SHUT UP! A fun flirty romance with a quirky girl who isn’t quirky to the point of annoyance or a caricature of a human being, an interracial couple, and laugh out loud banter?! I am in! Josh and Hazel’s Guide to Not Dating by Christina Lauren was a darn good time. I love sitting down to read a good romance novel (seriously pass me a peach canned fizzy wine, put my phone on airplane mode, and buh bye world!) but I also demand that they actually be good! Not just heavy petting and some mind numbing dialogue. Give me wit, banter, and a storyline that makes me care about the couple.
It’s for those reasons that I keep coming back to the work of the delightful duo that is Christina Lauren! Two fabulous authors writing under one pen name who I just adore.
Let’s get the nitty gritty out of the way, here’s the Goodreads synopsis:
“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?”
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I loved Josh and Hazel, they were fun and I wanted to hang out with them! I was rooting for them to fall in love and realize they were absolutely perfect for each other. I also was enamored with their friends and family. Plus let me tell you I’m a sucker for an adorable epilogue and if you want feel good cute factor then Christina Lauren nailed it in this one.
It was also so refreshing to have a Korean American leading man in this! All of the romance hunks are usually of the wonder bread variety (BORING), I’m totally team Josh Im.
The hook up scenes were spicy but I would expect nothing less from team Christina Lauren.
Was there anything I didn’t like about this cute rom-com romp? Not really! Was the final twist a little predictable? Yes. Could Hazel have figured out a little sooner that yes of course she and Josh were a good match? Yes. Was the story about the drug induced email to Hazel’s TA, a weird throw back to a story I swear to goodness I read on reddit/twitter earlier this year? Yes but honestly doesn’t the best whacko stuff come from the internet?
***UPDATE***
Saw on Instagram that this story WAS inspired from said tale on the internet! So strike that criticism, add it to the pro column friends.
****UPDATE***
Overall Josh and Hazel’s Guide to Not Dating by Christina Lauren, was fun and frothy. It was the perfect midweek read, and if romance is your jam you should definitely pick this one up!
Would I recommend this book? Absolutely. 5/6 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Grab it on Amazon today and let me know what you think! https://amzn.to/2CV1ng3