Audio: The Honey Don’t List by Christina Lauren @ChristinaLauren #PattiMurin #JonRoot @SimonAudio @GalleryBooks ‏ #LoveAudiobooks

Posted April 2, 2020 by Anne - Books of My Heart in Book Review / 26 Comments

Review copy was received from Publisher. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.


Audio: The Honey Don’t List by Christina Lauren @ChristinaLauren #PattiMurin #JonRoot  @SimonAudio @GalleryBooks ‏ #LoveAudiobooksThe Honey Don't List by Christina Lauren
Narrator: Patti Murin, Jon Root
Published by Simon & Schuster Audio on March 24, 2020
Genres: Contemporary Romance
Length: 7 hours, 29 minutes
Format: Audiobook
Source: Publisher
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three-half-flames
One StarOne StarOne StarOne Star

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 have enjoyed pretty much everything I have read by this author. I’ve read all the recent books on audio. So I requested The Honey Don’t List without even reading the blurb. The story fits with the title but was not what I expected at all.

The eventual couple works for Melissa and Rusty Tripp who are  home improvement show stars who also have a store.  Melissa and Rusty have problems. Carey and James try to hold things together so they can hang on to their jobs. It is a nearly impossible feat. A big load falls to Carey who has been with them for 10 years, since the start, and I love the way James tries to help her.

I really liked Carey and James.  It feels a little like enemies to lovers initially with them teasing each other over their perceived flaws. Once they begin to know each other, the reality has some huge differences from the surface and the pair end up admiring each other as they both struggle with their daily situation.   The development of their relationship felt authentic and I loved it.

The very beginning had me a little confused. The story wasn’t much like a romance for quite awhile.  The Honey Don’t List also had a bit less humor compared to other works by the author.  However, I enjoyed it quite a lot and I would recommend it to others.

Narration:

I have not listened to either of these narrators before. The chapters alternated between the female and male in the couple, and between the female and male narrator in a dual narration.  I thought both narrators did a great job with the opposite sex characters in their chapters. The narration definitely added to my pleasure in the book. I was able to listen comfortably at 1.5x speed.

Listen to a clip: 

About Christina Lauren

Yes, there are two of us! Lauren (on the left) and Christina (on the right).

Christina Lauren is the combined pen name of long-time writing partners/besties/soulmates Christina Hobbs and Lauren Billings. The #1 international bestselling coauthor duo writes both Young Adult and Adult Fiction, and together has produced fourteen New York Times bestselling novels. They are published in over 30 languages, have received starred reviews from Kirkus Reviews, Library Journal and Publishers Weekly, won both the Seal of Excellence and Book of the Year from RT Magazine, named Amazon and Audible Romance of the Year, and been nominated for several Goodreads Choice Awards. They have been featured in publications such as Forbes, The Washington Post, Time, Entertainment Weekly, People, O Magazine and more. Their third YA novel, Autoboyography was released in September, followed by a contemporary romance, Roomies in December, and their first Women’s Fiction, Love and Other Words in April.

Lauren Billings (but everyone calls her Lo) has a Ph.D. in neuroscience and before she made writing her full-time job, would spend her days doing nerdy research-type things wearing a lab coat and goggles. She is silly Mommy to two littles, wife to one mountain biking homebrewing scientist, and an unabashed lover of YA and romance.

Christina Hobbs (but you’ll always hear Lo call her PQ) used to spend her days in a junior high counseling office surrounded by teenagers. These days you can find her at her desk, writing or watching BTS videos. She grew up in Utah and is absolutely not old enough to be the mom of a 17 year old (right??), thinks she’s the luckiest person in the world to write books with her best friend, and is an unapologetic lover of boy bands and glitter.

Rating Breakdown
Narration (Audio)
One StarOne StarOne StarOne Star
Overall: One StarOne StarOne StarOne Star
Anne - Books of My Heart
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Reading this book contributed to these challenges:

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Posted April 2, 2020 by Anne - Books of My Heart in Book Review / 26 Comments


26 responses to “Audio: The Honey Don’t List by Christina Lauren

  1. You mentioned that it didn’t feel like a romance at first – and for me it never really did. I saw a friend saw that it kind of felt more like women’s fiction than romance and I agree. I really did like Carey and seeing the growth in her over the story. I was just left wishing more time had been spent on her and James instead of the Tripp’s.

    Tanya @ Girl Plus Books recently posted: WWW Wednesday #81 | April 1, 2020
  2. Glad you enjoyed this one….good to know it takes a while before we see the romance ….I always like to prepare myself for that or I feel too disappointed

  3. Lorna

    I really don’t remember much in the way of humor? I wish it had been humorous. I’m glad you liked it though!

  4. I haven’t listened to either of these narrators before either. I am glad to hear that you liked them. I have only read one of their books but do hope to read more in the future. I might pick up one of their more popular books before trying this one though.

  5. Jen

    I’m glad you enjoyed this one. I passed on it. I haven’t really enjoyed the last few. But I hope to get back to the authors again someday.

  6. I’ve enjoyed a few of their books so I downloaded a copy of this, too. But after seeing some of the reviews come back I’m not as excited to pick it up. Glad to hear you enjoyed it, Anne!

    • It’s a different style than some of their other recent works but I really enjoyed it. I wish there had been slightly less time on the Tripps rather than the couple. But I did really appreciate all the character development with a very slow burn relationship.

      Anne - Books of My Heart recently posted: Titan’s Day by Dan Stout