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3.52 AVERAGE
3.52 AVERAGE
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
2.5
Honestly, I preferred their teenage love story to their adult story. It was cute and also more impactful on my person. Then I started not to feel anything anymore and the distance set in between the characters and me, me and the story in general. And above all, I have great difficulty with the insertion of the scenario of Milkweed in the novel. It broke my rhythm. I note a real work on the secondary characters; which is a real treat for me while reading. My first Christina Lauren and it clearly wasn't for me.
Honestly, I preferred their teenage love story to their adult story. It was cute and also more impactful on my person. Then I started not to feel anything anymore and the distance set in between the characters and me, me and the story in general. And above all, I have great difficulty with the insertion of the scenario of Milkweed in the novel. It broke my rhythm. I note a real work on the secondary characters; which is a real treat for me while reading. My first Christina Lauren and it clearly wasn't for me.
emotional
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Palette cleanser!
Romance isn't my normal genre, but I actually didn't mind this one.
Look, I get why Sam sold out Tate when they were teenagers. However, it didn't really make sense after all they shared that he wouldn't have said something about how worried he was about Luther and how they needed quick cash. And I get that him doing that led Tate to have the career and lifestyle she did. I guess people get ghosted about much less sinister things so it's not completely unbelievable. Just seems odd he wouldn't have mentioned how bad the situation was getting for Luther before doing it. Idk. They're teenagers, so maybe that's asking for a lot.
Either way, I enjoyed this story mostly.
Either way, I enjoyed this story mostly.
A month later I’m still thinking about how poignant this book was, so I’m updating from 4 to 5 stars. I loved the rags to riches story of the protagonist. The love story was heartwarming. Love that endures.
Unexpectedly Beautiful — A Romance with Depth and Heart
I absolutely loved Twice in a Blue Moon! From the very beginning, it gave me strong The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo vibes — that mix of glamour, vulnerability, and second chances wrapped in a deeply emotional story.
What really stood out to me was the unexpected structure of the story. I was bracing for a predictable, cliché ending — and then bam — the moment I was waiting for showed up in the middle of the book! What followed was something far more layered, heartfelt, and intricate than I ever expected. Christina Lauren took the romance formula and flipped it into something much deeper.
The ending was everything — satisfying, emotional, and just the right touch of bittersweet realism. This is more than a love story; it's about timing, trust, and personal growth. A definite must-read if you love your romances with heart, twists, and a touch of old Hollywood soul.
I absolutely loved Twice in a Blue Moon! From the very beginning, it gave me strong The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo vibes — that mix of glamour, vulnerability, and second chances wrapped in a deeply emotional story.
What really stood out to me was the unexpected structure of the story. I was bracing for a predictable, cliché ending — and then bam — the moment I was waiting for showed up in the middle of the book! What followed was something far more layered, heartfelt, and intricate than I ever expected. Christina Lauren took the romance formula and flipped it into something much deeper.
The ending was everything — satisfying, emotional, and just the right touch of bittersweet realism. This is more than a love story; it's about timing, trust, and personal growth. A definite must-read if you love your romances with heart, twists, and a touch of old Hollywood soul.
adventurous
emotional
funny
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
lighthearted
medium-paced
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I consider myself to be a big fan of Christian Lauren. The Beautiful Bastard series Is like my Kryptonite as well as their Wild Seasons series. Josh and Hazel’s Guide to Not Dating a was five star read for me! So naturally with such winners under their belt, I thought CL could do no wrong.
That’s how I felt anyway, before I read The Unhoneymooners, which fell short for me. So after having been disappointed, I went into Twice in a Blue Moon with my guards up. And I was right to do so.
Blue Moon a is story about first love and second chances. A very romantic concept. I’m on board for that. The trouble is we know the entire first half of the plot in the book description. Our female protagonist, Tate Jones is 18 and taking a trip to London with her grandmother, where she meets 21 year old Sam Brandis, a fellow American who just happens to be on a trip with his grandfather. The two hit it off right away in a quick budding romance where she reveals herself to be the daughter of a famous movie star. She’s been living a quiet life away from the media. This is supposed to be a close guarded secret but Tate decides to trust Sam with the info. Unfortunately that’ll prove to me a mistake when the press finds her and it’s no mystery that Sam tipped them off. He is also now MIA. Suddenly Tate has no choice but to come out of hiding and is rightfully heartbroken.
Jump ahead 14 years. Tate has a thriving career. She’s just landed lead role in a big budget film that’s about to go into production. It’s on set of said film that she once again runs into Sam, whom she hasn’t seen or heard from since London, and apparently is the writer of the film she is about to star in.
What follows next is forced proximity, interaction, angst and miraculous forgiveness that I can’t even begin to comprehend. There are so many problems I have with this...
Problems with Sam. Yes, he did in fact tip off the press of Tate’s whereabouts. In fact he SOLD HER OUT. And here’s the kicker...as “sorry” as he is, he says that given the chance, He would DO IT AGAIN. Now I get that apparently he and his grandparents were hurting for money and his grandfather was ill, but that doesn’t excuse his actions. What he did was take a life changing choice out of a teenage girl’s hands and disappeared without a trace. No word, no explanation. Just 14 years of nothing. And as the story progresses, Sam doesn’t get nearly enough grief for his actions. He got what he wanted out of selling out Tate, and he got to live his life and have his career. There is just so much wrong with him.
Problems with logistics. The fact that Tate had no idea that Sam was a creator of the film until she came on set is absolutely ludicrous. It’s evident that CL doesn’t have a grasp on the process of film making. There would have been script auditions and screen tests where she either would have met him, or been told his name. Sam apparently tried to contact Tate personally to give her a heads up, but the moron only thought to email her. Um...dude, how many emails do you think a movie star gets daily? CALL HER AGENT!!! CALL HER MANAGER!!! (Where are Tate’s representatives? She doesn’t even have a PA on set!! It’s like CL couldn’t be bothered to include them). He obviously didn’t want to contact her that badly, or he was just stupid.
Problems with Plot. I think it’s enough said that the fact that Tate finds it in her heart to forgive Sam at all is a plot hole. Some might say that Tate owes Sam her career but I strongly disagree .What happened in London caused earth shattering life changes .She wasn’t even given the choice. To me, that betrayal of trust is far beyond forgiveness and ultimately, he does nothing to redeem himself. He’s just there and still defending his choices and he has the nerve to be jealous of Tate’s male costar. He (for some reason) had to sit in on the movie’s sex scene shoot...Something that would NOT have happened. There’s this weird sense of entitlement Sam has to her, that seems to permeate that entire part of the story. He seems to think that this is all about HIM and how miserable the London incident made HIM, and how HE missed out on Tate for the last 14 years despite the fact that he never tried to reach out to her. He was actually dumb enough to think that her life wouldn’t be changed by his decision to sell her out.
Needless to say, it leaves such a terrible taste in your mouth.
So Tate decides to forgive him when I really don’t get why, but even the happily ever after doesn’t come for free because she gets screwed over (again) by someone else she thought was supposed to care about her and Sam has managed to disappear (again). And then we get a rushed ending with no real conclusion.
I thought the Unhoneymooners was some sort of lull or fluke. I hadn’t realized how bad it could get. I don’t know if Christina Lauren are cranking out too many books in a year, if it’s a quality control problem, or what, but this story took a huge dive for me. The problems with it were too essential to the story to ever get pass them. In the end I was left feeling upset and disappointed.
⭐️⭐️
That’s how I felt anyway, before I read The Unhoneymooners, which fell short for me. So after having been disappointed, I went into Twice in a Blue Moon with my guards up. And I was right to do so.
Blue Moon a is story about first love and second chances. A very romantic concept. I’m on board for that. The trouble is we know the entire first half of the plot in the book description. Our female protagonist, Tate Jones is 18 and taking a trip to London with her grandmother, where she meets 21 year old Sam Brandis, a fellow American who just happens to be on a trip with his grandfather. The two hit it off right away in a quick budding romance where she reveals herself to be the daughter of a famous movie star. She’s been living a quiet life away from the media. This is supposed to be a close guarded secret but Tate decides to trust Sam with the info. Unfortunately that’ll prove to me a mistake when the press finds her and it’s no mystery that Sam tipped them off. He is also now MIA. Suddenly Tate has no choice but to come out of hiding and is rightfully heartbroken.
Jump ahead 14 years. Tate has a thriving career. She’s just landed lead role in a big budget film that’s about to go into production. It’s on set of said film that she once again runs into Sam, whom she hasn’t seen or heard from since London, and apparently is the writer of the film she is about to star in.
What follows next is forced proximity, interaction, angst and miraculous forgiveness that I can’t even begin to comprehend. There are so many problems I have with this...
Problems with Sam. Yes, he did in fact tip off the press of Tate’s whereabouts. In fact he SOLD HER OUT. And here’s the kicker...as “sorry” as he is, he says that given the chance, He would DO IT AGAIN. Now I get that apparently he and his grandparents were hurting for money and his grandfather was ill, but that doesn’t excuse his actions. What he did was take a life changing choice out of a teenage girl’s hands and disappeared without a trace. No word, no explanation. Just 14 years of nothing. And as the story progresses, Sam doesn’t get nearly enough grief for his actions. He got what he wanted out of selling out Tate, and he got to live his life and have his career. There is just so much wrong with him.
Problems with logistics. The fact that Tate had no idea that Sam was a creator of the film until she came on set is absolutely ludicrous. It’s evident that CL doesn’t have a grasp on the process of film making. There would have been script auditions and screen tests where she either would have met him, or been told his name. Sam apparently tried to contact Tate personally to give her a heads up, but the moron only thought to email her. Um...dude, how many emails do you think a movie star gets daily? CALL HER AGENT!!! CALL HER MANAGER!!! (Where are Tate’s representatives? She doesn’t even have a PA on set!! It’s like CL couldn’t be bothered to include them). He obviously didn’t want to contact her that badly, or he was just stupid.
Problems with Plot. I think it’s enough said that the fact that Tate finds it in her heart to forgive Sam at all is a plot hole. Some might say that Tate owes Sam her career but I strongly disagree .What happened in London caused earth shattering life changes .She wasn’t even given the choice. To me, that betrayal of trust is far beyond forgiveness and ultimately, he does nothing to redeem himself. He’s just there and still defending his choices and he has the nerve to be jealous of Tate’s male costar. He (for some reason) had to sit in on the movie’s sex scene shoot...Something that would NOT have happened. There’s this weird sense of entitlement Sam has to her, that seems to permeate that entire part of the story. He seems to think that this is all about HIM and how miserable the London incident made HIM, and how HE missed out on Tate for the last 14 years despite the fact that he never tried to reach out to her. He was actually dumb enough to think that her life wouldn’t be changed by his decision to sell her out.
Needless to say, it leaves such a terrible taste in your mouth.
So Tate decides to forgive him when I really don’t get why, but even the happily ever after doesn’t come for free because she gets screwed over (again) by someone else she thought was supposed to care about her and Sam has managed to disappear (again). And then we get a rushed ending with no real conclusion.
I thought the Unhoneymooners was some sort of lull or fluke. I hadn’t realized how bad it could get. I don’t know if Christina Lauren are cranking out too many books in a year, if it’s a quality control problem, or what, but this story took a huge dive for me. The problems with it were too essential to the story to ever get pass them. In the end I was left feeling upset and disappointed.
⭐️⭐️