Single Sunday: Josh and Hazel’s Guide to Not Dating by Christina Lauren

Single Sundays: While this blog may be focused on reviewing book series as a whole, we can’t forget about the good ole’ standalone novel! On Sundays, I will review a novel that is considered to be a standalone novel. Here is this week’s offering:

Synopsis for Josh and Hazel’s Guide to Not Dating (from Goodreads):

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?

SERIESous’ Top Picks: Favourite Author
Author: Christina Lauren
Genre: Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Heat Rating: Toasty
Point of View: First Person, Alternating
Publication Date: September 2018
Source & Format: Public Library–Audiobook

Why I Picked it Up / My Expectations:

I’m a huge Christina Lauren fan. Since I started following their work, the novels seem to only be getting better and better. If I want a fun, steamy but still fully developed contemporary romance, they are a great go-to.

This book gets a lot of great reviews from my fellow bloggers and seems to be uber popular at my library. Which is probably why it took me the better part of the year to get my hold for the audiobook.

The Plot:

This novel was just executed flawlessly. From the slow burn romance of friends to something more to the scenes of individual character growth, I loved listening to this story unfold. We never dwelled long on the past but we had enough moments to really cement the present events. It was just a really easy read to get lost in.

The Characters:

I ADORED these two! Both of them are so quirky and fun, with really big hearts. They had some great banter which is always a treat. I immediately fell in love with each of them.

The Romance:

The slow burn builds at the perfect pace. You get those little sparks along the way so you know something epic is going to happen but it doesn’t take forever to get there. That allowed them to get this really solid foundation together and I love that in my romances.