Josh &Hazel’s Guide to not dating by Christina Lauren

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Rating: 4 out of 5.

My rating: 4 out of 5 stars

I know I’m like Pig-Pen in Charlie Brown, and I have chaos around me, but it’s like he doesn’t even care. He doesn’t need me to change or pretend to be someone else. He’s my person. He’s my best friend. (Hazel)

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When you feel like you can read a book over and over again, the author did everything right. Christina Lauren did a great job and delivered a smartly-written, romantic novel you definitely enjoy.

I will skip the whole plot and “this story revolves around” part, because you can easily read the synopsis on Goodreads. Let’t focus on the important aspects.

The characters:

Hazel is more than just a fun character, she is truly inspiring when it comes to seeing life in a different light. To say she’s quirky is an understatement, Hazel is really funny. While reading her thoughts and actions you can’t help but laugh out loud and at the same time you find her adorable and cute. Really admirably she has never allowed herself to feel that cringe of embarrassment that inhibits so many of us. She does what she wants to do, when she wants to do it. Because changing herself to be more ‘normal’ ( what does that even mean ) won’t get her the perfect man. Instead she decides she needs a man with enough guts to keep up with her. Honestly, what a queen ! Knowing that changing herself is not the solution and living in the moment is the way to a happy life really made a likeable female character

Josh Im, the complete opposite of Hazel actually, yet completely intrigued by her character is our hero in this book.  He’s more serious, more straight-laced, more in control of his life compared to Hazel.  These two have known each other since college (not in a good way) and fast forward 10 years later, they meet each other again. Josh-being the more serious person that he is- still finds Hazel ‘weird’, however he is at a place where he could use a best friend, so even as different as these two are, they end up spending all their free time together. Strangely, their opposing personalities seem to complement each other and a friendship evolves. They would never date each other, of course. Instead, they decide to set each other up on joint blind dates. ( Be prepared for a lot of horrible, yet hilarious dates)

The romance:

To keep it very simple: I loved it

Romance evolving from friendship is my kryptonite. On top of that you have incompatible characters falling in love , so it’s a huge win for me. You could really feel the attraction under the surface, the mutual and deep love and respect they had for each other. I think what I liked the most was the fact that Josh fell in love with Hazel because of her quirkiness. In other people’s eyes this was her big flaw, but for Josh this was her strength. I truly loved that !

Conclusion:

As you can probably tell from my raving review, I highly recommend this book. The only thing I didn’t particularly enjoy was the ending. I don’t want to spoil anything, but I felt like it was somehow rushed. Apart from that, I really enjoyed this hilarious and fast-paced story. If you’re looking for a book that will give you a permanent smile, then pick this one up !

Disclaimer: First image owned by me.(copyright) Second one taken from Goodreads.