The Unhoneymooners, by Christian Lauren, is the perfect beach read. The story begins in The Twin Cities (as a Minneapolis resident, I got the feeling that neither author has spent much time here. But I could be wrong.) Anyway, that’s not super relevant. Most of the story’s action centers around a doomed wedding and a surprisingly successful honeymoon.
Ami and Olive are identical twins, but their personalities couldn’t be more different. Ami is confident, optimistic, and an expert contest winner. Olive mostly flies under the radar, yet she’s not trying to change her pragmatic personality or her curvy figure. While good luck seems to always favor Ami, Olive is convinced that she’s forever cursed with bad luck.
The novel opens on Ami’s wedding day, which is entirely funded by her winnings from various raffles and giveaways. The downside? Olive is stuck wearing a bright lime green bridesmaid dress that she feels ridiculous in. But hey, it’s all free! Including the seafood buffet that gives everyone who eats it instant food poisoning. The only people who don’t eat from the buffet are Olive, and the groom’s brother, Ethan.
Ami and her new husband are too sick to go on their honeymoon, so they give the trip they got for free (and for which the dates can’t be changed) to Olive and Ethan. Since they’re identical twins, Olive can easily pass for Ami and Ethan can pretend to be his younger brother since they have the same last name. And so begins their 10-day trip to Maui – tropical beaches and all.
Except for one thing. Olive and Ethan can’t stand each other. While neither is willing to turn down a free, luxury vacay, how will they survive sharing the honeymoon suite?
Well, you guessed it–Olive and Ethan get to know each other, and go from enemies to friends to lovers. Of course, there are lots of miscommunications and various plot twists along the way. Yet, the story was never contrived, the tropes were used with authenticity, and the third act breakup was NOT based off of some ridiculous misunderstanding that could have been prevented if the romantic leads just levelled with each other. Rather, Olive and Ethan both have some maturing and soul searching to do. This makes the inevitable HEA all the more rewarding.
I enjoyed this book from start to finish. The hilarious mishaps of these two “honeymooners” kept me laughing and marveling at the clever banter and well-crafted chemistry. Christina Lauren authored an engaging and delightful read that had me eagerly turning pages, yet not wanting it to end.
Buy Unhoneymooners on Amazon
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