[Steph’s Review]: Josh and Hazel’s Guide to Not Dating by Christina Lauren

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?

I received this book for free from Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

For as long as I can remember, authors Christina Lauren have always made it onto my “highly anticipated” TBR each year. That being said, it doesn’t take much to get me on board with a book that has their names attached to it.

When I heard about their upcoming standalone with the striking cover, and a colorful cast of characters, I just knew I needed to get my hands on it ASAP.

Josh and Hazel’s Guide to Not Dating was a wonderfully paced, and well-rounded tale of two college acquaintances-turned-friends, who later become quasi-roomies-turned-matchmakers-turned-lovers. So in other words, I’m here for it.

Are you keeping up? Good. 

Written in dual POV (which I freaking love), we follow Josh and Hazel throughout a series of unfortunate date nights (many of which are double dates for both of them), as they each try to find meaningful(ish) relationships.

What I loved about this was that while both Josh and Hazel had the best of intentions for the other, somehow throughout the course of the train wreck pairings they’re brought closer together as friends, and eventually, lovers.

At the risk of sounding cliché, the connection between Josh and Hazel was so perfect and pure; I found myself cheering for them to finally realize that everything they were looking for could be found in each other. With Hazel’s character being super eccentric and quirky, I found myself completely smitten by the chemistry her and Josh shared.

For lack of a better term: HEART EYES FOREVER.

The progression of their romance felt organic and genuine, and I found that even once the story was done, I still wanted to know ‘where are they now?’!

I highly recommend this for anyone looking for a sweet, fluffy(ish) romance, with pops of humor and some feel-good moments. Also, if you’ve read Christina Lauren’s Beautiful Player book (which is my all-time fave of theirs), you’ll absolutely love Josh and Hazel.

This book was flirty, fun, and blissfully romantic. It checked all my boxes as a romance reader, and left me greedy wanting more!

This is a solid 4 stars!

ideallysteph

Hi I’m Steph, Ideally Inspired site owner, blogger, and a Bilingual Book Babe who thrives on burning the candle on both ends. 😉 In addition to running Ideally Inspired Reviews, I’m helping to plan and coordinate some amazing book conventions/events: ApollyCon, KissCon Weekend Affair, and Readers on the River.

When I’m not reading and running events I’m either traveling, enjoying foodie adventures with friends, taking in a D.C. sports game (#AllCaps and #LetsGoNats), and/or binging a true crime documentary.

You can check out my latest obsessions via the Steph Recs feature on my blog and Instagram highlights!