Not the Girl You Marry

The Nolans #1

by Andie J. Christopher

How To Lose a Guy in 10 Days gets a millennial makeover in this romantic comedy by USA Today bestselling author Andie J. Christopher.

Jack Nolan is a gentleman, a journalist, and unlucky in love. His viral success has pigeon-holed him as the how-to guy for a buzzy, internet media company instead of covering hard-hitting politics. Fed up with his fluffy articles and the app-based dating scene as well, he strikes a deal with his boss to write a final piece de resistance: How to Lose a Girl. Easier said than done when the girl he meets is Hannah Mayfield, and he's not sure he wants her to dump him.

Hannah is an extremely successful event planner who's focused on climbing the career ladder. Her firm is one of the most prestigious in the city, and she's determined to secure her next promotion. But Hannah has a bit of an image problem. She needs to show her boss that she has range, including planning dreaded, romantic weddings. Enter Jack. He’s the perfect man to date for a couple weeks to prove to her boss that she’s not scared of feelings.

Before Jack and Hannah know it, their fake relationship starts to feel all too real—and neither of them can stand to lose each other.

Genres: Romance, Contemporary, Fiction, Contemporary Romance, Adult, Audiobook, Chick Lit

320 pages, Paperback

First published November 12, 2019

Reviews

[Gabby · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF @ 150 pages
I wanted to DNF this after the first chapter, that’s how bad it was. And I am so SAD, because this was one of my most anticipated romances of the year because I LOVE How To Lose a Guy In 10 Days. But this book is just bad and the only thing about this story that I liked is that Hannah is biracial, I appreciate that representation and I think books need more of it, but that’s about it. Here are my non-spoilery thoughts I had while reading this book:

-The writing is terrible, it reads sooo juvenile and immature and reminds me of The Proposal by Jasmine Guillory but even worse?
-She’s using him for a promotion, he’s using her because he wants to write about politics but first his boss assigns him: how to lose a girl, it’s a little too on the nose for a retelling with the genders reversed
-He calls her a “sexy rabid raccoon”??? What the fuck?🤣
-How many times did they bring up his dick in the first two chapters?
-Both of these characters are annoying as shit
-They try to have this “witty banter” but I lost track of how many times I rolled my eyes
-Why are they using words like bozos? And friggin’? I haven’t heard those words since middle school haha
-Why does she keep using the phrase “panties magically disappearing all over town” or something of that sort whenever she describes how attractive he is? 🤣 it’s so cheesy
-Why is he calling her Duchess? 🤣 he’s called her that four times now and it’s not cute
-They have no chemistry at all
-This is a lot more vulgar than I expected it to be with the cute illustrated cover, it’s kind of like Fix Her Up in that way
-They both feel guilty about hurting the other one and their thoughts are so repetitive, they keep saying the same shit like: “she’s so great, too bad I have to break her heart” or “he’s the perfect man, too bad I am using him for a promotion” over and over and OVER again
-This isn’t just a How To Lose a Guy In 10 Days retelling, it feels like a rip off because it’s way to on the nose, except for the fact that the movie is way better and these characters are obnoxious.
-I should’ve DNF’ed this after the first chapter
-I’m gonna stop reading this and watch the movie instead because I can’t deal with this anymore


I’m so sad I didn’t end up enjoying this because I had such HIGH HOPES going in, but this is one of the worst of the year for me. 😭😬

Thanks to Berkley romance for an advanced copy!

[Warda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well then. I’m never trusting ratings or reviews ever again since I loved this and I was initially hesitant to read this because of superficial reasons. Which I’ve already kicked myself for.

Now I know to go back to the days before Goodreads and social media and I was only interested in reading the blurb of a book and that alone would’ve been my deciding factor. Plus the cover. Plus the title and first few chapters. And recommendations from librarians.

This was just so enjoyable. How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days is a hilarious movie and it was great to read the author’s spin on it.

I don’t know what more to say other than this is probably my biggest surprise read of the year so far and I loved it.

Read for The Reading Rush readathon.
Challenge: read a book that’s been inspired by a movie you’ve already seen.

[Chelsea (chelseadolling reads) · Rating 2 out of 5]

Blehhhh. I gave this one another chance after DNFing the ARC, but my opinion didn't really change and I almost wish I hadn't bothered. This did get better after the point that I DNF'd, but I definitely didn't like it enough for it to have felt worth it. This has been such a disappointing romance month for me. Womp.

[Christy · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars



I’ve always loved the film ‘How to Lose a Guy in Ten Days’ so when I saw the synopsis of this book, I knew I had to read it! This had a different spin than the film, but was so much fun to read!

Hannah has had it with men. With her last serious boyfriend telling her she’s not the type of girl someone marries, she’s pretty much given up on love. Then enters Jack Nolan. Jack is not like other guys. He too is unlucky in love, but he’s respectful and a truly nice guy. He’s also a journalist. Hannah is an event planner.

Hannah doesn’t want to date anyone, but she needs the facade of having a boyfriend to get to plan this big wedding that could lead to a promotion so she agrees to date Jack temporarily. Meanwhile, Jack’s boss wants him to write an article on how to lose a girl, and even though it’s against his nature to do something like this, it’s the big break he needs to further his career.

While all this madness is going on, Jack and Hannah start to develop real feelings. Jack feels awful doing any of these things to drive Hannah away and Hannah is conflicted on using Jack as well. It’s all a huge mess that’s just waiting to implode…

Both Hannah and Jack are ambitious and I liked that about them. I also liked how they both learned a lot about themselves from this whole charade. There was a ton of personal growth. My favorite message that the book gave is that just because you’re not a specific persons cup of tea, doesn’t mean you’re not someone else’s dream girl/guy. Sometimes it’s just a matter of finding that person that clicks with you.

This book was smart, witty, made me laugh out loud, and was steamy, sweet, and all around refreshing. I truly loved that the heroine had a back bone and take no crap attitude and the hero was a real sweetheart and a genuinely good guy. Not the Girl You Marry is a fantastic debut and I’m looking forward to reading more from Andie J. Christopher!

[Katrina]

I’m probably not going to finish this book. I’m almost 25% in and it’s just chock full of anti-Black micro aggressions. Is this author serious!? She literally couldn’t look the white man in the face as she told him she was half Black. IS THIS THE STATE OF ROMANCE AT BERKELY!? If I have read the book thus far correctly Hannah is “Not the Girl You Marry” because she’s part Black. That’s it. And all she wants is for someone to on the one hand not worry about her race and also realize that she’s “just like the white girls” they’ve dated. Who green lit this anti-Black racist mess and why the hell aren’t more people talking about this? The hero is white and bland and apparently that makes him the “kind of guy” who wouldn’t date a girl Hannah unless it was a fetish. That’s what Hannah thinks at their meet cute. She doesn’t need a boyfriend she needs a therapist and the whole premise of this book is gross.

[preoccupiedbybooks · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF at 37% (chapter 11)

I wasn't enjoying this as it was repetitive, childish and mean. I haven't seen the film how to lose a guy in 10 days for many years, and don't know how I would rate it now, but I liked it then... This book is way too close to that film, but gender swapped. I do remember the film being very lighthearted, but this just felt wrong. To make a connection with someone, know they've been hurt in the past and have their barriers up, but then progress with dating them and romancing them for the advancement of your career?! And to assume once it's over she will forgive you? Hmmm...
The character's internal monologues were so repetitive too.
As always I appreciate a diverse romance, and Hannah's experiences of being biracial definitely added more depth to the story. However there are way better romances out there. I was bored and didn't want to pick it up. Sorry not for me.

Many thanks to Edelweiss for making this e-arc available to download.

[Berit☀️✨ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Andie J. Christopher has written a fun retelling of one of my all-time favorite movies How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days. The book put a bit of a twist on it, this time it is the guy that is trying to lose the girl and it is the girl trying to prove that she can be in a relationship. This was just a Playful light hearted story Full of sass, Snark, steam, and four letter words. Jack and Hannah meet one night at a bar, there is instant chemistry, but neither of them are looking for a relationship. The night they meet they share an amazing kiss, exchange numbers, yet still they resist. Then Jack’s boss gives him and opportunity. If he can write an article on how to lose a girl in two weeks, then he will be given the opportunity to write a political column. Similarly Hannah who is an event planner is wanting to start planning weddings. When her boss implies that she’s not the right girl to plan weddings, because she’s not even in a relationship, Hannah lets it slip that she in fact is now in a relationship. SO now both Jack and Hannah are using one another to bolster their careers. The problem is they both start to catch real feelings for one another.

Told from both Jack and Hannah‘s perspectives, I really got invested in this seemingly doomed romance. Hannah was strong, smart, kind of a bitch on wheels, but she definitely had a sweet vulnerable side. Jack was such a good guy, A little clueless, but so authentic. If I had any complaint about this book it would be that Jack doing this was really out of character for him, but I guess it needed to happen for the book to work. Loved all the secondary characters in the story. Jack had the most amazing family even his mom who left him when he was younger was a great character. Hannah‘s BFF Sasha was amazing, I’d love to see a story where she gets her HEA! This book just made me smile and feel all warm and gooey inside. There is some definite sizzle in the story and these characters do like to throw around those for letter words, so if that’s not your thing this might not work for you.

This book in emojis: 🌮 🐶 🍻 📰 💅🏻 💏

*** Big thanks to Berkley for my copy of this book ***

[Toni · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you loved How to Lose a Guy in 10 days and decide to pick up this book, two things can happen: you either going to love this hard-edged gender-swapped retelling, or... you are going to quietly put itaside, get comfortable on the sofa and get ready to re-watch Matthew McConaughey and Kate Hudson spin their magic tale.

As I am a kind of girl who always chooses a book over a movie and did not swoon over the original rom-com, so I was actually quite open to whatever Andie J. Christopher was going to make out of the original story. The first chapter left me a bit perplexed: Hanna seemed so angry and aggressive about the whole dating/non-dating issue and menfolk in general, while being understanding and supportive with her extra-feminine friend Sasha. Hanna definitely had the qualities I like: she was fiercely loyal and independent, and yet, so confused about what she wanted. Hanna's ex-boyfriend Noah, who I never forgave until the end of the book despite the author's best attempts to give him some redeeming qualities, had an issue with Hanna being biracial (not black enough to make a part of a power couple), Hanna being too spontaneous and honest (not good enough to make a good wife for a lawyer or a politician). Noah told her she was not a kind a girl a guy would marry, and Hanna...believed him.

Two years later Hanna, who has been on an extended dating hiatus ( I think it's a great idea for somebody who needs to clear their ideas), accidentally meets Jack Nolan in a bar. They click, and even share a spectacular kiss and a few cute puppy pictures the day after that, but it's clear given the fact that neither of them wants to date at the moment, they are not going to give in to the chemistry and attraction they felt for each other. Until... Hanna's boss challenges her to find and keep a boyfriend for two weeks to prove she can do 'romantic' if she wants to get out of planning sports events and start organising weddings. Plus, Jack's boss gives him a new assignment: to write a how-to article on losing a girlfriend in two weeks.

Here is the thing. The original movie already had the whole gender stereotype inverted. It is usually us, girls/ women, who try to circumguess and please our dates to keep the guy, hoping for a white wedding sometime in a not so distant future, and it is men who still have an upper hand in the dating game. That's why the movie was so funny. Here...we revert back to the traditional gender role behaviour, no matter how much we might hate it? Jack is supposed to be a good guy whose girlfriends keep dumping him, although he always puts their needs first, and he really needs to work out why. And he plans to do it by agreeing to do everything to lose (and hurt) Hanna, who he professes to like, to prove to himself that he can put his career first? Complicated, to put it mildly.

The book is engaging, although I kept asking myself the big question any reader asks about the characters: can I relate to them? yes, I had Hanna's experience of a toxic relationship that made me think hard about what I wanted from life and whether I wanted romance at all. Plenty of people also share Jack and Hanna's story of having divorced parents, and growing up without one of the parents being present in their life. What I found the most interesting and authentic in the book was the fact that Hanna is biracial and her reflections on her identity and the role it played in her romantic history.

I am left with mixed feelings about this re-telling, but I'm sure there are other readers who are going to like it and be entertained by the trope of a fake relationship that grows into something more.

Thank you to Edelweiss and Berkley for the ARC provided in exchange for an honest opinion.

[Kelly (and the Book Boar) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Find all of my reviews at: http://52bookminimum.blogspot.com/

4.5 Stars

There was part of me that was really having an internal struggle about rating this so high because it was clearly a remake of . . . . .



But then I thought – how many freaking P&P retellings have I read (answer infinity) and it never seemed to bother me with any of those that they were based on another story so this one is getting nearly all the Starzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz because it was exactly what I wanted it to be.

As I said before, this was How To Lose A Guy In 10 Days (and thankfully is being marketed as just that). It’s just been turned on its ear a tad where leading male Jack is the one with one final “How To” assignment in hopes of propelling his journalism career to the next level where he’ll be writing some meatier stories. Hannah is his female counterpart and is an event planner who gets told by her boss she might want to, you know, at least have a boyfriend if she thinks she’s going to move into the wedding arena and make partner in the company. Both have two weeks to achieve their goal – him to do everything from sending dick pics and introducing her to the parents nearly immediately in order to make her dump him – her to ignore his manbearpig and Stage Five Clinger tendencies in order keep him on the line at least until the firm’s big Halloween party. Oh, and there’s one other little tidbit. Instead of our leading lady looking like . . . .



She looks like . . . .



REFRESHING!!!!

Another difference????



This is like the third time in recent history I picked up a book I was just suuuuuuuuuure was going to be PG-13 that instead ended up steaming my glasses. Trust me, I’m not complaining!



If you are anything like me, this little book will have you going . . . . .



I’m just sorry you have to wait until November for it to be released : (

ARC provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

[Mackenzie - PhDiva Books · Rating 2 out of 5]

A re-imagined How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days for the millennial generation, Andie J Christopher’s novel Not the Girl You Marry was a fun book to read, but one that ultimately altered too much of the central aspect to the original movie to work for me. Still, there’s a lot to enjoy here so let’s dive in!

I think there are lots of readers who will and have loved this book, and there were definitely things I liked about it as well. The movie is one of my favorites, and this book somehow managed to be almost exactly like it, and nothing like it at all. It was fun to see what aspects the author wanted to re-imagine. But that brings me to my first point, and one I couldn’t have anticipated until I saw how it played out…

The gender reversal of the original story is problematic--it was a fun idea, but one that did not work for me. When I read it, I didn't enjoy seeing Jack emulate the kind of toxic, misogynistic behavior that men treat their partners with all of the time. It wasn’t cute, or easy to stomach. The original worked because they both in some ways pretended to be into one another but didn’t realize that they actually were. Here, I struggled watching Hannah pretend that Jack’s bad behavior wasn’t a problem. I didn’t like watching her “play it cool” when he did truly appalling and damaging things. I also felt like I struggled to see Jack as the nice guy that he was, when he was treating Hannah so poorly. I was left with the impression that he thought way more highly of himself than he deserved.

Let’s talk about Hannah for a moment. I loved her, and I loved that the author chose to make her biracial. We saw quite a bit play out in terms of how some biracial women may experience dating, and I thought that as great to see in a main stream contemporary romance novel. Hannah herself is tough on the outside, but vulnerable inside. I also loved her friendship with Sasha, who was a really fun character as well. And I think these two are where Christopher’s writing really shone in this book! I also have to say, the event planning space was a lot of fun, and I enjoyed the story of the wedding she was trying to help plan.

Many of these scenes were almost exactly out of the movie, and I think that’s where you see some readers saying this was too much like the film. I thought those scenes were a lot of fun. For instance, in the big party when everything comes to a head, I thought it was a fun re-telling of the original movie and I was so glad to see that scene included!

The problem is, I learned through reading this that delving into the mindset of the two main characters reveals a troubling aspect that the film was able to gloss over. Here we see chapter after chapter of how much these characters like one another and don’t want to go forward with their manipulation. And yet, they still do it. And somehow, seeing how much they didn’t want to do it took a bit of the fun out of the plot for me. The movie worked because neither had real feelings at first. They met because of their work assignments. Here, they actually meet and form a connection before their assignments, and it bothered me.

Let’s get to the 🔥steam🔥—there was quite a bit of it! I don’t mind some steam in books, but this one had a vulgarity to it that just didn’t resonate with me. Maybe a bit too much bluntness about some private aspects of people’s body parts that I just didn’t need. The sexual tension actually seemed to be the main driver of the plot here, and it left the whole book feeling like a fifty-shades-of-gray fan fiction of How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days. In the original movie, the sexual tension never felt like a key driver of their behavior.

So what to make of this? Here’s my take: this is a fun idea for a book and I think lots of readers will love it. In every way that the movie put the “com” in rom-com, this went the opposite direction, and I think a lot of contemporary romance readers like when the steam level is ratcheted up as it is in this book! For me, I think because that was so different from the original story, it didn’t work as well. But that is just one reader’s opinion. There was also a lot that I did love about this book!

Thank you to Berkley for my copy. Opinions are my own.

[Jennifer ~ TarHeelReader · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not the Girl You Marry is a fun rom com reminiscent of How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, which I admittedly have not seen since its release. Hannah and Jake start a fake relationship that becomes real, very real. It was fun and engaging, and Hannah and Jake are such a cute couple. Overall, it delivered all I expect in a rom com, and it definitely left me wanting to watch How to Lose a Guy again soon so I can see the similarities between the book and the movie!

I received a complimentary copy from the publisher.

Many of my reviews can also be found on instagram: www.instagram.com/tarheelreader

[Larry H · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars.

Can love win when both people are both out for their own gain? That's the question Andie J. Christopher tries to answer in her latest rom-com, Not the Girl You Marry .

If you loved the movie How to Lose A Guy in 10 Days (with Matthew McConaughey and Kate Hudson), this adaptation of the film which flips the genders may be right up your alley.

Hannah is a to-hell-with-love, feisty event planner always up for a good time. She's known for planning wild events, where people are often loud and boisterous. She’s not into relationships because she’s had her heart broken more than a few times and she doesn't need a man.

Jack is almost too handsome for his own good. He has always wanted to be a serious journalist but instead the magazine he works for realizes he has a face for video, so they have him concentrate on fluff pieces for their video channel, mostly listicles. He also has sworn off relationships for a while because it seems like he’s always wanted too much from the women he’s been with.

When Hannah and Jack meet in a bar, there’s no denying their strong attraction to one another. Both realize, however, they need the other to further their careers. Hannah has to convince her boss she’s in a relationship to be considered for a promotion, because how could someone against relationships oversee weddings? Jack needs to write an article about how to screw up a relationship in order to be granted the opportunity to write a more serious story he hopes will take him off the video path forever. So both pursue the other full-stop, even while feeling guilty about what they're doing.

This is super-steamy and fun, and things unfold pretty much how you’d expect them to. I liked how Christopher explored some more serious issues, like racial identity, in the midst of it all. My one criticism is that things took a little longer to unfold than they do in most rom-coms, and I just wanted everything out in the open. Once I know what is going to happen in a book, I just want it to happen!

Check out my list of the best books I read in 2019 at https://itseithersadnessoreuphoria.blogspot.com/2020/01/the-best-books-i-read-in-2019.html.

Check out my list of the best books of the decade at https://itseithersadnessoreuphoria.blogspot.com/2020/01/my-favorite-books-of-decade.html.

See all of my reviews at itseithersadnessoreuphoria.blogspot.com.

Follow me on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/the.bookishworld.of.yrralh/.

[Katie B · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars

I so wanted to like this one, I really did. Unfortunately the premise just didn't work for me. I usually am willing to go with the flow especially when it comes to romances but for whatever reason this one drove me nuts. For the most part I liked the two lead characters, but I just wish their journey to love could have been different.

Jack Nolan is no stranger to relationships and this is one of those rare times in his life he is actually single. He meets event planner Hannah Mayfield at a bar and he is instantly attracted to her. Hannah can't deny Jack is handsome and charming but because she has been unlucky in love she just doesn't want to fall for him because it will lead to her heart getting broken again. Jack is a journalist and his boss tells him he needs to write an article about how to lose a girl. Well that stinks because Jack doesn't want to treat a woman poorly , and definitely not someone like Hannah . Now Hannah has a dilemma of her own as her boss doesn't think she has what it takes to plan weddings for the company. Perhaps if Hannah brings a date to a company event she can change the mind of her boss. So in a nutshell, Jack and Hannah will be dating each other but neither one knows the other person is in the relationship to further their career. Sound crazy? Yeah it is!

So this book has been compared to the movie How to Lose a Guy in Ten Days and because I have never seen the film (am I the only person who doesn't find Kate Hudson all that funny and charming?) I don't know if that's a fair comparison. Regardless, I just couldn't get on board with Jack's storyline because it didn't fit in with his supposed nice guy character. For me the story would have worked better if Jack hadn't fallen for Hannah right away. Maybe I would have been more willing to believe in what he was doing. Plenty of other women out there to choose from Jack, why not pick one of them to pull this stunt on instead of the woman you actually like?

For the most part I did like Hannah as a character and appreciated how the author explored in the story how Hannah is biracial. It gave some substance to this romance novel. And speaking of romance, there are definitely some steamy scenes in the book. If graphic language isn't your thing, you will want to pass on this book.

Had high hopes for this one going in but it got out of control too early on and just never fully recovered even with a decent ending. Maybe other readers will enjoy the story, but this one just wasn't for me.

I won a free copy of this book in a giveaway but was under no obligation to post a review. All views expressed are my honest opinion.

[Sana · Rating 2 out of 5]

'But the rules, even when she'd tried to follow them, had never seemed to fit right. They were a little tight in the crotch, to be quite honest.'

Not the Girl You Marry has gotten so many poor reviews and DNFs that I became sure I wouldn't enjoy it either, but I was too curious to pass up on not reading it. It just be like that sometimes ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

So I read it and it was...okay? I mean, it's definitely a mess and not the good kind because the love interest keeps doing terrible things and the heroine just keeps taking it. Who has the right to say you have to be in a relationship to become a wedding planner? Definitely not your boss. Also, lowering your standards for a job basically means not having any principles and not a fan of that, nope so in that sense they kinda deserved each other? LOL

Anyway, a list of things that made the book okay (not many) and others that were cringe-worthy af (a lot):
- Hannah's character (legit had to look the name up which is rare for me and so I should basically stop writing my review here LOL) is interesting, to say the least. She's been in so many bad relationships that she's had to build a stone cold exterior for her own benefit
- However, the best things about her, her blunt personality and getting shit done, were made to seem like the worst thing about her and I resented that. Ofc, that was the thing that attracted Jack so I guess, it wasn't made out to be all bad
- All Hannah has ever felt like she's good for is sex so her thing was going from no relationships ever for me to let's date because my boss kinda bet me, sigh
- On the other hand, I just didn't like Jack. It's not even that he's doing all these terrible things to Hannah for the sake of his job, it's just that he's supposed to be the gentleman to his douche friends but still ~always the unlucky in love type. I don't get why there's this thing in romance books about making guys look bad on paper in order to make the hero look good, ehhh
- He's not even into doing the list of things he comes up with (with the help of his douche friends, ofc) and still does them. That's the worst kind of dude to be, TBH
- But the fact that Jack has severe mommy issues was so fitting haha
- Holy shit, the whole thing about them doing everything but having 'penetration sex' (the book made me write these words) because he lied about being Catholic or whatever. Like it's okay to emotionally manipulate someone, but having sex is a step too far 🙄
- This book contains the phrase 'A Pavlovian hard-on' and just—
- Also, there's this whole thing about Catholic guilt in the book from making the forbidden tempting (Hannah is so proud of once seducing a seminary student into having sex with her liiiike) to the whole no-sex-before-marriage lie like why are we talking about this at all?
- Oh and Jack's best friend is a douchebag-turned-priest so make of that what you will LOL
- The thing to understand about this book is that both the characters are so desperate to be in a relationship that it's like somebody take them home and make them their significant other already and that just bothered me a lot because relationships is not the be-all and end-all goal in life
- So Hannah feels that her ex-boyfriends' families have been racist towards regardless of what race they are themselves (for example, Black people have made her feel not enough of a Black herself as she's biracial). But when her ex-boyfriend falls in love with a white girl, turns out it was her crass personality that his family had an issue with like ??? So she made up the racism she thought she was experiencing? Can we not negate her experience with racism like that
- Also, any attempts this book made to be relevant (i.e. different parenting expectations from mothers and fathers) put me off because of how hetero this book turned out to be ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
- BTW, the last chapter is literally them finally having that 'penetration sex' and like that was just hilariously bad and sad LOL. HE SHIVERED WHEN SHE RAN A FINGER DOWN HIS FOREHEAD WTF

I just wanted a good enemies-to-lovers romcom but this book tried so damn hard and failed miserably from its mediocre writing to a badly executed plot. Just because you feel this connection with someone who's also unarguably doing terrible things to you, you should decide to just ride it out for your job is a good summary of what this whole mess is and I'm not into it

--------------------------

Fake relationship trope written by a POC author, yessss and like, the whole paragraph below is goals:

Christoper tells EW she was inspired to write the novel after rewatching the 2003 rom-com and thinking about the film in light of shifting gender dynamics and dating practices. "I decided to gender-reverse it because a lot of the things guys do are things that put women off now, and there’s been a slight shift in millennial dating," she says. "Women aren’t doing that as much. They’re not thinking that way, like, ‘I have to be the cool girl to keep the guy.’ We’re more likely to say, ‘Hey, guys, please stop sending dick pics because we will never date you if you do this.’ I wanted to play with how things might have changed since the early 2000s."

Source

[myo ⋆｡˚ ❀ * · Rating 4 out of 5]

i really enjoyed this book, i relate to the main character hannah a lot, not being able to stay in a relationship and people not viewing her as “classy”. i’m so vulgar and seeing a character like that but also the fact that she’s black makes me, a black reader, so happy.

i love how to lose a girl in 10 days and i think this gender switches version does it such good justice! in the book jack always calls hannah “dutches” and at first it was weird because he had no real reason behind it but i actually liked it.

i think it’s cute when characters come up with cute nicknames for each other. this book read like a rom com and it made me laugh. i also like how it has smut and it has dirty talk because that’s something most rom coms don’t put in their movies which is understandable but i think having it also just makes it more realistic.

[Rachel L]

DNF about halfway.

To be honest, I felt this book was boring and poorly written. Life is too short to keep reading something you're not enjoying.

[h o l l i s · Rating 3 out of 5]

Before starting this book, I did the thing you should never do : I looked at the GR rating. Which, as of originally writing this review, is sitting at 3.60. Which sounds bad but we need to remember this is out of five. It's not terrible. But it was surprising considering, at the time, this was still a month out from publication.

And so I dove in, waiting, wondering, for it to go sideways. And yet it never really did?

Despite seeing the rating, I forgot to revisit the blurb (#TeamNoBlurbs) and was delighted at the How To Lose a Guy in Ten Days spin on a contemporary romance. It's really not that far off from the film except the roles are reversed and the story is made more diverse. I thought the narrative around Hannah's anti-dating baggage being tied up in her identity to be a really smart move. Forever questioning where she stands in a world that wants her to lean into her whiteness or shun it (she's biracial with a white mother and black father) and the past relationship that didn't think she was appropriate either way, coining the “not the girl you marry” phrase she then associated with herself.

On the other end of the equation, Jack is perfect. The perfect guy, the perfect boyfriend, so perfect he scared all his previous girlfriends away. He has to try hard to scare off Hannah, to go against what he wants and knows is right; and it doesn't always work out. I thought his backstory was actually pretty perfectly balanced because it felt real, and a bit heartbreaking, but it didn't overshadow Hannah’s.

I was really enjoying the story, the romance, the hijinks, though I'll admit some bits felt a little dragged out — this two week period felt endless? — and I wanted less moral outrage on Hannah's side and a little more on Jack's. It did feel a little unbalanced though I agree the circumstances, the ramifications, from the lies would've been bigger had Jack seen things through. So.. I don't know.

What did take some of the love out of this for me, too, was just how close it felt to the movie. Again, updated to include apps, diversified, backstory for the characters, so it isn't cookie-cutter. But it's close enough.

But I did have a good time. This was lighthearted but grounded enough to not cross into fluff territory (forever adding a disclaimer that I don't use this word negatively) and honestly I just had a good time reading it.

3.5 stars


** I received an ARC from NetGalley and the publisher (thank you!) in exchange for an honest review. **

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This review can also be found at A Take From Two Cities.

[Olivia (Stories For Coffee) · Rating 2 out of 5]

I so desperately wanted to like this fake-dating romance starring a headstrong, vulnerable, lovely protagonist whom I loved, but it really let me down with its convoluted plot line filled with mutual lying to the other’s face and ridiculous demands from bosses who wanted Jack and Hannah to date people in order to further their career, which– I know I should suspend my disbelief with romance novels– I just could not get on board with the plot line because it was so unrealistic.

Because of that outlandish scheme between both protagonists’ bosses, Jack treats Hannah poorly during every encounter they have as a “fake” couple, and she simply brushes it off because she’s attracted to him, despite her previously saying she had high standards when it comes to dating men. I know he’s meant to look like a Chris Evans, but no man is worth it if he makes a fool of himself at a party for your job and goes against things you previously said you stood for. I know it’s the point of the book for him to be doing these asshole-y things, but Hannah doesn’t know he’s doing it for an article he’s writing, so I just think her brushing it off when those same actions he did previously annoyed her was a bit off, for me. Because Jack continually acted poorly around Hannah to “try and lose her for his article that his boss is making him write” I felt like there was no actual chemistry between these characters whenever they interacted with one another. We never got actual genuine moments between them that made me feel like a true romance was blossoming. I only felt true chemistry between them during their initial interaction when they were being genuine with one another and weren’t thinking about an out-there dating scheme for their jobs.

Also wanted to note that the dog on the cover doesn’t show up until the last three pages of the book, and that made me sad lmao

[Cam (justabookeater) · Rating 5 out of 5]

(e-arc provided by netgalley and publisher in exchange for an honest review!!)

I'm gonna start this review by saying I've been looking forward to reading this book since it was first announced. Not the Girl You Marry captures modern dating in such a raw, realistic light that I couldn't help highlighting multiple passages and pausing my read-through to either yell or sigh.

If you love genuinely funny and relatable rom-coms with a sexy ass all hell hero and a kickass heroine, this is your catnip.

Dating is hard on all of us but it's particularly hard on women of color. Hannah, our heroine, is a biracial woman in Chicago who's lost all hope on dating and cis, heterosexual men. Isn't that the biggest mood of the year?

A lot of people will box her in as simply unlikeable but Hannah has got to be the most relatable heroine I've read about in a long time. Her anger at the dating scene and the vulnerability she holds in so tightly after countless disappointments hit me so HARD. I was tearing up a lot during her internal monologues. I was also laughing my ass off because she's so whip-smart and funny without even trying.

Jack is a fantasy of a man but he FUCKS UP majorly and I was all in for it. His self-awareness was refreshing and though he does behave like an asshole (on purpose, it's literally the point of the book) it never feels like he's actually an asshole, if that makes sense? The author did a fantastic job at building up his character so I didn't feel the need to throw stuff at him every other page. He's too good y'all, he'll sneak up on you. Ask Hannah.

I don't want to reveal too much about the plot because my favorite part about this book was seeing Jack and Hannah blunder their way towards each other. Plus, the epilogue is a delight and I want all of y'all to read it and then immediately DM me.

This is definitely a release to look out for!

[Tina Loves To Read · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read some of the reviews of this book before starting it which made me a little scared to read it, but I have to say I loved the book. I think this is a book you either love or you hate it will not be one that is just ok. I loved the characters. When I saw this book I was so excited to read it, and I was so happy when I won an arc of this book through a goodreads giveaway.

[Zoe Stewart (Zoe's All Booked) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just realized I never wrote a review for this. WHOOPS.

This was one of my favourite books of 2019. It was the first time in any book I had ever felt so represented. It took over 26 years to find that rep, which is sad, but it echoed my thoughts exactly. All of Hannah's struggles to find her place as a biracial woman are exactly what I've struggled with. I lowkey felt like I had been stalked, that's how spot-on everything was. I loved the romance too, it was exactly what I needed when I read it.

[Sheyla ✎ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not the Girl You Marry is supposed to be a re-telling of the movie How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days. So, of course, I wanted to read it. Sadly, I don't think it met my expectations. There were parts I really liked and others were I thought: what was the author thinking!

Not the Girl You Marry's two main characters are Hannah Mayfield and Jack Nolan.

Hannah Mayfield is successful in her work but not in her love life. She has been hurt before. She has fallen in love before to later realized she's the type of girl a guy doesn't want to marry. Her last boyfriend didn't think she was good enough to walk down the aisle together. So when at work, she needs to play nice and as an event planner, organize the wedding of the year, she has to show that she understands love and romance. She must pretend to have a boyfriend who loves her in front of her boss.

Who wouldn't wish to have a world where more Jack Nolans are possible. Jack is super cute, nice and he has always tried to keep his girlfriends happy. Of course, due to a work situation and in hopes of a promotion, he will have to do the unthinkable. He would have to pretend to be a bastard and hurt his next girlfriend.

As a premise, I thought I was going to love it but despite me liking both characters, the situations they got themselves into were too far fetched for me.

Things that I liked included Hannah's self-discovery of her identity as a biracial woman. I liked that she realized she was worthy and a man didn't complete her. Other things I like about Hannah was her determination and loyalty to her friends. Jack's family was also an interesting one. I kept wondering if another family member could be the protagonist of another book.

A complimentary copy was provided by Berkley Romancia via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Cliffhanger: No

3/5 Fangs

MrsLeif's Two Fangs About It | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

[Cindi · Rating 5 out of 5]

With its great cast of characters and laugh out loud moments, this book had me grinning from page one.

[Lauren (The Novel Lush) · Rating 5 out of 5]

My absolute favorite thing about this book is the narration. Andie J. Christopher's writing style is snarky, quirky and hilarious and it speaks to my SOUL!

More to come closer to release date

[Brooke — brooklynnnnereads · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an okay read but in all honesty, I had a tough time getting into the story (and then staying interested in it).

I think my main issue was that I found both characters to be frustrating. I understand that not all characters should be 'likeable' but I found myself liking neither of them due to behaviours. If you aren't liking either of the main characters, what's the draw keeping you interested in the story and the outcome?

One thing that I did like was the similarity of this plot to the movie "How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days". Both were different from each other but did have some enjoyable similarities. To be truthful, I think if there was a novelization of "How to Lose A Guy in 10 Days", I may not like the novelization as much as the movie either. There is something that becomes much more evident through reading about someone's immaturity in word format compared to seeing their behaviour on screen.

Again, all I can say about this novel is that it was "okay". It was an average read at the time but I don't think it will be memorable or leave a lasting impression on me.

[shre ♡]

scored an ARC woo woo.

lets-fake-date-and-no-loving-i-dont-need-love-and-i-oop-i-ended-up-falling-in-love-im-sorry-angstangstangst-oh-you-love-me-too-yay-happy-ending trope...here i come.

[disco · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved the author's note, not a huge fan of the book<3

[Carole Bell]

My initial feeling was that I might too close to this one—I have a long-standing academic interest in and opinions about how interracial relationships are portrayed in fiction and why it matters. And why so many of these depictions are incredibly problematic. That’s why I’ve stewed about this for months without comment. But that feels too much like cowardice. So here’s a quick rundown of what I thought and felt in reading this book.

From my perspective, the story skimmed the surface of the challenges faced by mixed race individuals and interracial couples, presenting the most basic takes on issues that we’ve now read about everywhere from the New York Times to a plethora of magazines and every day discussions on social media as though they were revelations. I struggled to write this review because I know this is an own voices story. But own voices isn’t and should not be a free pass on criticism. While the issues around identity and belonging seem to be heartfelt and personal (as discussed in the author’s note), the way they’re presented here, the story they’re wrapped up in, doesn’t have the depth to do those issues justice. Instead, the protagonist, a biracial woman struggling with her sense of belonging, sexuality and self-worth, veers close to centuries-old stereotypes about about race and what it means to be black. Without ever using the language, in her own head, the main character basically characterizes herself as a tragic mulatto, a character of mixed racial parentage, who fits in nowhere, who’s rejected by both black and white, and whose race is their downfall.

To take one example, the paragraph that first tipped me off that this was probably Not the Book I Should Read:

“Because they were never looking for a girlfriend, especially not her as a girlfriend. That didn’t hurt anymore. It didn’t. She’d accepted that she was just not the kind of girl men romanced. With her ethnically ambiguous looks, bawdy sense of humor, and filthy mind, men wanted to have sex with her. And then—once they realized that she wasn’t entirely domesticated—they wanted her to disappear.”

That’s my problem with this book in a nutshell. First there’s the strangely old-school tragic mulatto narrative and the self pity that comes with it. Plus the fact that this book seems to take place in an alternate reality, one in which multiculturalism isn't a marketable concept capitalism thrives on, and multiracial identity isn't privileged for its relative proximity to whiteness, and as though that hasn’t been the most acceptable form of blackness in popular culture (see Mixed Race Hollywood for more on that).

Then there’s also the fact that this paragraph is written as though it represents the character’s own thoughts, but the language and sentiments are recognizable as cliche but unrecognizable as the way real people think and speak about themselves in their own words. ”With her ethnically ambiguous looks” is an awfully awkward, stilted way to phrase this idea in one’s own head. “Bawdy sense of humor”? Bawdy, really? Who thinks in those terms?

There’s also a part where the protagonist’s black ex-boyfriend and his mom were horrified to find out she’s biracial. She thinks that also makes her not the girl you marry for bougie black people. 👀 Given the heroine’s overall lack of connection to black people, the stereotypical portrayal of the bad black mother as villain is particularly offensive. I don’t understand how that doesn’t seem obvious for anyone involved in producing this book.

Beyond all that, I was disappointed that the parts that should have felt fresh and original, the career motivations and pretenses under which the main characters got together, also rang false.

Ironically, while the black and brown people are mired in cliche, the one thing I did like was the white love interest’s fractured but loving working class Irish-American family, especially the surprisingly enlightened father and feminist mom. They seemed like more original and interesting people. I’d read some more about them.

[Darinda · Rating 2 out of 5]

A retelling of How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, but with the guy trying to lose the girl. Jack comes across as the perfect guy who knows how to treat women. Hannah has sworn off men after getting her heart broken. Jack is a journalist and makes how-to videos for an internet media company. His latest assignment is How to Lose a Girl, and he chooses Hannah as the girl.

Told with the alternating points of view of Jack and Hannah. Jack thinks he’s pretty great, and believes himself to be the perfect boyfriend. When he sees Hannah, he is instantly attracted to her. At first, she’s tough to win over. Hannah has decided men aren’t interested in girls like her, so she has stopped dating and pursuing relationships.

To write his article and get Hannah to stop dating him, Jack does all the things women hate. Unfortunately for him, Hannah has told her boss she has a boyfriend, and she needs to make it work with Jack, at least for a little while. Hannah is an event planner, and with her swearing off men, she doesn’t get assigned to plan weddings. She wants a promotion though, so she has to prove she can be a romantic. Jack and Hannah have a strong physical attraction, but they’re both playing games. They are dishonest with one another, yet they both whine about how great the other person is and how they don’t want to lose one another. It’s a bit ridiculous and repetitive.

A sexy contemporary romance. This book was hard to get into. Mainly because of Jack’s opinion of himself and his views on women and relationships. Mostly lighthearted, but there are moments that are more serious.

I received a free digital copy of this book from the publisher via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.

[Kate Meader · Rating 5 out of 5]

I adored the leads in this, but especially Hannah. Andie J. Christopher has fashioned the heroine we all want to be--stiletto-sharp and emotionally vulnerable, who knows she deserves the best in life and love, and isn't afraid to demand it. Not the Girl You Marry is a bold, sexy romance.