I really liked this book! It had the same amazing writing that I've come to expect from Christina Lauren seeing as The Unhoneymooners was my favorite book that I read this year. I was very impressed that the authors were able to keep the characters so consistent, in that they were able to develop the characters to such a point that all their decisions really made sense for them. I think this is especially evidenced by Melly. As crazy as she was, she was consistently crazy if that makes any sense. I also thought the relationship between Carey and James was just so natural and sweet. I really liked their budding friendship to relationship. Also I just really liked the plot, I thought it was really interesting and so different. I also loved the way that there was mixed media, it made it even more interesting and just kept me going. Though I felt like the beginning of the book was moving too slowly and the end moved too quickly. I felt like there were just a couple things missing and a lot of characters that were mentioned but really didn't have a point but I was curious about them. I also think that the end relationship with Carey and Melly was a little confusing but maybe that's just me. Lastly, I just thought it was a little bazaar that the books title is all about the honey do lists but it's not until like maybe 3/4's of the way through the book that a honey-do list was even brought up. Overall, I really enjoyed this one so I give it 4 stars!

Thanks to Netgalley for supplying me with a free e-arc in exchange for an honest review! I have... mixed feelings about this book. Originally, I was loving this book based on the first 50 pages or so. The premise that the characters worked on a home improvement show is quirky, which I always enjoy, and I'm always a sucker for a good workplace romance!

However, this book really seemed to miss the mark in all of the relationships. Let's talk first about Carey, our heroine, and her relationship with the Tripps. We're told that the relationship is more of a parent-child than an employer-employee, but I had a hard time believing it. Carey and Rusty Tripp's interactions seemed surface level, I never read their interactions and felt like "yep this is how I talk to my Dad", it mostly felt like Carey avoided Rusty because she found him to be so unbearable. There were brief interactions between Carey and Melly that felt "parental", mostly when Melly was pressing her about issues related to Carey's health insurance, but overall the character of Melly was written to be so terrible, I didn't understand how Carey could continue to have a relationship with her, especially at the end of the book.

Now let's talk about the "romance" aspect of this book, which is the relationship between James and Carey. Overall, I felt like the love plot of this story was unbearably unrealistic. For starters, the pacing of this romance was ruined by the fact that one day into their road trip James "notices" Carey and falls in instalove. Normally, I don't mind instalove, but these characters were being sold as "workplace enemies" and since they had very few positive interactions leading up to their instalove, I had a hard time suspending my disbelief that they could actually fall in love. Additionally, I did not enjoy how CL resolved the obstacles faced by these two, it felt like they rushed the ending so that the characters could get a HEA, but I personally couldn't imagine forgiving some of the things that these characters did.

Overall, this wasn't my favorite CL read, but it was quick and easy to get through. I'm sure that readers who are big fans of HGTV will love this book.

Special thanks to Christina Lauren, Gallery Books & NetGalley for providing our copy in exchange for an honest & fair review.

As much as it pains me to write this review, this was not my favorite Christina Lauren. The premise is super cute, lots of Joanna & Chip Gaines vibes. I love tabloid drama & I thought oooh, what a great opportunity to poke some fun at the shiplap gods and throw in a steamy love story.

Here is what may work for you: lighter on romance (like very light) kooky & goofy characters (I'm looking at you Rusty & Melissa) shared space/close proximity (tour bus for a book tour) it's a quick read.

Here's what didn't work for me: I didn't buy the enemies to lovers romance. I had a hard time rooting for either character. Rusty & Melissa were a hot mess a bit too over the top for me.

THE VERDICT
This one just didn't work that well for me. The truth remains, I will read anything by Christina Lauren! They are a fabulous duo & their books usually have me laughing and entertained throughout.

I wasn't a big fan of The Unhoneymooners. So, maybe if you like that one, The Honey Don't List will be right up your alley.

The Honey Don’t List is the story of A married couple who have a very successful home decorating show. They are part of a staff of professionals they cannot do without.
There is a lot of crazy things going on that end in a huge show down among the cast.
It was an enjoyable read.

Christina Lauren's books can always be counted on to be fun, lighthearted reads that make you think about your own relationships. This book was no exception, but it also had many flaws that bothered me. I thought there were many implausible plotlines, especially how quickly the characters fell in love, and also how quickly and suspiciously neat the ending came together. There were also too many topic branches, and not enough focus on or development of the main characters. All of this essentially made for a great binge read, but not a great long-standing novel. I thought this book was better than Twice in a Blue Moon, but still was not the duo's best book. I'm still very excited for their next one and hope it's better!

Thank you very much to the publisher and Netgalley for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

As soon as I see that there's another Christina Lauren book available on NetGalley, I pounce! I generally love their conversational style and their truly modern feel. Carey and James are both overworked, exploited assistants to an HGTV-esque home redesign power couple. They have to manage their bosses' rocky marriage, book tour, and launch of a new tv show. And, of course, sparks fly.

While some of the plot points and background information about the characters felt a little perfunctory and the bitchy, manipulative, highly manicured boss character verged a bit on a kind of sexism that positions down-home women as better than stylized hyper-feminine ones, I still really enjoyed the read. I particularly love the recent trend in romances of heroines having therapists and romantic relationships inspiring characters to actualize themselves rather than waiting to be actualized by their crushes. This also is a big part of Evvie Drake Starts Over, which I loved.

Funny enough, though, I was actually most interested in the manipulative boss, Melissa. As much as she exploited Carey and flew into rages when things weren't just so, I still feel compassion for her as the person in her relationship who *has* to be detail-oriented, business-minded, and future-thinking. For everyone that has had to keep it together on behalf of a sort of lazy partner and then gets called high maintentenance or shrill, Melissa is a multi-dimensional character.

The book had it's sweet moments, where a young woman learns to take charge of her own life and get out from under a domineering boss, but I became disinterested half-way through. Nothing happened to cause that, but also nothing happened to keep me intrigued and invested in the story.

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?

Thank you Netgalley for generously offering this book for me to review. I always get excited for a Christina Lauren book to be announced and was so excited for this one. I fell in the love with the cover, the title, and description. This story is about two personal assistants Carey and James working for a dysfunctional DIY reality TV couple. Carey has been working for the couple for a decade and James just 2 months. At first they avoid each other but not in a hateful way but as the relationship with their bosses keep deteriorating Carey and Jame’s relationship starts to blossom. The story has very cute romantic parts. Jame’s nerdy personality was really cute and it went well with Cary’s seriousness. However, something felt missing with this story. It didn’t have the humor I was expecting and the characters just felt flat. It wasn’t like they completely lacked development necessarily but it just seemed there was more to the characters below the surface that never surfaced. When I was done with the story the characters just didn’t stand out like other Christina Lauren characters do. I genuinely liked the story and would recommend to others but this books wasn’t a knock out of the park for me. I will be looking forward to what they write next.

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!