Olive and Ami are identical twin sisters, but their personalities are very different. Where Ami is open to life, optimistic and very lucky, Olive is slower to open up, more circumspect, and considers her luck to be anything but good. But when it’s time for Ami to get married to Dane, Olive is behind her one thousand percent. She is willing to wear the hideous green dress that makes her look like a curvy Skittle. She’s willing to check off everything from Ami’s extensive to-do list, including talk to Dane’s brother Ethan about his upcoming toast, putting aside her extreme dislike of the man for the sake of her sister.
But there is one thing Olive is not willing to do, and that’s eat from the copious seafood buffet that Ami scored for free. In fact, almost the entire wedding is free. Ami’s good luck and dedicated searches for wedding swag means that her dress, her bridesmaid dresses, the venue, the food, the flowers, even the honeymoon is all free. But as Olive is allergic to shellfish, Ami arranged for her to have a chicken dinner instead, as well as one for Ethan, who refuses to eat from buffets.
The wedding is beautiful, and the reception rolls along without a hitch. Until Olive is giving her speech. That’s the time that the wedding party and then guests find themselves violently ill from a toxin that has permeated the seafood. At the end of the night, the only two standing are Olive and Ethan. Although Ami and Dane can barely move, they insist that Olive and Ethan take their places on the honeymoon. As it’s an all-inclusive, completely paid-for, non-refundable, non-transferable 10-day trip to Hawaii, Olive and Ethan decide to make the most of it.
Enemies forced to play newly married couple, Olive and Ethan decide to just go their separate ways on the trip, enjoying their own activities and minimizing time together. But fate has other ideas, as Olive’s boss and Ethan’s ex both happen to be staying at the same resort, forcing the uncouple to pretend to be happily married day after day. Is it just Olive’s bad luck that has created this situation, and what can she do to finally turn her bad luck around? As secrets are revealed and truths told, Olive and Ethan find themselves on a trip that will change both families forever.
Christina Lauren’s The Unhoneymooners is a fun read for summer. It’s maybe a little predictable at times, but all the best rom coms have those moments where you just know what’s going to happen. The writing was lovely, the characters sparkled, and there were true moments of honest human understanding, which were genuinely refreshing. If you crave a story featuring the lighter side of relationships and family, this is a captivating way to spend a rainy day indoors or an afternoon on the beach.
Galleys for The Unhoneymooners were provided by Gallery Books through NetGalley, with many thanks.