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Showing posts with label Christina Lauren. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Christina Lauren. Show all posts
Friday, August 21, 2020
Enemies-to-Lovers Rom-Com a Fun, Upbeat Read
12:20 PM
(Image from Barnes & Noble)
Olive and Ami Torres might be identical twins, but they're nothing alike. Especially when it comes to luck. Ami wins every contest she enters. Olive has her clumsiest, most embarrassing moments broadcast on YouTube and national television. She's not bitter. It's just a fact of life that Ami's life moves seamlessly forward while Ollie gets struck by lightning (literally). She shouldn't be too surprised, then, by her present circumstances. As the maid-of-honor at Ami's posh but almost cost-free wedding, Olive is stuffed into an atrocious, too small gown, which is not making it any easier to make nice with her archnemesis, Ethan Thomas, who is—naturally—the best man.
Shockingly, Olive's luck starts to change when all the guests at the wedding dinner get food poisoning from the discount seafood buffet except for her. From her sickbed, Ami insists Olive take the fabulous, free honeymoon vacation Ami won for herself and her new husband. All Olive has to do to take advantage of a relaxing week in Hawaii is pretend to be newly married to the only other person who isn't sick—Ethan. She'll keep up the pretense when necessary, then dump him on a beach somewhere and enjoy her vacation solo. Easy peasy. There's only one problem—the more time Olive spends in paradise with Ethan, the more she doesn't want to leave. Him. Will the unluckiest girl in the world find a way to screw up what's starting to feel like the best thing that's ever happened to her? Or has fate finally done her a solid?
From its bright, colorful cover to its engaging, zany plot to its likable characters and humorous story situations, The Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren is a fun read. It's upbeat, funny, swoony, and just all kinds of enjoyable. I definitely would have preferred a PG-13 version, but still, this is a witty, heartfelt novel that kept me royally entertained. It's almost universally loved by readers/reviewers and it's easy to see why. Next time I'm looking for a diverting rom-com, I'll keep this writing duo in mind.
(Readalikes: Hm, I can't think of anything. Can you?)
Grade:
If this were a movie, it would be rated:
for language (a half-dozen F-bombs, plus milder expletives), innuendo, and sexual content
To the FTC, with love: Another library fine find
Tuesday, August 11, 2020
Top Ten Tuesday: Books I've Loved But Not Reviewed. Yet.
9:08 AM
According to my mom, I taught myself to read before starting kindergarten and just never stopped. I've read thousands of books throughout my life; since I didn't create my blog until 2006, that means there are tons of titles that would work for today's Top Ten Tuesday topic: Top Ten Books I Loved But Never Reviewed. Could my aging memory come up with enough to make a decent list? Yeah, right! I can barely remember what I ate for breakfast yesterday (actually, I can't remember at all—did I even eat breakfast yesterday?). Thankfully, I am, as always, months behind on writing reviews for this year's reads, so I'm just going to chat about ten books I've read in 2020 that I loved but haven't reviewed. Yet.
You've probably got lots of books you loved but haven't reviewed, too, so why don't you join in the TTT fun? All you have to do is click on over to That Artsy Reader Girl, scan a few quick instructions, make your own list, then spend some happy hours spreading the love across the book blogosphere. It's a great way to check in on favorite blogs, discover new ones, and of course, find awesome reading recs to add to the ole TBR mountain chain. It's a good time, I promise!
Top Ten Books I've Loved This Year But Haven't Reviewed Yet
1. The Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren—This enemies-to-lovers romance about a wedding reception that goes awry, leaving the best man and the maid of honor to take the newlyweds' honeymoon vacation, is just plain fun.
2. Girl Waits With Gun by Amy Stewart—Based on the real-life experiences of a "lady cop" and her crime-fighting sisters in early 20th Century America, this mystery is the first in a series featuring the indomitable Constance Kopp. It's interesting and compelling.
3. The Split by Sharon Bolton—I love suspenseful stories set in remote places and Bolton's newest definitely fits the bill. It's a novel with a deceptively simple premise—a woman who has fled to remote South Georgia for an extended research trip is being pursued by an ex-con. Why? Will he find her? Like all of Bolton's mysteries, this one is taut, tense, and twisty. The Split might be my favorite of all her books.
4. The Book of Lost Friends by Lisa Wingate—This dual-timeline novel combines adventure, mystery, and history to create an intriguing tale that I very much enjoyed.
5. Beyond the Horizon by Lois Lowry—It might be a thin volume, but this memoir-in-verse that recounts the author's experiences as a young girl in Hawaii during World War II, packs a big punch. I found it profoundly moving, but in a way that snuck up on me, if that makes any sense.
6. Necessary Lies by Diane Chamberlain—This impactful novel is about a new social worker from a privileged background who begins her career in rural North Carolina during the turbulent 1960's. Her life and outlook are both changed when she meets a young girl who's carrying all the burdens of keeping her desperately impoverished family afloat.
7. The Imperfects by Amy Meyerson—It's hard to describe this Knives Out-ish novel, but it's an on-point exploration of what can happen when an estranged family unexpectedly inherits an exorbitant amount of wealth—and secrets.
8. Agnes at the End of the World by Kelly McWilliams—True, there's nothing super original about this YA novel in which the members of a sheltered religious cult have to face the alarming effects of a terrifying pandemic, but it tells a thoughtful story that kept me engrossed. It asks some important questions about faith, blind obedience, family, etc. I also like that it features a character with Type 1 diabetes (in a cult that eschews medicine, no less). You don't see my disease featured in a lot of books, so I was glad for this important representation.
9. From the Desk of Zoe Washington by Janae Marks—I enjoyed this middle-grade novel about a girl who intercepts a letter from the father she's never met, who's in prison for murder. She starts a secret correspondence with him that leads her to make some important discoveries about herself and her family. Despite its heavy-ish content, this is an upbeat, enjoyable book.
10. The Line Between by Tosca Lee—This YA novel is similar to Agnes at the End of the World and I liked it for a lot of the same reasons. It tells an exciting story, but it also offers up a lot of lots of food for thought on faith, works, and religion. For a doomsday novel, it's surprisingly clean and upbeat.
There you have it, ten books I enjoyed but haven't gotten around to reviewing yet. What do you think? Have you read any of them? Do any of them sound like reads you would enjoy? What books have you loved but not reviewed yet? I'd love to know. Leave me a comment on this post and I'll gladly return the favor on your blog.
Happy TTT!
Tuesday, February 18, 2020
Top Ten Tuesday: On Vacation
1:00 AM

Before we get to that, though, I want to encourage you to join in the TTT fun. If you're looking for a way to get involved in the book blogging community, find new blogs to enjoy, and add great-sounding titles to your TBR list, then this is the meme for you! Click on over to That Artsy Reader Girl for a few instructions, then create your own post, and start checking out other people's lists. Easy cheesy.
Okay, here we go with the Top Ten Vacation-Gone-Awry Novels I Would Like to Read (in no particular order):
1. Do Not Become Alarmed by Maile Meloy—This suspenseful novel concerns two families who go on a cruise together. While at a stop in Central America, the kids go missing, prompting their parents to turn on each other in their fear and guilt. What happened to the children? Will they be found alive, dead, or not at all?
2. The Floating Feldmans by Elyssa Friedland—Annette Feldman wants to celebrate her 70th birthday with all her children and grandkids, who haven't spent significant time together in more than ten years. When she books them all on the same cruise, the forced family togetherness brings up family secrets, bitter rivalries, and plenty of teenage angst. Stuck with each other for the foreseeable future, the Feldmans will make waves, but will they sink as a family or swim? Sounds entertaining!
3. Tomorrow There Will Be Sun by Dana Reinhardt—This is another novel about a birthday celebration gone awry. This time, two families are in Puerto Villarta for a relaxing getaway/birthday bash. It doesn't take long, though, for tension to start creeping into paradise. Will their "perfect" vacation be the thing that tears both families apart forever?
4. The High Season by Judy Blundell—In order to afford their dream house by the sea, Ruthie and her ex-husband have to rent out their shared beachfront property during the summer. When a group of rich, intrusive vacationers descend on her beach house and into her life, Ruthie experiences an unforgettable summer that will change her life.
5. The Last Cruise by Kate Christensen—A vintage ocean liner is making its final voyage, giving her passengers a chance to experience the throwback glamour of a 1950's luxury cruise. It soon becomes apparent, however, that everything is not okay with the aging ship ...
6. One Little Secret by Cate Holahan—Susan needs some time away, so she invites her new neighbors on a beach getaway with her and her husband. As the couples get to know each other, secrets are shared and revealed. One person says too much. The next morning, one of them is found dead on the beach. Whodunit?
7. Seating Arrangements by Maggie Shipstead—Gathered on an island to celebrate their daughter's wedding, the Van Meters are in for an eventful vacation ...
8. Maine by J. Courtney Sullivan—This family drama features the Kellehers, who are gathering for their annual summer vacation at the beach. It doesn't take long for tempers to rise, secrets to out, and frustrations to surface, leading to an unforgettable holiday gone awry.
9. The River by Peter Heller—When two college buddies set out on a much-anticipated canoeing trip, their perfect vacation is threatened by an approaching wildfire. After hearing a couple arguing nearby, they set off to warn them about the danger—only to discover that no one is there. The next day, however, they spy a man paddling down the river alone. Is it the same man they heard the night before? If yes, where is his female companion? A wilderness survival/mystery novel? Yes, please!
10. The Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren—I've been seeing this vacation novel all around the book blogosphere. It features a man and woman brought together by a wedding where everyone but them gets food poisoning. With a free honeymoon holiday up for grabs, the sworn enemies embark on a trip to paradise. They can get along well enough to masquerade as newlyweds for ten days in Hawaii, right? Sounds like a fun contemporary romance.
There you have it, ten fictional vacations gone horribly wrong. Have you read any of these novels? Can you think of other titles that fit in the category that I need to read? Have you ever experienced a holiday gone awry? I'd love to hear from you. Leave a comment on this post and I will gladly return the favor on your blog.
Happy TTT!
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