From the New York Times bestselling author behind the “joyful, warm, touching” (Jasmine Guillory, New York Times bestselling author) The Unhoneymooners comes a delightfully charming love story about what happens when two assistants tasked with keeping a rocky relationship from explosion start to feel sparks of their own. Carey Duncan has worked for home remodeling and design gurus Melissa and … remodeling and design gurus Melissa and Rusty Tripp for nearly a decade. A country girl at heart, Carey started in their first store at sixteen, and–more than anyone would suspect–has helped them build an empire. With a new show and a book about to launch, the Tripps are on the verge of superstardom. There’s only one problem: America’s favorite couple can’t stand each other.
James McCann, MIT graduate and engineering genius, was originally hired as a structural engineer, but the job isn’t all he thought it’d be. The last straw? Both he and Carey must go on book tour with the Tripps and keep the wheels from falling off the proverbial bus.
Unfortunately, neither of them is in any position to quit. Carey needs health insurance, and James has been promised the role of a lifetime if he can just keep the couple on track for a few more weeks. While road-tripping with the Tripps up the West Coast, Carey and James vow to work together to keep their bosses’ secrets hidden, and their own jobs secure. But if they stop playing along–and start playing for keeps–they may have the chance to build something beautiful together…
From the “hilariously zany and heartfelt” (Booklist) Christina Lauren comes a romantic comedy that proves if it’s broke, you might as well fix it.
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This writing duo has a great contemporary voice. What if the Fixer Upper team on HGTV secretly hate each other? This book takes it over the top as the long-suffering assistants try to keep them together. There’s a romance, of course. Enjoy.
A fictional behind the scenes look at a renovation decor based reality show. A loving kind couple starts out with a single store and a dream. As their dream grows so does their antipathy towards each other and the truth. The bigger the business the bigger their disdain and dare I say hate for the truth and acceptance of reality. For Melly, it is all about the bright lights and how beloved she becomes. She truly doesn’t care or even think that she has become a horrible person who takes advantage of those who have helped her get to where she is. And yet when the camera is directed at her she is the picture of perfection and the sweetest thing since sugar! Then there is Rusty. He supported the growth of their business and seemingly enjoyed all the wonderful things that their celebrity and business brought to them, but somehow lost his way and rather than talk to his wife or try to stop the speeding train became a toddler and acted out and like a total jerk. Both of them may have at one time been a happy couple, but became two hateful shrews. Carey started working for them when she was young, vulnerable, ill and desperately in need of a job and insurance. She became the woman behind the curtain and was the actual designer and creator of all of their products and yet received nothing expect emotional abuse in return. Then comes James. He thought he was too good for everyone there and truly thought he deserved more. He thought he would be able to use his engineering degree in his new position, but was basically Rustys gofer. He and Carey join forces to keep the crazy train from going off the rails. Then it does and to make matters worse James has betrayed Carey as well and in the worst way.
This is a fantastically written book filled with humor, love, hate, emotional ups and downs and leaves you rooting for the underdog to get what she deserves and in the good way!!! If you’re looking for an escape that will make you laugh, gasp, feel a little disgusted and keep you in your seat reading this is for you! You will love it and hate it!!
I love it when I pick up a CL book and wait for the perfect moment to start it. I need to not have any interruptions and fall into their world and not come out again until I’m finished. And with the world pandemic all around us, I escaped to that happy place.
I loved the concept of this book. You could say there is three components to it. There’s excerpts of police reports from an incident the book is leading up to, there’s excerpts out of the book within the book from the home modeling couple (I really enjoyed their insights to marriage) and there is the story of Carey and James, how they work for this couple in different capacities and their slow building friendship to more.
I really liked these two, and how they interacted with each other. Carey was learning quickly not to judge a book by its cover, she was intuitive and a clever designer. James had such a tender, sensitive and attentive side. He picked up on things about Carey that she tried hard to hide but when she trusted him, and let go to be her true self, it was fabulous. Some would say that the resolution happened too quickly, but I disagree. I think it was spot on for the faux pas James made, and the length of time and thought Carey had after. Once something is right under your nose, apologizing, only a fool would hold a grudge. There was no epilogue, and I truly missed it. So in my own head, I would like to think that they created their own company to work together, and stayed in Jackson to raise their three beautiful kids.
A cute story and a very fast read.
This is the third book by this author duo that I’ve read and nothing compared to The Unhoneymooners. I found this book to be unrealistic and not a rom-com as portrayed. The number of names and nicknames throughout the story had me pausing often and that interrupted the flow of the story. The lack of connection to the characters and where they were heading kind of bored me. The story’s lack of spark and charm made it for a slow read.
This was such an entertaining read!
Loved, loved, loved the banter between James and Carey. I listened to the audio version and loved the narrator. Cute romance book
I loved this book. It was wonderful to see how they changed throughout this journey that they both went on and the experiences that they went through. I recommend this book, and it was such a nicely written love story by these two authors.
I could not wait to read this book I loved every minute of it. It had everything a little humor, love, betrayal, soul searching, and some love.
Carey has worked for her bosses since the beginning for the last ten years she has taken the ride of her life with the company Honey + Comb it went from a little mom and pop shop to a major conglomerate. Books tv shows product endorsement. She has been there for it all. She has seen Rusty and Melly at their best and their worst.
Who knew it would all come crashing down with a few secrets? If she just would have ignored James maybe she would not have to be going on this book tour.
James really thought that taking this job with Honey + Comb would be good for his resume and actually let him use his degree as an engineer… alas he’s Rudy’s personal assistant. He hates his job but he needs to stick it out. When he discovers a very incriminating secret he and Carey are forced to go on a cross country book tour.
This is now how he planes to spend his time off and baby sitting isn’t his specialty. One thing he didn’t notice was how amazing Carey is or how much he enjoys being around her.
This book was so good I loved it. Christian Lauren writes the best books they just have a way with a story that sucks you in from page one and keeps you there until the end.
Carey and James are PA’s to the world’s favorite home reno couple. They’ve been tasked to keep the Tripp’s from imploding and the world learning that they actually can’t stand each other. I haven’t read many Christina Lauren books but I’ve enjoyed the ones I have. The blurb pulled me in. I liked the premise. I liked Carey and James but something was missing. I didn’t feel connected to THE HONEY-DON’T LIST. It’s an ok read, just didn’t WOW me.
Carey Duncan has worked for Melissa and Rusty Tripp for 10 years now, first starting in their little country store. The Tripp’s now have a successful remodeling tv show, a new relationship book that is about to release, and talks of another tv show. Carey does more work behind the scenes than most people realize and now she has just been given her biggest task….help Melissa and Rusty look like the most loving couple around! Too bad they really hate each other.
James McCann was hired to be the lead engineer for the Tripps, too bad he spends most of his time as Rusty’s personal assistant instead. Unfortunately, James needs this job and must continue to do the crappy tasks asked of him. The only bright spots to his day is being around Carey.
When Carey and James are required to accompany the Tripps on their bus tour for their new book, all bets are off. Carey and James start to see what kind of life they could have being together and soon these two are enjoying time with each other. Just when it looks like Carey and James are seeing a light at the end of the tunnel, all hell breaks loose and things go to hell.
It will take some great soul searching but eventually Carey and James do find their happy ending. Overall this was an enjoyable book. I really liked the complexity between all of the different characters. At times I felt really bad for Carey but it was great that she did finally find her happiness.
I am really sad that I can’t give this more stars. I loved the premise of the story but somewhere along the middle, it fell flat for me. This was a tough one for me because it wasn’t like their other books. I found very little humor in it. Normally Christina Lauren is a 4-5 star read for me, but I just wasn’t a fan. The story felt a little forced a choppy. In the end, I was happy it was over and it truly mad me sad.
If you love Fixer Upper and enemies-to-lovers/workplace romances this book is your happy place!
Song/s the book brought to mind: Can’t Help Falling in Love by Haley Reinhart
I have to say that I am really surprised by the amount of people that didn’t enjoy The Honey-Don’t List by Christina Lauren as much as I did. Although granted this is only my second book by them, but I thought it was a quick, breezy read that had plenty of heart and a cute romance!
I didn’t laugh out loud as much as I did during Twice in a Blue Moon, which is the other Christina Lauren book I’ve read, but I definitely laughed out loud and chuckled multiple times. There is just the teeny tiniest bit of steam, and I would probably give this a 1/5 on a steaminess scale (or less, honestly), but I really like books like that so that part was a win for me.
Carey was a frustrating character for me because I really wanted her to stand up for herself with her boss Melissa. But she did mostly redeem herself at the end which made me happy. I was really interested in her motor disorder, dystonia. The author’s note was very informative, and I liked that they included something a lot of people probably know nothing about, I definitely had no idea it existed, and I thought it was nice to raise more awareness.
I love how this duo can write a book and make it feel like it’s coming from one voice. Everything was so seamless, and I really enjoy their combined writing style, frankly I’m also just impressed with how fast they can write books! I read The Honey-Don’t List in basically one sitting and finished it the same day I started. Overall it was a sweet, light read, and I loved the plot of being ‘behind the scenes’ of a TV show. I was actually thinking how much the show was relatable to Fixer Upper and towards the end a character does mention Joanna Gaines. I’m sure this was the whole point, but I still really liked that association since it’s a show I’ve watched and loved.
I would recommend The Honey-Don’t List to current fans of Christina Lauren and anyone looking for a lighter romance with lots of drama, that has very little steam. I noticed that this duo already has another book coming out this year and I can’t wait to read it!
Thank you to the publisher for my advance review copy via NetGalley. All opinions and thoughts are my own
I can always count on Christina Lauren to write a solid romance. This wasn’t my favorite book of their’s, but it was a quick read and I really loved the dynamic of the leading couple. I would’ve liked a little more development between them outside the context of their jobs, but it was a perfectly enjoyable read nonetheless!
I really enjoyed this book – I think… I may have enjoyed it even more than The Unhoneymooners. From Carey’s background and health issues, James’ professional situation, and the Tripps – I couldn’t put this down. I would’ve liked a bit more heat, more sneaking around, etc. but overall I found this to be sweet and entertaining and endearing. Don’t get me wrong – I’d still love it if Beautiful Bastard-era Christina Lauren made a resurgence, but I’ll be ok with more of this in the meanwhile. 4 out of 5 wine glasses.
Y’all. This book as riot. It was not at all what I thought it was going to be. I spent half the book thinking I had it all figured out and by the time we got to the end I was so completely wrong. I loved every page of it. I hope this duo never stops writing books.
This book felt like reading a book about a book being written about a behind the scenes show about an HGTV show. I know. That sounds hella confusing, but it isn’t. It was the best thing ever and I loved it.
These ladies took 4 characters that you aren’t sure how you feel about and give you their stories page by page until you get to the end and FINALLY get the entire picture.
Dive in. Make your guesses, and then sit back and watch the show unfold. Because this book is absolutely a show to watch. You forget you are reading while you read, and get completely lost in this world. I would love more from this world!
The premise of this book made me pay a lot closer attention to HGTV renovation shows. I mean, I sensed something was off with that house flipping couple who got divorced (I cannot and will not be bothered to remember their names, regardless of how hard People magazine tries to make them relevant), but I figured they would be like Melissa and Rusty Tripp (the home renovating couple for whom our main characters work) and stay together for the sake of the money. I mean the show.
As conceived by Christina Lauren, the Tripps are completely loathsome. Even when they have their moments of goodness, that goodness is motivated almost entirely by self-preservation. There are reasons why Melissa offers the occasional kindness to her assistant Carey, just as Rusty has his reasons for giving his assistant James what he wants, starting with not calling him an assistant because James hates that almost as much as he hates not being called James.
The romance between James and Carey is a slow burn, but you feel it coming as surely as you feel the implosion of the Tripps’ marriage. Christina Lauren really make you want this couple to happen, and I loved that build-up. The point on which possible trouble hinges may feel a little tired, but everything else works. I laughed out loud quite a few times (Rusty is a trippy Tripp).
I can’t say this book will be as unforgettable to me as others from Christina Lauren, but I sure did enjoy it as I read it.
I have never watched a home improvement or any reality TV show, but I have enjoyed reading some of the authors’ books, so gave it a shot. I read an ARC from NetGalley.com and this is my unbiased and voluntary review.
Not being a great student and knowing she was not college bound, while in high school, Carey started working at the Melissa and Rusty Tripps’ home decor store, Comb + Honey. They treated her like surrogate parents and she realized she had a talent for designing furniture, which Rusty then built. But fame and fortune came their way and went to Mellie’s head, who started putting their “brand” before their marriage. Ten years later, Carey is still working as Mellie’s “assistant”, behind the scenes creating the pieces that Mellie takes create for, but mostly staying because of the health insurance, which covers her dystonia. The fame has also created a rift in the Triff’s marriage and Carey and new hire, James, who is a civil engineer, but has been casted as Rusty’s “keeper”, are tasked with keeping the couple on track and away from poor publicity while they go on a publicity tour for their new book and new show. At first, Carey and James do not care very much for the other, but as they spend more time together in the tour bus, they discover a side that the other keeps hidden from most of the world, bonding them together.
The characters are well written, Carey is especially appealing and the plot leaves lots of room for humorous scenes and lively banter. So despite not having any reference to home improvement shows, I enjoyed the story.
A quick read that will help pass the time. Easily likable with some solid relationship advice (and plenty of examples of what not to do), but it doesn’t represent what this writing duo is capable of. Regardless, Christina and Lauren’s upcoming books are always on my TBR and I will bypass any stack to read them first.