ARC Review: “Twice in a Blue Moon” by Christina Lauren

“Twice in a Blue Moon” by Christina Lauren

Publishing Date: Oct 22, 2019

Genre: Contemporary, Fiction, Romance

Page Length: 400 (electronic review edition)

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. (description from Goodreads)

Review:

Twice in a Blue Moon follows Tate who is the daughter of a famous actor. Her parents are divorced and she’s been living with her mom and nana in a small town away from Hollywood. On her first trip out of the country she meets a boy named Sam and instantly they fall for one another.

Sam comes from a small rural town but dreams of being a writer. Though Hollywood has ruined her family she secretly wants to be an actress. Tate has a lot of pent of resentment of her dad for essentially abandoning her. Both want to chase their passions in life but also don’t want to disappoint their loved ones. Upon the end of the trip everything falls apart as Tate’s existence is exposed and she is thrust into the spotlight.

Fast forward to ten years later and Tate is a actor working along her dad in a film called Milkweed in which she has the lead role. On set she runs into Sam for the first time in years and is shocked. Sam is now a writer and a farmer and happens to be the screenwriter of this film. All those feelings of pain and love come back. Can they both move on from the past?

As time goes on Tate is able to immerse herself into the movie as the lead role and being away from the hustle of the city allows her to reflect on her past. Her and Sam have many conversations about London and slowly reconnect over the years they’ve lost. Tate keeps her guard up so that she won’t get hurt again. While working on the film the two reconnect and start to talk about about what happened. Slowly the rift begins to fade away.

I enjoyed this book, but I wanted a bit more from it. The novel moved very slow at first but picked up towards the middle. I loved the secondary characters as much (if even more than the main characters) Charlie is a loyal best friend to Tate, Marco is her headstrong manager, Nick who is her co-star has a playful side but gives her support on set and good advice. Most importantly, her mom and nana and have always been there for despite all the drama from the press.

This a was a entertaining and heartwarming novel about a whirlwind romance and a first love. It was more sentimental and a bit more serious compared to other recent romances from the author duo, but very good.

Final Verdict: