Josh and Hazel's Guide to Not Dating

**Contains hidden spoilers**

Josh and Hazel's Guide to Not Dating

By: Christina Lauren

1.5 stars

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?

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I posted an extremely exaggerated, comedic review with gifs on Goodreads so you can check that out here! You can also find it on the button at the end of this review. Unlike my Goodreads review, this one will be more serious and specify exactly why I gave the book this rating. Let's get started!

I am not a stranger to Christina Lauren. I have read the Unhoneymooners and I thoroughly enjoyed it! I was expecting something similar over here, but instead, I got something totally different. Weird, since a lot of people say the two are similar.

The main thing that ruined the book for me was the main character, Hazel. Since we spend half the book in her head and the other half in Josh's head talking about Hazel, this was obviously a deal-breaker. My opinions for books and characters is mostly on par with the majority. But, for this one, I find myself in the minority. I don't consider myself a harsh judge of character when it comes to books but I honestly hated Hazel. She stretched the "not like the other girls" trope to the size of Australia. She was described by herself and others around her as eccentric, weird and worst of all... quirky. I know! So cringey! She has so many pets with a bunch of quirky names and she wears quirky clothes and she blabs quirky things because "her brain and mouth don't coordinate". She literally blabs "Me and Josh had sex!" to everyone, like girl that's not being quirky, that's just idiotic. I think Christina and Lauren took her whole character too far. Hazel is literally a child in a woman's body. There is one thing I like about her though, and that's the fact that she is confident. The last thing we need is another shy quirky girl. I sincerely apologise for using the q word so many times! 😞😭

Another thing I disliked about this book was the ending. This is a spoiler so if you want to read then please highlight the hidden text below!

I am not a fan of the fake pregnancy trope. It felt like it kind of forced them to be together. I thought the book should have been focused on them not the baby. Also, Hazel said she was on birth control that drunk night, so she lied?

Now for the positives... I still loved Josh (aka Jimin). He was a great character and I really liked him! Also, their relationship was good, but I couldn't fully enjoy it if I really dislike one character. I have to admit though, the smut was enjoyable! 😊

My Goodreads Review!

I hope you enjoyed the review! Goodbye and happy reading 🥰