The Honey-Don't List by Christina Lauren

Carey and James are assistants to a power couple, Mellisa and Russell Tripp. Except, this is not quite right. Mel and Rusty, despite portraying their marriage as perfect on social media, hate each other. And now that they’re going on a book tour and are about to release a new show, it’s Carey and James’s job to stop them from killing each other… or at least not let anyone find out their ‘perfect marriage’ is just a facade. While one relatioship seems to br falling apart, it looks like another one begins to grow.

I don’t read a lot of romance, but I must say I truly enjoyed this one! Full of drama, which we all sometimes crave, and filled with emotions. It was predictable but in a good way, it ended in the way I hoped it would. The character development was great, especially for Carey, and the dual POV was very well executed. The romantic scenes were natural and too unnecessarily descriptive which some authors struggle with in romance books. Overall, it’s a nice and easygoing story that satisfies your romance craving and puts you in a good mood.

The idea for the story itself was very intriguing. The two stories, of the Tripps and Carey and James, were intertwined well, without overshadowing each other. I also enjoyed the backstory of Carey, it gained depth as the plot progressed and developed more and more (trust me, Carey has more to offer that you might think!). Nothing in this book was shallow. In fact, it was actually well thought through. Reading it was just a pleasure, Lauren’s writing is simple but smooth, I didn’t even realise I was going through the pages so quickly.

The characters were another big plus. Starting with Carey, I loved how her progression was shown - from someone who’s shy and scared to stand up for herself into a woman who is capable of asking for things. James I have the least to say about but he was nothing short of a great guy - I loved how sweet and caring he was and how he thought for the relationship. I found Rusty quite enjoyable as well. While he did have the least ‘page time’, it was used well - initially he was quiet, portrayed as a husband who doesn’t care but eventually shows that he is sick of his wife’s behaviour. And Melissa… one of the bossiest characters I’ve ever seen in books. She was created extremely well, and was easy to hate which is a sign of good writing to me. I wasn’t too involved in the characters’ lives, but I still enjoyed reading about their. However, when I finished the book I just put it back on the shelf.

Overall, it was an extremely pleasant read that I would recommend to anyone hoping to dive into a sweet, simple story and who’s graving a happy end in the book.

Rating: 4/5