Twice in a Blue Moon by Christina Lauren

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Title: Twice in a Blue Moon
Author: Christina Lauren
Published by: Gallery Books
Release Date: October 22, 2019
Format: eARC
Pages: 400
Genres: Romance, Contemporary
Source: NetGalley
Reading Challenges: Lenoreo's 2019 Netgalley and Edelweiss Challenge, Lenoreo's 2019 New Release Challenge
Find it: Goodreads ✩ Amazon ✩ B&N ✩ Google ✩ Kobo ✩ iBooks ✩ IndieBound ✩ Book Depository
My rating:

Blurb:

As an adventurous send-off to her childhood, eighteen-year-old Tate Jones travels with her grandmother from their small town in Northern California to London. But the vacation of a lifetime is wonderfully derailed by the appearance of two charming Vermont farmers: grandfather Luther and his handsome grandson Sam.

Sam and Tate fall hard and fast. For two glorious weeks, the couple share their hopes, dreams, and secrets. Sam admits he suspects his grandfather is dying and that this could be the last trip they take together, and Tate reveals that she is the hidden daughter of one of the biggest film stars in the world—a secret she’s never told anyone before.

But when Tate is exposed by a crush of cameras and reporters, she knows she's been betrayed by the one person she thought she could trust. She is forced to decide whether she will return to her quiet life or embrace being in the public eye. So when Sam reappears in her world more than a decade later, can Tate forgive the past and rekindle the passion they shared on their magical trip abroad? And does she even want to?

My Review:

I received a free copy through NetGalley in exchange for an honest and unbiased review/opinion.

4.5 stars — Well this was a strange romance.

I felt so much for the crazy position that Tate was put in.  She’s such a strange character, because in so many ways she’s pretty weak actually.  But not completely, and that’s what made her interesting to read about.  Because she’s kind of unlike anyone I’ve ever read before.  Because of her childhood, and her Mom and Nana, she was so sheltered and conditioned to follow their whims and desires.  It was kind of unhealthy if I’m being honest, but not, like, hugely unhealthy.  Just not ideal.  I almost wish she’d had more epiphanies in that direction.  But anyways.  So we kind of understand how she developed into this somewhat more meek character, but that doesn’t mean that there aren’t interesting things about her, that she doesn’t have an inner strength to her.  She’s just sort of lost her way a bit.

And the whole situation with Sam was so bizarre and kind of heartbreaking.  I kind of absolutely loved that the author didn’t shy away from the difficult situation.  It was uncomfortable to read, b/c he was placed in this horrible position, and while I believe he went about things wrong, I *get* why he made the decisions he made.  And it was interesting to see how the consequences followed him, but yet he would still make the same decision.  I loved how real that was.  How real *he* was.

And I LOVED her reactions to him, and the things she finds out about all of it  They were so RAW and REAL and CONFLICTED.  I adored that.  Because fuck, what a situation, you know?  Like, she has every right to still be hurt and betrayed by it, but there’s so much more in all that.  GAH.  Noice.

I LOVED the romance from their teenage years.  God, it was just so real, and visceral.  I felt the crush.  I felt the chemistry.  I felt the developing friendship.  It was like, all that is good in humanity that makes me have silly smiles and tummy tingles.

I hurt for Tate with her Dad.  That situation may have been real, but it fucking sucked.

I LOVED the secondary characters in this one!  Oh man, so many great friends!  From Luther at the beginning, to Charlie, Trey, and Nick later.  And Marco!  It was nice to see Tate have all these other support systems, you know?  She didn’t live in a vacuum.  I also loved that she developed friendships along the way, and it was a real friendship with Nick.  Great interactions there.

I loved how fierce Charlie was in her protection of Tate, but that in the end she would always support Tate and really just wanted her to be happy.

I strangely loved the script and the glimpses of that story within the story.  We didn’t get the full one, but enough to understand what was in Sam’s heart based on his love for his grandparents.

So yeah…this one was a strange bird, but it worked for me.  I was sucked in and intrigued.