Most men can’t handle Hazel. With the energy of a toddler and the mouth of a sailor, they’re often too timid to recognize her heart of gold. New York Times and #1 international bestselling author Christina Lauren (Roomies, Beautiful Bastard) tells the story of two people who are definitely not dating, no matter how often they end up in bed together. Hazel Camille Bradford knows she’s a lot to … 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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LOVED LOVED LOVED this book! It’s one of my favorite romances that I’ve read this year.
Another 5 star read from the awesome author duo of Christina Lauren. It had barely started and I was already rolling with laughter in my car as I was driving and listening. Now it took me a bit to get used to the male narrator’s voice, it didn’t really fit the character for me. There were things in the story I didn’t see coming, but then there were also times I was yelling at the characters to just tell the other person and save all the drama. In the end I decided I wanted my own Josh some day.
What a fun read! Really enjoyed.
Wow! What a great book! I read it so fast as it was a great story. I’m very interested in reading more from Christina Lauren. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND!
I wish Hazel was a real person because I would love to be her best friend. Hazel is the zero-chill, over the top, unapologetically whimsical heroine of my dreams. She’s extra as hell, including the way she loves people. Josh is a bit more close to vest, but they become best friends anyway. Hazel’s been told her whole life she’s “too much”, but she’s just right for Josh. It’s so cute, super funny, and just really, really charming.
Loved it. Could not put it down.
I love a Friends-to-Lovers trope and this was done SOOOO well! A really enjoyable read!
Loved this book! Funny and romantic…
Definitely one of my favorite books. I love Josh and Hazel. The characters draw you in and never let you go.
Every Christina Lauren book I read, I think I like better than the last. I’ve only just come into reading this author, or rather these authors writing under one pen name, when I first discovered My Favorite Half-Night Stand, and I love the characters, the settings, the romance, and the friendships in each book since.
For Josh and Hazel’s Guide to Not Dating, the characters had one thing in spades: personality! Hazel was a quirky yet unapologetic woman, and she knew that it would take a special man to handle her long-term. Josh is a Korean male who, to me, felt like he oozed charm and masculine sensitivity in a way that another author might not have done as well as was done for him in this story. He was a catch!
The slow burn was just too, too good in this book, and the chemistry between these two was just too fun. I absolutely adored these characters and this story, and I cannot wait to read more from the Christina Lauren files. Refreshing!
BEST book of all time
I just can’t get enough of this writing duo. There stories are never predictable in any other way than you know that you are going to fall in love with the characters and the flawless writing style that makes each of their books unputdownable.
Hazel is by far one of the quirkiest characters I’ve ever read. She has no filter and no shame and absolutely no qualms about how it might make her look to other people. She is unapologetically accepting of who she is and has no plans to change for anyone. She also believes that this makes her completely undatable.
Josh is gorgeous and kind and “normal” and everything any woman could ever hope to fall in love with. Even if he wasn’t enough for his last girlfriend. He and Hazel had a few shared “incidents” in college but never really became friends until years later when his sister, just discovered to be Hazel’s best friend, decides that they need to be friends.
What comes next is a series of awful double dates, plenty of unfiltered fun and friendship. Though I found myself laughing through a majority of this book, it was also full of heartbreaking and emotional moments.. All of it building up to be one of my favorite stories of 2018.
I highly recommend that everyone read this book. Or any book from Christina Lauren because they’ve never let me down.
I blew through this book in one day! I found myself doing extra house cleaning just so I would have a chance to listen to more of the audiobook. It was uplifting and heart-twisting all at the same time…and I’m completely in love with Josh! Highly recommended.
Hated the book! Couldn’t finish it. Sort of “nasty” with bad language for no useful reason. Cheap and trashy.
I love their books can’t wait for the next one
Not Dating lead to the perfect kind of happy ever after…
I started Josh and Hazel’s Guide to Not Dating in 2018 and finished it in 2019 so I added it to my favourites list for both years. I think it’s fair as I loved it in 2018 and 2019 as it wasn’t just the beginning that was awesome and not just the ending, the whole book was bloody great.
It’s not often that you read a book that is paced as well as this one. It flows in a way that makes it so easy to read, keeps you entertained from start to finish, is thought-provoking and leaves you on a giddy high. I haven’t read a lot of Christina Lauren but I will definitely be checking out more of their work in the future.
One of the biggest highlights for me was that their romance started with friendship first and sexy time later. I’m not saying that a one-night-stand can’t lead to a happy ever after, but as my relationship with hubby started out with friendship first, I feel an affinity with these characters. Their connection grows the more they get to know each other, they’re loyalty to each other is never in question, and they work hard at making sure that their friendship will ALWAYS be alive.
The characters were original, refreshingly quirky and absolutely lovable. The storyline was humorous without being OTT and kept things real in a…I have to work, pay my bills and clean my house too…kind of way. In some books, the reality is put to the backburner and we don’t get to see the couple dealing with the mundane and boring parts of living. I enjoy seeing how a couple deals with the high of a new romance mixed with the boring everyday stuff. A romance seems more realistic with a better chance of success if they can take the highs with the lows. The sexy times were hot and definitely got my heart pumping. There weren’t too many but it was easy to see their connection in and out of the bedroom.
I really enjoyed Josh and Hazel’s Guide to Not Dating and I was sad when it was over. Can’t wait to read more from Christina Lauren in the future.
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2019…let’s make it a good one. May your year be filled with love, laughter, health, happiness and plenty of awesome books.
What an enjoyable read! I could feel myself cheering on Josh and Hazel to get together. The writing is so smooth that you cannot tell that there are actually two writers. Once I began reading this book, I did not want to stop! The story flows so smoothly over the pages. I could relate to Hazel being a ‘hot mess’ as I can feel that I can be at times as well. A truly enjoyable beach read!
A charming and endearing contemporary adult love story. When young professionals Josh and Hazel reconnect 10 years after they first meet in college, Josh is still her “perfect blueprint” of a man, but free-spirited Hazel is “undatable” or at least unsuitable for him. They make pretty great best friends though.
Told in their alternating points of view, their story of friendship and love was giggle out loud funny at times and entertaining enough to keep me turning the pages into the wee hours of the morning. There’s also a healthy dose of steamy!
While I would have enjoyed more fully developed supporting characters, I found all of the characters very likable (especially Josh!)
I foresaw the first “twist” if you can call it that but didn’t see the second one coming. While other reviewers didn’t like the ending, I personally did. I felt it demonstrated depth to their relationship. And there’s a nice epilogue to wrap everything up.
Overall, I was sad it was over too soon (I finished it in just over two days). I’ll definitely pick up another by these authors!
This is When Harry Met Sally for a new audience. Delightful, addicting and laugh out loud funny. I cannot recommend this book and these authors enough. This book made me go read EVERYTHING they’ve written and I’m delighted I did.
Calling Hazel Bradford a free spirit is an understatement of an understatement. She’s impulsive, lacks verbal filters and reflects her personality in her design choices. When she first met Josh Im in college, she was awed by him but their first encounter was memorable for all the wrong reasons. It’s now ten years later and they meet again in surprising circumstances but this time become fast friends.
I’m a fan of friends-to-lovers stories and this one is best in class. Hazel is a force and her antics were more than entertaining. Josh is a steadying factor who is almost polar opposite of her but has an appreciation for her uninhibited nature. When his romance falls apart, Hazel goes on a mission to get him back in the game and becomes his fiercest protector and friend. I loved their relationship as best friends and how it evolved, slowly without guile or subterfuge. It was fun being a voyeur and recognizing what they were creating before it occurred to them.
It was a delightful story that I was sorry to see end. Both of the narrators captured their characters’ personalities (though the male version of Hazel was quite a bit off). The epilogue was really wonderful, capping off an already great story. This author continues to be an auto read (listen) and I even started this one without even reading the book description. That’s how sure I was that this was going to be a good time.