I was given a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Opposites attract.

Opposites form an unlikely alliance to manage family interference and judgement of their lives.

Opposites fall in love, but Darcy is so afraid of being hurt, it cripples her blossoming relationship with Elle.

The book takes you through how family drama and judgement affects your adult relationships.

A good story for a lazy weekend read.

After a series of unsatisfactory dates, Elle (Elizabeth) is looking for someone special, and her friend Brendan thinks she needs to meet his sister, Darcy. (Elizabeth and Darcy--that sounds familiar.) Their first date is a disaster, with astrologer Elle showing up late, annoying the punctual actuary Darcy, and spilling wine all over Darcy's dress. Brendan will keep setting up dates until his sister meets someone, so the two very different women who don't like each other very much decide to pretend to be in a relationship. If you have ever read a romance, you can guess how that will end. A cute, if predictable story. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC.

This is a super strong opposites-attract meets fake-it-til-you-make-it love story. I was most enthused by the acceptance of bisexuality - there was no bi-erasure to be seen in this same-sex romance! I also have to congratulate the author for identifying the most difficult physical reminder of another person - glitter will be with us forever!

This book is an amazing romance and hooks you in right from the beginning. With the point of view switching between the two main protagonists, Elle and Darcy, you are immediately pulled into their world and get to see how they each view the other. These two perspectives are amazing because they are such different and interesting people (Elle being a messy, creative astrologer and Darcy a more organized actuary who doesn’t believe in astrology). The structure of the story itself is perfectly crafted. There is the disastrous first date, which is even better being able to know Darcy and Elle’s distinct impressions from it. The seed of tension and romance is planted right from that first meeting, and you find yourself reading page after page in an urge to watch it grow. And it is BEAUTIFUL.

Perhaps the best part of the story are the small details that enhance characterization while carrying on the theme of stars/space and the “opposites attract” trope. The outfits Darcy and Elle wear, where they live, EVERYTHING is written painstakingly with their personality and the aforementioned themes in mind. The other characters in the story such as Darcy’s brother and Elle’s best friend are not simply side characters, they play an essential part in the story without taking away from the main romance story being told. I found myself getting excited when these other characters appeared, and wanting to know more about them and what their future holds. I also love how the relationships in this story are not perfect. Family, friends, etc, they have their issues and everyone in the book has flaws, but it never reached the point of no return as some relationships do in stories, where they become so toxic you wonder what the point is. No, these struggles the characters face in various relationships are extremely relatable and believable and add to the magnificent characterization seen in this story.

I’d also like to add that the humor in this story is genuinely funny. I am not one to laugh easily while reading, but the dialogue in this was so good that I laughed out loud several times. The dialogue not only flows well, but is a joy to read. This is simultaneously a light-hearted and deeply loving book, and I recommend to anyone and especially those looking for a beautiful and entertaining sapphic romance. I am looking forward to more from Alexandria Bellefleur, as I know from this book that she is a great and intelligent author.

Written in the Stars creates a loose f/f romance connection to Pride and Prejudice via the names and personalities of its protagonists. Elle is an astronomer turned successful social media astrologer looking for "the one;". Darcy is a buttoned up actuary who has been burned by love. What starts as a "fake date" turns into a complicated relationship between two believable modern characters. Will they make it? It might be written in the stars.

Elle Jones is free-spirited social media astrologer looking for her soul mate. Darcy Lowell is a serious actuary for who's more than a little skeptical when it comes to love. Even though the two had a completely terrible blind date, Darcy lies to her brother, Brendon (the matchmaker & Elle's business partner), and tells him that she and Elle hit it off, hoping that will buy her break from his persistent efforts to help her find love. Seeing this as an opportunity to have a buffer against her own judgmental family at Thanksgiving, Elle agrees to a fake relationship.
***
This was such a smart, sexy, sweet rom-com, and I absolutely loved the shoutouts to Pride & Prejudice and Bridget Jones. The character Elle was so charming, and anyone who has ever felt like the odd-woman out (amongst family or friends) will completely relate. Darcy is very much like her namesake, a little stuck-up and pretentious on the surface, but affectionate, loyal, and caring at her core. I also ADORED Elle's best friend, Margot - she's feisty and a fierce friend.
***
Written in the Stars is a delightful, I-can't-put-it-down-and-it's-now-3am-and-I-have-to-work-tomorrow-but-it-was-totally-worth-it read! :] Looking forward to Brendon's story next!

This was a perfect summer read! A light-hearted romance with quirky characters, it checked all the boxes for a fun beach read.

Even though Elle and Darcy's relationship was fake to begin with, it quickly becomes obvious that there's more between them. The author gives us a good look inside both of their lives, as we learn about their jobs (I learned so much about astrology!) and meet their families. They were both well-rounded, complex characters.

This was a 3-star read for me because the fake-turned-real relationship storyline was quite predictable. However, it was still a good read with a lot of details that took you right into their lives in Seattle.

The author has a story about Brendan (Darcy's brother, whom we get to know a bit in this novel) coming out in 2021 and I'll definitely be picking up that one as well!

4.5 stars. WRITTEN IN THE STARS is such a lovely, #ownvoices F/F romance that manages to pull off charming, funny, and realistic so well. Darcy is an actuary who has gone through the ringer with an ex and is lasered focused on being rational, while Elle is a romantic at heart with a passion for astrology.

Their romance has a slow burn, founded on a mutual physical attraction that turns into a full-fledged love story. It has plenty of steam, and overall the book feels modern and fresh.

I enjoyed seeing Elle and Darcy weather the storm supporting each other in individual struggles, especially the pain points of dealing with overbearing family members and where to go next in one's career.

I'm mostly sad that I can't encourage friends to pick this up sooner, since it won't be out until November! I do think this would make a fantastic cozy, autumn romance read.

Fans of Jasmine Guillory and Mhairi McFarlane looking for a F/F romance should definitely add this one to their list.

This charming, F/F fake relationship story takes its inspiration very loosely from Pride and Prejudice. Free-spirited astrology blogger Elle agrees to meet her new business partner's sister, Darcy, who turns out to be an uptight, humorless, beige-wearing accountant. Elle writes off their disastrous first date, but is surprised when Darcy's brother tells her how much his sister enjoyed their meeting. She confronts Darcy, who confesses that she lied to get her brother to stop setting her up, and proposes a fake relationship to get them both through various holiday commitments.

This didn't have much in common with the original P&P, other than Darcy's name and the characters' quick judgments of each other. A light holiday read with a satisfying and emotional resolution.

Thanks to Netgalley, the publisher, and the author for the ARC to review.

Written in the Stars by Alexandria Bellefleur | Sapphic Pride & Prejudice Retelling That is All the Cuteness & Swoon

This review will be posted on the blog, One Way Or An Author, on November 2, 2020!

Told from the perspectives of Elle and Darcy, WRITTEN IN THE STARS is all heart and swoon. It’s also the first contemporary adult f/f romance I’ve ever read (usually the ones I read are in the Young Adult or Fantasy genre), and I am HERE for it. Who else can see Elle and Darcy in a romantic comedy? WRITTEN IN THE STARS takes us back to the beloved tale of Pride & Prejudice with some extra additions: our outwardly cold Darcy is an actuary who gives off hot librarian energy and our quick-to-speak Elle is an energetic astrologer who’s looking for her soulmate. They both end up disliking their blind date (with each other), but continue with a fake relationship to appease friends and family. What can I say? Sparks fly from the very beginning, and the chemistry is THERE. Now, the characters just need to get their feelings to that spot as well.

“Not that Elle cared about Darcy’s eyes or that the color she wore complemented them. It was a passing observation, that was all. The sky was blue. The grass was green. Darcy was beautiful. Universally acknowledged truths.”

I requested this book because I LOVE the opposites attract dynamic, and Bellefleur writes it really well in WRITTEN IN THE STARS! Despite Darcy’s initial coldness/emotionless energy, we get to see her open up around Elle’s bubbly personality. I’m absolutely weak for a grumpy/happy-go-lucky pairing and seeing each heroine appreciate the other’s personality despite it being so different makes me squeal. (And of course the chemistry is there!) When Darcy accidentally fibs to her younger brother Brendon, about the blind date going well, her and Elle enter a fake relationship to show the people around them that they have their lives on track.

“‘Life would be a lot better if we all spent a little more time staring at the stars.’ Loose strands of blond hair caught the moonlight, creating a haloed glow around her when she turned her face up to the sky. ‘It’s beautiful, isn’t it?’
‘Yes.’ Darcy wasn’t looking at the sky.”

I loved learning about each character as well. Darcy’s negligent mother led her to become a maternal figure to Brendon, which is why she’s so responsible, hard-working, and straight-laced now. Elle is seen as the “black sheep” of her large family, leading to some potential insecurities and anxieties around them. While Darcy brings pancakes and soap opera facts to the table (as soaps are her guilty pleasure), Elle’s fun-spirited ways and chart-based explanations create the perfect foil Darcy. Through conquering escape rooms, after-morning breakfasts, and shared vulnerabilities, each woman finds themself appreciating the other and falling more and more in love.

“Elle was technicolor chaos and the feelings she inspired in Darcy were a hazard straight out of Pandora’s box. Treacherous and CONFUSING and better kept under lock and key.”

My heart went out to both heroines for different reasons. Darcy because of a bad break-up in her past that halted her from growing as a person, and Elle because of her rude family that never appreciated her for her passions. Both women were down-to-earth and had big hearts. The pages definitely flew by while I was reading WRITTEN IN THE STARS, as the narrative was easy to follow and I couldn’t wait for Elle and Darcy to recognize their feelings! At the end of the day, I would recommend this Pride & Prejudice retelling for contemporary romance lovers that enjoy fake dating and opposites-attract energy. It’s light-hearted, but also adds warm emotions through loving friendships and family (as well as character growth). I’ll definitely be keeping an eye out for Bellefleur’s next work!

Trigger/Content Warnings: negligent parenting

Thank you Harper Collins and Netgalley for the review copy!

Elle and Darcy are set up on date by Darcy’s brother, there is instant attraction but they are looking for different things. Elle is determined to follow her passions, while Darcy just wants to focus on her work and not think about her past. Suddenly they are thrown together in a plot to pretend they are dating to get their loved ones of their backs. What happens they spend more time together and face their differences? With nods to Pride and Prejudice and Bridget Jones Diary this was a fun read that I highly recommend. Thank you to #NetGalley and #HarperCollinsPublishers for this #ARC, which will be available November 10, 2020. #writteninthestars #pridebooks #yabookstagram #bookworm

Overview: I’d like to start by saying the art in this cover is super cute. I’m so down for more illustrated covers on romance books. I think I would have enjoyed this much more if the pop culture references weren’t so heavy through out the book. I get it, Elle is “nerdy”. This book isn’t going to age well years down the line when none of these things are relevant and honestly all the Harry Potter references made me physically cringe with all the current drama from the author. This book uses HP references more than once and when JKR is hurting people in the LGBTQ+ community so viciously and without lack of sympathy it just leaves a bad taste in my mouth that this book is supporting that series.

That being said the couple was pretty cute. I thought the dialogue flowed nicely between everyone and all the characters in the book were well defined. Personalities were well developed and I was rooting for Elle and Darcy the whole way through. The astrology parts got a little info dumpy in some parts and there was some repetitive writing, but nothing that took me out of the story. I also really enjoyed that the book immediately opened with humor. It was a light and enjoyable read. Excited to see what else this writer comes out with.

4.25 stars
While this is not a Pride and Prejudice retelling, I loved seeing these characters in some new tropes. The romance was adorable and I was loving this book until the last fifty pages. Some conversations surrounding the final conflict felt contrived. It was as if the characters were intentionally misunderstanding each other. While that might have been intentional to play up their pride, I found it annoying. I would have loved to see a bit more of their romance at the end instead of ending right after the relationship was fixed.
Overall, a fun book with a great wlw romance but a few execution problems towards the end.

I did like this book. I think it's a great romance and I loved the queer representation. I think it's important to have that representation not only for those who identify with the characters and want to see themselves in books, but also for those who may not have exposure to people on the LGBTQIA+ spectrum.

The reason I'm not giving this book a high rating could have a lot to do with the fact that it's an ARC and not quite fully edited for final printing. On the one hand, I did like the pacing (with the exception of the abrupt ending) and the character development, but I felt like some of the inner monologues dragged on a bit too long. My BIGGEST pet peeve of the book were the many British-isms sprinkled throughout (like "fringe" for bangs and "piss off" for "fuck off") - I thought this book was set in England for the first part until I realized they were in the US. I'm a little confused by that, and overall it was so jarring that I knocked a whole star off of the rating.

Overall though, it was a good book and I would recommend it to anyone who is a fan of romance. It's also nice to see characters around 30 and not 22 years old finding a soul mate. So I would recommend it!

4.5 stars! An absolutely delightful slow burn semi-retelling/semi-improvement on a beloved classic. There were echoes of Pride and Prejudice, but in a modernized and much more relatable way (e.g. "Mrs. Bennett" is more passive aggressive than hysterical). To be honest, I'm not a big Austen fan (Brontes > Austen), but this novel was the best version of her most famous novel that I've ever had the pleasure of reading. I fully intend to reread this during the holiday season! And if Hallmark can go ahead and make this a movie during their December lineup, that would be great.

Normally I refer to rom-coms as guilty pleasure reads, but this one never made me feel that way. I was genuinely invested in both character's lives, and the writing was such high quality that the book had more of a literary fiction read than a traditional romance. Usually these types of books require a certain level of suspension of disbelief - like "oh man the hotel accidentally gave them a room with only one bed even though they explicitly asked for two and it's too late to change it!!!" (*internal eye roll*). Not this book. I understood and could relate to both character's motivations behind everything they did. I often felt I would have made the same decisions were I in their situations - and I loved that. It brought a certain level of intimacy for the reader, like I was a part of their world too instead of just deciphering symbols on a two dimensional surface.

Things I loved:
The use of clever/sharp language in dialogue between characters. Darcy and Elle were both intelligent, well-read, educated women, and it showed.
The Thanksgiving almost-kiss. Good lord I needed a cold shower after that one. The slow burn was done exceptionally well.
We are all made of stardust. My heart!

Things I didn't:
The fact that a certain someone didn't explicitly use the L word at the end. What was said obviously showed it, and it was beautiful, on theme, and in character... but I believe using the L word in addition to the other things said would have supplemented the character growth well.

That having been said, this is a small gripe... I did love the ending and I really enjoyed this read! I couldn't put it down and I'm already looking forward to revisiting it in late November/early December.

Thank you HarperCollins and NetGalley for the ARC! It was a pleasure.

Written in the Stars is a sapphic romance, which already had me interested. Also, this book has the fake dating trope, which I also enjoy.

This is a solid romance story. It is cute, steamy, and fast-paced.

This is a dual perspective story. One of our main characters career-focused and not interested in falling in love. Our other main character runs a popular astrology twitter account and is looking for her soul mate.

The slow burn of this romance was really appealing. The characters decided to fake date through the holiday season, and during that time, both characters learned to respect each other, even though they are very different people. However, I felt like the main conflict of the story was the result of an over-reaction. Plus, the resolution was rushed.

I received this book in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley and the publisher.

I really loved this book- great story with quirky, head in the clouds Elle and pretty no nonsense and serious Darcy. After a terrible first date and a plan to “fake it” that goes awry, this was everything you could want in a holiday rom com. Could definitely see this being turned into a hallmark Christmas movie!

This book is a delightful rom-com that includes so many classic rom-com tropes but never seems stale. Two women are set up on a date, a disastrous first date that includes a very pretentious $56 glass of wine being spilled on a vintage dress. The two women could not be more different, one is an astrologer who is self employed and looking for true love, the other is an actuary who is aggressively climbing the corporate ladder and doesn't believe in love. That disastrous first date leads to a fake relationship designed to get both of their families off their respective backs... but while the relationship is fake, the chemistry is real, and so are the misunderstandings that plague their progress.

This book was so sweet and fun, it was a delightful breath of fresh air. The writing was well done and the story never got boring. I'll be looking for more works by this author.

I found this book to be very enjoyable. Elle and Darcy were very strong characters and I liked that they were consistent and did not do things out of character. Elle was very firm in her beliefs and what she wanted in terms of a relationship. I found that Darcy had good growth as a character and I like how she became more vulnerable as the story went on. I thought both characters had good backstories and I felt very connected to them and wanted them to end up together despite the fact that I usually don't enjoy the fake dating trope. I thought this book was very well written and the story was fresh even though it was loosely inspired by Pride and Prejudice.

This was such a sweet book with great writing. I really enjoy a good fake romance and this really hit the mark. I am looking forward to reading more from this author. I received an ARC of this book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.