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The Unhoneymooners

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'The Unhoneymooners' by Christina Lauren is a romantic comedy novel about Olive and Ethan, who are forced to take a honeymoon trip to Hawaii together after everyone else at a wedding reception falls ill except for them. Initially, they dislike each other, but as they spend time together, their feelings start to change. The book features witty banter, funny incidents, and a fake honeymoon scenario that leads to unexpected twists and turns in their relationship. The writing style is engaging, with a mix of humor, romance, and relatable family dynamics that keep the readers entertained and invested in Olive and Ethan's journey.

Characters:

The main characters, Olive and Ethan, are well-developed, with Olive being witty and somewhat unlucky, while Ethan grows from a grumpy persona to revealing his true feelings.

Writing/Prose:

The writing style is humorous and engaging, characterized by witty dialogue and a light-hearted tone.

Plot/Storyline:

The plot revolves around Olive and Ethan, who are forced to go on a honeymoon together despite their animosity. As they spend time together, their feelings evolve from hatred to love.

Setting:

The setting is mainly in Maui, which adds to the tropical romance atmosphere of the story.

Pacing:

The pacing is quick and engaging, allowing for a smooth reading experience with a good balance of humor and emotional depth.
In the calm before the storm—in this case, the blessed quiet before the bridal suite is overrun by the wedding party—my twin sister stares critically down at a freshly painted shell-pink fingernail an...

Notes:

The Unhoneymooners is a romantic comedy by Christina Lauren, focusing on the enemies-to-lovers trope.
The story revolves around Olive and Ethan, who end up on a honeymoon trip to Hawaii after their siblings suffer food poisoning.
Olive and Ethan are initially adversaries due to a misunderstanding, but over the course of the vacation, they develop a bond.
The book features comedic moments, such as 'the Bathroom of Doom' scene, which is a fan favorite.
Olive comes from a close-knit family that is fiercely protective of each other, adding depth to her character.
The novel showcases elements of body positivity and self-acceptance through Olive's journey.
Despite some readers finding the misunderstandings unrealistic, the humor and banter in the story are often highlighted as strong points.
The relationship builds from animosity to friendship, ultimately evolving into a romantic connection.
Some readers appreciated the balance of lighthearted romance and deeper topics like trust and communication.
Christina Lauren's books are known for strong dialogue and engaging character dynamics, making them popular among readers.

Sensitive Topics/Content Warnings

Triggers include themes of cheating (not between the main characters) and body shaming, which may affect some readers.

Has Romance?

Yes, the book contains a strong romantic element as the relationship between the main characters develops significantly.

From The Publisher:

THE INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER!

Starred reviews from Kirkus Reviews * Publishers Weekly * Library Journal

Named a "Must-Read" by TODAY, Us Weekly, Bustle, BuzzFeed, Goodreads, Entertainment Weekly, Publishers Weekly, Southern Living, Book Riot, Woman's Day, The Toronto Star, and more!

For two sworn enemies, anything can happen during the Hawaiian trip of a lifetime-maybe even love-in this romantic comedy from the New York Times bestselling authors of Roomies.

Olive Torres is used to being the unlucky twin: from inexplicable mishaps to a recent layoff, her life seems to be almost comically jinxed. By contrast, her sister Ami is an eternal champion...she even managed to finance her entire wedding by winning a slew of contests. Unfortunately for Olive, the only thing worse than constant bad luck is having to spend the wedding day with the best man (and her nemesis), Ethan Thomas.

Olive braces herself for wedding hell, determined to put on a brave face, but when the entire wedding party gets food poisoning, the only people who aren't affected are Olive and Ethan. Suddenly there's a free honeymoon up for grabs, and Olive will be damned if Ethan gets to enjoy paradise solo.

Agreeing to a temporary truce, the pair head for Maui. After all, ten days of bliss is worth having to assume the role of loving newlyweds, right? But the weird thing is...Olive doesn't mind playing pretend. In fact, the more she pretends to be the luckiest woman alive, the more it feels like she might be.

With Christina Lauren's "uniquely hilarious and touching voice" (Entertainment Weekly), The Unhoneymooners is a romance for anyone who has ever felt unlucky in love.

Ratings (319)

Incredible (12)
Loved It (124)
Liked It (103)
It Was OK (42)
Did Not Like (30)
Hated It (8)

Reader Stats (527):

Read It (328)
Currently Reading (4)
Want To Read (139)
Did Not Finish (9)
Not Interested (47)

7 comment(s)

Loved It
4 days

Funny. Light hearted

 
Loved It
5 months

The Unhoneymooners is, with no doubt, an amazing book. It made me laugh, freak the f*ck out of me and love the characters. I love how Christina Lauren built up the enemies to lovers situation. It was so enjoyable and in some moments it made me forget about all the sh!t that has been happening this month. Still, the beggining was hard to caught me, which is one of the reasons for the loss of two stars. The thing is: that same thing happened in other moments too. It was a matter of me being completely envolved in the story in one moment and then in the other I wasn't. But honestly that you can blame on me. Maybe it wasn't the perfect time for me to be reading this story. Oh, and I also didn't connect with the characters, even thought I loved them all.

But I would be so down for a re-reading of it. This book is so good, made me laugh so much, the representation without being stereotyped is just wonderful and the epilogue is simply perfect. OH, and that massage scene-- I can't put into words how phenomenal that scene was, honestly.

 
It Was OK
6 months

Easy to read and easy to get through.

To be honest, I didn't feel the chemistry between these characters as much as I might've liked. Nor did I enjoy Olive's personality enough to exclusively follow her POV, as we did in this book. As a general rule, I enjoy reading books that show the POV of both main characters, especially in a romance. It makes the relationship feel less one-sided to me, and I love seeing the different ways characters view each other and their shared experiences.

This book didn't feel like 400 pages at all, which is positive, I suppose! The prose was engaging and had me flying through pages. The banter and interactions between the main characters were, without a doubt, most entertaining.

I may check out more of Lauren's work in the future! This book was a solid 3/3.5, and I'm sure she has even better out there.

 
Loved It
7 months

Considered three stars, but ultimately decided on four. I just love a predictable romance story! Nothing about this book challenged me, but it was just so fun to read. I enjoyed the pessimistic main character and how her evaluation of herself changed throughout the story. I’d probably follow a sequel if there was one (is there one?).

 
Did Not Like
8 months

3.5

 
Liked It
9 months

This book includes a nemesis to lovers trope and fake relationship trope. Christina Lauren kept me laughing from the beginning to the end. Well it has twins, Hawaii, hot dudes and unadulterated fun. NOTE: As I am sure you will not be able to not laugh out loud and if you do not plan to read/explain to you family members every 10 minutes the funny quote you just read, I suggest to read this book not in the company of others.

I love how Olive and Ethan, the main characters, are spinning a relationship from enemies to lovers. I love how they warm up to each other and start understanding they feeling.

The family of Olive in amazing. A huge number of relatives with a strong family bond and desire to help and take care of one another. I may love many secondary characters of other books, but I rarely love them. Here, I loved all of Olive's relatives. Ah, I would love to read a book about Diego (her always-supporting-fun-best-friend-gay cousin).

The story-line is full of fun light romance and drama, as well as with an intriguing plot. It keep you hooked right until the end. It is a quick read. It has many hilarious moments (oh I said that... sorry... but it's true) and of course a nice plot twist.

I love the dialogues. Christina Lauren know how to write them. This is my first book of hers that I read and won't be my last.

 
Loved It
9 months

This is my first book by this author, about which I have heard many good things before. And I'm not disappointed. Even if it's not the best book I have read this year, it was fun and entertaining.


Just as I don't like the first-person point of view, especially in romances, it didn't bother me here. Even though the author wrote Olive as a funny character (which I usually don't like), it's not annoying. You have no doubt that she is an intelligent and strong woman. I also like this more romantic and sensitive face of Ethan. Although I find him a little too perfect and flawless towards the end, he becomes almost annoyingly perfect and unreal.


The author has chosen a very interesting way of describing Ethan. It allowed us to get to know him along with Olive. Initially, his descriptions are unfavorable to him, because Olive does not like him. But then we see more and more of his positive side and finally find out that Ethan is a really great guy. The author has done a pretty good job as far as that goes.


The whole story is based on an initial misunderstanding. And although I usually don't like this theme very much, here it was put to good use and it didn't bother me at all. It fitted in well with the story.


I like how Olive and Ethan fit together, they make a really lovely couple. I also like their initial relationship, which is based on teasing each other. But for me, even more could be drawn from their banter to make the later contrast more visible. Because although there is tension in their relationship, there could be more of it. I feel like the author did not know how to add to this. The accidental touches and forced intimacy are fine, but in my opinion their full potential has not been used.


It is not a book that I will remember for years, but I will definitely read other books by this author. This is a quick and easy read. I recommend it especially to those looking for an easy vacation story.

 

About the Author:

Christina Lauren is the combined pen name of longtime writing partners and best friends Christina Hobbs and Lauren Billings, the New York Times, USA TODAY, and #1 internationally bestselling authors of the Beautiful and Wild Seasons series, Dating You / Hating You, Autoboyography, Love and Other Words, Roomies, Josh and Hazel's Guide to Not Dating, My Favorite Half-Night Stand, The Unhoneymooners, Twice in a Blue Moon, and The Soulmate Equation. You can find them online at ChristinaLaurenBooks.com, @ChristinaLauren on Instagram, or @ChristinaLauren on Twitter.

 
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