Sexy, sweet and snarky = the perfect escape read! 😍 

I'd been looking forward to this book with its Hispanic representation and it didn't disappoint. Curvy women, laugh out loud hilarious family members and the amazing, never let you down extended family that is as close (if not closer) as the one living under your roof. It reminded me so much of my family growing up - everyone knowing each other's business, constantly making fun of each other and above all else, having each other's back no matter what! 

It took me a bit to get into the book initially which surprised me. I wasn't as into the first part detailing the wedding. Olive's twin sister Ami is getting married and everything is supposed to be perfect. Ami seems to have it all - perfect luck, perfect life, perfect love. Olive on the other hand seems to have the worst luck - she lost her job, her roommate and her apartment. 

Things start to look up for Olive (and me as the reader) when she and the best man, Ethan are the only two guests left standing after food poisoning ravages everyone at the wedding. Ami persuades her sister to go on her free honeymoon to Hawaii, so that the prize doesn't go to waste. The groom makes the same offer to his best man and brother, Ethan. Only problem is - Ethan and Olive hate each other. Is an all exclusive, all expenses paid trip to Hawaii worth spending 10 days with someone you utterly despise? 

I adored the constant back and forth banter between Olive and Ethan. They were hilarious and the underlying sexual tension was palpable. I laughed out loud, smiled so much my cheeks hurt and was left feeling all bubbly inside as I went through the pages of this book. In short, Christina Lauren have done it again - all hail my rom-com queens! ❤️ 👑 ❤️

I feel like I'm finally figuring out what I like in a romance novel and how to pick one that might appeal to me.  At the very least, I know that Christina Lauren is my favorite contemporary romance author and that I will always read what she writes, forever and ever amen.

I was so excited to get The Unhoneymooners from Netgalley, and I was right to be, because it was deeee-lightful. The premise is very simple: Olive's twin sister won a fabulous all expenses paid honeymoon, but food poisoning put her, the groom, and almost everyone else at the wedding in a position where no one could go on the trip.  But Olive's allergic to shellfish and the groom's brother, Ethan, doesn't trust buffets, so they're healthy and the bride insists that someone is going to use the nontransferable honeymoon tickets.  So off go Olive and Ethan, who don't really like each other, to Maui for ten days.

Can you guess what happens? Yeah, that's what happens. Their arguing has always looked a little like flirting, but it gradually gets more flirty and less fighty and so on. The thing that makes this book--and most Christina Lauren books, I think--is the flirting. It's the part where two clever people are being clever and charming at each other and they're having fun and you're having fun with them and everything is just right with the world.

So that's about half the book--just falling in love in Maui, like you do. Part of that plot revolves around how bad Olive is at lying, and the fact that the vacation is firmly non-transferable. So to a certain extent, Ethan and Olive have to pretend to be married.  There are some comical scrapes this issue--running into exes and bosses and such--and those just shot my anxiety level through the roof. I don't always hate lying, but I hated it here, I think because Olive hated it so much. Luckily, these bits were short; there were never extended periods where you had to squirm waiting for chapters/days to see how awkward things would get. 

Then we depart Hawaii, returning to normal life in the bleak, frozen northlands of the Twin Cities, where there are complications that are real and realistic and that I liked a *lot*.  It's nothing melodramatic, all very realistic and normal, but there are a bunch of little moments that feel very relevant and important--misunderstandings based around "oh, you must have misinterpreted him" and "you are putting the worst possible spin on" an experience that is pretty cut and dried if you were there but is hard to describe.  It's a perfect depiction of this kind of thing, and while it's fairly small, I loved it a lot.

Just the best. Witty and charming and sexy and real. I have been reading Christina Lauren for a while, but it's time for me to catch up on the ones I haven't gotten to yet. They're very much worth it.

Review copy received from Netgalley; the book will be published on May 14, 2019.

4.5 Stars

This is my second Christina Lauren book. And I’m still absolutely blown away by their writing. It’s absolutely flawless. The way they tell a story has you laughing and picturing everything. It’s realistic. I love it!!

Olive and Ethan could never be in the same room together without saying something mean to each other. They always had to one up each other in criticizing. It was funny in the beginning. All the back and forth they would do. You just knew there was always something there between them.

They didn’t have the greatest first meeting. A misunderstanding set the tone of their relationship towards each other. That was hard for them to let their guard down.

Ami olive’s twin sister was having her perfect wedding to Ethan’s brother Dane. Everything was going by plan until you get to the buffet seafood dinner. Oh man! I couldn’t stop laughing at that part! I would die!!! 

Let just say EVERYONE wasn’t feeling well! lol 

Olive and Ethan end up going on Ami and Dane’s honeymoon. At this point I was ok with all the little digs both Ami and Ethan were taking at each other. But it was slowly kinda getting to be a bit much.

I know why Olive treats Ethan the way she does. But we don’t know what Ethan’s problem was with Olive for a good chunk of the book. 
His attitude/ irritation towards Olive was 
dragging on for way to long. It was irritating. 

I felt like something should’ve been said earlier. But once they both talk it out. You totally get a new side of both of them. And I loved it.

I don’t want to give away about what happens after but...

I loved and I mean loved Olive’s character. The way she was written had me jumping up and down. She was such a strong character. And she just didn’t go running when awful and hurtful things were said to her. She held her ground and had a backbone!
It was nice to read.

Ethan made a mistake. A big one. But he owned up to it and what he did to win back Olives heart was everything.

This book was an absolute treat to read. And I can’t wait for the next Christina Lauren book to come out!

The Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren is the quintessential romcom read for this May.  I adored this book with all of my heart and reading soul.  Olive's identical twin sister is getting married.  At the wedding, the entire wedding party except for Olive and the best man (Ethan) get severe food poison.  Here is where the plot thickens.  Olive's sister's honeymoon to Hawaii can not be cancelled or they lose the trip entirely.  In order to not let this trip of a lifetime go to waste,  Olive and Ethan go on the trip together instead.  Here is the scoop though........they despise each other.  The story follows them on their Hawaiian adventure pretending to be the married couple by sharing the honeymoon sweet and participating in all of the honeymoon activities together.    The Unhoneymooners is light and funny with a fantastic Hawaiian backdrop.  Christina Lauren does an incredible job transporting readers to this island getaway.  Readers will be flipping the pages as fast as they can to see how Olive and Ethan manage this trip together as sworn enemies.  Will these two pseudo love birds end up surviving this trip together with their ever changing emotions?  Can they maintain this lie throughout their stay? Will they maybe even learn to like each other?  Pack your suitcases readers........ you are going to Hawaii.  Enjoy your trip!!!!!!!! 
**This ARC was provided by Gallery Books via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I read this on a vacation through the mountains, and it was exactly the light, fluffy fun I wanted it to be. It doesn't quite reach the heights of The Hating Game (the highest bar for enemy to lover romances!), but the sparks fly and there are moments of surprising depth as Olive faces real-life consequences for certain actions.

Anybody who loves romantic reality shows, will ADORE this book! Olive and Ethan are so relatable, that you may wonder if they're based on real life events! Having two authors write the book gives it a really great feel, as you feel like you are seeing different perspectives of the same character. Olive is sarcastic and funny, and you may find yourself laughing out loud QUITE a lot in this one (drinking anything while reading NOT recommended, due to numerous snort worthy moments, LOL). You may feel like you know what the ending is going to be, but at the same time, you want to watch 'all 6 episodes' to see the chase and antics they get up to! But there are some surprises at the end to leave you smiling and hoping for another book featuring Olive and Ethan!

Ethan's brother is marrying Olive's sister.  Ethan and Olive hate each other.  When the entire wedding party gets sick from seafood poisoning at the wedding buffet and Ethan and Olive are the last two standing, their siblings offer them their non-refundable honeymoon. They have to pretend they are married!

This is hilarious and so well written.  You can feel the chemistry and sexual tension.  I had a crush on Ethan - which is always a sign that it's a really good romance!  There are laugh out loud funny parts.  This is THE PERFECT fun, light, summer read!!

Things I LOVED, LOVED, LOOOOVED about this book:

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🌴Christina Hobbs and Lauren Billings (aka @christinalauren) wrote it, nuff said. 😅.

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🌴The main couple, Olive and Ethan are polar opposites yet so similar, you can tell they are a dream match since page one. <3

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🌴The story as a whole is worth a #Hollywood script. I would make it into a movie in no time if I had the means. 😍😍😍😍. 

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🌴Once again they added diversity in the story, and they portrayed the #Latino family in the most PERFECT WAY. [Thank you for that 😉]

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🌴The Hawaii setting was just ON POINT! [I've never been to Hawaii, but I've watched plenty of movies set around it, and I agree 101% with the choice 😍].

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🌴I have a new perspective of the consequences of drinking Mai Thai's during happy hour =/

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🌴Liyng brings very bad consequences and thru this story you learn this in a very straightforward way😕.

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🌴You also learn that everything happens for a reason, that what's meant to be will be, and that you can never, ever go wrong with a romantic comedy written by #ChristinaLauren.



So do yourself a favor, and on May 13, stop by your local retailer (if you are hard headed like my #BFF who claims she needs to FEEL the book in her hands to actually consider it a book🙄) to pick up your copy, or download it from your favorite online book store, OR even better: get yourself an @audible membership and try the #audio version of The Unhoneymooners. If I may suggest a PHENOMENAL choice for Olive's character, I cordially invite you to check out @flywithstella here on IG. [in case u've never heard of her, she's a #flightattendant who vlogs her travels and work experience] I just think she's the prettiest Olive I can't think of 😁😁😁.



I I just CANNOT stop dreaming of this perfect #romcom. 

.

Thank you SOOOO MUCH to the awesome people of @gallerybooks / @simonandschuster for the PRIVILEGE of trusting me with this #arc ❤️. It's because of #publishers LIKE YOU GUYS that small #instabloggers like myself even have a chance still of reviewing great stories like this one ahead of time ❤️📚📓

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.

I somehow forgot to review this book! How??? I think I talked about it so much and how much I loved it that I thought I reviewed it! Ha! Anyway, like all Christina Lauren books I fell hard for this one, and here is why:

Hate to Love: THE BEST TROPE EVER. Ok maybe not the best but up there. And it totally worked here. You could feel the tension between Olive and Ethan. It was so good!

Premise: Loved the twins, the fake honeymoon, the setting. It was a perfect combination!!

Pacing: A longer book for a contemporary romance at 432 pages it really moved. It didn’t feel that long at all. I couldn’t put it down!

Chemistry: As they deal with their hate turning to something else you could feel the chemistry between Olive and Ethan. They were so good for each other. They had stuff they had to work out – even after the fake honeymoon – but you could still feel their connection through the tougher times.

Family: There was a healthy dose of Olive’s family shown here and they were great! They were very close.

Laughs: CLo always brings the funny. I love the romcom vibes in their books and it was strong here! I definitely chuckled a lot. I love humor in books so this was a HUGE plus for me.

So if you couldn’t tell I loved this book! From the characters, the trope, the setting, the overall vibes – it all worked! If you have enjoyed their books before you should enjoy this as well. If you haven’t read them this is a great book to start with!

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>