Twice in a Blue Moon, Christina Lauren’s latest, tells the story of intoxicating first love that goes wrong (so wrong). Then, the main characters, Tate and Sam, meet again on a movie set 15 years later. Sounds a lot like their 2017 release Love and Other Words, right? And therein lies my problem. I couldn’t help but compare the two: Twice in a Blue Moon reads like an alternate, less satisfying version of a book I absolutely adored.
First up, I need us all to be totally clear: This is contemporary fiction with romantic elements, NOT A ROM-COM. I was totally swept up in Tate and Sam’s whirlwind relationship in London at 18 and 21, but the laughs are few. Family issues loom large throughout.
In the second half, Tate and Sam’s second chance story focuses heavily on (unearned) forgiveness. It left me wondering what kind of saint Tate Butler is to be able to give Sam Brandis another chance. Sometimes love (and the fear of never being able to do better) just makes you stupid for a person.
Even once these two have it out about what happened all those years ago and how it changed Tate’s life completely, I was not at all satisfied with Sam’s response. Despite all the emotion, he says he’d do it again. Tate, what? Are you listening? He said, he’d do it again! What more do you need to know?
For me, Twice in a Blue Moon is like when a friend tells you she’s getting back together with a guy you KNOW she shouldn’t. But it’s not your call to make. I just had to sit back, put my hands up and say, “Ok, Tate, you do you, let’s see how this plays out.” Resigned is not usually how I feel at the end of a Christina Lauren book. Sigh.
3 stars
Twice in a Blue Moon is available now.
Get it at The Ripped Bodice | Amazon | Apple Books