It would take a complete change of course for Christina Lauren to write a book I wouldn’t love. :)

Twice in a Blue Moon was something special. It was a brave story told by deliberate and thoughtful storytellers that had my emotions all over the map. I cried more in this story than any other CL book.

I had the deepest devotion to Tate. And god, did I love Sam something fierce. But my heart also enveloped Luther and Roberta, ,Charlie and Nick, and all the additional characters that made up this community of people contributing to an incredibly rich, lush, important, story.

I loved the setup with both their backstory and then the present day story. It reminded me a bit of another favorite of theirs, Love and Other Words.

It’s been a couple days and this story is still top of mind and filling my heart. I expect that to continue for some time. Bravo.

Christina Lauren does it again. What a great romantic story. Do we get a second chance with our true love? If we give up once. Will there be a second chance

This book gave me The Notebook Vibes because of falling in love as a teenager and how it consumes you because of the deep connection and of the fallout. The teenage love between Sam and Tate pulled at my heart and when they meet again fourteen years later it just overwhelmed me like Tate. The betrayals, the love, the movie scenes that are going on was all done very well!

As with the other four books I've read by Christina Lauren, I really like the female lead character, she and I would be friends for sure! This is another easy to read romance novel with a little bite to it. If you enjoy her books, you will like this one as well. This one is not as quirky and fun as her last couple though, but enjoyable nonetheless. #netgalley #twiceinabluemoon

This was a lot heavier than I was expecting from this author duo. Everything I've read up to this point have been Romcoms. This one will really pull on your emotions.

I viewed this more as a woman's fiction story instead of a romance. Only because it wasn't the romance that was the draw for me this time. Tate's character is what really had me pulled into this story.

Tate has lived a very sheltered life, falls in love for the first time at eighteen years old, only to be immediately betrayed by that love. Tate’s struggle after that betrayal had a domino affect in her life. In fact it seems a lot of the women in this book have dealt with similar betrayal. It’s hard not to be effected by what they all have been through.

When we first meet Sam, I adored him. His betrayal hit hard and felt morally wrong no matter the good reason he had to do it. I never really recovered the romance in the story after that. Part of that is I also didn't feel that Sam every truly earned her love back. Usually this would ruin a book for me, but I actually still very much enjoyed this book.

That really says something about the writing if I can overlook the lack of romance that I initially read the story for. This is why it came off more as a womens fiction book. I really am a fan of the writing from this author duo. I think I could enjoy anything they write. I look forward to what they bring us next.

Eighteen-year-old Tate and her grandmother, take a long awaited trip to London after her high school graduation. While there she quickly falls for handsome Sam. They have a whirlwind romance but just when she trusts he feels the same way about her he betrays her trusts and the consequences of his choices turn her life upside down. Fast forward fourteen years and they run into each other again at work and all wall Tate has built around herself begins to crack.

Yet another great book by Christina Lauren. I have read five and always get something different out of them but the strong writing, good dialogue, and likeable characters are all the same. I enjoyed "Twice in a Blue Moon". It was a tad predictable but it didn't bother me in the least. Good romance, would make a great beach read, or something to curl up with on a rainy day. Recommend to those who like light-hearted romance and chic-lit books. I will continue to work my way through all the Christina Lauren books and look forward to reading more in the future.

"Twice in a Blue Moon" by Christina Lauren is available to purchase on October 22, 2019. Thank you to Netgalley and Gallery Books for the advanced reader's copy of this book and the chance to share my honest review.

I have read a number of Christina Lauren’s other books, and I found this one to be a bit different from the others. It’s a “then-and-now” storyline, with main characters Tate and Sam falling in love on vacation in London 14 years ago - when they are 18 and 21 respectively. This section reads more like YA, although their sexual relationship is described in enough detail that it may be more accurately categorized as new adult. Sam breaks Tate’s heart by betraying her in a pretty terrible way, and then the story fast forwards to now, when Tate is a famous actress and she unexpectedly runs into Sam again on the set of a career-making project. One of the big departures from earlier Christina Lauren books that I’ve read is that this isn’t particularly comedic - Tate and Sam’s communication style is more earnest (and then later mostly angry and uncomfortable) than witty and banter-filled. Their relationship is also less developed than I would have liked. The writing is solid and this was a fast and easy read, but I didn’t feel particularly invested in the characters.

Once again, Christina Lauren made me fall in love with the entire ensemble of their book (ok, minus Ian). This wasn’t my favorite book of theirs but it was enjoyable none the less. Full of drama and love that maybe shouldn’t be, Twice in a Blue Moon was a good read.

When we first meet up with Tate and Sam, their romance is sweet and innocent. Everything your first love should be. Tate and Sam found love and friendship without having to look hard for it, only for the deepest betryal to happen. But, when it comes to Tate and Sam's story, it's not a malicious as it seems. There's more to their story than meets the eyes, and it will be fourteen years before these former lovers are reunited and the truth finally sees the light....

Overall, I thought this book was an ok read. I had a bit of a love/hate relationship with it. So, let's start with the things that worked. I really liked the beginning of the story. I loved the way that Sam and Tate met. They just hit it off and couldn't help the pull they felt for one another. I think for Tate, it was a breath of fresh air to be around someone she liked, but that didn't know her. She found it easy to confide in Sam and just be who Tate wanted to be. Sam and Tate's beginning was filled with lots of stolen and sweet moments and those moments left me with butterflies in my stomach from all of the cuteness. The betrayl was a great twist. I wasn't expecting it and defintiley didn't see it coming. I liked the overall plot of the story. I thought it was a unique take on a first love/second chance romance. 

Sadly, this book was not a 100% hit for me. So, lets touch on what did not work. First thing being first. There is a huge gap of time between when we last see Tate and Sam. Now, usually that isn't a huge deal, but for this story, that gap left me with a lot of questions. For me, I wanted to see what happened to both Sam and Tate after their seperation. I wanted to see Tate rise up and also see what led her to her new career. I think if we had gotten to expierince those moments instead of a blip of a mention of them, I feel like I would have connected to the "new" Tate better. Same can be said for Sam. His life changed in many ways and I would have liked to see how he got there and those moments that led to his reunion with Tate. This is definitley a time where I feel that dual point of view could have really helped with character growth and connection. My other issue was the ending. While I really liked it, it felt a bit rushed to me, like we hit our climax and that's it, show's over. After everything these characters went through, I would have liked to gotten more of their reunion and their future instead of just tiny blips of it.

So, my final thoughts. This book was an ok read. For me, it had a totally different feel from what we normal get from this duo. It was much lighter, less angst, less steamy moments. Don't get me wrong, there was still drama and some steam. But, it just didn't have that spark or signature humor that I'm used to from Christina Lauren. There were some parts that worked and some that just didn't. I think this book will be one of those that some will love and some will hate. And while this isn't my favorite book by this duo, I'm still glad that I checked it out and gave it a chance.

I enjoyed Twice in a Blue Moon, but I just didn’t love it. Christina Lauren books have been hit or miss for me so I wasn’t sure what to think going into this one. Unfortunately, this one was just a bit lacking in plot and uninteresting characters. The premise was tempting enough. Tate and Sam meet while they’re young on a summer holiday in London. This leads to a whirlwind romance that ends abruptly when Tate’s long kept secret is revealed to the media by someone she thought she could trust. Years later, we catch up with Tate as a successful movie star starting a new film written by, you guessed it, Sam.

Sam and Tate were cute, but there was no sizzling chemistry between the two, in my opinion. The banter and humor was not there, which I felt was a huge disappointment. I felt there was a lot of build up for Tate and Sam’s reunion, but it fell pretty flat for me. Overall, Twice in a Blue Moon is fine but not anything special.

Any one that has had a first love, and thus, a first heartbreak will connect with this book. Christina Lauren does NOT disappoint with this. Fans of her novels will definitely want to pick this one up.

Twice in a Blue Moon was fun romance that took me from the sites of London to a movie set in the states. Any book about finding your first young love brings on the warm fuzzies. This one hit the spot on the feels and read like a young adult (YA) story. The second half of the book, fourteen years later, had the same characters as grown adults. The characters were fun to cast as there are so many real daddy and daughter mega-stars to imagine in their place.

Interestingly, it was a subplot that I most enjoyed about the book. I was completely absorbed by Sam’s background. His grandparent’s love story and the torment they faced for their biracial union made me want to know more about them. Maybe others will feel this way and Christina Lauren will be prompted to do a one-off about Luther and Roberta.

Christina Lauren was introduced to me with Josh and Hazel’s Guide to Not Dating, in which I compare all of their other works too. Yes, I meant ‘their’, because Christina Lauren is a writing duo. I know that comparison from book to book is completely unfair, but still, Josh and Hazel blew me away with exciting chemistry and tension. Overall, I really did enjoy reading this book, but there were parts that felt unrealistic, even for fiction. For example, without any spoilers, how Sam and Tate met was a highly unlikely scenario. Of course, as any avid reader does, I let the story reel me in and didn’t let the small stuff bother me.

Christina Lauren has a nique in the rom com arena. They never fail to write a story that is total escapism and is a great vacation read.

I am not sure the storyline of Ian added much to the story. I know the authors wanted the reader to be annoyed and frustrated with this character and boy was I.

3.5 stars

I'll preface this by admitting that I am obsessed with everything Christina Lauren publishes. I'd read a grocery list, at this point, I love them so much. Twice in a Blue Moon was no exception. Stepping away from the usual romantic comedy plot, this book borders more on Women's Fiction (or Chick Lit), but I thoroughly enjoyed it nonetheless. It was much like their 2018 release Love & Other Words, which is easily in my top three favorite Christina Lauren books of all time.

We spend the first few chapters learning who the main character, Tate, really is and how she meets Sam on vacation when she's eighteen. Something HUGE happens and we flash forward fourteen years with oh-so-many questions and it is such a fun, cute journey toward the answers. I'd recommend this book to anyone who already enjoys Christina Lauren's books (of course) or to anyone as a great introduction to this author. The descriptive writing was beautiful as ever but it never felt like telling over showing, which I appreciate. If I have to mention one thing that could have improved the book to a five-star rating, it would have been the epilogue -- there wasn't one!? This could just be an ARC thing so I will definitely be reading again once the book is released.

I have read and loved many Christina Lauren novels, and even though I love smutty books as much as the next person, I am a big fan of the recent direction they’ve been going with their newer releases. They’re more “chick lit” esque where there isn’t as much sex and more focus on the characters, their relationships and the plot itself.

I thought this book was simply beautiful. It starts out really strong with an 18-year-old Tate Jones on a trip to London with her grandmother. It’s her first taste of freedom after a life of strict rules and being sheltered, and Tate loves getting to see a different part of the world other than her small town in California. There she meets Sam Brandis, who’s on a trip with his grandfather, and they two fall fast and hard for each other. She trusts him with all of her secrets, including the fact she’s the daughter (sort of long-lost) of the biggest film star in the world.

After the biggest betrayal that rocks Tate’s world to its core, they don’t see each other again for 14 years. Now in her early 30s, her life now revolves around Hollywood as an up and coming actress with several great projects under her belt. Her relationship with her father is less than stellar, but now she’s going to be doing a movie with him. A movie that’s set to change her career path altogether, and where her movie-star father is playing a side character. She’s the main lead and it’s role is more than ready for.

Until she finds out the person who wrote the screenplay is none other than Sam. The second half of this book follows as these two as they work on making this movie and their feelings about one another after all this time.

I really did love this book. The atmosphere in both “parts” of this book were beautiful and so well developed. I felt like I was on the farm with Tate and the crew making that movie right along with them (fun fact the movie was set in Iowa, which is where I live. Even though it wasn’t filmed in Iowa, it gave me such major Iowa vibes and I was loving it. We Iowans get super stoked when Iowa is mentioned in anything).

I also love the way these two women write a story. Love and Other Words is one my favorite book of theirs and I think always will be, but Twice in a Blue Moon also gives me the same kind of feelings it did. It’s a book packed with raw emotion and depth as these two main characters try to reconnect after years of silence and betrayal. I love books that give you so much more in-depth emotional background to the characters in books because it just makes the reading experience that much more memorable because they’re characters I can understand and relate to. I just love emotional books, I guess.

There are so many aspects I love about this book. I do have some things I didn’t like as much – mostly the fact the ending felt rushed. I kept looking at how much I had left in my e-arc and being worried because the story wasn’t really close to wrapping up. Maybe it’s because I loved these characters so much, I felt there needed to be one or two more chapters, or at least an epilogue. It just sort of…ends…and then that’s it. What?! I need more, Christina Lauren. MORE of this. I need to know how the movie did at the box office – where there awards? Nominations? Where do they live? I just have so many questions and I just want more content.

I felt like there needed to be more overall. More interactions between Tate and Sam as adults. We got so much great chemistry and tension between them when they were younger, but it felt in the second half of this book there just wasn’t enough. I also needed more conflict between Tate and her dad. You felt the tension between them a little, but I just wanted more. Without spoilers, there’s something that happens toward the end of this book that, while I understand why it happened, I feel like the repercussion didn’t match the conflict. The fall out with a character just didn’t happen and I felt like it should have. Was that vague enough? I think so.

Overall, this is still one of my favorite books in Christina Lauren’s repertoire. They are so talented and write books with characters that tug on the heart strings and usually leave me a little teary-eyed and giddy. Sometimes they’re funny and sexy, sometimes they’re emotional and heart-wrenching – but I love them all.

Special thanks to Netgalley and Gallery Books for an arc in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Review posted on my blog:
https://mybookjourneysite.wordpress.com/2019/07/19/twice-in-a-blue-moon-by-christina-lauren-netgalley-arc-review/

Christina Lauren have become an auto buy and give me everything they have ever written author(s) because I know I will love it. I was shocked and so excited when I got approved to read and review Twice in a Blue Moon from Netgalley and Gallery Books. Like all of CLo’s books, I was hooked and finished reading in basically one sitting.

“I want every wish he ever makes to be for this. A penny in a fountain. The first star. An eyelash. Eleven eleven. Just for one more time.”

Tate left her small California town for the first time ever, to celebrate her 18th birthday, with her grandmother, in London. While there they meet Sam, and his grandfather who are visiting from their small town in Vermont. After a few meals and a night under the stars, Sam and Tate have an instant connection. Over the next week, they have a whirlwind London romance. They confide in each other about their wants for the future, and their pasts. They both experience love for the first time. Their trip seems like the start of their future together, until one betrayal shatters that future before it even has a chance to start.

Fourteen years later, that betrayal is still very much present for Tate because it changed the course of her entire life. She is chosen to play the lead in a new movie, Milkweed. While on the set the first day, Tate sees a familiar body, one that she would know anywhere, even if she hasn’t laid eyes on it in over fourteen years. Once Tate sees Sam, she feels 18, and heartbroken in London all over again. Now having to film a movie together, with the past looming all around them. They both must decide if fourteen years and the heartbreak too much to come back from? Or is your first love, truly your only love, and worth a second chance, when it comes around Twice in a Blue Moon.

For me, this book was hard to rate. I did want to know what was going to happen and I did enjoy reading the book. But overall, Twice in a Blue Moon fell short for me. I didn’t love Tate or Sam and I didn’t connect to their story. I felt like the story was very predictable and I wasn’t moved by it, like I have been with so many of their other books. Overall it was a good second chance romance, and a light summer read. And although it is probably unfair to compare Twice in a Blue Moon to other CLo books ... I am doing it anyways, and this one just didn’t measure up for me.

Parts of this were as swoony and lovely as Christina Lauren always is, but the balance between Tate and Sam's first meeting and relationship and their re-meeting as adults seems off. There is too much time spent on them as teenagers, at the expense of the wonderful second half of the book, which is full of interesting movie set moments, well-developed supporting characters, and Tate's complicated relationship with her dad. I wanted far more of their adult relationship.

However, I would still purchase this and promote it to fans of Lauren and contemporary romance.

Christina Lauren does it again! They know how to right swoon like no one else. I really enjoyed the adult summer camp feel of the movie set.

As always, the writing is awesome, the swoon is formidable, and I blew through this in a day.

But...BUT...I cannot for the life of me get behind Tate forgiving Sam for doing such a terrible thing. Yes, I get it, Luther was sick, but there were so many other ways to solve this problem. I love a HEA, don't get me wrong, and I love love and romance, but this was all too much for me.

Twice in a Blue Moon is a cute, yet predictable, romance. After meeting Sam in London & getting hurt, Tate becomes an actress. Several years later, they surprisingly meet and get a second chance at love. I was rooting for Tate and Sam the whole way, as well as hoping Tate could work on herself and her relationship with her father. It’s an easy read, but had an ending I could guess based on reading the first chapter.