Monday, May 13, 2019

The Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren

Synopsis (via Goodreads): 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 fiancรฉ 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.
"I experience a moment of pure terror when I imagine how mortifying it would be for our cold, wet butt cheeks to touch."
I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. My thoughts and opinions are my own. Any quotes I use are from an unpublished copy and may not reflect the finished product.

The Unhoneymooners is not a book you should read while putting your kids down for a nap. Laughter was literally bursting from my body, despite many attempts at mentally telling myself to shhhhhh! The girls would sit up and look at me, but I couldn't contain the fits of giggles. If you've read this, the Bathroom of Doom had me laughing hysterically! I have a very vivid imagination, and ohmygod that was amazing and too funny for words. I want someone to make a movie out of this book, just so I can see that scene happen on a screen somewhere.

Olive and Ethan have a rocky relationship at best, and also a string of bad luck crazy coincidences, but their dislike is based on a single misunderstanding (normally this bothers me, but the misunderstanding wasn't entirely their fault). It's a long time before they're comfortable enough with each other to discuss their issues, but the journey was entertaining and endearing. I loved both of their personalities, and how ridiculous some of their conversations were. They're stubborn, yes, but not unwilling to be reasonable.

This one is definiltely a romance, and there are some steamy scenes, but I feel like they were short and left a lot to the imagination. It really worked for this book, despite my lady parts wishing for more dirty details. Ethan seems like he would be very thorough, but Olive skims over the interesting tidbits. He's here, he's there, and then she's everywhere.

I loved Olive's family! It was amazing how connected they were, and how fiercely protective they were of each other. If one person knew something, everyone knew. It was also common for more than one family member to show up unexpectedly and just stay to talk, or cook dinner. I know they mention Ethan's family, but I would have liked to know more about them as well. Especially since Olive's family plays such a large role.

There are no heartbreaking moments, but I did feel like being violent on Olive's behalf. I don't want to give anything away, so I'll just say there was a douche canoe that I wanted to kick repeatedly. However, in the end he got his comeuppance, and it was perfection. It definitely beats the kicking and eye-stabbing I was imagining, although he deserved both. It was also nice to see people dealing with their problems by talking, instead of adding a lot of unnecessary drama.

My favorite parts of the book happened while Olive and Ethan were on their borrowed honeymoon, and I really enjoyed seeing the two of them slowly connect over time. At some point their dislike turned into a really solid friendship, which eventually led to something more. I really liked how honest they were with one another, even when saying something the other person wouldn't want to hear. It was refreshing to see characters that didn't lie for the sake of someone else's feelings (even though they did lie about being married to score an awesome vacation). They were honest about what they were thinking, and I think that made a huge difference. Also, Maui sounds like an amazing place to visit! If you're reading this, husband of mine, pretend I'm winking at you in a suggestive way.

In the end, The Unhoneymooners was a hilarious read that I thoroughly enjoyed. I'm excited about this book being released into the world, because I know it's going to make a lot of people smile. "...when you get to the backside, remember: push together, don't spread." I'm grinning like a maniac remembering this scene, and how it's referenced later. Also, if you're a fan of books with grand gestures, this author duo has you covered!

30 comments:

  1. I've heard some good things about this one and even though I don't read a lot of books like this, I am contemplating adding it as a summer read. I love it when books have some humor thrown in. Great review!

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    1. I've had a lot of success with this author duo! I first stumbled across them when I read Autoboyography, and immediately fell in love! I tried Rommies shortly after, but it wasn't my cup of tea. However, Josh and Hazel's Guide to Not Dating, and The Unhoneymooners have both been hilarious wins! I hope you have a chance to read it soon! It's already summer. ;)

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  2. Yes it was definitely fun and I had a good time with it as well

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    1. Yay! It makes me happy to hear that! It's been ages since I've read a book that was just FUN! <3

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    1. I smile a lot when I read books, but very few actually make me laugh out loud. The Unhoneymooners managed to do it more than once! :)

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  4. Great review, Lindsi! This one just So. Much. Fun! Normally I really chafe at a plot that is based almost solely on a misunderstanding/miscommunication but in this case, like you mentioned, it made sense and it wasn’t really their fault. The humor was sooo perfect and had so many laugh out loud moments. And I just loved how open OLive was and how she didn’t shy away from speaking her mind and confronting things head on.

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    1. Yes! It was a blast to read, and I really enjoyed how it ended. :) Truth -- Olive and Ethan's misunderstanding was someone else's fault. He-who-shall-not-be-named wanted to keep his dirty little secrets, the perv. UGH -- HE is the person I wanted to kick and stab in the eye. The bathroom on the boat? The massage? Hahahahaha! I'm laughing just thinking about it. Yes! I loved how upfront and honest Olive was. She said what she meant, and she meant what she said. No nonsense! It killed me when Ethan misjudged the situation.

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  5. I love hate to love and the friend to lovers tropes and this really did have a little bit of both to it. So glad you enjoyed this!

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    1. I like that they went from snarky and sexually frustrated, to frenemies with benefits, and then transitioned into something more serious. They were in an unbelievable situation, and I don't think they would have acted on their feelings otherwise. It took clearing the air, which meant actually having a conversation.

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  6. I can definitely see the honeymoon being the best part of the book. This sounds so fun, I can't wait to read (and laugh)!

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    1. I'm already jealous of the laughter you're going to have! There's nothing quite like experiencing a book for the first time. Yes, I've re-read books before because I love them, but it's never as good as the first. <3 I cannot wait to see what you think!!

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  7. Olive's family was one of the highlights of this book, after Olive and Ethan. They were fabulous. And, yes! I laughed so much. These ladies know how to write a rom-com

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    1. I love that Olive and Ethan actually communicated with one another! They could disagree and resolve their issues with talking and very little drama. They also listened to what they other person had to say, and asked questions to better help themselves understand. They weren't perfect, but they tried to at least act like reasonable adults (when they weren't being snarky on purpose). I thought Josh and Hazel was funny, but this one was hilarious. <3

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  8. I don't think I've seen a single bad review of this book! Can't wait to read it!

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    1. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did! It's been ages since a book made me laugh this much. :)

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  9. I don't worry about waking my dogs so I'm good. :) You had me at bursting laughter. I so need to have a fun book like this in my life!

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    1. I have to worry about waking my dogs first thing in the morning! As soon as they realize I'm awake (they sleep in the bed with me), they're up and barking wanting to go outside. Their barking wakes the kids, and then I get zero me time with coffee in the morning. Now I just stay in bed until one of the kiddos wakes up, and we start our day on their schedule. :)

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    2. IF I can keep them quiet, make them think I'm just getting up to pee, I can slip out into the kitchen before the kids wake up. It doesn't happen often, but it's always lovely to have a cup of coffee and quiet first thing in the morning. I wish there was a door that led outside from my bedroom. I could let the dogs out without worrying about waking anyone.

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  10. I have not seen this around. I feel like I really need to read something with good humor.

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    1. I'm surprised you haven't seen this one! I feel like it's been everywhere the last few days, and you also read a lot of romance. There's not a ton of steamy sex in this one, but it's definitely an adult book. ;) I think you should give it a shot!

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    2. Getting caught up once again with commenting so I am sure I will see more of this book.

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  11. Everyone seems to be reading this one and it seems like everyone likes it.

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    1. It makes me happy to see people enjoying this book! It was so much fun! Do you think it's one you'll read?

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  12. This is so great!!! You unable to contain your laughter!!! OK sold!

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    1. Haha! I really loved this one! You should definitely let me know what you think of the Bathroom of Doom whenever you get around to reading it. :)

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  13. this book is everywhere today... I feel like all the bloggers that I found read it :D it seems light hearted and fun. I might have to pick this one up after the thriller.

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    1. I've been seeing it on blogs all month! I knew I had it on deck to read, so I was trying to skim other reviews for it, but everything was sooo positive! I couldn't wait to see what all the hype was about, and I wasn't disappointed. <3

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  14. Gosh, everyone is just raving about this one!! Great review!! I cannot wait to check it out!

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“Stuff and nonsense. Nonsense and stuff and much of a muchness and nonsense all over again. We are all mad here, don't you know?”
― Marissa Meyer, Heartless