From the New York Times bestselling author of The Unhoneymooners and the “delectable, moving” (Entertainment Weekly) My Favorite Half-Night Stand comes a modern love story about what happens when your first love reenters your life when you least expect it… Sam Brandis was Tate Jones’s first: Her first love. Her first everything. Including her first heartbreak. During a whirlwind two-week … 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.
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Oh my heart…
Christina Lauren has tugged on my heart strings from beautiful, heart eyed, intense first love to betrayal and utter devastation to small glimmers of hope and understanding. This story has it all.
Tate Jones is living her life in secret For her 18th birthday, her nana takes her to London. Here they meet Luther and his 21 year old grandson, Sam. Not only is Sam handsome but he makes Tate feel safe… adored. She gives everything to Sam: her virginity, her truth. They make plans for a future only for Luther and Sam to disappear. Tate feels heartbroken and matters only get worse when the media becomes aware that she is the long missing daughter of Actor/Icon Ian Butler and that she is in London.
Tate is thrown back into the limelight after 10 years hidden from the world, but now she is able to use this to her advantage; taking up acting and trying to have some sort of relationship with her father.
Now 32, she is cast in a movie that will propel her career into a different genre. Not only will she be acting alongside her father but on her way to her first table read she finds out that Sam is the one who wrote the movie (under a moniker). To say that Tate is surprised would be understatement. Her emotions range all over the page but stemming mostly from anger.
The underlying hurt and love simmer just below the surface. You can’t help but root for these two and be slightly mad that they had let 14 years lapse.
I had to tell myself to slow down and really read the words and emotions. I can’t help that Christina Lauren writes so epically beautiful that I want to read it all in one sitting. I actually started to get nervous and teary eyed about the ending.
Definitely one click this book. You will not be disappointed.
This was a lot heavier than I was expecting from this author duo. Everything I’ve read up to this point have been Romcoms. This one will really pull on your emotions.
I viewed this more as a woman’s fiction story instead of a romance. Only because it wasn’t the romance that was the draw for me this time. Tate’s character is what really had me pulled into this story.
Tate has lived a very sheltered life, falls in love for the first time at eighteen years old, only to be immediately betrayed by that love. Tate’s struggle after that betrayal had a domino affect in her life. In fact it seems a lot of the women in this book have dealt with similar betrayal. It’s hard not to be effected by what they all have been through.
When we first meet Sam, I adored him. His betrayal hit hard and felt morally wrong no matter the good reason he had to do it. I never really recovered the romance in the story after that. Part of that is I also didn’t feel that Sam every truly earned her love back. Usually this would ruin a book for me, but I actually still very much enjoyed this book.
That really says something about the writing if I can overlook the lack of romance that I initially read the story for. This is why it came off more as a womens fiction book. I really am a fan of the writing from this author duo. I think I could enjoy anything they write. I look forward to what they bring us next.
I really enjoyed the first part of the book during their younger years. Second part had a lot of daddy drama rather than Sam. There is a time jump so we don’t see Tate grown up after “the incident”. Ending was good and it was interesting to see an on set experience through her eyes.
Tate has spent her last ten years sheltered from the world keeping her secret from everyone but her best friend Charlie but she is is in London with her Nana just trying to see the world a little. When her Nana makes friends with a guy Sam and his Grampa from a farm in Vermont she finds a friend in the guy Sam and in the few weeks falls in love with Sam who she confides in. When she gets hounded by photographers with her secret and Sam and his Grampa are gone she knows she was used.
Fourteen years have gone by an Tate is a famous actress now set to do a movie with her father but it’s not the only surprise she gets on the set, its Sam.
The story tore at your heart with everything Sam and Tate had been through and what they would go through but you can’t put it down.
Reviewed on behalf of Once upon an Alpha
Tate Jones and Sam Brandis meet when traveling with their respective grandparents to London. They fall in love, but Sam disappears and betrays Tate in a very public way. Fourteen years later, Tate is a rising movie star and is arriving on the set of the movie that may take her career to Oscar level heights. Of course, as she walks onto the location, there is Sam, the writer of the screenplay for the movie. I loved the opening act of this book, the slow buildup to that first great love of Tate’s live. While the betrayal is pretty bad, there are enough breadcrumbs payed out that you can guess why Sam did what he did. What I had some problems with was the second part of the story. I thought parts of the second half were rushed and glossed over. If you a fan of second chance romance, you will enjoy this book. I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley for my honest review.
I adored Tate and Sam. The chapters from the past of them falling in love were so real and heartfelt. I was so upset when the betrayal happened: thinking there must be some good explanation. Flash forward to “now” and Tate and Sam are still feeling the effects of it. I loved how the story played out and I LOVE these two characters. I was sad when I got to the end because I wanted to read about their whole life together.
I love the dynamic duo that is Christina Lauren, have been reading their work for years and enjoy each and every story, they are my go-to authors when I’m looking for a great romantic story and Twice in a Blue Moon is astonishing!
Twice in a Blue Moon is an excellent story of first, innocent, and young love, trust is broken, but it’s more than trust, Sam breaks Tate’s spirit and her life is never the same.
This story may take you back to your first love, your first heartbreak, your first betrayal, although this one is extraordinary, it may spark up those memories from your own story.
Last year I was excited to read The Un-honeymooners and enjoy their hilarious take on weddings and the guys you love to hate.
Twice in a Blue Moon is different. A different style of writing. A different type of story than what we traditionally see from this team. This is not the rom-com we tend to see from them. But they still managed to get to my heart.
This is the story of second chance love. A story of your first real love and the feelings that never go away. The story of betrayal, broken hearts, tender memories, and healing.
This book has a great plot and is totally something we can all relate to. The duo once again showed their amazing capabilities with their craft to develop relate-able and likable characters that come alive in the pages. Intense feelings of all types will grab you and string you along for the ride.
Christina Lauren has a place in my heart forever because of their fabulous storytelling abilities that will leave you desperate for more.
*I received a free copy of Twice in a Blue Moon from Gallery Books via Edelweiss. This has in no way influenced my review which is honest and unbiased.*
Twice in a Blue Moon proves that Christina Lauren just get better and better at writing amazing stories. Here, we had a second chance at love that appeared to not really have a chance of becoming something new. The past was filled with bad decisions, and the present didn’t really make any of them seem any better…
Well written, character-driven, Twice in a Blue Moon is a realistic story in many ways. And the writing was, as always, beautiful!
I loved the first half of this book. After high school graduation, Tate’s grandmother takes her on a trip to London. There she meets Sam, a guy who is a couple years older and is traveling with his grandfather. The two embark on a whirlwind 2-week affair that ends when Sam and his grandfather leave abruptly and all of Tate’s secrets are mysteriously exposed. I enjoyed seeing the relationship blossom between Sam and Tate with London as a backdrop. And their quirky grandparents made for great secondary characters.
The second part of the book brings Sam and Tate back together fourteen years later. Tate is an actress and Sam is a screenwriter. They end up working on the same movie. There was still great chemistry between Sam and Tate in the second part of the book but I feel like the plot unraveled a bit. Things did not seem to fit together nicely and the book had a bit of an abrupt ending for me. I would have liked to see an epilogue.
OH MY GOD!!!! I am completely devastated with the ending of TWICE IN A BLUE MOON! I feel like it just ended so abruptly. Usually I don’t start my reviews out this way, but I do not understand why this collab would do it. So to be honest, I almost put this one down many of times throughout the first 36 percent. I just couldn’t get into it the way I usually do. But then the gates of heaven opened up, and I felt like I was at home. This is not the usual ‘ Christina Lauren ‘ book. It is deeper and a more compelling read. I was in aw of Tate and Sam as characters, and their overall story became such a raw phenomenon. Tate and Sam’s story developed beautifully, and flowed so naturally. The emotions were heartfelt and realistic, the determination inspiring. Everything that was meant to happen happened, and then BOOM, the end. I wish there was more of an ending of how things ended up. Now I am left with a bunch of questions.
Tate is this day and age modern Audrey Hepburn. Being America’s IT girl, everyone seems to think she has it all, when she is secretly wishing for more. To be accepted, and loved. She does have a backbone, but also a forgiving heart. She is witty and will banter with the best.
Sam, oh my gosh Sam. He is most definitely ONE IN A BLUE MOON. He is quite and reserved, but has the most touching heart that has ever graced the pages of a book. He is not afraid to admit when he is wrong, and does not try to strong arm anyone.
Is it possible to fall in love with your first love all over again?
*I RECOMMEND THIS BOOK
*REVIEWED FOR REVIEWS FROM THE HEART