Almost with amazing regularity, these authors write some of THE BEST couples in romance. So far, I’ve adored all of them, and Olive and Ethan are one of their best to date. This is real talent. Creating characters that mesh so well with each other, that it feels effortless.

The Unhoneymooners – Christina Lauren

Olive is always unlucky: in her career, in love, in…well, everything. Her identical twin sister Amy, on the other hand, is probably the luckiest person in the world. Her meet-cute with her fiancé is something out of a romantic comedy (gag) and she’s managed to finance her entire wedding by winning a series of Internet contests (double gag). Worst of all, she’s forcing Olive to spend the day with her sworn enemy, Ethan, who just happens to be the best man.

Olive braces herself to get through 24 hours of wedding hell before she can return to her comfortable, unlucky life. But when the entire wedding party gets food poisoning from eating bad shellfish, the only people who aren’t affected are Olive and Ethan. And now there’s an all-expenses-paid honeymoon in Hawaii up for grabs.

Putting their mutual hatred aside for the sake of a free vacation, Olive and Ethan head for paradise, determined to avoid each other at all costs. But when Olive runs into her future boss, the little white lie she tells him is suddenly at risk to become a whole lot bigger. She and Ethan now have to pretend to be loving newlyweds, and her luck seems worse than ever. But the weird thing is that she doesn’t mind playing pretend. In fact, she feels kind of… lucky.

ARC generously provided in exchange for an honest review.

My thoughts

I’m a HUGE fan of enemies to lovers. The animosity, the tension, and the banter is what makes me come back for more. Combine this trope with brilliant writing and unique subplots – and you got yourself a winner.

Olive was delightful.

Spunky, sassy and never lost for words, Olive owned my heart! Supposedly she had the worst luck ever, poor girl, and some of her stories were hilarious but also kinda sad. The claw machine incident was my favorite – you’ll know when you get to it. But all of the bad luck didn’t bring her down, she had an attitude that could have conquered everything.

Ethan was a gem!

Level headed, well balanced, and just the right amount of alpha to keep Olive grounded, he was her match. Ethan was boyfriend material – no question asked. He was adorable, extremely supportive, and just an all-around good guy.

Olive’s bad “luck” finally took a break when she was forced to go on a honeymoon with her “enemy” Ethan. Interestingly enough, those two really clicked well – especially personality wise – when they both started opening up. And from there on I was in LOVE with them. Olive and Ethan were #couplegoals. They were like yin and yang. And their time together felt effortless. I’m truly honest when I say this – I was JEALOUS of how easy and comfortable their relationship was. Beautiful, touching, funny – they had it all.

It’s really astounding how well these authors write their couples. They are always down to earth, charming, genuinely likable, funny and smart. A CL couple is by far my most favorite of all. Always well balanced and just awesome in everything that counts. I know I’m gushing, but I have a real crush on Olive and Ethan. That’s just fact!!

There was only one subplot that rubbed me the wrong way.

Spoiler Alert!!!!

And that’s more a personal preference than anything else, but it almost ruined the last 1/3 of the book for me. Ethan’s reaction, his decision not to believe Olive didn’t sit well with me. I was so mad at him!!! I wanted to shake him and give him a piece of my mind – it was so frustrating. The resolution felt satisfying but I’m just not happy that it happened in the first place. But that’s just me.

Except for that I adored this book. And the cover is beyond gorgeous!! My most favorite CL cover so far and I can’t wait to get my fingers on a paperback copy, it’s a MUST to have one on my bookshelf. heart eyes emoji

3.75-4/5 Stars
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The Unhoneymooners – Christina Lauren