This was enjoyable to read, but I never fully connected with the story or the plot. He's trying to make a name for himself in journalism. She's trying to prove to her boss that she can be more than the party girl planner, which means she needs to be in love. The tropes were plentiful, basically. I would like to see what else this author can do.

FULL REVIEW ON FRESH FICTION
NOT THE GIRL YOU MARRY by Andie J. Christopher is a vivacious, modern romance with fresh and fun storytelling. Hannah is a sarcastic hardworking woman who knows she’s ready to move forward, professionally and personally. As a biracial woman, Hannah has always felt like she’s had to fight to belong somewhere, and most of the time, people--namely men who only want to sleep with her and women who feel threatened by her--eventually end up dismissing her. She had a tumultuous relationship with a man who later plays a key role in the story, who always made her feel less than, so in turn, she decided to take control one aspect she knew she would excel in. Jack, on the other hand, comes across as a guy’s guy, but has a softer side to him, which is explained through his reflections on his previous relationships where he thought he was doing the right things that just resulted in breakups.

I love Not the Girl You Marry. It is an engaging and witty read. The romance enraptured me. Andie is a talented author, and this story shines.

Not The Girl You Marry is a predictable but fun contemporary romance. If you've seen the movie this book is based on then you won't find any surprises here. Some of the humor and scenes are a little dry and lack depth. However, this is a generic fun read that could be enjoyed on a beach somewhere.

I really wanted to like this book. The author's note made me cry so I gave this book more chances than I normally would. I have tried multiple times to really immerse myself with the characters but I can't engage with them. I think the How to Lose A Guy overtones were odd and forced and the characters just didn't click in my head. I decided not to finish. Thank you for the opportunity!

DNF

The attempt at gender flipping 10 Things I Hate About You is such a good idea, but it's been done in such a way as to keep the gender dynamics the same and merely flip the jobs. That's completely the opposite of the point.

Maybe I would've liked this a bit more if it wasn't pushed so much to be like "How To Lose A Guy in 10 Days" because I just kept thinking of how much I liked that movie better. Not a bad attempt at it, but the characters weren't as likable as in the movie.

I know the synopsis says it but this is literally a retelling of How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days. Hannah is an event planner and her boss won’t consider her for promotion unless she starts doing weddings. The catch is that Hannah has to prove to her boss that she actually loves love so she lies and says she’s dating Jack (which now she has to string along long enough to present him to her boss). Jack on the other hand wants to get a promotion at the newspaper he works at and his boss has told him in order to be considered he must write an article on how to lose a girl in 2 weeks. 

Honestly, both of them need therapy lol. I thought it was interesting how the guy was all about commitment but our female protagonist wasn’t. I also really enjoyed the authors note on why writhing a biracial character was so important to her. I definitely enjoyed the representation! The banter was a little cheesy for me but some of it was laugh out loud funny. Overall, I thought the plot was kinda predictable. It was a quick, kinda funny romance, and I promise both characters will frustrate the shit outta you. 

The Steam rating on this is a 🔥🔥🔥/5. If I could pair this with a sex toy it would be a clitoral stimulator that mimics the sensation of oral sex. 

I posted this on my bookstagram and business page

I loved that this was an inclusive romance story but I struggled with the writing style and I just never grew to like Jack or Hannah. If you love How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days though, definitely check this out!

Not the Girl You Marry by Andie J. Christopher felt like a deeply personal exploration of approaching dating as a person of mixed-race. While I didn't dislike the main characters, Hannah and Jack, I actually enjoyed them more when they were apart, with their friends and family, rather than when they were together. By and large they were very emotionally guarded during their interactions together, and struggled to build beyond their physical attraction to each other. This dynamic left the ending feeling more like a dubious "happy for now" rather than a well-earned happily ever after. Berkeley seems to have developed a habit of publishing romances with Black or mixed race heroines who (wrongly) feel themselves unworthy of love, and I hope they’re more thoughtful about their depiction of women of color in the future. CW: racism, misogynoir, divorce, feelings of parental abandonment; Tropes: fake dating; Readalike: Jasmine Guillory

This one by far had How to Lose a Guy in 10 days vibe. The best twist was that it was written with a gender role reversal. It’s nice to see a story with such a cliche storyline have a writing style that really stood out.

Hannah was a very career driven, event planner who wasn’t big on planning weddings. At this point she wants a promotion so needs to seem more like a romantic person. She decides she is going to date jack to make her look like a romantic wedding planner. I would described her as a sex loving, emotionally unromantic person, and I love that! Jack is a journalist that’s doing a how to lose a girl article to get his boss to agree to letting him write things aren’t too “fluffy” any more. I would describe him as a very charming, trusting and romantic person.

This one was definitely a cute rom-com that kept my interest. I liked that you got both perspectives throughout the book. If you enjoy light hearted romantic reads, I would say pick this one up!

DNF
I hard a tough time with the writing in this book. I'm sure other readers will enjoy it but Not The Girl You Marry wasn't for me.

This book was just an okay read, I felt like I was reading it just to say I read it. It wasn’t a badly written book, the story just was not holding my attention. There was no surprises. No big plot twists. Jack and Hannah has good chemistry but it felt like this story has been done before.

i enjoyed this book, but it has been a long while since i have read this, and i do very much apologize for that. but this one just wasn't that enjoyable for me, even though i did somewhat enjoy it.

i loved everything about this book. The characters and the humour really hit the spot!
Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for providing me with an arc for an honest review!

Yikes, terrible writing. And so VULGAR. I really didn’t need to know that much about the “hero”’s oral sex habits with his exes right in the first chapter. Unbelievably boring instalust between the MCs as well.

This was a fun read. A bit predictable but it was a re-telling so I wasn’t too hung up on it. While I know the whole point was that they were both lying to each other for promotions, it all made me feel kind of icky. I also didn’t love that, once it was revealed that they were lying, one person’s lie was somehow worse than the other’s..? Three stars. I look forward to what the author does next.

I was initially drawn to the book because of it's comparison of How to Lose a Guy in 10 Dates. But the more I read, the more I remember why I don't watch this movie often. The concept in book format just made me cringe and the deception aspect made me more uncomfortable than I would've liked. The gender flip was a good idea in theory but watching the hero act like Kate Hudson's character was more than I could handle. I wanted to love it but unfortunately I found it more frustrating than anything.

I see the loose threads to How To Lose a Guy In 10 Days, but that is what barely kept me attached to this story. The characters spoke and acted very out of of character for this setting and it overall was unnerving. Overall, this was such a disappointing romance for me.

Loved this story and this take on How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days. Is it perfect? No, but it satisfies that quick read and definitely makes me want to read more in the series.