Really fun and engaging story and certainly in tune with the latest home trends! Enjoyed this story, the characters were interesting, some great dialogue and interesting premise.

I was given an advanced copy of this book for an honest review from Netgalley.

Enemies to lovers. Mixed with home design and reality tv. You would think that this mix would be a slam-dunk. I enjoyed this book, Christina Lauren is one of my favourite author duos; all of their books are must-reads for me. But there was something about this book that just didn’t catch me. I did enjoy it immensely and loved the location of it (mostly set in Wyoming which isn’t a common location) and loved learning about muscle dysmorphia. Maybe it was that the characters fell a little flat for me in this one.

Would I recommend it? Yes
Is it my favourite of theirs? No

Three Stars for “The Honey-Don’t List” by Christina Lauren

Many thanks to NetGalley, Simon & Schuster Canada, Gallery Books and Christina Lauren for an ARC in exchange for an honest book review of “The Honey-Don’t List”. My thoughts and opinions are 100% my own and independent of receiving an advance copy.

Synopsis: “From the New York Times bestselling author behind the “joyful, warm, touching” (Jasmine Guillory, New York Times bestselling author) The Unhoneymooners comes a delightfully charming love story about what happens when two assistants tasked with keeping a rocky relationship from explosion start to feel sparks of their own.

Carey Duncan has worked for home remodeling and design gurus Melissa and Rusty Tripp for nearly a decade. A country girl at heart, Carey started in their first store at sixteen, and—more than anyone would suspect—has helped them build an empire. With a new show and a book about to launch, the Tripps are on the verge of superstardom. There’s only one problem: America’s favorite couple can’t stand each other.

James McCann, MIT graduate and engineering genius, was originally hired as a structural engineer, but the job isn’t all he thought it’d be. The last straw? Both he and Carey must go on a book tour with the Tripps and keep the wheels from falling off the proverbial bus.

Unfortunately, neither of them is in any position to quit. Carey needs health insurance, and James has been promised the role of a lifetime if he can just keep the couple on track for a few more weeks. While road-tripping with the Tripps up the West Coast, Carey and James vow to work together to keep their bosses’ secrets hidden, and their own jobs secure. But if they stop playing along—and start playing for keeps—they may have the chance to build something beautiful together…

From the “hilariously zany and heartfelt” (Booklist) Christina Lauren comes a romantic comedy that proves if it’s broke, you might as well fix it.”

WRITING STYLE: 5/5
PLOT: 3/5
WORLD-BUILDING: 3/5
CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT: 3/5
ROMANCE: 3/5 (sweet variety)
HEAT: 2/5 (see above)

Carey and James are the hapless sidekicks to America’s top lifestyle and renovation couple, the Tripps. Unfortunately, the Tripps marriage and business are a sham. The deceit of it all is important to keep going as there is a book to publicize (about how to have a happy marriage, of course) and a Netflix show about to come out. Trying to keep it all together rests on the shoulders of their long-time assistant, Carey and newcomer and show engineer/assistant, James. They only have to keep Melissa and Rusty Tripp from falling apart in public for the length of their book tour and the launch of the Netflix show. Can they survive being stuffed into a bus for weeks and not have a public flame out? James and Carey start to get closer as they survive the Tripps’ dust-ups. James learns why Carey needs her health insurance to this extent and Carey finds out what happened at James’ last job. Can these two slightly dented souls survive the Tripps and find their way to each other?

Christian Lauren spends a lot of time on the Tripps disaster of a book tour and life and not a lot of time on the romance of Carey and James. The Tripps are a great trainwreck and you don’t want to look away but that’s not why you bought the book. I did enjoy the plot and the suffocating world built on the bus. The characters were unhinged and entertaining. Although Melissa Tripp is about on par with Cruella de Vil in terms of nuance and Rusty Tripp has the charisma of a telephone pole. The romance is okay and somewhat satisfying if sweet ( I do miss old school Christina Lauren when they brought the heat). I really would have preferred a lot more romance in this romance book. Just an extra scene or five to show the actual romance of Carey and James. And the framing device of the police report was a little off-putting. You don’t expect the outcome you get.

So I’m giving it three stars unfortunately. I think the idea of a mean, funhouse version of Chip and Joanna Gaines appealed to them but it just should have stayed an idea. I really love Christina Lauren but they’ve become a little hit or miss for me. I wish they’d go back to their Beautiful Bastard roots.

#TheHoneyDontList #NetGalley

When it comes to writing duos Christina Lauren is most definitely the cream of the crop. However with the last few books I've read I either fall deeply, madly in love with the story and want to shout about it from the rooftops or I like it well enough but it just doesn't get me overly excited. This one fell in category 2. I liked it and had no trouble reading it but I felt Carey and James really didn't get their time in the spotlight and they should have since the book is supposed to be about them. There was just too much Rusty and Melly that was extremely over the top.

It really wasn't a bad book by any means. I had no problem reading it and whipped through it in no time. I just wanted more for Carey and James and a whole lot less drama from the others.

**Received ARC through NetGalley. Voluntarily reviewed **

I have enjoyed every one of the sister duo Christina Lauren's books so far, and this one did not disappoint!

The Honey-Don't List is a story of a marriage falling apart due to fame and success, as well as a story about a younger couple finding themselves in their careers, as well as finding each other. I found the book humorous at times, as the married couple, Melissa and Rusty were not getting along while having to put on a front for their fans. I was also rooting for James and Carey's budding romance.

I would recommend this book to fans of Christina Lauren. It is less of a steamy romance than some of their previous books, but I think most will enjoy the sweet love story.

The honey dont list is about “the dream team” couple the Tripps. They are home designers, authors and have their own renovations show. But their relationship is not all as perfect as it seems. The are having some major marital problems. Assistant Carey, who has been working for the couple for since she was sixteen (ten years) and newly hired engineer/assistant James must go on the book tour with the couple to help keep the Tripps marriage together and keep up appearances that the couples marriage is a solid as everyone seems. Neither Carey or James were supposed to go on this trip and neither want the job as chaperons. As Carey and James spend more time together things start to heat up between them and he helps her to realize there is more to life than the Tripps and her job.

This book was not exactly what I was expecting. But in a good way. It is not the perfect fluffy romance, in either relationship. I really enjoyed this book, it was unpredictable and had you needing more. Carey has a very complicated relationship with the Tripps and it made me feel really bad for her and root for her to grow into her own person. The ending wraps up great without being the perfect unrealistic happily every after for the book.

I am already recommending this book to friends and customers where I work. I will definitely be picking up a copy when it comes out.

I am a huge Christina Lauren fan but this book just didn't do it for me. I enjoyed Carey's character but didn't like that she let Melissa walk all over her. I didn't like that so much of it was focused on the Tripp's and wished James and Carey's characters and their relationship were developed more. I just didn't find myself as invested in their relationship as much as I would have liked. The investigation aspect seemed a bit out of place and made it seem like some major crime had been committed which was strange for a romance book. All that aside, I will still read anything this duo puts out and if you are a fan give this one a try it wasn't for me but it's a quick read and definitely worth a try!

*Was provided a copy in exchange for an honest review*

I love Carey and James but I never saw them fall for each other! All of a sudden - bang, they were hot for each other. If there was more romantic development, I'd give this a four or even 4.5 because it had everything else, and I really enjoyed it. But contemporary romance should really have some more romance in it so 3 it is. But I really love your stuff, Christina Lauren!

Book Review: The Honey- Don’t List by Christina Lauren

This story is a lovely romance filled with wit, home design references and a bit of drama. You’ll love how Carey and James get to know one another while having the daunting task of insuring that, while on tour to promote their latest book and tv show, everything is sunshine and daisies for the highly loved “perfect” couple that is their bosses. Sounds easy, right

I love to read Christina Lauren books. They are always my favourites! This one was good, but it wasn't the best one.
The main people James and Carey were sweet and feisty.
The other characters Rusty and Melly were not good people. I think that Rusty tried, but Melly was a character that I couldn't like at all. She was mean and selfish.
I wish that the characters had more development. They had been living the same lives for 10 years, and all of a sudden noticed that there were problems.
I'm looking forward to the next Christina Lauren book, and will probably re-read a few of my favourites in the meantime, so I can remember why I love them again.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley -- My first, but not last.

This book is about Carey, a hardworking young adult who works for a home remodelling and design couple, the Tripps, for many years. Along the way, Carey has helped them in their successes, but behind the scenes is facing many struggles keeping everything together, and keeping many life changing secrets. James, one of the Tripps engineers turned personal assistant, and Carey are told that they must join the Tripps on their book tour to "watch over things". Carey and James reluctantly head on the road trip, not knowing what to expect, but knowing it will be difficult. Along the way, while dealing with the difficult Tripps and keeping their secrets, the two become close and develop their own relationship, not knowing that soon, everything will be at risk.

I did really like the book, and I love the authors. It was cute, very sweet and an easy read to get into and stay in. I do wish the book was longer and the story and characters more developed! The storyline and the characters were so interesting and likeable and I would've loved to read more. Everything in the story, especially the relationship between Carey and James developed extremely quickly (almost too quickly to be realistic), that it felt as though it wasn't as deep as it was written. I loved Carey's transformation throughout the story and the support from James. I was invested in Carey and frustrated with her at the beginning but closely followed along her journey, constantly rooting for her. Good book!

Really enjoyed this book! It felt like I was reading a reality tv show, but in novel format. It also had an element that thriller novels do - leaving you wanting to find out what happened in the end! I also liked that it wasn’t a cheesy love story and instead the love story was just an add-on to the storyline of 2 HGTV reality stars navigating their long-lasting fame and what that means for their team. A perfect beach/vacation read - a light, feel good book. Hoping there will be some type of follow up book! The characters were very likeable, who had hardships instead of unrealistic, perfect lives, so it was more relatable. Would definitely recommend this book!

The ARC of this book was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

While not my favourite read from Christina Lauren, I did throughly enjoy this novel. The Honey-Don't List is a light, funny, and sweet read that leaves you wanting more. While I mostly enjoyed this novel, I did find the use of of a police interview as a method of setting up the events in the story to be unnecessary and kind of confusing. The police interview makes it seem as such a huge crime/violence has been committed and when I had reached that point in the book, I found it to be kind of rushed. Overall, I would recommend this novel to anyone looking for an fun and romantic story that's easy to get into.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

I started reading Christina Lauren last year and fell instantly in love with their books. They are the only romance authors I read regularly. So as soon as I saw this here on NetGalley I had to try to get my hands on a copy.

This book was very different from what I am used to with Christina Lauren, but not in a bad way. This was a slowish burn hate to love romance. The romance isn't the entire book which threw me off, however, I loved this book a lot. The characters in this book were all very different and unique, the love interests could not be further opposites if they tried. This novel seemed very realistic compared to some of their other romances which I definitely enjoyed.

This was just an all-around a wholesome love story and I adored every dang minute of it! I definitely cannot wait to see what this writing duo comes up with next!

Home makeover stars, assistants, and drama galore - the makings of one epic and hilarious tale.

The Honey Don’t List is adorable. Cute and funny and really pulled me into the story. I enjoyed the characters and the story’s overall progression but found The ending felt a bit rushed but it still worked and enjoyed how things were tied up.
Carey is such a fun, independent female character, and I loved getting to see her grow from chapter to chapter.
I also really liked having chapters from James’ POV - I always love getting to see both sides of a story/relationship.
Melly - good character, love to hate her, hate to love her.
Rusty - I wish we knew more about him. He’s pretty understand other than being a catalyst in the story.

A cute love story. It was a quick read and character development was good.
Recommended as a nice light read.

*I received an advanced reader’s copy of this book in exchange for my honest review

4.5-5
i just want to start off by saying this book is not perfect at all it has it's flaws, but the way i could connect to it and could understand some of the characters made me think that this book deserves a high rating.

i haven't read all of christina lauren's work, but i do know that this is different from what i have read from them. i think in this one they really branch out with their creative side and instead of focusing only on two people falling in love they kind of show two people falling out of love as well & i appreciated that.

the whole concept is unique, i love how they incorporated this "i want the world and nothing less" mentality in melly because the reader could identify the realistic issues that could cause & how strenuous it is on a marriage which it was in melly & rusty's case. the work life balance concept is always appreciated because it's a real issue that i think a lot of people struggle with & having that concept being worked out by carey makes her someone the reader can relate to. i feel like this book also brings you down to earth and makes you realize what's truly important in your life. family, friends, personal goals, self discovery & self care are all elements that carey ends up realizing are important for her in her own life.

i love how none of the characters are perfect i think that's one of my favourite things about this book. you can clearly see how flawed all the characters are and how they're all still so loved.

i'm indifferent to the setting of the book because it constantly changes, the presentation and order of events could have been a bit more organized, but the way i could relate to this book meant more to me & that's why i gave it the rating i did.

This was so unexpectedly charming! I wasn't really thinking that this was going to blow me away, but it was a really entertaining read - which is very on-brand for Christina Lauren. I could picture the events of this book quite vividly and it was pretty realistic. I thought Carey was such a cute character and her blooming romance with James was sweet as heck! A solid romance! Definitely recommend to anyone who already likes this writing duo, or is in need of a sweet, quick read.

The Honey-Don’t List is Christina Lauren’s latest hit. Anyone who is a fan of any of the countless home improvement shows will enjoy and appreciate this book and the behind-the-scenes reality of some “perfect T.V. couples”.
This was definitely a fresh, new concept for a book, it was well written with likeable characters and then those characters you love to hate.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

3 stars

I enjoyed this book for the simple reason that there was a storyline I was interested besides the romance of the two main characters. I couldn't help but imagine that the home renovation power couple was inspired by the Chuck and Joanna Gains, which sometimes took me outside the story, but also made it a little scandalous for me.

The romance seemed to develop naturally in the midst of a tumultuous side story and was a nice mental break from the stress of the other characters.

In all, it was a pleasant read and one I'd recommend.