Abbreviations #89: Twice in a Blue Moon, The Friend Zone + Fix Her Up

I’m a Christina Lauren fan, so I was incredibly excited when I was able to pick up an early copy of Twice in a Blue Moon this year. This second chance romance story, while certainly not perfect, made me cry, and because it’s a rarity for a romance to hit me in the feels that hard these days, I have a rather large soft spot for it. Tate and Sam meeting as young adults when they are both on trips to London, end up falling in love hard and fast but falling apart over a large betrayal. The story picks up years later when Tate has become a famous actress and ends up cast as the lead in a movie that, surprise twist (and I say that with loving sarcasm because if you read a ton of romance, it’s not really a surprise twist), written by Sam. You can likely imagine what goes on from there, friends. Now, the truth is I’m not usually a big second chance romance reader. I don’t have anything against the trope, but it’s not the one I tend to gravitate towards in my romances. But I did really like how it was done in Twice in a Blue Moon, as it was well-done (with the bonus of celebrity and movie star life in there). There were details that didn’t sit too well with me, and I did feel like we could have used a touch more of the secondary characters and relationships outside of the romance in it as well (which is why this one doesn’t rank quite as high as the Wild Seasons series does for me). But I did like it a lot, and it definitely hit me right in the feels, so I still think Twice in a Blue Moon was a great new novel from Christina Lauren. 

Twice in a Blue Moon will be released on October 22, 2019 by Gallery Books.

I picked up an ARC at BookExpo 2019 from the publisher.

There are a lot of things that I really liked about The Friend Zone. Kristen and Josh both felt very real, as Jimenez did a very good job in showcasing their personalities and their struggles. She also did well in developing the relationship (from antagonism to friendship to romance), with their banter being a real highlight of the reading experience. But I was not a fan of the emotional cheating early on, though I could understand how the couple got there, nor was I fond of the big dramatic turn of events towards the end. What really frustrated me, however, was the stonewalling centered around the main reason they couldn’t be in a real relationship because it felt completely unnecessary. I’m still glad I read it, and I liked Jimenez’s writing style enough to know I’ll read more of her work, but sadly, The Friend Zone was ultimately just a slightly-above-average read for me. 

The Friend Zone was released on June 11, 2019 from Forever Romance. 

I received an e-galley from the publisher via NetGalley for review.

I had so much fun reading Fix Her Up (which I buddy read with Kristin)! It has two of my favorite romance tropes (fake dating and the love interest being the main character’s brother’s best friend) done extremely well. While the plot isn’t particularly original, Bailey did manage to make it come to life in her own unique way by having two well-fleshed out main characters (and interesting secondary characters too), as well as copious amounts of banter, sexytimes and romance (that really had me giggling and swooning). It’s a delightful new addition to the world of literary rom-coms, and I would highly recommend checking it out. (Be warned, there is a fair amount of the nickname “baby girl”, which was not for me, but it might not bother other people.) 

Fix Her Up (Hot and Hammered #1) was released on June 11, 2019 from Avon. 

I received a finished paperback copy from the publisher for review consideration.