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A review by maeashah
Josh and Hazel's Guide to Not Dating by Christina Lauren
2.5
After reading and really liking Roomies by this author duo, I had pretty high expectations for this book. Unfortunately, it didn’t work out.
Right off the bat, I need to state that one annoying aspect was the audiobook’s male narrator doing any of the female voices. It was just very whiny. I never got used to it and every chapter in Josh’s POV had me hoping Hazel didn’t have a lot of dialogue. The female narrator, however, was excellent.
Now that I’ve got that out of the way, here are my thoughts on the actual book:
I didn’t like the characters as much as Roomies. Hazel was kind of annoying. And I know that’s sort of her thing, that she’s quirky and loud but the way it was executed in the book felt more “she’s not like other girls” and less “she is a unique person & that’s cool”. From reading the synopsis, I was hoping it would be the latter but I just didn’t really love Hazel all that much. But, despite my issues with Hazel as a character, I don’t hate her. I just don’t like the way she was written, if that makes any sense. I can see the personality they were going for but it just didn’t come across that way. I do want to mention, though, I respected that she never even considered changing herself for someone else.
Josh, on the other hand, I really liked. He was so sweet. I loved how he treated Hazel and the banter they had. Their friendship and eventual romantic relationship was enjoyable.
What really brought my rating down was the plot. I didn't find it particularly entertaining and I didn't really like the ending. The initial half was good, with all the double dates and building tension, but then it just kind of felt dragged out and the conflict was a bit meh? I think I was expecting it to be a lighthearted story, especially because that was the tone throughout the whole story. But then it became a little heavy towards the end and I just wasn't expecting it so I think that threw me off a little.
I will still be trying out Christina Lauren's other books, because I really liked Roomies and I did like a few aspects of this one, so I think I might be able to find some good ones from their list. I am particularly interested in the plots of My Favourite Half-Night Stand and Twice in a Blue Moon.
Right off the bat, I need to state that one annoying aspect was the audiobook’s male narrator doing any of the female voices. It was just very whiny. I never got used to it and every chapter in Josh’s POV had me hoping Hazel didn’t have a lot of dialogue. The female narrator, however, was excellent.
Now that I’ve got that out of the way, here are my thoughts on the actual book:
Josh, on the other hand, I really liked. He was so sweet. I loved how he treated Hazel and the banter they had. Their friendship and eventual romantic relationship was enjoyable.
What really brought my rating down was the plot. I didn't find it particularly entertaining and I didn't really like the ending. The initial half was good, with all the double dates and building tension, but then it just kind of felt dragged out and the conflict was a bit meh? I think I was expecting it to be a lighthearted story, especially because that was the tone throughout the whole story. But then it became a little heavy towards the end and I just wasn't expecting it so I think that threw me off a little.
I will still be trying out Christina Lauren's other books, because I really liked Roomies and I did like a few aspects of this one, so I think I might be able to find some good ones from their list. I am particularly interested in the plots of My Favourite Half-Night Stand and Twice in a Blue Moon.