Written in the Stars by Alexandria Bellefleur

e-Audio, 11:11:45
Narrated by: Lauren Sweet
Release Date: November 10, 2020
Published by: Harper Audio
Read from: January 1-4, 2021
Companion, #1
Source: Library
TW: 
For Readers Interested In: LGBTQ+, Contemporary Romance, Opposites Attract, Own Voices, Fake Dating, Adult

    With nods to Bridget Jones and Pride and Prejudice, a charming #ownvoices queer rom-com debut about a free-spirited social media astrologer who agrees to fake a relationship with an uptight actuary until New Year’s Eve—with results not even the stars could predict!
     After a disastrous blind date, Darcy Lowell is desperate to stop her well-meaning brother from playing matchmaker ever again. Love—and the inevitable heartbreak—is the last thing she wants. So she fibs and says her latest set up was a success. Darcy doesn’t expect her lie to bite her in the ass.
     Elle Jones, one of the astrologers behind the popular Twitter account, Oh My Stars, dreams of finding her soul mate. But she knows it is most assuredly not Darcy… a no-nonsense stick-in-the-mud, who is way too analytical, punctual, and skeptical for someone as free-spirited as Elle. When Darcy’s brother—and Elle’s new business partner—expresses how happy he is that they hit it off, Elle is baffled. Was Darcy on the same date? Because… awkward.
     When Darcy begs Elle to play along, she agrees to pretend they’re dating to save face. But with a few conditions: Darcy must help Elle navigate her own overbearing family over the holidays and their arrangement expires on New Year’s Eve. The last thing they expect is to develop real feelings during a fake relationship.
     But maybe opposites can attract when true love is written in the stars?

BETWEEN THE COVERS!
*This book is part of the new adult contemporary romance genre! It is more mature than YA. I have featured it in Between the Covers as a way to feature the few Adult and New Adult titles I am beginning to read!”

*MY THOUGHTS*

I remember first hearing about this one when it was already out. I didn’t add it to my TBR right away because I heard a lot of people say it was an enemies to lovers kind of romance, and that’s not my favorite genre, so I wasn’t exactly like chomping at the bit to read this. But then I heard it was something else entirely and I knew I needed it. And I was so right.

Astrologer Elle is looking for her soul mate. She meets super straight and narrow Darcy after being set up by Darcy’s brother. After a failed first date, Elle knows its never going to happen, so she doesn’t think too much about it. Until Dary’s brother shows up and exclaims he’s glad they hit it off. Elle goes along with it, but is utterly confused. What is going on?

I really thought this was almost perfect. I LOVED the relationship and I loved that we really got to experience the two of them together. That’s one of my biggest pet peeves in romance stories. Yes we don’t want insta-love, but we still want to see the two of them together. And this one did a nice job of having them get together and then keep them apart, etc. I really liked the way the author depicted their relationship. It felt super authentic for the two of them.

I also loved the writing style. The descriptions of the way things were when they kissed the first time was my favorite part. There were many more instances where the author gave us enough info for us readers to be able to see everything play out as if it were a movie. I really loved it. Along with that, I liked the little astrology clips that came before some of the chapters. I thought they were pretty cute. I wish there had been more. (I really liked them because they didn’t depict Scorpios like we were evil lol)

The only reason I didn’t give it 5 stars is because it was supposed to be a rom com, but I don’t remember laughing more than once. And even that was at the very beginning. I was expecting some hold my tummy laughs, when all I got were a few giggles. It was actually pretty heavy with both of their separate stories going on.

In the end, it was a great contemporary romance, and I really look forward to the companion novel, Hang the Moon. I hope it has the same swoons and descriptions and even more laughs than this one!

Overall, I give this