Josh and Hazel's Guide to Not Dating by Christina Lauren

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?

Paperback, 309 pages

Published September 4, 2018

 by Gallery Books

Audiobook, 7 hours, 16 minutes

by Simon & Schuster Audio

4/5 stars

This was an impulse audio read.  I can't really say that the writing duo named Christina Lauren is a new to me author.  I've read a couple books last year that I loved.  So for 2023 my goal is to read her backlist.

Josh and Haley is the story of reunited friends (with a past from high school days).After Josh's breakup this pair sets out to create blind dates for each other, but these blind dates are also double dates.  What follows was a laugh out loud read - yes I did almost spit wine on my puzzle a couple times.

Would I have enjoyed it as much if I had read the book?  I can't really say. Nevertheless the plot was fun, the characters well developed, personalities authentic making an entertaining story.

That being said there were a few things that niggled at me.  Josh & Hazel haven't seen each other in over a decade and within moments are the best of friends -bester than their teen years. Plus the epilogue felt a bit over the top IMHO.

But other than that this was an entertaining audio read where I followed along with my print copy.

Audiobook was obtained through CloudLibrary with the print copy being a recent thrift shop rescue.