Josh & Hazel’s Guide to Not Dating

After a month of reading a lot of books about political children, the making of TV shows, murder mysteries, and more, I knew I needed something light. I needed something I could binge-read and that would make me FEEL things and wow, the writing duo that is Christina Lauren did not let me down. One of the girls I interned with back in the spring has a Bookstagram, ToBorroworBuy, and she hyped this book up a lot, so I picked it up from the library and read it within 36 hours. Oops.

Hazel is kind of a hot mess, especially for a third-grade teacher. She drinks and takes her top off and she sleeps with men she doesn’t love, she has a dog and a rabbit and a bird and a fish,  and she enjoys being wild and free, but she’s really a sweet girl. That’s what all her friends say, especially Emily, who just happens to be Josh’s sister. Enter Josh, the super hot guy Hazel knew (and frequently embarrassed herself in front of) in college. All of a sudden, because Hazel declares it so, she and Josh are best friends, hanging out together, and even living together briefly when Hazel’s apartment floods. But their friendship brings out the best in them. They decide, after a breakup for one of them, to get back in the game by setting each other up on increasingly crazy double dates, but they realize they might like spending time with each other more….If you like friends to more and friends with benefits and just all around hot guy tropes, you’re going to love this. It’s fun and a little sexy and very adorable and by the end you’ll be CHEERING into the pages of the book.

The characters of Hazel and Josh are extremely well-developed, and even the double dates that come in and out are unique and memorable. I love the support system each character has, that Hazel is a teacher (which is like a real job) instead of a more 21st century “job” like “social media influencer” or something. This book is just really fun. Hazel’s mom is awesome and reminded me a lot of my own mother, haha. I also loved Josh’s parents because they’re adorable and relatable.

Anyway, I’ve rambled on long enough, but read this book. You’ll love it.