The Unhoneymooners

THE INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER!

Named a “Must-Read” by TODAY, Us Weekly, Bustle, BuzzFeed, Goodreads, Entertainment Weekly, Publishers Weekly, Southern Living, Book Riot, Woman’s Day, The Toronto Star, and more!

For two sworn enemies, anything can happen during the Hawaiian trip of a lifetime—maybe even love—in this romantic comedy from the New York Times bestselling authors of Love and Other Words.

Olive Torres is used to being the unlucky twin: from inexplicable mishaps to a recent layoff, her life seems to be almost comically jinxed. By contrast, her sister Ami is an eternal champion...she even managed to finance her entire wedding by winning a slew of contests. Unfortunately for Olive, the only thing worse than constant bad luck is having to spend the wedding day with the best man (and her nemesis), Ethan Thomas.

Olive braces herself for wedding hell, determined to put on a brave face, but when the entire wedding party gets food poisoning, the only people who aren’t affected are Olive and Ethan. Suddenly there’s a free honeymoon up for grabs, and Olive will be damned if Ethan gets to enjoy paradise solo.

Agreeing to a temporary truce, the pair head for Maui. After all, ten days of bliss is worth having to assume the role of loving newlyweds, right? But the weird thing is...Olive doesn’t mind playing pretend. In fact, the more she pretends to be the luckiest woman alive, the more it feels like she might be.

With Christina Lauren’s “uniquely hilarious and touching voice” (Entertainment Weekly), The Unhoneymooners is a romance for anyone who has ever felt unlucky in love.

Christina Lauren is the combined pen name of longtime writing partners and best friends Christina Hobbs and Lauren Billings, the New York Times, USA TODAY, and #1 internationally bestselling authors of the Beautiful and Wild Seasons series, Autoboyography, Love and Other Words, Roomies, Josh and Hazel’s Guide to Not Dating, The Unhoneymooners, The Soulmate Equation, Something Wilder, The True Love Experiment, The Paradise Problem, and The Romance Revival. You can find them online at ChristinaLaurenBooks.com or @ChristinaLauren on Instagram.

Praise for The Unhoneymooners

"What a joyful, warm, touching book! I laughed so hard I cried more than once, I felt the embrace of Olive’s huge, loving, complicated, hilarious family, and my heart soared at the ending. This is the book to read if you want to smile so hard your face hurts." -- Jasmine Guillory, New York Times bestselling author of The Proposal

"Witty and downright hilarious, with just the right amount of heart, The Unhoneymooners is a perfect feel-good romantic comedy. Prepare to laugh and smile from cover to cover.” -- Helen Hoang, author of The Bride Test

"Heartfelt and funny, this enemies-to-lovers romance shows that the best things in life are all-inclusive and nontransferable as well as free.” ― Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

“Lauren brilliantly wields familiar rom-com tropes—enemies to lovers, fake marriage, even height differences—to craft a delightful romance that will have readers hanging on every word.” ― Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“Sassy and appealing, writing duo Lauren’s ( My Latest Half-Night Stand) latest endeavor is sure to please. A perfect read for beach or poolside, this is one hot summer story not to miss!” ― Library Journal (starred review)

"Lauren's (after Josh and Hazel's Guide to Not Dating, 2018) latest is a sexy, hilarious rom-com that offers a look into the bonds of a large Mexican-American family and between twin sisters as well as at whether blood is thicker than water. Readers will laugh out loud… Perfect for fans of Jasmine Guillory and Sally Thorne.” ― Booklist

“Lighthearted, laugh-out-loud funny and all too accessible (as the many Torres aunts and cousins keep butting into Ami's and Olive's lives), The Unhoneymooners is delightful. Olive's initial dislike of Ethan, tempered by her slow realization of his good qualities, makes for a charming and enjoyable romance.” ― Shelf Awareness

Praise for My Favorite Half-Night Stand

"A funny, sexy page-turner that warns: Keep your friends close and their avatars closer.” ― Kirkus Reviews

"This is a messy and sexy look at digital dating that feels fresh and exciting." ― Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"You can never go wrong with a Christina Lauren novel... Yet again, Christina Lauren offer up a delectable, moving take on modern dating with My Favorite Half-Night Stand, reminding us all that when it comes to intoxicating, sexy, playful romance that has its finger on the pulse of contemporary love this duo always swipes right."

― Entertainment Weekly

Praise for Josh and Hazel's Guide to Not Dating

"With exuberant humor and unforgettable characters, this romantic comedy is a standout." ― Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

"In Lauren's hilarious standalone... Lauren finds the perfect balance between charming moments and sultry episodes." ― Publishers Weekly

"Lauren (Love and Other Words, 2018) has penned a hilariously zany and heartfelt novel... the story is sure to please readers looking for a fun-filled novel to escape everyday life with

The Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren is a light, funny, and heartfelt romantic comedy that follows two people who absolutely cannot stand each other as they’re forced to spend ten days together on a Hawaiian “honeymoon” that doesn’t belong to either of them. At the center of the story is Olive Torres, a woman who considers herself chronically unlucky. Her twin sister Ami seemingly wins every contest she enters, has snagged an all expenses paid dream wedding and honeymoon through sweepstakes and deals, and generally glides through life with the universe on her side. Olive, on the other hand, feels like she’s always dealing with small disasters: bad jobs, awkward dates, and mishaps that make her think fate has it out for her. She’s witty, slightly sarcastic, and deeply devoted to her family, but she’s convinced that good luck is something that happens to other people, never to her.

The book opens on Ami’s wedding day. Ami has managed to plan the entire event on a shoestring budget thanks to her talent for winning contests, including a free buffet meal and a free honeymoon trip to Maui. Olive is the maid of honor, surrounded by chaos, jokes, and affectionate teasing from their big, noisy family. The groom, Dane, is charming and easygoing, while his brother Ethan is someone Olive knows all too well—and not in a good way. Olive and Ethan met years ago and, due to one big misunderstanding and a string of bad impressions, they’ve decided they don’t like each other. Olive thinks Ethan is judgmental, uptight, and a bit of a jerk who once rejected her rudely at a buffet. Ethan sees Olive as dramatic, stubborn, and prickly. Their mutual dislike has only grown over time, feeding off their assumptions and lack of honest communication.

During the wedding reception, everything goes horribly wrong in exactly the kind of way Olive expects from her luck. The seafood buffet Ami secured for free turns out to be contaminated, and almost every single person at the wedding—Ami, Dane, their guests, the family—ends up with brutal food poisoning. The only two people spared are Olive and Ethan, who both avoided the buffet for their own reasons. Suddenly, the perfect event is a disaster. Ami is violently sick, her dream honeymoon is about to be wasted, and she’s devastated. In the middle of this, she pushes Olive to take her place on the trip. After all, the vacation is non refundable, and Ami doesn’t want ten days in paradise to go unused. At the same time, Dane insists that Ethan should go as well, to avoid wasting his spot. The catch is that the trip is booked strictly under the newlyweds’ names, and the resort expects a married couple. So Olive and Ethan have to pretend to be Ami and Dane—essentially fake married—for the duration of the honeymoon.

Olive is horrified by the idea of spending that much time alone with Ethan, but the lure of a free tropical vacation is too big to ignore, especially in the middle of her otherwise unlucky life. Ethan isn’t thrilled either, but he’s practical enough to accept. They reluctantly agree on a plan: they’ll tolerate each other, avoid unnecessary interaction, and simply enjoy Maui on separate schedules as much as they can while keeping up a minimal front when needed. Once they arrive in Hawaii, the resort’s beauty and the sheer luxury of the trip begin to soften Olive’s initial dread. She’s surrounded by turquoise water, soft sand, and sun—things she could never afford on her own. She starts to relax, just a little.

The problem is that fate refuses to let them simply coexist in peace. Early in the trip, Olive runs into her future boss from back home, who recognizes “Ami” and assumes Ethan is her husband. Olive hasn’t told her new employer that this is a fake honeymoon, and she suddenly feels trapped: she has to maintain the lie to avoid looking unreliable or dishonest in front of someone who controls her job prospects. On top of that, they run into Dane’s ex girlfriend and her husband at the resort. The ex also believes they’re the newly married couple. These unexpected encounters force Ethan and Olive to play the part of loving spouses far more convincingly than they planned. They have to hold hands, sit close, share stories, and look convincingly in love whenever other people are watching.

As Olive and Ethan spend more time together, their careful distance starts to erode. They share activities—snorkeling, tours, meals, and small adventures—and gradually learn that their long held assumptions about each other might be wrong. Olive begins to see that Ethan isn’t actually cold or cruel; he’s reserved, observant, and sometimes painfully honest, but he can also be funny and kind. Ethan discovers that Olive’s sarcasm hides vulnerability and that she’s loyal, thoughtful, and quietly insecure about the sense of “bad luck” that’s followed her through life. Their banter slowly shifts from sharp and defensive to playful and flirtatious. Being forced to act like a couple leads to moments of real closeness: shared laughter, genuine concern, teasing, and inside jokes that make it harder and harder to remember they’re supposed to hate each other.

The fake marriage setup also pushes Olive to look at her life differently. Away from home, she isn’t weighed down by family expectations and her own narrative about being unlucky. Ethan challenges her to see that she may be more in control of her happiness than she thinks. In turn, Olive begins to question Ethan about why he keeps emotional distance from people, including his own brother. The more they talk, the more they uncover truths about their first meeting and the misunderstandings that built their resentment. Olive learns that Ethan didn’t reject her out of cruelty, and Ethan realizes how his behavior looked from her perspective. This unraveling of old hurt lays the groundwork for trust and attraction to build.

Of course, the honeymoon can’t last forever—either as a vacation or as a bubble of pretend feelings. When they return to Minnesota, reality rushes back in. Olive has to start her new job and prove herself professionally. Their families assume that Olive and Ethan still dislike each other, and they’re stunned when they sense something has changed. But the biggest complication emerges when Olive discovers something troubling about Dane, Ethan’s brother and Ami’s husband. Olive uncovers evidence that suggests Dane may not be as faithful and perfect as everyone believes. This knowledge forces her into an agonizing position: she desperately wants to protect her sister from betrayal, but she also knows that accusing Dane will shake the foundation of her family and upset Ethan, who has always had doubts about his brother but is reluctant to act.

The conflict over Dane exposes deeper fractures. Olive feels physically ill at the thought of Ami being hurt, and she struggles with how much proof she needs before confronting anyone. Ethan is torn between loyalty to his brother and the woman he has fallen for. Their relationship is suddenly tested by real world stakes, not just playful pretending. Olive’s sense of being unlucky reappears in a more emotional form—she worries that just when something good finally came into her life, it will be destroyed by painful truth. Ethan must decide whether he will stand beside Olive when she speaks up or retreat to protect his family.

Eventually, Olive chooses to be honest. Her love for Ami and her growing belief in herself push her to stop ignoring what she’s seen. This honesty creates tension and hurt, but it also opens the door for genuine resolution. The fallout is messy: there are arguments, anger, and heartbreak, and Olive fears she’s lost both her sister’s happiness and Ethan’s trust. However, through these difficult moments, the characters confront real issues—communication, morality, and the risk of telling hard truths rather than maintaining comfortable lies.

By the end of The Unhoneymooners, Olive has grown in significant ways. She learns that “luck” isn’t the only force shaping her life; her own choices, courage, and willingness to speak up matter just as much. She discovers that she can survive discomfort and conflict and still come out with stronger, healthier relationships. Ethan, too, is changed. He steps out from behind his quiet, detached persona to openly support Olive and to acknowledge his brother’s flaws. Their bond, formed in the strange, sunny bubble of a fake honeymoon, proves strong enough to endure family drama and the shift back to ordinary life.