Enjoy Olive and Ethan falling in love!

Maid-of-honor Olive Torres and best man Ethan Thomas have never gotten along since the first time they met even though their siblings Ami and Dane are getting married when everybody get violently sick from wedding reception that her sister had won from the seafood except Olive and Ethan. Olive didn’t get sick because she has a seafood allergy and Ethan doesn’t eat from buffets. Olive and Ethan are talked into going on the non-changeable honeymoon to Hawaii in place of Ami and Dane so somebody would enjoy it and the trip not be wasted.

The Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren is a book you want to read when you want to laugh and enjoy what is happening to the characters. Ethan and Olive figure a lot about themselves during the trip and also have a lot of fun traveling around Hawaii and getting to know each other. You meet Olive’s new boss and Ethan ex-girlfriend and the problems that it creates but you will enjoy the entire story because it’s a really fun read.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I'm a huge fan of Christina Lauren books, so when I received this copy, I was excited!

Olive (Not Olivia lol) is a twin to Ami and at her sister's wedding something goes wrong and it lands Olive a chance to take her sister's honeymoon vacation. Its a free, all expense paid trip for 10 days to Maui. Who would say no to that buuuuut the only catch is that she has to take it with her new brother-in-law's brother Ethan. Ethan and Olive never hit it off from day one and to Olive, Ethan was a person that hated her and she hated him. But she would try and do her best to get along, so she can take this trip. It was the only good thing to happen to her lately and she needed a few days to relax.

Ethan on the other hand never understood why Olive hated him so much but he would do his best to stay out of her way, because there was no way he was letting her take this vacation on her own. It was his brother's trip as well, not just her sister's and they were the only 2 people that didn't get sick from the wedding. He had some vacation time he needed to take and was going on this trip no matter what Olive said and he enjoyed the back and forth they had and loved ruffling her feathers, but for a whole different reason than Olive thought ;)

I don't want to give away to much but it ended up that Olive misunderstood Ethan all those years ago, when they first met and that is why she was always giving him a hard time. How in the world can everything she ever thought about Ethan be so wrong? And with this new light on things can she changed her mind about him?

I don't want to spoil it but I recommend this book for sure. I would have loved to see Ethan's view a few times through out, because I was dying to see his take on certain events that were happening but this book was amazing and had me laughing through sometimes. I give it 5 stars.

I received this ARC for my honest opinion and review.

Standard fair for summer beach read, but with several LOL moments. After the entire wedding party and guest list from Olive's twin sister's wedding get food poisoning from the seafood buffet, Olive finds herself and the groom's brother, Ethan, jetting on cheap airfare to the beautiful Hawaii to take advantage of the sweepstakes won, non-transferrable, non-refundable honeymoon. Ethan and Olive feel a strong attraction for each other that is masked have a strong dislike due to misunderstandings and a comedy of errors. Cloistered together in the same honeymoon suite and forced to act like a happily married newly-wed couple for Olive's new boss who coincidentally is celebrating a wedding anniversary and - even more coincidentally - putting on a show for Ethan's ex-girlfriend and her new fiancé, their guard is eventually worn down and they give in to their attraction.

The humor keeps the reader turning the pages in this predictable story.

This was laugh out loud funny! Enemies to lovers with lots of mishaps to keep you guessing. I really liked the main characters with all of their flaws.

I’ve never been a big romance reader, but these ladies have changed that! The Unhoneymooners did not disappoint — it was just the right amount of cute, quirky, steamy, funny, and romantic.

What I liked: the character development was so fun! I loved learning more about Olive and Ethan while they got to know each other better. They had made a lot of assumptions about each other so watching the truth unfold was really fun.

If you liked Josh & Hazel’s Guide to Not Dating or Roomies, definitely read this one next! It’ll be out on May 14th!

Thank you for the free review copy Gallery + NetGalley! #partner

this was a cute read. i loved the trope, the plot, the characters. everything was good.

i have to talk about those fade to black scenes though. wtf? look, i don't need sex in my books. but there are definitely some authors that i expect it when i pick up one of their books, and CL is one of them! i have read several books without sex scenes and i was totally fine with it, but i honestly want to know why CL did this? are they trying to make it more appealing to a different audience? that's kind of a little unfair, what about us? ugh. honestly, i read a lot of books with varying levels of steam so i could have handled this one without those scenes, but i feel like it really detracted from the book. i was missing that connection, that development, we normally get from those scenes. and that really bummed me out. i felt like i didn't click with the characters when they finally got together, it was building up and up and i was excited to see how it would play out, to feel all the feelings, and it was skipped over. it was disappointing. take what you want from that, maybe you think i need those scenes in my book, but trust me i don't. i can think of several off the top of my head that don't have those scenes, whether they are fade to black or just missing completely, and i still felt the connection between the characters. so yeah, this was a bummer. i will still pick up the next CL book, but if i feel that lack of connection again, i don't know about the next next one, you know?

okay, now that's out of the way - this book was funny and adorable. i loved the characters, i loved the story, i loved the setting. i laughed several times. i loved olive's family. i thought the conflict and resolution were both realistic. i just wish we'd gotten a bit more development in terms of the relationship, i definitely felt like something was missing there, and that's a bummer to me.

i still thoroughly enjoyed it. i just would have enjoyed it more if i got that extra oomph that was missing.

I’m late to the Christina Lauren bandwagon. The Unhoneymooners is only the second novel I’ve read from this popular writing duo (My Favorite Half-Night Stand was the first). After absolutely loving both of my first two reads, however, I can happily say that I’m firmly on the bandwagon and that I now need to go back and read every Christina Lauren novel that has been written. I love these reads so much because they’re just sexy, sassy, and so much fun!

Those who know me know that romance isn’t my go-to genre. That said, however, I do enjoy a well written enemies-to-lovers story and that’s what we have here with The Unhoneymooners, with a side of the fake relationship trope thrown in for good measure. The story focuses on Olive, who has got to be the unluckiest woman in the world. When we first meet her, she has just lost her job, her roommate, and is in the process of losing her apartment as well. To top it all off, her twin sister Amy has fitted her in the ugliest possible bridesmaid dress for her wedding.

Where Olive has no luck, Amy apparently has ALL the luck and has won everything for her wedding, including the aforementioned hideous bridesmaid dress and an all-expenses paid honeymoon trip to Maui, from a variety of internet contests she had entered. Olive is way overdue for some good luck, and when food poisoning strikes at the wedding and Olive is one of the only ones to come away unscathed due to a seafood allergy, she thinks her time has come when Amy begs her to go on the honeymoon trip in her place so the free trip doesn’t go to waste. There’s a catch though, of course. Olive has to go with the groom’s brother, Ethan, her arch-nemesis, and they have to pretend to be Amy and her new husband so as not to be caught committing fraud. What a dilemma for Olive. Is a free trip worth having to spend time with the person she hates most in the world? But it’s Maui (!) so Olive reluctantly agrees to go.

The sparks fly immediately and this is where Christina Lauren’s novels suck me in. I loved the sarcastic banter between Olive and Ethan as they both navigate this strange fake relationship territory. They volleyed barbs at each other left and right, but even though Olive swears she loathes Ethan with every fiber of her being, I could still sense some sizzling chemistry lurking beneath the surface. For that reason, it was just so much fun to get to know each of them better as they’re finally getting to know each other better and setting aside assumptions they had made early on when they first met.

All of that sarcastic banter, coupled with their fake relationship escapades as they tried not to blow their own cover as fake honeymooners, made for a quick and hilarious read. I literally laughed out loud several time along the way and was left with a smile on my face long after I finished reading.

Sexy and fun, The Unhoneymooners is the ideal read to put in your beach bag this summer.

The Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren

Cute. Appealing. Flirty. Sweet. Adorable. A lighthearted romance with all the feels. Their arguing makes this couple real. Ethan is lovable. The supportive extended family is like a hug.
I love this author. Such a way with dialogue and encapsulating the story.

Written in present tense. I hate present tense. It makes me feel as though I have to hop along the driveway with them. But moving on, it only distracted me a few times so I consider it superbly crafted that I was able to get lost in the movie rather than the sentence structure.

Excerpt:
“I don’t know how it happens, but one minute I’m struggling to swim faster and the next Ethan’s hand is around mine, helping me move toward a small cluster of gray-dotted o’ili. It’s so quiet down here; I’ve honestly never felt this sort of weightless, silent calm, and certainly never in his presence. Soon, Ethan and I are swimming completely in sync, our feet kicking lazily behind us. He points to things he sees; I do the same. There are no words, no verbal jabs. There is no desire to smack him or poke his eyes out—there is only the confusing truth that holding his hand down here isn’t just tolerable, it’s nice.”

I received a copy of this from NetGalley. I also purchased a copy to share.

Christina Lauren, Authors of “The UNHONEYMOONERS” has written an entertaining, witty, amusing, delightful story. The Genres for this Novel are Fiction, Women’s Fiction, Romance, and Humor. The story takes place in the present. The authors describe their characters as complex, complicated, quirky and dysfunctional.

Ami and Olive are identical twins but have different personalities. Olive considers herself unlucky and can back it up with many stories. Just be sure not to eat or be drinking anything when you read them. Ami is not only lucky, but she also has a skill of winning many contests. Her current wedding and mostly everything with it has been won in contests, and is free.

If it sounds too good to be true, you know something is up. It seems that the only two people that don’t eat from the free buffet are Olive and Ethan, the groom’s brother. Everyone else at the wedding gets severe food poisoning, and it is decided that Olive and Ethan will go on a free honeymoon. The big problem is that both Olive and Ethan have a complicated history, and consider themselves enemies. The ‘Unhoneymoon is in Hawaii.

Both decide that it will be a free vacation with no problems, but of course, little do they know. I would highly recommend this humorous book for those readers who enjoy a delightful story.

This is my second foray into the writing duo known as Christina Lauren’s works. I am hooked. I have not laughed out loud while reading as much as I did with this book. It is wedding season and I have been reading my fair share of wedding related books but they have all had their own unique twists.

While one twin seems to have all of the luck in the world, the other just doesn’t, except for the day of her sister’s wedding. Faking her sister’s identity and going on her honeymoon with the best man who just happens to be the man she most despises in the world, Olive will have to try to keep her lies straight while also trying to enjoy herself. The hilarity ensues and life unravels as well as Olive’s feelings towards Ethan while they are away.

I enjoyed this book immensely and will be picking up other books by this team again.

Unhoneymooners is the book of the summer!! I was so excited to see that #netgalley sent me a free kindle version of this book over the weekend. I inhaled it in 24 hours! In the eyes of rom-com novels, this was easily my most favorite one. It had comedy, romance, heartbreak, self discovery, and restitution. And compared to the only other CLo novel I’ve read which had too much romance, the romance aspect in this book was perfect. It was just enough!! 👏🏻👏🏻 I loved the relationship between Olive and Ethan. They were so perfectly matched. Haters turned into lovers is my favorite story. I appreciated the closeness of her family relationships and how they were all there for each other in crisis. Put this one on your list!!

Synopsis below 👇🏻
“Olive Torres is used to being the unlucky twin: from inexplicable mishaps to a recent layoff, her life seems to be almost comically jinxed. By contrast, her sister Ami is an eternal champion . . . she even managed to finance her entire wedding by winning a slew of contests. Unfortunately for Olive, the only thing worse than constant bad luck is having to spend the wedding day with the best man (and her nemesis), Ethan Thomas.

Olive braces herself for wedding hell, determined to put on a brave face, but when the entire wedding party gets food poisoning, the only people who aren’t affected are Olive and Ethan. Suddenly there’s a free honeymoon up for grabs, and Olive will be damned if Ethan gets to enjoy paradise solo.

Agreeing to a temporary truce, the pair head for Maui. After all, ten days of bliss is worth having to assume the role of loving newlyweds, right? But the weird thing is . . . Olive doesn’t mind playing pretend. In fact, the more she pretends to be the luckiest woman alive, the more it feels like she might be.”

The first time Olive met her twin sister's boyfriend's brother, she was transfixed. Ethan is a very good looking guy. But he seemed so turned off by her curves and they have never been able to connect after that. Mostly they just snark back and forth at each other when they're in the same room. And that's only if they can't avoid each other.
They're going to be stuck together for the next ten days though. After food poisoning rampages through her sister's wedding leaving Olive and Ethan the only people unscathed, they are encouraged to use The free trip that Olive's sister won as a honeymoon. It's a free trip and can't be rescheduled.
Ten days with someone she hates? But at least she'd be on Maui. Olive doesn't jump at the chance but she does ended up taking it. And it seems that both Ethan and Olive have been working under some misconceptions. Ones that can be cleared up when two people spend so much time together.
A good story though I didn't love the Big Gesture (to be fair, I rarely do.) But I liked the arc between Ethan and Olive and that each got to grow.

Four stars
This book comes out May 14
ARC provided by publisher and NetGalley
Opinions are my own

If you enjoy other Christina Lauren books, you will enjoy this one. Similar character tropes used in other stories, but enjoyable just the same. Made me laugh and swoon, and I couldn’t put it down.

I devoured The Unhoneymooners. Read it all in one sitting and I couldn't be happier. The Unhoneymooners starts with hilarity and unfortunate circumstances. Olive sister (the lucky one) and Ethan's brother are getting married. Olive and Ethan don't like each other but end up the only ones surviving a bout of buffet food poisoning. Because Olive's sister had one her honeymoon trip and it was non refundable and non transferable Olive and Ethan embark for Hawaii.

Olive panics while at the resort when she runs in to her new boss and Olive and Ethan end up pretending to be married (they're on a honeymoon after all) and keeping up the charade because Ethan's ex is also there. The first 2/3 of The Unhoneymooners consists of lots of good banter, laughter and some crazy.

Olive considers herself the unlucky one, I really liked how Christina Lauren worked though this mindset throughout the book. That sometimes you can make your own luck. While sometimes Olive's down on her luck attitude got to me, I also totally got it. When your twin is seemingly the luckiest person in the world it's easy to feel like your not. Ethan is a great counter balance for Olive, if they can get past all their dislike for each other.

The last 1/3 is where all the emotions come out. Ethan and Olive return home and are dealing with their new relationship as well as what's happening between their respective brother and sister's relationship. I don't want to say much because of spoilers but it was an emotional roller coaster for me. I did get a little frustrated with some of Ethan's actions and choices, but I also get it.

If you like fun books that pack an emotional punch at the end The Unhonemooners is for you.

4 1/2 I Loved this story. It follows the self proclaimed unlucky twin, Olive, and her nemesis, Ethan. It has some of my favorite elements which are enemies to lovers and a good slow burn. It came with a side of laughs, awkward moments and one big nosy Mexican family.
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I found myself laughing in parts that probably weren’t meant to be funny but I still found myself laughing at so many parts. I love how Olive developed through out the book and in the end was able to step back and make changes in her life. I also loved the family dynamic in this book. Coming from a Mexican family that has a crazy amount of first and second cousins I was able to relate to some situations in the book. I loved how everyone rallied around each other and supported one another.
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This book is not only a romance book but also so much more. I can’t wait to continue reading more books from these authors. I’m slowly acquiring quite a collection. If you love a funny romance story that also has some likable family members don’t hesitate to read The Unhoneymooners which comes out May 14.
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Thanks to Netgalley and gallerybooks for my review copy. And thanks to christinalauren or CLo for writing not only a fun story, but also writing about a Mexican American family I can relate to as well a heroine who lives and embraces her curves.

🌴🌴🌴🌴🌴/5 for The Unhoneymooners by @christinalauren if I could give this book 10 palm trees (Stars) I would.
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Thank you to @netgalley and @gallerybooks for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my honest review.
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“I know I tend to be the pessimist to Ami’s optimist, but I’m not angry. I’m not sharp. I am cautious and wary.”
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Due to unfortunate circumstances you’re given the vacation of a lifetime. The catch? It’s a honeymoon and it’s worth your biggest enemy...
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Honestly, I can’t really say much without giving away a lot and that’s not fair to everyone who hasn’t gotten to read this yet. Pub date is May 14th so you BETTER get it then. I enjoyed it so much that I’m buying the physical copy when it comes out.
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Olive is one of the most relatable characters I’ve ever read. Our only difference is she’s gorgeous but she’s a realist and honest and smart and funny and snarky. Ethan was pretty relatable too. For the first 80 ish percent of the book, I laughed my ass off and then the real drama happened. I felt my heart break. I felt it being stabbed. I sobbed uncontrollably because it was just so real. I highly recommend this book. Warning: you will want to go to Maui immediately after.

The hate between Ethan and Ami was easy to read I think, but then I really was not so sure it was not secret attraction. Then they have to go to Hawaii instead of their respective siblings, and of course stuff will happen. The first thing which gave the story a jolt was the appearance of Ethan’s ex with a boyfriend in tow. It was implied that he has not gotten over her. That really spiced things up a bit. The second jolt to the story was the situation between their siblings. That was a doozy. That guy (Dane) is a douche of the highest order. At the end though we got the to be happy for Olive, Ami’s newlywed twin sister, despite her simpleton husband. Nice story, not remarkable [except for the cheater new husband, why is bad thing attractive to a reader like me? I have no clue].

Olive and Ethan don't like each other but gosh darn it, no one turns down 10 free days in paradise. Even if you're tired of the enemies to lovers plot, do try this one. Lauren has created two really fun characters and added more to their story than just falling in love. Olive has always felt like she's second best compared to her twin Amy. Her getting over herself and thinking good thought is as much a part of this delightful read as the romance. Ethan's not the man she thought he was (of course) but how they get this is fun. Thanks to netgalley for the ARC. This is funny and heartfelt and will make you smile.

Actual rating: 4.5 stars

[Excerpt]:

I’ve read a few books by the author duo Christina Lauren, and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed them. [“My Favorite Half-Night Stand” and “Autoboyography” are my favorites!] Great romance, absolutely hilarious and witty dialogue, and smooth, flowing stories that unfold at a nice pace. All the books are very distinct, with loveable characters and believable dynamics. When I saw there was another book on NetGalley by this duo, I immediately requested a copy because they haven’t disappointed me yet! [Also, look at that cover! Talk about a perfect summer read.]

“The Unhoneymooners” follows Olive and Ethan, who really despise each other. Olive’s twin sister, Ami, recently got married to Ethan’s brother, Dane, but because they [and the rest of their wedding party] ate from the buffet and got explosively ill, they couldn’t go on their own honeymoon to Maui. So instead, Olive and Ethan, who resemble their siblings, go in their stead so that the honeymoon won’t be wasted. At first, the two bicker and do everything in their power to spend as little time in each other’s company as possible. But eventually they start to actually talk and grow closer. Inevitably, a romance begins.

I’ll be the first to admit that I’m not a huge fan of twin stories. I feel like characters in books [and sometimes the authors themselves] treat twins as interchangeable. If a man likes a female twin, well then, something scandalous usually happens where the man goes after the OTHER female twin. Or something like that. I’ve come across this often enough to be suspicious of twin stories that have any kind of romance theme. I really can’t stomach that trope. Just because people look alike does not in any way mean they’re interchangeable. So I was wary going into this story, but I immediately loved Olive and Ami, and even Ethan, although he came across as aloof and standoffish.

[Full review on my blog!]

Confession: This was my first ever Christina Lauren book, and I can promise it won’t be my last. This was truly the perfect beachy/poolside read and I will recommend it to everyone.

The Unhoneymooners is a contemporary adult romantic comedy that starts out with a wedding. Ami and Olive are twins, but all her life Olive has felt like the “unlucky twin.” Ami is getting married, and Olive is helping her sister with all the final arrangements. But during the reception everyone comes down with food poisoning from eating from the seafood buffet. Everyone… except Olive and the best man, Ethan. Ethan is also the groom’s brother, but he and Olive hate each other.

Not wanting the non-refundable honeymoon in Maui to go to waste, Ami encourages Olive and Ethan to pose as the married couple and take their honeymoon. Olive reluctantly agrees, thinking she can go to relax and avoid Ethan completely.

Of course, this being a romantic comedy… they can’t avoid each other because they’re stuck in the same suite. Things get hilarious from there as they start to bump into people they know from Minnesota, and Olive and Ethan have to put on a show to make everyone believe they are actually married.

If you know me then I love enemies-to-lovers romances. Top it off with a fake dating/fake marriage trope and you’ve got my attention. I was audibly laughing out loud during the majority of this book. I loved the love/hate relationship between Olive and Ethan and it was so much fun to watch their tension grow into a more romantic way.

And let’s not forget the Hawaiian setting, which is making me miss the beach something fierce.

I was also loving Olive’s family, and how much they all support each other and are always there for each other. I’m not going to get into spoilers, but Olive has trouble with employment, and her family was there to help her. Even if her family isn’t in the book a lot, I really loved their dynamics.

However, what made me not rate this an entire 5 stars is how a certain issue was handled between Olive and two male characters. I was really aggravated how Olive was treated in such a flippant way. This is 2019 and when a woman says she’s uncomfortable from a man’s sexual advances, you damn well better listen to her and take her seriously.

Overall this is such a swoon worthy book and I could not stop myself from laughing during the witty, sarcastic exchanges between Olive and Ethan. They are an OTP in my heart and I hope we can see them again in future books!