Christina Lauren always writes a great romance / women's fiction book. The love seems real, without too much X-rated details. Twice in a Blue Moon follows the same format. We are introduced to 18-year-old Tate, on vacation in London. She meets a boy, Sam, and they connect and fall in love as you do when you are 18 and know someone for less than two weeks. Things don't end well, to say the least and they go on.
Fast forward 14 years. Tate becomes a movie star and is surprised to see Sam on set one day. Readers of Christina Lauren know what's going to happen next and they don't disappoint. It's predictable, but it's a light, easy read. It's exactly what you get when you pick up a Christina Lauren book.
This one, for me, wasn't as solid as some of their other books. The connection between Sam and Tate as adults didn't seem to be there as much for me. I wished I could have seen more of the romance building. I also had a tough time with them as a couple after how their younger selves romance ended. It's one thing to overcome adversity, but this was a lot to overcome.
I love the idea of second chance at love, but this one stretched the line a little bit too much for me. The writing was good, the sex was very tame (virtually non-existent) but it needed a little more convincing to get me on board with this romance.

There is nothing like experiencing your first love; the feelings can be overwhelmingly beautiful and intense. Then when that love is shattered, by the person you love, you feel like your life is falling apart. Christina Lauren has captured all these feelings and more in their latest book, Twice in a Blue Moon.

However, there is more than meets the eye in Twice in a Blue Moon. As I read and thought about this book, I realized that these two authors gave us two-second chance romances within this one book. The passion between Tate and Sam is undeniable, but the poignant, guileless love between Luther and Roberta is what made me adore this story.

“I can’t fathom what it had to have been like for Luther, or the bond that must have existed between the two of them to press on, continue to fight against such bigotry and evil and in the end truly live such vibrant, optimistic lives.”

Tate has found her person in Sam. She has only just met him, and they have spent less than two weeks together, but they have fallen hard for each other. She doesn’t understand the feelings she has for him, but she feels in her heart that they are real. And how lucky can a girl get that Sam feels the same way about her? Tate shares herself and her biggest secret with Sam.

“He just seemed to pull everything out of me: my truth magnet.”

Then betrayal strikes.

Fourteen years later, Tate has her life back on track. She may be the daughter of one of the most successful leading men in Hollywood, but she has worked hard, and now she is an actress on the brink of her first serious movie roll. What could go wrong? Let us say that Christina Lauren takes us on one heck of an emotional ride.

I love the way these two women write. Their books are a joy to read. The character development of both main characters is well done. I found Tate to be tenacious, but also at the same time vulnerable, which made her very relatable. The supporting characters were well thought out and well written. There was a positive balance between the three women in Tate’s life, her Nana, her mom, and her best friend, Charlie. We must not forget Maro, who is Tate’s PR manager and who helps Tate navigate the very complicated Hollywood scene. They all supported Tate in very different ways.

“Marco is my calm, Mom is my home, Nana is my conscience, but Charlie is my wide-open sky, my free-dancing, stargazing wild rumpus.”

Sam, Sam, Sam, what to say about Sam, I loved him and wanted to strangle him at the same time. The man is simple and complicated all at the same time.


Twice in a Blue Moon, hit all my good feels. Twice in a Blue Moon showed us that being in love could be sweet and wonderous at times, but it also showed us that it could also be full of heartbreak and loneliness, but well worth it in the end.

I enjoyed reading Twice in a Blue Moon and would recommend this book to anyone who loves a good second chance love story.

** Please note the quotes in my review are subject to change once the book is published**


*** I kindly received this galley by way of NetGalley/publisher/author. I was not contacted, asked, or required to leave a review. I received no compensation, financial or otherwise. I have voluntarily read this book, and this review is my honest opinion. ***

Twice in a Blue Moon follows Tate who is the daughter of a famous actor. Her parents are divorced and she’s been living with her mom and nana in a small town away from Hollywood. On her first trip out of the country she meets a boy named Sam and instantly they fall for one another.

Sam comes from a small rural town but dreams of being a writer. Though Hollywood has ruined her family she secretly wants to be an actress. Tate has a lot of pent of resentment of her dad for essentially abandoning her. Both want to chase their passions in life but also don’t want to disappoint their loved ones. Upon the end of the trip everything falls apart as Tate’s existence is exposed and she is thrust into the spotlight.

Fast forward to ten years later and Tate is a actor working along her dad in a film called Milkweed in which she has the lead role. On set she runs into Sam for the first time in years and is shocked. Sam is now a writer and a farmer and happens to be the screenwriter of this film. All those feelings of pain and love come back. Can they both move on from the past?

As time goes on Tate is able to immerse herself into the movie as the lead role and being away from the hustle of the city allows her to reflect on her past. Her and Sam have many conversations about London and slowly reconnect over the years they’ve lost. Tate keeps her guard up so that she won’t get hurt again. While working on the film the two reconnect and start to talk about about what happened. Slowly the rift begins to fade away.

I enjoyed this book, but I wanted a bit more from it. The novel moved very slow at first but picked up towards the middle. I loved the secondary characters as much (if even more than the main characters) Charlie is a loyal best friend to Tate, Marco is her headstrong manager, Nick who is her co-star has a playful side but gives her support on set and good advice. Most importantly, her mom and nana and have always been there for despite all the drama from the press.

This a was a entertaining and heartwarming novel about a whirlwind romance and a first love. It was more sentimental and a bit more serious compared to other recent romances from the author duo, but very good.

3.5 stars. This is my third book by Christina Lauren. Overall I enjoyed this book, but it was missing a lot of the humor that I've seen in their two other books (Unhoneymooners- 5 stars & My Favorite Half Night Stand- 4 stars). This book had a more serious tone, and hardly any funny moments. I felt like the middle dragged on a bit. I liked the chemistry between the main characters and loved the scenes when they first met in London. I also liked that the book included scenes from the movie. They really added to the story. I did enjoy the ending, and I loved the side characters.

Thank you for the advanced copy of this book. My reviews can be read on my GoodReads account here: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/1335387-kelly

Twice in a Blue Moon by Christina Lauren is a modern love story about what happens when your first love renters your life when you least expect it.......Does love happen to the same person after being separated after 14 years? This is what happens to Sam and Tate. It was a light romance novel. A well-organized plot. Tate tried to connect with her estranged father but he was only concerned with his acting career. Will it last this time around?

A very sweet story of first love and hopefully coming back to it someday. Can it work?

Sam and Tate meet as teens while both traveling in London. They fall in love, but are not destined to be together and their romance is cut very short. Fast forward years later and they are thrown together again, as adults. However, things don't go smoothly.

While the book does have somewhat of a YA vibe, don't let that stop you from savoring a cute, sweet story, that you know how its going to turn out. Just sit back and enjoy the ride.

The tale that unfolds at its heart is a second chance romance, but it also deals with an absentee father, secrets and abandonment issues. The first twenty-five percent is spent in London when Tate is eighteen we don't meet Sam again until about the forty-four percent mark. Which is all fine and good, but it made the novel feel more women's fiction or chick-lit and that vibe remained.

Full review will post at Caffeinated Reviewer October 22, 2019. It will be uplifted on all social media. Reviews will also cross-post to Goodreads and Amazon.

I love Christina Lauren's books, but this one was not the duo's best. The writing was great as usual overall, but I kept feeling like there was something missing throughout the book. This was partly because I couldn't connect to the characters at all, which made me knock off a star, but there was something else missing that I can't quite pin down. The plot was intriguing-a lighthearted overall story with some dark elements-although somewhat easy to predict, which made me knock off another star. I'm still really excited for the duo's next book, but I hope it's up to par with their previous novels, unlike Twice in a Blue Moon.

Thank you very much to Netgalley and the publisher for a free advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

Twice in a Blue Moon had so much promise to be a great novel, but for me it fell short. It had great characters that I felt connected to, but it seemed like there were whole parts of the plot missing. I thought there were events in the book that should have been elaborated on, but they were skimmed over. 3 stars

As always, this is such a FUN read, and Christina Lauren creates the perfect combo of authors to write a lighthearted read. I have been seeing this book all over Bookstagram, and I thank the publisher for allowing me the opportunity to read this book! I will for sure be sharing it with all my followers.

If you’ve ever felt like you’ve lost your way, or had your heart brutally ripped out, or been betrayed by someone you loved....this book will resonate with you on the deepest level. Tate faced the most awful betrayal of her life and turned it around to a very successful career. I highly enjoyed the “movie biz” aspect of this book. I enjoyed all the script additions, it really made you connect with the characters and let you step into their own roles.

I LOVE CHRISTIAN & LAUREN. I've been a fan for years, and with each book it gets better and better!!!! There's just something about their writing that makes me smile from ear to ear. Not to mention their covers are so beautiful. I love a good second chance romance and LC killed it with this one. The writing duo does such an amazing job book after book there's no denying that they bring new aspects and light to every novel. As always they keep me wanting more, cannot wait to see what their next book is.

Twice in a Blue Moon is Christina Lauren at their absolute best. What I thought would be a light romance read turned out to have so much depth and heartache that it made me tear up a few times. The chemistry between Sam and Tate in the past and in the present was spot on. This book is very well written and should be added to the top of your wish list.


I received an advance copy. All thoughts are my own.

I was so excited to read this new novel by Christina Lauren because, typically, I will finish their books in a few hours and love every single word. Twice in A Blue Moon was very different from their usual books and I applaud them for stepping a bit out of their comfort zones, but this one was just o.k. for me.

As usual, the writing was flawless considering they are a duo and manage to make it all seem so effortless, but I struggled to like and/or connect with the characters. I was initially enamored with both Tate and Sam, but in the end, wasn't impressed by wither character.

The best way to convey my overall feelings would be that when I started to write this review just a few days after I finished it, I couldn't recall a thing about the book. I had to grab my Kindle and re-read the first few pages and the last few pages to recall enough to even review it. I adore Christina Lauren, but this wasn't their best.

* I received an ARC of this novel from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

My first Christina Lauren book was when I read The Unhoneymooners this summer and I liked this almost as much!!! It is a beautiful (and in some places sexy) story of how love can bloom so quickly and how one choice can change the course of so many peoples’ lives. It gives you hope that love can withstand time and conquer all, and it’s just all around a great story. Excellent pacing, complex characters, and romance... what more can a gal ask for?

As usual, Christina Lauren have hit it out of the park. I loved this! Tate and Sam were great characters. I wish Ian had more growth but I suppose some people don’t? Eugh he was irritating (as he was written to be). I just really enjoyed this. It was generally sweet and sappy and had a good ending. I was pleased.

This is a story of firsts.
First love.
First time.
First heartbreak.

It is also a story of seconds.
Second chances
Second loves.
It explores whether it is possible to have your second love be the same as your first (which is where the title comes to play).

Tate Jones has lived a sheltered life. It takes some time to understand why. During a 2-week vacation with her Nana in London, she meets Sam Brandis, and is so smitten with him, that she finds someone worth sharing her family secrets.

I loved these early moments of this book, as these two young adults connect on the lawn of the Marriott, they are both staying at. Their moments are sweet in their innocence, that is until neither character can hold back. I thought Sam was exactly what Tate needed - a man to convince her to take chances, to step out of her shell and explore life.

"Do you want to live in the sun?" he asked quietly. "Or do you want to go back in the shadows?"

However, that all goes very wrong one day and I wanted to nut punch him.

I won't give away the time from this couple's high, to their low, but as its been made clear, they reunite and are forced to be in each other's space. For me, it wasn't a matter of if they would reconcile, but how. I think Tate may have gone a bit too easy on him, but I think ultimately, she understood his reasons and would have done the same if in his shoes.

The part I struggled the most with in this story is Tate's relationship with her dad. She gives him so many chances, but Ian Butler is a shit dad. All he cares about his himself and his career. I kept waiting for Tate to blow up at him and demand his genuine attention. Instead, she lets him use her over and over for his own advancement.

Aside from those frustrating parts, I enjoyed this story. I liked how Sam honored his family's past and how Tate embraced that personal history and made it her own. Despite being taken advantage of twice in this book, she managed to rise above her own pain, which is admirable. If you enjoy second chance love stories, check this one out.

Tate first fell in love on a trip to London, where she met the mysterious Sam Brandis. They shared all their deepest secrets and dreams together every night in their hotel's garden. It was a whirlwind, beautiful romance. Sam was the only person that Tate told her biggest secret: she is the daughter of one of Hollywood's biggest film stars. But their brief love story ended abruptly when Sam betrayed Tate, revealing her secret and outing her to the world. Now, fourteen years later, Tate is a famous actress herself. She's on set on her biggest project to date. The last person she's expecting to see is Sam Brandis. But here he is. Now Tate is forced to confront what happened fourteen years ago--and how it has affected her all these years later.

"What would you do if you got a second chance with your first love?"

Well, I was totally caught up in this captivating romance. I'm a real sucker for Hollywood drama, so this was right up my alley. The daughter of a Hollywood star, who abandoned her and her Mom after a messy divorce? Said daughter grows up and decides to be a film star after being outed by her first love? I'm so in.

This Christina Lauren novel is told just from Tate's point of view, so we don't get some of the back-and-forth POV that we see in some of the duo's other books. There is more drama, less witty banter, than we might see in other books. But there's still plenty of the usual lies, longing, and misunderstandings. There are also lots of sexy moments and romantic interludes, too.

Tate is a fun character; I liked the divide between young Tate and Sam and then cutting to them fourteen years later. Honestly, older Tate is a little clueless at times. It takes her a while to catch on to things that seem pretty obvious to the rest of us. As usual, some things are rather predictable and other moments are a bit overblown, but it didn't diminish my enjoyment of the book. While Sam and Tate might not have had a constant humorous dialogue going, I liked the seriousness that the book brought to their relationship, as well as the funny moments it dropped in too. Tate's family, friends, and co-stars add a lighthearted touch, too.

Overall, this is a sweet, engaging romance. I loved the Hollywood aspect and the changing dynamic between Tate and Sam. 4 stars.

Christina Lauren is always a must read for me so I jumped at the chance to read their newest book, Twice in a Blue Moon. ⁣
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Did you know this was a writing duo? Yep! Blew my mind too! How hard that must be to co-write a novel but this team pulls it together so seamlessly. ⁣
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This was a lighter romance with characters who may be getting a second chance at love. Sometimes you just need a feel good storyline and after a slew of serial killer novels this was just what I needed! At times a little too predictable and obvious, this was not my favorite book of theirs. However, it was an enjoyable read with likable characters and an interesting plot. I found this to be a light, fresh, fun read to shake up my reading life! 3.5/5 stars. Thank you @gallerybooks for this advance reader in exchange for my honest review.