"Josh & Hazel's Guide to Not Dating" Review

After a tough and crazy last few weeks, I decided to start a new book. When looking at my shelf, I began to get a little overwhelmed. There are so many books to choose from! I wanted something that was easy and enjoyable to read. I wanted a book that was lighthearted but also got me invested and I wanted to avoid getting in a book slump! I decided upon reading "Josh & Hazel's Guide to Not Dating" and I was most definitely not disappointed!

This book was gifted to me by my sweet mom. She is my #1 fan and a frequent visitor of the blog. She bought it off of my Amazon wishlist that I shared in previous posts, unbeknownst to me, and surprised me with it a few weeks ago. Thank you mom for reading my blog, for buying me a large portion of the books on my shelves, and for reading to me every night when I was little. It's all your fault that I'm such a nerd! :)

"Josh & Hazel's Guide to Not Dating" is a standalone adult contemporary romance novel written by writing duo Christina Lauren. It was released in September of 2018 and was included in multiple year end best book lists! If you would like to purchase "Josh & Hazel's Guide to Not Dating" you can find it on Amazon and at Barnes and Noble.

Christina Lauren is a writing duo comprised of Christina Hobbs and Lauren Billings. They write both Young Adult and Adult Fiction novels. Together, they have released over 16 books. They also have a new book, "The Soulmate Equation", which will be released on May 18th of this year. I am so excited to read it!! Christina and Lauren often host book giveaways on their Instagram. I encourage you to check out their page and give them a follow there! They are incredibly supportive of other authors and give lots of great book recommendations there! You can also check out their website and follow them on Goodreads!

"Josh & Hazel's Guide to Not Dating" is a dual POV, friends-to-lovers novel which switches between main characters Hazel Camille Bradford and Josh Im. Hazel and Josh went to college together. Josh was the Teacher's Assistant in one of her classes. In a laughing gas induced haze, Hazel sends Josh (her TA) a borderline inappropriate slash endearing email about her recent dental surgery and her inability to submit an assignment. Embarrassing, right? Just wait. This is the first of many other embarrassing, and sometimes drunken, encounters that Hazel Bradford will have with Josh Im in college. Years later, Hazel and Josh are reunited and soon form a close friendship. Both Josh and Hazel have relationship baggage and plenty of qualities that they consider to make them "undatable". To try and combat their undatability, Josh and Hazel decide to set each other up on a series of blind double dates. The idea seems innocent enough but what happens when they both begin to set each other up with progressively terrible suitors so that they have an excuse to hang out with each other? That doesn't mean that there's anything between them.... right?

I gave this book 5 stars on Goodreads, because I loved it. The writing style is perfect. Its witty, addictive, and incredibly well put together. I could not put this book down. This is a great example of the friends-to-lovers trope done right. Its everything that I love about a good rom-com: equal parts funny and swoon-worthy. Which, conveniently, is the perfect amount of humor and swooning. Overall, I don't think I could say enough wonderful things about this book. It is pure fun---- through and through!

Hazel is a girl after my own heart. I absolutely adore her. Dare I say that she is one of my favorite book characters ever? I think I dare! She dances to the beat of her own drum, no matter how eccentric that beat may be. She knows the importance of a good pop-culture reference and appreciates the small things in life! Speaking of pop-culture references, Hazel's character is very reminiscent of Jess from New Girl (which is one of my favorite shows!). That may also be why I like her so much!

"Sometimes your lack of filter kills me,” he says. “It’s not even like you lack a filter; you lack a funnel.”

One of Hazel's best and most obvious qualities is one that she and I share. I affectionately call it: my "too much gene". To put it simply, both Hazel and I are very extra. Like, go big or go home level of extra. At times the too much gene can be, well, too much and it is easy to overwhelm those who are around you. My too much gene is most prevalent when it comes to wearing bright colors or sequins and copious amounts of sparkly accessories! The problem with my too much gene is that too much still does not seem like enough! The too much gene is different for everyone who has it and it can be a blessing and a curse. With Hazel, the too much gene more visible in her social interactions. For example, Hazel is loads of fun! She's quirky and "crazy" and (when the opportunity presents itself) she is always up for antics! Her eccentric tendencies entice people, but they expect Hazel to be different than who she really is. They expect her to become "normal" after the novelty of the enigma that is Hazel Camille Bradford has worn off. Throughout the novel, Hazel struggles with intrusive thoughts and self doubt about being "too much". She worries that once her novelty wears off, she will no longer be seen as fun and exciting but rather embarrassing and irritating.

Hazel may be eccentric and "too much" but she is also kind, and genuine, and compassionate. She meets everyone with kindness even if they are undeserving of it. She is Hazel Bradford and she is awesome!

“I realize that finding the perfect person isn’t going to be easy for me because I’m a lot to take,” she says, “but I’m not going to change just so that I’m more datable.”

Josh Im is the epitome of the perfect book boyfriend. He loves and respects Hazel for who she truly is, he has a close relationship with his parents and his sister Emily, he is great with Hazel's dog Winnie, and he has good looks to boot! Though his looks are a plus, Josh is far more than just eycandy. He is intelligent, loyal, mature, and financially secure! What more could you want?

“You’re second only to a unicorn as far as best friends go, Josh Im.”

The side characters and their relationships with Josh and Hazel are all presented very well! I love the relationship that Hazel developed with Josh and Emily's mom and I enjoyed the sibling relationship between Josh and Emily as well! Overall, the characters are executed phenomenally! Josh and Hazel are obviously the highlight but none of the side characters were neglected or underdeveloped.

Want to read "Josh & Hazel's Guide to Not Dating"? Add it to your Goodreads "Want to read" shelf!

This book does have adult dialogue, content, and language. I recommend this book for ages 18+.

With all books that I read, I make a playlist to go along with the book. These playlists are full of songs which encapsulate the feeling of the story as a whole, capture the essence of a particular scene, or just remind me of one of the characters. You can find my playlist for "Josh & Hazel's Guide to Not Dating" on Apple Music or Spotify.

I cannot wait to dive into more of the Christina Lauren collection!

Have you read or had your eye on any Christina Lauren books? If so, give me some recommendations for which of their books to read next!

As always, thank you for reading!

XO,

Madison