the finest. I absolutely loved this story of romance under difficult circumstances. I thought the premise was perfect, the characters are dimensional and likable (except for when they’re not supposed to be), and I adored the way the relationship between James and Carey played out. Told in alternating viewpoints between Carey, James, police interviews, and twitter gossip, The Honey-Don’t List is so heart-warming and enjoyable that I would recommend it to anyone who loves romance, HGTV shows, comedy, or really good writing.

In addition, one of the characters struggles with a physical difficulty that I wasn’t even aware of before reading this, so it was lovely to get a chance to learn about life from the perspective of someone who suffers from a movement disorder.

Galleys for The Honey-Don’t List were provided by Gallery Books through NetGalley, with many thanks.

So I was waiting on the edge of my seat for the next thing that the Tripps would throw at Carey and James. I know we’re supposed to be enamoured by the MC’s (and I was) but I was obsessed with the train wreck that is the Tripps. Think Netflix’ Set It Up and HGTV’s Flip or Flop mixed together. But no worries, our MC’s Carey and James do also have great individual stories. I was rooting for them! I think the overall theme here is facing the unknown head on and hopefully doing that with the right partner

Cute story. I’m a huge fan of the Christina Lauren duo and their romances. Unfortunately this one fell kind of flat for me. I’ll definitely still recommend it to people in the store, but it’s just kinda blah to me. I didn’t really feel the chemistry between the two main characters, James and Carey. I almost found the relationship of Rusty and Melissa more interesting. Still a cute, easy read though.

I received an advanced copy of this book through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. I agree with a friend of mine that this is for fans of HGTV. The “assistants fall in love” trope is reminiscent of Sally Thorne’s “The Hating Game.” I really enjoyed this book about essentially two sidekicks coming into their own—great reminder that the behind-the-scenes people deserve much more than they get credit for. I liked the mystery of the “incident” sprinkled throughout in the form of interviews between police and James and Carey individually, as well as the inclusion of reaction-tweets to Melly’s and Rusty’s obviously rocky marriage. A darling pick-me-up that isn’t particularly hilarious or fantastic, but still above “feel-good” status.

Big thank you to Gallery Books and Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review! Opinions are mine.

For you if you like: Wyoming, HGTV and road trips! (road...Tripps?:)

Christina Lauren is new-found love of mine and I’m so happy about it! I was skeptical for so long about whether or not I would ever find another author (or duo in this case) that could write romantic but not overly cringey romance, other than my ride or die Colleen Hoover. Christina Lauren absolutely surprised me with The Unhoneymooners last summer! It’s now one of my favorite books of all time and I’ve been obsessed ever since!

The Honey-Don’t List follows Carey and James, two assistants who work under HGTV personalities Melly and Rusty Tripp. In my head, the Tripps are essentially Christina and Tarek from HGTV. The story follows all four characters as they tour the country to promote the premiere of the Tripps’ new tv show. It’s a good idea to head into this one with little background because there are quite a few revelations. People fall in love, hearts are broken, and things just aren’t as they seem!

The Honey-Don’t List unfortunately fell a little bit short in comparison to the other CL books I’ve read. I loved the concept, the setting and the characters themselves. My main issue was that the story was just was too short and therefore was underdeveloped across the board. I wanted more.
Less important, but as someone who's obsessed with Western Wyoming (OH so gorgeous) I would have also liked to experience more of the Jackson area, which happens to be the characters' hometown and home base. Maybe even see a bit of the the townie life, or the breath-taking Teton range they're nestled right into. It was a little weird being in such a distinctly beautiful place and barely reading a descriptive word about it. I say this because in The Unhoneymooners, Hawaii is such an integral part to the story that it almost feels like a character itself. I wanted the same to happen here!

Anyway, I would still say to give it a try if you like the topics I mentioned above and want a very quick, bittersweet romance!

Thank you #netgalley, #simonandschuster and #gallerybooks for an advanced copy in return for an honest review!

What a cute idea for a book, HGTV meets rom com! I really enjoyed the story line, the characters were relatable and it is a lighthearted story, which was a nice break from all the thrillers. My only criticism, is that I was hoping to read more on Carey/James, than Melly/Rusty.

Thank you again and if any readers want a quick, light read, this is your book, available now!

The Christina Lauren duo writes some of my favorite light romances, but this book was a disappointment. I love an enemies to lovers storyline, but this one never really established why the characters didn't like each other. I was also distracted by the similarities to Chip and Joanna Gaines. I would recommend to readers looking for books that straddle the line between romance and contemporary fiction.