BOOK REVIEW: The Unhoneymooners

The Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren
Publication Date: May 14, 2019

*shoutout to my Dad for letting me use his Maui photos for this post*

Christina Lauren books are sort of a hit or miss with me. I LOVE some of their books and some are just okay. I do think they are romance novel queens and plan to read all of their books.

We met them recently at the Ripped Bodice (one of our favorite LA bookstores) and they were super nice. They said they plan on releasing two books a year. Also, Christina complimented my boots so I died a bit.

The Unhoneymooners was a HIT with me. I had so much fun reading this novel and was laughing out loud during parts of this. I seriously hope this becomes a movie because this would be the perfect romantic comedy (I told them this). I could not stop smiling while I was reading this and that alone should make you pick it up (if you like romance novels) once it comes out. This might be my favorite novel from them, and I have already preordered my copy.

I loved (almost) all of Olive and Ethan’s interactions and was dying at some of their exchanges. The variety in family plots were enjoyable as well. It was nice seeing Christina Lauren write about a Mexican American family and I believe they did their research. I am not Mexican American, so I cannot speak on the authenticity of the representation. But I love diversity in romance novels and want more (publishers take note please).

I loved both Olive and Ethan as characters. They both are a little flawed but have hearts of gold. I loved Olive’s journey with her job and Ethan being a bookworm was precious.

In m/f romance novels I typically only like seeing the woman’s POV and in general only like seeing one of the protagonist’s side of the story, but in this one I really wanted to see Ethan’s side of the story. I wanted to know why he didn’t like Olive (or if he really did dislike her).

Honestly, I only had a few issues with how certain plot points got wrapped up at the end. Some of the resolutions were dragged out. But the epilogue made my heart drop, so I was still satisfied with the ending.

WHAT I LOVED:

• I loved the characters! Olive and Ethan have some great conversations and banter.
• It’s so funny. I laughed out loud a couple times (which I rarely do) and was smiling for chapters at a time.
• It would be the perfect Romantic Comedy. I am going to keep saying this until it happens. I think Roomies is being turned into a movie, so fingers crossed.
• How the novel didn’t end the second they got together, and we got to see them find their footing as a couple.
• Olive’s whole job plot and seeing her go on that journey
• The Mexican American representation
• The sibling and family dynamics that we see
• All the tropes, tbh it can be a little tropey at times, but they are done well and still so much fun to experience.
• How fast I read it, I probably could have read it in one sitting if I didn’t need sleep
• The cover is so much fun! Yellow is the color of romance novels this year!

WHAT I DID NOT LOVE:

• I did not like how everything at the end was resolved. I liked the ending, but from 75% to 90% the drama was dragged out and I was not a fan
• Something that is a spoiler related to the trip

Overall, this is one of my favorite Christina Lauren books and I can’t wait to recommend it to everyone.

5/5 stars

xoxo, Tree 

*Thanks to NetGalley and the Publisher for an eARC in exchange for an honest review*

Goodreads Link: The Unhoneymooners