To put it in Marie Kondo terms, these authors spark joy and no other author sparks joy more than the dynamic duo, Christina Lauren.
Our favorite best friends turned authors have long been a staple here at That’s Normal.
They have given you countless literary boyfriends, some of the hottest romances you’ve ever read (and reread), moments that have broken your heart, and stories that stay with you long after you read that final sentence. Whether you crave erotica (Oh, hello Beautiful series), a sweet romance (see Josh and Hazel’s Guide to Not Dating), even contemporary fiction (Love and Other Words), or just a book that you need in your life (Autoboyography), Christina Lauren’s got you covered.
Just a few weeks ago, Leanne explained why you should add My Favorite Night Stand to your Goodreads challenge. If you didn’t read it, how can we ever be friends? If you did and you’re craving more Christina Lauren, you’re in luck! The ladies announced their next novel: The Unhoneymooners.
Although we have to wait until May for this release, I have a feeling this will be one of our favorite reads for 2019.
The Plot
When it comes to romance, I love a good meet cute or even best friends with benefits. However, my favorite romance trope is the whole “enemies to lovers” storyline. Think Pride and Prejudice. Think The Hating Game. Think Hating You, Dating You. Think anything that starts with an argument between two adversaries and ends with the likelihood of an orgasm.
This is why I’m fangirling over The Unhoneymooners. The ladies introduce us to Olive and Ethan, who absolutely hate each other but are forced together due to a wedding that takes a wrong turn.
Olive is always unlucky: in her career, in love, in…well, everything. Her identical twin sister Amelia, on the other hand, is probably the luckiest person in the world. Her meet-cute with her fiancé 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.
Two sworn enemies, a free trip, a fake marriage, and the possibility of hot sex in Hawaii? Yes to all of this and the tropical puns you know we’re going to make when talking about this book: sex on the beach, getting lei-d, beach please.
Want to read the first chapter of The Unhoneymooners? Click here!
That Cover
There’s the old adage, “Never judge a book by it’s cover.” Of course, in life, you should never do this. As a reader, you always do this. A book that has a cover that captures my attention is a book that ends up on my shelf.
To be honest, I don’t find myself to be a paradise type of girl. I abhor sand because I find it to be nature’s glitter: you can never get rid of it. However, this cover made me want to book a trip to Hawaii, set up a lounger on the beach, read this book all the while sipping something alcoholic out of a hallowed coconut.
Ass sand be damned.
The Unhoneymmoners releases on May 14th. Preorder it now!
