Count Your Lucky Stars by Alexandria Bellefleur

e-ARC, 384 pages
Release Date: February 1, 2022
Published by: Avon Books
Read from: January 26- February 7, 2022
Written in the Stars, #3
Source:  Edelweiss (I received a copy of this book from Edelweiss and the Publisher in exchange for a just and honest review. This did nothing to influence my review.)
TW: 
For Readers Interested In: Contemporary Romance, Realistic Fiction, Adult, Spice of IV, LGBTQIAP+ (Pansexual & Bisexual)

    Following Written in the Stars and Hang the Moon, national bestselling author Alexandria Bellefleur pens another steamy queer rom-com about former best friends who might be each other’s second chance at love…
     Margot Cooper doesn’t do relationships. She tried and it blew up in her face, so she’ll stick with casual hookups, thank you very much. But now her entire crew has found “the one” and she’s beginning to feel like a fifth wheel. And then fate (the heartless bitch) intervenes. While touring a wedding venue with her engaged friends, Margot comes face-to-face with Olivia Grant—her childhood friend, her first love, her first… well, everything. It’s been ten years, but the moment they lock eyes, Margot’s cold, dead heart thumps in her chest.
     Olivia must be hallucinating. In the decade since she last saw Margot, her life hasn’t gone exactly as planned. At almost thirty, she’s been married… and divorced. However, a wedding planner job in Seattle means a fresh start and a chance to follow her dreams. Never in a million years did she expect her important new client’s Best Woman would be the one that got away.
     When a series of unfortunate events leaves Olivia without a place to stay, Margot offers up her spare room because she’s a Very Good Person. Obviously. It has nothing to do with the fact that Olivia is as beautiful as ever and the sparks between them still make Margot tingle. As they spend time in close quarters, Margot starts to question her no-strings stance. Olivia is everything she’s ever wanted, but Margot let her in once and it ended in disaster. Will history repeat itself or should she count her lucky stars that she gets a second chance with her first love? 

*MY THOUGHTS*

After reading the first book, I remember saying it was pretty close to perfect. Unfortunately, this one didn’t also check that box for me. I liked it yes, but as it turns out, the tropes are a big deal for me. And this one was one of my least favorites for the entire book.

“You know,” – Brendon’s lips quirked- “When someone says there’s nothing to tell, there usually is.”

8%

After everyone has found “their person,” Margot can’t help but feel left out. They’re doing couples yoga, and smiling at each other, and yucky things like that. But still, Margot is the best woman in her friend’s wedding, so she takes the responsibilities serious. So when she goes to help them look for a back up wedding venue and she sees her fling from back in the day. And of course its the one who “got away.” Is Margot going to survive this wedding?

“Right. You’re totally right. We should leave the past in the past. Let sleeping dogs lie.” She tucked her hair behind her ear and laughed. “We had sex. Big deal.”

13%

Ok, so let’s talk about the elephant in the room…. The trope in this one that I didn’t care for. The miscommunication trope. Normally I can ignore it, like when it’s during the third act break-up, but this time? This was throughout the whole book. I think this may count as some small spoilers, but I don’t know any other way to explain it. So this all started 11 years ago. They had a small miscommunication there. They both didn’t say all the things they wanted to to each other. Which ok, that was fine. They were teens. But then there was the fact that they also went and did THE SAME THING when they saw each other again. And the whole “roommate talk” thing was stupid because the things they actually should have talked about, they didn’t. End spoilers. They spent the whole book being mad at each other and hurting and sad when they didn’t have to be. I just don’t understand that. It also didn’t help that the author also knew that they just could have talked. They mention it in the book and that annoyed me lol So it was basically like this entire book could have just not been.

“I think it’s a testament to my boundless capacity for caring, that it’s not even a prerequisite knowing what it is I care about.”

30%

But I liked almost everything else about it though. Margot still has that chip on her shoulder that made it hard to like sometimes. Buttttt I did understand what was going on when I got to the end. But then there was Olivia, who was sweet as sweet potato pie. They were like night and day. But I thought I knew Margot after meeting her in the other books, but imagine my surprise when I was reading and a romance scene came up…..

“Margot swallowed hard. Okay. She was officially Victorian-era-level horny if a -potentially?- accidental game of footsie was making her sweat.”

30%

Speaking of the romance scene, I was not expecting what was in this book at all. Like, I did not know Margot’s mouth was that filthy! I’m talking I had to go open the fridge door for a little sometimes lol Olivia was also pretty filthy in the heat of the moment, but nothing like Margot. She was the type that would cough or blush from something that Margot said. And I loved it. So, if you’re thinking of reading this, don’t be surprised at the spice. I gave it a 4 because it was graphic, but it wasn’t constant.

“Word to the wise, Margot?” Darcycalled out quietly. “If you don’t reckon with your feelings, sooner or later your feelings are going to reckon with you. Just something to keep in mind.”

34%

Although it wasn’t my favorite, it was still good. Don’t let my ideas about the big trope in this make you change your mind. You’ll be missing out on things like pansexual and bisexual representation, filthy dirty talk, and some hot smexy times. That makes me sound like I went into this one track minded, but whatever lol

Overall, I give this