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

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Title: Josh and Hazel's Guide to Not Dating
Author: Christina Lauren
Published by: Simon & Schuster Audio
Release Date: September 4, 2018
Format: Audiobook
Narrator: Todd Haberkorn, Jayme Mattler
Length: 7 hours and 16 minutes
Genres: Romantic Comedy, Contemporary, Romance
Source: Libby
Reading Challenges: Lenoreo's 2020 Audiobook Challenge, Lenoreo's 2020 Diversity Reading Challenge, Lenoreo's COYER With Friends
Find it: Goodreads ✩ Amazon ✩ B&N ✩ Google ✩ Kobo ✩ IndieBound ✩ iTunes ✩ Book Depository
My rating:

Blurb:

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?

My Review:

4.5 stars — Wow, I have another girl crush.  Which is probably a bit weird, because I see bits of myself in Hazel, so does that mean I have a crush on myself?  But she was just so extra in the best ways possible!!!  I mean, don’t get me wrong, Josh Im was no slouch either, but…Hazel was just so Hazel.

OK, narrators first.  Jayme Mettler was fucking awesome.  I adored her voice, it was perfect for Hazel.  I loved her pacing, her range of emotions, her other voices were always consistent.  And OMG, her Josh voice was swoony!  I often get a bit embarrassed listening to sex scenes on audiobook, but Ms. Mettler just made me blush…  Todd Haberkorn on the other hand was…not my favourite.  The funny thing is, it wasn’t his normal narration — his voice for Josh was actually great, his pacing was fantastic, his emotions were great, and his voices were consistent.  The problem for me was his Hazel voice…also a few other characters, but mostly Hazel.  I…just…did not like it.  It felt like how guys mock girls voices.  It felt like a child’s voice.  It irked me.  Which is SUCH a shame, because I really did enjoy his Josh voice and his normal narration.  But unless he’s narrating an M/M, I doubt I will pick up another by him…or at the very least I’d need to hear a snippet of how he does the heroine’s voice to decide (because Emily’s voice wasn’t too bad).  His Hazel voice is the only reason I’m rounding down instead of up.

OK, now back to my girl crush.  I ADORED Hazel.  She was unapologetically herself, but that didn’t mean that she wasn’t still hurt by people who couldn’t handle who she was.  I get that.  I mean, I’m not at Hazel level, but I definitely march to my own drum, and I LOVE that about myself, but it doesn’t mean I’m not affected by what others think.  I actually wish I could be a bit more Hazel and not worry so much about other’s opinions.  She was HILARIOUS, and fun, and her heart was SO BIG.  She was inappropriate, and bold, and…I don’t know.  I just loved everything about her.  She made me laugh, she made my heart ache, she *made* this book.

But she wasn’t alone in the super character stardom.  Josh Im was the perfect counterpoint to Hazel.  I adored the way they were so different, but he NEVER wished for her to be someone she wasn’t.  He thought her odd at times, but he accepted her as she was, and loved her because of who she was.  *swoon*  I mean, can you get a better hero to love??  I think not!  He’s even a little bit of a beta hero, which as you know is my kryptonite!  He was sweet, easygoing, with a fabulous dry sense of humour.  He was the epitome of down to earth, not really ever considering his own attractiveness, almost oblivious to it.

But the two of them together was the real treat in this book.  They had the BEST rapport, from bantering and teasing to genuine caring and support.  I wondered how their friendship was going to play out, but it just settled in so naturally.  And while it frustrated me how they couldn’t get around themselves to get together, I understood it to some extent.  And when they did get together?  Holy wow.

There were some fantastic secondary characters in this one, both human and animal.  I loved both Josh’s family (and everything we learned about being a Korean American) and Hazel’s eccentric mother.  I loved how Emily and Dave flitted in and out of the story, and showed another great example of a successful marriage.  And then there was Winnie.  OMG, Winnie was awesome.  I mean, her other pets were great, but we got the most time with Winnie.  I loved the love affair that developed between Winnie and Josh.  *snort*

So yeah.  Total fucking treat of a book.  I adored it.  May we all be just a bit more Hazel-y in our day to day lives.