Not my favorite Christina Lauren. This was a bittersweet love story with just not enough umph for me. The jump between their love as teens (which takes the whole first third of the book) to finding each other again wasn’t my favorite.

I adored this book! At first I was peeved when the secret broke about who she was. How could he? But once we learned the reasons behind it, I calmed down.A bit. lol.. He still had to grovel. But forgiveness is key. This story reminded me of that. Beautiful.

Twice in a Blue Moon by Christina Lauren
Narrated by Erin Mallon
Standalone Contemporary Romance
NOTE: The official blurb for this book has spoilers!

Christina Lauren is an auto-buy author duo for me. I love their romantic comedies, and I was so excited for this. I listened in October/November, but it was while my life was kind of falling apart (I got divorced in November) and the book just didn’t do it for me the way their other books did. I thought it must be my state of mind, and came back re-listen to it last week and remembered that I really just didn’t love it enough to re-listen.

The first half book read like a YA novel. 18-year old Tate Jones travels with her grandmother to London and meets a grandfather traveling with his grandson Sam. Sam and Tate have a whirlwind love affair in those two weeks until Sam betrays her in the worst way.

Fourteen years later they end up working together and the same attraction is there. Can she forgive him?

“He’s the one who taught me what love looked like and felt like and then taught me it’s a lie. I have never been able to come back from that.”

There were some lovely moments in Twice in a Blue Moon, and I was still compelled to listen, but I found that it just didn’t make me fall in love the way Christina Lauren’s other books have. It was missing the charming quirkiness I have grown to love from this duo.



Likes:

•I love a second chance romance.
•When they fell in love in London when they were young was so sweet!
•I loved his grandparent’s story.
•It is well-written and edited.
•The first half of the story was very well-developed.
•The Hollywood setting.

Dislikes:

•Missing the usual quirkiness from this duo.
•The second half of the story felt a little rushed.
•First person only from the female is usually OK, but I felt like we were missing something from him.
•I never really got to know Sam in present time and didn’t see any reason to take him back in the present.
•I felt like we needed an update on what happened to each of them in the 14 years.
•It desperately needed an epilogue.

The Narration:
Erin Mallon is my favorite female narrator, especially when she does the male voice. She carried the book well and I couldn’t have wished for a better narrator, but it needed a male POV!

The Down & Dirty:
Twice in a Blue Moon by Christina Lauren was an enjoyable listen, but definitely not my favorite of theirs. It was missing the quirkiness I love from their characters and I never really felt like I got to know and love the hero. It was still a cute second-chance romance, with the first half being almost a YA coming-of-age novel and the second half a Hollywood romance. While Twice in a Blue Moon by Christina Lauren wasn’t my favorite, I still can’t wait to get my hands on their next release. You can’t love everything, right?

Rating: 3 Stars, 3 heat, 4.5 Narration

Close your eyes and imagine meeting your first love. Everything feels like it is all falling into place and anything in the world feels possible. Trust is a major part in any relationship, and Tate Jones trusts Sam Brandis with the biggest secret of her life. Twice in a Blue Moon by Christina Lauren is a swoon-worthy romance that has its obstacles. First-love, betrayal, Hollywood, and a complicated father-daughter relationship work together to create a whirl-wind romance that you won’t want to put down.

The Plot:
When Tate Jones first meets Sam Brandis on her two-week getaway with her grandmother in London, she falls for him instantly. Sam was Tate’s first love—and first loves can be hard to forget. During this two-week period, Tate shares her deepest secret with Sam, trusting that he would not spill the secret to the world and change her life forever. Tate is the daughter of an extremely famous Hollywood actor, and she has been in hiding for years with her mother, living a completely normal life. Soon Tate discovers that she put her trust in the wrong person.
Jumping fourteen years into the future we see Tate now as a star herself, about to take on the biggest role of her career. When she arrives on set the last thing she expects to find is the ex who broke her heart all of those years ago; however, fate has a way of hitting a person when they least expect it. Tate becomes forced to confront the man who betrayed her and must grapple with the decision of whether or not she should forgive him. How often does a once in a lifetime opportunity come around twice?

My thoughts:
Finishing this book left me breathless. I am not one to typically pick up a romance novel, but this story blew me away. I didn’t know much of what to expect going into this story other than that it was a second chance at love. I went into this story fairly blind and I’m so glad I went into it like that. I loved the before chapters and I loved the present-day chapters, even though it felt like reading two different stories. The first half of the book appeared like a budding first-love YA romance. Just when everything is getting good, the world is ripped out from under you and you are thrust into a whole new world. At first, I wasn’t sure if I was going to enjoy the time jump, but I sure did.
I loved that this story was so much more than a romance novel. I’m a sucker for a Hollywood story, so the celebrity aspect of this book made me like it even more. When I realized that Tate was the daughter of a hot-shot celebrity, I knew right then and there that this would be a book that I would get excited about. The wounded father-daughter relationship throughout this story added so much depth. While reading this, I imagined that many Hollywood relationships are likely similar to Tate and Ian’s. Having this complicated family relationship made the book that much more engaging for me. As I said before, I’m not a huge reader of romance novels, so having that added father-daughter tension kept the plot moving for me.
The romance in this story was really fun to read! In the beginning of Sam and Tate’s relationship, I felt very invested in it. I wanted to know what was going to cause them to go their separate ways. Was it because of their distance or something deeper? Then my heart was torn out as the two parted ways (read the book and I swear your heart will be torn out too!) I wasn’t sure how to feel about their second chance at love. I don’t want to give anything away, but I felt a strong urge to hate Sam, yet at the same time I couldn’t. This story was beautifully crafted and Christina Lauren did not disappoint. I would highly recommend this novel if you are looking for a fun romance that MAY make you want to pull your hair out—but I promise it will be worth it!

Thank you to Netgalley and Gallery Books for my arc of this story!



**Will be posted on blog and instagram in a few days! Thank you!

I love Christina Lauren books and I really enjoyed reading Twice in a Blue Moon. However. this book is slightly different than their other romance novels. It was a little slow to start and there really wasn't much adult romance - just a lot of misunderstandings and reminiscing about the past. It was still a great read.

Christina Lauren was my introduction to adult romance. As a result, I doubt they could ever write anything that I wouldn't IMMEDIATELY love. That being said, they remain an autobuy author for me because without fail, they manage to write characters I fall in love with. Each and every book they've written makes me feel connected to the main characters in a way that few romances can.

Sam and Tate's story was a little bit different because it felt less like a rom-com than their usual works. That being said, I was hooked on this couple and their romance from page one. Sam was a character that I felt close with immediately, and Sam was so heartbreakingly sweet and genuine that I wanted him to come to life and steal me away.

Overall, this was another one sitting read for me and I can't wait to see what these amazing ladies come up with next!

I will be honest, it’s not going to be my favorite Christina Lauren novel. I have to agree with @diana_bibliophile’s thoughts - the beginning has a very YA feel. I like YA, but in this case the teenage “love-at-first-sight” trope whilst vacationing with grandparents didn’t work for me. The last quarter of the book did pick up, but I don’t know...it just wasn’t for me. However, if you are looking for a second-chance romance with YA themes and not a lot of 🔥, then this might be a great book for you!⁣

I loved the concept of this. I'm a fan of second chance romance especially if there's a redemption component factored in like there is here. Unfortunately the execution is a bit anemic.

Tate and Sam meet in London under circumstances very reminiscent of A Room with a View complete with the fussy chaperone and room switching. I thought that ambitious but the story quickly resolved into something all its own and... bland.

True, Sam breaks her heart but I kind of figured I knew why and while, yes, it was a shitty thing to do to her, I understood his reasoning for it. Fast forward 14 years and they're thrown together on a movie set her the up and coming ingenue(ish) in the biz and him the screenwriter.

Dramatics ensue. Including a vapid, shallow and aging movie star father looking to hold on to the spotlight til the bitter end and who deserves to be dick punched.

For me all the components were there they just needed to be zhuzhed. Tate nor Sam are well-developed characters and there's not enough meat on the bones of their "romance". Tate tells this story but I don't really know her nor is she interesting enough for me to want to and while I understand the allure of THE BIG 'UN, especially a big bearded 'un that alone does not a character make. Plus, the big 'un needed to engage in a SHIT TON bit more groveling for my tastes.

What I did enjoy was the film plot being overlayed on top of their story and a couple of the secondary characters: Nick and Charlie. Though I thought it inconsistent that Tate claims to have never gotten over Sam yet failed to make the connection between his history and the plot of Milkweed?

Not one I would recommend but as always my opinions are my own and YMMV.

A copy was provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I'm a fan of Christina Lauren's contemporary romance books and this book turned out no different in the way that I ended up absolutely loving another one of their books. If you love second chances at romance you'll like this one. I loved seeing their first romance as it went on, then the gap of who they are now as adults with their lives so different. There is romance, drama and sexy scenes and I can say that I really loved this book!

Once again, this duo knocked it out of the park. Another epic and adorable contemporary.

Their writing style never fails me.

I’m always drawn in from the get-go. And the story never lets go.

Unfortunately this book did not grab me like previous Christina Lauren books have. I'm opting to mark it as not read versus DNF'ing on goodreads or rating it. I really appreciated the chance to read it early. I was hoping for a voice more like Unhoneymooners, but I think second chance with CL is just not my thing.

May return to it via audio one day but for now it's on the not for me pile. Hopeful their next release is more up my alley.

Christina Lauren’s newest novel is a story of second chances, taking place when our couple is young, and then fourteen years later. It starts off as a typical new adult romance, where our heroine, Tate Jones, is eighteen and vacationing with her grandmother in London. There she meets Sam Brandis, twenty-one and a college student, also on vacation with his grandfather. As soon as they meet, the sparks fly. And the more they get to know each other, the more they realize this isn’t just a fling. What they feel for each other, although fresh and new, is right. It’s everything.
Until Tate reveals her secret, that she’s the long-lost daughter of one of Hollywood’s biggest stars. And right after her confession of her identity and love for him, Sam vanishes and leaves behind the biggest heartache for Tate. He betrays her.
Fast forward fourteen years later, Tate is an actress in her own right. She refuses to give Sam any more thought, though she can’t help but think about him every once “in a blue moon.” As luck or fate would have it, her next movie finds her face to face with the man who broke her heart.
Part two of the story centers around Tate and Sam as they reconcile their past and move forward. Though that pesky chemistry is ever so present. And despite Tate needing to officially move on, it’s impossible when Sam is always on set. And once she learns his side of the story, her bitterness and anger must subside, because his story is compelling, complicated, and in a sense, beautiful – even though it meant he had to hurt Tate.
As always, the sparks fly, the story flows, and the characters create magic. Or rather the authors create magic. This latest installment reveals a more subtle and mature style of writing without taking away from the chemistry and heart palpitations I feel whenever I’m engrossed in one of their stories. I’m a fan always and forever.

Twice in a Blue Moon is set in two parts one fourteen years prior when eighteen year old Tate is celebrating her high school graduation with a trip to London with her Nana Jude where she meets twenty one year old Sam who is traveling with his grandfather Luther. Tate and Sam hit it off immediately all hormones and lusty feelings and they spend several evening staring at the stars in the hotel’s courtyard while sharing bits and pieces of their lives. Tate shares some information only a few other people know and while she is nervous to do so she trusts Sam. Their feelings build pretty rapidly and then Sam does the unthinkable turning Tate’s life upside down.
Fourteen years later Tate is a rising actress and is set to film a movie that will most likely propel her into the stratosphere and her famous actor father whose career is headed into the sunset is playing her father in the movie. They have a difficult relationship to say the least, but this is something their fans have wanted since she started acting and you always give the fans what they want according to her father. What Tate doesn’t expect is to see Sam, the boy who broke her heart and sold her out, standing and talking with her father. The screenwriter of the movie, the one she loves so much, the one she wants to make badly. So like the other time her life was ripped to shreds she proceeds to show everyone what she’s made of.
Between Tate’s complicated relationship with her father on the set and his passive aggressive tendencies towards her and her ex-lover Sam there at every turn staring her down and giving her looks like he’s not pleased with her performance, she is struggling. Her best friend is on set as a make-up artist, that and the fact that she really enjoys the company of her co-star are the only things keeping her grounded. Told between takes of the movie, this book was interesting to read and I enjoyed it. My biggest issue is I don’t feel like Sam’s character was fully flushed out, we got bits and pieces of his life but they never delved very deep into his life after London whereas we knew pretty much everything that happened to Tate.
As a women’s fiction book, Twice In a Blue Moon works very well, however, as a romance not so much as they main characters spend way more time apart than together and we really don’t get to see them build a relationship as adults and the one they had as young adults was seriously insta-first love so while there were some serious feelings, I have a hard time believing that fourteen years later those two weeks were enough for them to fall completely head over heels, I never got over you in love.
Twice in a Blue Moon was thoroughly enjoyable and an entertaining story and I give the writing duo Christina Lauren a lot of credit for spreading their wings and trying something new.

I received a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. Thank you NetGalley.

Twice in a Blue Moon is a second change romance written by Christina Lauren.
It was beautifully written with interesting characters. The chemistry is believable.

Overall, a great read, and an author i'd deifnitely read again.

I typically love second chance romances but this one just wasn't my cup of tea. The premise was interesting but overall I was kind of bored with the story and found all the "twists" to be predictable. I did really enjoy the two main characters though and I liked them together.

I am a huge fan of Christina Lauren books. I was so sad that this one just really fell flat for me. I could not connect with the characters and did not get any emotion from this romance.

I was sucked into Twice In A Blue Moon immediately and was able to revel in the angst for most of the book.
I typically prefer the funnier Christina Lauren books and TIBM may have been just a tad too serious for me.
It was well crafted, but ultimately when the angst evaporated it took a lot of my interest with it.
Still a more enjoyable experience than some of the authors' others and I can't wait for the next release.

Twice in a Blue Moon was an enchanting second-chance love story between a couple brought back together again years after their whirlwind romance ended. The ease with which Christina Lauren captures the essence of a young couple falling so quickly and has their connection feeling believable was again present, making for a wonderful foundation to carry the rest of the story on. The romanticism of a foreign city and the heartbreaking reason for their split only added to their beginning and fueled their conflicting emotions upon their sudden and unexpected reconnection—all of which made this story what it was.

I loved Sam and Tate’s sweet and quick fall into each other, and how that was shown simply by the subtleties of their mannerisms and their stolen conversations. It was reminiscent of that rare breed of first love; a type of love that can be so difficult to convey, but it was easy to see here. Sam’s tenderness and heart brought the soul to this story while Tate’s emotional fire brought the heat, and together they had this instinctual brand of love. Every emotion of their reunion was spot-on: the anger, the guilt, the still-present lust, the never-lost love. It was delicious in so many ways. But, it was missing that extra Christina Lauren element that I have come to expect and crave from their stories. Judging it against my basic standards, it’s a great book, but this duo has a higher by bar to meet and it fell a bit short.

This was a quick and enjoyable read and I can’t wait for the next love story these two writers tell.

Not my favorite Christina Lauren book to date. The story just seemed very predictable but I still enjoyed it. Was an easy read. I'll definitely read their next book.

Second-chance romances are tricky, and this one didn't win me over. The couple's initial relationship occurred on a very short timeline and was followed by such a long separation that I felt critical of everything about it. They meet as teenagers and are in their 30s before reconnecting, but it was as if they'd been frozen in time until that moment. Real people change! The book spent longer in the past timeline than I would have preferred, and then the romance didn't get a lot of attention in the present until the very end. The characters were pretty forgettable and needed more development because I wasn't invested in them at all. I was So Okay With It, I think. I just expected something funnier or more romantic from this duo!