Josh and Hazel’s Guide to Not Dating

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

Author: Christina Lauren

Published: September 4, 2018

ISBN: 1501165852

Synopsis from Goodreads:

Hazel Camille Bradford knows she’s a lot to take—and frankly, most men aren’t up to the challenge. If her army of pets and thrill for the absurd don’t send them running, her lack of filter means she’ll say exactly the wrong thing in a delicate moment. Their loss. She’s a good soul in search of honest fun.

Josh Im has known Hazel since college, where her zany playfulness proved completely incompatible with his mellow restraint. From the first night they met—when she gracelessly threw up on his shoes—to when she sent him an unintelligible email while in a post-surgical haze, Josh has always thought of Hazel more as a spectacle than a peer. But now, ten years later, after a cheating girlfriend has turned his life upside down, going out with Hazel is a breath of fresh air.

Not that Josh and Hazel date. At least, not each other. Because setting each other up on progressively terrible double blind dates means there’s nothing between them…right?

My Review:

I fell in love with Christina Lauren’s writing after reading their book The Unhoneymooners. Josh and Hazel’s story was full of all the humor and laugh-out-loud moments that I’ve come to expect from their writing. I’ve added most of their books to my TBR after reading this last one. I feel like all these books would make great romantic comedy movies one day.

Hazel reminded me of Louisa Clark, one of my favorite Contemporary female characters from the novel Me Before You, by Jojo Moyes. She was so full of life, and so unapologetically herself. She dressed how she wanted, and was not afraid to speak her mind.

Josh was down to earth, and so sweet. His OCD reminded me a lot of myself. Except, I honestly don’t know if I would ever be able to deal with someone like Hazel. Although I feel like you don’t really “deal” with Hazel, you just suffer through and hope you survive in one piece.

I enjoyed how realistic the story was, full of awkward moments, and a lot of romantic tension. I admit I did not expect a lot of the plot twists, and they kept me very engaged and invested in the characters’ futures. I wholeheartedly recommend this book to all Romance fans, and to readers who just need a feel-good book along with some good laughs.

Disclaimer: I was not paid for this review. However, if you click on my link and end up buying the book Amazon will pay me a small fee. Thank you for supporting a small blog like mine 🙂