DALAGAN, AJ V.

STEM - 11

BOOK REVIEW
Reading and Writing
PART ONE:

I. TITLE OF THE BOOK - The Unhoneymooners

II. AUTHOR OF THE BOOK - Christina Lauren
III. AUTHOR’S REPUTATION - Christina Lauren is a combined pen name of writing
partners/best friends Christine Hobbs and Lauren Billings. The duo mostly writes books
under young adult. adult, contemporary fiction, teen fiction and romance novels.
genre Fiction genre, seventeen of which are New York Times bestselling novels. The
books they’ve written are published in over 30 languages and has received multiple
starred reviews and awards. They’ve been both featured in the following publications:
Forbes, The Atlantic, The Washington Post, Time, Entertainment Weekly, People, O
Magazine and more. Their most notable work includes Josh and Hazel’s Guide to
Dating, Roomies, Autoboyography, The Unhoneymoneers, and etc.
IV. PUBLISHER- Gallery Books/Simon & Schuster
V. YEAR OF PUBLICATION - 2019
VI. SPECIAL FEATURES INCLUDED-Yellow-colored book cover with Hawaiian theme designs,
such as palm trees, flowers, and a pelican.
VII. BUILT - The dimensions of the book are 5.31 x 1 x 8.25 inches. It weighs about 11.2
ounces. It is a type of paperback book which has with soft, bendable covers.
VIII. ISBN - 978-1-5011-2803-5
IX. LITERARY SURVEY - According to Google – “The Unhoneymooners is an enemies to
lovers romance set in a romantic destination that tells us the story of Olive, a girl who
has always considered herself as unlucky – be it in her job, career, love or life in
general.”

PART TWO:

I. PREFACE - “Olive Torres has always had a fair amount of bad luck, so when her twin
sister’s entire wedding party suddenly run for the bathrooms, Olive figures she’s next.
But fate sends Olive a curveball, specifically in the guise of her hot and hunky
archenemy Ethan Thomas, who is the only other member of the wedding party not
puking and therefore the de facto groom to her de facto bride on the nonrefundable
luxury honeymoon. Is Olive’s luck about to change, or will this fake honeymoon be just
like the rest of her life—a total bust? Being thrown together as husband and wife for
massages, dinners, and trips creates instant chemistry, and Olive can’t keep her
thoughts away from her new (pseudo)husband. With classic themes of luck, fate, and
opposites attracting, this light romance is fun. Olive is the best kind of heroine—smart,
determined, and quick—and Ethan is the perfect bad (not-so-bad) boy to sweep her
off her feet.”
II. POINT OF VIEW - Most of the story, except in the epilogue, was narrated from the
perspective of the main character, Olive Torres. Moreover, it uses keywords such as I,
me, my, mine, and myself, which indicates that the story is in a First-Person Point of
View.
III. WHAT WAS THE STORY ABOUT? - The story is about Olive, who has always been unlucky
throughout her whole life. Her twin sister, Amelia, however, was the complete opposite
and is probably the luckiest person in the world. She would win every raffle and game
that there is, and as a matter of fact, she even won a series of Internet contests that
helps finance their entire wedding. Speaking of this wedding, Olive was in extreme
dread as she is to spend a day with her sworn enemy, Ethan, who happens to be the
best man and brother of the groom, Dane. Olive only needs to get through the whole
day to get back to her usual unlucky life. However, things changed when misfortune
 struck the wedding night, causing the couple's inability to attend the honeymoon trip,
putting the opportunity up to both Olive and Ethan, which they accepted after the
both of them agreed to avoid each other at all cost. But things didn't go the way it
was as she had an encounter with her soon-to-be boss, now both of them have to
pretend to be loving newlyweds, and her luck seems worse than ever, yet she doesn't
hate it at all.
IV. CHARACTERIZATIONS
• Olive Torres - She is a thirty-two woman who is the protagonist of the book. The entire
book is written from her perspective, except the epilogue. Olive has lived her life in
comparison to her twin sister, Ami Torres, and sees herself as the unlucky twin. Also,
she consistently finds herself in odd and unfortunate situations and blames her bad
luck for their occurrence.
• Ethan Thomas Elijah – He is a thirty-four-year-old man who is the love interest of the
protagonist. The part of the book written in his perspective is only the epilogue. Ethan
is a well-composed man who sometimes mocks, banter, and cracks a joke to Olive
to get in her senses. He hates eating in buffets as he believes that everything served
in them is contaminated with alarming numbers of bacteria. His brother, Dane, used
him unknowingly to cheat with his wife/girlfriend, Amy.
• Amelia Torres – She is the sister of the protagonist, who got married to a man named
Dane Thomas. Amelia or Amy always been referred to as the lucky twin since every
time she joins a contest, a game, or anything, she’s always guaranteed to win.
• Dane Thomas – He is the brother of the leading man and the husband of the
protagonist’s twin-sister, Amy. Dane is a two-faced man, who uses his brother in
order to get away with his affairs while dating Amy. In the story he was always goofy
and not a very serious type of person.
• Charles Hamilton – The owner of Hamilton Biosciences and Olive’s future boss., who
she bumped into while staying at a hotel in Hawaii.
• Moly Hamilton – The wife of Charles Hamilton, who was spending time at Hawaii to
celebrate their wedding anniversary.
• Kasey – the human resources at Hamilton Biosciences who told Olive the good news
about her getting hired for the job.
• Sophie – Ethan’s ex-girlfriend, they broke up 6 months ago but she already is
engaged to another man named Billy.
• Billy – Sophie’s fiancé.
• Trinity – One of Dane’s mistress. She has a very recognizable mango tattoo. She was
unaware that Dane is tied up with someone else and had shown disgust in him at
the end scene.
• Cassie – One of Dane’s Mistress who is also clueless about his civil status.
• Diego – Olive and Amelia Torres’ gay cousin who always supports them and backs
them up.
• Natalia – Olive and Amelia Torres’ female cousin who is defined in the book as the
promiscuous one.
• Cami – Olive and Amy’s Cousin.
• Ximena – Olive and Amy’s Cousin.
• Tia Maria – Olive and Amy’s Aunt.
• Jules – Olive and Amy’s Cousin.
• Tia Sylvia – Olive and Amy’s Aunt.
• Tio Omar – Olive and Amy’s Uncle. Tia Sylvia’s husband.
• David – Olive and Amy’s cousin who owns a restaurant and gives Olive a job as a
waitress after she got fired from Hamilton Biosciences.
• Kelly – the spa specialist who calls Olive “Mrs. Thomas” while in a conversation with
his boss.
• Diana – The massage therapist who taught Olive and Ethan the “Couple’s
Massage”.
 • Carl – Olive’s Ex- boyfriend who she dumps because of corporate reason.
V. SETTING OF THE STORY - There are two settings in which the story took place. First in
Minneapolis, then in Maui, Hawaii.
VI. PLOT - On the day of Olive Torres's twin-sister Amy's wedding, everybody gets sick due
to food poisoning, including the bride and the groom. Not being able to attend the
honeymoon due to their condition, Olives' sister asked her to take the honeymoon trip
to Hawaii, but she had to be on that trip with someone she despises, the groom's
brother named Ethan. Since the trip is non-negotiable, non-transferable, and already
paid, they had no choice but to take this opportunity to spend time and enjoy
themselves in Hawaii. On the trip, unexpected things happened- Olive meeting her
soon-to-be boss in her new job and Ethan coming across with his recent ex-girlfriend-
that forced them to act like a newlywed couple to avoid getting accused of fraud.
This act turned into reality after they got into an argument causing them to admit their
feelings, making them into a couple, which didn't last long due to the discovery of
Ethan's brother's infidelity to his wife and Ethan not believing it. Olive told Amy about
her husband's infidelity, who only believe it right after she caught him herself. In the
end, both Ethan and Amy apologized to Olive for doubting her, then years later, they
are on a trip back to Hawaii where Amy was with her new beau and Olive was with
Ethan whose about to propose to her, which she accepted.
VII. MORAL VALUE - The moral value of the story is giving people your trust, depending on
how much they deserve. The same goes for loyalty. We have to see if the person you
are loyal to and see if they're loyal as well. Spending your life with untrustworthy and
disloyal people only brings nothing but pain in your life. The story also emphasized the
value of a second chance and that it's worth giving someone another try.
VIII. VOCABULARY TREASURES

Bridezilla •a bride or bride-to-be who is extremely demanding and difficult to deal with. –
/braɪdˈzɪlə/ Merriam Webster
Noun •blend of BRIDE and Godzilla, dinosaur-like monster introduced in the Japanese film
of the same name in 1954 (Anglicized adaptation of Japanese Gojira)
•“I'm planning the wedding because I enjoy it. I don't want to be a bridezilla.”
Billow •a rolling mass (as of flame or smoke) that resembles a high wave– Merriam Webster
/ bɪl.oʊ / •to spread over a large area, or (especially of things made of cloth) to become
Noun & Verb filled with air and appear to be larger. – Cambridge Dictionary
•Old Norse bylgja; akin to Old High German balg bag.
•“Sophie stepped into the shower through a billow of steam.”
Perusal •the action of reading through something, especially to find the part you are
/pəˈruː.zəl/ interested in. – Cambridge Dictionary
Verb • The first known use of perusal was circa 1589
•“The study is worthy of a careful perusal by all who feel an interest in the subject.”
Dismember •to cut off or disjoin the limbs, members, or parts of – Merriam Webster
/dɪˈsmem.bɚ/ •Middle English dismembren, from Anglo-French desmembrer, from des- dis- +
Verb membre member.
•“The police found the dismembered body of a young man in the murderer's
freezer.”
Cliché •something (such as a menu item) that has become overly familiar or
/kliːˈʃeɪ/ commonplace. – Merriam Webster
Noun •French, literally, printer's stereotype, from past participle of clicher to stereotype, of
imitative origin
•“My wedding day - and I know it's a cliché - was just the happiest day of my life.”
Incredulous •not wanting or not able to believe something, and usually showing this. –
/ɪnˈkredʒ.ə.ləs/ Cambridge Dictionary
Adjective •Latin incredulus, from in- + credulus credulous.
•“A few incredulous spectators watched on as Paterson, ranked 23rd in the world,
beat the champion.”
Obscene •morally wrong, often describing something that is wrong because it is too large. –
/əbˈsiːn ob / Cambridge Dictionary
Adjective •Middle French, from Latin obscenus, obscaenus
•“In the raid, police found several boxes of obscene DVDs.”
Blowhole •a hole in the ground that connects to a cave opening into the ocean –
/ˈbloʊ.hoʊl/ Cambridge Dictionary
Noun •Used in 1787, from blow (v.1) + hole.
•“The blowhole is in a place where ocean waves marching in from the north have
undercut a lava shelf and carved a tire-sized hole so that surf can spout up like a
Yellowstone geyser.”
Crystalline •clear and bright like crystal. – Cambridge Dictionary
/ˈkrɪs.təl.lən/ •Middle English cristallin, borrowed from Anglo-French & Latin; Anglo-French,
Adjective borrowed from Latin crystallinus, borrowed from Greek krystállinos, from krýstallos
"clear ice, CRYSTAL entry 1" + -inos -INE
•“Her singing voice has a pure, crystalline quality.”
Aquamarine •a transparent blue, blue-green, or green variety of beryl used as a gem – Merriam
/ä-kwə-mə-ˈrēn/ Webster
Noun •New Latin aqua marina, from Latin, sea water
•“I got an aquamarine pendant for my birthday.”
Souvenir •something you buy or keep to help you remember a vacation or special event –
/suː.vəˈnɪr/ Cambridge Dictionary
Noun •French, literally, act of remembering, from Middle French, from (se) souvenir to
remember, from Latin subvenire to come up, come to mind.
•“He bought a model of a red London bus as a souvenir of his trip to London.”
Levity •humor or lack of seriousness, especially during a serious occasion. – Cambridge
/ lev.ə.t̬I / Dictionary
Noun •Latin levitat-, levitas, from levis light in weight..
•“a brief moment of levity amid the solemn proceedings”
Dorky •physically or socially awkward or not fashionable. – Cambridge Dictionary
/ dȯr-kē /
•First used in 1970.
Adjective
•“She looks dorky but cute in her uniform.”
Wallow •the act of lying or rolling around slowly in deep, wet earth, sand, or water –
/ wɑː.loʊ / Cambridge Dictionary
Noun & Verb •to roll oneself about in a lazy, relaxed, or ungainly manner. – Merriam Webster
•Middle English walwen, from Old English wealwian to roll.
•" He likes a good wallow in the bathtub.”
Maniac •person characterized by an inordinate or ungovernable enthusiasm for something.
/ meɪ.ni.æk / – Merriam Webster
Noun •Late Latin maniacus maniacal, from Greek maniakos, from mania
•“Some maniac was running down the street waving a massive metal bar.”
Preposterous •contrary to nature, reason, or common sense – Merriam Webster
/ prɪˈpɑː.stɚ.əs /
•Latin praeposterus, literally, in the wrong order, from prae- + posterus hinder,
Adjective
following.
•“It was a preposterous idea, and no one took it seriously.”

Proposition •an offer or suggestion, usually in business – Cambridge Dictionary

/ prä-pə-ˈzi-shən / •to ask someone who you are not in a relationship with if they would like to have s*x
Noun & Verb with you. – Merriam Webster
•The first known use of proposition was in the 14th century.
•“He wrote to me last week regarding a business proposition he thought might
interest me.”
Plummet •a sudden and large reduction in value or amount. – Cambridge Dictionary
/ plʌm.ɪt / •to fall very quickly and suddenly. – Cambridge Dictionary
Noun & Verb •Middle English plomet, from Anglo-French plumet, plomet, from plum lead, lead
weight
•“House prices have plummeted in recent months.”
Curds •a soft, smooth, white cheese without a strong taste. – Cambridge Dictionary
 / ˈkərd / •Middle English crud, curd (usually in plural cruddes, croddes, curddys) "coagulated
Noun milk, any thickened substance, dregs, lees," probably noun derivative of crudden,
curdden "to curdle or make curdle (of milk), coagulate, congeal" — more at CRUD
entry 2Though sparsely attested in Middle English, the metathesized variant curd is
now standard in reference to a milk product, with crud, crood, etc., dialectal or
regional in the British Isles (compare CROWDIE). An offshoot of British crud is North
American CRUD.
•“The curd has separated from the whey.”
Haze •something such as heat or smoke in the air that makes it less clear, so that it is
/ heɪz / difficult to see well. – Cambridge Dictionary
Noun •The first known use of haze was in 1582.
•“The road through the desert shimmered in the haze.”

PART THREE:

I. HOW DID YOU LIKE THE STORY? - I did like the story very much. Although it’s not the
best story out there, it is enough to make you laugh and feel love. Aside from being
lighthearted, the story was easy to read and is very much relatable. It also takes you
on an adventure towards paradise while taking you on an emotional roller-coaster
throughout the journey.
II. GIVEN THE CHANCE OF ALTERATION, HOW WOULD YOU LIKE THE STORY TO BE?
- The story is already complete on its own, but if there's an alteration I could make, I
would like to have more screen time with the other interesting characters such as
Diego, Olive's Mom and Dad, Amy, Sophie, and Dane. Having more insight into the
lives of these people would give the story more depth. It would explain some parts of
the plots that weren't elaborated well, such as the reason behind Dane's infidelity or
the relationship between Olive's mom and dad.
III. WHO IS YOUR FAVORITE CHARACTIER, WHY?- Out of all the characters in the story, my
favorite is Olive. The reason why she's my favorite character is regardless of how
many times she gets compared to her twin sister, Amy. Olive never gets bitter feelings
against her, and although she keeps on experiencing all these kinds of misfortunes in
her life, she never once gives up on it. I also like the way she not afraid to speak her
mind. Moreover, Olive is very loyal to her loved ones that she'll do anything even if it is
worth breaking up with her boyfriend or her twin getting angry at her.
IV. WILL YOU RECOMMEND THIS MATERIAL TO OTHERS, WHY AND WHY NOT?
- I recommend this book to those people who like to read stories that are easy to
understand. This book is also suitable for those who don't mind reading a story full of
cliches. If your only goal is to giggle, feel in love, and have a good time, then you
can try reading this book. Children ages twelve below can ignore this book since it
wouldn't be suitable for them as it contains light sexual references and some
profanities.
V. INCIDENTS IN THE STORY THAT YOU CAN RELATE WELL?- The incident that I can relate
to well is where Ethan and Amy accuse Olive of being cynical, bitter, and a liar. I
have been in the same place as her before, where I was right the whole time, but
then people refused to believe me because they think I'm a very goofy person.
Therefore, according to them, it would be normal to wonder if I was telling a lie or the
truth.