This is a perfect blend of stress and smiles for me. Let me explain, though I probably don't need to.

Man, Carey and James have a stressful job, awful bosses, and a crazy situation to try and control. Not to mention all being in tight quarters. Then, as love does start to bloom and attractions flourish, one of the crazy bosses is NOT okay with it. Control freak. I mean that woman was really somethin else. So, the crazy adventure of this book has these guys dealing with stressful situations that really put them to the test!

Now, as for the smiles. There are cute moments, sweet lines, pages that make you just grin the whole time you are reading them. Carey is vulnerable, hardworking, doesn't even really know herself, but she goes through a transformation throughout the book. James is frustrated with his job, his employers, feeling stuck. I like how he treats Carey the whole time. I like how she becomes his focus. I like the man he is, and how they are together.

This can be chalked up as another instant hit from Christina Lauren. I keep hearing about it, and I totally get what the fuss has been about. It's a great read.

Not at all what I expected. This was a middle-of-the-road read for me; neither disappointing nor great, just meh. This was my first time reading something from this author.

I enjoyed the overall concept of the story and the characters were alright, however that spark, that lil bit of something-something, was lacking and had the story not reaching its full potential.

Please note that an ARC was generously provided in exchange for an honest review of which this is both honest and completely voluntary.

Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC. I was so exited to read this and it was eh. The Tripp’s have made a fortune becoming a designing brand, making a design show and books to follow. Their assistants work non-stop to make their marriage look like the public thinks it is when in fact they are one step from divorce. This book was exhausting with all the fighting the Tripp’s did and all the badgering and bullying the assistants endured. Sadly, not a fan. #thehoneydontlist #christinalauren

A fictional behind the scenes look at a renovation decor based reality show. A loving kind couple starts out with a single store and a dream. As their dream grows so does their antipathy towards each other and the truth. The bigger the business the bigger their disdain and dare I say hate for the truth and acceptance of reality. For Melly, it is all about the bright lights and how beloved she becomes. She truly doesn’t care or even think that she has become a horrible person who takes advantage of those who have helped her get to where she is. And yet when the camera is directed at her she is the picture of perfection and the sweetest thing since sugar! Then there is Rusty. He supported the growth of their business and seemingly enjoyed all the wonderful things that their celebrity and business brought to them, but somehow lost his way and rather than talk to his wife or try to stop the speeding train became a toddler and acted out and like a total jerk. Both of them may have at one time been a happy couple, but became two hateful shrews. Carey started working for them when she was young, vulnerable, ill and desperately in need of a job and insurance. She became the woman behind the curtain and was the actual designer and creator of all of their products and yet received nothing expect emotional abuse in return. Then comes James. He thought he was too good for everyone there and truly thought he deserved more. He thought he would be able to use his engineering degree in his new position, but was basically Rustys gofer. He and Carey join forces to keep the crazy train from going off the rails. Then it does and to make matters worse James has betrayed Carey as well and in the worst way.
This is a fantastically written book filled with humor, love, hate, emotional ups and downs and leaves you rooting for the underdog to get what she deserves and in the good way!!! If you’re looking for an escape that will make you laugh, gasp, feel a little disgusted and keep you in your seat reading this is for you! You will love it and hate it!!

Thank you to Gallery Books and Netgalley for gifted copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

Melissa and Rusty Tripp are the fictional Joanna and Chip Gaines. However, Melissa and Rusty cannot stand each other and are on the brink of divorce despite their fame. They have a new show and a book about to launch and it’s up to Melissa’s assistant, Carey Douglas, and James’ structural engineer, James McCann, to keep the drama under wraps. They both need the job but as they work together to keep everything from falling apart, they wonder if they could stay together in the end.

I did a happy dance when I got notification that I received a copy of this ARC. This dynamic duo is one of my favorite contemporary romance authors and their books are definitely must reads for me. Overall, it was a quick read but for me, it lacked the charm of their earlier works like Josh and Hazel and the Unhoneymooners. It felt like the story was more focused on the fallout between Rusty and Melissa instead of the relationship between James and Carey. The police transcripts, newspaper articles and tweets were fun and different but didn’t add much to the storyline for me. I wish the time was spent on developing the romance between James and Carey. Sorry to say but I’m disappointed in this book. Don’t worry though, I’ll still be reading their future books.

Cute romance centered around a home makeover reality show. Quick read and fun and sure to hang on to be a great beach read as summer approaches.

I absolutely love when i can connect with a story on a real life level and this is one of those stories. The themes of infidelity, individuals placing career before their families, and divorce were covered in an gutwrenchingly honest way that makes it relatable in so many ways to so many people. This is further elevated by the characters, not only is the situations they find themselves in relatable but they themselves are as well. I especially connect to Carey, her struggle to overcome her issues with self confidence and her disability were inspiring. I highly recommend this book to all romance readers, if this writing duo does not make you believe in love again nothing will.

The Honey-Don’t List ......4.5 stars

I have always had a love for fixer upper type shows on TV. I love seeing all the transformations and their creativity. So when I found out about this book by Christina Lauren I jumped at the chance to read and review it early.

The storyline follows a married couple (Melissa and Rusty) as they navigate their lives in front of millions of fans. They have a successful TV show, a best seller book and a behind the scenes marriage disaster. Will they be able to work things out and save all they’ve worked for? That’s where Carey and James come into play. They are both assistants, one to Melissa and one to Rusty. They are thrown in the mix to keep an eye on the popular couple to make sure they play nice. But of course things don’t go as planned. Will a romance blossom or will lies and deception take over? I’ll stop there and let you read the book to see what happens.

I will admit the story started out slow, but after a few chapters it quickly picked up and I was hooked. It was a quick read, and at times both funny and heartfelt. The characters were easy to connect with and gave you both the I hate you and I love you feeling.
If you are a fan of Christina Lauren then this is a must read!

Thank you to Netgalley, the author, and publisher for this book in exchange for my honest review.

Christina Lauren nails it again with the great, light, rom-con-esque type reads. The tension between the characters is intoxicating and hard to resist.

If I'm going to be picky however, this isn't the best one. The romance between Carey and James feels rushed and forced, going from 30% to romantic involvement in the span of two scenes. I feel like one second he was just a friend and never could be romantically involved to the sexiest guy ever with no transition between.

And the drama with the police transcripts didn't really add anything to the plot lines. The fire was the huge crime but it was solved within one sentence and never looked at again.

That being said, I'm not picking up a Christina Lauren novel for the believable plot lines. If you keep your expectations realistic with this book you won't be disappointed, but if you want a little more there are better options.

The Honey-Don't List is about two assistants dealing with fictional versions of Joanna and Chip Gaines. The Tripps are at the height of their fame with TV Shows and books, but behind the scenes they can barely stand each other. Their assistants are tasked with keeping the couple from killing each other during their book tour. I enjoyed the romance in this book and the behind the scenes look at what is behind a public persona. I was able to finish this book in a day. I would recommend this book to any friends who enjoy lighthearted romance books.

Christina Lauren has done it again! I swear, these books never disappoint when you are in the mood for a quick, fun, rom com read. The title does seem a little bit misleading, when I initially saw it I thought it had to do with a married couple. Which...it does...but the main focus is on Carey and James, the assistants of a famous interior design couple who are dealing with the crazy and dysfunctional behind the scenes. It is a sweet story about the development of their relationship.

Again, great summer 2020 read. However, The Unhoneymooners is still my favorite CL book.

This storyline was a bit too close to a beloved reality show with a bad twist. ...not as much romcom romance as Christina Lauren’s past novels, but it was overall a cute book.
Melly and Tripp are famous reality home designers that started small and now have hit the big times with their own show on Netflix. What the world doesn’t know is Melly and Tripp despise one another and their marriage is falling apart.
Assistants Carey and James are along on the promotional ride to make sure Melly and Tripp behave for the public. Along the way they get close...and closer.

This was a nice, light read that kept my interest. However, in my opinion, it isn’t as strong as their earlier works. The Unhoneymooners remains my favorite.

James made such a wonderful love interest. His nerdy appeal totally worked for me. I found his and Carey’s connection to be believable and authentic. Carey was also a great character. Her journey to strength was relatable and didn’t feel overdone.

I just felt this book could have been.... more, I guess. Maybe there was too much space given to Melly and Russ and it got grating after a while.

I’m still all in on this author, but I hope their trend of writing in the last two of their books doesn’t continue into their next. I want another The Unhoneymooners.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for my free digital copy.

3.5☆ The Honey-Don't List sadly wasn't my favorite Christina Lauren book. It just didn't really feel like one of their books to me. It felt more serious and intense than others with less humor, which bummed me out a little bit. I normally find their books very entertaining, but this one didn't really have that quality. I liked both Carey and James and felt bad for them very quickly with everything they have to deal with, aka the Tripps. I really did not care for the Tripps. They were quite irritating and aggravating. They put a bit of a damper on the book with how much they mess with Carey and James' lives. Like I said, I enjoyed both Carey and James. I found them interesting, I just wish there was a bit more of them, and less of the Tripps. I still love Christina and Lauren as writers, this one just wasn't my favorite.

At times funny and other times heartfelt, The Honey Don’t List was nothing like what I expected. The book was more about the train-wreck DIY stars and less about the romance between their assistants. In other words, more "com than rom".

I Loved the DIY TV stars/authors who typify so much of “reality TV”. Their perfection and talent are a sham. Assistants James and Carey have the hideous jobs of managing the details of the stars lives and trying to keep their duo’s failing marriage of the news.

Melissa (AKA Melly) is a diva I loved to hate. Hubby Russell is affable enough but not on the same page as Melly. She just wants him to get with the program, and he wants off the merry-go-round that Melly has created. Both James and Carey have their personal and professional issues that create a need (real or perceived) for them to endure life on the road with Melissa and Russell.

Perfect plot pace, but the story zenith is far-fetched. The story tension is delicious and since the plot covers a short period, trouble comes quickly to a boil. The plot points are mostly believable, but a few are over the top (as I mentioned, the zenith of the story is a bit crazy). The denouement is good; I got the HEA I wanted and it was fairly realistic. The use of Twitter feed and police interviews sprinkled throughout enhances the creativity of the storytelling.

3.5 - 4 stars

I would read anything Christina Lauren writes! Their newest release, The Honey Don’t List didn’t fail to disappoint! Although the chemistry wasn’t as evident as some of their prior books (looking at you Love and Other Words 🔥🔥🔥), the story was fun and easy to root for the main characters! Another hit from the queens of the Rom-Com!

Thanks to NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Carey and James are the assistants (well, in James’s case technically structural engineer-come-assistant) to a very popular renovation/design duo, Melissa and Rusty Tripp (think Joanna and Chip Gaines). The Tripps set off on a book tour about their amazing relationship, when in reality, things have not been going so well for them relationship-wise behind the scenes. Naturally, it all comes to a head right before the start of the tour, and Carey and James are roped into coming along on the tour to babysit their bosses and make sure that no bad publicity emerges surrounding their sh*tshow of a marriage. The proximity and shared mission brings Carey and James closer together.

Sooooo, about The Honey-Don’t List. I really didn’t feel much relationship building between Carey and James. They hadn’t really worked closely together before being thrown together for the tour, and then all of a sudden they were feeling feelings about each other. James was sweet with Carey, but did I feel like they had a good foundation together? Not really, but their sexytimes were well-written. Honestly, the book was more about the relationship between Carey and her one-and-only boss, Melissa, which was kind of interesting but not really what I came here for, ya know? It was certainly no Josh and Hazel.

Christina Lauren's newest rom-com follows James and Carey who are assistants to two home improvement gurus (think Chip and Joanna). They're on a book tour to promote their newest book about marriage. Problem is, they hate each other. It's up to James and Carey to make sure their cover isn't blown in front of all their adoring fans.

James and Carey are SUPER likable characters who I was rooting for from the beginning. This was a super quick read with plenty of laugh-out-loud parts. The steam level is pretty low compared to other books by this author, so if you've been holding off picking up Christina Lauren because you don't normally read romance, this would be a great place to start.

Thanks to Gallery Books and NetGalley for the advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

This was an entertaining enemies to lovers and forced proximity romance. I enjoyed Carey, James, and the crazy shenanigans by the Tripps, but unfortunately, I didn't love it. It took a bit for me to feel invested in the story and characters, and by the time I really felt anything, the book was more than halfway over. Part of that is due to the way the book is formatted. The tweets, police transcripts/interviews, and book excerpts really took me out of the story at times as I tried to piece everything together. Those parts of the book ended up confusing me more than anything.

The chemistry between James and Carey also left me wanting. I didn't feel much build up between them and that playful banter and ribbing was missing. Things seemed to change so abruptly between them that I was afraid I missed a chapter. I did love them together though and wish more of the book had been spent about their budding relationship, instead of the implosion of Melly and Rusty's marriage. I really liked how attentive and sweet James was. He seemed to really see Carey for who she was and I think that's why the miscommunication drama later on didn't work for me. The book wrapped up quickly, but I liked the steps that Carey took to really stand on her own. I also appreciated the care that Christina Lauren took in discussing and highlighting dystonia. It was refreshing to read about a heroine with this condition and also very informative. Overall, this was an entertaining story, but I didn't love it as much as I hoped.

*I voluntarily read an advance review copy of this book*

I received this from the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for my honest review. I loved the aspect of this book. It was like Chip and Joanna gone wrong. The overall story was not so much. The assistants should have had a cute love story, but I never felt the chemistry. It all seemed so forced. As far as the main couple, they just made no sense. The ending really didn’t really explain what happened with them. It just was all very rushed at the end