– I received a free copy in exchange for an honest review. –
To be published by Gallery Books on 22 Oct 2019
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Sam Brandis was Tate Jones’s first: Her first love. Her first everything. Including her first heartbreak.
During a whirlwind two-week vacation abroad, Sam and Tate fell for each other in only the way that first loves do: sharing all of their hopes, dreams, and deepest secrets along the way. Sam was the first, and only, person that Tate—the long-lost daughter of one of the world’s biggest film stars—ever revealed her identity to. So when it became clear her trust was misplaced, her world shattered for good.
Fourteen years later, Tate, now an up-and-coming actress, only thinks about her first love every once in a blue moon. When she steps onto the set of her first big break, he’s the last person she expects to see. Yet here Sam is, the same charming, confident man she knew, but even more alluring than she remembered. Forced to confront the man who betrayed her, Tate must ask herself if it’s possible to do the wrong thing for the right reason… and whether “once in a lifetime” can come around twice.
(I only know one other person who has read this book, so I just needed to get all my feels out! Watching other people’s book reviews on Youtube just isn’t as satisfying as hashing it out in my own review, ya know??)
I read The Unhoneymooners this past summer–my first Christina Lauren–and loved it. When I saw that they were coming out with a new title, I was so excited, and when I saw the beautiful cover, even more so. Unfortunately, Twice in a Blue Moon didn’t quite hit the mark for me. It didn’t have the charm/romance/humour that I loved so much in The Unhoneymooners and was hoping for more of.
The main reason I didn’t buy into this love story was that I felt Sam and Tate’s initial romance was too quick. If that initial romance was more believable, I might have been more invested in them and might have looked past everything else, but alas.
I think we were meant to root for Sam and Tate because they were connected by the secrets they shared with each other. Whilst their secrets could have garnered some sympathy from me, I didn’t know enough about the characters to understand why those secrets were such a big deal, so instead of garnering my sympathy, the secrets felt generic and melodramatic. The quickness and ease with which they spilled their secrets only drove that feeling home.
And then Sam’s unexplained betrayal, which sets the rest of the story in motion. First of all, I didn’t feel that Sam was anything special. To be fair, I start off skeptical of most pretty boys (they’re unnerving… Like, what evils are you hiding in that perfect head of yours??). His particular brand of charisma made him come off as a player, at least to me. He could drown you in sickly sweet compliments, but he was as bland as could be. So when he exposed Tate’s secret, I wasn’t inclined to give him the benefit of the doubt, as I didn’t have any real insight to his intentions and where he might have been coming from.
From a moral standpoint, what he did was wrong. Continuing on with the story, I was almost in suspense, curious to understand his reasons by the end of the book, hoping–anticipating, even–that he’d redeem himself. But alas, his reasons weren’t enough for me. C’mon, he snitched like 6ix9ine; no one asked, dude!!
no one:
sam: tate is the long-lost daughter of movie star ian butler
When Sam and Tate were reunited, at one point, Tate mused, “What kind of doormat am I? We’re weeks into this shoot, in the middle of nowhere, and he tells me he’s sorry and he’s jealous and that’s it? Fourteen years and I’m ready to pick back up where we left off?”
THAT. EXACTLY THAT. WHY TATE, WHY. ARE YOU A DOORMAT?? That excerpt pretty much summarises [most of] my feelings about this story. Straight from Tate herself!!
You know who would back me up on this? Charlie, Tate’s best friend. She’s a real one. Anyone that does her friend wrong has done her wrong. She won’t let you forget it. She won’t be wooed by your empty words or sexy muscles. Charlie’s my favourite.
Another favourite was Nick, Tate’s costar (fourteen years later, Tate’s an up-and-coming actress). He had that heart-fluttering charisma and wholesome, playful energy I was hoping to get out of the main love interest. I wish that there was a love triangle between Tate, Nick, and Sam, just so that I could have gotten more of Nick and less of Tate pining over Sam.
Although I wasn’t particularly charmed by this romance, it was easy to read. Maybe if you don’t hold grudges as badly as I do, you could potentially enjoy this one. If you’re stuck in the countryside and don’t have anything to do, this isn’t the worst way to pass your time. If you’re happy with a fling with a pretty face, this book will do you just fine. But I’m a pessimistic romantic (a winning combo, I know).
In general, I’d say that you don’t need to make Twice in a Blue Moon a priority to read if you have other books on your TBR. But I haven’t given up on Christina Lauren! I keep hearing about Josh and Hazel’s Guide to Not Dating and Love and Other Words, so those will probably be my next Christina Lauren reads.
Have you read any Christina Lauren?
★★★☆☆