This was my first book of the new year and it was worthy of such a lofty title as “The First Book”. The Honey Don’t List is what you get when you take a famous home remodeling duo, think Chip and Joanna Gaines, and watch their perfect image get annihilated in spectacular fashion while their two “assistants” do everything behind the scenes to try to prevent that very thing from happening. Carey and James are those assistants and the forced proximity and “us against them” mentality creates sparks where none were before. When the show can’t go on, do they have what it takes to create a new space in the world for themselves?

I really enjoyed this book. James and Carey were very real individuals with genuine hopes, thoughts, feelings easy to relate to. Watching the spectacular disintegration of the Tripp empire was highly entertaining. The location of the book created a lot of nostalgia because my daughter lives in Jackson Hole WY and I was able to perfectly imagine a Comb + Honey store right on the square. Thank you to Netgalley and Gallery books for the ARC copy in exchange for a review. This was a great read.

Well that happened.

My first Christina Lauren book. After having bought others, even gotten them signed in person. But then I started on this, thanks, netgalley.
And yeah, it just, kinda happened. Nothing made me hate this story, but nothing really made me love it either. It dragged for quite a bit, mostly because the romance part fell woefully short. The premise is kinda like that Netflix movie Set It Up, just missing most of the fun bits. The catastrophic bosses were the main part, even though their impact on the actual relationship was minimal. I just never really felt any bigger connection to the main characters, James especially. The focus was too much on the bosses rather than on the getting to know of the couple, who yup, get along at some point (the whole we don't like each other bit was fairly quickly resolved), then have some problem, are good, and someone messes up, barely an apology.. and yay, happy. It just felt.. beige. Bit boring. I finished a couple hours ago and am already struggling to remember things.

However, the writing never annoyed me, as others have, the story didn't struggle that way, bit of pacing, bit of a focus issue.
2.5 stars

Have you ever had a job that consumed you? One where you felt like you had no personal time to yourself? One where you ate, slept, and breathed work?

If so, you are going to relate so much to this new story!

In a story reminiscent of some popular TV shows, this crazy book really makes you thank goodness you do not have a boss like James and Carey suffer through. So it is alllllmost natural that these two find themselves drawn to each other, if only for commiseration purposes.

I love they way these two came together and those sweet sparks that flash between the pages. For two people so different, they are a darling blend that have to deal with the crazy. After all, who wants to babysit a couple who seem to hate each other?

While zany situations abound and the crazy emotions fly, James and Carey try to eek some privacy much to the chagrin of their boss. Perfectly set up for some super hot, sexy romance, the heat level in this one is not what we normally see from this writing team. I wanted more detail and fire from the nerdy hottie! Yummm

The Honey-Don’t List is written with amazing clarity and their classic wit, Christina Lauren offers up a sweetheart of a read that proves love can happen in the most unexpected places and during some pretty wild situations.

Hmm, what to say about this book? I did enjoy the story but it took me awhile to finish it because when I sat it down I wasn’t compelled to hurry back to it. The story is about James and Carey who work for a design powerhouse couple Rusty & Melissa/Melly Tripp. The Tripp’s come off very similar in background to a certain HGTV power couple based in Texas, only somewhere along the line they have lost their way. The story is interspersed with police questioning and James and Carey going back to the beginning to tell the complete story. I do wish after making it through the book there would have been an epilogue or something more it just felt a little unfinished to me. #TheHoneyDontList #NetGalley

The Honey-Don't List was not the best from Christina Lauren by far, but per usual, even their worst books make me laugh and keep me turning the pages.

I picked this one up for the promised HGTV behind-the-scenes vibes - Christina Lauren is obviously imagining here what would happen if the Gaines couple from Fixer Upper secretly hated each other (please God don't let that ever be true) and had two assistants that tried to keep everything on track while also falling in love with each other. The two assistants storyline had promise as well - I loved it so much in the movie Set It Up, as well as in one of my favorite romances ever, The Hating Game, so I was expecting great things from this trope.

Ultimately, the book was fun and drama-packed but it just left me wanting. It felt a little rushed and I never felt like we got too much resolution. As always, for those wanting to read some seriously amazing Christina Lauren, I recommend Josh and Hazel's Guide to Not Dating.

These authors work hard not to write the same story over and over. True, they use the romance template, but that is a guide--like a sonnet is fourteen lines, with certain rhythm and rhyme patterns, but outside of frame that there is a world of variation.

I enjoy most of the Lauren books. This one fell in the middle of my range. I wish that they'd made one more pass, shifting some of the book's weight away from the awful couple our hero and heroine are working for, as their presence on stage tended toward emotional one-note as well as being more unpleasant than funny, and I wish that extra weight had been put into the romance, which is so sketched in that if the authors weren't so skilled on the sentence level, with some great individual scenes, it would have seemed perfunctory.

The idea was a good one: a long-married and super-successful couple whose insanely popular brand depends on their presentation of a couple as happily married, but the two began early on to make me sigh when they came on stage [especially Rusty, a cheating cheater, blech).

Also, the frame--a police report--didn't really go anywhere.

Still, I remain a fan, and look forward to their next.

I've read a lot of Christina Lauren's romances and The Honey Don't List is definitely my least favorite. I think the premise and what the story seemed to be inspired by was fun, but the execution was cliched and not to the standard I expected. The depiction of a female boss who took advantage of her employee and her cheating husband who is seeking attention felt so played out and could have been handled in a better way. I didn't feel like the main couple had the greatest chemistry. The handling of the main character's disability also didn't feel right.

Loved it! Awesome characters and the perfect book boyfriend. James was swooney and nerdy and gorgeous of course, but mostly he was super sweet and caring, perfect in my opinion. Carey was a bit insecure but with reason and it made her very relatable and human. I really liked her. I liked how the romance progressed and how believable it was. Great ending to the story and a perfect HEA. Definitely recommend this one!

Cute and charming! Fans definitely will enjoy this one, and the basic premise was fun for any HGTV watcher.

I love Christina Lauren, so I was really excited to receive the ARC of this one. I finished it in just a few sittings, it was that good! It sort of had The Hating Game vibes a little bit. Now, I do want to say two things I took issue with while reading this book. I feel like the attraction build up fell a little flat. Like I wanted there to be more, it sort of was just sudden. Also, James does something that I don’t think I would be very ok with. I understand he mostly had good intentions, but it was sort of anti-climatic for being one of his major hurdles of the book. But the plot of an HGTV show and two assistants having to work together to keep their intolerable bosses inline was a good plot.

Bottom Line: Read it!

**I received a copy of The Honey-Don’t List from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.**

An enjoyable new book from the Christina Lauren team! I think their writing just keeps getting better and better. Really enjoyed this story that focused on the behind-the-scenes story of a home improvement show power couple and the assistants that did the REAL work. A little romance thrown in for good measure. Loved.

A very charming story of 2 assistants to a "fixer-upper " couple that sightly resembles Chip and Joanna Gaines, except that these 2 have a rocky relationship. Their assistants have to ignore the increasing feelings between the two of them and focus on keeping the home re-modelers relationship from becoming more of a problem. I enjoyed this story very much. Thanks to Net Galley and the publisher for the opportunity to read an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

Okay, I admit it. This is my first book by Christina and Lauren. Don’t ask me why I’ve never read their other works, because I’m ashamed to say I haven’t. But I am so glad I read this one! I will definitely be checking out more by this duo!

This was a very fun, lighthearted romance read that I couldn’t put down. Based around a reality TV show…think Chip and Johanna Gaines, this story is about the show’s two stars and their respective assistants. Rusty and Melissa Tripp have built a huge dynasty and the public loves everything about them. Although nobody knows how awful their marriage is beyond the screen. Their assistants, Carey and James, have been assigned the task to keep those two from being at each other’s throats all the time. Sparks begin to fly and I couldn’t wait to see what happened between them all.

I can’t wait to read more by these authors! This one comes out in March so be on the lookout! I received an advanced copy in exchange for my opinion.

For fans of fixer upper, this delightful romance provides a new perspective on the world of reality television. What happens when hopes of success and professional growth make you start to give too much of yourself to your work, keeping you from friendships and maybe even a shot at love?

It felt like it would have been better as a book on abusive and tonic relationships than a romance. The Tripps/Carrie relationship was more the focus than Carrie and James' relationship.

The Honey-Don’t List was a quick, light-hearted read. While I enjoyed it, it was a bit predictable. Some of the inserts throughout (twitter convos & police interviews) could have been left out as they did not add anything to the plot or story line, but rather just seemed to be filler.

This is like the perfect winter book to curl up with and read. I love HGTV and love the little twist in this story of Tripp and Melly. I was also surprised by the steamy scene at one point. I definitely enjoyed the alternating character perspectives between Carey and James.

First, thank you to NetGalley for the e-ARC!

Every time I read a Christina Lauren book I think it's going to be my new favorite CL book, but this might be the ultimate winner. As an HGTV fan I was interested by the concept, and fell in love with both Carey and James immediately. Their inevitable journey to happiness is as swoony and wonderful as possible, whereas Melly and Tripp's inevitable journey into unhappiness is rocky and terrible and deserved.

This will absolutely be a reread for me when it comes out in March!

The Honey-Don’t List is an adult romance told from the view point of the two main characters: James and Carey. James and Carey don’t particularly care for each other, but they have to get along because of their jobs. James is an uptight engineer who feels his talents are wasted. Carey feels trapped and unappreciated in her job. They both work for the famous/illustrious married couple Melissa and Rusty Tripp, who own Comb+Honey, and host a popular home remodeling television series.
The Tripp’s working relationship appears to be sugar sweet. However, their home relationship is rocky and contentious. It’s questionable that they will be able to solve their marital problems.
The main elements of this situation are easy for the reader to understand: a difficult, narcissistic boss, work place bullying, fake emotions, and keeping a job out of necessity.
The voices of the narrators are witty.
This was fun to read. Heads up about the use of the “f” word if that bothers you. You will also have a front row seat to the sex scenes.
Thank you #NetGalley and #TheHoneyDon’tList for an advanced copy of this book.

If you've ever watched "Flip or Flop" in the later seasons simply because you're looking for hints about the stars' imploding marriage, this is the novel for you. The characters seem to be modeled more after Chip and Joanna Gaines, though they're older. The behind-the-scenes life of this couple, as it plays out in front of their young assistants and the TV execs who stand to lose a lot of money if they can't stay together rings true, as does the instant ability for famous people's careers to blow up because of a short video clip on social media. A fun read!