Objectively, I don’t think this is a bad story. I think the writing is fine, the pacing is okay, the plot doesn’t have any gaping holes, the characters aren’t awful…I just don’t think this story is for me.
The set up for the story is a little cliche, but I’m fine with cliches as long as the story and characters are interesting. Essentially, this is a story about two people who hate each other, but gradually begin to develop feelings for each other due to some plot point that forces them together. So it’s the enemies to lovers trope. Much like a cliche I have no problem with this trope– when it’s done well. In this book I think this trope is handled okay. I didn’t love the romance between Olive and Ethan, but I definitely didn’t hate it either. I was curious to see how they were going to develop feelings for each other, so I was invested enough to get through the whole book.
The romance buds because the two are put in an awkward situation when they run into people that they are acquainted with on their trip and they have to act like a happy newlywed couple that is literally in the honeymoon phase of their relationship. This could lead to a lot of laughs and fun situations, but I didn’t laugh a lot and nothing really got me giddy about this couple or this story. The main characters weren’t that interesting to me and I couldn’t get into the chemistry that the book was trying to develop between the both of them. I kind of felt like I was watching a Hallmark or ABC Family/Freeform romance movie around the holidays. Sometimes those movies can be fun, but that wasn’t the case for me while reading the majority of this book.
The book wasn’t completely forgettable; there were a few things I did like:
I really liked the tough conversations that Olive has with her sister Ami and her love interest Ethan. They felt like honest, hard conversations that people have when put in difficult situations -people don’t always agree, they don’t always see your side, and sometimes the people you love the most can say the things that hurt you the most. All that stuff, that’s what I liked the most, that’s when I was the most invested in this story. The family dynamic with Olive’s family was also nice. They’re very loving and supportive of one another, and the writers did a good job of showing how much they care for one another. They also depicted what it’s like being part of a big family pretty well: how your personal business can become the entire family’s business, family members can just pop up at your house at any time, and food can be used to fix almost anything. All those elements felt pretty authentic. Lastly, there was a point about how you shouldn’t make assumptions about someone before you get to know them. Not a huge message, but a point made none the less.
This is the second book that I’ve read by Christina Lauren. I don’t think I’m completely in love with their books yet, but so far their books have left me with at least a couple things that I enjoyed or found interesting. I know a lot of people enjoyed this book, I just don’t think it’s for me.