4.5 Stars
One of my favorite author duos have done it again. Christina Lauren delivered another fabulous book I couldn’t put down.

I watch HGTV all the time so it was really fun to have a story that reminds me of that. Carey has been working for Melissa and Rusty since she was 16. Now ten years later she is Melissa’s (Melly) assistant. She has watched the Tripp family’s fame grow in their home improvement ideas. Most people know who the Tripp’s are from their tv show and their books.

James is hired on as an engineer but quickly becomes Rusty’s assistant. He keeps hoping he will eventually start doing the job he was hired for. James and Carey are the glue that hold the Tripp’s together. From the outside looking in you think they are one big happy family. Carey and James don’t get along but finally decide to when they end up on the book tour together. If these two can survive the trip maybe their newfound relationship can survive.

The Honey-Don’t List is a fun quick read.

I officially have yet to meet a Christina Lauren book that I didn’t like. And while The Honey-Don’t List didn’t quite end up being a favorite of theirs for me, I enjoyed my time with it nonetheless. This was one of those fun, easy reads that you pick up and finish in one sitting because you just can’t help but breeze through it. As is their style, this story was on the lighter side as a whole with some great banter and humorous situations between the characters, but there was definitely a “serious” touch to it as well, which added a depth I felt was needed and something I really liked. Now, there was one big downfall here for me and that was the ending. I don’t want to give anything away, so I’ll just say that the way the ending played out felt rushed and then abrupt, and didn’t work for me at all. I really wanted to see more of the “how” that ending came to be.

To sum it up, this was a sweet “enemy coworkers” to lovers romance (with a forced proximity trope) alongside an honest and sometimes tough look at marriage, relationships, and the ups and downs of fame and fortune... all wrapped up with a Fixer Upper vibe. Definitely worth the read for you contemporary romance lovers!

Thank you NetGalley and Gallery Books for the gifted copy.

This is a title I would recommend to the adults at the library workshops I run. Personally, it wasn't my favorite Christina Lauren as I found that there wasn't great chemistry between the characters. I will still recommend and read all Christina Lauren titles but this was not my favorite.

When Christina Lauren combines romance with HGTV, I am there and I am a fan! I thoroughly enjoyed this book, but it was a lighter romance than I was expecting and I didn't really connect with the characters. Maybe more like women's fiction and less romance...? I also missed some of the sass and humor that I have come to expect with Christina Lauren. It was a satisfying read, but it's not going to be on my list of favorites.

Christina Lauren is a favorite romance writing duo of mine so I was extremely excited when I could get my hands on an early copy of their new book. I am a long time lover of a certain home remodeling show and love the concept of a behind the scenes look at what managing a famous couple might look like. This book follows two assistants, Carey and James who work for Melissa and Rusty Tripp. Mel and Rusty are America’s sweethearts who star on a home remodeling tv show. Here’s the catch though- appearances aren’t always what they seem. The two have newly come out with a relationship book and are going on tour to promote its release. Too bad their relationship has been in the toilet for awhile now. It is Carey and James’ job to help keep these two in line during the tour so that unsuspecting fans don’t get wind of the actual state of Mel and Rustys relationship.

Carey has been working for this duo since their start. And turns out, she’s actually been the one designing all of their spaces. She is loyal to a fault but has never been given the attention that she deserves. To be honest, Mel treats her like shit. The lack of resolution to this is one of the things I wish was different about this book. James is not actually an assistant although he absolutely gets treated like one. He has a degree in engineering and only took this job after a flub at his last engineering gig. These two characters actually kind of despise each other at the beginning of the book, but through mutual exasperation of their bosses, end up really bonding during the length of the tour and fall in love. I found their story to be so sweet and endearing. Their catty exchanges and slow evolution into more was what kept me turning the pages. Overall, something I would definitely recommend to contemporary fiction lovers.

Carey Douglas was only 16 when she wandered into Comb+Honey, a local home design store run by Wyoming home designers Melissa and Rusty Tripp. Carey got a job working at the cash register and slowly worked her way up. She helped design some of the window displays that drew customers into the store. Melissa did the decorating and Rusty built custom furniture, and the couple managed to take their store and turn it into an empire.

It’s now ten years later, and Carey is Melissa’s assistant. Through the Tripps’ home design television show, the growth of their brand, and now the release of their book on what makes a good marriage, Carey has been a part of it all. But the cracks are starting to show, particularly in the marriage. Rusty isn’t happy and has been looking for companionship elsewhere. And since the couple is about to embark on their book tour and getting ready to announce their new Netflix design series, there can be no cracks. It’s up to Carey and Rusty’s new assistant to make sure that the public face of the Tripps doesn’t trip up any of their coming successes.

Jim McCann took the job working for Rusty Tripp for two reason. As an engineer, he could use this experience to help design and build custom furniture for the new series and for the brand in general. James is looking for that kind of creative job. And second, it would look better on his resume than his previous engineering job, for the firm still being investigated by the Feds for embezzling client money. He needs this job. He needs it so badly that he’s willing to act as assistant, no—as babysitter—for one misbehaving Tripp for the duration of the book tour.

But the closeness of the tour bus only exacerbates Melissa’s anger, Rusty’s avoidance, and James’ growing crush on Carey. The only question is: who is going up in flames first?

Christina Lauren is an author duo known for their romances, but in my book, this one, The Honey-Don’t List, is the finest. I absolutely loved this story of romance under difficult circumstances. I thought the premise was perfect, the characters are dimensional and likable (except for when they’re not supposed to be), and I adored the way the relationship between James and Carey played out. Told in alternating viewpoints between Carey, James, police interviews, and twitter gossip, The Honey-Don’t List is so heart-warming and enjoyable that I would recommend it to anyone who loves romance, HGTV shows, comedy, or really good writing.

In addition, one of the characters struggles with a physical difficulty that I wasn’t even aware of before reading this, so it was lovely to get a chance to learn about life from the perspective of someone who suffers from a movement disorder.

Galleys for The Honey-Don’t List were provided by Gallery Books through NetGalley, with many thanks.

So I was waiting on the edge of my seat for the next thing that the Tripps would throw at Carey and James. I know we’re supposed to be enamoured by the MC’s (and I was) but I was obsessed with the train wreck that is the Tripps. Think Netflix’ Set It Up and HGTV’s Flip or Flop mixed together. But no worries, our MC’s Carey and James do also have great individual stories. I was rooting for them! I think the overall theme here is facing the unknown head on and hopefully doing that with the right partner

Cute story. I’m a huge fan of the Christina Lauren duo and their romances. Unfortunately this one fell kind of flat for me. I’ll definitely still recommend it to people in the store, but it’s just kinda blah to me. I didn’t really feel the chemistry between the two main characters, James and Carey. I almost found the relationship of Rusty and Melissa more interesting. Still a cute, easy read though.

Big thank you to Gallery Books and Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review! Opinions are mine.

For you if you like: Wyoming, HGTV and road trips! (road...Tripps?:)

Christina Lauren is new-found love of mine and I’m so happy about it! I was skeptical for so long about whether or not I would ever find another author (or duo in this case) that could write romantic but not overly cringey romance, other than my ride or die Colleen Hoover. Christina Lauren absolutely surprised me with The Unhoneymooners last summer! It’s now one of my favorite books of all time and I’ve been obsessed ever since!

The Honey-Don’t List follows Carey and James, two assistants who work under HGTV personalities Melly and Rusty Tripp. In my head, the Tripps are essentially Christina and Tarek from HGTV. The story follows all four characters as they tour the country to promote the premiere of the Tripps’ new tv show. It’s a good idea to head into this one with little background because there are quite a few revelations. People fall in love, hearts are broken, and things just aren’t as they seem!

The Honey-Don’t List unfortunately fell a little bit short in comparison to the other CL books I’ve read. I loved the concept, the setting and the characters themselves. My main issue was that the story was just was too short and therefore was underdeveloped across the board. I wanted more.
Less important, but as someone who's obsessed with Western Wyoming (OH so gorgeous) I would have also liked to experience more of the Jackson area, which happens to be the characters' hometown and home base. Maybe even see a bit of the the townie life, or the breath-taking Teton range they're nestled right into. It was a little weird being in such a distinctly beautiful place and barely reading a descriptive word about it. I say this because in The Unhoneymooners, Hawaii is such an integral part to the story that it almost feels like a character itself. I wanted the same to happen here!

Anyway, I would still say to give it a try if you like the topics I mentioned above and want a very quick, bittersweet romance!

Thank you #netgalley, #simonandschuster and #gallerybooks for an advanced copy in return for an honest review!

What a cute idea for a book, HGTV meets rom com! I really enjoyed the story line, the characters were relatable and it is a lighthearted story, which was a nice break from all the thrillers. My only criticism, is that I was hoping to read more on Carey/James, than Melly/Rusty.

Thank you again and if any readers want a quick, light read, this is your book, available now!

The Christina Lauren duo writes some of my favorite light romances, but this book was a disappointment. I love an enemies to lovers storyline, but this one never really established why the characters didn't like each other. I was also distracted by the similarities to Chip and Joanna Gaines. I would recommend to readers looking for books that straddle the line between romance and contemporary fiction.

This is the fourth novel I've read by Christina Lauren. I really like their knack for storytelling. There's humor, drama, romance, steamy scenes, and more in each of their novels.

The Honey-Don't List was a fun read the entire way through. I enjoyed getting to know Carey and James and seeing them interact with each other and their bosses. Melly was a piece of work. Very much Devil Wears Prada. I don't know that I wanted to share a first name with her, but since authors rarely use my first name in books, I'll deal with it.

I learned about dystonia, which is not something I knew much about before. The story surprised me in some ways and I enjoyed trying to figure out where it would end up. The tweets reminded me of the kind I see about people from 90 Day Fiance, reaffirming why I would never want to be on reality television.

Overall, this was another enjoyable novel by Christina Lauren and I can't wait to add more of theirs to my queue soon!

Movie casting ideas:
Carey: Katie Stevens
James: Chris Wood
Melissa: Andrea Anders
Rusty: David Denman

Carey Douglas has worked for Melissa ("Melly") and Russell ("Rusty") Tripp since she was a teenager. They run the tight ship that is their remodeling business as well as star in their own reality television series, not to mention, they have a new book and book tour about to launch as well. The problem? The famous couple can no longer stand each other.

James McCann is a newbie who was originally hired as a structural engineer, but both he and Carey find themselves on tour with Melissa and Rusty so as to not let things fall completely apart, and make Rusty and Melly seem like the perfect couple they've always been.

It is so refreshing to finally get a story that has a leading man with a maturity level that is above a 12 year old boy! James, is a good guy and so smart, which we don't always get to see in romance books. He is so swoon worthy and I just loved him. Carey, is a little bit of a mess. She has very low self confidence and thinking she could never make it on her own tend to bring her down. Not realizing that she is in fact the one who keeps everything together. James and Carey's journey to falling in love is so sweet and crazy considering everything that Rusty and Mel are doing to each other.
I sometimes felt that Rusty and Mel's drama over shadowed James and Carey. It often felt that there were 4 main characters and two of them I could have done without. Rusty and Mel made me sad and I have never really felt this way with a Christina Lauren book. BUT, I do feel like "I get it." Love can grow from some of the ugliest circumstances. We see one story end and one love story begin, and that is the beautiful part of this book.

Dynamic duo Christina Lauren is back at it again with the Honey-Don't List. Assistant Carey Douglas and Engineer (cough)/Assistant James McCann are given a herculean task. They have to make sure their bosses can keep up their "happily married" facade long enough to survive their book tour in the age of Twitter and Instagram.

Married couple Melissa and Rusty Tripp started off as the real deal when they began building their design and remodeling empire nearly a decade ago. They lost each other along the way, and now they are lying to their fans (and themselves). Carey and James are stuck in the middle of two people who can't stand each other, and the two of them didn't quite start of as best friends either. Along the way, they'll end up exploring if there's chemistry underlying the animosity. And, they'll also find out what's more important - love or money.

Many thanks to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an unbiased review.

The Honey-Don't List by Christina Lauren was not my favorite. I loved her romantic comedies full of romance and humor. The expectations I had were high for this novel. I was so excited to read this...only to find it was less than what I normally found. Meaning, the writing was still amazing. However, the humor and huge romance themes were lighter. The story didn't feel quite as deep as her other novels either. I missed that huge emotional deep bond I got when reading books written by Christina Lauren.

This story wasn't as centered on the main characters quite as much as the previous books were. I enjoyed these characters and their journey. It was good enough to keep me reading. I just missed the big WOW I normally get after reading a Christina Lauren novel. Romance was still there, the need for the characters to be together and be happy were still present. Overall, great tale by a talented writer.

The Honey-Don't List by Christina Lauren was a pleasantly endearing novel. Usually I find CL a barrel of drunken monkeys to read but this book was different. While there were numerous laughs, I found myself in a different, more contemplative mood after finishing the last page. It was a refreshing feeling. I found an added range to the author duo which I thoroughly enjoyed.

What a fun book to read! Carey and James are assistants to the new home designer couple on TV, their job is to keep the couple from killing each other! Is too much togetherness going to work?

⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

The Tripps are home design and renovation gods, known for their stores, merchandise lines at big box stores, books, and shows. Carey has been working with the Tripps since she was 16, working day in and day out to keep this empire afloat. Now everything is on the verge of collapse as the Tripps start to publicly get noticed for arguing.

This was very enjoyable, but for a romance book, it wasn’t very romance-centric. The romance just felt like it was more of a back burner plot and the actual fall of the Tripp empire was the focal point. I still enjoyed it, but it just wasn’t quite what I was expecting out of a romance.

I am really loving the range that Christina Lauren has been able to do. The Honey-Don't List is an amazing story that has you on your toes, swooning, emotional and all the things in between. Highly recommend it!