Title: Josh and Hazel’s Guide to Not Dating
Author: Christina Lauren
Publication: September 4, 2018
Publisher: Gallery Books
Genre: Romance
Pages: 318
SYNOPSIS: (From Goodreads)
Foul-mouthed, quirky, sharp-as-a-whip Hazel never thought she would win the heart of her gorgeous college TA, Josh. And, in fact, she didn’t. But what a difference ten years can make. Well…ten years, and a lot of legwork.
REVIEW:
I have never read Christina Lauren before and then this book was selected for my book club. I’ve been struggling to read fast because I have so many books on my shelf that have to be read by a certain deadline that I decided to try this one on audio. Moral of this story, you ask? I am now a hardcore Christina Lauren fan and cannot wait to read everything they have ever written.
Josh and Hazel’s Guide to Not Dating follows, well, Josh and Hazel as they become friends and try and help each other find that special someone through a series of terrible, yet hilarious, double dates. First off, I love Hazel. She’s is awkward and hilarious and self-deprecating, which is basically me. Not to call myself hilarious, but… it is what it is. Josh is also this super level headed individual that I felt was perfectly written to easily balance Hazel’s personality. I love the mix of friends when people are very clearly not similar personality wise, but just click anyway. It makes me happy. These two characters were so much fun to read about. I also had very strong feelings about them in general. Love, love, love the characters and all their layers. Might be my favorite thing about this book.
Next, this story is so funny. I laughed out loud in the first five minutes and knew I was going to like the writing. Christina Lauren writes quick and witty characters that I found myself literally barking out loud with laughter on many occasions. You also can’t help but smile and also feel sad for them. These books would make the perfect movies, so why are we not doing this yet? Come on Hollywood! Help us out!
Overall the story was predictable, but I wanted so much to know how they were going to get to what I knew was going to happen in the end. There were a lot of ups and downs and it was a fun, entertaining and suspenseful ride because I was constantly waiting for a shoe to drop and ruin everything. Fans of romance should pick this up and what I can only assume is a slew of other books written by them that are equally as good. Stay tuned, I’m already halfway through my second Christina Lauren book.
With that said, Josh and Hazel’s Guide to Not Dating had some NSFW moments that I had to glance around and make sure my headphones were actually connected, but overall the story itself was fun and catchy and a huge enjoyment. Definitely get yourself a copy. You will not regret it.
