Twice in a Blue Moon by Christina Lauren Purchase on: Amazon, iBooks
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Synopsis:
From the New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling duo behind The Unhoneymooners and the “delectable, moving” (Entertainment Weekly) My Favorite Half-Night Stand comes a poignant romance that follows two people who fall in love during a life-changing overseas vacation—only for the truth to change everything once they return home.
As an adventurous send-off to her childhood, eighteen-year-old Tate Jones travels with her grandmother from their small town in Northern California to London. But the vacation of a lifetime is wonderfully derailed by the appearance of two charming Vermont farmers: grandfather Luther and his handsome grandson Sam.
Sam and Tate fall hard and fast. For two glorious weeks, the couple share their hopes, dreams, and secrets. Sam admits he suspects his grandfather is dying and that this could be the last trip they take together, and Tate reveals that she is the hidden daughter of one of the biggest film stars in the world—a secret she’s never told anyone before.
But when Tate is exposed by a crush of cameras and reporters, she knows she's been betrayed by the one person she thought she could trust. She is forced to decide whether she will return to her quiet life or embrace being in the public eye. So when Sam reappears in her world more than a decade later, can Tate forgive the past and rekindle the passion they shared on their magical trip abroad? And does she even want to?
With Christina Lauren’s signature “beautifully written and remarkably compelling” (Sarah J. Maas, New York Times bestselling author) prose, Twice in a Blue Moon is an unforgettable and moving novel of young love and second chances.
Review:
The range of what these two can write about and make me love, somehow still surprises me every time I open up one of their new books. Their more erotic stuff (Wild Seasons and Beautiful series), their romantic comedies (Josh and Hazel, Half-Night Stand, etc.), and their more…poignant (?) novels (Love and Other Words and now this one) have all stuck out to me as being some of my favorite romances of all time for different reasons. While there were a few parts of this one that didn’t make me feel a 100% full-on, typical Arielle obsession, there is no doubt that I felt these words deep in my bones. There are (as always) quite a few quotes that I highlighted the crap out of because I know even just reading those few specific lines over again will have my heart racing.
I’ll been that there will be some people that will say that the romance between Sam and Tate during their brief time in London at the beginning of the book wasn’t believable and I will strongly disagree. I am and always have and will be a die-hard romantic. I’d like to think that I do, in fact, believe in a variation of love at first sight. I think that it’s entirely possible to meet someone for the very first time and have a ~sense~ about them that tells you that they are special. It can be a bone deep connection that you can’t shake..a feeling that your entire life as you know it has changed by this chance meeting. That’s how I feel about how Tate and Sam met. They saw each other, spent time together, talking, and they indeed felt that pull to one another that only happens between certain people. I personally loved that first part and it reminded me a lot of Gayle Foreman’s Just One Day duology.
The story ten fast forwards to about 15 years after their week in London. After the press is alerted to who Tate really is, in a whirlwind of events she is now an actress, just as famous as her father. The two are starring in their very first movie together and they are filming on a beautiful farm in northern California. In an….interesting….turn of events, the screen writer for this film that Tate has grown to love so dearly is, yeah you guessed it, Sam. They have not seen nor heard from one another in FIFTEEN YEARS so it’s a pretty big shock to Tate to say the least. Obviously the rest of the book is about the two of them trying to wade through the ocean of feelings and hurt that lay between them.
The one thing I didn’t like about this book, kind of spoiler alert, was that they didn’t get back together until very near the end of the book. I mean….in real life it’s obviously super realistic for them to have taken a long amount of time to heal their respective wounds before they could reconnect but damn…I selfishly just wanted more time with them actually together as an actual couple lol. It just slightly dimmed the story and knocked off a star for me but that still doesn’t mean I didn’t like the book. I mean when they got back together that first time the writing gave me goosebumps and took my breath away. It was incredible.
So yes, overall, I would definitely recommend this one. As always. Just know it’s not like the last few light-hearted ones they have written!
Huge thanks to NetGalley and Gallery Books for an eARC in exchange for my honest opinion! ♥
Definitely very excited for this one! Love these authors so much. This one comes out on my birthday later this year, and I probably won’t get around to it till closer, so I won’t request on Netgalley right now. But glad to hear you liked it overall!
Lisa Mandina (Lisa Loves Literature) recently posted…Blog Tour Review with Giveaway: If It Makes You Happy by Claire Kann
Aw that’s awesome! I love when books come out on your birthday, especially ones you are super excited for. I hope you end up loving it!
Wonderful review! I haven’t heard of this new book but really loved their Unhoneymooners! This sounds like a great read! I’m glad you loved it! Adding it to my TBR list!
Raven recently posted…The Unhoneymooners By Christina Lauren [Review]
Thanks, Raven! I think this one will probably be another hit! 🙂 Hope you end up liking it.
I love a good romance in which two people meet up years later. I would probably want to see more romance time, but it is good also that the author takes the time to let the characters heal their wounds before reconnecting.
You’re right, it is a bit more realistic the way they played everything in this one! I hope you end up liking this one if you read it!
It sounds like what happened in Roomies. The two main characters didn’t resolve their issues until the very end, and it was a tad disappointing. I didn’t like how they handled themselves throughout the book. I think that’s the only Christina Lauren book I didn’t LOVE. I’m really looking forward to this one, so I’m happy to see it was enjoyable even if the realistic aspects made it frustrating. You should read One Day in December, haha. 😉
Lindsi @ Do You Dog-ear? 💬
Lindsi recently posted…The Sunday Post [21]
I actually felt the same way about Roomies, too! And then I saw they were making a movie out of it and I couldn’t help but be a tad disappointed because I love the rest so much more lol. But oh well, maybe that one will open the door for them to make others! 🙂 And I just looked it up and added it to my TBR, thanks!
I didn’t realize they were making a movie of Roomies! Interesting. I would have preferred Josh and Hazel, The Unhoneymooners, or Autoboyography. Oh well, like you said… it may open doors.
Also, the One Day in December was an excellent read, but do know that there’s ten years of heartache to get through… 😉 I mentioned it since we were talking about characters that don’t get together until the very end.
Lindsi recently posted…The Girl in Red by Christina Henry
Lol thanks for the heads up. Kind of makes me think of Love, Rosie (haven’t read the book but watched the movie). I feel like I will have to be in a certain mood for it. I mostly am all for the “instant” gratification, lol. I can’t always handle the stories with the missed connections and not even fully knowing if they will eventually get their chance!!!
I am a bit reluctant about reading this book. Isn’t it a cliche story? I mean, I have read a lots of books with that history: young love fall apart, meet again few years later and then back together. What is so good in that book that everyone talks about?
Thank you.
Honestly, it’s their writing. To me, the same story can be done again and again and if the writing is just right…I’ll read it. Christina Lauren have proven to me time and time again that their quality of writing is unlike most of what I’ve read before. It is so utterly gripping and literally just *moves* you. I can’t really describe it better than that!