I very much enjoy Christina Lauren novels, but this didn't feel like a Christina Lauren novel. Sure it was easy to read and had me hooked, but it felt rushed. Quite literally, the first half of the book was in the "past". I wanted another 50-100 pages (at least) of the "present". I wanted to know about how everything turned out! And I rrrreally wanted to see Ian get knocked down a few pegs.

I got to be about 50% of this book before I realized I didn't care for celebrity romances. This one went in a different direction than a lot of christina lauren fans thought it would and I grew bored halfway through too.

Twice in a Blue Moon Review

So I decided to take a break from the nitty gritty stuff I normally read and immerse myself in this beautiful romcom. I was not disappointed. I love that it started at the beginning and we got to see what happened instead of being told about it in hindsight. I adore Sam so much and I can understand Tate’s draw to him. I think this one would make a great movie. It has heartbreak, love and just a touch of bedroom stuff to make it perfect. It wrapped up beautifully.

Synopsis:

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.

The ARC of this book was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Another great read from Christina Lauren! Everything from the writing style, the plot, and the character development was well done. I enjoyed how the book was narrated in a then-and-now format, and instead of feeling as if you are jumping back and forth in time, it seemed to be more of two different stories, where the events of the earlier story set up those of the second. I also loved the plot element of how they find themselves back in each other's lives to be very interesting and fresh. Sam and Tate's romance was enjoying and fun to read and I will definitely be recommending this book.

Just want to say that I love Christina Lauren’s novels but this one just didn’t do it for me. I wasn’t sold on the love interest at all. I felt it was very underwhelming and boring. The storyline was too long in setting up the conflict and just fell flat.
However that being said I will always read whatever Christina Lauren publishes.
Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me this arc.

his was my second Christina Lauren book I've read and I cant wait to check out her back list books because both were phenomenal!

Tate and her grandmother take a trip to London for her 18th birthday. This is really the first time Tate gets to explore out of the small town she lives in with her mother and grandmother. In London Tate meets a boy, Sam. Sam is actually on a trip with his grandfather. They become pretty close, close enough that Tate shares a family secret that she's never told anyone. Although Sam turns out not to be as trustworthy as Tate thought, Sam exposed her secret and they never see eachother again. Until that is 14 years later when Tate is making a film with her father, hoping it improves their relationship. With the director being non other then Sam, the London fling. Will they be able to rekindle what happened in London, or will Tate still feel betrayed by Sam. This was such a cute little romcom i really enjoyed.

DNF@ 20%
2019; Gallery Books/Simon & Schuster Canada

I have read three other novels by Christina Lauren (The Unhoneymooners, Josh and Hazel's Guide to Not Dating and My Favorite Half-Night Stand) and enjoyed them. Twice in a Blue Moon just started off on a wrong tone for me. I didn't really feel for Sam or Tate or their chemistry. It started out like a young adult book, but didn't morph into the fun read. I didn't want to put myself to read this because I want to read Lauren's other novels. Meaning that I did not want it to feel like a chore, and then associate that feeling with the authors. I am new to the duo writing as Christina Lauren, so you may want to read the other more positive reviews on this novel. I am looking forward to my next book by them, and already have the eARC ready.

***I received a complimentary copy of this ebook from the publisher through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.***

I started reading Christina Lauren books over the summer when I picked up The Unhoneymooners and thought it was so cute that I requested "Twice in a Blue Moon" from Netgalley and Simon & Schuster Canada.

I have to say ... that was just ok.

I can't decide if I would have preferred if the story had been written jumping back and forth between the past and the present - rather than starting in the past, and then jumping fourteen years later. Perhaps if it had been more back and forth, and if there was a little bit more of a mystery to what happened to Tate Jones then I might have cared more? Or it could have been that I simply didn't care all that much for Tate or Sam.

Fourteen years ago:
There is one secret Tate needs to keep - the identity of her father. He's a world famous film star, and after her mother left him, he was cut out of her life. And she was cut off from the celebrity that was his life. When she joins her grandmother on a trip to London, she meets Sam Brandis, the boy she immediately feels an attraction for, and she confides her deepest secret to him. He in turn betrays her.

Jump to fourteen years later.
Tate has reconnected with her father, she is a major film star in her own right, and she decides to play the role of her life. Turns out the screen writer is none other than Sam - the boy who broke her heart and shattered her trust.

This second part of the book is all about (1) understanding why he broke her trust and (2) the two of them deciding to take a chance on one another again. The characters felt a little one dimensional and so it was hard to cheer them on. And the relationship between Tate and her father was pretty cliche as well.

Overall - not my favourite book by Christina Lauren - but it hasn't put me off reading some of their other stuff either.

Apologies to Netgalley and Simon & Schuster Canada for the delayed review. But thank you for the advanced copy.

Ok, so I'm so torn because I thought I would love this book - I've loved both of the previous Christina Lauren books that I've read - and I loved the first half of this one, but the second half was such a let down, I'm not sure how I feel about the book overall.

Thanks so much to Simon and Schuster Canada and NetGalley for providing me with an eARC of this book for an honest review, as always, all opinions are my own.

This book is divided into two parts, present-day and fourteen years ago. Both timelines follow Tate, the secret daughter of Ian Butler, a famous movie star turned deadbeat dad. For her eighteenth birthday Tate and her grandmother, Jude, travel to London. While visiting, they run into Sam and his grandfather, Luther who are also visiting London from America. The pairs hit it off and soon Tate and Sam are meeting under the moonlight in the secluded hotel garden sharing their deepest secrets - the truth about Tate's father and the Sam thinks Luther is dying. Tate thinks its love - that is until Sam and Luther disappear one morning, having checked out of the hotel and leaving a flurry of paparazzi in their wake. Betrayed and heartbroken, Tate wants nothing more than to forget about Sam. Which works, until fourteen years later, when he ends up being the screenwriter on Tate's latest movie.

For the most part, books that deal with past and present timelines jump back and forth, alternating chapters. I've never really loved this style because I find, often times, it isn't done well. I end up wishing I was reading one timeline more than the other. So when I saw this book was two separate halves, one after the other, I was intrigued because I thought it might be the solution to the problem and it is quite unique. However, I ended up loving the past storyline better than the present one and, frankly, found myself bored by the lack of chemistry between the characters later on in the book, particularly compared to the first half. I think this was amplified by the fact that I had loved the first half so much, I was let down later on.

Despite some minor problems I had with the first half of the novel (it was a bit insta-lovey, which, like, is kinda my jam right now, but I could see how it is an issue for some people), I thought it was worlds better than the second half. There was barely any chemistry left after fourteen years (at least that I could see, the characters, *ahem* seemed to feel otherwise) and I just couldn't really get myself to care about the drama and their lives later on.

Overall, I really wanted to love this, and enjoyed the first half, but sadly, the second half kinda tanked it for me.

Ok, I LOVED this book. It was my first Christina Lauren book and it won't be my last. It was exactly what I expect and wanted from a love story. I was instantly drawn into the story and could not put it down. Perhaps it's because I have a slightly secret obsession with knowing how the "rich and famous" live, so that part of the story was fascinating to me. I wasn't sure how the present was going to play out after reading about the past, and maybe it had it's issues, but I for one ate it up. I loved both the main characters (Tate and Sam) and even the supporting characters were fun.

The books starts off with a young Tate and Sam, both on trips to London with their respective grandparent. Tate is hiding a huge secret, one that she doesn't talk about and isn't supposed to talk about. As fate would have it, her and Tate meet while in London and their two families end up spending a lot of time while on Holiday. Tate feels a connection with Sam that she has never felt before and decides to let her guard down for the first time in her life and confess to Sam. Of course, things don't play out as planned and before Tate knows what's happening, Sam has betrayed her and she never speaks or sees him again. Until ten years later that is. Can you forgive someone you so deeply loved, the ultimate betrayal? Even when a decade has passed. Do we really get over these kinds of betrayals? I wasn't sure how the book was going to tackle this or how I felt about Sam coming back into Tate's life, but man, I really enjoyed this book. I felt all kinds of good, fuzzy feelings while reading it, haha!

Thank you to Netgalley and Simon & Schuster Canada for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I absolutely love stories that take the reader behind the scenes on the making of a movie or TV show, so the second-chance romance Twice in a Blue Moon definitely hooked me in. It's about an actress, Tate Jones, whose big career break happens to be a starring role in a movie written by Sam Brandis, the man who'd broken her heart fourteen years ago when she was eighteen.

I loved the relationship between Tate and Sam, and how the authors managed to make Sam do something that's both utterly unforgiveable yet also completely understandable. As Sam says at one point, the worst thing he ever did was for the best reason he ever had. While that kind of statement often strikes me as a pathetic excuse, this is one situation where it's actually true. Up until Sam and Tate meet again, I honestly thought that the incident that broke them up years ago would turn out to be a big misunderstanding, because I couldn't imagine how Tate would be able to trust Sam again after such a major betrayal. I'm glad the authors decided to keep Sam truly responsible for that betrayal, because it made for a much richer, more emotionally complex romance.

There's a point where Tate states that she hates what Sam did to her in the past because it completely changed the trajectory of her life and made it impossible for her to trust anyone again, Yet, she also admits in frustration that after knowing why he did it, she can't completely hate him anymore. I absolutely love this emotional tension within her, because it feels so true, and it really puts up a somewhat insurmountable-but-maybe-not hurdle that the hero and heroine have to make a conscious decision to move past in order to achieve their happily ever after.

There's also a subplot about Tate's father, who's both a total asshole and a sad little man struggling to remain relevant. I hated him as much as I loved the role his character played, because he gave both Tate and Sam a common villain to band against. He belittled Tate's talents in such a passive-aggressive manner that it took a while to realize why something he said was actually an insult, and he constantly took credit for her accomplishments. He was basically riding her coattails to reclaim his own fading stardom, and it's a testament to the strength of Tate's relationships with her friends that her confidence wasn't more affected than it was. 

The movie making itself was fantastic. I loved the story Sam wrote, and how it was connected to the story of his own family. I thought the awkwardness of the filmed sex scene felt true-to-life, as I can imagine just how unsexy it must be to film something like that. I could have done without the red herrings of other love interests (Tate's co-star and a woman Sam speaks to on the phone), especially since those plot threads were dismissed fairly quickly. But most of all, I loved the secondary characters, especially Tate's co-star (hot and charming, but totally professional and friendly), her best friend (funny and fiercely loyal -- TBH, I was hoping for a romance between her and the hot co-star), and her manager (smart and savvy, but he also genuinely cares for Tate's welfare -- I wanted much more of him).

+

Thank you to Simon and Schuster Canada for an e-galley in exchange for an honest review.

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This review will go live on my blog on January 8, 2020, 8 am ET.

This book was an easy flowing book that had be hooked from the beginning and wanting to know what would happen. Although it was a pretty predicable book, I still enjoyed it as a feel good book, much in the same way romantic comedies are! You can guess what’s going to happen and how it’s going to end, but I still enjoy them! Sometimes I need these feel good books!!
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Tate meets Sam in London when she’s 18. They fall in love, but then a chance betrayal keeps them apart. Until years later when Tate is on set for a film she’s starring in, and she ends up running into her long lost childhood sweetheart! This makes Tate have to confront her past and think about her actions, and think about what she really wants! While the twists and turns were predictable, they were still interesting and kept me intrigued! Definitely recommend if you enjoy romantic novels!!

This was an adorable romance!

There was loads of tension in this story. The romance between Tate and Sam started fast and strong. It was quite a whirlwind on their vacation. However, it ground to a halt once Sam exposed Tate’s secret. I had a hard time figuring out why Sam would do it, because he seemed like a good guy. This tension kept me reading.

I found some of the story predictable, but in a comforting way. I guessed that Sam would betray Tate’s secrets, because he was the first person she had told them to. Once the story jumped to the future, I suspected that Sam would come back into her life with a good reason for betraying her years ago. He was a frustrating character because he betrayed Tate, but I couldn’t help rooting for them to get together.

I loved this story!

Thank you Simon and Schuster Canada for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Another second chance romance from Christina Lauren and I would say that nobody does it better!

When 18-year-old Tate and her grandmother take a trip to London, she meets Sam and they form a close bond. For two weeks, they share conversations and secrets that make Tate believe that she can trust Sam with her heart. But when the trip comes to an end, so does the connection.

14 years later, Tate is living her dream as an actress when circumstances bring Sam back into her life.

I enjoyed the romance in this book, especially the connection Tate and Sam had in London years ago. I also loved the dual timelines. However, I felt that the story could have been so much more. I felt that we didn’t get enough depth to their present day relationship and this story was a little lackluster for me compared to Love and Other Words. I will definitely continue reading Christina Lauren as I find their writing absolutely beautiful!

I did not really enjoy this book. I didn't enjoy the characters of Tate and Sam or their story. Their chemistry together just didn't work or make sense to me.

It is a shame because I love many of Christina Lauren's other books. I wouldn't recommend this book.

I really enjoyed this book. It started off strong and kept up a good pace. The main characters were sympathetic and both of them were able to grab your heartstrings for very different reasons. They had lovely start to their relationship and the memory of that start stays with the readers even when you realize what Sam did, you still like him. What I liked is that Sam never denies what he did, he owned up, (this was not a misunderstanding) but as he says "the worst thing he ever did was for the best reason". That line stayed with me....is there a cure for the Sam Brandis effect? Tate does not find a cure,, but I dont think she really wants it...It was a great story!

***Thank you to NetGalley, Gallery Books and Christina Lauren for providing the arc. All thoughts and opinions are my own.***

I’m a sucker for a second chance romance and I loved everything about Twice in a Blue Moon, by Christina Lauren. Sam and Tate meet on vacation, fall hard for one another and share all their hopes and dreams. It’s why she knows it’s him that leaked her identity to the press. Fourteen years later, their paths cross again. All of the sparks and feelings are unexpectedly still there, but so is the hurt. She’s seeing the situation from a completely new light and wondering if true love can come around twice in a lifetime with the same person.

This story gave me all the feels: the innocence of first love, broken trust, family issues and so many other things. Christina Lauren’s story telling is always top notch and they didn’t shy away from making their characters vulnerable and letting them hurt. Their stories always have such great emotional balance. For me, it’s their bantering and dialogue that really get me. They are amongst my favourite dialoguists.

I completely fell in love with Sam and Tate. I loved the juxtaposition of their young love and them falling for one another all over again in the current time, seeing all the ways they’d changed and not changed. The complicated relationship between Tate and her father layered even more emotion into the story.

I honestly think I’d read anything from this pair. I trust them implicitly to give me intricate characters, rich, complicated emotions and immerse me in a story fully.

“I want to put a name to this feeling and call it love.” Twice in a Blue Moon, by Christina Lauren.

The only other Christina Lauren title I’ve read so far is The Unhoneymooners, and I’m happy to report that for me, Twice in a Blue Moon was just as good, perhaps better. It’s the story of Tate and Sam, who met when they were young on a trip to London and had a fling but never forgot each other. Years later, circumstances conspire to bring them back together. We want that. They want that. It is all kinds of satisfying.

Here’s what really clicked for me with this book. I believed in Tate and Sam’s connection. I haven’t read a lot of romance novels, but even with the few I’ve tried, there have been some where the romance feels like there is nothing holding it up, if that makes sense. Not so here, Tate and Sam seem meant to be. Compared to The Unhoneymooners, which is a hate-to-love story, this one has less of the sarcastic bantering dynamic going on. The romance is softer and sweeter somehow, and I loved that. Also loved the setting. I think London could have been brought to life more than it was in the first part, but Ruby Farm, the location for the second half of the book and Tate and Sam’s reunion, is perfect. Heat level was on the lower side, which suits me fine. There is some sadness in the backstories of both of the characters, and I thought these plot threads were handled believably and sensitively, and they added more dimension to reading experience. I would have happily spent more time with these characters - to me is the sign of a strong romance, or any story really.

So if you are after something that feels sweet, but not impossibly so, comforting and just romantic enough, this is for you. I’m glad it found me when I needed a gentle escape.

Tate falls for Sam fast and hard, and starts to envision what her future could look like. Caught up in the whirlwind of love, she is completed taken aback and crushed when Sam quickly and heartlessly betrays her.
Over the next fourteen years, Tate rebuilds and rebrands her life, but she doesn’t fall in love quite like the way her firs love enthralled her. Arriving on set for her newest movie, she is thrown right back into those feelings of betrayal when she realizes that Sam is back into her life.
Highly recommended for anyone who is looking for a story about true love.

*I received an advanced reader’s copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review

3.5/5*

I have adored many of Christina Lauren books and I have disliked a few but this one falls more in the middle for me. It was fun and I had a good time reading it but I found myself unable to relate to the main character and not committed to the relationship that was formed. Overall this was a good book and i would recommend it.