I haven't met a Christina Lauren novel I didn't like. That said, the magic comes late to this one - something that left me wanting just a little... more. There's still plenty to love about this tale, however, with a charming cast and plenty of drama. So excited for their next novel in Spring, 2020!
Much thanks to NetGalley and Gallery Books for an advanced copy for review.

𝓦𝓱𝓸 𝓭𝓸𝓮𝓼𝓷’𝓽 𝓵𝓸𝓿𝓮 𝓪 𝓼𝓮𝓬𝓸𝓷𝓭 𝓬𝓱𝓪𝓷𝓬𝓮 𝓻𝓸𝓶𝓪𝓷𝓬𝓮? ⁣
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I know I do and this book made me FEEL! It took me back in time to young love and made me remember that all-consuming passionate feeling of when you first find your soul mate. How no matter how much time you spend together it is never enough because all you want to do is learn all there is about one another. 💏⁣
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“𝑰 𝒘𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒑𝒐𝒔𝒔𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒉𝒊𝒎 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒃𝒆 𝒑𝒐𝒔𝒔𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒉𝒊𝒎 𝒊𝒏 𝒂 𝒘𝒂𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒎𝒂𝒅𝒆 𝒎𝒆 𝒇𝒆𝒆𝒍 𝒏𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒍𝒚 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒅.”⁣
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The story of Tate and Sam will pull at your heart strings. A second chance romance with some Hollywood drama thrown in. In addition, throughout this story we learn what true unconditional love is and what it isn’t. ❤️⁣
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Unconditional love sometimes comes from people who place themselves in your life because they want to be there, not because their blood or DNA says they have to be. Tate learns through her journey what real unconditional love is and what it’s not... and what she learns will change her life forever because it only comes about Twice in a Blue Moon. ✨🌙 ⁣
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This book released yesterday so fun out and buy your copy now! You will want to devour this @christinalauren book!

I have read so many of Christina Lauren's books that they are now an auto-buy whenever they have a new release. Unfortunately, this one didn't grab me the way previous books have. I will most likely revisit it at a later time, because I'm a total mood reader! This is a large gap second chance romance where you get that young love and devastation, and then get to dive into the aftermath as they meet again as adults. I think secnd change reader's will love it!

3.5 - 4 Stars - I recommend if you enjoy contemporary romance that falls more on the emotional end of the spectrum.

When 18 year old Tate and 21 year old Sam meet by chance on vacation in London they fall fast and hard. With their grandparents they spend nearly two weeks together and become inseparable. Tate tells Sam her deepest darkest secret, that she's the child of famous actor Ian Butler. When Sam disappears and the press swarm their hotel, her secret is out and she knows she's been betrayed by the only boy she's ever let in. Years later, as a famous actress, Tate is going to star in a film with her father. Despite what they want the media to think, they're not close, and before the press found her, he wasn't in her life. Filming is going to be tense, and that is before she realizes that Sam wrote the screen play for the movie she's starring in. How can she put on the performance of her life, while he's watching her every move?

I meant to read Love and Other Words before I got to this one, but I ran out of time. I didn't quite know what to expect from a more emotional Christina Lauren book. One thing I love about their writing is the comedy. I found myself enamored with young Tate and Sam, and their whirlwind romance in London. I didn't want the betrayal to happen, even though I knew that it would. I also liked Tate and Sam in the present. I thought that their conflict and romance was very slow burn, which I liked, but there wasn't as much tension as I expected. I'm not overly into plots about famous people, so while I liked the parts where they were filming the movie, all of the PR and high profile stuff wasn't my favorite. I thought that Sam was really swoony, and that his movie sounded incredible. I liked the ending, but felt like it could have possibly used an epilogue. Overall I enjoyed this one, but I was hoping for a bit more tension, romance, and drama. All that being said, it took me about a day to read, so it is definitely captivating, just not my favorite CL book to date.

They are the best at romance books. Another one that I would recommend to people who don't even LIKE romance.

A young woman’s heart is broken after she reveals a secret. Years later, she comes face to face with the same man who betrayed her, and she must decide whether she’ll give him another chance. Author duo team Christina Lauren tackles the complications of first love coming back around in the dragged-out novel Twice in a Blue Moon.

At 18, Tate Jones can’t believe she’s in London. It’s a long ways away from Guerneville, California, the small town where she lives with her mother and Nana. In the U.K., Tate’s getting a taste of what life will be like when she goes to college. Well, if Nana goes with her when she leaves for school. But Tate won’t let her grandmother dispel the magic of visiting a new place. She’ll follow the schedule Nana set up and drink in every minute of the two weeks they’ve planned to spend on their vacation.

The magic becomes electric when Tate meets Sam Brandis and his grandpa, Luther. Sam is 21 and already in college; he’s handsome and funny and kind, and there’s no doubt he feels a connection to Tate too. Within days, the two become inseparable.

Tate finds herself falling hard and fast in love with Sam, and he tells her the same thing. He feels something for her that he hasn’t felt for anyone else. Tate gives Sam her heart, her love, and her deepest secret: her last name isn’t Jones, it’s Butler. She’s the daughter of the famous Hollywood actor, Ian Butler. When she was eight years old, her mother moved Tate from L.A. to Guerneville to get away from the PR machine. She and Tate changed their last names and went underground.

Tate has never shared the truth about her identity with anyone. People in Guerneville think she’s just plain old Tate Jones, and the media have no idea where Tate Butler lives. That information would be golden to anyone, and it becomes especially true for Sam who leaks it.

Years later, Tate, now an up-and-coming actress herself, walks onto the set of a film that everyone says could be the turning point of her career. Tate’s excited about the prospect, as much for the challenge the role provides as for the fact that it’s the first time she’ll be working on a movie with her father. Maybe, she thinks, the surface-level relationship she and Ian have had all these years will sink deeper and become more than just a publicity stunt.

Then she discovers that that the scriptwriter is Sam, and the clock rolls back 14 years. As Tate grapples with her feelings and the movie role, she’ll have to face the reality of how he betrayed her and whether she can forgive it. Either way, Tate knows one thing for sure: she won’t be forgetting Sam any time soon.

Author team Christina Lauren build a believable story of first love during the time Tate and Sam spend in London. Readers who have had their hearts broken by someone will find themselves reminiscing about their own experiences. Tate’s wide-eyed acceptance of Sam and her indecision about whether to trust him ring true to life.

The problem comes after the London portion of the book, which takes up more than a third of the novel. The years that pass between Sam’s betrayal and when he and Tate meet again get tossed to the wind. Tate goes from an innocent 18-year-old to an actress in her mid-thirties adept at handling the paparazzi and the ancillary inconveniences of celebrity life. Readers don’t get the benefit of watching her struggle in her craft as an actor or through the subsequent relationships after Sam.

As a result, Tate’s success doesn’t feel earned; neither does Sam’s return nor his reason for exposing her true identity to the media. Both get mentioned in passing as if readers don’t need to bother with those facts. The events in the present day feel overtly orchestrated. Tate at 18 and Sam at 21 feel more genuine, more relatable, more real than their grownup selves.

Because the book is in the romance genre, readers will already know before they open the cover what the ending will be. The point of romance novels is how the characters get to that “happily ever after.” In this case, Tate and Sam seem to be treading water and not really fighting any great storm back to one another.

I recommend readers Bypass Twice in a Blue Moon.

Christina Lauren has become an auto-buy author (duet) for me. I love their ability to develop characters that I connect with, stories I am invested in, and dialogue that rings true. I didn’t feel those attributes as strongly in Twice in a Blue Moon, but there were still aspects I enjoyed and appreciated.

The first third of the books takes place fourteen years in past. Tate, on a trip to London with her grandmother before starting college, meets Sam. The two connect quickly and Tate falls hard and fast, sharing things with Sam that are closely guarded secrets. When her trust is betrayed, she returns home to a life that has changed in an instant. No longer anonymous, Tate is thrust into the spotlight, eventually choosing to follow in her famous father’s footsteps and pursue an acting career. Years later, on the set of a movie that could catapult her career, she comes face to face with Sam and the past and present collide. Over a decade has passed but Tate finds all the old feelings are still there, but how can she possibly forgive and forget?

What worked for me:
I enjoyed the first portion of the book that focused and Tate and Sam together. The authors managed to make me feel that magical, exciting far-from-home feeling where anything seems possible, including a whirlwind romance. Tate and Sam were both such down-to earth, likable characters. I was shocked right along with Tate when her confidence was betrayed and was left wondering how Sam could do such a thing – and why? I loved that the chemistry between them was still alive and well years later and pulled hard for them to find their way back to each other… somehow. I especially appreciated Sam’s openness and willingness to put his heart on the line.

What left me wanting more:
The time spent on Tate working out her issues with her father began to feel repetitive and I found myself frustrated with her for continuing to allow him to push her buttons and leave her feeling so inadequate. Granted, I’ve never had such a toxic/complicated relationship with a parent, but Tate was not a child. I was a little annoyed that his approval was such a driving factor in her life as a woman now in her 30's. Beyond that, my main detraction is that overall it felt like not a lot happened. I don’t know if it was a pacing issue, my mood while reading, or something else, but at more than 350 pages the story seemed to amble along without a lot to move the story forward. Lastly, I really needed an epilogue. A glimpse into Tate’s future – both personally and professionally – would have done wonders in leaving me more satisfied.

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This venture into women's fiction still has all the feels of a Christina Lauren romance novel. I loved the exploration the heroine goes on and what she must discover for herself. The complexities of adult realtionships with your parents and in this case particularly your father are never easy. The way this was tackled had you feel every heartbreak but also every little happiness she would find with him (if shortlived). I really enjoyed the premise of the novel which was being on a movie set. I liked all of the characters on there and wouldn't mind going back and reading about other characters from the book. The hero was a swoonworthy Vermont farmer that also had so much sensitivity. I was fully prepared to hate him and almost did. The explanations and his damn niceness just didnt let you. The chemistry between the two is immediate and usually I get annoyed with flashbacks but this was done very well.

Twice in a Blue Moon is delightful, heart-wrenching romantic tale that starts with a chance meeting of two starry-eyed young loves in London.

Right off the bat, I liked Sam. He was down-to-earth, kind, and I found myself wishing I was in Tate’s place. I struggled a little with Tate simply because I felt like she shared her secrets too quickly. I don’t see how it could have been done differently writing-wise, it was just tough to watch and I was waiting for the other shoe to drop. And oh boy did it. The beautiful, hope-filled romance in the beginning helped carry me through the angst of the middle of the book. Honestly, I couldn’t find it in myself to hate Sam.

My main complaint was the ending happened so quickly that it all came to a head abruptly and felt disjointed. I also wish we had more time exploring the adult relationships. The timeline just didn’t allow for enough growth.
I don’t think I’m completely sold on the second-chance trope but I was in love with the initial romance between Tate and Sam. I also loved watching the complex relationships Tate has and her growth through the end of the book. This was an interesting departure from the light-hearted Christina Lauren books I’ve read and I’m looking forward to reading more of their work!

**Review has been posted to Amazon, B&N, Goodreads, and Bookbub.

Twice in a Blue Moon was entertaining enough, enjoyable enough but not particularly memorable. Fun while it lasted and then move on. Sometimes that is just what you need to read so it fits the bill.

Christina Lauren has been an automatic yes for me since the Beautiful Bastard series, and while I've liked some books better than others, I hadn't read one that I could say I didn't like. Until now. With all the hype leading to this book's release, I expected greatness. I didn't find it. Twice in a Blue Moon has a much more serious tone than other books that I've read by these authors. And there's really nothing wrong with that. But I didn't find any of the wit and charm that I've come to expect from Christina Lauren, and to be honest, I missed it.
The first time around for Tate and Sam is sweet and full of all the things that older teens/young adults feel when they have chemistry. The problem is it moves along so slowly that I was beginning to wonder about whether they'd actually get their second chance in this book. From the blurb, we know that some kind of betrayal leads to their breakup, and it's pretty easy to see what that betrayal will be way before it actually happens. Then we finally come to the second chance in this second chance romance, and I feel like I got shortchanged. We have the expected turmoil between them and the explanation for the betrayal, but the actual second chance is way rushed and just not up to the standards I expect from this duo.
I think a large part of my problem with this book was a lack of connection to the characters. I felt like I knew more about Nana and Luther than our romantic couple. Oh, we get to know them plenty in the beginning, but the grown-up Tate and Sam, the pair we meet fourteen years later? Not so much. Instead, we get a condensed account of some of the events from the missing fourteen years, and then we're thrown into the here and now with these characters. I would rather have had the condensed version of the young love beginning than the rush to conclusion I got in this couple's present.
Regardless of what I would've preferred, I got what I got, and I have to say that I was disappointed. As I said, I've loved most everything I've read by Christina Lauren, but this one breaks that streak. I suppose we can't love them all, and given my past experience with these authors, I will read future books by them. This one just wasn't for me.

Another solid book from Christina Lauren and while I really enjoyed, it was lacking in the level of sass that I loved from the last couple of books. This one was more about love and heartbreak, both in romantic relationships and family ones. It was moving and a lovely story but there wasn’t the parts that make me laugh out loud. It was well written and with characters I loved though so it is still very much worth reading if you are a fan of their other novels! It was a little unbelievable toward the end but honestly, love can make people do crazy things so I didn’t find it too out of the realm of normal.

christina lauren know how to deliver humor, but they also know how to deliver the bittersweet. twice in a blue moon is more on the bittersweet side of the spectrum, and as long as you know this going into it, and read it when you want something bittersweet, you aren't going to have any problems here.

now, the biggest conflicts in this story could have been resolved if the characters actually communicated with each other. similar to roomies, which i loved, but oh man, did i wish those characters had just talked to each other.

this is a second chance at love story, with over a decade of time passing between the first time these characters meet to the second time. at times, it feels like the characters didn't do enough growing in the time between, and the first half of the story is certainly sweeter than the back half given all the regrets and recriminations. but there is a happy ever after, which you know is a requirement of the genre.

**twice in a blue moon will publish on october 22, 2019. i received an advance reader copy courtesy of netgalley/gallery books in exchange for my honest review.

Love at first sight? Well maybe. Tate can't help being swept off her feet when she meets a fellow American while on a trip to London. Tate has barely turned eighteen when she meets Sam who is twenty one. Tate finds herself completely enamored with him and he with her. Or so she thinks....until he screws her over!


Fast forward fourteen years and alot and I mean alot has changed. Tate is no longer the naive little girl hanging out with Nana Jude. Tate is assertive, successful and famous. There is nobody that can bring Tate down...until "he" walks through the door. Sam can still bring her to her knees, even after he betrayed her.


I loved, loved, loved this story. I am seeing alot of mixed reviews on this one. Put me down for the " I love this one team!" I have read two previous Christina Lauren books in the past and found them to be a little more silly and lighthearted. This one has a bit more depth to it in my opinion and personally I liked it more than the others. I enjoyed the others as well, but this one grasped me more and pulled me into the story more. I felt like I connected more with the characters and had empathy for them.


I was soooo flipping angry at Sam I couldn't see straight. I wondered how on earth Tate would deal with her emotions if she ever saw him again. I could feel Tate's pain as she thought she had been used by Sam when she was head over heels in love.


Fantastic, entertaining enduring story of young love, betrayal and finding yourself. I loved this story and can't wait for this duo's next one!!

Twice in a Blue Moon by Christina Lauren is a second chance romance. Sam and Tate met when they were young and fell hard for each other. Everything was perfect, until it wasn’t. But Sam hurts and betrays Tate in the worse way possible. Years later they come face-to-face again in what is the biggest opportunity for Tate. Now she needs to keep him bay. But the heart wants what the heart wants. Can she forgive Sam? Twice in a Blue Moon by Christina Lauren was a charming read with all kinds of feels.

Happy reading!

When 18-year-old Tate and 21-year-old Sam meet while on vacation in London, it’s love at first sight. Not only is there physical attraction, but there is a soul-bearing closeness between them that allows Tate to let her guard down, sharing that she is the long-lost daughter of famous actor Ian Butler. So, when the paparazzi descend on her hotel, making it clear that Sam has sold her story, the heartbreak is devastating. Rather than disappear again, she dives head-first into an acting career, as a way to get to know her father, to escape from the pain of Sam’s betrayal, and to haunt him whenever he sees her on-screen.

Fast forward 14 years, and Tate is set to star in her 7th feature film, working with her father for the first time. It’s the kind of film that has award-winner all over it, and it’s a part that speaks to her heart. So, when she walks on set and sees Sam after all those years, it messes with both her heart and head. Unbeknownst to her, he is the screenwriter and the love story is between his grandmother Roberta and step-grandfather Luther, the same man who accompanied Sam to London. She has trouble reconciling the boy who sold her out with the man who could write such a sensitive story, but, as they are forced to work together, she softens enough to allow him to tell her why he did it.

“Can you believe me, though?” he asks quiets. “That the worst thing I ever did was for the best reason I ever had?”

She’s never again opened herself up to love, but will his explanation be enough for her to forgive him and to take a second chance with him?

Christina Lauren have, once again, written a romance that makes you fall in love with the well-drawn characters. The emotions are palpable, the storyline complex and rich, and the resolution heart-warming. This one is another winner!

I received a complimentary ARC of this book from Gallery Books through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed are completely my own.

I did appreciate how the timelines were in order, but the first part of this story is leagues better than the second part.

I had really high expectations for Twice in a Blue Moon after reading and loving the last few books written by this duo. Unfortunately, the story was mostly disappointing.

My first complaint would be the character's ages. Tate and Sam meet when they are 18 and 21 respectively, and then fourteen years pass before the story picks back up. However, Tate and Sam still act like they did when they were together in London. It was like they never grew up, which was really weird since now they're both in their 30's. Whenever something happened, I had to remind myself that they were waaaay older, because their actions and responses felt immature for their current ages. I wish we'd seen some really obvious character growth, but it just wasn't there.

Additionally, Tate's relationship with her father really bothered me. She claims to be her own person now, but still lets him impact how she feels about herself. The guy has done nothing to earn her respect or her love, yet she freely gives him both. It didn't make sense that she was intimated by him, especially after being very successful herself. I also found it hard to believe that she would let him lie about their past together without calling him on his bullshit (very intricate and excessive lies). I don't know how PR and all that jazz works, but the man was selfish and shouldn't've gotten away with so much.

At the end of the book, I thought there would finally be a confrontation between Tate and her father, or we'd see more confidence and conviction from our leading lady. Sadly, while the ending implies Tate is going to "set the record straight," we don't actually see any of that. A lot of the story was left unresolved, and I wish the authors had written an epilogue or something that addressed all of the loose ends. There were serious issues that needed to be discussed before the book's conclusion.

I felt like the characters in Twice in a Blue Moon lacked authenticity and believability. The book takes place on the set of a movie being filmed, but I never felt like I was fully there for the experience. I was always an outsider looking in, and I want to feel like I'm a part of the story. Honestly, it was a quick read once I sat down and told myself I was going to finish the book, but I didn't feel compelled to pick it up. The before period was probably more interesting than the after, but things progressed slowly throughout the entire book.

The initial friendship and subsequent relationship between Tate and Sam was really sweet. I was completely swept up in their London romance, despite knowing it wasn't going to end well (it's in the synopsis). They were adorable together and so clearly in love, so the lack of communication for fourteen years wasn't entirely believable. I felt like the Sam from before would have reached out, despite the reasons he gives later on for not doing so. It felt out of character for him. “But then I touch you, and it’s like every fantasy I ever had coming true.” Instead of giving Tate the benefit of the doubt, he opted to play the villain in their story.

A bookish pet peeve: miscommunication plays a role in this one. Tate overhears something and makes assumptions, but doesn't think to ask Sam about it.

I did enjoy most of the secondary characters, although I wish they'd had larger roles. It would've been nice to see something happen with Charlie and Nick, or even Trey and someone on set. Maybe if the four of them had spent more time together? I don't know. It was like we were stuck on an endless loop with Tate. The stuff with her father, and then everything with Sam... we just went in circles. I also don't think Tate should have been so blindsided. What she found surprising was ridiculously obvious and sadly predictable. In the end, Twice in a Blue Moon wasn't a terrible read, but I did expect more going into it.

Originally posted at Do You Dog-ear? on October 26, 2019.

There are certain authors whose books I read no matter what they're about; I don't even read the blurbs, so I have no idea what I'm getting into. Christina Lauren are on that list for me. So I didn't know I was getting a "famous person" story with Twice in a Blue Moon. I'm not into those, whether they're rock stars or actors or some other sort of well-known person living the celebrity life. It obviously did not make me stop reading it, because Christina Lauren, but I was a little disappointed. This would have had to be a REALLY INCREDIBLE book for it to earn a spot at the top of my favorite CL books like Roomies and Love and Other Words, and it wasn't.

That being said, I did really enjoy this book. I've said it before, but I LOVE a couple with a complicated history and BOY, do Sam and Tate have that. The first section of the book was my favorite, because we're getting to know them as they're getting to know each other. But again, being a CL book, there comes a moment when BAM, your heart is ripped out. There's always a reason, and it usually turns out to be a good reason, but it's rough going until you find out that reason.

One of the things I like best about CL is how good they are at wordcraft. Sometimes a sentence will make me stop and marvel over how beautiful or clever it is. This is where reading on a Kindle comes in handy, since you can highlight the sentence (and share it with your Goodreads friends!) Here are a couple of examples: "I feel like an old toy put on a shelf, waiting to be wanted again" and "He was a life raft in the middle of a green ocean" and "I haven't exactly worked out what I need to tell him, how to take the feelings inside me and turn them into words." Incredible. This is why Christina Lauren will always be on the top of my Favorite Authors list, and I will read every book they put out, no matter what it's about!

Tate goes to London with her Grandma to celebrate high school graduation and meets Sam who is also traveling with his grandfather. First love hits Tate and Sam hard and they’re talking about seeing each other and trying to be more than a vacation fling. Until disaster strikes in the form of tabloids who reveal Tate’s secret past. Fast forward 14 years and two broken hearts later, can Tate and Sam fall in love again or does that only happen Once in. Blue Moon?

I love that the tone of this book is really funny and you get to go through the thrill ride and sweetness of first love with Sam and Tate .it was a lovely second chance at love story with a hunky leading man. A fun read.