When the Stars Lead to You took me on an unexpected journey, one that left me reeling with emotions long after I turned the final page. As someone who adores summer romances, this book promised to be a delightful escape into the sun-soaked world of young love. Little did I know, it would offer so much more.

From the outset, Devon's story captivated me. As I followed her journey and her passion for astrophysics and her determination to pursue her dreams, I found myself cheering for her successes and empathizing with her struggles.

But this book isn't just a story about romance—it's a poignant exploration of love, forgiveness, and mental health. Devon's journey, filled with moments of doubt and uncertainty, served as a powerful reminder of the importance of self-care and self-awareness. Devon's portrayal of depression felt both raw and authentic. The novel didn't shy away from difficult conversations; instead, it embraced them with honesty and empathy.

The biracial relationship between Devon and Ashton added another layer of depth to the story. Their struggles with societal microaggressions and family expectations felt all too familiar, highlighting the complexities of identity and love.

That being said, there were moments when I struggled with certain aspects of the story. At times, the dialogue felt forced, and the plot veered into melodrama. However, upon reflection, I came to appreciate the depth and ambition of the author's intentions.

In the end, When the Stars Lead to You may not be a flawless read, but it is undeniably powerful. Its exploration of love, self-discovery, and the messy realities of life made for an important and well-balanced read. For anyone seeking a young adult romance that goes beyond the surface, this book is a must-read.

J'ai bien aimé cette histoire. Je ne connaissais pas cette auteure, mais c'est une belle surprise. J'aime les roman Young adult qui abordent des sujets plus sérieux. Je crois que pour les lecteurs qui ont aimé Nos étoiles contraires ou des romances de ce genre aimeront ce roman. Je le recommande chaleureusement !

When the Stars Lead to You by Ronni Davis tells a beautiful love story alongside a fight against depression.
Thanks to NetGalley and Little Brown for the opportunity to read and review this book!
Devon meets Ashton and they hit it off immediately. They enjoy each other’s company so much that they don’t really want to spend time with anyone else. Devon notices that Ashton’s mind drifts away sometimes but it’s nothing that he talks about. On their last summer day together, Ashton doesn’t show up and he never answers any of Devon’s texts. A year later and on the first day of school, a new student sits by her in the school assembly audience. When she turns to see who it is, it’s Ashton. They don’t take the time to talk about things until they end up volunteering at a pet shelter all day. Ashton takes Devon to eat and then to his house to talk privately since his parents are away. He tells Devon that his parents expect him to be with an all-white descendant girl and won’t allow him to date her because she’s Black/Irish. Ashton takes things into his own hands and Devon discovers how much stress and pressure he’s dealing with. As they build their relationship, they both expand on who they are. This book has such an eye-opening story about depression and how it can be debilitating. It creates empathy for anyone dealing with depression and the people who love them. 5 stars for a beautiful love story that’s full of reality!

Raw, real and unpredictable. When the Stars Lead to you is not a go-happy contemporary romance but a hard-hitting debut that tackles the tough topics of depression, suicide and codependency. No where in the synopsis are those topics listed but they make up the entirety of the book. It’s a hard but well written read and if any of those topics are triggers for you I’d skip this one because of how accurately and truthfully they are portrayed in the novel.

Devon: Aspiring astrophysicist who wants nothing more than to study the stars she loves. She’s put her all into getting into her top college and is a shooing for valedictorian and the scholarship she needs to make her dreams come true. Enter the boy that left her without a word after a whirlwind summer romance a year ago. Ashton wants back in her life and it turns out he was hiding a secret that summer.

Ashton: Photography enthusiast and animal lover from a wealthy family who carries the weight of his parents scrutiny on his shoulders. His future is all set for him even if he isn’t sure it’s what he wants. His biggest secret though is that he suffers from depression and suicidal thoughts.

This was a very toxic, very instant love. Maybe it’s because we didn’t get to see their summer of falling in love, but even so the things Ashton says about first meeting Devon is insta-lovey. The love is not a healthy one but it doesn’t try to disguise itself as one. It’s very realistic and as a reader it’s easy to see Devon alter her life little by little to fit around Ashton but it’s hard for her to see it herself. It was very well written and I was glad for the light shone on the toxicity of it at the end. Mental health and depression isn’t nearly talked about enough in everyday life still and I think this book is a way to get that conversation started.

I loved how future oriented Devon was and how supportive her family and friend Blair were even if they didn’t quite understand her obsession. Female stem representation is so important and I felt a certain kinship with Devon because of it even if I wasn’t as driven as her in high school. Know what you want and don’t be afraid to go after it. This also brings up the fact that Devon is biracial; half black and half Irish. She’s had to work twice as hard as everyone else and deal with all the racist crap that goes along with it. Do not only is she female going into a male dominated field, she’s a woman of color going into it.

The family relationships in this book were a huge part of the story. First we have Devon’s close knit alternative family. Their relationship was so open and forward thinking. They’ve done a lot to get to the place they are as a family and overcome quite a few challenges based on race. Devons parents trust her though and have very open discussions about her relationship, sex and her future with her. I am a little confused as to why they never talked to their daughter about how unhealthy her relationship was getting. I feel like it should have come up on some level. On the opposite side we have Ashtons family who seemed very stereotypical rich white family. Keep it in, don’t talk about, pretend their kid doesn’t exist. I felt awful for Ashton. Not only is he having these awful thoughts but then he has no support system at home.

While the depression, suicide and high school aspects of the story were well written, sometimes the dialogue felt off. The cast of characters felt younger than they were and I felt like I never really got to know them beyond this situation. I also was not a fan of the ending. It was a non-ending ending which I strongly dislike. While I understand what Davis was trying to achieve with it, I don’t like not knowing what’s next for Devon and Ashton.

I was very excited to read When the Stars Lead to You because the cover caught my eye. It's one of the prettiest covers that I have ever seen. The story is all about a girl named Devon who is a very type-A student and person. She dreams of being an astrophysicist and loves everything about the stars.

One day, while on vacation she meets the boy of her dreams. Devon and Ashton immediately fall for each other and embark on a whirlwind romance. The story conveys all the ups and downs of falling in love for the first time. Both characters were extremely relatable. Ashton struggles with major depression and it starts affecting their relationship. As someone who struggles with depression, I related to both characters. I am also a very type-A person. In high school, there were many times that I overworked myself like Devon does throughout the book. My first relationship/love ended a lot like how the characters did in the book.

I enjoyed seeing the contrast between the two characters. How depression not only affects the person dealing with mental health issues but how it also affects loved ones and relationships. There are a lot of triggers in this book though... So don't go into reading it if you do not have a strong mindset to read anything dealing with depression, suicide, etc.

Devon is a very determined character. She dreams of becoming a scientist. Most of the book is her preparing for college. I loved seeing the troubles that are presented when applying for college and all the waiting you have to endure. The book also deals with dysfunctional families and racism. I felt for Ashton so much while reading. There were times when I wanted to punch his parents. Even in modern times, there is racism. Especially where money is concerned. The novel portrayed that very well.

This isn't your average young adult romance novel and the plot has a lot of substance behind it. The hard topics were dealt with extremely well and not one time did it feel forced like so many other young adult novels. This was Ronni Davis' first novel and I cannot wait to see what she writes in the future. Her writing was so beautiful and seamless.

The ending was beautiful and very realistic. I loved reading the author's note at the end. This made the book and plot all the more powerful to read. Thank god for a realistic ending in a young adult romance for once! I was very emotional while reading this book. There were times that I was more invested in the plot and others that I didn't care much for. That's the only reason why I did not give this book five stars. I reserve my five-star books for my absolute favorite books. However, I did love this story. Thank you, to Ronni Davis, The FFBC, and the publisher for a finished copy to review!

When The Stars Lead To You is a summer love ending without a hint that turns into a heated romance where the relationship’s growth is intertwined with both the protagonists’ individual growth. A biracial relationship with a depression representation and a female main character whose dream is to be an astrophysicist along with emotional wonders about forgiveness are all the good things making up this young adult contemporary romance.

➝ Sum it up in points!

✔Summer-turned-school romance
✔Focus on self-love
✔Pressure of legacy
✔STEM female main character
✔Consensual sex in teenage romance
✔Sex positivity
✔Own-voices depression rep
✔Biracial relationship

➝ Trigger Warnings

⇾ Unannounced disappearance of the other half in a relationship
⇾ Suicidal thoughts & intentions
⇾ Suicide attempt
⇾ Depression
⇾ Societal microaggressions towards biracial identity
⇾ Classism
⇾ Family pressure

➝ Plot

When The Stars Lead To You shows an insta-love that starts on a beach to a second-chance romance in high school that dives into the main characters’—Devon and Ashton—aspirations and the difficulties associated with those dreams. Devon loves the stars and wants to become an astrophysicist but her parents’ financial status might raise a problem; Ashton wants to do anything that doesn’t confine him to the list of duties he needs to carry out as the son of an esteemed businessman and expensive family. This intertwined plot of two teenagers lives brings their complex relationship and individualistic story lines into clear focus.

➝ Representation

This YA contemporary romance definitely deserves recognition for the own-voices mental health rep that it showcased. Though, I’m not a part of the represented community so my opinions should be considered secondary to an own-voices reader. Not only does the story execute an accurate portrayal of a depressed character but also enlightens the readers on it by showing the non-depressed character educating herself about the symptoms, effects, and struggles of depression. This can certainly be a great way to normalise mental health education, especially when an individual needs to gain that knowledge by themselves.

Another strong aspect in terms of the mental health representation is the alertness that Devon shows once she finally fathoms Ashton’s suicidal ideation and depression. Her responsibility as an important person in his life, or even as a human, is proved through the conversations she carries out with him (regarding his thoughts) or through her push towards therapy or her actual presence most of the times.

The biracial relationship and its struggles are also portrayed in a very subtle yet glaring manner through microaggressions that Devon had to face, or the racism-oriented implications made by Ashton’s family when they simply assume Devon to be an exotic fling based on her different racial identity.

Sex in young adult books is an important theme, if present, and When The Stars Lead To You did a great job in making its characters take decisions for themselves, without the influence of society, parents or peers . Consent has been indicated and shown clearly which makes the heated romance in this teenage setting a pleasure (pun-intended) to read.

Overall, When The Stars Lead To You is a teenage romance I would recommend to anyone looking for a young adult relationship that progresses through time and explores various themes, from sex to mental health, while the protagonists are growing through every page too.

[Book review went up on blog on November 11, 2019 and a photo on Instagram went up on the same day.]

Holy Crap! When The Stars Lead To You delved really deeply into my feelings and ripped them all out. When The Stars Lead To You takes place over the course of, technically, 2 years and a half.

The bulk of the story, though, is in senior year and 16 year old summer (as in the people are 16). From the beginning, I was really scared for Devon and Ashton. The pitfalls and faults in the relationship were glaringly obvious to me and I just knew something bad was going to happen.

And happen it did.

The best part of When The Stars Lead To You isn’t the relationship, though. It’s what goes on after and during it. It’s one of only a few YA novels that I’ve read that talks about the depression and it’s effects on, not just the people who have it, but the people surrounding them. It talks frankly and truthfully about an unhealthy relationship, not just with another person, but with yourself.

It talked of racism and classicism (or whatever that’s called) and how it affects anything and everything. It was such an interesting read and really eye opening.

They shared an amazing summer at the beach, but without warning, he ghosted her. Fast forward one year, and he was back in her life, but was she ready to forgive him?

I had featured this book as one of my highly anticipated releases, because the whole summer-loving-first-love-brokenhearted-reunited thing really appealed to me, and Davis delivered all feels and so much more with this beautiful story.

This was a great blend of drama, heartbreak, and hope, and here are five things I really loved about this book.

• Davis did such a fantastic job capturing all the emotions related to first love. That first summer at the beach was so sweet and wonderful, and I loved when those feelings roared back to life when these two were reunited.

• This book tackled what it's like to love someone, who was suffering from mental illness. All the emotions were so real and raw. The pain, the hopelessness, the worry, and the stress - it was all there, and my heart ached for both Devon and Ashton as they were in the situation together.

• Blair was such a good friend. There were so many times I thought about how lucky Devon was to have her in her life. And, she was also blessed with wonderful parents, who were present and loving and super supportive.

• I taught astronomy at one point in my career, and loved all the science bits peppered throughout the story. I am all for STEM girl visibility, so thank you, Ronni Davis for writing a science loving female character for us, who was nothing short of marvelous.

• Davis incorporated many ideas about race, classism, mental health, identity, and sex-positivity into this story, and they blended seamlessly with each other.

Overall: A touching and emotional story of first love, which featured a rather realistic portrayal of loving someone with mental illness.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I thoroughly enjoyed this YA contemporary about loving someone with depression. I think a lot of teens these days are feeling more anxious and depressed. I felt this novel showed a great representation of that. I also thought it was a good representation of loving someone with depression. Thinking if you loved them enough, you could make it better, but you end up losing yourself. I identified with both Ashton and Devon. I've been in both their places, so it made this story very interesting to me. Blair, Devon's best friend, was also a great character. She was dealing with an inter-racial relationship. She was also fiercely loyal to Devon. You could tell she only had Devon's best interests at heart. It reminded me of me and my high school bffs - who I still talk to to this day!

Also, another positive, Devon is bi-racial, super smart, and wants to be an astrophysicist. How cool of a female lead is that?! I'm all for showing smart girls! All the talk of stars and space in the book was very interesting and told at a level everyone could understand, astrophysicist or not.

Great contemporary read! I would definitely recommend!

This book packs a powerful punch. It is so beautifully written. The perspective of depression from the POV of an “outsider” is very relatable. It’s a difficult path to tread that often gets swallowed up in favor of the person who is experiencing depression. This is one of my top reads of 2019.

I’m so torn! I understand and appreciate what the author was trying to do, I just don’t think it was executed all that well.

Devon is a biracial 18 year old girl who is starting her senior year of high school. She’s focused on getting into her dream college and learning more about astrophysics. Also enjoying her last year of school with her best friend, Blair.

The last thing she expects is to see the guy who ghosted her a year and half ago, after what was the perfect summer relationship. Devon is confused and angry to see Ashton again, but those feelings are still there and she’s left wondering what exactly happened that summer.

First, let’s talk about the characters. I liked both of them, but it never really got past that. I loved Devon’s passion for the stars, it’s the best thing about her. I loved seeing the way she got excited any time she talked about them, and I loved that, no matter what, getting into the college with the best astrophysics program was always her priority.

Then there’s Ashton. I think this book would have really benefited from having some chapters with his POV, though I do understand why it didn’t include him as this is Devon’s story. However, I do think never really seeing where his head is at and seeing all his actions through Devon’s POV made it more difficult to connect with him. But either way, sympathizing with him was all too easy.

This book focused on a lot of topics. Two of the biggest ones are mental illness and race. I thought the biracial rep was really good here. There were a lot of good conversations about race in the book and you could see a lot of the microaggressions Devon has to deal with because of the fact she’s half black in a predominately white school and dating a rich, white guy.

Mental illness is also a huge theme. Specifically depression and suicidal ideation. This is where a little bit of my mixed feelings come in. I found some of the things Ashton talked about and went through very relatable, and some fell a little flat. Obviously this is a personal thing, not everyone will feel the same.

The romance between Ashton and Devon is my main issue. The insta-love was strong. Also, so everyone knows, this is not a romance book. Their relationship was always moving so fast. They initially fell in love so quickly, then Devon forgave Ashton super quickly. They had their cute moments, I just wish their relationship had been a bit more fleshed out. Then towards the end, I wish there had been a bit more resolution to it.

At the end of the day, this won’t make any of my favorites list. However, I can tell this book was really special for the author, and I don’t regret reading it.

When astronomy buff and academic-minded Devon, a scholarship student, meets privileged and kind-hearted Ashton, her world gets flipped upside down. Their relationship quickly becomes intense and all-encompassing. Will they find a way to work through their challenges of classism, race, and mental illness?

I enjoyed reading this book. It's a romance, but there are deeper issues explored in the story. I thought it was unique that it is the male character that lives with depression, rather than the female character. The book showed what it was like to love someone with a mental illness. I loved the family support that the main character received as well.

After a few books in a row that were a real slog to get through, this one sucked me in and kept me up reading a little too late each night because I actually cared about the characters. They felt real. Realistic fiction is not usually my genre of choice, and if you go into this thinking it's a capital "R" Romance genre book, you'll probably be unsatisfied with the ending, but the romance in the book is real and sweet (but also not "sweet" as in "sweet romance", there's sex) and heartbreaking and so many feels were had. And though not a satisfying "Romance" ending, the book definitely had a satisfying overall ending for the main character. Mental illness is dealt with in a very real and understandable way. This was just the book I needed to read right now to get me out of my reading slump.

I wanted to love this book, the description is lovely and so is the cover art. I loved the idea of the plot, but I just couldn't get into it. For a main character who is intelligent and is on the path to becoming an astrophysicist, the voice felt too juvenile, as did most of the characters. The beginning was a little too cheesy for my liking (and I love cheesy) but the reviews kept me reading because I wanted to love it. I never got there and after the halfway point, I found myself skimming instead of really reading. This is a great book for cheesier romance lovers, but it was not for me.

I'm the author, so I'm a bit biased. I put my heart and soul in this book, and I hope readers love Devon and Ashton and deeply as I do.

I have to say that this book was AMAZING! I felt every words and I’m a sucker for love stories. This book tackles mental illness that I can relate too. The characters all had such depth to them.
Roni Davis did a great job bringing all these characters to life. I also liked how all the chapters were pretty short so I didn’t feel like the story was dragging.
I was not sent this book for reviewing purposes. I got it in a trade so all of my opinions are mine.
EDIT: I just remembered I was sent a eARC but still this is my opinion, not altered
I will be doing a much more elaborate review on my blog.
Link should be in my bio thank you.