Review: Josh and Hazel's Guide to Not Dating

Josh and Hazel’s Guide to Not Dating
By Christina Lauren

Published By: Piatkus
Publication Date: September 4, 2018
Date Read: April 20, 2022
Genre: Adult – Romance
Source: Bought
Format: Paperback
Pages: 309

From Goodreads:
Hazel Camille Bradford knows she’s a lot to take—and frankly, most men aren’t up to the challenge. If her army of pets and thrill for the absurd don’t send them running, her lack of filter means she’ll say exactly the wrong thing in a delicate moment. Their loss. She’s a good soul in search of honest fun.

Josh Im has known Hazel since college, where her zany playfulness proved completely incompatible with his mellow restraint. From the first night they met—when she gracelessly threw up on his shoes—to when she sent him an unintelligible email while in a post-surgical haze, Josh has always thought of Hazel more as a spectacle than a peer. But now, ten years later, after a cheating girlfriend has turned his life upside down, going out with Hazel is a breath of fresh air.

Not that Josh and Hazel date. At least, not each other. Because setting each other up on progressively terrible double blind dates means there’s nothing between them…right?

“But at the end of the day being myself is enough. I am enough.”

After reading a few pretty heavy fantasy books in a row, I was in a desperate need for a palate cleanser. Contemporary is usually my go-to for when I need to take that break and I was very much in the mood for something ‘light and fluffy’. After reading Christina Lauren’s In A Holidaze back in December, I decided to pick up on of their other books.

Oh! My! Word! Josh and Hazel’s Guide to Not Dating is exactly what I needed. I actually cannot voice my love of this book enough! It was absolutely fantastic… and possibly my favourite romance book I have ever read. This book is the world’s cutest romcom! Like, I would actually kill to see this made into a movie… it would be the perfect summer chick flick!

Josh and Hazel are adorably hilarious. Complete opposites, with Hazel being really out there and eccentric, with Josh being very reserved and quiet. They shouldn’t work… but they absolutely do! I adore Hazel. I think she is one of my all time favourite characters. She’s hilarious and unashamedly herself. I think we all need a little Hazel in us! Her and Josh are friends, trying to set the other up… without realising that they’re actually both head over heels in love with each other! And I was absolutely living for it! Friends to lovers is my all time favourite trope. I adore it, because it’s just so adorable!

Christina Lauren is fast becoming my go-to romcom author. I absolutely adore their writing style and I am now on a mission to collect every single one of their books. I just love their work… this is a writing duo of dreams! I cannot praise their writing style and storytelling skills enough. I just adore everything about them and this book!

My one tiny gripe, is we see a fast forward to the couple’s future, but I’d have loved to see some scenes in between. Other than that… this book is absolute perfection! It is one I will read again and again. I’ve only just finished it and already I want to re-read it! This is a sign of a fantastic book. If you haven’t read this one yet, then I highly highly recommend that you do! It was just perfection!

“‘Are you listening?’
‘Barely’
‘You are perfect for me.'”