The Honey-Don't List

3.5 Stars!!!

This was a quick, easy read!! Good story and light spice!!

The caretaking trope was strong in this one and it was so well done!!! James and Carey are so good!

infidelity on page - not main characters but side characters

i usually love christina lauren’s rom coms but this one was disappointing and i am sad

This was a fun little read! Nothing too deep - but a good romance if you’re looking to escape the world for a bit.

3.5 stars — i love CL novels, i really do, but i didn't quite enjoy this one as much as i have with her other ones. needless to say, this was an exciting story but it fell flat somewhere in the middle where i felt like i wanted just a littttttle bit more? i don't really know, i think i might have been comparing it too much to josh & hazel and the unhoneymooners (which i absolutely loved) and it made it somewhat difficult to keep reading to finish. carey and james, while they made a very cute couple, just didn't quite leave a major impression on me. i did, however, really enjoy the way the ending tied up everything pretty nicely.

i love carey. and james so funny.

3.5/5

It was ok. The ending could have been wrapped up a little better. I was hoping for more answers at the end, or more happiness at least.

*4.5

Okay, I liked this. Although it went by too fast and I felt like the mmc was underdeveloped, similar to how I felt in twice in a blue moon even though with this read we do get dual POV.

One thing I just didn’t fully get was how they were working together for 2 whole months day in and day out but only felt attraction during the time that the book starts, just felt random like why now?

What I liked: the disability rep, interspersed epistolary style snippets, vivid storytelling, sweet ending (but no epilogue, CLo why do you hate epilogues in recent years??).

I hadn’t picked this up until now partially judging a book by it’s title.. I wish this had a different title! It doesn’t represent the story well in my opinion.

Apparently Christina Lauren books are hit-or-miss with me, some I love and some are just okay. This was an okay/enjoyable read but I got so frustrated with it at times. I liked our main characters, Carey and James. The Tripps got on my last nerve! They were so fake and immature. Our main characters basically had to babysit the Tripps so they didn't blow their tour by acting like idiots. I also got a little aggravated at our main characters during their "fallout;" it's called communication, and it was very much needed. It definitely gave me Joanna and Chip Gaines vibes right from the beginning. It was overall an okay read. It was enjoyable; it just wasn't a favorite. It's definitely a lighter read, which would be perfect for right now, during the summer, or a trip to the beach.

Carey Duncan has worked as Melissa Tripp's assistant for years, even though she does most of the design work for her and her husband Rusty on their interior design show on HGTV. Recently Rusty hired an MIT engineer cum assistant, James McCann. James is frustrated with the hole that he has been plugged into, and Carey is just trying to keep a lid on the fact that America's darling couple can't stand each other. As the Tripps are about to embark on a new show and an appearance tour for their new book, filled with tips on what makes a good marriage, Carey and James get closer, while they try to find a way to make a disastrous marriage look like sweethearts in love.

The Honey-Don't List takes the current popularity of HGTV television shows and develops a story about the pressures of success and what that can do to a marriage. Unfortunately, Carey and James almost feel like supporting characters in a story that is supposed to be about them, but they aren't nearly as compelling as Melissa and Rusty Tripp, who steal the show with their wildly dramatic lifestyles and angst filled relationship. Also, James does something to Carey in this story that seems almost unforgivable and doesn't grovel nearly enough before being allowed back into Carey's life. Overall, The Honey-Don't List offers some enjoyable aspects but lacks enough in the execution to make it a winner.

2.5 stars i'm probably way more happier than i should be about the fact that i didn't hate this book, but after the thing that was twice in a blue moon, not hating this feels like a win. did i sometimes enjoy myself while reading this book? yes. but did i think it was way underdeveloped and couldn't care less about melissa and rusty? also yes. all i'm saying is christina lauren could do better.

“James McCann: assistant, engineer, and infatuated boyfriend, at your service.I’ll build anything you need,” he whispers, kissing my jaw. “I’d do anything for you." This was SO CUTE

melissa actually needs to be psych evaluated asap

I feel like I’ve heard this story before, so it wasn’t my favorite. Fairly predictable and not my favorite love story. I have really enjoyed Christina Lauren in the past, and this book was cute! Just wasn’t my favorite…

"but the feeling he draws from me is like being poured out of a pitcher, warm and freeing." i honestly had no clue what this was about before picking it up, but i knew i enjoyed christina lauren's previous books so that was enough for me. honestly, this was just so much fun and sweet i really have no complaints. i think james and carey were perfect for each other and it was just a short serotonin boost. i can't wait to pick up more by christina lauren in the future.

I always love a Christina Lauren book but this one fell a little short for me. The beginning was very slow and it took me a while to get into it. The middle was fun and fast paced, but then I found myself checking how much longer I had until I finished because the end dragged. I also felt like there wasn’t really closure with the main plot line of the book. I enjoyed the snippets of the police transcripts, but then we never get any more information about it after that. It felt like those snippets were put in to lead up to something, and that something never came. It was still a cute romance but not one I’ll likely read again.

This might be more of a 4.5 but it was the first book I could actually finish in over a week and it kept my attention in the middle of a global pandemic, sooooo... For reals though, this was a fun one. Shoutout to Christina Lauren for keeping me sane in this day and age with a delightful story that played to all my home reno show love and also, bonus, delightful banter.

This one wasn’t really for me 🥴 i didn’t connect with any of the characters and the plot didn’t catch my attention at all. Do not get me wrong! It is a good read, a light and cute easy read but it didn’t work for me! The relationship between the characters seemed kinda rushed and underdeveloped, even the characters seemed a little unfinished. Maybe it was because the book focused a lot on the Trips relationship (that I didn’t like) so Carey and James’s relationship was not the main focus as it should. Also the ending didn’t fit me right, it was kinda meh and I would like a little something to make my heart melt, I was just like… that’s it? 🙃 Overall I missed personality on the book, it was a little bit boring and I expected always more action on the next chapter but it never came… I am bumped about it cause I really loved the unhoneymooners SO MUCH and the other books i’ve read so far from the authors didn’t match that book… I really wanted to 🥺 Tbh i think the only reason I didn’t DNF it was because I read it in audiobook 😅

Super cute romcom. The dynamic of the main characters kept the story afloat. This reminded me a lot of chip and Joanna Gaines lol

Super cute, lighthearted, and hopeful.

“So this is what it feels like to be with someone who wants to give simply for the pleasure of it.” this was a short and sweet book, a bit slow but i liked the progression of their relationship and melissa and rustys influence on them. carey realising she didn’t deserve what she was getting was so important !!!

yet another masterpieces by Christina Lauren that had me laughing and bawling and begging for my own James McCaan!! i absolutely loved this book and i honestly have the urge to turn back to the beginning and read it all over again!!

it reminded me of a crossover between The Hating Game by Sally Thorne and Set It Up, a movie a Netflix that i absolutely adore!! The Honey-Don't List was right up my street and ugh, it was so good!!

i need to get my hands on more books by Christina Lauren asap, my collection is no where near big enough and every read so far has been 5 stars.

and this one... 5 starts, definitely recommend 🥰

This took me forever to get through and I normally love everything Christina Lauren puts out. This was just… sloppy.