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bandherbooks 's review for:

Twice in a Blue Moon by Christina Lauren
2.0

Would you give a second chance to the man who broke your trust and your heart? 19 year old Tate fell for 21 year old Sam during her first trip to London. Growing up sheltered due to her parents' failed marriage, Tate is finally out experiencing the world and falling in love for the quiet man who becomes her travel companion along with her grandmother and his grandfather. But Sam destroys Tate's trust and world when he sells her secret to the tabloids, launching her life into a completely new trajectory and bringing her estranged movie star father back into it.

Cut to almost 15 years later and Tate is set to star in a movie with her father for the first time, a film absolutely perfect for her. But once she lands on set she realizes the screenwriter is no other than Sam, the boy who took her virginity and her heart that fateful London trip, now a man who she still feels something for.

As Tate acts out the role of a lifetime, can she find true love or trust with any of the men in her life?

I'm positive there will be many readers for this story, unfortunately this wasn't a story I connected with. Only being given Tate's POV of the story led this to feel more like women's fiction. Tate and Sam are rarely on page together, not enough for me to believe their HEA. Tate spent six days with Sam at 19 before he did something really bad, and he did NOT grovel close to enough for me to forgive him.

The romance arc didn't feel like the most important part of the story, it is more about Tate's journey accepting herself, her feelings, and realizing that sometimes you'll never have the relationship you want with a family member, no matter how hard you act in front of the cameras.

The rest is spoilers so please avoid if you don't want them.

SpoilerI also figured out *why* Sam did what he did right away, and it was shitty and she immediately forgives him which is her right, but. And then he ghosts on her when news breaks that HE was the one who spilled the beans all those years ago, and she again forgives her when she reads four emails he sent before the movie started filming. Eh. I wanted more. I just really miss the dual POV Christina Lauren stories that were more fun and romance specific. I wish them well on this journey as I think it is working for a lot of readers, just not me.