Christina Lauren nailed it with this book! It was the perfect combination of funny, sweet, and dramatic, just like a good leading man should be. If you combined the movie Just Go With It starring Jennifer Aniston and Adam Sandler with The Parent Trap starring Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, you have this book. I give The Unhoneymooners 4.5 stars and beg Christina Lauren to sell the movie rights so we can watch the romantic comedy we have all been craving.
The protagonist of the novel is Olive Torres. She is a twin, currently between jobs, and firmly believes she has the worst luck humanly possible. Olive's twin sister Ami is getting married, and plans go sideways when almost everyone at the wedding gets food poising. The only individuals to come out unscathed are Olive and the groom's brother Ethan. Although they cannot stand each other, neither Olive or Ethan are going to let a free honeymoon trip go to waste. Pretending to be honeymooners, the two enemies embark on the ten-day luxury vacation of their nightmares.
I loved the character of Olive. She was an absolute highlight throughout the story. The author did an excellent job of giving her a body-positive mindset while still having insecurities and doubts. It made her incredibly relatable and loveable as a character. Not only was she attainable, but she was also funny and quirky. Olive is the best friend we all want in our lives.
The Unhoneymooners is a romance novel with enough steaminess and delayed gratification to satisfy the genre lovers ( hi!). I was such an enormous fan of this novel, the only thing holding me back from giving it five stars was the predictability. I have discussed before how I believe we sometimes need to excuse predictability, for the sake of a romance novel. YES, we know the two characters are going to end up together, but we need that to happen. In this case, I felt like I knew what decisions were going to be made before they occurred. A perfect example of this is when Olive has arrived in Hawaii and runs into her boss. You know she is going to lie about the circumstances before it even happens. Without giving too much away, I knew what side each character was going to take in the conflict that arises later on. What I didn't predict was how Olive and her sister Ami managed to get out of said conflict. It is a great moment, I don't want to spoil it for you. There were times I was surprised, but there were a bunch of predictable (yet juicy) moments, too.
As I read, I could easily picture this story as a film. Somebody needs to pick up the movie rights if they haven't already, I volunteer to produce it, I've already got it all figured out. This book took me away (to Hawaii obviously), and I did not want to put it down. It was my first, but it will not be my last Christina Lauren novel. If you liked The Unhoneymooners and you need another romance fix, I recommend The Hating Game by Sally Thorne. Very similar and equally satisfying romance reads.
I am personally taking a quick break from the romance genre. I am picking up an anticipated Mitch Albom book before I go back to another romance read, The Flatshare. Check back for my reviews on both of those books too.
Yours Literarily,
Lauren.
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