{Review to publish February 15th 2020 on The Nerd Daily]

Meet Melissa and Rusty Tripp, America’s sweethearts of home remodelling and décor design who are just about to embark on their week-long book tour for their guide on how to keep the perfect marriage alive and kicking. The only caveat? Milly and Rusty actually can’t stand each other. Forced by the execs of their upcoming solo TV home renovating show, long-time assistant Carey and engineer-but-actually-glorified-and-seriously-undervalued-assistant James find themselves dragged on a book tour as chaperones to keep the couple from fighting in public and destroying their carefully crafted image. What neither of them expects is that while the sparks have sizzled out in their bosses’ marriage, there might just be some starting up between Carey and James.

Carey, like all of Christina Lauren’s protagonists is a force to be reckoned with, feisty and fierce, but above all she is extremely relatable. Never having worked any other job than this assistant position and almost part of the Tripp family, Carey finds herself unable to quit and make it on her own while also realising that she can’t keep doing what she is doing now without losing her mind. Pressurised to keep quiet about her involvement in the new designs of the high-profile couple, Carey is trying hard to reclaim that glimpse of a private life away from her bosses’ expectations while also working her hardest to keep afloat at work. And that brings me to this book’s strongest point: the refreshing and realistic take on adulthood.

In most cases, your twenties are a time of turmoil, a state of in-between where kids are playing and fighting in the pool and you have to ask your peers whether you should get an adult—without quite realising that you’re an adult yourself. This is the time when everyone is trying to figure out who they are and what they want to do but also don’t feel like they can start over if they’re situated in a passable job already (who doesn’t love financial security, after all?). It’s putting work above all else and finally having the monetary means to do all the things you’ve always wanted, without the time to actually pursue any of those dreams.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Christina Lauren excels at writing characters that make the reader feel understood and seen. The struggles of trying to find friends while working more than 50 hours a week and looking forward to a week of lying on the couch catching up on Netflix only to have that snatched away by more work was so relatable that I kept finding myself nodding at the book as I kept flipping the pages. Carey was trying to make it all work but sometimes, your body just tells you when enough is enough which rang so authentic to me. In an age where hard work is sometimes undervalued, it was a refreshing story to see that putting yourself first is a necessary step in order to survive.

Speaking of characters that are relatable: James, the love interest. Somehow these authors found the perfect blend of a guy being sweet and helpful without ever being condescending, while also making the reader want to jump his bones because he is just so sexy when he wants to be. James also struggles with the reality of being underpaid and undervalued even though he has a college degree, which again, I just found so relatable. It was a nice change from the usual narrative where college graduates suddenly have every door opened for them, which, yes, is nice but also not realistic. Trust Christina Lauren to make the bleak reality of job (in)security look like so much fun.

Melissa and Rusty were a particular brand of dysfunctional—Melissa is trying her hardest to cope with the struggle of keeping up appearances by turning every endeavour into a picture-perfect-advertising moment, whereas Rusty just wants to return to the simple roots where their love and business life began. Both of them were deeply flawed and unlikable characters at times, but you could tell that their hearts were in the right place—they just forgot what it meant to put their relationship above their international success.

This book felt like Christina Lauren going back to their roots in the best possible way and their writing style perfectly honed over years of writing together and the best parts, the quick-witted banter, the swoon-worthy romance still very much intact. That being said, The Honey-Don’t List is definitely one of the authors’ quieter novels, less fanfare and rather more “slice of life” moments that bring their own charm to the story. After numerous published novels together, one thing is clear: this author duo has cemented itself firmly in the top tier of the romance genre and deservedly so.

A refreshing and charming romance, perfect for long-time fans of the author duo and newer readers who want to have a little smile on their face for 320 pages straight.

This is such a fun book! Imagine a behind-the-scenes look into the lives of one an HGTV power couple, as told in the alternating views of their two assistants. Then add that the assistants are falling for each other as the TV couple struggles not to blow their whole empire to smithereens. Engaging, imaginative - this kept me turning pages last night and skipping everything else. Highly recommended as a vacation read, or as an escape from real life. Excited for what these authors come up with next! (Thanks to Netgalley for the chance to read an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review).

Christina Lauren does it AGAIN! To say I'm excited whenever this duo releases a new book would be an understatement. They always manage to make me smile and fall head over heels in love with their characters. This book my friends is NO DIFFERENT. The Honey-Don't List is exactly what I needed in a book and I was swooning hard for it. I can't wait to see what others think of this fantastic new book when it releases!

I LOVED this book! I have not read many by this duo and I absolutely fell in love with their words.
Carey and James are wonderful characters and the story is brilliant. I love the behind the scenes interviews leading up to the main occurrence, it totally kept me guessing what in the world happened?
Loved and devoured every word!

If you love HGTV,. this is the book for you. It follows the breakdown of home improvement stars Melissa and Rusty Tripp. A Chip and Joanna Gaines type couple who are reaching the pinnacle of superstardom but unfortunately, the same can't be same for their marriage. With publicity and marketing at an all time - no cracks in the facade can be exposed which is where their two assistants come into play. Carey and James seem like an unlikely team but team up is what they need to do in order to keep Melissa and Tripp from killing each other. Besides both have incentives to keep the act alive. However, when sparks start flying and truths are left unspoken, Melissa and Rusty aren't the only couple going down in flames (both literally and figuratively). Can either of these couples survive the aftermath? A great book as we come to expect from Christina Lauren with couples you care about and humor as well.

The Honey-Don’t List is my least favorite book from Christina Lauren. For starters, the story has a police interrogation dialogue and tweets on Twitter randomly placed through out the book they just don’t add anything to the storyline and seem to slow the pacing down. I also really struggled with the nickname for one of the characters, Melly. It’s a terrible nickname and what made it worse was that is was pointed out a few times that Melissa doesn’t like to be called Mel- but she is ok with Melly?! It’s awful. You can tell that the authors took inspiration from HGTV sweethearts Chip and Jo for Rusty and Melly but in a negative manner which I didn’t care for. I also really struggled with the premise of the story and the lack of chemistry between the two assistants, James and Carey. He fell in love rather quickly and yet there was little depth to their relationship. I just didn’t buy it. I felt super underwhelmed by everything and am left wanting to read something that has more character development and believability. The Honey-Don’t List felt rushed and completely lacked the foundation and substance for a good story. This was a huge let down.

The Honey-Don't List is the first book that I've read by the writing duo of Christina Lauren. I very much enjoyed this book.

Carey has worked for Melly and Rusty Tripp for the last ten years (think of the Tripps as being similar to a Chip and Joanna Gaines... but a bit dysfunctional), and isn't going anywhere. James has recently started working for the Comb+Honey brand, as Rusty's assistant/engineer. Due to some turmoil between Melly and Rusty, Carey and James are essentially tasked with babysitting these two while on their book tour. And it's not an easy task! But Carey and James become closer because of their circumstances.

I really liked how real Carey and James seemed. Their back-and-forth banter kept the book going and enjoyable. I also really liked both Melly and Rusty, despite their dyfunctionality. I kept imagining their show to be similar to a Fixer-Upper, one of my favorite shows on TV.

I must say that this book had a few slow spots, and a few spots that moved too quickly for me. I also wished I had a little more at the end, but overall, I really enjoyed this!

Christina Lauren strikes again! This was just the book I needed to pull me out of my reading slump. The authors perfectly intertwined the relationships in the story, mainly those between Carey and James, Melissa and Rusty and Carey and the Tripps. The authors kept us guessing what the issue was with Carey's health and also planted many seeds from the beginning hinting that Carey and James would become involved. The format of the book was also interesting with the story starting off with police transcriptions, hinting that a crime or major event was ahead. I thought the relationship between the two assistants was a little rushed and happened unrealistically fast, especially considering they seemed to strongly dislike each other in the beginning. However, overall I really enjoyed this one and flew through it quickly.

I was so excited to get an arc of this book. I was surprised that the first half of the book was very slow and even boring at times. I did really like James, but I don" feel like I got to know enough of him or Carey. Some character development was lacking. Halfway through this book., I actually wondered if Christina Lauren even wrote it. I was fascinated learning about distonia because I had never heard of it before. I think if it had been elaborated on sooner, I would have felt closer to Carey. The arguing between Melly and Rusty was annoying and way too long, in my opinion. I read this all the way through but it was a push.

While I loved the story line and the characters in this novel I found that Christina Lauren succumbed to the 'lets wrap this up in the last page or so' trend. I really didn't feel the characters had a chance to get past their differences and it left me kind of hanging.

Basically tasked with managing a marriage, The Honey-Don't List tells the story of two assistants, Carey and James, and their ups and downs in both their professional setting, as well as the relationship between the two.

I really enjoyed Christina Lauren's The Unhoneymooners, and was hoping for the same feel in this read, but I was left wanting more. James was rather detached throughout and Carey was a bit frustrating in that she could never stand up for herself. A lot of the book was about the book tour stops and I would rather have gotten to know the characters better. Overall, I did like this book, I just felt that there were too many details about the professional aspect of the characters and not enough on the romance side.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC of The Honey-Don't List by Christina Lauren.

I always enjoy a Christina Lauren book. James and Carey were adorable. I loved how she kept poking at him because of the whole engineer/assistant thing. I loved how James really SAW Carey. She was so used to being pushed into one box, but he gave her a different vision. I will say Melissa and Rusty gave me some real heartburn. I was stressed reading about their antics, I couldn't even imagine having to deal with that crazy in real life!

Christina Lauren has done it again - made me laugh and cry within the pages of the same book. This romantic comedy is very timely as it is being published, as it follows a famous husband-wife team who remodel and redesign houses for a tv show - think Chip & Joanna Gaines. Only this husband and wife team really can't stand to be around each other, and they are working on their newest project - a book about marriage. How ironic?! Rusty can't keep his hands (and other body parts) off of other women and his wife, Melissa (Melly), is a control freak prone to angry outbursts. Her assistant, Carey, is the brains behind all the design, but Melly has always taken credit for everything, leaving Carey feeling hopeless, after working for the Tripp family for 10 years. Rusty's new assistant, James, is actually an engineer, but due to a scandal at his previous company, his resume is pretty bad currently. He needs a job where he can prove himself and work his way up, and he's hoping that being Rusty's babysitter/assistant will be the route to help his career move forward. The real fun begins when the producer sends the feuding couple on a book tour with explicit instructions to make the public think they are head over heels for each other and to always be watching out for the cameras and smiling. Carey and James are along for babysitting purposes, and they don't really get along with each other at first. But as they get to know each other, the dreaded book tour with Rusty & Melly doesn't seem too bad after all. You'll have to read it to find out what happens with the Tripps and with their young assistants! I highly recommend this book and all books by Christina Lauren.

I feel kinda bad about this since I received an arc, but I did not care for this book and ended up DNFing it. I just wasn't feeling the romance at all. The two main characters started getting feelings for each other out of the blue and I feel like the development of their relationship went way too fast for me to get into. Also, the main female character's boss was very abusive to her, which I know was done on purpose, but it was too frustrating to read about so I just didn't.

I don't rate books I don't finish, but NetGalley requires a rating so 1 star.

I’m stuck between a 2.5-3. The storyline was okay, the character build both solo and as a group was good. This book could have been 100 pages less and I would have been happy. We didn’t need the details of everything on the bus in between each stop, it really didn’t add to the story... and that was a solid 40% of the book that I found myself skimming. I wish the whole book would have been more focused on the connections and conversations between the characters. It was relatable because it wasn’t overly dramatic when it came to the twist.. but it took way too long to get to the solution, and then once you got there it was like BAM yeah everything’s cool.. and that’s all. The potential for a stronger female lead was there, but never happened. she was made to seem weak to seem relatable, she found strength in a man rather then herself, and she let literally everyone walk all over her. Not all of which needed to be a bad thing, but again.. when it all got cleared up, it just cleared up. BAM.

The Honey-Don't List was just an ok book to me, I liked The Unhoneymooners better but I still want to read more of Christina Lauren's books in the future. I just couldn't get connected to the characters or the plotline so it fell flat to me, but it can still definitely work for other readers. Thank you Netgalley and publishers for giving me the chance to read this book.

A really cute read that also addressed deeper and more difficult subjects. I always enjoy Christina Lauren books, and this was no exception. Thank you SO much for allowing me the opportunity to review this one!

To start, I read this book in a single sitting. I could not put it down once I started - it was such an enjoyable read!

The story start out focused on two assistants - Casey and James - who work for a very famous and popular home improvement husband and wife team. The story goes back and forth between their two points of view and the book does a really good job differentiating between the two perspectives. I really loved the relationship between Casey and James.

The writing was very humorous at times and I just found myself wanting to keep reading. The story line kind of reminded me of a rom-com movie, but in a good way. The story of struggling assistants with a love/hate relationship, and crazy bosses, on a bus tour...very rom-com. But thankfully, this was done really well.

Overall, it was a really enjoyable, easy read. Perfect for a relaxing weekend, or a beach read!

The Honey-Don’t List is a story of Fixer Upper meets romance. Carey Douglas has worked for Comb + Honey since she was sixteen. Practically overnight the small design store exploded, resulting in a fictional take of Fixer Upper. Unfortunately, the show’s stars, brand, and marrieds Melissa and Rusty Tripp have a rocky relationship that they need to hide from the public. With a new book on happy marriages set to hit stands, Carey is thrown into their tour bus to help referee the mess that is the Tripps’ marriage while on their book tour.

But she’s not alone. Enter “engineer” James who has been demoted from Engineer/Assistant to “handler.” He resents this handler role as much as Carey and the two struggle to keep the marriage and show from imploding on the book tour.

I really enjoyed the story and setting on a fixer upper style plot. The writing was good and was similar to what I expected following Unhoneymooners. Overall, I found The Honey-Don’t list to be a fun and entertaining read. I was also thrilled to discover that she wrote other titles that I recognize (and plan to immediately add to my TBR pile)!

Christina Lauren’s The Honey Don’t List is a timely story about a home makeover super couple with a new TV show and a book tour, but not everything is perfect in remodeled paradise. Assistants Carey and James have been tasked with getting the book tour and the couple’s marriage running smoothly. This is an impossible task from the start. While I enjoyed the overall storyline of The Honey Don’t List, the writing and characters were one note. There was never a hook that got the story rolling, it just kept going without any ups and downs. There were some chapters that were really good and the pacing would increase, but it didn’t last. The story takes place over the span of about a week, but it just felt disconnected, jumpy, and rushed. Normally, I’m a fan of Christina Lauren’s books, but this one fell flat for me. It was just okay. I would recommend it for someone who wants a lighter, fluffy romance book while they’re in between more serious reads.