The Unhoneymooners | ARC Review

The Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren

The Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren is a humor-filled romance of the hate-them-then-love-them persuasion. Fans of Christina Lauren’s other romance novels will definitely fall in love with this tropical get-away, beachy read.

Synopsis:

Olive is the most unlucky girl on the planet, while her twin, Ami, is the luckiest. Which makes it a huge surprise when Ami and her entire wedding party, except for Olive and the best man and brother of the groom, Ethan, get food poisoning. Ami’s honeymoon, which she won through a sweepstakes, has very strict rules and is non-refundable.

To save this deal from going unused, Ami urges her sister Olive to take the trip. The only bad side? Ethan is going to. And Olive hates Ethan. The two have gotten off on the wrong foot since day one, and neither is excited about going on this trip together. But to keep up the pretense to keep the trip, they now have to pretend to be man and wife.

But can this extended time together help these two mend fences? This might be one miserable trip to Maui, or it could be the best trip of their lives.

Book Review:

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Gallery Books through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Content: 3/5

I was definitely charmed by this book. The tropical setting, the enemies to lovers scenario on the horizon, and the humor. I was definitely turning pages one after the other, diving deep into the story. This is only the second book I’ve read by Christina Lauren, so I was super hopeful about my enjoyment of the book. And for the most part, I really did enjoy it!

However, I found myself not as engaged by the characters in this book. Olive and Ethan are okay, but neither of them really charmed me or had me really invested in their relationship. I suppose it’s due mostly to their overall lack of substance? Olive was mostly a generic girl with generic feelings about everything. I didn’t know too much about her, aside from the fact that she felt very unlucky, loved her sister, and hated Ethan. I can’t even describe what she looks like, other than that she’s curvy from stress baking/eating.

I also didn’t care too much for the lack of support shown to Olive when things “go down” at the end of the book. I was disappointed that everything resolved so easily when I was still feeling mad on Olive’s behalf. It made most of the ending just a bit dissatisfying to me and so I overall felt a bit let down by the book as a whole. Otherwise, it was a great beachy read and had me giggling and swooning the appropriate amount for a light, breezy romance novel.

Literary Value: 4/5

As with the other Christina Lauren book I read, I found the writing to be bright and funny. I love the amount of humor these two put into their novels, because I’m a sucker for humor. I love romantic comedy far more than dramatic romance. Though I wasn’t totally into Olive or Ethan, I loved the shenanigans they had to endure and I loved the snarky banter they passed back and forth. The dialogue was definitely one of the highlights of this book.

I also really enjoyed the setting of this book. Christina Lauren did a great job of making me feel like I was in Maui, feeling the tropical breeze, looking at amazing views and sunrise/sunsets. I definitely got that beach vibe and I felt like I was on vacation myself.

I also felt like the plot of this story was strong. I loved the sister/twin dynamic and I loved climactic showdown and the family support that gets Olive through it and allows her the space to find herself. I think, overall, it was a really strong story, despite my not enjoying the characters too much. As far as romance novels go, I think this one was really well put together.

Entertainment Factor: 4/5

I had a lot of fun reading this book. I can definitely see this being a summer read, because the story involves a vacation and to a tropical destination (Hawaii), and it’s just such a page turner! I’d say that about 90% of the book was enjoyable for me. I didn’t care for certain aspects of the climax/falling out, but it was such a small portion of the story and it wasn’t a complete turn-off that I still would rate this book high. I think that most readers, especially fans of this author or this genre, will totally fall in love with it/enjoy it immensely. I don’t have too much else to say negatively.

Cover Rating: 4/5

This cover looks so fun and it perfectly fits the overall feel and setting of the novel. It’s bright, it’s colorful, it has tropical flora and fauna, so I definitely dig it. Yellow can be bit of a strong color for me, but I feel that in this case, it matches up with the cover images and it’s certainly eye-catching, so I can’t fault it for that!

I also want to say that I like the watercolor look of the imagery. Its really just a pretty cover and if I were book shopping, I would probably pick this book up based immediately on cover appeal. What do you think?

Overall Rating: 3.75/5 Honeymoons

This was such an enjoyable book to read. It’s humorous, it’s got the awww factor, and it’s light and breezy and perfect for a summer beach read. I was a big fan of Christina Lauren after only reading one book of theirs prior to this one and now I’m definitely on the Christina Lauren train!

If romance is your thing, especially enemies to lovers, and if you like tropical/destination getaways, this book is here for you! Though I was not the biggest fan of the two main characters, that might just be a me-thing, and other readers might like them just fine. I had a tiny problem with the resolution of the conflict, but, again, it was minor and just because it bugged me did not mean it was a deal breaker or that it will bug other readers. I still think this book was great and my experience reading it was for the most part great.

Thoughts & Thanks!

Thank you so much for reading my review. Hopefully I’ve inspired you to read this book, because it’s pretty great! If you’ve read the book or are thinking about it, let me know! Think you’ll pass on it? Read any of Christina Lauren’s books before? Let’s chat in the comments.