Are your reading experiences being affected by the emotional landscape around you? I think mine are. But maybe they aren’t. Have you read this book? Let me know if you agree with my review.💖☕ BTW, does anyone ever have issues talking about a writer who you know are two people? I always wonder if I should be saying they rather than her. 😍
Christina Lauren
March 24, 2020
Gallery Books
Blurb: Carey Douglas 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 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…
Buy Link: Amazon | Shop your local indie bookstore
From the four novels I’ve read by Christina Lauren, the one conclusion I’ve reached is that she is an excellent writer. My attention never wanders. I’m invested in the characters and what’s going to happen to them. And, she’s mostly made me laugh.
I wasn’t laughing with The Honey-Don’t List, but I’m not altogether sure I was supposed to. The situations felt more serious. The different ways in which a couple deals with the pressures of success and what one will do to keep it. How they affect everyone around them, especially the people who work with them/for them. And, then there is the situation that Carey is dealing with physically that adds a higher level of seriousness.
But the budding romance between Carey and James is sweet. I loved how they went from two people who once sniped at each other or made fun of each other to two people who suddenly realize how attractive the other person is. As their romance unfolds, the Tripps’ unravels, which again felt a little, well, sad.
While I would have loved for The Honey-Don’t List to be uproariously funny, because I could have used the laugh right now, I appreciated how touching the ending was and that I literally sighed. I am not a sigher at happily-ever-afters. It may not have been the rom-com I wanted, but it was a smart, thoughtful book that gave me something more, something that I may have needed at this point in time.
The storyline and characters are far more complex than in your normal romance or rom-com so if that is something you might appreciate, you might enjoy reading The Honey-Don’t List. This book certainly shows that Christina Lauren continues to evolve as a writer.
I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
rating:
4 butterflies and a ladybug out of 5 butterflies