I seriously love CL and their books. I can't wait to continue to pick up their backlist after reading this, because it brought me so much joy and happiness during a very sad time for me and that's what CL's books do for me all the time, the characters were loVELY, and I love a good second chance romance (rhymes are cool)

Charming. Heartwarming. Sexy. I absolutely loved it.

Fourteen years ago, 18-year-old Tate fell in love with 21-year-old Sam. Unfortunately, their relationship came to an end when Tate is betrayed or thinks she is. They are reunited years later and the question becomes, is it possible to fall for your first love "twice in a blue moon?

I’ve read several Christina Lauren books, and usually they pull me in and have me laughing from the first chapter. Not so with this one. Which isn’t necessarily a bad thing - after all, different isn’t bad, it’s just different. But when you’re used to one type of book from an author(s), and you get something completely different, it causes you to recalibrate your expectations. Which is what I had to do here...

Tate Jones is on the trip of a lifetime with her grandmother when she meets Sam Brandis and his grandfather. A chance encounter in a pub has them discovering they are staying at the same hotel, which turns into clandestine meet-ups in the hotel garden each night. Underneath the stars they spend hours and hours sharing their hopes and dreams, and Tate, believing she can fully trust Sam, shares a secret she’s been hiding most of her life. When Sam betrays her trust, it thrusts Tate onto a different path, completely changing the plans she had for her life.

Fourteen years later, Tate is an up-and-coming actress about to star in the most important role of her career. When the whole cast and production crew are scheduled to meet for a read through of the script written by S.B. Hill, the very last person on earth Tate expected to see was the man who broke her heart and shattered her ability to trust. With a filming schedule that’s supposed to last two months, it will be hard to avoid the man she’s thought about frequently over the past but loathes with a passion. But when she learns the truth about why Sam betrayed her, it makes it harder to loathe him. She then has to decide if she’s going to let hate win over forgiveness, or if she’ll do what is right for her instead of what everyone else thinks is right.

The first 10 chapters of Twice in a Blue Moon take place when the hero and heroine are 21 and 18 and spending time together in London. The pacing is slow - I wasn’t bored, but the story didn’t particularly draw me in, either. But the setup is important so the reader understands how Tate was able to fall in love so quickly, so completely. When the wheels fell off Tate’s life, I finally thought, “Now we’re getting somewhere!”

But then things started to fall apart for me beginning in chapter 11 when the story picks up 14 years later. When I say Tate’s life changed completely because of what Sam did, it’s not an exaggeration. And I would have liked to see some of the stress and conflict all that change caused during their separation, instead of getting bits and pieces of it through a sentence here, a sentence there. I couldn’t help but feel disconnected from the heroine (and hero) with all that history missing.

However, I really did like how the rest of Tate and Sam’s relationship played out. Tate holds onto her anger (instead of getting all stupid because Sam’s even better looking at 35 than he was at 21) until things can be talked out, and it took several discussions before things were talked out. Sam is appropriately remorseful and forthcoming with his feelings. I liked how an apology by Sam doesn’t immediately fix everything, and that when things fall apart again and it seems like history is repeating itself, Tate has to face her doubts and decide whether or not she’s going to let things play out the way they did the first time. I love a character who matures and uses perspective to behave like an adult! I found Tate’s thoughts and feelings to be realistic and appropriate. I also really liked how Sam was willing to put all his feelings out in the open, but didn’t push. He was willing to accept the repercussions of his actions. I’m a fan of the grovel, and Sam did pretty well here. It was a good thing to see.

I was all ready to like this book a whole lot, but then the story came to an abrupt end. They barely weather the latest conflict, and that’s it. Yes, the final scene was cute, but I was left feeling disconnected. Again. Granted, I like my stories to end tied up in a nice, neat little bow. I’m not a fan of the happy-for-now ending, but this one really, really left me feeling adrift.

I can appreciate when authors do something a little different than what they’re well known for (in this case, the romantic comedy). I think I would have really liked this one if I didn’t feel like so much of the story missing. But with the giant hole in the timeline, and the in-between backstory so sparse, I couldn’t connect with the characters, or their story. I liked the characters, I liked the writing. I just didn’t like the execution of the story.

I've read most of Christina Lauren's books. Some are hits. Some are misses. This one is more in-between for me. It definitely wasn't like most of their other books. This one had two different time periods it took place in, once when the main characters were 18 and another time period when they were older. The love story that unfolded when they were young was super cute but I felt like the second time period when Tate and Sam re-entered each other's lives just didn't live up to the first half of the book. Overall it was still an enjoyable read but I needed a little more closure at the end for it to give me all the feels! Looking forward to their next book, as always!

Another great book!!! I love anything Christina Lauren writes! She never disappoints me. Her storytelling astounds me!! Can't wait for her next book!!

Another delightful read. A fun, sweet book that will take you around the world and back again. Lauren never fails to write delightful reads.

I really liked this! As a huge Christina Lauren fan, I was super excited to read this and though it’s not my favorite, I still liked it. I think that the premise was great but I was expecting to connect more to the romance like I usually do with their books. The writing was great though! It was Christina Lauren’s witty, fun writing style but this is a bit more serious compared to other things they’ve written, like The Unhoneymooners. I also wanted Sam to grovel a bit more after all the drama that happened between him and Tate in the past. I felt for Tate so hard! I was rooting for her! I also liked the family portion of this, I just wish I felt more between Tate and Sam! Overall, not my favorite from Christina Lauren, but still a good one!

I have had the pleasure of reading and enjoying author team Christina Lauren's books for several years now. When I saw Twice in a Blue Moon, I was excited to get my hands on this newest addition and dive right in. As a side note, I love the book cover and the whimsical and fun quality of the moon and stars.

The story begins with the main character Tate traveling with her Nana to celebrate her eighteenth birthday on her dream trip to London. While on vacation Nana and Tate meet Luther and his grandson Sam, who are in London celebrating Sam's twenty-first birthday. Nana is very cautious and warns Tate not to talk to anyone and to keep to herself. Tate was excited to be away from home, to enjoy London, and get away from the heaviness of the secrets that resided at home.

On the trip, Tate and Sam are drawn to one another and share a sizzling chemistry. They quickly hit it off and find themselves spending a lot of time together. What takes place is a romantic whirlwind, where these two experience an intense, exciting, and sweet first love. Unfortunately, the tide shifts when Sam and Luther leave without saying goodbye, and Tate's trust is betrayed when her confidence is broken by Sam.

Fourteen years later, Tate is a successful actress and is excited to be embarking on a film that is sure to take her career to the next level. However, she is completely caught off guard when she see's Sam, and learns that he is the writer for the film she will be starring in. Tate has a lot of anger and hurt regarding Sam, but has never stopped loving him. With the two of them on set, how will she manage to successfully act, and resolve the conflicting emotions that she feels towards Sam?

I enjoyed reading about the innocence, exuberance, and excitement of first love. I could feel the butterflies, and picture these two that couldn't take their eyes off of one another. Sam's betrayal devastated me, and I was angry and hurt for a young and brokenhearted Tate.

When Tate and Sam were reunited on set, I struggled with forgiving him, even though I understood his explanation to a certain extent. I felt like he could have handled the situation differently and even after everything went down, he didn't try to fix anything. I enjoyed meeting an older Tate and Sam. Being on the movie set, interacting with cast and crew, and the daily ins and outs of filming were fascinating. Tate ends up acting with her famous and narcissistic father, and it heart my heart the way that he had abandoned her when she was younger, and she was still trying so hard to have a relationship with him, when all he cared about was himself.

My favorite elements in the story were the characters, with my most beloved being Tate, her mother, Nana, Luther, and Tate's best friend Charlie. I loved the settings of London and the farm where the movie was staged. The romance was secondary for me, and I think that was because I didn't find myself falling for Sam the second time around, the way I did the first rime, before his betrayal.

Christina Lauren is a very talented author duo. I love their romantic comedies, and Twice in a Blue Moon was a more serious story. I enjoyed seeing them write a different type of story, and it just goes to prove that these two can write anything!

Twice in a Blue Moon by Christina Lauren is one read I couldn't put down. The plot was full of drama, first love, scandal, and betrayal. This author tied in so many things but made it feel so real. The characters had their flaws as well as their good points. Each one had to learn who they were and where they were headed. A young girl never knowing her father dreamed of meeting him. Then, she meets a young man who swept her off her feet. It felt magical. But as with Cinderella, good things came to an end. Or so I thought...surprises were on every page.

Hot, steamy, and fun-Twice in a Blue Moon had me on the edge of my seat twice. These characters knew how to draw my attention and keep it. Family was a major theme. Sometimes, it isn't always the ones that are related to the characters. Love came in all forms. The age gap, the race difference, and the stung of betrayal by a blood relative are all in this crazy-good book. Never was there a boring in this book. Just when things seem to go in one direction there's always a turn of events. The ending was just as perfect as the beginning.

If you love second chances and romance, then this is the book for you! I have not meet a Christina Lauren novel that I didn't like yet. Check out her latest read! I highly recommend it.

This is my 7th book this year by Christina Lauren! Safe to say “Twice in a Blue Moon” was just as good as the others, never disappointed when I pick up one of their books!#julesbookshelf📚#christinalauren #59 #twiceinabluemoon

CLo has done it again! I’ve been so curious where I’d fall on the scale of mixed reviews I’ve seen for this one, and I’m thrilled to say I landed in the “loved it!” camp. It’s definitely not their more signature fun-loving, witty romance that you might come to expect from them, and instead has a more serious feel and tone to it (though don’t fear, it still has plenty of steam and swoon).

From the “then” as we see Sam and Tate meet and very quickly fall head over heels for each other on vacation in London (ahh, young love) to the “present” as we see them suddenly get thrown together again as adults on a movie set and get a second chance at love... it didn’t take me long to get wrapped up in these characters as individuals and as a couple. It probably doesn’t hurt that first love and second chance romances are favorite tropes, too. And then there was the fantastic cast of the secondary characters who I adored as well, especially in their support, encouragement, and truthfulness in Sam and Tate’s lives. Gotta love those side characters coming in clutch and adding to the story! Again, this one isn’t light and breezy and touches on tougher subjects that to me, gave it an overall authenticity and depth that I so appreciated.

Everything combined made me one happy reader as I couldn’t help but fly through this book, and it proved once again why Christina Lauren is a definite favorite go-to of mine!

Thank you NetGalley and Gallery Books for the complimentary copy.

This reads kind of like a teenage girl's fantasy: girl meets boy, they fall head over heels, he betrays her, she becomes famous actress, they meet again, now she can show him what he's missing! Insta-love, insta-fame. Even the whole betrayal thing was obvious. A fun read if your expectations aren't too high.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for a free e-ARC of this book.

I was looking forward to reading something light and romance-y so when I got approved for Twice in a Blue Moon by Christina Lauren, I was super excited to begin reading. Unfortunately, the story did not grab me as her previous book (The Unhoneymooners) did. This is about a girl with a secret who meets a boy when she's eighteen, falls in love, tells him his secret, all hell breaks loose, skip a few years and they meet up again. There was some humor and her characters weren't dull, but the overall story was too slow for me (or maybe my exhausted brain needs a break from this genre for now?). However, I will recommend this book to anyone who wants a light read because it's not "that" bad (3/5 stars). Thank you NetGalley and publisher for providing me the eArc of this book. Opinions are my own.

I’m already a fan of Christina Lauren’s books. They’re always fun, the characters are great and the story keeps me engaged. This one does not disappoint. It’s super cute and keeps my faith in well written Romances alive. There’s a lot of awful romance novels out there, but I’m always excited to read anything by Christina Lauren.

I must confess that this is my first book by the writing duo Christina Lauren and I'm not sure I picked the best one as my first! Twice in a Blue Moon is a tale that starts with two college aged kids on a family trip with a grandparent. It is a bit of a love at first sight moment with chemistry and intimacy and neither could imagine that they were falling in love so quickly in such a short amount of time. Their time together abruptly ends with an emotional crisis and a betrayal and that section ends and section two begins.

Fast forward 14 years, and now, these same two people, who are now very different, reconnect and hardly even discuss why they didn't stay in touch all of these years (which is a huge occurrence but let's not focus on a catalyst that changed lives and all)…

It feels a bit like two different books and I really enjoyed the first half when the kids were teens/young adults but then when they reunited, it felt like different people and I never really connected with their present day lives. I think the book would have been better if we hadn't skipped ahead 14 years but just continued the story - there would have been plenty of material to use without a 14 yr gap of hurt emotions and unexplained loss. The ending was gratifying but still disjointed with another emotional crisis thrown together.

Others have loved their earlier works so I am going to work on the backlist for this author!

I am grateful to NetGalley and to Gallery Books for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

A pleasant romance, featuring Tate and Sam, first meeting up as young adults on a trip to London. Sam is with his grandfather and guardian, Luther, while Tate, the daughter of a famous movie start, is with her grandmother, Nana. Tate falls quickly for Sam, but reality is shattered when her secrets are exposed. Years later, Tate is now also a TV and movie star, and comes face to face again with Sam. I thought that the relationship between these two was the high point of the book, but it was just an okay read for me. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.

There is one thing to know when you go into a modern romance. There will be no real surprises. The girl will get the boy. They will both be good and kind, warm and open. They will have something to hide but will break down the walls of the other. Another thing is that you know they will end up together in the end. Generally I like my books to be less predictable, but sometimes I just want simple and sweet, warm and fuzzy. And this book is all of those things.

During a trip to London with her grandmother, a young woman named Tate meets Sam, a farm boy from Vermont who is traveling with his grandfather. They fall for one another and soon they are spending every moment together. She confides to him her truth -- that she is the daughter of a famous Hollywood actor. She has been living in hiding with her mother and grandfather outside the reach of her dad. Unfortunately her secret shared becomes the catalyst for her heartbreak when Sam turns to the paparazzi. He disappears, she is torn apart and both return to the US.

Fourteen years later Tate is now famous in her own right and has signed on for a big film. She is starring alongside her father. But on the first day of Set she meets the writer -- Sam! Thus, the title of the book.

The story then revolves around the question, why. Why did Sam spill her secret to the press? Why did he disappear and break her heart? And does it even matter? I think these authors did a nice job of examining the pain of love lost and how it affects us. And, how we move on from betrayal.

Unfortunately, though, I didn't much care for Tate. I didn't really believe her story. I didn't find her all that likable. And because of this I never really cared whether Sam loved her, hurt her or left her. And more importantly, I never cared if they found their way back together.

Thank you to Gallery Pocket books and NetGalley who provided me with a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I am a huge fan of Christina Lauren so it was no surprise that I loved this book. I look forward to their new titles and this one did not disappoint! It was so different than their other books but still so enjoyable, touching, and it made me laugh and cry.

Description:

Sam Brandis was Tate Jones’s first: Her first love. Her first everything. Including her first heartbreak.

During a whirlwind two-week vacation abroad, Sam and Tate fell for each other in only the way that first loves do: sharing all of their hopes, dreams, and deepest secrets along the way. Sam was the first, and only, person that Tate—the long-lost daughter of one of the world’s biggest film stars—ever revealed her identity to. So when it became clear her trust was misplaced, her world shattered for good.

Fourteen years later, Tate, now an up-and-coming actress, only thinks about her first love every once in a blue moon. When she steps onto the set of her first big break, he’s the last person she expects to see. Yet here Sam is, the same charming, confident man she knew, but even more alluring than she remembered. Forced to confront the man who betrayed her, Tate must ask herself if it’s possible to do the wrong thing for the right reason… and whether “once in a lifetime” can come around twice.


This fell flat for me. It took me so long to get through it. It was meh. Something about it made me feel really disappointed and annoyed. I was more excited for the idea of this book then the actual book itself.

And as always Happy Reading 📚😊

TWICE IN A BLUE MOON held a lot of promise and while I enjoyed it, it still had some major flaws I can't ignore.

For one, a third of the story is about the main characters, Sam and Tate meeting when they were 21 and 18 respectively. Now I'm OK with exploring the characters' past but since the book was quite short altogether it didn't leave much page-time for the present.

Tate and Sam have a whirlwind romance in London but Sam's betrayal, outing Tate's family connection to a famous Hollywood actor to the press, haunts her years later when she meets him again on set of her next movie. Tate, now an actress, is still angry and confused at the same time because of the feelings Sam still awakes in her.

And this is where this one fell flat for me - there is little character development. They remain as flat as they were when Sam and Tate first met. I liked them alright but I liked them the way I'd like a friendly neighbor. There wasn't a lot of meat to them and we had barely any background about them. I had no idea how Sam became a screenwriter.

The whole story felt a bit like a checklist. It was predictable and there were no real surprises even when there were "twists" I'd had them figured out early on. There is also this "being told instead of being shown" aspect that makes it hard to connect with the characters, which circles back to my previous statement that the characters were one-dimensional. Tate's need for her dad's approval was a little annoying - it was like she lost her backbone where he was concerned.

This book wasn't CLo's best work - I know they can do better so I'm looking forward to picking up their next work!