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3.52 AVERAGE
3.52 AVERAGE
emotional
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
adventurous
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
emotional
hopeful
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
3.5 stars. This is a pretty good book. Twice in a Blue Moon is a standalone and is Tate and Sam's story. Tate is the estranged daughter of a big Hollywood star, but she is living the small town farm girl life with her mom and grandmother. When Tate was 18, her grandmother took her on a long trip abroad to England. There she met Sam and had a sweet first love and romance. They talked about continuing their relationship after the trip, but, instead, Sam turns around, sells her family secrets to the tabloids and leaves. This event changed her life and in some ways she never got over it. Now, fourteen years later, Tate is a famous actress living in Hollywood herself. She is doing her first movie with her father and is shocked to run into Sam on the set. They are forced to work together and live on set in close proximity, which brings up huge feelings between them that they must work through. They eventually begin a new relationship and heal from their past.
I liked this story. It was compelling and kept me eagerly reading. The writing was very good. The details about acting and working on location on set were really interesting. I liked Tate a lot. Despite being a big star, she is down to earth and has had a lonely life, without many close friends. This book felt like Tate's story and more women's fiction then romance. The romance between Sam and Tate did not satisfy my romance cravings. I really enjoyed the story and was sucked into the book, but ended up feeling let down by the romance and the conclusion. I liked the beginning of the book more than the end. I didn't really love Sam. In the past flashback, I liked him more, but in the present, he seemed totally different, lacked the charisma he had, and was too passive. He was the strong silent type, to his detriment. I didn't feel like Sam's reasons were justified in ruining Tate's life when she was eighteen, breaking her heart and making her life totally different. Then, when they met again, she had to chase him to get him to admit feelings. He was too passive and I felt like he should have apologized more and tried to make it up to her more. He should have pursued her, but he never did, which made me doubt his feelings for her. I just was not sure the couple really still loved each other or were really going to end up together. The book was also very low heat. In the end, I definitely needed more resolution and didn't feel like they were fully back in love with a sure future.
Overall, Twice in a Blue Moon was pretty good, even if I had a few issues with it. It was an easy read, entertaining and hard to put down. It was not a bad book. I enjoyed the story and side characters, but I didn't love the way the romance worked out. I am still a fan of Christina Lauren's work, even if I wish they would write more books similar to their Beautiful Bastard series.
I liked this story. It was compelling and kept me eagerly reading. The writing was very good. The details about acting and working on location on set were really interesting. I liked Tate a lot. Despite being a big star, she is down to earth and has had a lonely life, without many close friends. This book felt like Tate's story and more women's fiction then romance. The romance between Sam and Tate did not satisfy my romance cravings. I really enjoyed the story and was sucked into the book, but ended up feeling let down by the romance and the conclusion. I liked the beginning of the book more than the end. I didn't really love Sam. In the past flashback, I liked him more, but in the present, he seemed totally different, lacked the charisma he had, and was too passive. He was the strong silent type, to his detriment. I didn't feel like Sam's reasons were justified in ruining Tate's life when she was eighteen, breaking her heart and making her life totally different. Then, when they met again, she had to chase him to get him to admit feelings. He was too passive and I felt like he should have apologized more and tried to make it up to her more. He should have pursued her, but he never did, which made me doubt his feelings for her. I just was not sure the couple really still loved each other or were really going to end up together. The book was also very low heat. In the end, I definitely needed more resolution and didn't feel like they were fully back in love with a sure future.
Overall, Twice in a Blue Moon was pretty good, even if I had a few issues with it. It was an easy read, entertaining and hard to put down. It was not a bad book. I enjoyed the story and side characters, but I didn't love the way the romance worked out. I am still a fan of Christina Lauren's work, even if I wish they would write more books similar to their Beautiful Bastard series.
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Not my favourite Christina Lauren but a decent read. Liked the beginning when they were younger the best
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Twice in a Blue Moon tells the story of Tate and Sam, an exceedingly average couple that didn't draw me in at all. I found the book boring, and I never like tropes with the love interests falling in love in short periods of time after meeting each other. These two fell in love in two weeks, something I think is so improbable, because I don't think you can get to know someone well enough in two weeks to truly be in love with them. Since that occurs in the very beginning of the novel, it put me off for the rest of the book, and when the characters reunite when they're older, I felt no connection to what they once had. If you are a fan of insta-love tropes than this book would be perfect for you, but I just found the characters bland and the entire plot boring due to how fast "love" entered the scene. A quote I found frustrating was, “He’s the one who taught me what love looked like and felt like and then taught me it’s a lie. I have never been able to come back from that," because it again falls into the insta-love idea, and while I don't doubt that Tate had very strong feelings for Sam, calling it love feels too far-fetched, and like the left over feelings of a teenage girl, not a grown woman who has had time to reflect and meet other people. Overall, I just strongly dislike when characters fall in love too quickly, as it make everything feel forced and unnatural, and like the author didn't want to put in the work to truly develop this relationship. It feels lazy and like a way out of taking the time for character development.
Loved the character backstories and the history of the dual timelines but wanted a more complete ending