Josh and Hazel's Guide to Not Dating Kindle Edition

Why do authors have to alienate people by getting political and pushing their views on readers? I used to read everything these 2 write but the politics is ruining it for me. I read to escape not to get authors views pushed in my face. If you just need an escape walk away because you sure know how they believe and it's in your face. The end really capped it off but innuendos throughout were there too.

I almost didn't read this book because one of the top reviews said it was so political. I'm so glad I did read it though because it was super cute, lighthearted, and sweet! It was exactly what I needed in this stressful 2020 climate, and I'm still not 100% sure what that review was about... Did I blink and miss it? Did we read different books? The only thing I can attribute that review to was the fact that a very young little boy is allowed to dress up as Elsa near the end. Some people are just so uptight that they can't even handle the idea of a child playing without restriction. I'm a girl and pretended to be one of the TMNT as a kid. I had no idea I was such a political 7 year old!

FINAL DECISION: Quirky and sweet contemporary romantic comedy. I read this one on a whim and ended up loving the story between two opposites. It was cute and fun and just perfect for a couple hour's escape.THE STORY: Hazel Bradford is a lot to handle. Chaos follows her everywhere, she doesn't have a filter and she has a habit of doing or saying the wrong thing at the wrong time. She met Josh Im in college when she vomited on him at a party. Ten years after college, the two meet again and Hazel is determined to be Josh's best friend. After a bad breakup, Hazel convinces Josh to agree to go on a blind date with Hazel. Well, they would each set the other up with someone and they would double date. The two have no interest in one another, but somehow their dates don't work out and the attraction between Hazel and Josh keeps growing.OPINION: Some books you just have to approach with an open mind and an open heart. Not that everyone would love this book if they did, but I know that I had to be open to this book to enjoy it.Hazel is a lot to take in. She is a whirlwind -- chaotic, intemperate, brash. But she also is completely open to loving other people. She cares deeply. The chaos and her inability to censor herself would be something that might annoy me greatly -- until I saw how caring she is. She wants to love so much that she opens herself up and is hurt again and again. And yet she keeps caring for others. And that is what makes her who she is.She is desperately aware that people are attracted to her, but that she becomes too much and people expect (or want) her eventually to tone down. But she doesn't. Although Hazel is confident in herself, she also doesn't believe that she has any chance with Josh. She dubbed him "Perfect" as in the model for the perfect guy. Her caring for him makes her want to be close to him, but because she doesn't believe he can be for her, she instead wants to be his best friend.Hazel and Josh begin a friendship that is funny and sweet at the same time. She brings color and imperfection into his life. Josh brings some order into Hazel's. Josh, however, is always completely accepting of Hazel. He may not understand how her mind works, but he doesn't criticize her or try to make her into someone else. Hazel is a force of nature and Josh is the calm in the storm.The two end up on a series of terrible dates (with other people) which end up being an odd courtship between them. I loved the humor and the pure acceptance between these two.This is the first Christina Lauren book I've actually read. I have a bunch on my TBR list and own a bunch, but I have always set those aside to read something else. Why did I decide on this one? Because the hero is Korean American. I thought the interracial romance was handled well.My only complaint about the story was the ending and the epilogue. I'm not a fan of leaving obvious story points unfinished and them coming back in the epilogue to give answers. I love epilogues, but personally prefer that the story be complete without it and then have the epilogue as a bonus. But that is a quibble with what was a wonderful, light and fun romance.WORTH MENTIONING: The story is told in alternating first person points of view.CONNECTED BOOKS: JOSH + HAZEL'S GUIDE TO NOT DATING is a standalone.STAR RATING: I give this book 4.5 stars.NOTE: I received an ARC of this book via Netgalley in order to help prepare this review. I was not required to write a review or to write a positive review. All opinions contained herein are my own.

I wanted to like this book so much, especially because the story seemed fun. To be honest I couldn’t get into this book after about 1/3 of the way through. It became repetitive and the plot just wasn’t there. I also really disliked Hazel’s character, mostly because she does not seem believable at all. If you’ve never heard of the “manic pixie dream girl” character, you should look it up because this is spot on. Normal chill dude falls for the QuiRkY bEaUtifuL girl that is just NoT LiKe OthEr GirLs. I can’t deal with these kinds of characters. Hazel was just bouncing off the walls annoying and her description was ridiculous. No adult that “carefree” and irresponsible can hold a reputable 9-5. Especially if she’s getting uncontrollably drunk, “taking her top off”, and then saying whatever pops into her head first to whomever, whenever. Please.

I wanted to love this book but I really had to make myself finish it. The political hints didn’t help either, I don’t want to think about politics while reading a book. I also really really disliked the character of Hazel.

“I’ve never really had a love that could consume me. I want to know that kind of fire.”—Let me tell you a little something.... JOSH AND HAZEL’S GUIDE TO NOT DATING is required reading in 2018. It is, in my humble opinion, the best Christina Lauren contemporary romance to date. I haven’t felt pure joy while reading in a long time and Hazel Bradford and Josh Im brought it to me. With countless laugh out loud moments, this book was so much more than I could have hoped for and I’m thankful I read it. I’m thankful that Hazel didn’t need to conform to become dateable. I’m thankful that Josh Im is basically perfect and in love with all of her quirks. Im thankful I took a break from the ARC cave and read this book.

This is the first book I have read by Christina Lauren and it will not be the last.I cannot recommend this book enough, especially if you love friends to lovers tropes. There's constantly heaps of laugh out loud moments throughout, all connected to Hazel and her eccentric ways with the odd dashes of Josh's sweet moments thrown in. They both throw themselves back into the dating pool in the oddest of ways and the double dates soon turn into excuses just to hang out with a friend. Even the side characters in this story are funny and bring something to the table.There's multiple ways to grip readers into a book and it's characters. I think its the most challenging when the readers actually like the characters and the main couple have an actual healthy relationship because we just seem to think "Oh, well this is nice" and nice is a horrible word. Josh and Hazel had a fully functioning, healthy relationship from start to finish. Even from their awkward encounter in college which created their budding friendship to their odd wingman routine. I was addicted to their story from start to finish.I adore Josh as he wasn't embarrassed about Hazel and her crazy outfits or personality, he accepted her and everything she brought to the table. Including the zoo animals. Then Hazel never thought she would find someone who accepted her whole heartedly because not everyone gets the HEA and she was okay with that. Josh is the picture perfect guy and she is Hazel. She never thought she was the one for Josh but Hazel was exactly what Josh needed, it just took him a little while to catch up.

The plot line in one line:Josh and Hazel, who briefly knew each other at college, meet years later and become best friends who go on double dates, only to find they really want to snag each other!The good and the bad:I’m a big fan of Christina Lauren but while I did generally enjoy reading this book, it lacked the addictive qualities of their “Beautiful” series.The hero and heroine are delightfully different from the usual stars of romance – “crazy” teacher Hazel is off the wall, and Josh is a much more introverted Korean physiotherapist. I liked both characters, although Josh didn’t quite match up to Korean hero Michael in Helen Hoang’s “The Kiss Quotient” and Hazel was at times a little too extreme in her zaniness - honestly, in what world would anyone store vases in the oven because they’re afraid they’ll knock them over?The book is written with to the authors’ usual immaculate standards (if you can get over the annoyance of Hazel repeatedly referring to Josh by his full name) but lacks the usual levels of sexual tension. Whereas the “Beautiful” series has you gripping your Kindle till your fingers bleed in anticipation of the first kiss/sex scene, I just didn’t feel the same level of wanting with this book. When the sex did come, it wasn’t written to the authors’ usual graphic level, which is not necessarily a problem but when you are accustomed to some naga-chilli-level rumpy pumpy scenes from an author, you feel a bit deflated when the climactic moment is practically skipped over in one page.I’ve never been drawn to the trope of friends falling in love but the blurb sold this book to me. The storyline was fine but nothing by way of exception. Some of it was a bit contrived – I found it unrealistic that two people who fancied each other would go on a series of blind double-dates and not just date each other! I’d get it if Josh and Hazel had been best mates for years and didn’t want to put their friendship at risk, but they literally knew each other for a bit at college and have just reunited after ten years – there is no friendship to risk!So look, I wouldn’t advise anyone against reading this book – it’s a nice little romance. But if you want fraught sexual tension and carnal scenes that make your knickers damp and your mouth drool, read Christina Lauren’s “Beautiful” series. Please!

This was a lot of fun! It was a quick read with two characters with a lot of chemistry (at times, as a reader, I was screaming at them to "just get together already!"Characters:I loved how both Josh and Hazel had their own lives and friends and family, how we saw all aspects of them and they felt like whole, real people with fleshed out lives. I enjoyed reading their relationships with their friends and family, and not just with each other, which is a sign, for me, of a quality romance.Plot:The antics with the double dating and coincidences could be unbelievable at times, but it was a lot of fun to read.The plot in general read like a funny rom-com, and it was a great read of this genre.I personally loved the ending, thought it made sense for these characters, and was super cute!

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️Steam: 🔥🔥🔥Omg omg MY FIRST 5 star BOOK OF 2021 😭🤪😍 I am so happy right now, honestly.This book was just so good. It was SO funny - like maybe one-of-the-funniest-books-I’ve ever-read kind of funny. It had STEAM, it had PLOT, it had CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT.This is easily one of Christina Lauren’s best books - up there with Love and Other Words for me!!This has friends-to-lovers which is written so well. It all just felt right - like the timing of everything and their thought processes all just made sense.I often don’t like ‘quirky’ characters because authors often overwrite them by making them quirky for the sake of it and it becomes all very unnatural. Let me tell you, that is definitely not the case in this book - Hazel is just so much fun to read and one of my fave heroines!And Josh 🥺🥺🥺 my fave cinnamon roll😍🥺 he was just everything.I would HIGHLY recommend this book!! 💖💖💖

THIS BOOK! Was there anything that I didn’t love about this book? Absolutely not! The only regret I have is not picking this up sooner! This was a super fun, super cute, and super sexy read. The friends to lovers trope is one of my all time favorites and this one did not fail to deliver. I loved everything about it. Really, I actually did. All the characters were so lovable—from Hazel and Josh, Emily and David, and even side characters like Hazel’s mum, and Umma. To be honest, when I picked this up last night, not only had I forgotten what this book was about, but I had zero clue that Josh was Korean-American. It was such a pleasant surprise!Hazel was the brightest, quirkiest, funniest character I’ve read in such a long time. Her chapters had me constantly laughing out loud and exclaiming in shock (the good kind) at all the hilariously awkward things that she’d think, say and do. Her manic energy was so infectious! She recognized just how out there she is, and she made no excuses and no exceptions for anyone. Yes, she had her insecurities but she was also fiercely confident in herself and enviably comfortable in her own skin. Hazel was honestly just the best and Josh was honestly the perfect complement to her character. He was sweet, calm, thoughtful and extremely loyal, but not a pushover in any way. I loved the vulnerability of his character, and how he was the one who accepted and openly admitted to his feelings.The relationships between the family members was also so wonderful. Hazel and her mum had the quirkiest and most open relationship. It’s the kind of relationship that I always wished to have with my own mum, and I’m lucky that I do have that to an extent, though not as wildly open as theirs. Although her mum only made minor appearances, you could tell that their relationship was the feel-good, supportive and comforting kind. I also really appreciated how Christina Lauren integrated Josh’s Korean heritage in the storyline, and made it an important part of his character. His relationship with Umma was sweet, and I loved how he really embraced the Korean traditions—such as how his parents would move in with him once they got older. As an Asian, I get that cultural obligation/expectation, so I thought it just added to the authenticity of his character and their story.Josh and Hazel’s relationship was definitely an adventure and I shipped them so hard from the start of their very awkward and hilarious encounters. Their friendship was so genuine, and you could just see that their chemistry was insane. There are some romance readers out there that don’t like too much steamy sexy times, so just fair warning, this one does have quite a bit of it! But imo not distasteful in any way.While this obviously wasn’t an unexpected HEA, it didn’t make me love their story any less. CLo definitely strikes again with their brilliant writing, characters and storylines. They really know how to write characters that you feel so invested in, and who also feel like real friends by the end. They also really know how to make me feel all the feels. I think they’ve basically spoiled me for relationships IRL (but hey, book boyfriends are always better anyway, right?)! 😉