Unfortunately, overall, this book was not for me. I didn't find the young love section to be particularly emotional, and wasn't drawn into the characters or their story. For the most part, I skimmed to the end, and thought the 'screenplay' element made no sense in the book (and would remove it in an additional edit, if there's time). Based on this novel, I don't think I would pick up other works by Ms. Lauren, as 'Twice in a Blue Moon' seemed overall to be immature.

Christina Lauren is one of the best romance writing duo's that I have ever had the pleasure of reading. They can write funny, emotional, and everything in between. This one is a second chance romance, one filled with fame and feelings of "what if's". It's a tender tale, and has a unique quality that only the authors can bring to their readers. While it may not have been my very favorite of the duo, it is a really winner and I am so happy to have read a copy! I can't wait for others to read this one.

I really enjoyed Twice in a Blue Moon by Christina Lauren! I enjoyed the story of a sheltered Tate, freshly 18 years old, and on a trip to London with her grandmother. There's a secret about Tate's identity that they are tight-lipped about, which seems to keep Tate caged in a way. She meets Sam and his grandfather, also vacationing in London. The foursome start up a friendship, and Sam and Tate begin to have feelings for each other. The young love romance is exciting and relatable, feelings we've all experienced in our lifetime. But, as with most young romances, a betrayal of sorts occurs and cuts their relationship short. Lauren then introduces us back into Tate's life 14 years later I believe, and of course Sam and Tate meet up again.

Twice in a Blue Moon is a delicious tale of young love, Hollywood, and feelings that last a lifetime. I thoroughly enjoyed it!

I loved the first half of this book. After high school graduation, Tate’s grandmother takes her on a trip to London. There she meets Sam, a guy who is a couple years older and is traveling with his grandfather. The two embark on a whirlwind 2-week affair that ends when Sam and his grandfather leave abruptly and all of Tate’s secrets are mysteriously exposed. I enjoyed seeing the relationship blossom between Sam and Tate with London as a backdrop. And their quirky grandparents made for great secondary characters.

The second part of the book brings Sam and Tate back together fourteen years later. Tate is an actress and Sam is a screenwriter. They end up working on the same movie. There was still great chemistry between Sam and Tate in the second part of the book but I feel like the plot unraveled a bit. Things did not seem to fit together nicely and the book had a bit of an abrupt ending for me. I would have liked to see an epilogue.

I'm posting this review here without the spoilers, but the spoiler version can be read on Goodreads.

Let me start by saying that I’ve read and loved the last 5 or 6 books by Christina Lauren. We’ve hit the point where I don’t even look to see what a book is about – I see the name, I get it.

This turned out to be a huge mistake. The basic premise of the book is OK, I guess. But the details defy all logic. I had so many issues with the events that drove the plot, which made it tough to enjoy the book.

I did enjoy watching young Tate and young Sam fall in love. But apparently I am just not interested enough in celebrity culture to enjoy the rest of the book. To me, it just felt like the authors were under pressure to get another book out quickly and no one stopped to read it critically. Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with a free review copy.

I'm not entirely aure how I feel about this one. On one hand, the story was interesting enough and I really enjoyed the filming on a movie set. On the other, I jist didn't really feel chemistry between Sam and Tate. Everything felt a bit too easy, despite all the wrenches.

There was a lot of disbelief suspending, as well. The sequence in which they filmed, the fact that Tate didn't get the connection of the film and Sam for forever... I don't know that the instalove helped matters, or the fact that Sam and Tate didn't really interact all that much.

I really liked all of the supporting characters, and what they all meant to Tate. Tate's family and friends all felt like they had a good amount of depth.

All in all, I think I'll just have to consider this the one Christina Lauren book that wasn't a hit for me.

I've let my thoughts on this one marinate overnight but I'm still unsure exactly how I want to rate this. 4? 5? In between? The thing is that I really loved this and finished it in two sittings. Christina and Lauren did a fantastic job of showing these characters at 18 and 21 versus 32 and 35. Sometimes there's a time jump in books and the characters sound the same, but you could really feel the growth here. The situation between Tate and Sam is complicated, and the way that the authors navigated through the emotions of the characters was really well done to me. There was drama, but the realistic kind.

Two problems that also aren't problems are that one: this book was very, very predictable. And two: was Sam's arc enough to forgive? I feel like these two things will be issues for some people. For me, they were not, at least not completely. Starting with Sam's arc: again, the situation is so complicated, and it really could go many ways in real life. I think some people won't agree with Tate's decisions or the consequences Sam faces for his actions. Personally, I'm not sure where I stand, which I think shows the depth of the conflict. What was important was not how I felt on the matter, but how the characters worked through their feelings, which I think was wonderfully explored.

Then there's the predictable part. To me, it was very easy to pick up on everything that came as revelations to Tate. There was one plot point at the end that I didn't see coming, but the rest was pretty obvious. However, I can't tell if it was intentional. Normally this would be a problem for a book or any storytelling media, but for me, I didn't really mind. Insert some cheesy quote about the journey being the important part here. But that's really how it was. The predictability could have ruined the book if it was relying on shock value, but it didn't. Instead what kept me gripped was how much I was feeling Tate's feelings, rather than relying on the actual plot points that were occurring to hold my interest. Something would happen that I knew was going to, but it would still get to me because of how well Tate's emotions were written, especially in the beginning of the book (about 30% of it) when we're with 18-year-0ld Tate.

Overall, this book is about a whirlwind romance, and I think the authors did a great job at creating that feeling. This book has so much heart compared to the other two Christina Lauren books I've read (Josh & Hazel and The Unhoneymooners). I flew through the story and was captivated throughout. In the end though, there was just a little something missing that I can't quite put my finger on that keeps this from being a five-star read. Maybe that will change as my feelings settle. But regardless, it was fun, it was fast, and it was sweet. Definitely recommend!

I may be mildly obsessed with all of the more recent Christina Lauren books and I was so excited to receive a copy of Twice in a Blue Moon. Although Twice wasn't my absolute favorite, it was still really solid, especially for the number of new stories we are able to get from these two authors each year. There were only two areas of the book I would change. One, I felt like the beginning was too long. Their back story was a good portion of the novel and at that stage in life, Tate was just not very interesting. I also wished we could have gotten a glimpse into Sam a little more. I think this would have worked better with alternative POV's. I really wanted to know Sam's internal dialogue. Overall, there isn't anything Christina Lauren writes these days that I don't put other things aside for in order to start reading.
*Promotion on instagram scheduled in September

I'm a huge fan of second chance romance and this book absolutely has that and I've come to love Christina Lauren books but this one was just okay for me. I struggled to relate or even like Tate or Sam throughout the book. It also seemed that some things just weren't really well explained, there were several times that I went back and reread to see if i had missed something only to discover I had not. With the way the book ended I felt it really could use an epilogue, there was no real resolution to things discussed. #TwiceInABlueMoon

Christina Lauren so far as been an experiment for me: I either really couldn't care less about the book, or I end up liking it way more than I expected to. The latter was the case for this one - it's nostalgic, sweet, and laugh out loud funny. I couldn't put it down. 4.5/5

This was perhaps one of my favorite Christina Lauren books! I really enjoyed the backstory and then the growing relationship between Sam and Tate.

Second Time is the Charm!

Twice in a Blue Moon by Christina Lauren is a stand-alone contemporary romance not part of a series.

This story is about forgiveness and the bravery to throw yourself out there for a second chance. Fresh out of high school, Tate Jones along with her grandmother take a trip to London for a 2-week adventure. Staying at Tate’s same hotel is Sam Brandis. Tate and Sam quickly fall for each other and Sam becomes Tate’s first love. Tate confides to Sam that she is the long-lost daughter of Hollywood’s biggest actor and has been living in plain sight secretly in a small town. Armed with this information, Sam is at an ethical crossroads and chooses the only road he sees open which is the ultimate betrayal of Tate. Fourteen years later, Tate is as big of a presence in Hollywood as her father is and has fought hard to rarely think of her first love. Sam fourteen years ago was her once in a blue moon love and now all these years later Tate steps into a new movie set finding her once in a blue moon love.

I have become a huge fan of Christiana Lauren books. These authors have become my unicorn and I very much get excited when they come out with a new book. Also, have to mention the cover of this book is absolutely gorgeous. One of their best! I really wanted to love this book like I have loved many of their books but this one just didn’t do it for me. The pace at the beginning was a bit slow but then it picked up but unfortunately by enthusiasm just never got there. The two things that didn’t do it for me in this story was the paparazzi interest in Tate’s boy drama and Tate getting over Sam’s betrayal so easily. Both of those things just didn’t seem so believable. The other issue I have is that this book is labeled as a romantic comedy but this story is in no way a romantic comedy, it is very much a contemporary romance. The publisher may want to rethink its category because a lot of people like me will expect some humor and there isn’t much humor in this story. I do like the characters a lot in this book and the writing of course is solid as you’d come to expect from Christina Lauren but the story itself just wasn’t my favorite of theirs

Christina Lauren is my favorite writing duo and one of my favorite all-time authors. When I found out that they had another book coming out at the end of this year, I was so excited! Twice in a Blue Moon is a second chance at love story. Tate, 18,and Sam, 21, meet up in London while vacationing with their respective grandparent. They hit it off and Tate not only shares her heart with Sam, but also shares her deepest secret: who her father is. Within a day or two, her secret is exposed and her life is changed. Fast forward to 14-15 years later, Tate is a famous actress and finds herself on the set of an upcoming blockbuster with someone who betrayed her trust and gave her heartbreak all these years ago. Overall, this was a decent read. It wasn’t my favorite, but it wasn’t the worst. My all-time favorite from Christina Lauren is The Unhoneymooners. To be fair, I’m not a fan of second chance love stories and typically try to avoid them, but I decided to give Twice in a Blue Moon a chance since it’s with my favorite authors. I really liked plot which was intriguing and the writing style gripes me every time. However, I felt like I was wanting more. It would have great to read Sam’s perspective on this and not just Tate’s as I felt his character fell a bit flat and I didn’t feel like we really knew his personality as an adult. I was a bit disappointed in the climatic part of the book as that fell a bit flat for me as well. In all in all, if you’re a fan of Christina Lauren, you’ll love this book. Also if you’re a fan of second chance love, I definitely recommend this one even though it wasn’t for me.

Eighteen-year-old Tate Jones has been living with a secret for most of her life; she’s actually, Tate Butler. Daughter of world-famous actor Ian Butler. After her parents’ messy split, Tate is whisked away to live with her mother and isn’t heard from again. While celebrating with a trip to England with her grandmother, Tate meets Sam. The two immediately hit it off and for the first time in her life Tate reveals her secret to Sam. When the media suddenly shows up at her hotel and Sam has disappeared, she knows he’s the one who broke the story and her heart.
Years later Tate has reconnected with her father and has become a well know actress in her own right. When she lands the leading role in a movie that’s sure to catapult her into bigger stardom and will also have her working alongside her father, she’s beyond excited. However, the excitement is quickly dashed when she learns that the screen writer is non-other than Sam.

Tate hasn’t seen or heard from Sam in more than ten years and while her dislike for him is very strong she’s shocked at how her heart reacts to him.

This story is told in two parts. The first revolves around the trip Tate makes with her grandmother and meeting Sam; the second is when they meet up again. I love second chance romances and I really liked the concept of this storyline as well as the characters but there was something that made this book hard for me to connect with. The second part of the story is where I had a hard time staying focused. It seemed to be rushed and I felt lost when it came to the supporting characters. It seemed like they were just…there. They had dialogue, but I just couldn’t keep them straight.

Nice storyline but it didn’t hit me where I thought it would. I might have to give this one another try at a later date.

I tend to be a huge fan of Christina Lauren, but this book was a miss for me. It seemed to cheesy and unrealistic. I think the authors have exhausted their stories... I absolutely loved Josh and Hazel, I enjoyed Roomies, I liked The Unhoneymooners... and now we have Twice in a Blue Moon, and it just feels overdone. I've read books like this, it didn't feel unique. And, what are the odds she's going to meet a cute guy while in Europe with her grandma, and he just so happens to be with his grandpa? It just didn't feel creative or sexy to me. As much as I wanted to like it, I just didn't.

Sam and Tate have the most charming whirlwind romance in London while they are both on vacation with family. Tate reveals all her secrets to Sam, including that she is the long lost daughter of a famous movie star (George Clooney status). She is devastated and heartbroken when Sam reveals her secret to the press. Fast forward to fourteen years later and they meet on a movie set where Tate is the up and coming star and Sam wrote the script. Christina and Lauren write a compelling and addicting story of what happens when you get a second chance at the first love. There are so many layered characters here, some who almost steal the show from Sam and Tate. The added drama of family relationships and career choices, make this more than a simple romance. Must read!

Holy macaroni! You’re gonna cry, like ugly cry! Such a great, heartbreaking book! really sweet and really well written!

I liked the plot and the connection between the two main characters. I felt like we could have spent a little more time in London with them though to build it up a bit more.

This was a little different from what I'm used to with Christina Lauren. The story following Tate and her life before and after she became and actress had lots of serious undertones without all the steam we usually seen in the duo's books.

Tate and Sam had a summer fling when she was a teenager, which ended abruptly and them not seeing each other for years. Until one fateful day 14 years later, sees them working on a movie set together. How will they move forward when they're stuck in the fallout of the past?

I really enjoyed it and they focused on Tate and Kyle working through their feelings of what happened. Tate does have some insecurities mainly because of her rough history. I believe readers will relate to her character because of that.

"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."

I'm crazy about Christina Lauren books. Twice in a Blue Moon is a fantastic read. The storyline is so unique. It takes place on a movie set, so you get a story within the story. I loved that aspect of it. Sam and Tate met and fell in love within two weeks. They were young and both on vacation. The connection was instant between these two. I was rooting for them from the beginning. There is an incident that happens and keeps them apart. Years later, they are thrown back into each other's lives. It's not easy for them to reconnect but, it also feels easy at the same time. This second chance romance was a fairly quick read for me. I'm pretty sure I read it in one sitting. If you are already fans of their books, it's a no brainer. It's a must-read.