Christina Lauren Archives - What's Better Than Books?

16
May
2023

#BookReview The True Love Experiment by Christina Lauren @christinalauren @SimonSchusterCA @GalleryBooks #TheTrueLoveExperiment #ChristinaLauren #SimonSchusterCA

categories: 10/10, Book Review, Contemporary Romance, Noteworthy Book Releases

Title: The True Love Experiment

Author: Christina Lauren

Published by: Gallery Books on May 16, 2023

Genres: Contemporary Romance

Pages: 416

Format: ARC, Paperback

Source: Simon & Schuster Canada

Book Rating: 10/10

Sparks fly when a romance novelist and a documentary filmmaker join forces to craft the perfect Hollywood love story and take both of their careers to the next level—but only if they can keep the chemistry between them from taking the whole thing off script.

Felicity “Fizzy” Chen is lost. Sure, she’s got an incredible career as a beloved romance novelist with a slew of bestsellers under her belt, but when she’s asked to give a commencement address, it hits her: she hasn’t been practicing what she’s preached.

Fizzy hasn’t ever really been in love. Lust? Definitely. But that swoon-worthy, can’t-stop-thinking-about-him, all-encompassing feeling? Nope. Nothing. What happens when the optimism she’s spent her career encouraging in readers starts to feel like a lie?

Connor Prince, documentary filmmaker and single father, loves his work in large part because it allows him to live near his daughter. But when his profit-minded boss orders him to create a reality TV show, putting his job on the line, Connor is out of his element. Desperate to find his romantic lead, a chance run-in with an exasperated Fizzy offers Connor the perfect solution. What if he could show the queen of romance herself falling head-over-heels for all the world to see? Fizzy gives him a hard pass—unless he agrees to her list of demands. When he says yes, and production on The True Love Experimentbegins, Connor wonders if that perfect match will ever be in the cue cards for him, too.

The True Love Experiment is the book fans have been waiting for ever since Fizzy’s debut in The Soulmate Equation. But when the lights come on and all eyes are on her, it turns out the happily ever after Fizzy had all but given up on might lie just behind the camera.

Review:

Charming, witty, and addictive!

The True Love Experiment is an amusing, heart-tugging tale that takes you into the life of Felicity Chen, a successful romance writer who, after realizing she has never truly been in love, reluctantly agrees to be the star of a new bachelor-type show based on her best friend’s DNA technology even if it means working closely with Connor Prince, the single father and documentary filmmaker who may find something he never knew he was actually looking for while producing a reality show he only agreed to do to save his career.

The writing style is humorous and crisp. The characters are fun, charming, quirky, and endearing. And the plot is an irresistible, enchanting mix of life, love, drama, friendship, emotion, snappy dialogue, hilarious hijinks, smouldering chemistry, tender moments, and steamy romance.

Overall, The True Love Experiment is pure magic. It’s a light, funny, entertaining read that’s deliciously swoon-worthy, undoubtedly one of my favourite reads of the year, and even though I never thought I’d say it, may have finally knocked The Unhoneymooners from the top spot on my list of favourite novels written by this amazing duo.

This novel is available now.

Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or from one of the following links.

Thank you to Simon & Schuster Canada for gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

About Christina Lauren

Christina Lauren is the combined penname of longtime writing partners/best friends Christina Hobbs and Lauren Billings, the New York Times, USA TODAY, and #1 International bestselling authors of The Beautiful and Wild Seasons series, Dating You/Hating You, Roomies, Love and Other Words, Josh and Hazel’s Guide to Not Dating, and the critically acclaimed Autoboyography.

Photograph by Alyssa Michelle.

15
May
2021

#BookReview The Soulmate Equation by Christina Lauren @christinalauren @SimonSchusterCA @GalleryBooks #TheSoulmateEquation #ChristinaLauren

categories: 10/10, Book Review, Contemporary Romance, Noteworthy Book Releases

Title: The Soulmate Equation

Author: Christina Lauren

Published by: Gallery Books on May 18, 2021

Genres: Contemporary Romance

Pages: 368

Format: ARC, Paperback

Source: Simon & Schuster Canada

Book Rating: 10/10

Single mom Jess Davis is a data and statistics wizard, but no amount of number crunching can convince her to step back into the dating world. Raised by her grandparents–who now help raise her seven-year-old daughter, Juno–Jess has been left behind too often to feel comfortable letting anyone in. After all, her father’s never been around, her hard-partying mother disappeared when she was six, and her ex decided he wasn’t “father material” before Juno was even born. Jess holds her loved ones close, but working constantly to stay afloat is hard…and lonely.

But then Jess hears about GeneticAlly, a buzzy new DNA-based matchmaking company that’s predicted to change dating forever. Finding a soulmate through DNA? The reliability of numbers: This Jess understands. At least she thought she did, until her test shows an unheard-of 98% compatibility with another subject in the database: GeneticAlly’s founder, Dr. River Pena. This is one number she can’t wrap her head around, because she already knows Dr. Pena. The stuck-up, stubborn man is without a doubt not her soulmate.

But GeneticAlly has a proposition: Get to know him and we’ll pay you. Jess–who is barely making ends meet–is in no position to turn it down, despite her skepticism about the project and her dislike for River.

As the pair are dragged from one event to the next as the “Diamond” pairing that could make GeneticAlly a mint in stock prices, Jess begins to realize that there might be more to the scientist–and the science behind a soulmate–than she thought.

Funny, warm, and full of heart, The Soulmate Equation proves that the delicate balance between fate and choice can never be calculated.

Review:

Witty, clever, and sweetly romantic!

The Soulmate Equation is a delightfully charming tale featuring the affable, kindhearted, single mother, Jess and the intense, thoughtful, geneticist River as they discover that it may be as easy as just comparing DNA to find “the one” or maybe numbers and algorithms really don’t mean a thing.

The writing is sharp and crisp. The characters are dreamy, engaging, and dependable. And the plot is an enchanting, irresistible blend of tension, humour, chemistry, familial drama, friendship, parenthood, awkward mishaps, tender moments, introspection, tricky situations, and unconditional love.

Overall, The Soulmate Equation is another amusing, swoony, brilliant tale by Lauren that had everything I look for in a lighthearted rom-com and more. I loved the characters, I loved the storyline, and I loved the happy-ever-after ending. It is without a doubt one of my favourite reads of the year and should definitely be high on everyone’s must-read list for summer 2021.

This novel is available on May 18, 2021.

Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or from one of the following links.

Thank you to Simon & Schuster Canada for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

About Christina Lauren

Christina Lauren is the combined penname of longtime writing partners/best friends Christina Hobbs and Lauren Billings, the New York Times, USA TODAY, and #1 International bestselling authors of The Beautiful and Wild Seasons series, Dating You/Hating You, Roomies, Love and Other Words, Josh and Hazel’s Guide to Not Dating, and the critically acclaimed Autoboyography.

Photograph by Alyssa Michelle.

04
Dec
2018

#BookReview My Favorite Half-Night Stand by Christina Lauren @christinalauren @SimonSchusterCA @GalleryBooks

categories: 10/10, Book Review, Contemporary Romance, Noteworthy Book Releases

Title: My Favorite Half-Night Stand

Author: Christina Lauren

Published by: Gallery Books on Dec. 4, 2018

Genres: Contemporary Romance

Pages: 400

Format: Paperback

Source: Simon & Schuster Canada

Book Rating: 10/10

By the New York Times bestselling author who “hilariously depicts modern dating” (Us Weekly), My Favorite Half-Night Standis a laugh-out-loud romp through online dating and its many, many fails.

Millie Morris has always been one of the guys. A UC Santa Barbara professor, she’s a female-serial-killer expert who’s quick with a deflection joke and terrible at getting personal. And she, just like her four best guy friends and fellow professors, is perma-single.

So when a routine university function turns into a black tie gala, Mille and her circle make a pact that they’ll join an online dating service to find plus-ones for the event. There’s only one hitch: after making the pact, Millie and one of the guys, Reid Campbell, secretly spend the sexiest half-night of their lives together, but mutually decide the friendship would be better off strictly platonic.

But online dating isn’t for the faint of heart. While the guys are inundated with quality matches and potential dates, Millie’s first profile attempt garners nothing but dick pics and creepers. Enter “Catherine”—Millie’s fictional profile persona, in whose make-believe shoes she can be more vulnerable than she’s ever been in person. Soon “Catherine” and Reid strike up a digital pen-pal-ship…but Millie can’t resist temptation in real life, either. Soon, Millie will have to face her worst fear—intimacy—or risk losing her best friend, forever.

Perfect for fans of Roxanne and She’s the Man, Christina Lauren’s latest romantic comedy is full of mistaken identities, hijinks, and a classic love story with a modern twist. Funny and fresh, you’ll want to swipe right on My Favorite Half-Night Stand.

Review:

Amusing, smart, and adorably romantic!

My Favorite Half-Night Stand is an engaging, witty, friends-to-more romance that features the spunky, intelligent Millie whose finding it harder and harder to keep her attraction for her best friend a secret, and the charming and honest Reid who may finally realize everything he’s ever wanted or needed is standing right in front of him.

The writing is whimsical and crisp and uses a delightful mix of text messages, group chats, snappy dialogue, and first-person narration from dual points of view. The characterization is spot on with an incredible cast of characters who are quirky, charismatic, and genuine. And the plot is an irresistible blend of shameless flirting, friendship, family, light drama, tricky situations, spirited shenanigans, awkward moments, steamy romance, and the hilarious ups and downs of online dating.

I’ve always been a fan of Christina Lauren novels, and My Favorite Half-Night Stand has just become my new favourite. It’s outrageously funny, deliciously swoon-worthy and without a doubt one of the best rom-coms I’ve had the pleasure to read this year.

This novel is available now.

Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or from one of the following links.

Thank you to Simon & Schuster Canada for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

About Christina Lauren

Christina Lauren is the combined penname of longtime writing partners/best friends Christina Hobbs and Lauren Billings, the New York Times, USA TODAY, and #1 International bestselling authors of The Beautiful and Wild Seasons series, Dating You/Hating You, Roomies, Love and Other Words, Josh and Hazel’s Guide to Not Dating, and the critically acclaimed Autoboyography.

Photograph by Alyssa Michelle.