The Honeymoon Crashers
by Christina Lauren
Published by Simon & Schuster Audio Originals
Book 1.5 in the Unhoneymooners Duo
Ami is determined to break the Torres family wedding curse.
Her own disaster of a reception ended with all the guests getting food poisoning, and she left her cheating husband soon after. But even though she’s still processing her own divorce, Ami won’t let her twin sister Olive’s day be anything but perfect. Olive may think she wants a private ceremony in Maui, where she and her fiancé Ethan first fell in love, but Ami knows better and secretly flies the whole Torres family out to surprise the couple. Now she and her meticulously organized binder have less than two weeks to get everything together for the big day, thousands of miles from home.
Enter Brody, Ethan’s best man, who happens to be living in Maui and insists on helping with the preparations. His playfully elaborate schemes and happy-go-lucky attitude are the last thing Ami needs. When sparks start to fly, could it derail all her carefully laid plans?
Equal parts hilarious and swoon-worthy, this full-cast production is your ticket to the ultimate destination wedding, bringing to life both a captivating couple and an unforgettable family. The Honeymoon Crashers is Christina Lauren at their charming, hilarious best.
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If you are a regular reader here, you may already know this, but in case you don't, I will say it again.
I'm not an audiobook person.
It's not because I'm a book snob, and think you need to have your face in a book for it to be considered literature.
It all comes down to my brain not being able to truly sponge up the audiobook experience. I can't just pin the blame on ADHD, as I know that there are lot's of neurodivergent people who can't focus on a book, but can absorb a story through audio. There are others who, like me, need the visual stimulation to truly concentrate.
So audiobooks, while a great thing for many people, are not for me.
Believe me, I've tried. I love Danielle L. Jensen's Bridge Kingdom series, and because it's an audible original, those books release on audible first. Readers have to wait a long six months to read it in print, so for the last one, I tried to listen, and I just kept rewinding and rewinding because I missed something, and gave up 40% in.
So when Christina Lauren announced that they were doing a sequel to The Unhoneymooners, and said it was exclusive to audible, I was both excited and disappointed.
I loved The Unhoneymooners, and of course I wanted her sisters story.
But again ... audible books and my brain do not mix.
Not to mention, any of their fans in the deaf community miss out on the story.
Frankly, if I didn't have a leftover credit, I probably wouldn't have listened to it, but I did.
And it ... surprised me.
My previous experience with audiobooks was just people reading the script. I would get hung up on the voices not matching what the characters sounded like in my head. I would get distracted easily and have to rewind.
I didn't have to do that much in The Honeymoon Crashers.
First of all, it's novella length. You don't have to commit a lot of time to it.
Second of all, it's well cast and acted out.
Third, it has some extra features that really add to the story. Music, sounds, other voice actors, so everyone's voices felt fresh.
Finally, story wise, it's fun. It's classic Christina Lauren. Lots of great banter. A bit of rivals-to-lovers. Great humor. Some steam that makes you not want to listen in public just in case your headphones give out and it blasts from your phone, even though it's never happened before.
It was great.
Do I wish they would fully flesh out the story and put it in print? Yes.
Do I think I will start trying out more audiobooks? No.
But all in all, it was a fun story to listen to on my walks.
And I recommend if you enjoy Christina Lauren's books - even if you don't normally partake in audiobooks.
There were honestly lot's of lines I loved, but there is no way I could have gone back and transcribed them all.
