Book Review: "Twice in Blue Moon" by Christina Lauren
“Twice in a Blue Moon” by Christina Lauren
Synopsis: Sam Brandis was Tate Jones’s first: Her first love. Her first everything. Including her first heartbreak.
During a whirlwind two-week vacation abroad, Sam and Tate fell for each other in only the way that first loves do: sharing all of their hopes, dreams, and deepest secrets along the way. Sam was the first, and only, person that Tate—the long-lost daughter of one of the world’s biggest film stars—ever revealed her identity to. So when it became clear her trust was misplaced, her world shattered for good.
Fourteen years later, Tate, now an up-and-coming actress, only thinks about her first love every once in a blue moon. When she steps onto the set of her first big break, he’s the last person she expects to see. Yet here Sam is, the same charming, confident man she knew, but even more alluring than she remembered. Forced to confront the man who betrayed her, Tate must ask herself if it’s possible to do the wrong thing for the right reason… and whether “once in a lifetime” can come around twice.
With Christina Lauren’s signature “beautifully written and remarkably compelling” (Sarah J. Maas, New York Times bestselling author) prose and perfect for fans of Emily Giffin and Jennifer Weiner, Twice in a Blue Moon is an unforgettable and moving novel of young love and second chances. - Gallery Books
Rating (out of 5): 3.75
Review: For as many weighty and serious books I read, there may be nothing more I love than a well-written story about a strong woman — and if it happens to read like a romantic comedy and have a happy ending, there’s no complaint from me. I wouldn’t call myself a hopeless romantic, but I do love a good love story. And this is a good love story.
Sam and Tate meet entirely by chance when they are both in London with their grandparents — they end up becoming a big of a traveling foursome, for at least a few days. Of course, their elderly chaperones don’t do much to supervise in the evenings, so Tate and Sam are able to connect, share, and cuddle under the stars. Like most of Christina Lauren’s characters, Sam and Tate have instant chemistry and cute banter, and you just know that they are going to end up together. That is, until Sam betrays her in the worst way.
You see, Tate is the “hidden” daughter of the world’s most famous actor — in my head, he looked like Kurt Russell, but I think that Ian Duncan is supposed to be more like Brad Pitt or Tom Cruise. She hasn’t been seen in public for over a decade, after her Mom moved them away from Los Angeles, and Sam sells her out. At first, I didn’t think this would be a huge deal, but then I realized that I can actually name Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt’s children, so of course it would be a huge deal.
Fast forward ten years, Tate is a famous actress, and she’s about to face the largest challenge of her career: working with dear old Dad on an Oscar-baity movie on a set that seems like adult summer camp. She’s not let anyone in since Sam, so of course, he’s the screen writer on this movie. The rest of this book attempts to answer the questions, “is a second chance ever really possible?” and “is it possible to rekindle first love?”
The story is cute, and I loved the aspects that touched on screen-writing and filming; I love the world of the movies, and it is interesting to see how tedious it is to film. Of course, it wasn’t without drama (or a small amount of quite steamy sex), but it wouldn’t be a romance without those plot drivers.
I’ve read a few other books by Christina Lauren, and I loved the snark factor in those — that seemed to be missing from Sam and Tate’s story. It was more sentimental, and dare I say it, a bit schmaltzy? I read somewhere that the publisher said this would be different from their more “zany'“ recent books, and it was. I did want to flag this in case you love Josh and Hazel. Somehow, this one felt more adult? It was much more serious, and while there were funny moments, it wasn’t as laugh-out-loud as some of their earlier books. Most of the humor came from the secondary characters:
This story is told entirely though Tate’s eyes, and I have to say there were a few times when I wanted to hit Tate upside the head for not realizing things (mostly as they related to Sam’s reasoning for writing the script), but I won’t get into those here. In fact, I think I can turn that into a positive though — the authors were so good at creating characters that seemed real, they gave them actual flaws. It didn’t detract from the story at all, and it did make Tate seem more human.
Of course, it did all wrap up with a happy ending after a bit of a bumpy ride. While Tate may have gotten her heart broken on the set, it wasn’t by Sam — whew. That would be almost too much to handle. It’s a good book, full of heart but not as much humor as I expect from these authors, and it’s a good quick read. As they say in the movies, that’s all folks.
TL;DR: A fun, fast, and charming read about a second chance at first love — with bonus behind-the-scenes of Hollywood drama! I recommend it as a fun weekend diversion or (as I did) a bathtub read.
If you liked this, try these:
“The Unhoneymooners” by Christina Lauren (Moira’s review here!)
“Well Met” by Jen DeLuca (my review here!)
“The Proposal” by Jasmine Guillory (tbh, anything by Jasmine Guillory is great, but “The Proposal” is my favorite)
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