Christina Lauren has always been one of my go-to authors for a great read. She has never let me down and she continues to deliver with Twice in a Blue Moon. This is a story of second chances and of forgiveness. It is a novel of learning to accept flawed people and learning that some people will never change. I enjoyed how the book began in the past before bringing up the conflict of the present. It allows the reader to have a sense of the emotions that played out in the past that made the characters who they were in the present story line. Lauren did a great job of building the characters personalities and made the reader invest in them. I recommend this novel to anyone who likes contemporary romance and chick lit.

A cute little fluffy book about love and how it can come back around. A second chance love story about two people who belong together

I don’t know how many Stars I would give this book. I might go back and change my rating and add more thoughts later.

I had mixed feelings reading this book. It would suck me in then spit me out then suck me in again. I won’t say that Twice in a Blue Moon is a romance. I would say that there is only one main character in this book and everyone else has a supporting role. Once I accepted that, I enjoyed the book more. I think this book really highlights all kinds of relationships, both the good and the bad.

I think they should have decided what they want this book to be. It has potential. It misses the mark on both a romance novel and a women’s fiction novel. The book started as a romance then became women’s fiction then tried to end as a romance. It just missed both marks.

I voluntarily read an early copy.

I'm really not sure what's going on with Christina Lauren books lately. Until recently, I've loved all of their books, but the last couple standalone books have left me disappointed. Most will probably still enjoy this, but it certainly wasn't what I expected.

For starters, the first 30% of this book is essentially a young adult novel. Sam is 21, Tate is 18. They meet in London while both on vacation and have a fling. Don't get me wrong, the romance was cute, even if they seemed like young teens instead of their legal adult ages. But I don't really like YA novels given I'm in my late 30's and had to force myself to continue reading about such a high-school-ish romance. Had I known that the young romance would have been the best part of the book, I probably wouldn't have been so quick to judge the book during that part. Typically when there's a backstory involving two teenage lovers, it doesn't consume 30% of a book, so for this one to occupy so much of the storyline, it threw me off and seemed a bit too much. It was well-written and believable, that much is true and I felt their love and emotions,

Things go downhill when we meet the 30-something year old Sam & Tate. Tate is now an actress and Sam is the screenwriter for a movie she's starring in. Sam betrayed Tate at the end of those 2 weeks in London and so things are a bit rocky when they meet again. But there is basically NO ROMANCE for the rest of the book! I don't get how you can have a romance novel with no romance. Sure, they will confess their love in the end, but there were no dates, no long days spent together learning one another again, nothing! Just a few brief moments on set after 14 years apart. That doesn't make love or a relationship.

And to make matters worse, the book just ends at that. There's no resolution to any other thing that happens before the ending. We don't know what happens with the movie, her jerk of a dad, the media or even where they live IF they decide to move forward in their relationship. I was pretty livid upon discovering the book just ends with no resolution or even an epilogue. It made a 'just okay' book into a disappointment (I'm almost tempted to give it 2 stars simply because of this).

Honestly, this book was more of a drama with some puppy love thrown in at the beginning, not the typical Christina Lauren romance. I really hope they get back to their old style of writing. Don't get me wrong, I'm all for reinventing oneself or branching out and doing something different. I'm willing to go along that journey with an author. But the quality has to be maintained and the writing on this one wasn't up to their usual standards.

What's not to like about a Christina Lauren book? First love leads to betrayal when Tate falls for Sam on a vacation in London. Tate shares her secret with Sam - that her father is one of the biggest stars on the planet. When the secret is revealed to the press, Tate's life is upended and she believes she was betrayed by Sam. Flash forward 14 years and Tate, now an up-and-coming actress, is working on a film that should make her career, not knowing it was written by Sam, who she has not seen since London. They reconnect on location but can she trust that he has her best interests at heart? The lead characters are very engaging and the moviemaking location is a fun behind-the-scenes look at Hollywood. The secondary characters are also well written and overall I loved the book. I'm a fan of Christina Lauren books and this one was no exception.

I really had trouble deciding my final rating of this book because while it's one of my favorite Christina Lauren books it still had certain aspects of it that let me down. I've read a few of Christina Lauren's books already and I can safely say that I can rely on them to write great romances! The synopsis of this book intrigued me from the start because it seemed very different from anything I'd seen before. It's like hate-to-love but with previous heartbreak to really justify those feelings, and that dynamic was very interesting to read about. One of my favorite things about this book was how much time and detail was put into the "background" of the story, the main character's fling many years before the story starts. I was only expecting a few chapters to show what went down to make Tate distrust and resent Sam so strongly, but around a quarter of the book was solely dedicated to the details of their few weeks together and I think that really benefited the book as a whole. By spending that much time exploring their past relationship- and Tate's first love- it really made us readers feel heartbroken and raging with Tate and made all her feelings feel more validated. It made everything more believable and real and I loved that about this book. As the book progressed I will admit it slowed down. There were many times I felt like the conflict would be resolved if they just stopped avoiding each other which irritated me a bit. I also felt like while the story did end on a happy note I wanted it to continue for a bit longer to see how their relationship could've progressed and I just felt a tiny bit dissatisfied. While these seem like fairly major issues the book as a whole left me very happy and I seriously enjoyed the quarter of the book dedicated to their fling and how emotional this book made me. The unique synopsis and emotional arc made this book so much better for me and I'm very excited to read whatever Christina Lauren come out with next!

Tate Jones goes on a trip of a lifetime with her grandmother to London. After meeting Sam Brandis, they embark on a whirlwind two week fling. Tate knows it’s a cliché, but love at first site happens; she gives Sam all of herself including a secret of her true identity. Tate’s father, Ian Butler, is a Hollywood superstar who had been out of her life for ten years. Sam breaks Tate’s heart by selling her out to the media which changes Tate’s whole life in a blink.

Fourteen years later she is embarking on the role of a lifetime and for the first time, acting with her narcissistic father. Tate has never gotten over her first love and being blindsided by Sam on set who happens to be the screenwriter throws her for a major loop. Although they are both in their thirties, seeing Sam and being around him awakens all the old feelings and develops some new ones; to say that Tate is conflicted is an understatement.

The movie script displays pages taken from Sam’s own life so that as Tate gets into character, she comes to understand some of the reasons he betrayed her so long ago. After having led part of her life in the fish bowl world as a child of a famous actor and then living that role as an adult, Tate knows a relationship with Sam could be explosive if the press finds out their history.

The first third or so of the story is Tate and Sam in their youthful relationship followed by their meeting again on the set where Tate is less than pleased to see him at such a pivotal point in her life. She does a lot of soul searching and dealing with all the old feelings that abound while trying to deal with the odd dynamic for a famous father and daughter. This book is a bit of a mixed genres including New Adult, Romance, and Women’s Fiction. It is slated under humorous fiction; however, this is not a Rom-Com. I don’t see humor playing a big role; there is definitely much more in the way of angst and drama. As always with this team, the writing is quite good so fans will be pleased with that aspect.

Twice in a Blue Moon is an emotional story of first love, first heartbreak, and second chances. Tate and Sam have an adorable beginning to their love story in London, full of sweet, funny, and swoon-worthy moments. Despite Sam’s betrayal, Tate may never have gone after her real dream of being an actress if she wasn’t pushed back into the spotlight. And Sam may not have followed his dream of being a writer. Tate has been let down in the past by Sam and her father and the fact that she is guarded when she encounters Sam again fourteen years later is understandable. This is definitely a couple you want to root for and I kept holding out hope that Sam could make up for his past decisions. Loved the more minor characters too--especially Charlie, Nana, Marco, and Nick. Tate’s relationship with her father was frustrating at times—I really wanted her to stand up to him and not just smile for the cameras. She deserved better. I also wish the story went on a little bit longer, would have loved to see an epilogue to see where the characters ended up a bit down the road, but still a great read. Highly enjoyable. Thank you to Gallery Books and NetGalley for granting my request to read this novel.

“It’s so crazy to think that things that I thought only lived in my imagination can be real.”

There is an indescribable feeling you get when you are lost in the pages written be these authors. It still amazes me how their books are seamless and you feel like it’s just one author writing these words that capture your soul. Very few authors can do this for me. I treasure the gift.

“But then I touch you, and it’s like every fantasy I ever had coming true.”

This book is filled with the excitement of many milestones, I love the wisdom sprinkled throughout, friendship, betrayal, loyalty, compassion, growth, second chances, misunderstandings, humor and life experiences.

“...the worst thing I ever did was for the best reason I ever had?”

You will be take back in time and shown how some of the hardest times in life were also simplistic and authentic times as well. Sometimes walking in another’s shoes is difficult~yet you learn to appreciate moments from another perspective.

“I finally did something right in his eyes, and he only had to sell me out to get it.”

I pray somewhere down the line we get more of these characters. I feel in love with them and don’t want their story to end.

“...he’s always shown me exactly who he is, and I just never want to believe it.”

So much to love about this story: young love, scenes and lines that were obvious nods to “A Room With a View,” betrayal, living big dreams, second chances...but I wanted more from the Tate & Sam relationship as adults — and less of the father/daughter story. When the movie wrapped and Sam & Tate looked like they were on the road to their happily-ever-after, Ian’s betrayal seemed an unnecessary contrivance that just prolonged finding a resolution. And yet, the writing team of Christina Lauren remain a favorite and an automatic download for me (since “Beautiful Bastard”) and I admit I liked this more serious relationship and story arc, though it needed more romance and less drama. Good read!

Thanks for the advanced copy.

OBSESSED with this new and upcoming release from my favorite author duo Christina Lauren! I DEVOURED Twice in a Blue Moon in a day and just could not put it down. Maybe I have a major weakness for Hollywood and Second Chance Romances; but this book was so good I had to reread it because I was just not ready to say goodbye to these characters!

Thank you Gallery Books for the advanced copy via NetGalley.

Thanks for granting my request to read Christina Lauren’s upcoming novel. What I typically love about their novels is the way characters and relationships are built up so much that I feel the heartache when something goes wrong. I want that heart in your throat moment where you ache for the characters going through something, even if you as the reader saw it coming. Twice in a Blue Moon was entertaining but I felt the emotional buy-in fell short. Maybe it was the break up of the years, the different characters involved, or the movie script going along in the book but I didn’t feel the emotional investment that I typically do in their books. That being said, I’ve read and loved enough of their books that I’ll always be on the lookout for what comes next.

Thank you netgalley for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
I happen to really love this author and have enjoyed many of her books. Tate and Sam's story has many of those elements the author is famous for: heart wrenching lines and an interesting plot. Although this wasn't my favorite, the characters felt real and their emotions intense. Tate experiences her first love and her first heartbreak with Sam but the heart never forgets. Touching novel.

My blurb:
Two people who fell in love when things were a little less complicated, run into each other again - feeling the brunt of all kinds of complications.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

 🔥🔥🔥 out of 5 steam level

What I liked-
Wow! I cannot believe I actually read a second chance romance that I liked! If I could describe the look of absolute shock on my face while I'm writing this I would try to... but I can't so you'll just have to believe me.  Not sure what a second chance romance is? Well, it is the trope where you fall in love once with someone and there's some sort of miscommunication or backstabbing that occurs... then years later you fall in love again. I always hate it! One day in December... Love and other words... It's just not my thing! Yet here I am reading this book and loving it!
This book was funny, but the storyline was really strong. I very much enjoyed both of the main characters and would even be interested in reading a novella with some of the side characters. Tate's mother, for instance, would be really interesting to read about!
This did have some steam but I would still recommend it to people who like a really low steam romance novel. There were multiple sex scenes in it that weren't close door, but they were not very descriptive either. (I almost tried to rate this a 2 steam level but consulted my friendly steam rating in my sidebar here and decided it HAD to be a three).  Definitely on the lower end of seam levels for a Christina Lauren novel! [If you haven't read my review of the unhoneymooners, check that out too because it has a very low steam level and is great for newbie romance readers!]
This book took place in Northern California.  My old stomping grounds!!! I wish that they would have mentioned specifically where in northern California this book took place, because I love to picture a specific place. I was imagining something kind of like big Sur, but I would have loved to have a point of reference for that! Regardless the book does get points for even mentioning northern California!

What I didn't like-
Literally the only thing I did not like about this book was that it needed an epilogue very badly. Very badly. Not even necessarily an epilogue but maybe just one last chapter. I actually thought that maybe they forgot a chapter in my advanced readers copy...that's how much it needed it! I know it's hard to believe I would still rate this at 5 starts but I'm hopeful that they will put an epilogue into the finished book. There is some major vengeance/sass/wit needed in the final chapter, that specifically has to be channeled toward the character who deserves it! Without that chapter the book is missing something... I still loved it, I read it over 48 hours and enjoyed every minute of it! But Christina and Lauren - if you're reading this, please add a final chapter!

While reading this book you should...
Do: reminisce about your dreams when you were in high school/ college.  (I'm personally not a fan of longing for the road not traveled- but who says you can't try to get back into an old passion! ...I'm talking about a hobby here not a person! haha)
Eat:  Strawberries... make a crepe, put them on a pancake, eat them on their own!
Listen to: playlist I created for this book on Spotify!


Happy Reading,
Dux

Christina Lauren has done it to me again and I’m so upset because I’m now two books ahead of publication and just KNOW I’m going to hate waiting for the next one. Twice in a Blue Moon is a cute Hollywood-movie-centric romance that blooms and then dies and then blooms again and I’m obsessed and cannot wait for the next book by this amazing duo.

This book is divided into two main parts: London, 14 years ago,and a movie set in present day. 14 years ago, Tate Jones and her grandmother went to London for vacation, Tate’s first taste of freedom before college, and they meet another traveling duo–Sam and his grandfather, Luther. Tate and Sam hit it off quickly, but her grandmother is quick to remind her not to spill the big family secret to her new friend. But Tate and Sam connect in a way far beyond that threshold,and Tate falls hard for this handsome farm boy. But can love last when it happens to fast on vacation? Fast forward 14 years and Tate is an actress, set to do a big movie she’s super excited about only to find a familiar face on set: Same, the boy from London. With all of those emotions floating in the air, will she be able to throw herself into her role,or will things get derailed once again?

This is a cute story of first love, betrayal, the tabloid media, parental relationships, and really interesting movie scenes. I love the Hollywood element of this that looks at Tate as a celebrity and actress but doesn’t focus on her on the red carpet or some crazy photoshoot. We see her doing a live Twitter chat and on a farm doing some filming, etc. It’s nice! It’s sweet! It’s got those hot moments we love from Christina Lauren and I loved the split of the story. I’m so excited for their next book…but this one doesn’t come out til October…so we probably won’t get a new one until early 2020. Crap.

***Thank you to NetGalley and Gallery Books for sending me this copy in exchange for an honest review***


It pains me to rate a Christina Lauren book 3 stars, but I can’t give this book 4 stars. Somehow, this book just fell a bit flat for me. If I had to pick what I think stopped me from falling in love with this story, it would have to be the romance. I didn’t fully believe it nor was I super invested in it.

Let me back up a bit. As you can tell from the synopsis, this is a second chance romance book. The first few chapters take place when our main character, Tate, is 18 years old and meets Sam Brandis. Her first real love. Then, the rest of the book is told from 32-year-old Tate’s point of view.

So, where did it go wrong for me? I needed more moments between Tate and Sam as adults. I wasn't completely sold on the fact that their feelings for each other never faded.

However, I can tell you that the main character and side characters are fantastic. Tate’s relationship with her best friend, Charlie, is one of my favorite things about this book! I also really loved how Christina Lauren depicted Tate’s relationship with her father. They wrote it flawlessly; I truly felt Tate’s pain and annoyance with her father.

That being said, I still recommend this book to fans of second chance romance and fans of Christina Lauren. This book fell a bit short for me, but that doesn’t mean it will for you. This book is so much more than a simple romance book. It’s a story about how our relationships with our parents affect us, first love, heartbreak, betrayal, and friendship. The message of this story is that love is out there for all of us. No matter how battered or cautious your heart may be, if you open yourself up, you can find love that will nurture you rather than cause you pain.

***Thanks to the publisher and #NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review***

I devoured this book! I've read a few of Christina Lauren's books and I found this a little different. It had the same witty, complex characters, but there was an added angst that I felt throughout. I'm not sure if that was a good thing and kept me motivated to read or if it just hurt my heart a little.

Either way, Christina Lauren remains one of my favorite romance writers!

Poor Tate. Her mother and grandmother have told her her whole life not to tell anyone who she is. The media storm around the world's biggest movie star's only child would bring way too much unwanted attention to her and their quiet, small-town life. Her post-graduation trip to London with her grandmother is where she meets Sam. The two have a rare connection and it's love at first sight. In less than two weeks these two are thinking forever and marriage until Sam does the unthinkable. I have to admit, I kept looking for another explanation. How could he?

Tate's like would never be the same after that fateful trip. Word is out about who her father is, her life takes a whole different direction than she expected and now she's set to star in a movie with none other than dear old dad. She's taken completely by surprise to realize Sam wrote the script!

There are a few misunderstandings, a lot of hurt feelings and the need to maintain professionalism all make for a lot of back and forth that keep the story very interesting. It turns out time and betrayal aren't enough to put out the fire between these two.

I enjoyed the book. It was definitely a worthy read. I didn't quite love it though. Perhaps I'm not as good as forgiving and forgetting as Tate is. I can definitely recommend the book despite my slight misgivings.

If you could receive a written representation of exactly what it would be like to receive the apology you never got and take a chance, not a second chance, but a chance on that person and a life on your terms, this is the book for you.

Tate Jones was eighteen when her whole world changed. During a vacation abroad in London with her grandma, Tate met Sam Brandis, a charming 21-year old who just so happened to be staying at the same hotel. Tate and Sam spent every moment they could together, learning about one another, sharing their hopes, dreams, and in Tate's case, their biggest secrets. Tate is the daughter of one of the worlds most famous actors, who hasn't been publicly seen since her parents messy divorce. She's spent her life since being someone else and only a handful of people know who she truly is. Sam is the first person she's ever felt comfortable enough to let in on her big secret. She was very wrong. Sam was Tate's first everything: first love, first time, and first heartbreak.

Now, fourteen years later, Tate, a big up-and-coming actress, just landed a major break out role and doesn't have time to dwell on her lost love. When she arrives on set, Sam Brandis is the very last person she expected to see. Tate is shocked to discover that Sam happens to be the screenwriter for the film, and he's just as handsome and charismatic as he was all those years ago. Tate is now forced to confront his betrayal head on, and must ask herself if doing something bad for the right reason is enough to put the past behind her, especially when old feelings start to stir up.

Christina Lauren just have a way of making me swoon. Seriously, I would love to just live in one of their worlds. Tate feels so real and relatable, and her actions seem genuine. Sam, despite his mistakes, never stopped loving Tate and does everything he can to make her see the error of his ways. I will say that I do think Tate seemed to forgive him a bit quicker than I thought she should, but hey, it's fictional and all. My other issue was that I didn't feel any resolution when it came to the drama at the end. I feel if we saw that conclusion this would've been a full 5 star read for me. Other than that, I loved this and flew through it. I loved the setting, both London and the movie set in the woods. The humor and dialogue were spot on. I also really enjoyed how you got little excerpts from the movie script as they were shooting the film. I thought that was a nice touch. All in all, another great story by this dynamic duo.