Audiobook, Contemporary Romance

The Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren

Jonetta | Blue Mood Café

The Unhoneymooners

Olive Torres couldn’t be more opposite of her identical twin, Ami, who seems to be the one gifted with all the luck. Olive…not so much. It’s the occasion of Ami’s wedding to Dane Thomas and Olive isn’t looking forward to her pairing with the groom’s best man and brother, Ethan. Their first meeting didn’t go so well and it was just downhill since. What begins as a 24-hour tolerance turns into a 10-day honeymoon vacation when the entire wedding party suffers from food poisoning (bad shellfish) and Olive & Ethan replace the bride and groom on their non-refundable Maui trip. She’s allergic to shellfish and he won’t eat food on a buffet so they avoided illness. This is their start to what becomes a hilarious and unplanned romantic getaway in Hawaii.

I count on this writing team to craft interesting and often quirky characters that you love to love. They’ve done it again with Olive Torres and her equally fascinating twin sister, Ami. The events leading up to the wedding (almost free because of Ami’s skill at coupon collecting and luck with contest entries) had me in stitches. Olive and Ethan’s duplicity in having to pose as the newlyweds created some sticky moments while in Hawaii that served up some funny and often awkward situations, too. All of this created a foundation for these two to bond and explore each other in ways they wouldn’t and couldn’t have at home. The romance kind of sneaks up on you, which made that even better when it finally develops. Lest you think this is all laughs and frolics, the story does take a serious turn when they return home and face some unforeseen consequences and issues that test them individually and as a couple.

I loved Cynthia Farrell, the narrator who handled the entire book, told from Olive’s point of view, until Deacon Lee (one of my favorites) closed with Ethan’s narrative in the epilogue. She does humor really well and handled the transition to serious effectively. I continue to be impressed with the narrator selections for this team’s books.

I started listening to this book in the early evening and kept adjusting my stopping point agreement until I realized I only had an hour to go and finished it in the wee hours. There was just no way to put it down. I loved Olive but needed some warming up to Ethan, just as she did so I was obviously immersed in the story. It’s a delightful tale with some strong themes around family, loyalty and being true to yourself. The authors continue to be auto reads for me.

Book Info

  • Release Date: May 14, 2019
  • Narrators: Cynthia Farrell & Deacon Lee
  • Audio Length: 9 hours, 7 minutes
  • Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio

 

 

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(Thanks to Simon & Schuster Audio for my complimentary copy. All opinions are my own.)

Published by Jonetta | Blue Mood Café

30 thoughts on “The Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren”

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  13. Great review Jonetta. i have read so many good reviews of this book that I have put it on hold at the library. I have not read anything by this team and am really looking forward to some laughs.

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  14. Excellent review Jonetta! I loved this one and had to wait to read your review until after I had written mine and then I was traveling. But I really enjoyed the humor and the personal growth of both Olive and Ethan.

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