The Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren starts with an exciting and humorous premise that immediately grabs the reader’s attention. Olive Torres, perpetually unlucky in life, braces herself to endure her twin sister’s wedding where her only goal is to survive 24 hours of awkward encounters and familial chaos. However, fate has other plans when a mass case of food poisoning hits the entire wedding party—except for Olive and her sworn enemy, Ethan Thomas. With a dream honeymoon in Hawaii suddenly up for grabs, the two reluctantly agree to take the trip, pretending to be a blissfully happy newlywed couple.

What I Loved:
The beginning of the novel is fast-paced, witty, and filled with sharp banter between Olive and Ethan. Their mutual dislike and sarcastic exchanges add a fun enemies-to-lovers dynamic that sets the stage for what promises to be a lighthearted and romantic adventure. Olive’s relatable and self-deprecating humor makes her an easy character to root for, and her evolving dynamic with Ethan feels natural and engaging. Watching their playful hostility slowly turn into genuine interest and affection was one of the highlights of the book for me.

The “fake relationship” trope is handled well, and their forced proximity in a tropical paradise leads to plenty of romantic tension and laugh-out-loud moments. Olive’s encounter with her future boss adds an interesting twist to the plot, heightening the stakes as she and Ethan must convincingly play the role of a happy couple. As their relationship shifts from pretending to something more real, I found myself enjoying the slow-burn development between them.

Where It Fell Short:
Unfortunately, as much as I enjoyed the initial setup and chemistry between the characters, the second half of the book dragged for me. While Olive and Ethan’s relationship was progressing, the constant interference of Ethan’s ex, Ami’s husband Dane, and their toxic dynamics began to feel repetitive and unnecessary. I kept waiting for Ethan to set boundaries and make it clear that he wasn’t interested in maintaining a connection with his ex, but his hesitation dragged out for too long, making those parts of the story tedious.

By the midpoint, the plot felt bogged down with unnecessary conflicts and misunderstandings that didn’t add much to the overall storyline. The charm and excitement that had me hooked in the first half seemed to fizzle, and I found myself skimming through some of the later chapters just to get to the resolution.

Final Thoughts:
The Unhoneymooners is a fun and charming rom-com with a lot of potential, but it loses momentum midway through. The witty dialogue and undeniable chemistry between Olive and Ethan make the first half an enjoyable read, but the dragged-out complications in the latter half detract from the initial charm. If you enjoy lighthearted romance with a fake-dating trope and a tropical setting, this book is worth picking up—just be prepared for a slower finish.

Thank you to Gallery Books for my digital ARC via NetGalley. As always, my reviews are my own and unbiased opinions.

A funny take on the "I hate you...I love you" trope. All the mishaps the couple runs into on their fake honeymoon left me laughing. Christina Lauren is one of my new favorite authors!

Having devoured every Christina Lauren book I get my hands on, this book did not disappoint and kept me reading frantically to the end. The witty banter is always on par and fresh. I kept finding myself 'saving' this book for a time and headspace that I knew I'd be able to give it the time and attention it deserves. This has become my practice with Christina Lauren books!

One of my favorite romance books and books of all time. I don’t usually favor enemies to lovers stories, but I love this one. 5 out of 5 stars. I love Christina Lauren’s books!

Some people will enjoy this type of story, but I am not one of them. I did not believe anything the protagonist said about her "feud" with the MMC and the miscommunication was through the roof in this book. Not a fun read and stressed me out more than anything else.

a great romance! love the premise and the travel and basically, everything! easy to recommend to romance readers.

One of the better Christina Lauren books I've read, and one I actually bought a physical copy of (okay, it was gifted to me, but still).

The Unhoneymooners is a good fit for people looking for a lighthearted, romantic comedy with a fake dating and enemies-to-lovers trope, featuring a relatable protagonist who finds herself in a series of unfortunate events, but ultimately learns to embrace her luck and find love in unexpected places.

Fabulous enemies to lovers romance! This back and forth between arguments and passion made me laugh out loud. I liked the Maui romance. The second half was a little too long but the secondary characters needed time so I understand why they wrote them into the ending. I’m a fan of Christina Lauren for making me laugh and also keep me swooning !!

Hello

Apologies for the late notice, but I have decided not to review this title. While I am certain it's obvious by now, I wanted to also clear this off NetGalley, so it's not showing as open for either of us.

Thank you!
Laura

This story was difficult to get in to. We had a main character who had very low self esteem and a sister who she let treat her terribly. Ethan was no better yet they end up on Ami’s honeymoon together. I love the enemies to lovers trope but I need a strong leading female and this one fell very short with Olive.
Thank you Netgalley for an ARC of this book.

After a wedding reception lands everyone except sworn enemies Olive and Ethan with food poisoning, they find themselves on a honeymoon in order to save the trip from going to waste. Surly these two can survive one little trip without killing each other, right? But when Olive runs into her boss and tells a teensy lie, she suddenly has to convince Ethan to play the part of her loving new husband.
This was a really fun read. There were a few little problems I had with it but just decided to go with the flow and enjoy the story. Enemies-to-lovers turned fake-dating. It just works sometimes.

this book was so cute! i really enjoyed the love/hate relationship the characters had. i will def be reading something by this author again

Sadly, not as funny as I had hoped or had heard it was going to be. To put this into perspective : I don't have a single highlight. Not. one.

The first half is definitely the highlight, though, with snarky hate banter between Olive, the twin sister's maid of honour, and Ethan, the groom's brother and best man. The circumstances surrounding their pretend relationship/forced proximity are OTT and outlandish but also kind of slapstick-funny and I enjoyed their stiff-acting and all the weird improbabilities that occur while they go on their sibling's honeymoon. But there's a weird element that gets introduced that I didn't like, a shitton of gaslighting and, almost, blame for something the heroine should not have been blamed for once something is revealed, and, of course, with the climax comes a whole host of drama that explodes all over the reader's and Olive's faces.

That said, I really liked the supportive backbone of family that is woven throughout the story but wish we'd had more of the Torres' and extended clan because they were fabulous. Definitely had a good time reading this, at least up until around the midway point, but THE UNHONEYMOONERS won't be making it onto my list of CLo favourites.

super super cute and enjoyable rom com. My fave christina lauren so far. Five stars for me for sure and a perfect escapist read

My mind goes to a certain place when I sit down to read a romance novel. I'm prepared for some mind-numbing, unremarkable reading time but this was NOT that. It was enjoyable and fluffy and substantial.

I. Loved. This. Book. So. Much.

I have never had MORE fun reading a Rom-Com book than I did reading this. The characters were so well-developed, and even though I couldn't relate necessarily to what was happening to the main characters, I felt like I was right there with them throughout their whole journey.

Thank you Gallery, Threshold, Pocket Books for providing an eARC for review.

For the entertainment value and laugh-out-loud moments this book gets a five star rating from me. I LOVED it! This is the first read from Christina Lauren, but it won't be the last. I will definitely be adding this book to my home library.

This is a humorous, enemies to lovers easy read. However, I didn't really feel any real chemistry between Olive and Ethan...their relationship was too superficial for me to really enjoy the story.

This was my first Christina Lauren, and it’s definitely not my last. It is an enemies to lovers romance where the protagonist just makes stuck on her twin sister’s honeymoon with the best man after everyone else in the wedding party gets sick. Nothing better than paradise and a fake honeymoon to get the romance started.