Although this wasn't my favorite Christina Lauren book, it was still an enjoyable read!! Olive is a bridesmaid in her identical twin's wedding. Having to deal with the groom's brother is a nightmare, but the real conflict occurs when the bride and groom suffer from food poisoning and can't go on their honeymoon. Olive and Ethan (the dreaded brother) go in their place. In a turn of events, Olive runs into her new boss in Hawaii and Ethan and Olive have to pretend to be newlyweds. Sometimes a little pretending can change the minds of even the most stubborn individuals!

This was my second Christina Lauren book and ok, now I get the appeal of her books. Lauren writes fluffy chick lit, the type of books you grab to read on an airplane or on a rainy weekend. Last year I read her My Favorite Half-Night Stand and was underwhelmed at best. I am glad I did not give up on the author. The Unhoneymooners was a lot better. It is a basically a hate-to-love story. Most of it is set on Maui with picturesque sunsets and boat rides. There is plenty of banter, lots of awkward moments, and just all around good time. I definitely recommend it if you need to a pick-me-up or looking for something light and entertaining to read. 5 out of 5 stars.

An e-ARC was provided by NetGalley.com

A delightful and unabashedly sincere confection, The Unhoneymooners hits all the right sweet, charming and funny spots.

Olive Torres has always been the unlucky twin, especially compared with her identical twin who recently won enough contests to finance her entire wedding. Unfortunately for Olive, that means she’ll be the maid of honor wearing a too skimpy Skittle green dress her sister won next to the very attractive but equally repulsive Ethan Thomas, best man and brother of the groom.

They’d do anything for their siblings including tucking their mutual animosity away when the all expenses paid honeymoon to Maui is up for grabs because everyone at the wedding got food poisoning. Once there they’d planned to get away from each other for the duration. But a couple of run-ins with people from back home compel them to lie and pretend to be happily in love and enjoying their honeymoon. Can her luck be turning a new leaf or will it all come crashing down around them?

Christina Lauren pen an engaging love story brimming with wit, humor and charming honesty. I loved the snarky, name calling back and forth between Olive and Ethan and how their very honest rapport made them fall into and easy, comfortable and deep relationship.

The attraction between Olive and Ethan is palpable and sexy even when the sexy times are fade to black. Their playful enemies to lovers romance was hooking and kept me flipping pages while smiling and laughing. Equally endearing were the strong family ties between Olive, her sister and her very big, meddlesome family.

The Unhoneymooners is a standalone enemies to lovers romance by Christina Lauren. It is a delectable romantic escape told mostly from the heroine’s point of view, and has a happy ending. No cliffhanger.

This is only my second Christina Lauren book. I've loved both that I've read. The humor is a huge plus to the great characters, realistic situations, and the sweet love stories. Olive's food allergy and Ethan's picky eating habits leave them the only two unscathed by bad, but free, seafood at Olive's sister's wedding reception so naturally, the two end up on the newlywed's honeymoon. Sounds like the perfect start for any rom-com. Olive is defensive. A lot. Especially about her weight. She's let that convince her Ethan doesn't like her and in return has treated him pretty badly. There's lots of snark and sarcasm. When they run across her new boss and his old girlfriend, they chose to pretend to really get into their fake marital status and of course, sparks start to fly.

I love Olive. She was so identifiable. Enough so to make me introspective! Ethan's got it all, of course, I have a soft spot for super hot geeky types.

There was more drama between the newlyweds, the budding romance with Olive and Amelia and lots of real world life to get in the way. All of which is provides rich fodder for both hysterical and touching moments.

Lauren writes with the right mix of people, situations and conflict to keep me turning the pages and alternates between tears and belly laughs.

I have been reading Christina Lauren since “Beautiful Bastard” series and they keep just getting better! The Unhoneymooners is a stand-alone enemies to lovers story. It’s EVERYTHING you want in a story. This book was one of the funniest books I have read in a long time. It has this banter that is absolutely hysterical to read. Olives POV was witty and brave, confident yet vulnerable enough for her to be believable. I loved her. Her and Ethan were this opposites attract couple that I absolutely wanted to read more about. This book was simply joyful to read. I read it in one sitting and laughed out loud so many times. The conflict IMO was completely believable if you’ve ever been involved in sibling or best friend couples. Who’s side do you choose?

My only teeny tiny complaint is I wish certain scenes weren’t “fade to black”. After reading the couples massage scene I needed more!! It’s such a small complaint and it’s only because I’m a huge fan of sexy times in books haha! This book was wonderful, I can’t recommend it enough! The Unhoneymooners is the perfect example why Christina Lauren are a must read for all fans of romance and romantic comedy.


*** ARC provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review ***

Sweet, funny but ultimately forgettable. Not my favorite book by these authors. It doesn't pack the emotional punch of Love And Other Words. I did laugh at some of the silliness in the first part of the book, but there just wasn't enough character development for me to really enjoy this. However I kept picturing the story as a romantic movie with the beautiful location of Maui as a backdrop. And the beautiful book cover is certainly an invitation to a reader looking for a light, romantic read. I enjoyed the witty banter between Ethan and Olive. It's also not filled with steamy love scenes, which was refreshing. I would recommend this for anyone who is going through a rough time in their lives. Ethan and Olive should bring a smile and a chuckle, if nothing else. Grab an indulgent treat and your favorite beverage in a cafe on a rainy day and get lost in The Unhoneymooners!

The premise hooked me and the plot, accurate details, and engaging characters kept me interested! I can't wait for a sequel based on the new relationship that arose in the epilogue.

This is my first Christina Lauren read and it won’t be my last! I love Ethan and Olive! This book was the perfect enemies to lovers slow burn and it was hilarious to boot! It really did seem like Olive had the worst luck, but I think the best takeaway from this story is that things aren’t always what they seem. This story is filled with delicious sexual tension and scorching chemistry. I totally didn’t see what was coming at the end and how much Ami and Dane would factor into it. I can’t wait to go back and read more from these authors!

4 stars!

This book fell into my lap at exactly the right time. An "enemies" to lovers romance, filled with laugh out loud moments and a small dose of angst. Olive's sister Ami recently got married to Dane, and at the wedding there was a food poisoning incident at the buffet that gets everyone at the reception sick except Olive and Dane's brother, Ethan. Ami and Dane convince Ethan and Olive to go on the trip together, even though they hate each other.

I really enjoyed reading this book, I actually picked it up while reading a different book and I completely ditched that book to finish this one. Christina Lauren have become masters at trying new stories and bringing new ideas to their books, they always have something fresh for the readers to read. I look forward to every single one of their new releases. I can totally seeing this being a hit as a summer beach read.

ARC provided by the publisher via netgalley.

The Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren ...I thoroughly enjoyed this book... thanks so much to the publisher and #NetGalley for allowing me to preview it. It grabbed me from the very beginning...I laughed so much I hated to put it down at all. Ethan( older brother to Dane) Olive (twin sister to Ami who is marring Dane) There are also a lot of wonderful family members...This books is full of laughs, angst, some tears, and loads of fun and steam that take you on a wonderful journey to a HEA.

Reasons I enjoyed this book:
Great world building Entertaining Funny Witty Steamy Action-packed Easy-to-read Happily Ever After Wonderful characters Romantic

Olive has always found that things don’t work out for her. Her twin sister Ami is just the opposite – fab guy, wedding paid for through a series of Internet contests, and a honeymoon in Maui that promises to be all things romantic and memorable. And all of that makes Olive want to scream. She’d never get that stuff, she doesn’t want it, it’s too much and then, she realizes that the wedding day is coming and she’s got to spend it with the best man, Ethan, her soon-to-be brother in law’s brother. And they don’t like each other. At all. For his part, Ethan is happy to bicker and/or ignore Olive in equal measure – he’s got other things to think about.

And here’s where the premise of the story falls into a bit of the ‘I’ve been here before’ area. I like Lauren’s writing and the way they have characters that feel familiar to our lives, yet have a bit of snark and unique-ness that make them stand out. But here, I wanted something different to what I’ve read already, the last book I read of theirs, Josh and Hazel’s Guide to Not Dating, brought a bit of that uniqueness with the explorations of insecurities, a weird and quirky heroine, a beleaguered hero – it worked in ways that this, quite frankly, felt fresh and unique. Here we have Olive who is pessimistic and rather cavalier in her choices (many bad) because it just doesn’t matter. And Ethan, who is dismissive and more than a bit aloof with an ability to hide behind words. And the set-up and their initial presentation (complete with Olive’s tagging Ethan as “her nemesis’ as she claims to dislike him, sure she’ll hate every moment of the wedding day.

Then things change: a bout of food poisoning lays the happy couple low, and they decide that Olive and Ethan should take their places in Maui – who wouldn’t want that. And here is where the ‘secrets’ of Olive and Ethan come to the forefront. They are ALWAYS bickering – like an old married couple – and frankly, if you don’t enjoy that interaction on some level, you’d not be heading for Maui. They do have some clever moments, and both are most certainly aware of the other – and it’s not quite hitting the levels of Enemies to Lovers for me…. It’s more like a slow realization of the feelings that are there, completely backed up by the continual bickering that is, often, quite clever. What saves these two for me is their ability to hold onto themselves and not apologize for who they are, while they are both aware of the fact that words can hurt, and they don’t tread over that line. They are fun to watch, and with Olive’s growth and recognition that much of her bad luck is due to poor (or unconsidered) decisions and her struggles with making better, if not easier, choices that lead her to new possibilities. Easy to read, fun, and surprising reveals in the growth of them both, the story is sure to please fans of this team’s writing, and while it gave me more than I initially expected, I’d have liked more differentiation for this couple from their last title.

I received an eArc copy of the title from the publisher via NetGalley for purpose of honest review. I was not compensated for this review: all conclusions are my own responsibility.

Review first appeared at <a href= “ https://wp.me/p3OmRo-apb/” > <a> I am, Indeed </a>

I'm not a huge romance reader and often I'm disappointed when I opt to read in this genre. "The Unhoneymooners" was a pleasant surprise! There were some laugh out loud moments and the main characters were really likable with depth and human frailties. I really enjoyed this book and will recommend it to my patrons and also use it as part of an upcoming book program.

Olive and Ami Torres are identical twins but couldn't be more different when it comes to luck. Ami has planned an elaborate wedding by winning numerous contests and only paying around a thousand dollars. Olive has recently been laid off and her roommate has moved out with little notice leaving her to wonder how she will pay the rent next month. To top it off, as maid of honor she must make sure that the best man has a special meal since he has an aversion to buffets. It doesn't help that Ethan seemed to have taken an immediate dislike to Olive when they first met a few years earlier.

Olive's bad luck seems to turn around when the entire wedding party succumbs to food poisoning during Olive's toast. Since she didn't eat the shell fish and neither did Ethan so they are the only two not deathly ill. Desperate not to lose out on her all-inclusive Maui honeymoon prize, Ami convinces Olive to go in her place. Ami's new husband has also suggested the same to his brother Ethan. Olive didn't want to take advantage, but she was not about to let Ethan have it so they agree to go together. She has to pretend to be her sister to claim the prize and Ethan has to pretend to be her new husband.

What neither planned was running into her new boss who insists that they have dinner with him and his wife or running into Ethan's recent ex with her new fiance.

I really enjoyed this book. There were several times when I actually laughed out loud.. It was a fun read.

4.5 stars (I’m torn about rounding up or down). Christina Lauren can do no wrong. As with all of their other books, reading The Unhoneymooners feels like watching a classic romantic comedy movie. The characters leap off the page fully formed from page 1, the pacing and comedic elements are perfectly timed, and the dialogue/banter is perfect.

Here, unlike some of their other books, we only get the perspective of Olive Torres (who in my mind should be played by Gina Rodriguez when this is made into an actual move). Olive is surprisingly chill about the fact that she recently lost her job and her twin sister has become a bridezilla. Ethan, on the other hand, is a Darcy-type character with a lot of snark thrown in. Although Ethan's thoughts and motivations are fairly obvious to everyone but Olive, I still would have liked the dual narration on this one. This would have helped resolve one issue I had (and why it's 4.5 instead of 5 stars) -- even though the chemistry between the leads was obvious, it still felt oddly rushed when they finally get together. The fact that Ethan seemingly backtracked right after it also detracted from the romance. I also was not a fan of how the last 20% or so went, with nearly every other character becoming a total asshat to Olive for very frustrating and unjustified reasons. This is a minor complaint in the scheme of the book though, because it's so much fun watching them struggle to keep up the act of being a newly wed couple during the vacation and, obviously, they get their HEA in the end.

Thank you to Gallery Books and Netgalley for providing an ARC for review!

Olive is the unlucky twin and Ami is the lucky one. Everything falls into place for Ami. She even pays for her wedding by winning contests. Olive is forced to partner with Ethan, the best man, who is also her nemesis for the wedding. She's determined to get through it and never see him again but then the wedding party gets food poisoning except for her and Ethan. Somebody needs to go on the honeymoon but it won't be the bride and groom. Olive and Ethan decide that a free Hawaiian vacation is worth the aggravation of pretending to be newlyweds for 10 days. Suddenly Ethan isn't so bad and Olive is having a great time. Will these two be able to overcome their past history and be together?

This was a great romantic comedy. I thoroughly enjoyed it. I hadn't read their more women's fiction romance before and I was pleasantly surprised. A fast, fun read.

4.5 stars - This is my favorite Christina Lauren that I've read. Seriously, this is what romantic comedy should look like in books... easy breezy tone, enjoyable characters who are slightly off-kilter without being annoyingly faux-quirky, a surprisingly well-handled miscommunication trope, great tropical setting, and just all around humor. This book just put a smile on my face and I so appreciated it doing what it was supposed to be doing with such style.

I absolutely loved this book!! I’ve read some book bloggers that slammed this book and the storyline and I have to say I think they are crazy! This is one of the best rom-com books I’ve read in awhile. I loved the main characters Olive and Ethan and how they were very relatable! I thought Christina set their storyline up perfectly and of course how their hatred for each other turns into more. I thought the steamy scenes were just enough and not over the top! Sometimes sex scenes are cringe worthy in books and this was perfect. The only downfall was I felt the conflict between Ethan and Olive was slightly rushed. Even though it was more than a quarter of the book them returning from the “honeymoon” and trying to figure out this new relationship I wanted more. I thought the ending with her previous employer being at the restaurant and the sister arranging was slightly confusing. However, I loved the ending and how it all played out! I thought the last chapter being told from Ethan’s point of view was interesting! To be honest I’m not sure if I liked it or if I liked it and wanted more! I felt it was a little off changing point of viewing for the “epilogue.” All in all I thought it was a great read! I am going to highly recommend it!

This looks like the typical chick lit at first but it's so funny and sweet and totally made me teary at some point. I loved Olive and Ethan relationship so much. They don't like each other at first but after being stuck in a fake honeymoon together, they quickly realized, they didn't know each other all that well.

Available May 13: The Unhoneymooners

***** 4.5 stars: Gave me butterflies: Everything you'd want in modern fiction.



Recommended readers:

If you like Christina Lauren
If you like modern, witty writing
If like a good romantic comedy
Here's my Rankings:

5/5 for characters
4/5 for plot
5/5 overall
REVIEW FROM BOOKS FOR HER:
Olive Torres and Ethan Thomas are the respective maid-of-honor and best man for their siblings' wedding. There's years of angst and build-up that have made Olive dread this role in the wedding - so when the newlyweds get sick after the wedding and both Olive and Ethan agree to take their spot on a honeymoon to Maui, there's bound to be drama.

The Unhoneymooers is a give-me-stomach-butterflies type of story. Reminding me of the classic Bridget Jones at times, Olive is so loveable and relate-able. Christina Lauren's newest fiction captures the humor of a real-girl, modern romance, but somehow reminds us that good guys are still out there. The writing duo's latest fiction gives you all the feels.

Available May 13: The Unhoneymooners