The Honey-Don't List is my second or third Christina Lauren book, and one that I think fans of this duo's work will really enjoy.

The story is centered around the collapsing marriage of [fictional] HGTV-superstar couple Melly & Rusty and the two assistants [the long-suffering Casey and new-hire James) tasked with keeping their relationship publicly, at least, on-track. It took me a few chapters to invest in the characters, but they eventually grew on me and though the plot is somewhat predictable I enjoyed the unfolding romance and fictionalized realilty-TV drama of the story.

A fun and fast read!

The Honey Don't List was a cute, fun, read which is what I want in a romance and it didnt disappoint.

Couldn’t put The Honey-Don’t List down! Read it all in one day. Even managed to sneak some reading time in during the evening service at church (it was during the dinner portion of the evening—I paid attention when it counted!)

It’s everything I’ve come to expect in a Christina Lauren book: humor, great characters, steamy scenes that make you squirm in your seat while reading, and a plot that keeps you turning the page.

I do think that Carey forgives a little too easily, but as someone exactly like her (who takes care of everyone but myself and tries to make sure everything runs smoothly), I can understand why she’s so quick to forgive. I just wish she would’ve stuck to her guns a bit more in the end with a certain person (no spoilers).

The worst thing about reading romance like this is that it is the idealized version of what a relationship should be. It’s like watching those Hallmark movies during Christmas when a city woman finds a country boy who teaches her to enjoy the little things. This story is very similar, except we have a woman with a medical condition who doesn’t realize that her boss is emotionally abusive.

One of the things that I dislike in all romance is the “she didn’t know that she was beautiful or she didn’t know how special she was” trope. This book has it in spades. Basically, the plot is a quasi-enemies to lovers trope. James and Carey work for a couple who have an HGTV home renovation show, a book deal, all predicated on their perfect marriage. Their marriage is anything but perfect. As they have rocketed to success, they have been stealing Carey’s ideas and passing them off as their own and holding her need for medical insurance over her head. James brought on as an engineer for the show helps her realize that she is being taken advantage of and falls in love with her. As much as I enjoyed the complexity of the narrative, Melissa’s character, the wife of home renovation couple is a very flat vilified character without any redeeming qualities.

Why are we still reading about the “Evil wife”? Why are we still getting sympathy and empathy for the CHEATER? I don’t care what that woman did to him; THAT IS NOT OKAY. What I’ve noticed in books is the ease in which cheating is just accepted with the most minimal reason (I’m looking at you VOX). The whole catalyst for the book is James and Carey catching Rusty screwing someone other than his wife and his behavior is excused because he felt ignored..Seriously? You can miss me with that one, sir.

Overall, I’m disappointed in the message. I’m disappointed in the fact that we are still getting stereotypical caricatures of women in our own media. We can do so much better and we just don’t. With so many publications back to back, it might be a good idea for the writing team to slow down and re-evaluate the message they are putting out there

I’ve been anticipating for Christina Lauren’s newest book since it was first announced! I dove into The Honey-Don’t List the day I received it. I was pleasantly surprised to see the direction that they went in this novel. I feel this one delivers though it doesn’t exude the typical charm of their previous books. The elements I really loved about The Honey-Don’t List was that they bring up toxic bosses and feelings of being trapped in a job. I also loved the HGTV vibes in this book. My only drawback was that I wasn’t a big fan of the romance between Carey and James in this book. It felt a bit too forced and lacked chemistry. I really liked the way the authors created Melissa and James’ characters, however, I wasn’t a fan of Carey or Rusty. Despite my feeling of how I felt about the romance and a couple of the characters, this still resulted in a four star read because of the strong storyline.

I received this book throughly Netgalley. Christina Lauren does it again! This is a great romcom that has you from the first page. The plotline is unique and cute.

3.5 stars
Carey Douglas has worked for the Tripps, a couple .who appear to be powerful in love have been very successful in building their brand. for almost her entire life . Things aren’t always as they seem and Carey and James, another assistant, try and keep the peace and keep the truth of their relationship out of the public eye. Carey reaches a point where she is tired of being used and abused and decides to quit, but working for them is all she has ever known. Will she have the strength to walk away and make herself her priority?

Christina Lauren has never written a book I didnt like...until now, and I’ve read almost all of them. This one fell flat with unlikeable characters and a plot that seemed to go nowhere. I will continue to read their books but chalk this one up to a fluke

The latest by Christina Lauren was a fun take on behind the scenes of a DIY show. Carey and James are very different but both find themselves along for the ride on a book tour from hell with their bosses' imploding marriage. The authors deliver yet another fun rom-com.

I love everything about this book. A little bit of waiting to see what happened between bosses, what happened between the coworkers, and what came next. It was steamy, it was was captivating, and it was incredible. I couldn't put it down and it was kind of what I had been waiting for in a book to pull me out of a slump. I can not wait to buy this in paperback.

This book felt a little different from other Christina Lauren titles I’ve read but that definitely wasn’t a bad thing! I thought the structure of setting up the climax through those “present day” interview transcripts kept a good thread of tension and intrigue going as the plot unfolded.

Our main characters, Carey and James, the put-upon assistants who grow closer after dealing with the ugly behind the scenes reality of their famous bosses, are fun and fully realized characters who are easy to root for. And as someone who’s logged a lot of viewing hours of Fixer Upper, seeing the hot mess of Melissa and Rusty Tripp (the dysfunctional Chip and Joanna of this book) was kind of a delight, even when they were at their most terrible.

Some of the pacing felt a little off to me, particularly the way plot threads are tied up towards the end, but overall I really enjoyed this one.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC!

I love Christina Lauren’s books and the Honey-Don’t List is another good one!

I enjoyed what a strong character Carey was- I felt like we could be besties! And then her budding romance with James was really fun to read as well.

Lauren always brings heat, excellent storytelling and wit!

4 stars!

Thanks go to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Having read and loved Love and Other Words, I seem to hold all other Christina Lauren books to it as a comparison. Sometimes my current CL read lives up to the standard, and other times it doesn’t. The Honey-Don’t List falls in the middle for me. Definitely more enjoyable than Twice in a Blue Moon, but not on par with LAOW. I loved the book’s premise, but wish that James and Carey had been developed more, making their story more of a focus than that of Melly and Rusty. An okay story for me, but diehard CL fans will be happy with it.

Thank you to NetGalley and to the publisher for the opportunity to read and review THE HONEY-DON’T LIST by Christina Lauren. I received a free copy in exchange for my honest review.

Five stars and here’s why:

LOVED IT! The authors did not disappoint! I’ve read a lot of Christina Lauren's books and this one is just as fabulous! Jack and Carey have chemistry in spades! While sparks flew and their love grew, their bosses’ marriage went completely haywire. It’s contemporary romance at its best! Highly recommend.

When I was on maternity leave, I devoured Fixer Upper and any home improvement show, oh HGTV. It got to the point, after watching 8 hours of home improvement, I wanted to shiplap my whole house and I mentally thought I could turn a dilapidated dresser into a beautiful TV stand. So the fact that Christina Lauren took my pipe dream passions and made it the bases of their book, meant I already had it in my pre-order shopping cart. Then they decided to add in an enemies-to-lovers trope, so naturally I automatically pushed “buy”.

I love how this is a bit dark and messy. Everyone at the beginning is the worst version of themselves. Carey is so resilient and humble, but she doesn’t know her own talent and refuses to believe in herself or even stand up for herself. She’s been broken down so much and she doesn’t see value in herself anymore which makes me so sad for her. James is a glasses wearer, engineer, who went to MIT, with a rocking body, and can cook. Basically my kryptonite (they basically described my husband), with the exception that he’s only out to get himself ahead and he’s shellfish in that respect.

Tension between Carey and James was sensational. I love how they live to push each other’s buttons. But it was sweet how they eventually become each other’s support system. It’s such a weird and unique situation that they are both in and only each other could understand. So them opening up and leaning on one another is such a sweet way to start their story.

They set up this book by slowly revealing a mystery through transcripts, excerpts, social media, and interviews that helps to enhance the structure of the plot. The mystery was so intriguing and intense. Having Melly and Rusty at the center of it and knowing how their characters unfolded, I wanted to keep reading, find out what happened. The writing was truly captivating.

It always baffles me that two authors are able to make one book flow so well. The way the scenes were described, I could see it, every emotion that every character felt, I could feel it. Christina Lauren was able to take the simple action of unbuttoning a coat and make it the most sensual act. Once the drama of Rusty and Melly got put into the background and Carey and James came to the foreground, that’s when I started to love the book. Rusty’s nicknames for James alone make the book amazing because they are reminiscent of Michael Scott and his nicknames for Jim Halpert.

It really is a heartfelt story about learning to love yourself and how to love others. It was a fun and entertaining story with a unique setup brought to life by the amazing writing talents of Christina Lauren.

Thank you to Gallery Books and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I cannot begin to express how much I loved reading Never Enough by Kelly Elliott. The story was emotional, charming and angsty with characters I adored and a story I devoured. Brock Shaw broke my heart. He was a good man with a caring heart, but the past weighs heavily on him. Intent on forgetting this past mistakes, bull riding has become his escape. And yet he is full of guilt every time he leaves his son with his parents for work.

Lincoln is looking for a fresh start and this small town in Montana may just be what she needs. What she never expected was Brock and his adorable son to steal her heart. But Brock is not an easy man to love. Letting love in again was never his intention, but right from when they meet, the chemistry and connection is there. Can he learn to let Lincoln in?

I absolutely loved Never Enough by Kelly Elliot. It was emotional, angsty and heartwarming. I loved the characters so much and cannot wait to see what comes next in the series, though I have an idea! A great read and one I highly recommend.

Happy reading!

This is my first book by these authors and I will definitely be on the lookout for more from them! 5 stars for this one!
Carey has worked for the Tripp family since she was sixteen, now nearly a decade later, she's still working for them but on their show, in the back ground and as Melissa's assistant. And she's content being there sometimes. When Rusty hires a new assistant, James, Carey loves to tease him because he's an engineer doing an assistants job fetching dry cleaning and coffee.
When Carey & James are forced to go on the Tripps book tour to keep the peace between them, will they be able to fight the attraction they have? Read along and find out!

The Honey-Don’t List had so much potential, but unfortunately there were quite a lot of missed opportunities.

On the one hand I loved the topic. I’m a big fan of remodeling shows, and I can spend hours on Pinterest going through interior design boards. And I definitely love the assistant co-worker trope. Usually it comes with forced proximity, which makes for fun times.

But I must admit, this book will be the one CL book that I didn’t connect with at all. I would also say, that if you’d asked me in six month what the story was all about, I couldn’t even tell you.

For me, the main issue was that the plot didn’t spent enough time on the main couple Carey and James. Instead it was all about the mess that their employers Melissa and Rusty Tripp brought with them. Because of that I didn’t feel the chemistry, connection or sexual attraction that I would have hoped to get from a couple falling in love. The I love you‘s at the end of the novel came out of the blue for me. Because IMO their relationship never grew out of the budding romance stage.

I also felt that the book was a bit all over the place. There were some elements of interview style, tweets (about the Tripps), and excerpts of a book that had nothing to do with Carey and James (again the Tripps). There was too much behind the scenes of a TV series and book tour that concentrated on the Tripps and took the focus away from the main couple.

So yes, it hurts me to say, but The Honey-Don’t List didn’t work for me as much as I hoped it would.

Now, good news, as soon as I’ve read a new book by CL I’m already excited about the next one. Let the waiting begin.

A fun and hearteining read of two assistants helping out two married celebrities as they experience the collapse of a marriage empire. The foibles, truimps, and basic intricacies of b yo ilding a relationship are humorously presented.

Move over Chip and Joanna Gaines - there is a new DIY couple (and their assistants) in town. This book was such a great hit focusing on Americas latest hobby of home decorating, plus featuring a diverse character with a disability (with proper representation that did not feel forced), plus a slow burn enemy to lovers story. What more could you ask for.