Ever since reading the Unhoneymooners last year I’m pretty sure I’ve been on a Christina Lauren kick. I mean, what else do you call reading at least 4 of their books in less than a year? It would be different if it was one whole series, but these are stand alone, so yep, we are calling this a kick; a very enjoyable kick. Typically I read a lot of fantasy with romance worked in, I don’t like to be anywhere near the real world and its real world problems, so I reasonably avoided contemporary novels. Well, until 2018. I got hit with a need for contemporary romance like I’ve never been hit before. I read Jenny Han, Christina Lauren, Sophie Kinsella, and other great contemporary romance writer’s books. So I went from reading maybe two or three of these books to eight on average, nearly a fifth of my books in a year. Wild isn’t it?
Getting past the math, Twice in a Blue Moon, carries on the great legacy of Christina Lauren as we follow Sam and Tate, who originally meet in London (my favorite place in the world!!!) and fall in love, but things take a turn when Sam tells the media who Tate’s father is, a famous celebrity. Snapping at an amazing scoop, the media descends on Tate, and throws her into a decision and life she wasn’t ready for. Years pass, and while Tate is now famous, not everything in her life is as she imagined it. The latest movie just emphasizes that as she’s working with her dad, who is a supporting actor while she is the lead. Add in that Sam is working on the set, and her life is once again about to be upended.
Overall Rating: 4 out of 5 Stars
Besides the fact that I love London to bits, and want to just go on a month long trip to the UK (who’s with me there??), I really enjoyed this one. The characters as always are written really well, even with bad decisions you still feel like pitying the characters who make them. You also feel embarrassed yourself with some of the grandmother’s antics in the beginning of the novel, because who doesn’t in those situations? It doesn’t mean you don’t understand what drives those actions, but to an outsider who doesn’t know them? It comes off a little differently, and boy do those conversations get awkward sometimes.
One of my favorite things in this novel was that it didn’t try to take a cliche route with the father, daughter relationship, at least in terms of his stardom. I can’t give specifics since that would be spoiling, but it didn’t try to make them this perfect or immediate connection. He was out of her life for at least 10+ years, there’s a reason, as unfortunate as that is, so not immediately making them tight and amazing was good to see. Not that we don’t all like the occasional Hallmark style story where a long lost parent, who also is wealthy/famous/royal comes and claims that young and poor adult. It just takes away the effect of the story.
So what didn’t I like? The thing that got me annoyed was that Sam betrays her trust, and we aren’t talking the parent level of ‘I’m just disappointed you would lie to me’ we got growing up, he freaking promised to never say a thing, and went running to press. I don’t care the reasoning, I don’t care the situation, who does that? The story is geared to her forgiving him at some point, but I just can’t with that one. It’s one thing to lie to me, but to go to others and essentially turn your world upside down? Potentially destroy it? It’s callous and destructive. That’s all I have on that one, sorry for the rant!
Overall, I really did enjoy this one, which I’m not all too surprised by. I think there’s already another of their novels on the way, so you know what I’ll pick up sooner or later. Have you read this yet? What were your thoughts on the Sam situation in the beginning? Would you forgive him or would you go after him? Let me know in the comments below!
A Writer Can Dream 