Name: Not the Girl You Marry
ISBN: 9781984802682

Andie J. Christopher

Jack Nolan is a gentleman, a journalist, and unlucky in love. His viral success has pigeon-holed him as the how-to guy for a buzzy, internet media company instead of covering hard-hitting politics. Fed up with his fluffy articles and the app-based dating scene as well, he strikes a deal with his boss to write a final piece de resistance: How to Lose a Girl. Easier said than done when the girl he meets is Hannah Mayfield, and he's not sure he wants her to dump him.

Not the Girl You Marry

Abbie Duggan

Easy enough for a light hearted read... but not something I really enjoyed. Some gratuitous sex scenes and a general feeling of trying to cater to the most stereotypical of millennials.

Ena Kalkan

i think i had some high expectations going into reading this book because i loved how to lose a guy in 10 days so much. i did enjoy the role reversal. the writing and story lost me a couple times; i kept losing interest but forced myself to stay with it. plus, the nickname he gave hannah "duchess" sort of made me cringe every time he used it. just wasn't for me, i guess.

cute ending though!

2.5 stars.

Lauryn Page

** spoiler alert **
           Let me first say that I started this book on the 7th of May and had the hardest time finishing it (May 25). I found every excuse to not pick it up and read, which is so unusual for me, I usually finish books in about 2-3 days. I just wasn’t a fan of reading a copy cat of a movie. It just didn’t have the originality I was looking for in a romance novel. 
Now for a bit of a spoiler, if you liked the movie “How to Lose a Guy in 10 days,” you will like this book because it is exactly the same just the roles are flipped. When I say it’s the same I literally mean the exact same!

Shareca

Not The Girl You Marry by Andie J. Christopher wasn't a terrible book, by any means. The book was tough to get through, however. The voice was a bit childish, which is where my issue resides. The main character Hannah Mayfield was unbearable -- each PoV was about her ex and how much she thought about him. Even if she was with Jack. I found that to be repetitious, especially when she would talk about it on every single page. I didn't even find her ex to be important or worth the time. I loved the biracial aspect, I have to say that was great. Some of the same issues she has had, others have too. (Even if they aren't biracial and just black.) Jack Nolan stole the entire book for me, his PoV and character were so good. His narrative and voice were just so much better than Hannah's. If the PoV was just Jack Nolan's, I would have liked that much better. Much of Jack's voice I didn't want to skip, but I found myself skipping Hannah's PoV because it was bland.

Overall, honestly, the book was a miss on the plot. If you have ever seen "How to lose a guy in 10 days" this was basically that. It didn't have a "plot twist" as it stated or was a "different" rom-com, it was exactly like that film. Unfortunately, I think that hindered the book. It may work for some readers, this is just a personal review, of course. However, I think that the plot was diluted, along with Hannah's voice. I wouldn't say it was a bad read, there are many aspects that I loved about the book. I wouldn't re-read it or pick it up again in the near future, but it was a good read for what it was. If you love romance and fiction, this isn't a book that will add anything new to the genre. Various tropes and typical rom-com fiction that you see in other books. 

I would say 3/5 stars, being generous, since the book did have some redeeming qualities. If I were to tell a friend about it, I would be about a 2.5/5. Some may love it, which is great, but for me -- as this is my favorite genre and I read a lot of books in it. There are others on the shelf that bring more to the table.

How To Lose a Guy in 10 Days gets a millennial makeover in this romantic comedy by USA Today bestselling author Andie J. Christopher. “The way Jack sets out to win Hannah back is really the stuff of true romance.”—NPR Jack Nolan is a gentleman, a journalist, and unlucky in love. His viral success has pigeon-holed him as the how-to guy for a buzzy, internet media company instead of covering hard-hitting politics. Fed up with his fluffy articles and the app-based dating scene as well, he strikes a deal with his boss to write a final piece de resistance: How to Lose a Girl. Easier said than done when the girl he meets is Hannah Mayfield, and he's not sure he wants her to dump him. Hannah is an extremely successful event planner who's focused on climbing the career ladder. Her firm is one of the most prestigious in the city, and she's determined to secure her next promotion. But Hannah has a bit of an image problem. She needs to show her boss that she has range, including planning dreaded, romantic weddings. Enter Jack. He’s the perfect man to date for a couple weeks to prove to her boss that she’s not scared of feelings. Before Jack and Hannah know it, their fake relationship starts to feel all too real—and neither of them can stand to lose each other.

Jennifer Eggleston 

3.5 stars

Wasn’t what I was expecting ... 

Overall an enjoyable book with a HEA. There were funny moments but with bits of seriousness. 

These are two hurt people who were not looking for love but found it and almost screwed it all up. 

Sweet with a few steamy moments. First time reading Andie J Christopher and would read again. 

Off topic ... I don’t enjoy this new direction with romance covers that publishers are taking. They don’t fit the stories being told.

Zahia Saeed 

Dnfed at page 50. Hated it so much I had to delete from my library

Hannah Clarkson

I’m so glad I didn’t just listen to the reviews on this book because I would not have tried it at all! 

I really enjoyed this book, I’m a huge fan of how to lose a guy in 10 days so was excited for this. Some aspects were similar but I’m glad it wasn’t a carbon copy of it with just the genders swapped. 

It was a little slow to start off with but I read 60% of the book in one day because I was hooked!!

Kath Lau

I was actually thinking of dnf-ing this book but i gave it a chance. Now i'm not sure if I did the right decision. lol
*full review to come*

Lisa W.

** spoiler alert **
           This was a nice calming read until I reach 75% and all hell broke loose. It’s funny how you know the turning point is coming and you see all the signs but still aren’t prepared. That’s how I feel about the engagement party. Wowza! 

Hannah is very interesting character. She is a mixed female who identifies more as white. I’ve never met such a person so I find it interesting to read from their perspective. I think the author did a good job of subtly placing this into the storyline. 

Two biggest shockers for me was who Giselle was to Jack and the 180 Annalise did. I wouldn’t have seen either of these things coming. 

I loved Jack’s entire family (even his mom). I think the play fight scene between his brother and him was adorable. His sisters instant bond with Hannah was authentic. The reality of his parents and their reunion was realistic.

Jack was a true fictional character... even when he tried to be flawed he couldn’t be. However I liked his make up attempt. Since he was so attentive and listened (which is rare in a man but not unheard of), he knew exactly what to do.

Alexis 

This is a retelling of how to lose a guy in 10 days but in reverse. I'll admit I love the movie, so I was immediately intrigued. I'll admit that the writing wasn't the best and it took a while to actually want to keep reading the book. I went in with low expectations, so I think that's why I semi enjoyed it. If you go in with high expectations you may be setting yourself up for disappointment. Overall it was an alright book, honestly, there was nothing too special here. It's great if a quick read.

Heather Harrington

Jack Nolan and Hannah Mayfield are both looking for a relationship, but for very different reasons. The ever-attentive gentleman, Jack, is tired of doing fluffly "How to" pieces for the internet media company he works for. He wants to be seen as a real journalist and write articles about things that actually matter. His boss agrees to give him a chance, but only if he goes out with a bang: Jack must write a piece detailing "How to Lose a Girl." This seems easy to Jack, until he meets Hannah.

Hannah is a tough as nails event planner who's known for throwing the most outrageous, and often raunchy, parties but she wants more. She knows in order to move up in her career, she needs to start planning weddings. The only problem is, her boss doesn't think someone as unlucky in love as Hannah can pull off the romance needed for handling such events. Once Hannah meets Jack, she's sure he's just the guy to string along for a few weeks to prove her boss wrong.

This is essentially a gender-swapped re-telling of How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, and had I been a bigger fan of the movie, maybe I would've liked this more but I just couldn't get into it. I didn't care for Jack or Hannah, and in turn didn't really care about their relationship. It's so like the film that I felt it almost hurt it. If it was slightly different then it would've helped it stand out on its own. The writing felt a bit juvenile, and I found myself either rolling my eyes or cringing throughout. You're way better off sticking to Kate Hudson and Matthew McConaughey for this one.

b.andherbooks

This book is AMAZING. I loved every minute of reading Hannah and Jack's story.

NOT THE GIRL YOU MARRY is a perfect contemporary romance. It will make you laugh and swoon and maybe even get a little weepy.

Hannah is a heroine for the ages, prickly, real, and worth fighting for. If only we could all have a Hannah in our corner.

Sarah Williams

2.5/5 stars

How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days is one of my favorite rom-coms from the aughts, so when I initially heard that there was an updated, gender-swapped version written by a WOC, I was over the moon.

Unfortunately, I just didn’t care for this one. I admit that I may have set this book up for failure—my expectations and excitement may have been too high—but this was lacking for me. Notwithstanding the millennial update and gender swap, Not the Girl You Marry is basically an exact remake of How to Lose a Guy. I had thought that the author would keep the basic premise but change enough so that the story felt fresh and fun, but it felt too similar in the ways that really mattered. 

As for the sex: It was underwhelming to say the least. Hannah had more chemistry with the taco she ate the night she and Jack met. I’m also the last person anyone would call a prude, but I actually found this book to be way too vulgar at times. At times, the innuendo was so blatant (although, is it even innuendo at that point?) that I actually cringed. 

I also think How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days works because it’s fairly superficial—it has to be. If you really unpack what’s happening, it’s a pretty problematic premise, and that becomes painfully apparent when you dive into the main characters’ mindsets. I actually found myself a little ashamed that I was such a fan of a story that is, essentially, about one character being terrible and emotionally abusive to the other. There are multiple points where Jack, fully aware that Hannah has trust issues, still convinces himself that it’s worth it to treat her terribly so that he can get his promotion. 

Problematic premise aside, it was also just needlessly repetitive to hear in almost every chapter how much Jack and Hannah regretted that they had to go through with their respective bargains. I’m not even exaggerating--this was something both characters repeated over and over. At a certain point, I started skimming past those points because I had seen them so many times. 

There were some cute moments, but not enough to save this book. I appreciate what the author was trying to do with this, but it unfortunately missed the mark for me. 

I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for my honest review. This has not impacted or influenced my review or my opinions.

For more reviews, check out my Instagram and my Blog!

Lacey

I’ve never watched How to Lose A Guy in Ten Days and I can’t say whether that helped or hurt me. I did like this one overall, but not as much as I was hoping to. I struggled to feel a connection with the characters and sometimes the story felt repetitive and slow, particularly the parts where the MCs would keep rehashing their past hang ups over and over. But Jack and Hannah were cute together and I appreciated the discussions surrounding Hannah’s biracial background.

Ashlee

Pretty middling for a rom-com, in my opinion. It’s a great premise, but the plot was so repetitive, it was easy to get lost within it. There isn’t anything terribly bad about it, it’s just that there also wasn’t much that compelled me to get invested with the story or characters. 

That said, I still want to try more from this author, I just don’t think this one quite hit its mark.

Jessica 

Blog | Twitter | Instagram | Review can be found here at Booked J. 


  As always, a copy of this book was provided by the publisher or author in exchange for my honest review. This does not effect my opinion in any way.


A highly entertaining, romantic, How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days revamp. If you're looking for a fun and indulgent novel to sink your teeth in as the weather grows colder, Not the Girl You Marry is an absolute must-read. It's cozy, fun and a little cringy in a fantastic way and totally gives off the same feelings you get whilst watching How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days. Like the film, it is flawed and silly and sweet and takes itself seriously while not taking itself seriously at all.

Fans of the romantic comedies of the past will appreciate this story for all that it is. It's a modern spin on the classic hilarity. Which, at the end of the day, is completely feel good. When I finished it, I felt that tug at my lips that comes with the genre. Not the Girl You Marry is charming and highly amusing; the type of novel to curl up with a cold day, stuck inside, or again in the heat of the summer. 

I think I knew from the start that I might be a bit biased about Not the Girl You Marry. Not only was How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days the first rom-com I saw, it was one of the first films I was allowed to see in the theater with my friends. Even now, I rewatch it when I need a little bit of a mood boost. When I saw the synopsis for Not the Girl You Marry I felt that excited flutter that is familiar with age--I was 100% here for it! 

It's funny--there's this quality to Not the Girl You Marry that feels clumsy. A little bitter on the first taste. But, sometimes, love feels the same. There's no slow-burn to the main relationship. Not really: it all happens suddenly and foolishly as two parties seem to be using one another until suddenly, their relationship becomes real. All I wanted to do was to shout at Hannah and Jack, but, for me, that is the type of fictional relationship I root for. 

And something about them was incredibly compelling, even when they were frustrating me. Both are flawed individuals, with personalities that come off the page and make us, as readers, roll our eyes or laugh. These are the kinds of characters I like, but I do think that they won't be for everyone and that is perfectly okay. 

Ultimately, I had a lot of fun with Not the Girl You Marry. It wasn't everything I wanted, but it was everything it was meant to be. And that made the experience all the more entertaining. At its best, Not the Girl You Marry is endearing and indulgent. It's like that snuggly, soft, trusty old sweater you've had for years out of comfort--it is there to embrace you.

Abigail | 

For the most part, I enjoyed this book! And while I loved the premise, I feel as though the fact that it was marketed as a retelling or How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days somehow made it fall a bit felt for me. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed reading it, but comparing it to such a high quality rom-com gave it several high expectations that I was a tad bit disappointed by. I found myself struggling to pick it back up once I’d put it down. That being said, I LOVED the strong female lead. She was a total badass (and he was a sweetheart). It didn’t have so much to do with the characters as it did not being able to shake the fact that it was supposed to be a “retelling” that I couldn’t jump on board with.