Josh and Hazel’s Guide To Not Dating by Christina Lauren - A Book Review
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
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
♥
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