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Georgia’s Bookshelf



Synopsis:

Nothing good came from listening to my heart. 
It was careless and irrational and became way too invested when I read a romance novel. 

So I put her under lock and key. 

I only had a few rules, and I always stuck with them. 
1. Never get attached.
2. Always run before the feels become contagious. 
3. No matter what, under no circumstances, never fall in love. 

He was a playboy who ran by the same set of rules. What we had together was fun, it was hot, and it was temporary. 
Until he screwed everything up. 

We were never meant to be each other’s happily ever after, but the harder I tried to push him away, the further I fell.

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Tropes:
  • Best Friend’s Brother
  • Friends To Lovers 
  • Boss’s Best Friend
My Thoughts:

It seems to be a common theme recently to read books of a series, I haven’t particularly enjoyed, but they’re on my TBR, so I’m determined to have them ticked off.
I read the first book of the series Where Bad Girls Go To Fall back in March, after seeing a TikTok teaser. I was left disappointed after reading it, which had me reluctant to continue the series, but it was included within my KU subscription, so why not?! I’d also seen another teaser on TikTok for this book, which I can’t lie, did have me intrigued.

Where Bad Girls Go To Fall follows Staci, an avid romance reader and tattooist at Parker’s tattoo salon, who has sworn off committing to men.

During a lonely evening, Staci sends a series of nudes to contact in her phone who she’s had relations with previously, only after receiving a message from the man asking for her address, she quickly realises she’s mistakenly sent it to her best friends brother, Mason. After receiving the surprise message, Mason is intrigued and determined to persuade Staci to pay him a visit, only Staci refuses to become involved with her best friend’s brother, who is also known as a player. 

Staci attempts to navigate the mishap, despite her embarrassment, but is unable to do so due to them both being a part of the same friendship circle. When the group meets up, Staci and Mason are left together after being left by the rest of the circle, resulting in them to spend time together in the early hours, exploring the city, before sleeping with one another at the tattoo parlour, much to Staci’s initial reluctance. 

The story follows the pair navigating their new found friendship, post sleeping with one another, with Mason determined to progress their friendship to a relationship, whilst being aware of Staci’s slow progress. 
As the pair begin spending more time with one another, they both start to develop feelings beyond friendship, which they attempt to hide, only their feelings become more and more obvious. 

After spending an evening together, Staci and Mason’s slowly developed relationship is halted, after Staci realises she’s developed feelings that are progressing to love. After her realisation, Staci decides to end their relationship before it can begin, leaving Mason confused and hurt. 

When Staci is contacted by her father, she is summoned back to her home town in the light that her estranged husband is threatening to take back her father’s home, in his attempt to blackmail her back into their marriage. As a result, Staci is forced to face her sly husband, who is plotting to reunite under marriage counselling, only Staci has no interest in staying with him. Staci requests a divorce from him, whilst blackmailing him to let go of her father’s home, after showing him images of the physical abuse he put her through whilst they were together that resulted in her to flee her home town. 

After her ex husband signs the divorce papers, Staci meets her friendship group in Las Vegas to attend the surprise wedding of her best friend Livy and Parker. It is only once she’s there that she’s unexpectedly reunited with Mason, due to his attendance at his sister’s wedding. 

Whilst at the wedding, Staci and Mason discuss what happened the night Staci ended their relationship, with Staci revealing her history with her ex husband that lead her to loose her trust in men. After Staci’s revelation, the two rekindle and pursue a relationship.

The book ends with Mason asking Staci to move in with him. 

I think my main reason for continuing this series is because the books are so easy to read, due to them being around 250 pages long. The chapters are also quick and snappy, which makes my motivation to read a lot higher, than if they were to be longer. 

I mentioned in the first book of the series how the writing felt immature and also like reading a story from Wattpad, which I still stand by with this book. I don’t think that Holly Renee is an another I’ll ever rush to read a book by, except the final book of this series, just to say I’ve completed it. I feel like Holly’s writing style just lacks a lot of detail and depth, I think she focuses too much on the spice and therefore, there’s no plot, or if there is, it’s almost to compensate for the spice and there’s not really a plot there. 

I always feel when reading her books, that the characters need more development in the sense of who they are, because I always feel like they’ve got no depth to their personalities. 

As with the previous book and now with this book, the story felt rushed and it was hard to form an emotional attachment to the characters and I felt like the abuse aspect of this storyline was brushed past with no real expansion of it which would make readers become emotionally attached. I think this book would’ve benefitted from having flashbacks to Staci’s marriage to Ben, or even more of her inner monologue for readers to grasp that attachment.

Overall, I think Holly Renee is at a good starting point with her writing, but I feel like her romance books need a lot more depth and detail to make readers feel for the characters they’re reading about. I think the plot needs to be equal to the amount of spice, because this book felt like the spice was the main focal point so there wasn’t a lot of a plot – it was there, just not enough of it. 

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️.5

Georgia 
♥

May 22, 2024 No comments


Synopsis:

RYAN

She’s a distraction, that’s what she is. 

I’m the newest Captain of the Devils, Chicago’s NBA team, and the last thing I needed this year was for Indy Ivers, my sister’s best friend, to move into my apartment. She’s messy, emotional, and way too tempting.

But when the team’s General Manager vocalizes his blatant disapproval of my promotion to Captain, referring to me as an unapproachable lone wolf with no work-life balance, I can’t think of a better way to convince him otherwise than pretending to date my outgoing roommate. 

The only problem? Faking it feels far too natural. 

Having a fake girlfriend wasn’t supposed to be messy but having Indy under my roof and in my bed is complicated, especially when she wants all the romantic parts of life that I could never give her. 

INDY

I never imagined I’d be living with my best friend’s brother, NBA superstar Ryan Shay. Even more unbelievable? He needs me to act as his loving girlfriend who’s suddenly changed him into a friendly and approachable guy.

Because, well…he’s not. He’s controlling of his space and untrusting of others. 

Our arrangement isn’t one-sided, though. I’m in a wedding coming up, one where every one of my childhood friends, including my ex-boyfriend, will be in attendance, and there’s no better date than my ex’s celebrity hero. 

Blurred lines make it almost impossible to separate real from fake. Falling for my roommate was never part of the deal, especially when Ryan is quick to remind me that he doesn’t believe in love. 

I’m a romantic and can’t help fantasising that he’ll change, but soon enough, I find myself questioning if sharing a roof with my best friend’s brother was the right move after all

Genre: Contemporary Romance 

Tropes:
  • Best Friend’s Brother
  • Forced Proximity 
  • Basketball Romance 
  • Grumpy X Sunshine
  • Fake Dating
My Thoughts:

I decided in May that I was going to prioritise reading Kindle Unlimited books, since my letter K of my alphabet challenge (King of Greed) was included in the subscription. So that has meant any book after King of Greed, is a one from my TBR Jar and most importantly, included within my KU subscription.

I read Mile High, the first book of The Windy City Series and also by Liz Tomforde back in January. I wasn’t all that impressed by my first introduction to the author and felt like I was the only one who couldn’t understand the TikTok hype. I decided that I would still continue the series because sometimes, the first book by the author doesn’t always result in being your favourite.

I picked The Right Move out of my TBR jar and was slightly worried, especially because the book was 400 pages long (we know how I feel about books over 300 pages), but I continued anyways.

The Right Move follows Indy, a flight attendant and friend of Stevie from Mile High, who works as cabin crew for Stevie’s boyfriend Zander’s hockey team. Indy was introduced in Mile High, but her story in The Right Move follows her reeling in her heartbreak after discovering that her long term boyfriend had been having an affair, leaving her homeless.

Stevie approaches her older brother Ryan, a worldwide famous basketball player, to ask for Indy to temporarily move in until she can afford her own place, as an alternative for her moving back home to Florida. Ryan is apprehensive at first, as he values his privacy from the world, but ultimately gives in, allowing Indy to move in temporarily. 

In their early interactions, Ryan discovers that Indy is an emotional person, leading him to have no attraction to her as when he first met her, she was an emotional mess, having discovered her boyfriends affair. 

When Indy moves in, the pair navigate their new roommate situation, which forces the pair to develop a friendship, despite Ryan’s one man show lifestyle. The pair are polar opposites to one another, Indy thriving on colour and Ryan favouring black and white. This causes Ryan to develop anxiety at the new person throwing colour to his once monotone life. 

Indy begins navigating her flight attendant job, whilst navigating life post breakup and in a new environment. Ryan begins navigating the new person on his home, whilst navigating his new role as team captain, which his general manager Ron is apprehensive of. 

Ryan worries that Ron believes he’s not good enough to be team captain, so when speaking to his colleague, he discovers that his teammate and his wife regularly have dinners with the coach and his wife to form a friendship beyond the court. In an attempt to make his manager believe he is the right person for the job, he accidentally reveals that he is in a relationship, to make himself seem or capable for the job role, despite not being in one. This panic, results in him to seek the help of Indy for her to be his fake girlfriend, where she’ll be required to attend galas and speak to Ron his manager in attempt to make him believe Ryan is the right person. This is set in exchange for Ryan to also be Indy’s fake date for a wedding of her friend, in which her cheating ex boyfriend will also be attending. 

The pair navigate their new roommmate situation, whilst also fake dating, where they both attend galas to showcase their fair relationship. The pair develop a contract which sets out rules that they must abide by to make their relationship believable. In the contract they also detail goals for one another, which the other must achieve. Ryan sets a list of goals that Indy must complete relating to her newly found single life, whereas Indy has to allow people into his life and be the bookish boyfriend that Indy reads about. 

With their forced proximity and additional fake dating, their pair slow develop a friendship with one another, where they settle into a familiar and comforting routine. 
Indy is left feeling left out when bumping into her friends, who were shopping for the upcoming wedding, which leaves Indy left out due to sharing the same circle of friends as her cheating boyfriend that has strained her friendship.

The pair slowly start to develop feelings beyond friendship, but keep it between themselves, both disclosing them to one another. 

After one of Ryan’s basketball games, Indy runs into her ex boyfriend, who is nonchalant about his affair, before revealing he’ll be at their friend’s wedding with a date. From a far, Ryan observes their interaction, before jumping into save Indy, after watching her struggling with their first meeting post breakup. Ryan steps into the role of her fake boyfriend, leaving her ex boyfriend star struck, after he discovers Indy is dating his favourite basketball player. 

The fake dating plan begins to work as Ron starts believing that Ryan is the right person to lead the team, by bringing them on camping dates, where Ryan and Indy are forced to share a bed. 

After preparing and organising her friend’s bachelorette, Indy becomes ill but is determined to attend and spend time with her friends. Her friends disclose their wishes for her and her boyfriend to rekindle, due to the strain it has put on their friendship. Indy becomes enraged at their suggestion to get back with her cheating boyfriend. 
Indy is rescued by Ryan who comes to the party to take her home, after his sister Stevie revealed her illness. 

When her friend’s wedding arrives, Ryan joins to be her fake date. Ryan ended up revealing to his coach that his relationship with Indy was fake but they developed feelings along the way to which Ron reveals that his wife knew about. After Ryan attends Indy’s friend’s wedding, the pair end up sleeping with one another after finally admitting their feelings to each other. 

Ryan ends up buying a house which he intends to move into to provide himself with privacy. 

Indy and Ryan have a heart to heart where Ryan reveals why he closes everyone out – during college he was almost trapped into paying child support after his girlfriend got pregnant with someone else’s baby, after pretending to be with him for the sake of his money; leading Ryan to develop trust issues. During their conversation, Ryan makes a comment about everyone in his live is only there to use him, resulting in Indy to believe she’s included in the statement. Indy decides the pair should end the relationship they have began.

Along the way, Ryan finds a pregnancy test in his apartment which he believes to be from Indy, only Indy has expressed her issues with fertility. It is revealed to be Stevie’s test, resulting in Ryan to feel regretful at his comments towards Indy using him. Ryan believed that Indy was using him, fearing he was experiencing the same from college. 

After realising his mistake, he attempts to explain to Indy, who is reluctant to listen after being hurt before. 
Indy is visited by her cheating ex boyfriend again, who begs for her back, revealing his mistake on cheating on her, being that he was worried to settle down too quick. After Indy has this interaction, Ryan is worried that she is going to forgive him and leave him.

In an attempt to rekindle what they had, Ryan takes Indy to his new house in an attempt to win her back. During their conversation, Ryan reveals he doesn’t believe Indy is using him, but was scared at the thought of it happening again. Ryan decides to leave Indy at the house to make a decision, who makes a silent decision to move in with him. Whilst Ryan has a basketball competition, Indy decides to move all their furniture from his apartment into their new home, to show him her answer. 

After his game, Ryan returns to his apartment to find it empty, before going to the new house where he finds Indy in the kitchen with all their furniture. 

The story ends with Indy and Ryan playing hostess in their new home, which they fill with memories. 

Starting off, I enjoyed this book more than Mile High, but I didn’t LOVE it. 

I found that I was able to immerse myself into this book much more than the first book that I read and I think that’s because I was able to relate to the FMC Indy, a bit more (fellow romance lover). This reason has made up my decision to continue reading the rest of the series, mainly because I’ve read two of the books so far and I’m interested to know what will prevail in the following books. I also think reading them all will allow me to give a better opinion. 

What I’ve come to realise recently, is that I don’t think sports romances are for me. I’ve never had a big interest in them or a natural gravitation towards them. I really only read them because they’re popular on TikTok. I will say, I am looking forward to the third book of the series, Caught Up because it has a nanny plot to it, which I quite enjoy. 

Just like Mile High, The Right Move could’ve easily been between 200-300 pages long. I found this book also had a lot of unnecessary filler and repetition, which the
 first book also had. 

I was making good progress up until I reached 70% into the book, which was where I started to loose interest. At this point, I just felt like it was dragging on and the same themes were repeated. You’d think considering I read the After series that I’d have more stamina for repetition. I felt like Indy’s heartbreak was the part of this story that I felt was over repeated, whilst on Mile High, it was Stevie’s weight insecurity. In the end, I was just happy to have finished the book. 

As mentioned, I related to Indy with her love for romance novels and I enjoyed the development of her relationship with Ryan, but I wasn’t overly ecstatic when they got together – I wasn’t squealing. 

As always, I have to mention a loveable side character and for The Right Move, it has to go to Rio. I loved how funny he was and he was just completely loveable, he gave me golden retriever vibes honestly. 

When I was reading it, I imagined Ryan’s manager Ron, to be Whitey from One Tree Hill. I think that’s just because OTH was also basketball themed, so I just imagined Whitey because I’ve watched him in that role. 

Overall, I enjoyed this more than Mile High and didn’t find myself filled with dread at the thought of reading it. However, I’m still on the fence about its BookTok popularity. Hopefully, either the third or final book will change my mind. 


My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

Georgia 
♥

May 21, 2024 No comments


Synopsis:

He had her, he lost her…and he’ll do anything to win her back.

Powerful, brilliant, and ambitious, Dominic Davenport clawed his way up from nothing to become the King of Wall Street. 

He has everything—a beautiful home, a beautiful wife, and more money than he could spend in a lifetime. But no matter how much he accumulates, he’s never satisfied. 
In his endless quest for more, he drives away the only person who saw him as enough. 

It isn’t until she’s gone that he realises there may be more to life than riches and glory…but by then, it may be too late. 

*** 

Kind, intelligent, and thoughtful, Alessandra Davenport has played the role of trophy wife for years. 
She stood by her husband while he built an empire, but now that they’ve reached the top, she realises he’s no longer the man she fell for. 

When it becomes clear that she’ll always come second to his work, she finally takes charge of her life and puts herself first—even if it means leaving the only man she’s ever loved. 

But what she didn’t count on was his refusal to let her go…or for him to fight for their marriage, no matter what it takes. 

Genre: Contemporary Romance 

Tropes:
  • Marriage in Trouble 
  • Billionaire 
  • Second Chance
My Thoughts:

King of Greed is a book I’ve wanted to read since last year, but for some unknown reason, I never got round to it. So when I began planning my A-Z Reading Challenge Choices, I knew it had to be my choice for the letter K.
When I heard that Ana was creating a new series that focused around billionaires, I knew it would be right up my street. 

I really enjoyed King of Wrath (KOW), the first book of the series and even rated it 5⭐️’s. There’s no book review because that was before the blog. I felt like the second book, King of Pride (3.5 ⭐️’s) was a bit of a disappointment. I had high hopes for it, following KOW, but it didn’t reach them.

So suffice to say, there was a lot of pressure being held on King of Greed!

King of Greed follows married couple Alexandra and Dominic, who met during college when Dominic needed a tutor to pass his business class. From their initial meeting, their pair have been inseparable, with Alexandra standing beside Dominic whilst he built his empire. 

Glimpses of the married couple were drip fed through previous books, where despite their marriage, Dominic and Alexandra’s marriage appeared to be one sided and on the rocks, alluding to the issues they face in King of Greed, where Dominic neglects his wife, seeing her no more than a trophy to wear at gala’s.

King of Greed closely follows Alessandra, a successful flower shop owner, who is becoming more and more saddened by her husbands lack of commitment to their marriage, where he regularly misses important milestones in their marriage and date nights. 

When their 10 year wedding anniversary arrives, Alessandra pleads to Dominic to remember the date and to not prioritise work over their celebration. Only Alessandra is left devastated when Dominic fails to show for their anniversary. This becomes the last straw for Alessandra, where she finally decides to leave Dominic. 

Dominic arrives to their apartment late, but hopeful that they can still do their anniversary plans, only he is met with an empty house with Alessandra’s wedding ring left behind. After finding the ring, Dominic becomes panicked about the location of his wife, before realising his mistake. 

After having the evening to soak in her emotions, Alessandra decides to contact Dominic to inform him of her decision to go through divorce. Dominic is reluctant to allow the divorce to happen and vows to do anything he can to win back his wife. 

In the meantime, Alessandra moves out of the apartment they share and begins focusing on starting up a physical shop for her online business, where she has a friendly interaction with the landlord, who strikes her a good deal. The pair end up going on a date, which is interrupted by Dominic, bringing awareness to his presence. The date ends awkwardly, as Alessandra is out of practice in the dating world. 

Alessandra decides to get away to Brazil with her brother to escape the city life that is suffocating her. 

Despite his heavy work commitments, Dominic travels to Brazil in his attempt to rekindle his relationship with Alessandra, who is angered by his arrival, that prevents her from moving on. 

Dominic begins joining Alessandra and her brother for evening meals, before her brother returns home leaving them alone in Brazil together. Dominic begins booking into activities that Alessandra is participating in, in an attempt to spend time with her. 

When Alessandra is contacted regarding a flood in her shop, she’s forced to return home and face reality, with the help of Dominic who allows her to use his private plane. When returning home, Dominic discovers the success of her small business, which he’d been too busy to notice – making him feel remorseful and regretful of his absence in her life. 

Alessandra realises that despite Dominic’s attempts to be fully present in their marriage, she needs to cut ties in order to move on. Alessandra seeks to finalise the divorce with Dominic, which he is reluctant to do so until Alessandra reveals how she felt neglected in their marriage and how it ended up causing her constant pain with the broken promises Dominic made. Eventually, Dominic decides to let Alessandra go by signing the divorce papers. Only he’s determined not to let her go fully and therefore sets a plan on how he can get her back.

The pair begin to navigate their separate lives, but the attraction between Dominic and Alessandra is not lost, leading to the pair to continue sleeping with one another. 

As the opening date of Alessandra’s store vastly approaches, she begins working on the opening of her shop, while Dominic is met with the unexpected arrival of his estranged brother Roman, who he has no relationship with following his refusal to give Roman an alibi. 

Upon finalising their divorce, Dominic promised to allow Alessandra move forward with her life and to not interfere with any men Alessandra becomes involved with. Alessandra begins dating a man also involved in the business world, leading them to attend galas that Dominic is also present at. Dominic witnesses her arrival with the man, which breaks him even more. After conversing with Dante and Kai, they suggest that the only way to win Alessandra back is by leaving his company to show his commitment. When Dominic goes to the bathroom he overhears Alessandra’s date talking to another man, where he is expressing his excitement and plan to record Alessandra whilst they’re being intimate. This enrages Dominic who beats Alessandra’s date up, threatening him to stay away. When Alessandra finds out about the fight, she is enraged at yet another broken promise from Dominic, only until Dominic reveals why it happened. This leads Alessandra to be grateful, resulting in the pair to be intimate. 

Alessandra decides to give Dominic a second chance, taking their relationship slow and from the beginning. Dominic tries his hardest to show his commitment to her, whilst also being suspicious of his brother’s motives. 
After Alessandra’s shop is flooded, Dom and her landlord work together to help Alessandra fix the shop before its opening, only the pair don’t get along but hide it from Alessandra. 

The day of Alessandra’s store opening arrives, which also becomes a busy day for Dom, due to another business becoming bankrupt, which he has been waiting to take over. Dominic is able to successfully buy the company, just in time to arrive at Alessandra’s party. As Dominic is leaving to attend Alessandra’s party, he is met with a gun in front of his face by his brother Roman. Roman’s reappearance is revealed, as he’s gotten himself into trouble and has been forced to make Dominic back out of the deal or he’ll be killed, despite Romans anonymous threats. Ultimately, Dominic decides to back out of the deal, but not before issuing a press statement, resulting in him to be late to Alessandra’s opening. 

Alessandra is devastated at his failed commitment and broken promise, despite Dante and Kai’s pleads that he’s on his way. Dominic arrives at the party hours late and after everyone had left. Alessandra begins to tell Dominic that she’s done, but Dominic explains what happened, which she’s apprehensive of, until he shows her the press statement. 

The story ends with the pair rejoining their relationship, where Dominic buys them a new home for them to move into and make new memories, before ending with Dominic proposing to Alessandra. 

The epilogue ends where they are married have had their first child. 

Before I started reading King of Greed, I had high hopes for it. I absolutely loved King of Wrath, so my disappointment of King of Pride made me want to go back to enjoying the series. 

I enjoyed this book and it ended up becoming my second favourite of the series – King of Wrath being my favourite.

I don’t tend to gravitate towards the second chance trope often because I feel like if the characters are meant to be, then they shouldn’t need a second chance. Despite this, I loved reading about Alessandra and Dominic reconnecting. I felt like their marriage issues dragged out a bit too long and it felt repetitive almost. I also felt the same for Dominic’s pursuing, I just felt like he didn’t make a huge sacrifice as I was anticipating. I fully thought he would give up his company, as it was suggested by Dante in the book. 

What I do love about Ana’s writing and in a book series as a whole, are the surprise appearances from characters from previous books or even series! This book featured appearances from characters from previous books in the series, which is to be expected, but it featured an appearance from Josh and Jules from Twisted Hate – completely unexpected! The way Ana featured Josh and Jules in this book was so natural, they weren’t made to be a big deal, they slotted into the background as the general public. I love how we get to see the progress of previous characters’ lives and relationships; how they’re moving forward because sometimes we don’t get to see that at the end of their book.

I was not expecting to read a book by Ana that would have my heart racing so much with worry. It truly felt like I was reading a thriller, the way my heart was going. When Dominic was met with the gun in his face from his brother Roman and the trigger was pulled, I was in absolute shock. The chapter ended on a cliffhanger and I physically couldn’t move to turn the page. I had to sit for a few minutes to process how the story could progress. I felt so many emotions for what the outcome of the book could be. I was quite literally sitting in bed with my jaw dropped – I was so worried to read on. It’s not an experience I’ve had whilst reading books by Ana, but I really liked it. It well and truly caught me by surprise. 

I’d be interested to know whether we would get a series following Roman because I’d love to know what he’s been up to since he disappeared. I feel like that could be a mafia style series. Honestly, who knows whether it could be a future series because Ana likes to make so many connections between characters and book series. I also feel like he was mentioned for a reason and that Ana doesn’t bring a character in for the sake of it. 

After reading a book in a series, I’m always excited to know whose story will be next, especially when each book contains so many hints. I think it’s pretty clear from reading the book (and by the fact it’s public knowledge) that Sloane will be the next book.

Overall, I enjoyed revisiting the Kings of Sins world and can’t wait to read the next. 


My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

Georgia 

♥

May 20, 2024 No comments


Synopsis:

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?

Genre: Contemporary Romance 

Tropes:
  • Best Friend’s Brother 
  • Opposites Attract
  • Friends To Lovers 
  • Slow Burn
My Thoughts:

Josh and Hazel’s Guide To Not Dating (long ass title) by Christina Lauren, was my second introduction to the dual author – yes, it’s two authors. I actually hadn’t realised until searching the authors, that I have actually read Beautiful Bastard by Christina Lauren aaaagggesss ago – so long ago, I don’t even know when I read it. Apparently I rated it 2 ⭐️, I’m not sure how much I trust past Georgia’s opinion. I’m starting fresh with this book, long ass title I cba to type.

I was looking forward to starting this book for my letter J of my reading challenge, but I was slightly apprehensive because I’d heard very good things about Love and Other Words by the authors, which happens to be my letter L for the challenge. When it came to starting this book, I was worried I’d have a negative first impression. 
As you can see, I swiftly ignored my hesitation (as I always do) and started reading.

Josh and Hazel’s Guide To Not Dating follows Hazel and Josh who previously met during college, when Hazel vomited all over Josh’s shoes. It is quickly identified that Hazel is a very quirky character, who doesn’t have a lot of luck with men, due to her social awkwardness (sounds like me)

When Hazel attends her friend’s barbecue, her and Josh become reacquainted after discovering that her friend Emily is actually Josh’s sister. 

The two recall their initial encounter to Emily and her husband, who is Hazel’s headteacher at the school she teaches at. Hazel promises to herself that she’ll not let previous feelings that she had with Josh get in the way of a possible friendship with him. 

Josh is in a long distance relationship with a girl called Tabitha, who Emily and her family dislike and regularly encourage Josh to break up with. Josh becomes suspicious that Tabitha is having an affair, following several excuses for her absence in visiting Josh and for Josh to visit her. 
After being encouraged by Hazel, Josh decides to surprise Tabitha with a visit. 

In the meantime, Hazel’s apartment becomes flooded, leaving her and her many animals homeless and in need to find a temporary place to live. Emily, suggests for Hazel to stay at Josh’s apartment whilst he’s away visiting Tabitha. Hazel ends up moving into Josh’s apartment, but is surprised by his swift return home after discovering that Tabitha was indeed having an affair. 

This leads Josh and Hazel to develop a plan to set each other up with someone they know in the form of a blind date. Hazel and Josh each choose a person who they believe will be a good match for the other, where they then attend a double date.

The story follows the development in Josh and Hazel’s friendship, whilst their navigate their dating lives through the form of blind dates. Only as we read on, it is evident that the blind dates are going horrible wrong. 

Josh and Hazel end up running out of close blind date partners, so begin adding people they meet along the way into the mix. 

After a date goes horrible wrong, Josh and Hazel become very drunk and end up sleeping with one another. When the morning comes, the pair agree that their one night stand was a slip and won’t happen again. 

Josh and Hazel continue their blind dates, where Hazel is matched with her first and only boyfriend Tyler, who Josh knows from college. Hazel decides to give him a go, believing that people can change. 

As Hazel and Josh spend time together due to sharing Josh’s apartment, the two slowly start to develop feelings beyond friendship, but choose to ignore them out of fear for loosing their friendship and hurting one another. 
Hazel moves back into her apartment following the flood and feels the absence of being in Josh’s apartment, with Josh feeling the same. 

After their last blind date, they continue getting to know them and continue going on dates, despite Hazel’s apprehension. They all go to a festival where Tyler and Josh’s date go to the main stage, leaving Josh and Hazel alone. When Tyler and Josh’s date return, Hazel begins dancing at the concert, much to Tyler’s embarrassment, where he expresses his embarrassment and asks for Hazel to stop. This leads Hazel to remember why their relationship ended – Tyler liked the thought of her quirky personality but expected her to outgrown it. When she refuses to stop, Tyler seeks the support of Josh, who expresses that what Hazel is doing is fine. 

After the festival, Hazel ends her dating with Tyler and despite agreeing they wouldn’t sleep with one another again, Josh and Hazel sleep together again. 

After a few weeks, Hazel realises she’s missed her period, leading her to take a test with the support of Emily, at her house, which comes back positive. After visiting Emily’s house, Josh finds the pregnancy test, believing it’s Emily’s. 

When Hazel reveals the truth to Josh, he is surprised, but supportive, where they finally admit their feelings for one another. The story ends a few years later, where Josh and Hazel are happily married with two children.

Despite my initial concerns, I really enjoyed this book. 
April was a very weird month in terms of my motivation to read. I didn’t necessarily lack motivation to read, I just felt like none of the books particularly blew me away, to motivate me to find the next wow book – aside from Heartless by Elsie Silver (chefs kiss). I found that with every book that I liked/enjoyed, I would loose the motivation and enjoyment in the next book I started because it didn’t make me feel anything like the previous book. 

So despite it taking me just short of two weeks to complete this book, I did genuinely enjoy it, aside from my April reading funk. I think the time it took for me to finish could also be due to me subconsciously wanting to savour the story and the characters. 

I loved that this book was such an easy and light read. I didn’t dread reading it, so the length of time it took me to complete it, has no reflection on my feelings towards it. 
I really liked Hazel’s personality and character. She is a very particular and quirky character, presented as being the type of person you either love or cringe at. Despite her quirky personality, she didn’t come across as cringey or overly begging. I thought she was genuinely funny and found myself laughing at her to myself at all the things she’d think in her head. I particularly liked her lack of filter and not being able to not say the first thing that comes into her head. 

I loved her friendship with Josh and how it naturally progressed, I liked how they bounced off one another and how Josh would fill in the gaps of what she wouldn’t say and also how he just knew her so well in the end. Their relationship and friendship makes my heart swell. They have a special place in my heart ❤️. 

With Hazel, I loved how strong willed she was, she knew that she was weird and different from everyone else, but she also knew her worth – she never settled for less or dulled her personality for anyone. 

“Take me as I am, or not at all”

Hazel was her true authentic self throughout and I really enjoyed reading about a character who was freely herself and quite frankly didn’t care about what anyone thought. It’s been a while, if ever since I’ve experienced a character with that type of personality. 

I knew Hazel and Josh would ultimately end up together (title wasn’t very subtle), so I wasn’t kicking and squealing when they got together. It was something I was anticipating, but I was really happy because I loved the friendship they formed, which is something unusual for me. Normally, I’m not a huge fan of the friends to lovers trope, but I really liked how Josh contrasted her personality, but also encouraged her. 

I liked the ending because it seemed bittersweet, but I also felt like it was massively rushed – it felt slightly abrupt. I’m not a fan of books where the story closes as soon as they get together because I feel like we miss out on all the experiences they have together. I’m very nosey, so I want to be included beyond them initially getting together. So for that reason, I wish we had of gotten to read more of them actually together. It ended pretty much after they admitted their feelings. It was very fast paced, which I felt like it was in this case. We didn’t see a whole lot of Josh’s reaction to the pregnancy, which made it seem like they only got together because Hazel ended up pregnant. 

I really didn’t want their story to end and I think that was a small factor into why it took me ages to finish it. I could’ve read about them for wayyyy longer. It always seems to be the books you want to be the longest, that are the shortest. I would’ve given the book a 5 ⭐️ rating if the ending wasn’t as abrupt and probably if I finished in a shorter period. I feel all my emotions at once when it’s a shorter reading period, which makes me remember parts to lead to a higher rating

Hazel and Josh will forever have a small piece of my heart. 




My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

Georgia 
♥


May 20, 2024 No comments
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About Me

About Me
Hello, I'm Georgia! I'm a 23 year old reader of romance and psychological thrillers. I spend way too much time listening to Taylor Swift and spending time on Tik Tok!

2024 GoodReads Challenge

2024 Reading Challenge

2024 Reading Challenge
Georgia has read 4 books toward their goal of 30 books.
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Currently Reading

The Housemaid
The Housemaid
by Freida McFadden
tagged: currently-reading

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TBR

Powerless
Powerless
by Elsie Silver
tagged: to-read
King of Greed
King of Greed
by Ana Huang
tagged: to-read
Where Good Girls Go To Die
Where Good Girls Go To Die
by Holly Renee
tagged: to-read
The Inmate
The Inmate
by Freida McFadden
tagged: to-read
Sidetracked
Sidetracked
by S.T. Abby
tagged: to-read

goodreads.com

Completed

November 9
really liked it
November 9
by Colleen Hoover
A Long Time Coming
really liked it
A Long Time Coming
by Meghan Quinn
Practice Makes Perfect
it was amazing
Practice Makes Perfect
by Sarah Adams
Reminders of Him
it was amazing
Reminders of Him
by Colleen Hoover
King of Pride
really liked it
King of Pride
by Ana Huang

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