I'm not sure what it was about this book, but I just couldn't finish it. I'm a fan of romances like these, and as someone who's been in many interracial relationships, I was excited to read it, but I just couldn't finish it. I think I didn't expect everything to be so on the nose. He's using her, she's using him, but they both like each other. It's a common theme in romances, but this one didn't work for me.

3.5 stars

Fans of How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days will certainly appreciate the storyline of Not the Girl You Marry - although at times it might feel a bit like - "haven't I watched this movie before" - but still totally enjoyable. I enjoyed Hannah and Jack's relationship and progression and would have loved it more to see them in a more unique story. Christopher is definitely a sharp writer and I'll be interested to check her out again in the future.

This was cute, it's my first from this author and I loved the writing!I enjoyed both Jack and Hannah and their story was fun!If you've seen How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days then you are definitely going to love this one!

I loved how the story goes and I find both characters well developed! Jack and Hannah have great chemistry.Hannah is biracial and has had issues in past relationships.She has given up on love and sworn off men.I liked her a lot!

It was a great read and I'm waiting to see more from this author.

Not the Girl You Marry is a book I picked up to review based strictly on the blurb as the author is new to me.

The premise of the book puts a spin on the “fake relationship with a purpose” trope that was unique and had me curious about who these people would be.



The author included a note at the beginning of the book about how some of her personal experiences influenced the heroine’s attitudes. Having that information was helpful - knowing that Hannah’s experiences and her resulting thought process was even somewhat based real experiences made me more open to seeing where she was coming from and how she responded to some of Jack’s behaviors.



Overall, I liked Jack and Hannah. Both characters were interesting and a bit different than those I’ve seen before. I appreciated the emotional growth that both experienced, I could especially (and I think most woman can) relate to Hannah’s experience and how history influences how she responds.



The plot and pacing of the story was entertaining, but I felt like there were places were the cross purposes being worked on could have been explored a bit more for the humor aspect. There were times the story felt a bit heavy. My other concern/ complaint was some of the language used - and I don’t mean the f bomb, etc- I mean some of the “headline” words that I’m not sure are mainstream yet. (I had to google a couple of things).



This is a book that I liked and I will definitely be exploring more by this author, there are just a few small things that fall under the “ maybe think about this” list.

This slightly updated homage to How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days was a very fun rom-com. It's got as many frustrating moments as its predecessor- problems that could be solved or avoided with better communication, but since the point is that they are trying their hardest to avoid genuine connection so that they will be able to drop the other, it makes sense. It was entertaining and solid.

Not the Girl You Marry is basically a gender swap of How to Lose a Guy in ten days.  This means a woman had to have a boyfriend to get promoted and a Guy had to be a bad boyfriend.  Neither of which I particularly liked as a plot.

Jack is apparently the perfect guy, but he keeps getting dumped, so I was a little unclear why he had to try to lose a girl in two weeks.  Hannah wants to start planning weddings at the events company she works for, but her boss thinks she doesn’t believe in love so of course, she has to find a boyfriend to prove it.  Both characters are using the other one, and both actually like the other one, and I have to say I never got why. Though Jack really didn’t do anything too terrible, the mansplaining was a lot I will grant you, but every time he did something bad he would make up for it ten-fold.

In all honesty, I just didn’t care about these characters, I wasn’t drawn to either of them.   And I was indifferent to whether they ended up together or not. This book was not bad, and I think a lot of people would actually like it, it just wasn’t for me.

3.5 STARS! ~

Not the Girl You Marry by Andie J. Christopher was a retelling of the classic romantic comedy movie from the 2000s: How to Lose a Guy in Ten Days. Only, Andie puts a unique spin into play as well as reversing the roles of the characters.

We first meet Jack Nolan. He's the kind of man who thrives in relationships. He's been in three so far but now that's he's single he wants to try the casual dating thing. That is until he meets Hannah and feels an instant attraction.

Hannah is a strong, intelligent and independent woman but she, unlike Jack, struggles with relationships. She believes men don't see her as the serious type of girl. You know, the girl you take home to met the parents. She's dated guys; however, it seems once they have sex and are together for a little while, the guy soon realizes that he doesn't want to go any deeper. This has made Hannah feel a disdain towards men.

Due to their demanding jobs they each must lie to the other to further their careers. Everything becomes a mess of epic proportions when these two begin to develop feelings for one another.

I struggled with moments of repetiton and when Hannah would constantly bring herself down, coming off as a character who self-loathes. Battling her own inner demons of self-love and accepting herself, Hannah knows who she is and she is in fact fierce but she didn't believe anyone could love her. The fact that Jack goes out of his way to prove her wrong in that aspect is something I found I rather loved.

Overall, Not the Girl You Marry is a sweet romance full of wit with bits of angst thrown in. I really enjoyed the relationships between the characters. I'm looking forward to Jack's sister, Bridget's book next 😏


*I received a complimentary copy of this book from Berkley through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.*

So cute! Being in an interracial relationship as well I completely connected with this book! I love a cute contemporary romance novel to take me out of a slump and this did it for me. This was my first time reading anything by Andie J. Christopher, and it was not a let down! Thank you so much Netgalley for the opportunity!

When Hannah and Jack meet at a bar, they both convince themselves that despite their initial attraction, nothing will happen. Jack starts to pursue Hannah with all intentions of getting inside her head and using her for an article on How to Lose a Girl. Hannah’s focus is to make sure Jack doesn’t go anywhere since she needs to clean up her image and show she has a romantic side.

So I admit I really wanted to read this to do a comparison for the movie, How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days. I love that movie and to see a book with some of the same premise but with gender reversal sounds exciting. However, the execution is slightly off and it may be due to the fact the readers are inside the mind of the main characters.

Hannah has a lot of issues. Her previous relationship really damaged her. I also believe that her own views of being biracial really started the issues she continues to face as an adult in relationships. Let’s break some of this down. Hannah use to date a guy name Noah who wanted her to embrace her “black” side and since she went to a primarily white school and have mostly white friends, she struggled with being the girlfriend he wanted. He ended things and told her that she is not the girl you marry. I say good riddance but of course, this messed Hannah up and she believes no one will ever marry her.

I liked Jack but for the life of me I couldn’t understand why he continued the charade with the article. Every chapter that had his POV, he spoke about loving Hannah and how great she is. So did he think this would end up working out and he gets the girl? Maybe if he wasn’t so into her and slowly realized how great she is, I could have stayed with the silly idea of the article.

The chemistry between Jack and Hannah kept me going. I love all the silly banter and sexy times with them. Hannah’s conversation with her best friend really reminded me of some of my own conversations with my friends. They were spot on.

Overall, this is a cute and funny romance that I would recommend.

~ Samantha

I received an ARC from Netgalley for an honest review. Not the Girl You Marry is a contemporary interracial romance. I loved the idea of an interracial couple as I feel there are more pairings beyond staying within one's race. And to have a strong bi-racial heroine is even more bonus. There are some fun moments, witty exchanges between Hannah and Jack. However, sometimes I felt the dialogue was forced and the exchanges and inner dialogue a bit over the top. I wanted to love this book because the premise is so good. I feel the book needed a bit more editing to tone down the dialogue and help develop the character arcs more completely and with finesse. Also, I didn't really feel the chemistry between Hannah and Jack. I usually get gooseys on my arms when characters have amazing chemistry. Unfortunately, this one fell a little flat for me. I think there's great potential, but it needed more polish and editing.

Not the Girl You Marry was described as a modern/updated version of How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, and honestly, at its very base, this is the most accurate description out there. For that, I IMMEDIATELY knew I needed to read this book. I cannot count how many times I watched that movie.

On the flip side, while I knew I would enjoy this book, I knew I wouldn’t fall in love with it for the premise. It is merely a cute and fun book that you read and go about your life at its base. What kept me riveted was the role reversal (the male was columnist) and the unique biracial perspective. I am not a WOC myself, but I love to read them in my stories in any capacity. I feel like this gave a fresh, but educational twist for me. Her struggles are a conflict/issue I never would know otherwise, and I am forever grateful to have gained the knowledge of a fellow female’s struggles.

This book was mostly light and fun, with a bit of drama and intriguing perspective.

I wanted to like this. A biracial romance with a mixed girl at the forefront? Sign me up. We needed this in the world. However, this was just not good. The writing isn't great, but it's not a deal breaker. However, the premise of How to Lose a Guy in Ten Days but gender-bent is a wonderful one, but the characters just suck. They are terrible, annoying and mean; I wasn't rooting for them to figure it out. I just didn't care.

Thanks for the opportunity to read this title. Unfortunately, it was not for me. I was expecting more of a romantic comedy chick lit type read, but this was a little too raunchy for me. I know that there is an audience that will love this title, therefore I will not be sharing a review on Goodreads, in order not to skew the rating.

Andie Christopher’s Not the Girl You Marry is a smart, sexy, sassy and laugh-out-loud funny romance that will leave you with a huge smile on your face. Jack and Hannah are utterly adorable as they argue, flirt and banter their way into love. He is the ultimate nice guy, who makes an epically poor decision while romancing Hannah, but he’s aware enough to realize and acknowledge his mistakes. While their romance is fun and lighthearted, it is also complex and emotional as Christopher presents Hannah’s experience of being biracial, and I truly enjoyed everything about Not the Girl You Marry.

I couldn't get into these characters at all. They were talking about falling in love and getting dogs a half an hour after meeting, and brought up his dick far too many times.

There is so much of this book that I just absolutely loved.  There was a bit of a slow start for me but I HAD to keep reading.  The writing is spot on, the characters one's you can't help but love (or possibly hate!).

Hannah hasn't had the best relationships...she's been beaten down a bit and her self esteem is a bit bruised.  She's a smart, successful woman who is now a bit jaded but is about to meet a man who will change everything.  She's been tasked by her boss to show that she "believes" in love again and with her being so jaded, it's not going to be that easy.

Jack - a semi-successful writer who's been pigeonholed into writing fluff pieces is looking to change her reputation a bit has been tasked to "lose a girl" after dating her for just a short while (yeah - how to lose a guy in 10 days movie - but Andi J. Christopher has switched it up).  Problem #1? Jack's a good guy and it's just not in him to be a jerk...but then again - getting his job the caliber it deserves is petty important too.

The back and forth banter had me laughing and the sweet moments had me swooning - the perfect mix of Rom and Com for me!

Andi J. Christopher did such a beautiful job of giving us characters that give us everything - laughs and tears and there are some sexy times too!

Funny, charming genderswapped take on How To Lose A Guy, with a prickly heroine and the cinnamon roll hero who realizes he’s actually falling for her (or really, has been falling for her since she first flipped him the bird). I loved this so much and can’t wait to read more from Andie Christopher.

I absolutely loved the premise of this one and I was excited to settle into the story.

I really liked Hannah and Jack. She’s a little jaded from her past relationships {with good reason} and deep down she’s a crunchy shell hiding a romantic marshmallow. He’s a little too giving and doesn’t know how to keep a bit of focus on himself. Together they have loads of chemistry and a playful sort of banter. Oh and Jack’s family is fantastic.

Plot wise, it was mostly good. The constant inner monologue each of them had about losing the other when they found out the truth got really old really fast. I get that they couldn’t quite have an honest conversation, but damn. It seems weird to say, but I loved the blow up and resolution and honestly, I needed more from the ending than what we got.

Overall, it was a quick and fun read with characters who were easy to root for and topics that touched on real things. I’m going to cross my fingers there’ll be a companion book because I would love to see more of Hannah and Jack.

**Huge thanks to Berkley for providing the arc free of charge**

I was expecting more from this book. I did like the cute-sy cover, and the diversity represented in the characters. However, the storyline was pretty smutty - though I do like sex and steam, it seemed like that that's all that was happening in this book. Thanks, Netgalley, for this arc.

Will post soon at Romance Reviews Today: http://romrevtoday.com/

NOT THE GIRL YOU MARRY – Andie J. Christopher
Jove Books
ISBN: 978-1984802699
November 2019
Contemporary Romance

Chicago, Illinois – Present Day

Jack Nolan is a freelance journalist trying to get his big break. While in a bar with his friends one night, he decides he will write a column on how to break up with a woman, and his gaze lands on the gorgeous woman sitting nearby with some girlfriends. Jack approaches her and learns her name is Hannah Mayfield. Jack figures he can charm her and then dump her. Then, Hannah asks him to be her pretend boyfriend. He decides that he’ll agree, and then become a louse on his way to dumping her. A two for one: get to know the girl and then dump her as “research” for his column.

Hannah works for an event planning company and just talked her skeptical boss into letting her join another event consultant in planning for the biggest wedding of the year in Chicago. It’s not that Hannah is into weddings, but that this could lead to a desired promotion. Heck, she recently got dumped by her boyfriend because she wasn’t acting like the perfect woman to marry. Hannah is biracial and her ex thinks she needs to act “black” instead of hanging out with her white friends. But Hannah had told her boss a little lie in order to get the plum assignment…that she was dating a great guy. Spotting—and meeting Jack—she decides to ask him. Of course, both know their relationship is a scam, but they’re soon finding themselves seriously attracted to each other. Will Cupid’s arrow hit its mark with Jack and Hannah?

NOT THE GIRL YOU MARRY is a cute and funny tale of dating in Chicago in the age of online dating. Hannah watches as her friends “swipe right” on their Tinder app and it turns out the men are duds. After breaking up with her ex, Noah, she’s still feeling the hurt and isn’t ready to date. Yet, she desperately needs a man to prove to her boss that she has a boyfriend. Jack is funny and charming, plus he’s amenable to her plan once she presents it to him. Hannah just knows that she won’t fall for him, even as they’re doing everything sexually except consummating their “relationship.” Soon, Hannah finds herself falling for Jack. But will it end badly for both of them?

Yes, Jack is a turd at times in how he approaches his relationship with Hannah. He does douchey things to her, yet she takes them in stride—for the most part. However, he didn’t expect her to get so deep into their relationship that breaking up not only will be hard, but it will hurt her. But after watching his parents divorce when he was younger, he doesn’t see marriage as part of any future plans. Even though Hannah could turn out to be the perfect choice…

Readers will smile and chuckle as Jack and Hannah’s relationship and friendship develop in NOT THE GIRL YOU MARRY. This tale also details the problems that someone who is biracial has to face. Is she black or is she white? Hannah couldn’t please her ex, but it doesn’t seem to bother Jack. Is he Mr. Right, after all? Their road to a happily-ever-after is definitely rocky, but it’s a path that is pure fun to read. Be sure to grab a copy of NOT THE GIRL YOU MARRY today.

Patti Fischer