Ok, y’all should know that I love a good rom-com. When Harry Met Sally is one of my top 5 favorite movies ever. And I appreciate all the work that goes into making overused tropes and character arcs fun again. No one is better at that than author-duo Christina Lauren. True–they write, they don’t produce movies, but their books are the best rom-coms you’ll ever read. And their newest release, The Unhoneymooners, did not disappoint. It was fun and fresh with a side of humor. It worked out that I was on vacation while reading about a honeymoon gone wrong in Hawaii. Anyway, enough from me right now. Here’s the review:
The Summary ?
Olive Torres is used to being the unlucky twin: from inexplicable mishaps to a recent layoff, her life seems to be almost comically jinxed. By contrast, her sister Ami is an eternal champion . . . she even managed to finance her entire wedding by winning a slew of contests. Unfortunately for Olive, the only thing worse than constant bad luck is having to spend the wedding day with the best man (and her nemesis), Ethan Thomas.
Olive braces herself for wedding hell, determined to put on a brave face, but when the entire wedding party gets food poisoning, the only people who aren’t affected are Olive and Ethan. Suddenly there’s a free honeymoon up for grabs, and Olive will be damned if Ethan gets to enjoy paradise solo.
Agreeing to a temporary truce, the pair head for Maui. After all, ten days of bliss is worth having to assume the role of loving newlyweds, right? But the weird thing is . . . Olive doesn’t mind playing pretend. In fact, the more she pretends to be the luckiest woman alive, the more it feels like she might be.
What I Think ?
Like I mentioned before, romances and the even more specific genre of rom-coms can easily feel overdone. It’s hard to be original when the usual plot is girl and boy meet, fall in love, have a misunderstanding and breakup only to get magically back together again. It’s predictable, but I still love it. I’m a sucker for a good rom-com, okay! And Christina Lauren creates the prefect rom-com books.
I’ve read some of their other books, but in The Unhoneymooners they really pulled all the stops. Christina Lauren took all of those expected bits and just made it so much better. I loved this book. Let’s see, just to help you keep track, in this book we have: a disaster at a wedding, a fake relationship turned real relationship, an adorable love interest and a good time in Hawaii. Honestly, if all else failed this book convinced me to take a trip to the aloha state ASAP.
The situations Olive and Ethan find themselves in are hilarious and their banter makes this book impossible to put down. They are both witty and have that argumentative thing going that makes the romance more fun. The set-up of their new relationship, a Hawaiian vacation and all the disasters that abound is engaging, fun, but most important–very original. Christina Lauren really did a job well done on this book, and I think it’s my new favorite from them.
The Unhoneymooners is a great, light read. I recommend it for any other rom-com lovers or even for a beach read, like it was for me. It’s a fun standalone that is cute, witty and impossible to set down. Basically, everything you could hope for in a book.
Quote ?
“I see all these choices unrolling in front of me — career, travel, friends, geography — and despite things being insane and hard and messy, I don’t think I’ve ever liked myself more than I do now. It’s the strangest feeling to be proud simply because I’m taking care of me and mine. Is this what it’s like to grow up?”
Have you read The Unhoneymooners or anything else by Christina Lauren? Let me know what you thought!
