Book Review: Josh and Hazel's Guide to Not Dating by Christina Lauren

Title: Josh and Hazel's Guide to Not Dating

Author: Christina Lauren

Series/Standalone: Standalone

Genre: Romance, Contemporary, Adult Fiction

Pages: 309

Publisher: Gallery Books

Year Published: 2018

Format: Audiobook

"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 ins 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 Rating: 4.5/5

This was almost the perfect romance for me. It had the quirky girl, the type A guy, and their friendship that buds into more. And if you've read this book you'll know the trope that got the .5 stars dinged off. I really enjoyed this and I get why these authors are so well known in the book, especially the romance, and community.

I look forward to reading more of the current works and their backlist. Super fun, with lots of pining, also the humour is magnificent. Would recommend it overall.

Thanks for reading,

Sidny

Book Review: The Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren

Title: The Unhoneymooners
Author: Christina Lauren
Series/Standalone: Standalone
Genre: Romance, Adult
Pages: 400
Publisher: Gallery Books
Year Published: 2019
Format: Audiobook

"Olive is always unlucky: in her career, in love, in... well, everything. Her identical twin sister Ami, on the other hand, is probably the luckiest person in the world. Her meet-cute with her fiance is something out of a romantic comedy (gag) and she's managed to finance her entire wedding by winning a series of Internet contests (double gag). Worst of all, she's forcing Olive to spend the day with her sworn enemy, Ethan, who just happens to be the best man.

Olive braces herself to get through 24 hours of wedding hell before she can return to her comfortable, unlucky life. But when the entire wedding party gets food poisoning from eating bad shellfish, the only people who aren't affected are Olive and Ethan. And now there's an all-expenses-paid honeymoon in Hawaii up for grabs. 

Putting their mutual hatred aside for the sake of a free vacation, Olive and Ethan head for paradise, determined to avoid each other at all costs. But when Olive runs into her future boss, the little white lie she tells him is suddenly at risk to become a whole lot bigger. She and Ethan now have to pretend to be loving newlyweds, and her luck seems worse than ever. But the weird thing is that she doesn't mind playing pretend. In fact, she feels kind of... lucky."

My Rating: 3.75/5

This isn't the type of romance that I've been reading lately. This is a sweet romance with a little bit of sex and hate to love relationship. It's about opening up and finding a deep love without sex, to begin with at least. And I don't know how I feel about it. Maybe I just wasn't cheering on the main character because she seemed to really hate her body and was constantly either being body shamed, or feels at though she was. I didn't appreciate the way those around her viewed her body, or how her being "curvy" was portrayed. I felt like it just wasn't a true way to encompass a "curvy" girl. Bigger people eat salads, workout and are not always clumsy. It was frustrating to read about as someone who used to be a bigger set. Overall, it was a fun book but I don't know if I would recommend it. 

Thanks for reading,

Sidny

Book Review: Dirty Rowdy Things by Christina Lauren

Title: Dirty Rowdy Things
Author: Christina Lauren
Series/Standalone: Wild Season Series (Book #2)
Genre: Romance, New Adult, 
Pages: 352
Publisher: Gallery Books
Year Published: 2014
Format: Paperback (Library Copy)
First Line: "I burst through the doors of this random Starbucks in this random neighbourhood in hopes of forgetting the second-worst lay of my life."

"From the New York Times best-selling author of Beautiful Bastard, Beautiful Stranger, and Beautiful Player, Book Two of the brand-new Wild Seasons series that started with Sweet Filthy Boy- a story of friends, love and lust.

Despite their rowdy hookups, Harlow and Finn don't even like each other... which would explain why their marriage lasted only 12 hours. He needs to be in charge and takes whatever he wants. She lives by the Want-something-done? Do-it-yourself mantra. Maybe she's too similar to the rugged fisherman- or just what he needs."

My Rating: 3.5/5

I thought for sure that this one would be more up my alley but it just used a few tropes that I didn't enjoy. I didn't like some of the kinks but I liked the overall plot. It was just ok for me. I enjoyed the side characters and seeing where Ansel and Mia are now. I'm also super interested in Ollie's and Lola's stories. I think I am going to wait to read the next one until I'm needing a bit of romance or smut. Until then, I"m good. 

Thanks for reading,

Sidny

Book Review: Sweet Filthy Boy by Christina Lauren

Title: Sweet Filthy Boy
Author: Christina Lauren
Series/Standalone: Wild Seasons (Book #1)
Genre: New Adult, Romance, Smut
Pages: 418
Publisher: Gallery Books
Year Published: 2014
Format: Paperback Copy (Own it)


"One-night stands are supposed to be with someone convenient, or wickedly persuasive or regrettable. They aren't supposed to be with someone like him.

But after a crazy Vegas weekend celebrating her college graduation- and terrified of the future path she knows is a copout- Mia Holland makes the wildest decision of her life: follow Ansel Guillaume- her sweet, filthy fling- to France for the summer and just... play.

When feelings begin to develop behind the provocative roles they take on, and their temporary masquerade adventures begin to feel real, Mia will have to decide if she belongs in the life she left because it was all wrong, or in the strange new one that seems worlds away."

My Rating: 3.75/5

This is my first (what I would consider) New Adult novel. And it was really something. Exactly what I needed at the time but not full of a ton of substance. I really enjoyed the interactions between the female characters at the start of the novel and the way they were building each other up (alway something to celebrate while reading). That being said there was a use of a vengeful ex-girlfriend, not a troupe I hate, also not my favourite. The smut scenes were well written just not really my particular cup of tea. I also found that the conflict resolution was lacking, as to be expected, to make for a happy ending. I'm looking forward to reading the other books in this series and getting to see some of the side characters.

Thanks for reading,

Sidny