The Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren

Ready for a light read? Maybe a palette cleanser between thrillers or classics? The Unhoneymooners by writing team Christina Lauren might be just what you need. Ami and Olive are twins, and despite their twin language and many similarities, Ami seems to be the lucky one…she is about to marry Dane, she has a good job, and she has entered contests to win almost every part of her wedding and honeymoon. Olive just lost her job, she is single, and a bridesmaid in a hideous dress, paired with Dane’s brother Ethan. Believe me when I say there is no love loss between Ethan and Olive. At the wedding, all of the guests but Ethan and Olive get food poisoning from the fish buffet. Ethan and Olive end up using the non refundable, non transferable honeymoon to go to Maui in place of Ami and Dane. (Olive uses Ami’s ID, and Dane’s ticket only has his last name on it.) In the airport, Olive answers a call and is offered a job. Maybe her luck is changing and things are looking up.

As you can imagine, this is a one step forward, two steps back kind of story. Olive and Ethan will inevitably fall for each other, have a misunderstanding, make up, fall for each other again, have a misunderstanding…until the inevitable happy ending. That is just how these books work. And, The Unhoneymooners is a good beach/pool book, or, to be current, a relaxing quarantine read. I’ve heard from lots of people saying they have a hard time reading these days. Yes, they read the news, but fiction seems too luxurious, or they can’t focus. For me, I read to stay sane. It is my escape, my balm, my reset button, and I grant myself permission to read something just for pleasure every day. Take a break from your screens and the news updates, and escape to Maui with Olive and Ethan. You will be glad you did!