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Carey Douglas has a very thankless job which she has given her all to since the age of sixteen. Ten years later, Carey is head wrangler for a celebrity home remodeling couple, Melissa and Rusty Tripp. Carey along with MIT graduate and engineer, James McCann, is charged with keeping this couple from going off the rails while they are all on a book promotion tour together. Familiarity breeds contempt goes a long way to describe the Tripp marriage which is on the verge of imploding thanks to Melly’s dictatorial, obsessive ways, and Rusty’s Peter Pan personality and alley cat morals. Carey has contributed much to their success; however, she gets little credit which has always been fine with her until now.

James McCann never thought he would be essentially a gofer PA for a celebrity boss. Having been promised an engineering job which he desperately needs, the only thing James is engineering is keeping Rusty from embarrassing them all and helping Carey keep the whole house of cards together. The Tripps are about to hit it even bigger with a new show so this tour is extremely important to that goal.

Melly and Rusty are quite hard to take; their constant arguing makes for stress and strain on everyone putting Carey and James in the position of continually doing damage control. Melly’s physical violence towards her husband is also very off putting and not funny. While on the misery tour, Carey and James find more in common than just crazypants bosses. Carey has lived in the shadows so long, but now she sees a possibility for a different future away from manipulative Melly and her feckless husband. When Carey finally decides she wants something different, fumbles happen in the usual rom-com way. Since Carey and James spend so much time working their jobs, they have little time to truly develop a relationship before everything falls apart so unfortunately the romantic element takes more of a back seat in this book.

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This was such a fun, feel good, romance novel. Was any of it especially surprising or unique? No. But it’s like your mom’s mac and cheese, super comforting and hits the spot. It did its job of making you hope and wish for your own very special someone.

The pacing was good and it was a super quick read. The second half was definitely stronger than the first. I enjoyed every bit of this and will continue to look forward to their future novels!!

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I'd call this a 3.5. It has humor, like all CL books, but never quite to the laugh out loud level. The two main characters are quite likeable, and very cute together, but the two secondary characters were more caricatures than fully fleshed people. It also followed the standard romance formula--two people dislike each other, then decide they do like each other, then decide they love each other, then break up over some silly, overblown misunderstanding, then get back to HEA. The breakup trigger was extremely transparent, which made it feel somewhat artificial. But that's true for most romances, so it's the quality of the writing and the general enjoyability factors that made me round this up to a 4 rather than my standard romance rating of 3.

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Another great contemporary romance from the writing duo Christina Lauren. The Honey-Don't List balances tension and release in the most satisfying way, all wrapped up with a resolving happy bow at the end. Christina Lauren and their team are masters of the craft of romance writing. The characters and their motivations are real and empathizable. I read this book on a lazy Sunday and it was exactly what I wanted to dissociate from reality for a time.

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I devoured it. Christina Lauren never disappoint. And are my #1 perfect antidote to the news.I love the breezy easy style and as always fell in love with the characters. The added element of suspense was a fun addition. And now I can't wait for the next one.

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This book is not Bastard.

Don't go in thinking you're getting another Chloe and Bennett because that's not going to happen and you will be disappointed.

But that is 100% okay.

This book is fun. This book is heart.

This book is the The Honey Don't List.

Working as assistants to Mel and Rusty Tripp, Carey and James are forced into going on the road with the Tripps as they promote their new book about relationships. It's Carey and James's job to not let the public know what really goes on in the Tripps' less than perfect marriage.

This is a story of two couples Carey and James finding their way to each other the first time and Mel and Rusty finding their way back to each other.

The love story between Carey and James is sweet and tender. Mel and Rusty are more Tanya Tucker's Love Me Like You Used Too.

The story was witty and fun with a large does of OMG did that really just happen?

I enjoyed the book. I enjoyed a country girl heroine and hero completely out of his depth.

Christina Lauren always does a great job making characters come to life and feel well rounded.

From their first office romance to their newest they have grown so much as authors. The depth and heart really make this story.

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I received an ARC of this book for an honest review. I'm a big fan of Christina Lauren-this duo's writing always hooks me from the beginning. Because I HATE shiplap and all things Magnolia, this book did not disappoint-Rusty and Melly are the couple you love to hate! The slow burn of their assistants, James and Carey, made for a sweet romance set in the best kind of chaos.

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I love Christina Lauren books but this one was lacking something. I enjoyed the story line but I was more invested in the Tripps than in James and Carey. I felt like the chemistry was kind of lacking.

With that said, I did enjoy the book. I just didn’t like it as much as some of their other books.

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I am usually a big fan of Christina Lauren books. They are fun and uplifting and the characters are well developed. While this wasn't a bad book by any means, I felt like it wasn't one of their strongest. The biggest reason is because the characters weren't nearly as developed as I feel they usually are. We knew almost nothing about Melissa or Rusty Tripp, especially Melissa. We're told a lot about how awesome in love they were but it's a lot of telling and very little showing. Nothing to really explain how Melissa ended up this way or even a bit more of her textured personality. They mostly seem to be cartoonish.

But even with all that, I still read the whole book in a day, got lost in the story and enjoyed my way through it. If you've never read Christina Lauren, I wouldn't start with this one but if you're a Christina Lauren fan, I am sure you'll enjoy this one.

with gratitude to netgalley and Gallery, Pocket Books for an advanced copy in return for an honest review.

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The honey don’t list, is definitely a don’t read list. This book is so cotton candy, it will give you a toothache. This is a book you grab from a library-because it’s free- read it til something good to read comes available

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I have always been impressed by how much I enjoy Christina Lauren books, and this was no exception!

This one took me a bit longer to get into than their stories usually do. Most of this was because the main romance felt so rushed to me. It wasn't like an enemies to lovers situation, but rather ambivalent coworkers to lovers. I didn't feel like there was enough reason to support the relationship at first with made it tough to be 100% on board. Neither character seemed to have much feeling about each other and then *BAM!* they were all in. Still, once the couple was established, I enjoyed their interactions and their scenes together, and by the end they managed to win me over.

This may have been my favorite setting/plot for a Christina Lauren romance. I liked the look behind-the-scenes of a reality TV show and couple. It was interesting to see the developing relationship against the deteriorating relationship of the TV stars. It added some humor and conflict that wouldn't have been possible with a different background. While I wasn't thrilled with the (overused!) trope of miscommunication as a plot device, it made sense in the situation and was resolved in a way that made me squeal with joy, so I didn't find it as annoying as I have in some romances.

I will definitely be picking up any future stories by Christina Lauren... I'm officially a fan!

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Christina Lauren are at their best with banter and rivals to lovers, honestly. James and Carey's chemistry was a sexy delight, and while the tensions between Melissa and Rusty stressed me out to no end, this was a great, fast-paced love story with the addition of some thoughtful disability rep. Fun, current, great if your favorite Christina Lauren book is Dating You/Hating You, if you spite-follow Chip and Joanna Gaines, or if you're a Sally Thorne fan looking for other romance to read.

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The Honey Don’t List
The Honey Don’t List by Christina Lauren is a charming story of two people falling in love. Here’s the premise: While in the public eye Rusty and Melissa Tripp, a celebrity home decor duo, seem to be a loving couple building their unique design brand, in reality their marriage is falling apart. As Melissa and Rusty find it harder and harder to maintain their enviable public persona, their assistants Carey and James are forced to step in and try to control the damage while the couple goes on tour to promote their new book on (ironically) marriage advice.

Carey and James are both undervalued and overworked, but both have reasons to continue working for the Tripps. After being forced together in the difficult situation that is life with the Tripps, they begin a romance of their own.

I absolutely loved this book! The chemistry between Carey and James was believable and I felt that I could relate to both of their perspectives. Their relationship was very sweet, and I enjoyed watching them learn to understand each other and fall in love. The plot was well-paced- I was never bored or just waiting to get on with the next chapter. I really didn’t want to put this book down!

If I had one critique, it would be that I could have done without the police interview sections. While this did have the desired effect of letting the reader know that some big disaster was on the horizon, I don’t think we needed the interviews to know that. The Tripps relationship was so obviously a mess that we didn’t need the extra hint that it would implode at some point. However, these sections were very brief and didn’t detract from my enjoyment of the story.

Overall, I give this book 4.5/5 stars! I would definitely recommend this book to any contemporary/romance fan. I think this is Christina Lauren’s best work so far!

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Too many adult themes to recommend this to my students, but I will happily tell friends and coworkers. I enjoyed this but it was not my favorite CL book. Somehow it felt less fun. I really liked Carey though.

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This book had an interesting premise and I've heard good things about this author-duo, so I was excited. The book turned out a beach read type fiction with less romance and more couple drama from the Tripps - the bosses, which was not the fun kind but pretty frustrating that it went on so long before a sudden twist. I really liked Carey and James, but their romance feels rushed with not enough time devoted to them really evolving as a couple. Similarly the end also feels a bit rushed and cut off where they meet again after a while but you're left wondering what the repercussions are off all the drama and where they're going next. Easy to read, but not much more.

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I enjoyed this story of a famous designing couple & their assistants trying to contain their impending implosion. Carey & James (The assistants) fall in love along the way of course.
While this book lacked the witty banter that I loved so much from The Unhoneymooners & Josh & Hazel, the characters were still very likable & I rooted for their relationship. And though it also lacked much buildup—they went quickly from practical strangers to soulmates—I still enjoyed them getting together. But The Honey-Don’t List was about more than the romance. It focused a lot on the designing couple & how they had lost their way, & on Carey’s growth as a person.
Overall a quick & enjoyable read!

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I was super hype to get this book early because I’ve read a bunch of Christina Lauren and have liked a few. Unfortunately, their most recent books (Unhoneymooners, Twice in a Blue Moon) have not been my favorites. Every CL book I read I hope will live up to the magic of Love and Other Words, but none of their recent stuff has which is a bummer.

The Honey-Don’t- List is like a mix of Set It Up and a fictional Fixer Upper but not nearly as interesting or perfect. Melly and Rusty Tripp are home improvement celebrities with a hit show, book on marriage, and successful brand. Unfortunately, the couple behind the show are a disaster in real life and they rely on Carey Duncan (Melly’s assistant among other things) and James McCann (engineer turned assistant) to handle their lives and deal with their mess. Melly is honestly so difficult to read because she is absolutely fake and horrific. I was really hoping to get more enemies from Carey and James but they turned into friends and then love sick couple pretty quick, which was somewhat unbelievable. I honestly don’t think they had a ton of chemistry either. Some parts were sweet and some parts made me laugh (especially when I secretly imagined that Melly and Rusty were actually Joanna and Chip Gaines lol). But overall, I wish this could have been more: more interesting, higher stakes, more sweet swoony love, and a better wrap up.

**I received an ARC from NetGalley in return for an honest review**

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3.5

I’m having a hard time figuring out what to officially rate things because I have mixed feelings about it overall. I didn’t hate it or dislike it at all, and if I pile up my CL reads and rate them, this would probably be 3rd. But there’s still a few things that didn’t make me LOVE this. I think overall I just feel like it will be a book I’ll probably forget in a few months, and it didn’t leave that much of a mark on me, but it was still enjoyable while I was reading, and I feel like that counts for something.

I want to say that I throughly enjoyed the plot. I’m a huge fan HGTV and I’m loving seeing all the books coming out inspired by shows from that channel and from the idea of a couple that renovates houses together. This was a big win for me plot wise!

Another win for me was the characters. I have to say, I think so far James might be my favorite CL male character. I haven’t read all of their books yet, but he was by far the sweetest, and I’ll go even farther to say the most likable. I don’t like the conflicts these authors come up with in their books, and this one wasn’t different, but I felt like it was the least bad and that James genuinely wanted to tell her and was searching for the right moment. Overall, def my favorite male character of theirs!

Carey was also a delight to read about and I specially loved her character growth throughout the book. I loved seeing her stand up for herself in the end, and I really enjoyed her personality!


Couple wise, I have mixed feelings. Mostly because I get like there was absolutely no build up between these two AT ALL, and their relationship felt rather abrupt if I’m being honest. They suddenly went from coworkers who barely knew each other to being in love and it unfortunately wasn’t pulled off well enough for me to buy it. They did have some really cute moments that made me smile, but I think it lacked development. If it wasn’t for that I would’ve really loved their relationship.


Overall, it was an ok story but nothing mind blowing. If you want something sweet to give you some warm feelings, I do recommend it! I didn’t hate it, I didn’t love it, but it definitely wasn’t bad, and it’s definitely not anywhere close to my least favorites by these authors.

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This was just okay; I liked her earlier books better. This felt rushed, and character development was weak. I read this as an ARC from the publisher.

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Christina Lauren's books are a comfort read for me. I go into it knowing I am going to have an enjoyable story, a couple of giggles along the way, and a HEA. The Honey Don't List, in all these areas, does not disappoint. James and Carey are great and the backdrop to the book and the conflict it provided was an interesting premise.

That being said, the story did not hold anything new or exciting within it. Perhaps I have become a little jaded, but it felt almost calculated, like a fill in the blanks novel. The characters, while wonderful, were a little flat, and Carey's lack of personal conviction made her a bit frustrating to read. It didn't feel like there was any true chemistry between James and Carey, it almost read as a close proximity novel where the individuals could have been anyone given the circumstances.

I also disliked the resolution with Melly and Rusty. The relationship between them and Carey was abusive, and the relationship between Melly and Rusty should have truly ended up with Melly in jail. The number of times she became violent with Rusty was horrifying, and the fact that there was no real consequences for her in the end, and that Carey excused it given their previous relationship, just lends to the fact that she is an abuser. I struggled reading that part and not finding the conclusion of their relationship satisfying.

Altogether, if you're looking for something lighthearted to take your mind off reality for a bit, this book fits the bill.

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