How To Lose a Guy in 10 Days gets a millennial makeover in this romantic comedy by USA Today bestselling author Andie J. Christopher.“The way Jack sets out to win Hannah back is really the stuff of true romance.”—NPRJack Nolan is a gentleman, a journalist, and unlucky in love. His viral success has pigeon-holed him as the how-to guy for a buzzy, internet media company instead of covering … buzzy, internet media company instead of covering hard-hitting politics. Fed up with his fluffy articles and the app-based dating scene as well, he strikes a deal with his boss to write a final piece de resistance: How to Lose a Girl. Easier said than done when the girl he meets is Hannah Mayfield, and he’s not sure he wants her to dump him.
Hannah is an extremely successful event planner who’s focused on climbing the career ladder. Her firm is one of the most prestigious in the city, and she’s determined to secure her next promotion. But Hannah has a bit of an image problem. She needs to show her boss that she has range, including planning dreaded, romantic weddings. Enter Jack. He’s the perfect man to date for a couple weeks to prove to her boss that she’s not scared of feelings.
Before Jack and Hannah know it, their fake relationship starts to feel all too real—and neither of them can stand to lose each other.
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So enjoyed this book. Fun, light, entertaining—great heroine and hero, great supporting characters. Fun situations. Unexpected moments. Modern.
The characters were likable and so were their families. It’s an easy book to listen to and I would recommend if you want to enjoy yourself in some romantic escapism.
Not the Girl You Marry is an imaginative gender-swapping retelling of How to Lose A Guy in 10 Days that greatly surpasses its source material. Andie J. Christopher presents us with a badass heroine and a sensitive hero, and their chemistry is undeniable. I also appreciate the author’s willingness to explore themes of racial identify and feminism throughout the narrative, which makes this book as timely as it is necessary. We need more books like this across the board, not just in the romance genre! The one qualm I have with the story is that the last few chapters feel a bit rushed, but it definitely delivers a satisfying HEA. I can’t wait for the next book to come out!
Not the Girl You Marry is such a fun, romantic read. Peopled with characters who are real and strong, yet beautifully flawed, it fills the reader with all the best kinds of feels. It unfolds so naturally. Ms. Christopher is an expert in building delicious tension, and by the time we get to the end of the story, we are completely invested. Highly recommended!
I read this as part of a book club pick (not my own pick). I probably would have DNF’d it but felt I owed it to my fellow members to finish it.
Yes, the premise was basically like the movie How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days. Hannah needs to prove she can maintain a relationship (hence Jack) to gain a better position as a wedding planner. Jack wants to write more in-depth articles than his usual GQ stuff so he agrees to write an article on how to lose a girl in two weeks (to please his boss and hopefully promote himself).
So these two (while attracted to each other) are lying about their motives. Here’s what I didn’t like about this story (other than just the deception):
*The language and intimate descriptions were much too crude. I felt like I was reading porn for much of the book.
*I didn’t like either main character. They were both incredibly immature and just plain annoying. And I felt their attraction was all too superficial.
*Hannah, who was touted as someone who was almost aggressively assertive and self-confident was amazingly insecure and unsure in her personal life. Somehow that just didn’t jive.
In the end, it pretty much gave me nothing redeemable.
This was a book club selection, so part of my review will include what our club had to say. I was rooting for this one so much! Arg! Full review to come soon.
I liked this better than I thought I would. While I did have some issues with the author’s storytelling method/voice, I did actually enjoy the Hannah and Jack’s story. They both clearly had hangups that got in the way of their romantic relationships so the fact that they were sort of double blinded fake dating allowed them to get out of their own ways to find what they needed in each other. While I really loved Jack’s family, I sort of despised his friend group and his involvement with them didn’t make a lot of since when compared to his character. On the flip side, Hannah’s friend was super sweet and I hope that maybe she gets a book in the future. For a debut effort, Andie J. Christopher did an excellent job and I’m looking forward to what she’s going to do next. I did find it a bit obvious that Hannah’s character is a bit autobiographical – so I’m interested to see how she constructs her heroines in the future. 4 out of 5 wine glasses.
I am so behind in writing this review. I really loved Jack and Hannah! The only reason I gave this a 4 instead of a 5 is because it had a little bit too much predictability. That did NOT stop me from loving this book though!!
One of my favorite things is Jack and Hannah’s “meet cute.” Neither of them really “wanted” to be in a bar, but were both doing their “friend” duties. Hannah’s reaction to jack, and visa versa, was so awesome. I loved how Hannah tried to not let Jack get to her. And I really loved how hard Jack tried!
Then when it came to their jobs, they were both pretty cut throat, and they were both willing to do whatever it took for that promotion. I think this is where things got a little slimy. I loved this concept, but it was a tad bit predictable. BUT I loved every second of the hot mess that these two became! And I truly mean HOT MESS! Neither of them would admit anything to each other, whether it be feelings or the truth about their jobs, and they both did incredibly dumb things trying to lie about those things. It made for a seriously comical performance from both of them.
I truly loved who Jack and Hannah really were, and I really thought it was funny when they tried acting like who they “should” be to get where they wanted to. But, gotta talk about the secondary characters. I hated both of their bosses with a passion, but I LOVED Jack’s family and Sasha was so great! These other people in the book made up a lot for the “predictability” of the book. They added some really hysterical and some really “real” moments to this book that made it so much better!
What an emotional roller coaster this book was! So honest, so full of feels and sexytimes. I couldn’t glom it fast enough.
Andie’s writing is impactful, smart, and entertaining. I can’t wait to read more of her books!
I’ve been looking forward to Not the Girl You Marry ever since I learned Andie was writing it. I adored Jack but it was Hannah who really won me over. She’s sharp and prickly and vulnerable all at the same time, and I really admired her loyalty and her determination not to sugar-coat who she is for her relationship. Such a refreshing read!
Loved this story! In a refreshing twist, Jake is the opposite of a f*** boy. If you’re looking for a bad boy who gets reformed, this isn’t it–thank goodness, because that’s not what I’m looking for lately at all. Hannah is fantastic–not perfect, but well-written and realistic. Funny, romantic, and sweet.
There is so much of this book that I just absolutely loved. There was a bit of a slow start for me but I HAD to keep reading. The writing is spot on, the characters one’s you can’t help but love (or possibly hate!).
Hannah hasn’t had the best relationships…she’s been beaten down a bit and her self esteem is a bit bruised. She’s a smart, successful woman who is now a bit jaded but is about to meet a man who will change everything. She’s been tasked by her boss to show that she “believes” in love again and with her being so jaded, it’s not going to be that easy.
Jack – a semi-successful writer who’s been pigeonholed into writing fluff pieces is looking to change her reputation a bit has been tasked to “lose a girl” after dating her for just a short while (yeah – how to lose a guy in 10 days movie – but Andi J. Christopher has switched it up). Problem #1? Jack’s a good guy and it’s just not in him to be a jerk…but then again – getting his job the caliber it deserves is petty important too.
The back and forth banter had me laughing and the sweet moments had me swooning – the perfect mix of Rom and Com for me!
Andi J. Christopher did such a beautiful job of giving us characters that give us everything – laughs and tears and there are some sexy times too!
Based on the back cover description, I was really looking forward to reading Andie J. Christopher’s “Not the Girl You Marry.” Unfortunately, I ended up being pretty disappointed with it. I’ve always liked the movie it’s based on (“How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days”), but for some reason, what worked for me in the movie didn’t seem to translate very well to the page.
My biggest problem with this book is that, unlike in the movie, I didn’t get a sense of urgency from either of the main characters, Jack and Hannah, about having to end the relationship when their time was up, so it seemed like they were going out of their way to hurt each other for no reason. In the movie, main character Andie’s boss explicitly told her that she had to make a guy fall in love with her and then drive him to break up with her before the magazine’s publication deadline. By contrast, I don’t remember Jack’s boss being so specific with his initial instructions. He just told Jack to write a how-to on losing a girl, and in exchange, Jack would be allowed to work on his political story. It was only in their (much later) follow-up conversation, when Jack told his boss that he wanted to call the whole thing off, that his boss said the girl had to actually dump him. (Regardless, I’m not sure how Jack’s boss would have known whether or not the girl did so since he didn’t even know who she was, so Jack could have done pretty much whatever he wanted to do, without repercussions.)
As for Hannah, she didn’t have to break up with Jack at all. She had just convinced herself that she didn’t want to be in a romantic relationship because she was afraid of getting hurt again, so she planned to dump Jack before he could dump her. Unlike in the movie where Ben pursued Andie because of a bet from his co-workers (who actually picked Andie for him!), Hannah’s co-workers had no idea that her relationship with Jack was fake. At one point, Hannah claimed that her boss “bet” her to date him in exchange for a promotion, but it didn’t seem that way to me at all. As a matter of fact, I don’t recall a promotion even being mentioned when Hannah and her boss discussed Jack for the first time. The only thing Hannah’s boss promised was that if she did a good job with the engagement party, she would allow Hannah to collaborate with her friend, Sasha, on planning the Senator’s daughter’s wedding.
Another problem I had with this book was that, because of Hannah’s various past hurts and insecurities, I was really uncomfortable with the way Jack manipulated her, and especially that he decided to go through with his plan even though he knew it would make her feel even worse about herself after they broke up. While watching the movie, I knew that both Andie and Ben would likely be hurt by the other’s behavior, but they both seemed so confident that it was easy to ignore the potential impact of their schemes. However, in the book, Hannah’s vulnerability was impossible to ignore, and I couldn’t help but feel awful knowing what Jack was doing to her. That isn’t to say that Hannah’s actions toward Jack were right, either, especially since she was planning to dump him all along. It felt different to me, though, because Jack didn’t talk about his past hurts with Hannah in the same way that she did with him. She may not have known his potential triggers, but he definitely knew hers.
To be clear, I didn’t think that “Not the Girl You Marry” was a terrible book, but unfortunately, I didn’t like it as much as I had hoped I would. There were a few funny scenes, but despite those, I just don’t think I can recommend it.
*ARC provided by the publisher via Edelweiss. All opinions expressed are my own.
This was a super cute romantic comedy that was sort of like How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days only a bit gender swapped. I found I liked the new twist on an old favorite of mine and while the premise was the same, the story turned out different enough that it didn’t feel like a rip off.
I love how sassy Hannah is and how both Hannah and Jack have past relationships getting in their way. I also thought it was great when Sasha finally showed she had some gumption and got Hannah to get out of her own way.
I was lucky enough to win a copy of this book from the GoodReads Giveaway program.
With its great cast of characters and laugh out loud moments, this book had me grinning from page one.
Not the Girl You Marry is sexy, cynical, and city-sharp. This one’s for all the prickly, witty women who need their own edge-of-your-seat rom-com. I’m so glad Hannah was written.
Not the Girl You Marry is the perfect rom-com! This laugh-out-loud book has so much heart and soul, it had me crying on one page and smiling the next.
I love this book so much. Hannah is the romance heroine I’ve been waiting for.
In Not the Girl You Marry, Andie J. Christopher captures the baked-in ambivalence and anger kicked up by modern dating, but somehow she also makes it sexy, fun, and even hilarious. For those fed up with the world of dating apps, Christopher’s story will feel like redemption.