Review: The Honey-Don't List

I'm a relatively new Christina Lauren reader. While they've been published for several years, I only read my first book by them (Christina Lauren is a pen name for Christina Hobbs and Lauren Billings) in 2018 (it was Roomies and I thoroughly enjoyed it). Since then I've read a number of their novels and The Honey-Don't List is their latest. It was fun with a little sexy and a lot of depth but it didn't wow me as much as I expected.

Here's the synopsis:

Carey Douglas has worked for home remodeling and design gurus Melissa and Rusty Tripp for nearly a decade. A country girl at heart, Carey started in their first store at sixteen, and—more than anyone would suspect—has helped them build an empire. With a new show and a book about to launch, the Tripps are on the verge of superstardom. There’s only one problem: America’s favorite couple can’t stand each other.
James McCann, MIT graduate and engineering genius, was originally hired as a structural engineer, but the job isn’t all he thought it’d be. The last straw? Both he and Carey must go on book tour with the Tripps and keep the wheels from falling off the proverbial bus.
Unfortunately, neither of them is in any position to quit. Carey needs health insurance, and James has been promised the role of a lifetime if he can just keep the couple on track for a few more weeks. While road-tripping with the Tripps up the West Coast, Carey and James vow to work together to keep their bosses’ secrets hidden, and their own jobs secure. But if they stop playing along—and start playing for keeps—they may have the chance to build something beautiful together…

I thought the design/TV show aspect was a lot of fun and really enjoyed that it also showed the less than glamorous side of things. I mean, this story was an extreme example of the ugly that show business can create but it's a good reminder that those HGTV shows (which I adore) are made for entertainment purposes. (Although, do you watch Home Town? I find that show to be delightfully uncontrived and unscripted. Ben and Erin are the cutest and I just love the show.) If you're also a fan of these types of HGTV-esque stories, I would highly suggest Playing House by Laura Chapman, one of my favourite authors.

I really liked Carey and James. The romance between them seemed so great and believable too. It moved fast but they spent a lot of time together and were able to get to know each other on levels that it sometimes takes other couples weeks or months to achieve. They really seemed like opposites but the more they got to know each other, the more they realized a lot of their core values were the same. I also really liked that the story was told by both of them. Chapters changed perspective with whoever's chapter it was telling the story in first person. Sounds like it could be confusing but it really worked for me.

What didn't work? The transcripts with the police officers and the social media comments that were interspersed between chapters. The transcripts hinted at the climax of the novel which I didn't mind but it seemed like a weird way to do it. That said, I didn't mind the excerpts from Russ and Melly's book (because they related to whatever drama was currently happening in the story) or the articles about their tour.

While there's a romance at the heart of this book, Carey's personal journey (ugh sorry for the cliched term) is what stood out for me the most. From an outsider, like James originally was, she seems like she's been stuck in an assistant role for a decade. She's incredible reliant on her bosses and their lives are hopelessly intertwined. The authors make sure the reader knows Carey has already begun to work on herself before James came along - she had been going to therapy to try to help work through her issues - but since he was in a similar position, he was able to help her see a way out of the situation she was in. I rooted for her throughout the entire book and wanted all of the good things for her.

Special shout out for the authors to write Carey with a disability and one that presents in a pretty invisible way. Carey has dystonia, which is a movement disorder that can cause muscles to spasm and contract uncontrollably. They explain in the acknowledgements that Billings' family has a variant of the disease and that's why they wanted to include it in the storyline and shed a little bit of light on the disease (which I had never heard of so I'm happy to have had the education).

Did I have high expectations for The Honey-Don't List? Maybe. Was I stressed about the global pandemic blowing up the world around me? Perhaps. Is it worth a read? Yes, I think so but don't worry too much if it gets pushed down your reading list. Christina Lauren will always entertain and if you want an escape, their latest book could be what you're looking for.

*An ARC of this novel was provided by the publisher, Simon & Schuster Canada, in exchange for review consideration. All opinions are honest and my own.*