‘The Unhoneymooners’ Review: A Fun Romance in Paradise

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ABOUT the BOOK
Author: Christina Lauren
Publication Date: 2019
Publisher: Gallery Books
Genre: Fiction; Contemporary Romance
Source: Bought
FIND the BOOK ELSEWHERE: Goodreads
FIND the REVIEW ELSEWHERE: Goodreads 
Rating: ★★★ the unhoneymooners

The Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren | Book Review

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STORY | For her entire life, Olive Torres has been the “unlucky” one. The twin of a sister who’s the exact opposite, Olive is about to stand beside her sister, Ami as she says her ‘I Dos’ at a wedding made possible because Ami won it all almost entirely through contests or raffles. But things go from perfect bliss to worse when Ami, her new husband, and the entire wedding party and its guests become ill with food poisoning. Well, all except for two people.

Olive is sparred, and Ethan, the best man, brother of the groom, and the one man Olive cannot tolerate. But Ami begs Olive to go on the honeymoon trip she is unable to take (because obviously, the trip is non-refundable), and just pretend to be her. Sounds doable, but Olive isn’t so keen on the idea (she cannot lie). Then Ethan is also urged to go, and he does… which in turn makes Olive change her mind. After all, she’s not about to let Ethan have all the fun!

As the first book I’ve read by the team Christina Lauren, I’ll be honest and say I didn’t really know quite what to expect. I liked this one, but I don’t think I can say I loved it. Is it fun? Absolutely. But the payoff comes a little too late in my book. The novel begins in a kind of only-in-the-movies (or in this case, a fictional novel) would this scenario happen and morphs into a story that tries to be one part deeper character study.

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REVIEW | Like its cover art, The Unhoneymooners is a fun, frothy and silly little story written by the author duo that is Christina Lauren. With its summer-y vibes and a plot that sounds straight out of a laugh-out-loud romantic-comedy, this is one of those novels that is (or this is my image of the setting) perfect beach reading

I’m all for a novel that digs into something that packs more of an emotional punch (when needed), but I’m not sure this one does it quite right. I’m glad it goes down how it does with the ultimate conclusion (because, really, the dude in question needed to be given the business), but it falls a little flat for me. That said, what is fun about this one is quite fun.

I like Olive and Ethan fine, and in fact feel like Olive is a smart, but sassy heroine unlike anyone I’ve met recently on the pages of a novel. Ethan is likable, but I cannot say I have feelings that are good or bad towards him either way. He does come full circle, which gives him a gold star, but I don’t really love how the whole we-have-to-break-up pages before the end trope goes down.

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Despite what this tirade may sound like, I did enjoy The Unhoneymooners. It takes place in a really pretty setting, and features characters we can root for (along with one or two we loathe – for good reason!), and has a conclusion I suspect any reader will feel happy with. Do I think I’ll go out and purchase all of Christina Lauren’s books? No, but I also will give another of theirs a chance. Hopefully with a story that works a little bit better.

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‘The Unhoneymooners’ Review: A Fun #Romance in Paradise. Come by and tell me, have you read a #ChristinaLauren book – and if so, which is your favorite? Share on X

Content note: The Unhoneymooners is secular fiction, so it’s a hard PG-13 rating. There’s sex, innuendo and other suggestive comments or descriptions. The F-word is used at least a dozen (probably more) time over the 350+ pages (both in and out of context), there’s other uses of profanity like sh*t, etc. The story deals with lying, and being unfaithful as well.