Opening lines: In the calm before the storm—in this case, the blessed quiet before the bridal suite is overrun by the wedding party—my twin sister stares critically down at a freshly painted shell-pink fingernail and says "I bet you're relieved I'm not a bridezilla. She glances across the room at me and smiles generously. "I bet you expected me to be impossible."

It is a statement so perfectly dropped in the moment, I want to take a picture and frame it.
Reason I picked up the book: I'm a huge Christina Lauren fan and have reviewed most of, if not all, of their books.
And what's this book about?
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.
Recommended for: Anyone who enjoys an easy read and/or a good love story, or who enjoys "chick lit."
Favorite paragraph: Whereas Ami is a four-leave clover, I have always been unlucky. I don't say that to be theatrical or because I only seem unlucky in comparison: it is an objective truth. Google Olive Torres, Minnesota, and you'll find dozens of articles and comment threads dedicated to the time I climbed into one of those claw crane arcade games and got stuck. I was six, and when the stuffed animal I'd captured didn't drop directly into the chute, I decided to go in and get it.
Something to know: Nothing. I'd love to see this book made into a movie, though!
What I would have changed: Nothing I can think of.
Overall rating: 4.5 stars out of 5.
Where can I find this book? Click here to pre-order on Amazon - it will be online and in stores on May 14, 2019.

5 Sweet, Endearing, Laugh-out-Loud Stars!

Christina Lauren: “You Make Me Smile!”

Are you in the mood for a book that will make your heart soar and will have you laughing almost from the get go? One that will have you breaking into a smile with all of the humorous sarcastic back and forth comments, but won’t make you “cover your eyes?” (lol). If so, “The Unhoneymooners” by Christina Lauren is for you! I thought it was Pure Perfection!

Olive and Ami are identical twins. Ami is about to get married to Dane and has planned everything to the T. The best part of course is that Ami has gotten everything for free - she wins internet contests and is simply lucky in life. Olive however is extremely unlucky. Bad things happen to her constantly - she’s like a magnet. Worst of all, Olive is going to have to spend her sister’s wedding with Dane’s older brother Ethan, who treats Olive like a bug who got stuck on the bottom of his shoe. Then it happens. Just when Olive thought she was the one with the bad luck: everyone except she and Ethan get shellfish poisoning at the wedding and she and Ethan are forced to go on the honeymoon planned for Ami and Dane. The catch? They have to pretend that they are the Honeymooners. Maybe Olive isn’t so unlucky after all.

Olive is a gal who has never given herself a chance. What she needed was a little push. Looks like she got one. And he’s quite cute too!

While I wouldn’t call myself a believer, these books sure make me want to. After reading Christina Lauren and other rom coms, I break into smiles in public, laugh more often and dance alone in my kitchen. What better response is there?

I can attest to the fact that my book buddy Kaceey and I laughed a lot during this one and that is the best medicine possible. So glad we read this one together Kaceey and that we have added women’s fiction and rom coms to our repertoire.

Thank you to NetGalley, Gallery Books and Christina Lauren for an arc of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

Published on Goodreads on 2.18.19.
*Will be published on Amazon and Twitter on publication date.
Excerpt to be published on Instagram.

This one, like a lot of Christina Lauren's more recent novels seems like it's written to be a screenplay already. I enjoyed this one, even though it swayed into the unlikely coincidences more than once. It felt a little weak on the character development. I wish it had given Ethan's perspective throughout the whole book or not at all, it threw off the rhythm of the book a bit.

✨Book Review✨
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Thank you so much @gallerybooks for my free copy via @netgalley for review.
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It’s official! @christinalauren are auto buy authors for me! I could not put this book down! I stayed up way past my bedtime to finish it. 🙈
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It was such a fun, light read. I was laughing out loud, rooting for Olive and Ethan, loving their banter and shenanigans. This author duo have mastered the art of the romcom my friends! I couldn’t get enough! I’m going to be gushing about this one for a while. If you’re a fan of romantic comedies, or looking for a fun read or reading palate cleanser, well look no further! You should all mark your calendars for this one! It comes out May 14!
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
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Funny, sexy, and just the right balance of familiar tropes. Enemies to lovers, there's only one bed(!)... guys, it's pretty great. I like that both of the main characters do a little learning and growing, I like how an emotionally devastating dissolution of a relationship is handled with tact and gravitas. And I like that consent is outrageously hot in this book.

Enemies Olive Torres and Ethan Thomas are best left to ignoring one another. Unfortunately, she’s her twin sister’s Maid of Honor and he’s his brother’s best man, so they are forced to endure one another – at least until the wedding is over. Unfortunately for them, the wedding ends on a decidedly sour note. When twin Ami tells her sister she will lose the all expenses paid wedding package to Hawaii she’s won in a contest, somehow Olive and Ethan are suddenly the ones going on the trip – as husband and wife.

The trip should be a no-brainer for each of them to enjoy as long as they steer clear of one another. Unfortunately – again - things don’t go the way they should. Olive’s brand new boss and his wife are staying at the same hotel as are Ethan’s ex-girlfriend and her new man. Now, to keep up the charade and not be charged with fraud the enemies have to pretend to be man and wife and worse – like one another.

What starts out as I hate to love you turns into I love to love you pretty quickly.

I enjoyed this book so much more than the last Christina Lauren book Josh and Hazel’s guide to not Dating. This book is told in the POV from Olive’s eyes, but for some weird reason, the last 20 pages or so switched to Ethan’s POV. That knocked me out of the story for a bit because it was jarring – we didn’t hear Ethan’s voice at all in the rest of the book, and these scenes really could have been told just as well in Olive’s POV.

Having said that, it was an enjoyable read. Thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to read an arc of the work in exchange for an honest opinion.

Loved this book. This is the first book I’ve read by this duo and definitely will not be the last. Such an enjoyable romantic comedy I could see it being a movie hit as well. Olive and Ethan are so likeable on their own and together you can’t help but root for them to fall for each other. I read this quite quickly as I couldn’t put it down.

❝Ethan Thomas is grand-gesturing in an ugly shirt, with a fake mai tai glass.❞

I can't get this silly smile off my face, it's big and probably a little alarming to those around me. The Unhoneymooners put me in such a great headspace that I'm flitting around like a lovesick human. And I am in love. I am in love with the writing of Christina Lauren. Their books are big doses of happy! In a sour mood, read one of their books, had a breakup, read one of their books, want a permasmile, read The Unhoneymooners!

Olive Torres is the unlucky, often pessimistic twin. Unlucky in love and unlucky in life, if something bad is going to happen, it will happen to Olive. From getting stuck in a toy-prize claw machine as a kid to being fired from her job on her first day, Olive never seems to come out on top. In comparison, everything her sister Amelia touches turns to gold. The eternal optimist, Ami wins every contest she enters. She has a personality people flock to, and her life is easy. That is until her wedding day when everyone at the reception becomes extremely ill after having eaten the seafood on the buffet. All but the two people who cannot stand each other, Olive and Ami's new brother-in-law, Ethan -- Olive is allergic to shellfish and Ethan refuses to eat at buffets. For years the two have had a biting relationship, they never have anything good to say to or about the other. Even though they are extremely attracted to each other physically, personally, they cannot stand one another, they are nemeses to the core. Because Ami and her husband Dane are sick with food poisoning, they suggest that Olive and Ethan take the honeymoon trip to Hawaii … pretending to be married. It's laughable really, the two cannot stand to be in the same room with each other for more than a few minutes, and now it is suggested they spend 10 days together, on a trip of a lifetime, for free. What's the worst that can happen when two people who hate each other vacation together?

❝I want to say something sassy, but the only coherent thought that comes to mind is how insulting it is that eyelashes like his were wasted on Satan's Errand Boy, so I just give a perfunctory nod and turn down the hall.❞

I loved Ethan and Olive! Olive with her pessimistic view of life and others, who believes she's stuck with the bad life throws her way, never wallows in her circumstances. Rather, she embraces and accepts her fate. She is good-humored and loyal. In reality, though, the world was just prepping her to recognize, take hold of, and fully experience all the goodness that was awaiting her.

Ethan wasn't who Olive assumed he was. He was charming, intuitive, caring and almost perfect! He wasn't too prideful to apologize when he was wrong and expressed just the right amount of groveling. I loved the banter between these two!

❝You look like a Skittle.❞

❝Aw, Ethan. Stop with the seduction.❞

I loved this charming, enemies to lovers story! It was funny, heartwarming, and a little heartbreaking! It was the perfect book to read on a snowed-in weekend!

4.5 Enemies to lovers Stars!

I’ve gotten to love all things this author duo. They’ve got comedy and romance perfectly rolled into one!

The UNhoneymooners is an endearing story of Olive and Ethan. Siblings to the bride and groom who seem to be the only two people who didn’t fall horrifically ill at the wedding reception. Ethan’s detesting of buffets and Olive’s shellfish allergy seems to have spared them the food poisoning everyone else comes down with.

With a non-refundable, non-transferable honeymoon to Hawaii, the bride and groom gives the trip to Olive and Ethan. The only issue is...those two hate each other. How they plan to fake a loving pair of honeymooners is beyond them. But free trip!

Cute cute cute. Loved Olive. Loved Ethan until I wanted to throttle him. Olive is adorable and their banter was entertaining as heck.

Everything shines with this author duo. I wouldn’t mind a book for the bride- Ami. Hint hint

“That’s the whole point of luck, isn’t it? ... You have to trust that it’s not fleeting.”
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Olive and Ami are twins, but couldn’t be any more different. Olive defines herself as unlucky; in life, in love, in work and basically everything in between. Ami, on the other hand, has a job she loves, a fiancé, and has planned a wedding by winning every sweepstakes she entered. But when one bad seafood buffet takes out the entire guest list and wedding party, except Olive, she feels her luck may have turned.
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In addition to her wedding, Ami has won the perfect honeymoon for her and Dean, but when they are unable to leave the bathroom, much less fly on a plane to Maui, they both persuade Olive and Ethan (Dean’s brother) to go in their place. Ten days in Maui sounds amazing the only thing is Olive and Ethan hate each other. So her luck (and Ethan’s) is put to the test on the “unofficial honeymoon”.
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I LOVED this book. This is my second Christina Lauren book and I am 100% a fan. So basically what I am saying is y’all need to add this one to our must read list when it is released May 14, 2019. Not only because it is amazing but also because recommending it to y’all means “an angel gets their wings, a puppy gets tummy rubs or a hedgehog gets a mealworm” just like Christina Lauren says in their acknowledgements at the end of the book. So basically you have to because good things happen in the universe.

Loved the newest offering from the duo writing team . Snappy, funny, surprisingly tender at times, it really ticks all the boxes when it comes to reading a romance. I can’t wait for the next one!

Christina Lauren does it again! This book was funny, heartbreaking at times, lovely, and all-around wonderful. The main character Olive is someone relatable and someone who immediately captures your attention. Her counterpoint Ethan is an amazing co-star. From the start, you are drawn into the story and you don't want to stop reading until the end. I laughed out loud, had tears in my eyes, wanted to pull my hair out at character's choices, and wanted to read it again as soon as I was finished.

Two enemies learn their attraction just may get in front of their hatred in this cute, if predictable, romance.

Christina Lauren has slowly worked their way into auto request territory. I’ve read more of their work in the last year than I have since they started publishing. Some of their books I’ve loved, like Roomies. Some of their books I didn’t like, like Love and Other Words. This book falls somewhere in the middle – I enjoyed it, but it didn’t invest me.

It took me a while to grow into the protagonist, Olive. She’s not necessarily likable at the beginning of the novel, but the story goes to great lengths for her growth. By the end of it, she seemed more centered. If there is one thing CLo nails in all of their novels, it’s how choices impact our lives. The choices we make and the choices made for us. Olive learns her choices, rather than her luck, defines the majority of her life.

Ethan and Olive had some great chemistry! Their relationship grew from enemies to lovers in a heated, believable way. While most of the novel is set in Hawaii, the later half of the novel focuses on their relationship back in their home environment. I’m glad some time is spent developing them outside of the extreme circumstances. I even liked the subplot between them and their respective siblings.

tl;dr An enjoyable romantic comedy full of humor, romance, and character growth from the CLo team.

A good story, but not as strong as some of their other titles. It felt superficial.
I didn't like the characters as much, as I have in their other books. I think this is because I just didn't feel like I knew them as well. I felt there was less background details which made it difficult to know and understand them.
This book was very "vanilla" and tame if you compare it to their other work. I won't re-read this one as it left no lasting impression unlike "Sweet Flithy Boy" or " Josh and Hazel..." which are both character rich and made me cry and laugh.

What a fun book! I've never read this author but I very much enjoyed her fun, light, romance. Humorous and cute.

Have you ever read a book so good you are almost mad you didn't come up with it? Like it speaks so much to your daily life that you can't believe someone else was able to come up with words that so perfectly match how you feel (I feel similarly about Taylor Swift break-up songs, but I digress).
The Unhoneymooners had me absolutely laughing out loud. It clips along so smoothly and quickly, all of a sudden you look up and are disoriented that it's already over and you aren't really sure what you are supposed to do next.
My one complaint is the epilogue. I found the change of perspective to be a little jarring because the voice was less developed throughout the novel as a whole. I loved the plot of the epilogue but I think I would have preferred continuity in the character.
Ultimately, all I can say about this book besides preorder it in every format, love it, and then wait patiently for the next Christina Lauren because these gals seem like they physically don't know how to disappoint.

This book is like a buffet of my favorite tropes (but no bad seafood): an fake relationship, enemies-to-lovers romance. How do they do it? I devoured this in one night.

Reading this book was like watching a romantic comedy. The story and characters were very predictable, and many of the situations were completely implausible. Yet it was so much fun! Sometimes you just need something fluffy and fun to read that will make you laugh and feel good. This one fits the bill.

The story goes like this, Olive and Ethan "hated" each other before Olive's sister married Ethan's brother. But at the wedding reception, everyone is simultaneously hit with food poisoning. Everyone except for Olive and Ethan. And since the bride and groom are too sick to go on their honeymoon, Olive and Ethan go in their place. And you can just guess what will happen next! This is the kind of story that is predictable by design. You know how it will end, but it's fun to read about how they get there.

I did think the story slowed down a bit when they returned from the honeymoon. I was growing a bit restless in the last third of the book. But overall, this is a fun story and one that I would recommend if you are in the mood for a light and fluffy romance!

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this book. It will be released in May!

Christina Lauren’s pitch-perfect rom-com tickles the funny bone, not in the gut-busting way but it garners more than a few smirks. Even if ‘The Unhoneymoners’ leans towards more of women’s fiction—the kind that celebrates a female character’s growth and achievements, and catalogues her mistakes, no matter how many baby steps it might take.

Olive Torres, the queen of bad lack, rules the entire show, with a sometimes hysterical voice determined to win every argument and be cynical/negative about everything that passes her in life. Except that her sister and the new husband—along with the other wedding guests—start spontaneously throwing up on the wedding itself and this hands her a free pass to Maui, with the groom’s brother and her supposed nemesis, Ethan Thomas.

The journey from here is more of less predictable even if the fake-marriage, enemies-to-lovers-tropes aren’t: there’re tons of awkward moments, moments of unexpected bonding and heartfelt conversations between Ethan and Olive and moments when they discover neither of them are what they appear to each other.

And by and large, it was a fun, sometimes cheesy, eye-rolling and cringy ride, and it made me think this warrants a close-to 4-star rating. Still, I didn’t have to put down the book and wonder if it’s taking a large chunk of my day and fret about it. Told in a way that made the pages fly by, there’s plenty of quirk, lip-pursing and amusing times to make it one of the most lighthearted reads I’ve had in a while.

Hysterical, laugh out loud funny! A nice, light palette cleanser when you're wanting to read something different.