I requested a digital review copy of the novel The Unhoneymooners, by Christina Lauren, from NetGalley for two reasons:
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- I had previously read Roomies by this author and loved the book.
- I had heard great reviews about this novel from other book bloggers and bookstagrammers.
The cover was a gorgeous yellow, and the description of the book only sealed the deal. I was so excited when the publisher approved it on Friday that I started reading it right away. Two days later, I can happily report that I’ve devoured this book. As much as I loved Roomies, The Unhoneymooners is even better. Let me tell you why.
ARC REVIEW: UNHONEYMOONERS by Christina Lauren
Synopsis from Goodreads:
Olive is always unlucky: in her career, in love, in…well, everything. Her identical twin sister Amy, on the other hand, is probably the luckiest person in the world. Her meet-cute with her fiancé is something out of a romantic comedy (gag) and she’s managed to finance her entire wedding by winning a series of Internet contests (double gag).
Worst of all, she’s forcing Olive to spend the day with her sworn enemy, Ethan, who just happens to be the best man.
Olive braces herself to get through 24 hours of wedding hell before she can return to her comfortable, unlucky life. But when the entire wedding party gets food poisoning from eating bad shellfish, the only people who aren’t affected are Olive and Ethan. And now there’s an all-expenses-paid honeymoon in Hawaii up for grabs.
Putting their mutual hatred aside for the sake of a free vacation, Olive and Ethan head for paradise, determined to avoid each other at all costs. But when Olive runs into her future boss, the little white lie she tells him is suddenly at risk to become a whole lot bigger.
She and Ethan now have to pretend to be loving newlyweds, and her luck seems worse than ever. But the weird thing is that she doesn’t mind playing pretend. In fact, she feels kind of… lucky.
About this book, The Unhoneymooners:
Publication date: May 14th, 2019
Publisher: Gallery Books
Genre: Romance
Source: This digital Arc was provided by the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Available for Pre-order on Amazon
Review:
Disclaimer: This review doesn’t contain any spoilers, and the opinions expressed are my own.
The Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren is a romantic comedy that I devoured in 24 hours. I could have read it in one sitting, but by the time I’d read 60% of the book, it was midnight and I was sick. Reason told me that my 4-year-old would wake up at 7:00 (if I was lucky) with no care in the world for my sleep-deprived state or sickness. So, I ended up picking my battles and going to bed. I managed to finish the book before noon the following day. I was a happy mommy with a happy kid playing beside her.
Let’s talk specifics:
The story is an enemy-to-lovers romance. The characters are flawed, witty, and funny as hell. Their progression in the book feels genuine, and, as a reader, you get attached to them fairly quickly. At first, their relationship is precarious, and you know it can unravel in many different ways. Sometimes love is not enough, but I felt this love was more real than the classic I-see-you-and-let’s-love-each-other-forever kind. The characters make mistakes and their love is tested.
The stakes are raised when loved ones are involved. What I really enjoyed reading is that the situations they find themselves in are tricky at best, at times hilarious, and at times heartbreaking—but the characters remain true to themselves throughout it all.
In the spirit of criticism, there were some situations that I thought it lacked realism—but I loved how the author explained them. However, it was easy to overlook that issue. Quite frankly, I haven’t been so excited about a book in a while.
Rating: ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
The story made me laugh and cry, and I highly recommend it. This is the perfect book if you are looking for a beautiful love story with guaranteed laughter and swooning moments. Christina Lauren has written another great romance, and even if you have never read any of her books, I strongly recommend that you read this one. As a matter of fact, I’m pretty sure I will now read her other books as well.
Thank you, Net Galley and Gallery Books, for allowing me to read this amazing book! Happy Reading all!
Have you read this book or another book from this author? Tell me what you thought about it?
What are your most anticipated releases for this month? Here are mine.
Lovely review! This sounds like such a fun read – I love hate to love romance 😊
It truly is. I laughed out loud a few times. Definitely a great read!