The Unhoneymooners

Cute and pretty enjoyable overall - good beach-read type romance. I wanted Amy and Ethan to be a little more developed as characters, especially Amy, since so much of the story is about those two relationships. I didn't think the plot thread about Olive being unsatisfied with her job and wanting something new really went anywhere, though I did like the scene with her supposed new boss and his wife in Hawaii. All in all, fun summer read.

(2022 Summer Romance Bingo: Hawaii. Would also work for mistaken identity.)

A 3.5 I guess. I definitely don't feel like rounding it up to a 4.

I'm always very excited to read a book by CLo and this was no different. I had already read a bunch of mixed reviews, but I knew to expect quite a bit of fun and I'm glad I did.

Olive is an interesting character. Bad luck seems to follow her always and her messy stories were too much fun. But she also has a happy go lucky vibe to her which I really enjoyed. Despite the antics of her various family members, she is super close to them, especially her twin Ami and I loved how they all really have each other's backs regardless of the issue. I just had a slight problem with her feelings around her weight - she seems to try to be body positive sometimes, but is also very conscious of what Ethan thinks of her curves. While I don't think it's bad to want her love interest's approval, I just didn't like that she seems to lose all her negative feelings about her weight as soon as Ethan mentions he likes her body. Ethan comes across as grumpy initially, but I liked the way their friendship develops and their banter is really hilarious and so much entertaining to read. He's also quite nerdy which endeared me to him a lot. But his blindness to his brother's douchey attitude wasn't a good look.

As I mentioned before, Christina Lauren are wonderful at writing banter and making the readers laugh and that's still the case in this book. Even the situations that Olive and Ethan get themselves into are so convoluted, they were just downright silly but fun to read and I'm quite amused at the author duo for coming up with these ideas. The pacing is also very quick and easy to get through, that I almost raced through the book. The setting of Maui and the various activities make for a nice backdrop for the enemies to lovers and forced proximity tropes. However, I didn't like the way the conflict happened. There are some very harsh words thrown at Olive, by both her sister and Ethan, and I hated that no one even wanted to understand her perspective. And I thought she was too forgiving while I would have liked some more groveling. It ends with a very cool epilogue though, so that makes up for some of the issues.

While I always seem to be nitpicky with this author duo's books, I am happy that The Unhoneymooners ended up being more on the fun side. It has a wonderful couple, a beautiful love story and a huge dramatic family. If you like snarky banter in an exotic vacation setting, then this is a fun book to read. If you like books where silly antics ensue and there's some family drama going on, then this one is perfect. Just trust me and pick this one up when you are in need of an entertaining romcom or a beach read.

Overall, mindless enjoyment. I like fake relationship stories, but it was pretty predictable and the characters were stereotypical.

Weird nitpick, but it irked me every time they said or thought “Twin Cities”. I don't think I've ever said that to someone who was also from Minnesota, and it just bothered me.

This book was really cute! I really liked Evan and Olive together once they got there and I loved all the drama of them having to fake being together.

Their fighting towards the end really annoyed me and made me like Evan much less, but I am very stubborn myself...

Overall I did really like the book though and would probably read it again!

One sentence synopsis... When the bride and groom get food poisoning at the wedding, the maid of honor and best man take their place for a week long, all-expenses-paid Hawaiian honeymoon.

Read it if you like... romantic comedies, the enemies-to-lovers trope, light beach reads.

Dream casting... Gina Rodriquez as unlucky Olive and Sebastian Stan as her sparring partner Ethan.

Christina Lauren continue to be a breath of fresh air in the world of romantic comedies. Their books are always some of my most anticipated reads and I am rarely disappointed. I think even if I hadn't liked this book I still would have given it 5 stars just for the cover alone, it's so pretty heart eyes

The Unhoneymooners has two of my favorite tropes. Enemies-to-lovers and fake marriage. How can you go wrong with that? When Olive's sister Ami and Ethan's brother Dane come down with food poisoning after their wedding, each offers their respective sibling their honeymoon. Neither Olive nor Ethan, having disliked each other since the moment they met, wants to give up a Hawaiian vacation to the other so they agree to both go, figuring that the resort would be so huge that they'd barely have to see each other. Little do they realize that they'll run into obstacles that will force them to keep up the just-married facade for the entire vacation.

This book is full of the usual Christina Lauren humor. Their characters are so effortlessly funny and quirky. The tension between Olive and Ethan is almost palpable and the antics they get into in this book are entertaining and will have you laughing out loud one minute and swooning the next.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I truly thought the current state of romance novels was just not for me. I haven't enjoyed one so much since I was a teenager reading YA romance. This had me giggling and kicking my feet, and of course crying, which is the true sign of a 5 star read for me. 10/10 would recommend and will spend the next decade looking for a romance as perfect as this one.

“You think I'm cute.” “In a gross way.” This makes him smile wider. “Cute in a gross way. Okay.”
~
I'm not sure I would go on someone else's honeymoon with someone I thought hated me, but Olive and Ethan stuck together in paradise was fantastic. Plenty of bickering, laughable and awkward moments, flirtation, and a pinch of family drama to top it off.

Well, that ending was a real letdown. I can't help but wonder why I enjoyed the first 75% of the book when the atmosphere was so well-described and believable. I mean, the author really nailed it there. And let's not forget the amusing banter between Olive and Ethan, which had me laughing out loud at times.

But seriously, I just can't believe Olive made the choice she did. After all her thoughtfulness for her sister, I wish she had shown some independent thinking for herself. It's a shame because the story was actually pretty good, but I can't help feeling sad about the ending.

I've decided to give this book a three-star rating now. I'm just tired of reading about female characters who make dumb and desperate decisions when it comes to their own well-being. It's disappointing to see this recurring theme. While the book has its good points, this aspect has left me feeling frustrated and less satisfied with the overall reading experience.

There was definitely promise with the one. Great first half of the book, I like the sarcastic bantering, ok? And luckily there were little to none steamy scenes, which is exactly how I prefer my romances. But once they left Maui, I totally lost interest. The romance deflated like a balloon. I noticed the same thing with the other book I read by Lauren. The relationship built up is pretty great, it's full of funny, cute moments. But what happens afterwards is a total miss for me. It's not that I expect the relationships to stay in that stage, but I do expect them to sear clear of the excessive cheese fest. I just don't like what she does to the couples after they end up together.Ethan defending his douchebag brother to the point of breaking up with her came out if nowhere. I would have not forgiven him for it, never. How can you not notice some being a total liar and sleazebag all your life? And cheesy proposals? Not my thing either. I did like though that there were consequences for Olive for having lied to her boss.

Did I read this because it was mentioned in The Bodyguard? Yes. Am I happy I took the leap and finally read it? Absolutely.

“It's still light out. Your inner troll must be sleeping.”

Enjoying a book can't happen unless you ugly laugh at it at least two to three times. I can report on the regret of everyone around me that The Unhoneymooners succeeded.

The fake relationship trope is probably my most favourite of all time and it will forever be a hill that I die on. I was so pleased to have that in this book.

The banter between Olive and Ethan was so fun to read and their interactions had me kicking my feet as well as wanting to pick up knitting and purchasing several cars since it was a reminder just how lonely I am.

This book felt very special to me. It's not often you read a book and you can immediately picture a movie adaption of it. With this book, I pictured it and then felt protective because I didn't want this to be ruined in anyway.

It's definitely a comfort read for me and I can't wait to read Christina Lauren's other works.