Really, really enjoyed this one! The first half is super funny. Ethan wasn’t exactly loveable to me but I think he’s incredibly realistic for most men. In the beginning I didn’t see the plot twist coming and that never happens for me! Thoroughly enjoyed this one!

This is the book I have been waiting for! Christina Lauren has quickly become one of my go to authors. Whenever I’m in the mood for a laugh or just a really sweet story, I know I can always count on CL to bring on the feels! 

This story is about Ethan and Olive. Ethan’s brother and Olive’s sister get married. Unfortunately at the reception, everyone gets sick except Ethan and Olive. The bride and groom insist they take the honeymoon and go on vacation. Ethan and Olive don’t get along too well and don’t really like each other so when they go on a fake honeymoon, what could go wrong? (Or right?) 

I absolutely loved Ethan and he may be one of my favorite male characters written. He was so sweet and genuine and he totally made me swoon. Olive was hilarious! I didn’t like how she always assumed the worst out of people but her thoughts were so funny throughout the story and I kept laughing out loud! This has to be one of the funniest reads. The writing flowed really well and I felt that everything happened in the story, the way that it should have. No unnecessary drama. It all led up to a fantastic epilogue and I loved every word! 

This story doesn’t come out until May but PREORDER IT. You will not be disappointed and you will devour every single word, just like I did! 

Thank you to Gallery Books and NetGalley for sending me an early reader’s copy in exchange for an honest review.

This was a sweet book filled with a decent love/hate relationship and a fair amount of humor but it wasn’t as good as some of the authors other books.

Christina Lauren's latest book is a hilarious story of two enemies who are forced to share a honeymoon package together in Hawaii. Olive Torres is her twin's exact opposite: Ami wins lots of paid contests, including several funding her entire wedding and honeymoon, while Olive is more likely to have disastrously bad luck. When some bad seafood sends practically the entire wedding to the hospital, Olive reluctantly agrees to use Ami's honeymoon package so as not to waste a nice vacation. There's a catch though: the groom's unfortunately healthy brother Ethan, who is Olive's worst enemy, is coming along as well. When a series of coincidences leads Olive and Ethan running into new bosses and old exes, the two are forced to pretend that they might not hate one another after all.

Christina Lauren just keeps getting better and better, and their writing seems so effortless and fun, so it’s always a blast to read them. I devoured this one in one sitting and caught myself laughing out loud to throughout the book. This is the perfect book to read if you enjoy enemies to lovers, or if you enjoy vicariously experiencing dream vacations :)

If you are looking for a book that will crack you up with a dash of a love story on the side, this book is for you! Olive and Ethan's story is so hysterical! At points I was laughing so hard laying in bed, I was shaking the whole thing!
Olive could be me with the amount of luck she has. I can sympathize! I honestly didn't like Ethan in age beginning but he quickly won me over. 
The Unhoneymooners is quirky, playful, and downright fun!

I have to say that the first thing I LOVED about this book was that it took place in Minnesota (part of it). Being from Minnesota I could relate to the cities, colleges, and places used in the book. The book begins with Olive helping her twin sister Ami pull off her dream wedding. Out of the twins Olive considers herself the unlucky one. Her luck was about to turn around though all thanks to her seafood allergy. The entire wedding party minus her and one picky groomsmen Ethan came down with food poisoning due to the seafood at the wedding. Ami and her new husband Dane are too sick to go on their honeymoon to Maui and because Olive is her twin they decide to sub her in (I mean she looks the part at least). Seems like a great plan until Dane's brother Ethan, who Olive can not stand, decides to go in his brothers place. Olive and Ethan have to learn how to deal with each other for the sake of a good vacation but they end up doing more than just dealing with each other, they may even decide they like each other. There were many twists and turns and kept me as the reader excited all the way until the end.  
An ARC was received via Net Galley for an honest review.

The Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren

I was excited to see this book, something new from my favorite writing team.  When I began reading I wasn’t loving it as much as I had hoped.  Maybe it was the fact that this book was different from their other recent books since it only had one point of view until the epilogue.  Yet, once I finished it, I really liked it in the end. I fell in love with Olive, Ethan and the Torres family.  Diego needs a book!

The Unhoneymooners has elements of other recent books I’ve read and enjoyed.   Enemies to lovers, paintball scene (The Hating Game); Made up names to annoy each other (My favorite part of The Duchess Deal); taking a honeymoon without the bride/groom after a disastrous wedding (Down for the Count by Christine Bell).
But The Unhoneymooners was original all on its own.  The poisoning of the entire wedding reception was an unique and different way to get Olive and Ethan together for their story to develop.  The characters were fresh.  The dialogue was witty and authentic.  The drama was based upon the very real impulse to believe and protect your siblings.  The forgiveness was all love and acceptance, highlighting our ability to change.  I would recommend this book.

Of their most recent books, my favorite is My Favorite Half-Night Stand.  Loved that group of friends.  Their IMs could have been book all by themselves.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC

I LOVED this book. I love all Christina Lauren's books because the romances are so cute and easy to binge. The hate to love romance kind of reminded me of The Hating Game by Sally Thorne and I am here for that!

Took me one (snow day) to finish this.  Oscar and Elmo, I mean Olive and Ethan will not let you down with their witty dialogue and simmering attraction.  There were a few parts that seemed pretty far fetched and had a lot of unlikely things happen but was able to get past that and really enjoy this book.  Just when you think the HEA is around the corner another twist gets thrown in and you have to keep reading (darn!).  I think I have only read one other book by Christina Lauren.  I've already checked another of her books out from the library so gotta go!

I read this entire book in one sitting. I always enjoy Christina Lauren books! This one was much more "tame" than their previous romance books and that surprised me. A longer review will be posted closer to publication.

In The Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren, As Olive Torres dutifully ticked lines off her twin sister Ami's mile long to-do list, she had no clue her unluckiness would rub off on the perpetually lucky bridezilla, er--bride-to-be. Everything about the wedding (which was mostly free thanks to Ami's winning streak with contests) was planned out to the Nth degree. Including the (free) seafood buffet. Which in hindsight might not have been a good idea, considering the food was unknowingly riddled with bacteria causing food poisoning of apocalyptic proportions. Well, to everyone present at the wedding except maid of honor Olive and best man, Ethan Thomas.

While the wedding party and guests all feel like they're knocking on death's door, the new bride and groom try to push Olive and Ethan into taking their prepaid honeymoon to Maui together, posing as newlyweds. Only there's one big problem: they can't stand to be in the same room at the same time, let alone spend ten sun-soaked days in each other's company pretending to be blissfully in love. But for a chance to take a dream vacation? Olive is willing to try if Ethan is. Surprisingly, after some bumps in the road, she has to admit that it's...tolerable spending time with her nemesis. And it has Olive wondering if maybe she's pegged Ethan wrong all this time.

Oh, the humor and oh, the heart! Christina Lauren put an entertaining spin on an enemies to lovers trope, set it (mostly) in a tropical paradise, and threw every awkward situation at our hero and heroine. The result? Pure unadulterated magic.

I do love me some CLo, especially their rom-coms which tickle me to no end. It always impresses me that this duo writes so seamlessly together. You would never know it's a pair of best friends and not a single author who creates these laughter-inducing characters and plots. But for as much as I giggle my way through their books--I just adore their sense of humor--I know CLo will also find a way to bring emotional depth to their characters, keeping the story grounded and relatable. That was certainly true for Olive and Ethan's wild ride to romance.

One of the things I most enjoyed--aside from the kickass bantering CLo is known for!--was that our main characters were both in their early to mid-thirties. That meant Ethan and Olive brought with them some baggage from previous relationships and had real life experiences to base their opinions on when it came to what they wanted. I loved laughing and sighing along as their views on each other changed drastically while on the b-e-a-utiful island of Maui. Let's just say that things weren't always what they seemed over the years since Olive and Ethan met, and it was a series of unfortunate events that led them to the sarcastic verbal battles everyone came to expect between them.

The sub-plot of Olive's twin sister Ami and her new husband Dane was also quite interesting. It was in the background of Ethan and Olive's journey which at times created some static between all four of them as one would expect with two siblings (Ethan and Dane) dating two siblings (Olive and Ami). There were a few moments I wanted to give some of them a good shake (lol) but overall I think things ended in a plausible way with HEAs all the way around in one way or another. And I think readers will get a huge kick out of Olive and Ami's Mexican-American family, who were all loud, loving, hilariously nosy, and wonderful people who only wanted the best for each other.

Witty, uproariously funny, and ridiculously sigh-worthy, The Unhoneymooners was Christina Lauren at their rom-com best. This standalone will be perfect for newbies to the duo's writing or for superfans. Either way, you'll be sure to have a fantabulous time.

It’s no surprise that I am writing a five star review for another Christina Lauren book. This story is going to be THE BOOK of the summer, I can already see it! It’s the perfect escape to get lost in while reading poolside or on that road trip across the state. Even though I read it in the dead of winter (while a polar vortex was happening up north), it left me feeling giddy for long, hot tropical days.

Olive & Ethan are every bit hilarious & sweet. Their sexy banter & irresistible chemistry kept the story moving right along. I loved the strong sense of sisterhood & familial bonds in this one. It cradled the story at just the right moments. Hawaii has always been on my bucket list, but now thanks to CLo I may need to look into a fake honeymoon to make it happen!

I really enjoyed this ARC from NetGalley! It made me laugh several times at the sarcasm and dry humor between Olive and Ethan! I love an enemies to lovers tale with a few side story surprises thrown in! I was hoping the sister’s story would get justice by the end, and I absolutely loved how it was handled! I would definitely suggest!

This book was so incredibly funny! The story will take you on a wild ride that you will enjoy every second of. The writing was so good. I truly enjoyed this book and highly recommend it!

This was fine. By that I mean it was better than 90% of the contemporary romances I've encountered, but it's far from my favorite Christina Lauren book. I definitely appreciate a heroine who is imperfect (for example Rachel, the protagonist of my favorite contemporary romance ever, Something Borrowed), but the incident that sparked Olive's dislike of Ethan seemed like an obvious misunderstanding/a little contrived. The villain of the piece was obvious from the get-go. That said, the authors excel at creating appealing male love interests and the depiction of Olive's search for what she really wants to do with her life rang true. I also appreciated Olive and Ami's large family - often characters in romances seem to live in bubble devoid of other connections, and it's nice to read one where characters have connections beyond themselves.

4.5 stars, rounded up to 5!

So there I was, feeling a bit of withdrawal since it had been more than two months since I'd read a Christina Lauren book (I read four of their books in 2018, and one in 2017). Then, like a bolt out of the blue, I saw that NetGalley was offering advance copies of their newest book, The Unhoneymooners, and I literally pulled my car over into the first parking lot I saw and submitted my request. (True story. And I kept to my no NetGalley requests while driving rule.)

Of course, I was granted access to the title, and one day later? I devoured the book and will (kind of) patiently wait for their next one. (A long, long time ago I went to a book signing of John Grisham's for The Pelican Brief. I told him how much I liked the book and he said, "Man, Larry, I just finished this one. Slow down!") But once again, Christina Lauren doesn't disappoint, but gives me all the feels and leaves me giddy.

Olive and Ami are identical twins. As far as Olive is concerned, Ami has always been the lucky one, while Olive has recently been laid off from her job and had to move back in with her family when her roommate moved out. Plus, Olive's biggest achievement is getting stuck in an arcade claw machine when she was younger.

Ami is also lucky in love—she's about to marry Dane, who may be a little too frat bro-y for Olive's taste, but Olive is happy that her sister is happy. Ami has been able to put on her entire wedding and reception through contests and drawings (which explains the ridiculous, Skittle-green bridesmaid's dresses), but she's given Olive a number of tasks on the big day, most of which include interacting with Ethan, Dane's older brother—and Olive's nemesis since their first meeting took an ugly turn a few years ago.

"Too tall, too fit, too classically pretty. Never friendly, never trustworthy, never any fun. He puts on an innocent smile—innocent on the surface: a flash of teeth, a dimple, but in his eyes, it's all black-souled."

When Ethan and Olive are virtually the only two people not to contract food poisoning at the reception, Ami and Dane have a free honeymoon in Maui that is use-it-or-lose-it. Olive is certainly not going to let Ethan enjoy Maui by himself, so she agrees to go. They both figure there will be plenty of opportunities to enjoy the beautiful scenery—and lose the other. But when they realize they'll need to pretend to be giddy honeymooners for 10 days, it seems like a small price to pay for paradise, right?

When unexpected encounters with people from both of their lives force them to tear into their acting roles with greater passion, Olive starts to realize that she doesn't mind spending time with Ethan and pretending to be married to him. Maybe he's not as bad as she thought he was—and maybe she can't get enough of being with him. But what is real and what is an act? What will happen when they leave paradise and go home to Minnesota? Will they fall back into their antagonistic relationship?

The thing about Christina Lauren's books (other than terrific characters you root for, great emotions, humor, and hot sex) is that even though you probably can predict most of what will happen, you get so hooked on the story, and you're so charmed by it, that it doesn't really matter. Their books get me every time—like I said earlier, I get a little giddy, a little emotional, and I just want more.

If you're a fan of rom-coms, or just want a lighter book to divert you from brooding thrillers, Christina Lauren's books are just the ticket. Their book Love and Other Words made my list of the best books I read last year, while Roomies, My Favorite Half-Night Stand, and Josh and Hazel's Guide to Not Dating were not far behind. (Plus, Autoboyography, one of their few YA books, is utterly AMAZING.)

NetGalley and Gallery, Threshold, Pocket Books provided me an advance copy of the book in exchange for an unbiased review. Thanks for making this available!

ONE SENTENCE SUMMARY: A free vacation, a white lie identify switch, and a lucky miss in the food poisoning department has Olive going on her sister's honeymoon for her-- to bad it's with the groom's brother, aka Olive's Enemy Number One. 

FIRST THOUGHT: I was so excited to read this book. I mean awesome plot, great location, cool cover, favorite tropes, and every single thing delivered. I mean, I laughed so hard I accidentally woke up my husband. Oops! 

WHY I READ IT: Christina Lauren is an auto-read author for me! 

POV: First Person, Female. Present Tense 

SETTING: Maui and Minnesota 

TROPES: Enemies to Lovers, Stuck Together, Vacation, Fake Relationship  

OUR HEROINE: Olive. An early 30s with a degree in science- Yas girl! Olive spends most of her time adorably annoyed by Ethan and surrounded by bad luck. I think she's got an awesome character arc. There are a few bits of her personality and life that Olive sees she needs to work on, and instead of making drama she's open to growth. Three cheers for mature female leads! 

OUR HERO: Ethan. I always wonder how our writers are going to get us to like the hero in an Enemies to Lovers trope, and by the end of the book I was a little in love with him too. Ethan had some quirks that made him adorable right off the bat. Since this story is told only through Olive's POV, we get to learn that the assumptions she's made about him arn't always true, so it was fun to get to know him through someone else's eyes. 

OVERALL THOUGHTS: This book nailed situational humor! I love when I have to reread a page because I'm laughing so hard. While I chuckled through out Olive and Ethan's story, I belly laughed twice and that's amazing. 

I thought this book was incredibly relatable-- I mean not the awesome vacation part, but the way our characters approached their problems. While there are moments of frustration and anger, our MCs never acted out for the sake of creating plot. 

The tension and story arc was perfectly paced and there were some great moments that I wasn't expecting. 

THE SEXY SCENES: Steamy and perfectly vacation appropriate! I wasn't blushing, but I was inwardly cheering. 

THE BEST PART OF THE BOOK: The banter-- it was just right. & The adorable one lines Ethan would throw out to Olive.

THE WORST PART OF THE BOOK: No complaints! 

TLDR: Order this book, but avoid drinking and reading! It's a laugh out loud romp of a love story with characters that pull you in and force you to love them.

This book was hilarious! I laughed so hard I cried at times. 
It was also sad and gave me a bit of a heartache for the sister, Ami. 
Love is exhausting at times and I enjoy a good love story. Especially when the characters start out not liking eachother. 

This is a wonderful story. I recommend this book to anyone s who likes a good laugh and an upbeat ending. The ending made me cry happy tears!!

I wasn't really sure about this book at first because I love dual POV's and this book was majority Olive's. However, the further I got into the book it didn't bother me. Ms. Lauren makes sure that Ethan has a voice even though we don't have his monologue until the end of the book. 

Olive and Ethan are sworn enemies. Olive and Ethan met 3 years ago when Olive's twin sister, Ami and Ethan's brother Dane started dating. Olive was interested in Ethan when they first met at the fair. She walked off to get some cheese curds and when she came back Ethan was rude and not the nice guy she had met minutes early. So Olive gave him the same treatment back because she had no clue why he had the sudden change of attitude. 

This is a great book with great supporting characters. Olive's family is a hoot and will keep you laughing with their no boundaries philosophy. Ethan is great with his kind of nerdy self. I really enjoyed this book. I read it pretty much nonstop until I finished it. 

I received a free copy for an honest review.

Fun, laugh out loud story. Unusual story that made for a great read. I didn't want to put it down !  I will look for this author from now on !