Member Reviews

The Dynamic Duo is BACK!!! Christina Lauren returns in 2020 with a romance on set of a reality TV fixer upper show - a la Chip & Joanna Gaines - but the catch here? The stars are not the romance pairing, it's their assistants! Carey & James are trying to get by and make names for themselves, despite their respective bosses behaving very badly and somewhere along the way, sparks begin to fly.

The Honey Don't List is more of a contemporary romance than a romantic comedy, it has heart, tension & drama.and all the things I've come to love from CL novels. While this one didn't take over the top spot on my list of their novels, I still enjoyed every single world and will eagerly be awaiting their next!

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If you’ve ever looked at the super-sweet, shiplapped-folksy design duo of Chip and Joanna Gaines and wondered if things are really so country-chic perfect behind the scenes of Fixer Upper, this is the book for you. Melissa and Rusty Tripp are the famous couple and design gurus with their own media empire. The world loves their HGTV show, their interior decorating books, and their adorable and long-lasting marriage.

Only a few know the truth, including Melly’s longtime assistant, Carey, and Rusty’s reluctant new helper, James, who barely tolerate each other at work. When the two employees are forced to go on tour with the Tripps to tout their new relationship book (irony alert), they grow closer while wrangling the stars and attempting to avert disaster.

This was a surprisingly sweet and redemptive story about letting go of your past and learning to speak up for yourself. I didn’t love Christina Lauren’s last effort, so I was pleasantly surprised at how charming and fun and heartfelt this book was. And without spoilers, there’s a character living with a rare medical condition that the authors treat with dignity and respect, giving insight into a real issue I’d never heard of. Overall, this one’s a win.

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I absolutely devoured this book. This was such a fun premise. Two assistants working for a home renovation power couple fall in love, as their bosses lives fall apart. I thought that the build up to the Carey and James romance was a little quick, but I think their character development was off the charts! So good.

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This was another adorable romantic comedy from the talented writing duo Christina Lauren! I enjoyed this book all the way through, and thought it was so clever how the authors made it seem so realistic, basing it on a celebrity couple and how you really don't know what goes on behind closed doors. This was a fun, enjoyable read.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

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Holy hell, Christina Lauren has done it again. This Fixer Upper-esque rom-com with hunky nerds and charming designs and SEXUAL TENSION out the wahoo cleared me skin, made me believe in love again, and made my plants bloom. I am whole again, but also sad, because now I'm SO eager to read their next book. Seriously, this book went up on edelweiss on October 17th and I began reading it that evening. Twice in a Blue Moon wasn't even out yet. I admit it, I'm addicted.

Carey Duncan and James McCann work for Melly and Rusty Tripp- a Fixer Upper style HGTV couple with a little less joy because...their marriage isn't the best right now. But no one can know that--not with a book on marriage coming out and a Netflix show about to drop. So Carey and James join the Tripps on their book tour to keep up the optics. But close quarters end up pushing these two, who have wildly different backgrounds, together on the road. The pool scene---my god, the pool! It's sweet, sexy in places, has a lot of heart, and I love the little mystery of what the "event" is that the police are asking about at the very beginning.

Seriously, I know I say this everytime, but I think this is one of my favorites. Love & Other Words holds a special place because it's very similar to my own love story--but this one, wow. It's got a great set-up story with the HGTV show background, James is the cutest little nerd, I LOVE how Carey learns to stand up for herself, and the ending made me tear up. There's also some great dystonia rep (personal to the authors) and I love the way they use excerpts, interviews, tweets, etc. A 10/10 read for me! 5 stars! Fingers crossed everyone else picks this up when it comes out because I'll be raving about it for months.

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