How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days is rom-com magic, so when I saw the blurb for this book I was equally enthralled and skeptical.. Turns out -- it was fantastic!

I have a feeling that this is a love story that's going to hit the "swipe right" generation right in the feels.

Not the Girl You Marry is biting wit and jagged edges but also features complex, endearing characters. And it's gender-flipped reimagining of a classic romcom is very fun.

But it's emotional too. Particularly with regards to Hannah. Hannah is struggling with her biracial identity when it comes to romantic relationships. But she's also battling that malignant sense of being 'too much' and yet also' not enough' that is so poisonous to the female psyche. I can relate to that.

I loved that Jack was so crazy about Hannah but I still found some of the things he did to her while trying to "lose" her to be hard to read. But I do think they were both just what the other needed.

I'm a fan.

I voluntarily read and reviewed this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

It was very vulgar. The cover is so cutsie, that I wasn't expecting that. I enjoyed the characters, but I really had a hard time believing that his boss would insist on such an article.

Such a great story. Well written and great characters in Hannah and Jack. A sweet romance story that will be loved by any romantic comedy lover. I loved how strong the characters are and willing to change.

Not The Girl You Marry by Andie J. Christopher wasn't a terrible book, by any means. The book was tough to get through, however. The voice was a bit childish, which is where my issue resides. The main character Hannah Mayfield was unbearable -- each PoV was about her ex and how much she thought about him. Even if she was with Jack. I found that to be repetitious, especially when she would talk about it on every single page. I didn't even find her ex to be important or worth the time. I loved the biracial aspect, I have to say that was great. Some of the same issues she has had, others have too. (Even if they aren't biracial and just black.) Jack Nolan stole the entire book for me, his PoV and character were so good. His narrative and voice were just so much better than Hannah's. If the PoV was just Jack Nolan's, I would have liked that much better. Much of Jack's voice I didn't want to skip, but I found myself skipping Hannah's PoV because it was bland.

Overall, honestly, the book was a miss on the plot. If you have ever seen "How to lose a guy in 10 days" this was basically that. It didn't have a "plot twist" as it stated or was a "different" rom-com, it was exactly like that film. Unfortunately, I think that hindered the book. It may work for some readers, this is just a personal review, of course. However, I think that the plot was diluted, along with Hannah's voice. I wouldn't say it was a bad read, there are many aspects that I loved about the book. I wouldn't re-read it or pick it up again in the near future, but it was a good read for what it was. If you love romance and fiction, this isn't a book that will add anything new to the genre. Various tropes and typical rom-com fiction that you see in other books.

I would say 3/5 stars, being generous, since the book did have some redeeming qualities. If I were to tell a friend about it, I would be about a 2.5/5. Some may love it, which is great, but for me -- as this is my favorite genre and I read a lot of books in it. There are others on the shelf that bring more to the table.

For me, the gender-swapped retelling of How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days aspect of Not the Girl You Marry wasn't the most compelling part. For me, the best part was watching Hannah and Jack rethink how they conceptualize themselves as romantic partners. Hannah, who is biracial, thought that she wasn't black enough for her ex-boyfriend, and was too wild and "exotic" for her white exes who were just looking to make their mothers mad. Jack figured that he was just too nice and that girls would always leave him for a more exciting asshole. But through their own budding relationship, they begin to see other stories. And, as strange as it is, maybe the best scene in the book is one between Hannah and an ex.

This new take on How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days was neither amazing nor bad, it was a perfectly serviceable romance plot. Take that with a grain of salt. since it's coming from someone who's never particularly enjoyed How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days...If that movie is your all-time favorite romance, this book will be right up your alley. I, on the other hand, have always found it to be very cringe-worthy.

I enjoyed reading about a multi-racial relationship and the insecurities that can come with that, although that wasn't as much of a major plot point as I would have thought. It took me a long time to not be annoyed by both Hannah and Jack. Their interior monologues were quite repetitive and long-winded, which almost caused me to put this book down and not look back. But as the plot developed, they became less annoying. It was very clear the whole time that they should have just been honest with each other and they both would have gotten ahead much quicker, but where would the fun in that be?

I'd read this author again, but I hope her next story is more original, and not just a gender-flipped retelling.

Not the Girl You Marry is a fun, mostly light read that is a modern take on How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days. While it kept me turning the pages and included important conversations about race, I never felt fully invested in the characters. Additionally, I was often frustrated that the plot could’ve been resolved with a simple conversation for the majority of the book, though I did quite like the final scene. I prefer the original, but it was still an entertaining romantic read.

3.5/5 Stars
Not The Girl You Marry is a light, fun romance with a hint of extra depth. I found myself smiling and giggling at it on multiple occasions. I love the movie How to Lose a Guy in Ten Days and so I was very excited about this book. It’s sort of a gender swapped retelling where the guy, Jack, is trying to be a bad boyfriend in order to lose the girl, Hannah. Although in this story Hannah is also using Jack to prove to her boss that she can be romantic.
The pros of this book are that it never lost my attention. The pacing was fast and it had me on my toes. The writing was cute and fun and I really liked Hannah and her relationship with her best friend Sasha. I really appreciated the talk in this book about being mixed-race and what comes along with that. It was something Hannah had struggled a lot with in regards to how she viewed herself and her interactions with others.
Now some cons. As much as I liked Hannah I didn’t love Jack. I didn’t hate him but I just didn’t feel any connection. And, while they were both using each other and the blame for that definitely goes both ways, he was setting out to basically be a jerk to her on purpose for a promotion. And I didn’t love that.
If your in the mood for a cute romcom, or you’re a fan of How to Lose a Guy in Ten Days, I would recommend this one!

This new take on How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days hits all the right romantic comedy spots with just enough romance to keep you turning the page. I enjoyed experiencing the narrative of a multi-racial relationship and the insecurities that can come with that. I'd read this author again, but next time I hope to get a slightly more original story.

An easy read cute story. Good beach/light reading. The characters were well developed with back stories and personality.

How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days is one of my favorite rom-coms, so I wasn't surprised to love this book. Hannah needs to prove to her boss that she can keep a relationship so she can get promoted to planning wedding, and Jack makes a deal with his boss to get to work on political stories if he'll write an article about how to get a woman to break up with him. It's a great retelling of the story.

I loved all the characters and thought there was a lot of potential for sequels about the side characters, that I would love to read.

A huge thank you to the publisher and netgalley for providing me with an ARC!

4/5 Stars
I had a lot of fun with this one and saw some of my qualities in the main character which was not expected!

Hannah is biracial and has had issues in past relationships, with some she "wasn't white enough" and others "not black enough" or at least that's how she feels. She's a bit too wild, swears too much, and she's not prim and proper (these 3 qualities are where I see myself in case you're wondering). She has given up on love and sworn off men and now it's time to focus on her career. There's a catch though, to get the promotion at work she needs to work weddings, which her boss won't let her.

Jack is the perfect boyfriend. He listens to what the girls want, he knows what his friends do to lose girls, and he's not a jerk. Yet, all his girlfriend's keep leaving him and moving on. He's not looking for a relationship, he's happy by himself. But he wants to switch from being the face at work for how to videos and get into the political journalism. In order to get out of how to videos and move onto political journalism he has to "go out with a bang." His boss wants him to write an article on what exactly guys are doing so they can't keep a girl.

After a chance encounter they go through a story very similar to "How to lose a guy in 10 days." This was a very enjoyable and quick read for me with just enough sadness in it to make me shed a tear or two. I definitely recommend this book!

Andie is an event planner who, in order to get promoted to wedding planning, needs to convince her boss she can fall in love. Jack is a pop culture journalist assigned to write an article on how to get dumped by a girl. When the two first meet, they each think the other is perfect for achieving their professional goals. But the more time they spend together, the more they realize their relationship shouldn't be thrown away.

If this sounds familiar, that's because this book is intended to be a gender-flipped retelling of How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days. And in all honesty, that's one of my favorite romcoms of all time, and I'm sorry to say this book didn't quite live up to it. The career stakes are too low and romantic stakes are too high right from the beginning, so it's hard to believe that Hannah and Jack would make the choices they do. And Jack's attempts to lose Hannah are a little tame, really. I would have liked to see a conclusion where we realize that straight guys can get away with almost anything because the bar is often so low. This would have at least set it a little further apart from the source material and made it less predictable.

That being said, there were also things I really enjoyed about the book. In particular, I loved Hannah's character growth around her own self-worth and perceived lovability. The characters did win me over by the end, even if I struggled with the set up.

A good modern revision of an old story. Millennials will enjoy the way the story was written and the characters. I found some of the cursing by the main character a little excessive but that’s just my opinion.

Thanks to the publisher for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

So I've just started reading romance books so I can't comment on this book like a romance reader would but I thought this book was just okay. I had a hard time accepting the storyline, it is seriously just the plotline for How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days with the gender roles reversed. The writing was strong but I just didn't connect with either of the main characters. I loved the inclusion of Hannah being biracial which is something that is clearly missing from the romance genre and Jack was a decent lead. There were times I found myself getting really drawn into the novel and then there were times I was having to force myself to continue. Overall, I liked the writing and will read more from the author - I just think this wasn't the right title for me.

It took me a while to get into this book, perhaps because of the similarity to How To Lose a Guy in 10 Days. Once I put that out of my head I found it to be an enjoyable book. More dialogue would have contributed to a faster paced story.
I read an advanced copy of this book in return for my honest review. Thanks #Netgalley!

This book is a present-day gender-flipped How To Lose a Guy in Ten Days and... that’s pretty much it. While it did add a new element of Hannah dealing with people who don’t know what to do with her being biracial and also an overarching senator scandal tying the plot lines together, this didn’t feel much more modern or fresh to me than the 2003 rom com comparison title.

The writing is fine (barring some of Jack’s inner monologue about women in the earliest chapters, what WAS that) and the characters are decently developed so I know plenty of fans of the genre will enjoy this book. I just didn’t feel like it was anything exciting.

Also, and I acknowledge this is a personal trope preference gripe, I would so much rather have had this story have Hannah and Jack be in on each other’s work-related dating scheme and going the fake dating route than what we got, which more the lying and misunderstanding/not communicating feelings route.

I requested this after re-reading "Red, White and Royal Blue." I was looking for a light romance with likable characters, and I found it here! Like "Red, White and Royal Blue," there's a POC element that is always refreshing to find. I'll definitely recommend this to patrons looking for an excellent and fresh romantic comedy!

NOT THE GIRL YOU MARRY is a fun, feisty rom-com for people who grew up watching fun, feisty rom-coms. With a sassy heroine with an eye towards growth and success, and a sweetheart hero who wants so badly to be taken seriously, Andie J. Christopher gives us a bold love story that's based on being open to changing the stories we tell ourselves, the stories we've believed for longer than we should. Sexy, smart, and so full of heart, this book is a joy to read.