The Honey-Don't List

December 16, 2019
Lauren (The Unhoneymooners) delivers a breezy, tongue-in-cheek rom-com featuring the beleaguered assistants to a pair of unhappily married reality-television stars. Carey Duncan has worked for Melissa and Russell Tripp since she was 16 and they were just starting out as the hosts of a home-improvement show. Ten long years later, Carey could likely have any design job she wanted, but loyalty to the Tripps (whom she sees as parental figures), fear of retribution, and the medical insurance that covers treatments for her muscle disease keep her in place. James McCann has only been Russell’s assistant for a short time. An engineer by trade, James is ill-suited to managing the Tripps’ meltdowns, but scandal drove him from his last job, and he’ll take what he can get. Melissa and Russell’s feuding gives rise to a series of ridiculous situations that endanger their brand, leading Carey and James to bond as they work together to keep America’s favorite couple’s fights under wraps. Playfully poking fun at the world of DIY TV, Lauren’s romance is as insightful as it is irreverent. Readers will laugh out loud. Agent: Holly Root, Root Literary.

Look no further for your next listening escape! Narrators Patti Murin and Jon Root portray Carey Duncan and James McCann. The pair work for Melissa and Rusty Tripp, America's favorite couple and HGTV design gurus. When Carey and James go on tour with the couple, they're tasked with hiding the fact that the Tripps actually hate each other and their marriage is falling apart. Melissa and Rusty are so dysfunctional that you can't help but laugh out loud at their antics. As their marriage implodes, Carey and James begin their own romantic adventure. The story starts a bit slowly, but Murin and Root are charming and funny as they voice a large, engaging group of characters. A perfect summer listen. K.S.M. � AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine