Really enjoyed this! The only real critique I could have would be that the ending felt very rushed, with no space for readers to really bask in the happy ending. I was also very disappointed that there was no epilogue to give us a glimpse into Darcy and Elle’s relationship after the ending. While I don’t think I’ll be reading Brendon’s story, I had a great time reading this and will be recommending it for the good sapphic rep and the delicious tropes.

I liked the romance at the center of this story, as it was both sweet and steamy. I liked the development of the Elle and Darcy as characters—initially I found them both kind of annoying, but may the end was totally rooting for their relationship! I also really enjoyed the secondary characters of Brendan and Margot.

Alexandria Bellefleur makes her debut with WRITTEN IN THE STARS, a fun and romantic novel about two wildly different women and their Zodiac-approved love story.

Elle Jones is one of the beloved astrologers behind the popular Twitter account, Oh My Stars. She loves what she does, reading birth charts and helping people make decisions about their lives, but she also truly believes in the power of providing people with a language to describe themselves and learn about others. That’s why it’s no surprise when the dating app OTP (One True Pairing) asks Elle and her co-astrologer and best friend, Margot, to team up with them to help nerds and geeks find true love using the stars and planets as a guide. With a book deal wrapping up and a lucrative partnership on the horizon, life seems to be looking up for free-spirited Elle. That is, until her coworker sets her up with his sister, Darcy.

Darcy Lowell is an uptight, detail-oriented actuary (whatever that is). Still reeling from a failed relationship, she has poured herself into her work and takes comfort in the stability of facts and figures. So when her brother, Brandon, sets her up with a woman who shows up 15 minutes late to their date and proceeds to pour wine all over her and her favorite dress, she decides that it’s time to give up. But Brandon isn’t backing down that easily, and before she knows it, Darcy has crafted the ultimate lie: not only does she tell him that her date with Elle went well, she makes it sound like they might be soulmates.

Needless to say, Elle is surprised to hear that their date was such a hit --- especially since she left without saying goodbye, almost cried all the way home and vowed never to speak to Darcy again. Still, she can’t ignore the pressure from her family to settle down or do something worthwhile, so when Darcy suggests that they fake-date to get their well-meaning but annoying families off their backs, she agrees. The only problem is that Elle and Darcy are insanely attracted to one another --- and they can’t stand each other. Darcy is sarcastic and jaded, always making fun of Elle’s devotion to the Zodiac, and Elle cannot tolerate how regimented Darcy is about her life, career and very white apartment.

One fake date at a time, the two start not only to like one another, but to help each other grow, too. Whether their relationship was written in the stars or not, working through the logistics of a fake relationship while being swayed by some very real feelings is tricky, and Elle and Darcy have vastly different goals for their romantic lives. One laugh-out-loud date at a time, Bellefleur crafts a delightful and whimsical love story for fans of Christina Lauren, Alexis Daria and Emily Henry.

This is the perfect mash-up of PRIDE AND PREJUDICE and BRIDGET JONES’S DIARY, and Bellefleur’s gender-swapped Darcy and Elizabeth stand-ins not only pay tremendous homage to Austen’s classic, but transform and upend it in a way that feels entirely new. I loved grumpy Darcy just as much as I loved sunshiny Elle, and the ways that Bellefleur fleshed out their careers, families and individual romantic goals made me feel as though I had known them for years, certainly far longer than the time it took me to read the novel. I am always laudatory of authors who write believable women who value their careers just as much as they value their love lives, but something about Darcy and Elle made the juxtaposition feel that much more real. Both are ambitious and excellent at their jobs, and it made their search for --- and realization of --- love that much more poignant and joyful.

WRITTEN IN THE STARS is an #OwnVoices debut, and Bellefleur announces herself as an incredible new talent. Although the book is about two queer women searching for love, she steers clear of homophobic side characters and sadness, reveling instead in the pure joy of two women finding love. While the fake-dating trope will be familiar to romance readers and rom-com watchers, Bellefleur writes it like you’ve never seen it before. She constantly finds ways to transform and uplift her characters in the process, and produces some of the best banter I have had the fortune of reading in any romance novel.

Combined with a knock-your-socks-off meet-cute, plenty of steamy but believable love scenes, and just the right amount of woo-woo, WRITTEN IN THE STARS feels fresh and original, heartfelt and fun.

It was a great start – or rather a bad start – Great for the reader, bad for the main characters. Elle agrees to a blind date with the sister of a friend and colleague, Brandon. Darcy agrees to the date, to stop Brandon from fixing her up. Unfortunately they are complete total opposites. Elle is an astrologer who owns a company, Oh My Stars which is partnering with Brandon's company, OTP (One True Pairing) to help people find their soulmates and Darcy is a very successful Actuary (she analyzes "variables and trends" to "establish accurate and fair pricing for insurance" using mathematics/calculus) who scoffs at astrology and OTP. The date ends quickly after Elle accidentally spills red wine on Darcy's vintage dress. After Darcy tells Brandon that the date went great, she makes a deal with Elle – she will go with Elle to her family Thanksgiving and Elle will go with Darcy to Brandon's Christmas party. But to be convincing to their relatives, means they will have to spend time together, getting to know each other.

The chemistry between the two was off the charts (ha!). But then something happened that neither expected and they fought to deny it until they couldn't. They fell madly in love with each other.

Bellefleur's next book is Hang the Moon. A romance between Brandon and Darcy's best friend, Anne. I'm definitely going the check it out.

An astrologer and actuary walk into a bar…and it’s a disaster. Written in the Stars by Alexandria Bellefleur, delivers a fake relationship romance with heart, growth and family at the holidays.

Elle Jones, one of the astrologers behind the popular Twitter account, Oh My Stars, dreams of finding her soul mate. A new business venture with her BFF, has her agreeing to go on a blind date with said friend’s sister.

Darcy Lowell isn’t looking for a relationship after the disastrous breakup that had her moving to the city.. but brothers will be brothers.

The first meet wasn’t the meet cute one would hope for. While both felt some physical chemistry, the date ended before it even began. Which is why Elle is surprised to learn that Darcy is smitten. Only she said that to get her brother off her back, but Elle’s mom overheard and the two hatch a plan.

The tale that unfolds had awkward moments, sweet discoveries and delicious heat. We see growth in not just the couple, but in family members. The two act as a couple through Thanksgiving, double dates and holiday parties, but somewhere along the way they develop a friendship which gives way to romantic feelings.

Elle is kindness personify but thanks to family and a string of first dates she isn’t confident in the romance department. She is loud, eclectic, and follows her heart.

Darcy is a bit of a control freak from perfectly lined bookshelves to muted colors. She has built a high wall around her heart and hides the things she is passionate about. It was lovely seeing walks come down, and confidence grow, even if miscommunication and fears interfere along the way.

Written in the Stars is an addictive festive romance you’ll want to curl up with. Don’t forget the wine and holiday cookies.

All. Of. The. Stars. I was hooked from page one. This was such a delightful read. I could not put it down. Will wrap back in a few days to add my review link. I cannot wait to see what comes next from this author!

This was really cute! I love fake dating and enemies to lovers romances, and this was definitely that! Elle and Darcy’s story was really sweet, though they themselves felt a little like caricatures, you really can’t help but root for them from start to finish!

I enjoyed this book. I thought the first half was stronger than the second half. The disastrous first date was a lot of fun to read. The rationale for the fake relationship was a little silly but I went with it. I liked the astrology part and when Darcy stood up to Elle's family, swoon.
The second half dragged a little and was less exciting and swoon worthy than the first half. I really dislike the theme/trope of a character being dissuaded from pursuing a relationship because others tell them they aren't good enough.

All said and done, I enjoyed this story and was invested in their HEA and I look forwards to the next book.

WRITTEN IN THE STARS is an ambitious book. It takes classic romance/rom-com tropes, art and astrology, and a nod to the quintessential Pride and Prejudice and weaves it all together into something that, if nothing else, is delightfully and refreshingly LGBTQ+. I love all of these elements, and I desperately wanted to love this book as well - unfortunately, I found it fell somewhat flat. The characters are just a little too cliche to be fully interesting, and while the plot is clever, the execution leaves something to be desired. I liked the central relationship, but aspects of it felt over-the-top and/or forced - and the sex scenes felt rushed/slightly unrealistic to me as well. While this is probably a matter of preference for me, it was still unexpectedly jarring and pulled me out of the story instead of drawing me further in. I did enjoy certain aspects of the book (like the astrology memes!), but overall it just didn't feel like it reached its full potential.

This was an adorably queer, fake relationship, opposites attract romance. Bellefleur did a great job of creating complex characters that needed emotional growth in order to be together, but sometimes it felt like the book got a little more tell than show. I loved the way that Elle explained astrology. Props to an LGBTQ+ book that did not use homophobic friends/family as a conflict.

Thanks to Avon and Netgalley for a copy to review.

Who am I, reading contemporary romance again? I loved this one. I had a lot of laugh out loud moments and a few tears. I think what made this more of a 5 star for me (when in reality it may be a 4 star read) is that Elle's family issues mirror mine and...oh man; the feels were really real for me. Also, the sex scenes were straight up fire.

Overall, the reasons for hesitation in a relationship were valid (and maybe a smidge close to home) and the reasons to push through it were just as valid. I don't think there were any epic plot twists but the overall story was crafted well, had a lot of heart, and I was invested in it.

I love that I called the setup for Brendon's story to be the follow-up book. I can't wait to read more from this author!

Y’all! I adored Written in the Stars by Alexandria Bellefleur so much! This book was adorable and heartwarming and almost perfect! It’s a sapphic romance with so many Pride & Prejudice undertones and nods that I geeked out the whole time I was reading! It kind of ended up being a retelling of the P&P and I am here for it. Add in the fake dating relationship and this book was my kind of book crack! I can’t recommend it enough! It was a total five star read for me!

What made this book so great was the characters and how fleshed out the main ones were. I loved how confident Elle was in all of her nerdery and was not ashamed of what she loved. I also loved Darcy from the start despite her bad reaction to the incident on her and Elle's blind date. Darcy was so Darcy-like that it was amazing! I loved that she was an actuary with an unholy love of soap operas. These characters felt so real to me. As much as I loved this book for the f/f romance, I adored Elle and Margo's friendship and the sibling dynamic between Darcy and Brendon! Elle's family and Darcy's mother, not so much.

This book had so many tropes and things I loved in it. The only thing that would have made this more perfect would have been more of Elle and Darcy being together together because the ending, while good, felt a bit abrupt to me. Maybe we’ll get more of them together in the companion novel about Darcy’s brother, Brendon. I can’t wait to get my hands on it! I need his love story in my life too! And I'm going to keep my fingers crossed that we get Margot's happily ever after as well. Alexandria Bellefleur is an author that I'm going to keep my eye on, that's for sure.

Note: I didn’t finish this book.
My first thoughts when I read the first couple chapters in this book: It is like Boyfriend Material but lesbian.
Being a lesbian myself, I was really looking forward to this story. Even if I wasn’t crazy about it’s gay lookalike book, I thought that since it’s two women falling in love, it would hopefully be better.
Sadly enough, I didn’t enjoy it.
I thought the writing so, so. The story felt like over done and cliche. The characters were not calling to me. The whole horoscope side of it was a bit too much. Some things irked me like the “she’s so hot when she get’s angry” part.
I wanted to DNF 20% in but kept reading halfway, but it bored me so gave up 45% in.
I really wanted to love this book, but I didn’t.

Honestly, I haven't actually read this one yet because I ended up buying the final book anyway, but for the sake of my feedback ratio I will review the first chapter and cover: The first chapter was adorable, and I am so excited to wrap up in a blanket and read this one over the holidays. I love sapphic romances, and this cover is just the sweetest.

I really enjoyed reading this book. The character development was subtle in a myriad of ways, and the plot moves along quickly enough to keep interest. I could have used a little more expansion around the ending of the book, but on the whole found the experience very enjoyable.

Yay to more LGBTQ romances! And ones not afraid to get a little steamy. This is light and fluffy, nothing earth-shattering. The two female love interests are very loosely based on Elizabeth and Darcy in "Pride and Prejudice"--Redheaded Darcy the more skeptical, logical one and running from a broken heart; Elle the flightier one who's an astrologer and is willing to go on one more blind date in the hopes of finding love. Like Pride and Prejudice, their first meeting is a disaster. Still, Darcy is willing to lie and say she and Elle hit it off hoping her pushy brother, Brendon--a romantic sap--might get off her back. You would think she'd know, however, that Brendon couldn't keep his mouth shut if his life depended on it. Of course what begins as a fauxmance with a shelf life becomes something more. I couldn't get 100% sucked into it, but it could've been me and not the book.

I liked both main characters and it was a good story- the end was a little abrupt and the family stuff wasn't to my taste. I did like that none of the conflict came from either of them being closeted, but it took half of the book for me to like Darcy's brother after he pressured her into dating when she didn't want to.

Darcy Lowell can’t get her brother to stop playing matchmaker, and after a disastrous first date with his latest recommendation, she pretends it went well and that she and quirky Elle Jones really hit it off, which leads to an elaborate fake dating scheme that benefits both parties. Opposites attract, and after a while, straight-laced Darcy and offbeat Elle might start falling for each other, but with a deadline on their “relationship,” will they decide it’s worth it to try for real, and to explain to everyone that they were faking before?

This book reminded me that I haven’t tried a straight-up (excuse the pun) romcom in a while. I live for lesbian melodrama, but rarely do I take time to appreciate a simple meet-cute, opposites attract, love story, and I’m really glad I took a chance on this one.

Going into the holiday season, especially this year, I needed something light and fluffy, something that definitely has ups and downs, but with heart and humor. I loved the supporting characters, and I can definitely see friends reading it and trying to decide who is a Darcy and who is an Elle. I mayyy have already classified me and my platonic bffwife.

It was refreshing to see this sort of story play out in an adult romance. I read a lot of YA because the representation is on point, but sometimes you need a “traditional” romance novel, complete with cussing and solid sex scenes. This book ticks both of those boxes and then some.

It’s out now, and if you’re looking for something pretty sweet and definitely queer, add it to your holiday reading list.

REVIEW: Written in the Stars by Alexandria Bellefleur

This novel is a beautiful sapphic romance with a Seattle backdrop and all the adored angst from Pride and Prejudice, and it’s #ownvoices, which I love to see! We follow Elle (Elizabeth) Jones, co-owner of the astrology social media sensation, Oh My Stars, who is a hopeless romantic looking for her soulmate, and Darcy Lowell, a neat and serious actuary focused on anything but dating. But Darcy’s brother is persistent, and he sets her up with Elle who is consulting his dating app company. Their date goes up in flames of disaster, but Darcy makes the split second decision to tell her brother otherwise, hoping to keep him off her back. Elle agrees to the mutual benefits a fake relationship will get her with her family’s high expectation. But the lines between fake and real start to blur, opposites attract after all, and you can’t change what’s written in the stars...

This books was a perfect match for me! Angsty + sapphic + fake dating trope = Magic. I truly adored how authentic the characters were, their emotions came alive off the page, and the writing was stunning. As I’ve said before, I especially love queer stories that are written through the lens of normalcy. As in, nothing would be different if they were a straight couple, because it is accepted as it should be. The romance was the perfect combination of rawness and endearing moments. They had excellent chemistry and the relationship developed at a great pace. I enjoyed the text conversations and astrology posts sprinkled throughout as well. Overall, this is one of my favorite romances I’ve read in a while, and it even had the perfect amount of festive warmth to add to its magic. My one criticism is the ending was a bit abrupt and I would have liked to see more of the resolution play out, especially with the families and friends. Otherwise, I highly recommend this!

Rating: ★★★★.5/5

When Elle’s new friend and business partner sets her up on a blind date with his sister, she should have known it would be disastrous. Elle is a whimsical, free-spirited social media astrologer, while Darcy is a guarded, logical actuary. While the date is a hot mess, Darcy and Elle agree to fake-date. It’s a win-win situation: Elle’s family will see that she’s settling down and finally take her seriously, and Darcy’s brother will get off her case about finding a relationship. Their arrangement is set to last until New Year’s Eve, and the number one objective is to avoid falling for each other. But can you really avoid something that’s written in the stars?

With a touch of Pride & Prejudice vibes, Written in the Stars is an adorable contemporary queer romance novel. Alexandria Bellefleur perfectly employs the fake-dating and opposites-attract tropes, while still giving us a fresh, can’t-put-down rom-com. Elle and Darcy don’t hit it off so well at their blind date, but keeping up the ruse of their relationship repeatedly forces them to spend time together. I loved watching the chemistry between these two polar opposites, and it was so fun to see them both struggle to deny the attraction.

But underneath the hilarity of fake-dating, this book also tackles some big issues. Elle has been working tirelessly to build up her social media astrology brand, and is on the brink of signing a huge deal with a dating app (owned by Darcy’s brother). Elle’s family doesn’t see her business as a real career, and she struggles with getting them to take her seriously. Meanwhile, Darcy is still recovering from a serious relationship that ended painfully--she has difficulty trusting and isn’t quite ready to let someone in again. And Darcy’s got family troubles of her own, too: she has a strained relationship with her absent mother, and has always put pressure on herself to take care of her younger brother. Alexandria Bellefleur does a superb job of weaving complex themes on family, self, and identity with a light-hearted, sweet romance. Written in the Stars explores trust and vulnerability so beautifully.

Elle and Darcy are two very different but equally compelling protagonists. Elle is fun, free-spirited, and utterly whimsical. She’s forever dreaming of finding her true love, and is incredibly passionate about astrology. I adored her from the very start and totally wanted to be her BFF. Darcy is the total opposite: she’s on the uptight side and is a by-the-book actuary. But on the inside, Darcy is a total softie who’s been hurt. Written in the Stars has a fleshed-out, three-dimensional cast of supporting characters, including Elle’s roommate & business partner Margot, Darcy’s best friend, and their respective families (especially Darcy’s brother Brendon). I love that this novel portrays women having meaningful platonic relationships!

In terms of diversity, Elle is bisexual, Darcy is a lesbian, and Elle’s roommate & business partner Margot is pansexual. As a queer woman, I enjoyed these characters and felt that the representation felt authentic--and it’s always wonderful to read a book about queer women simply existing. I love that the ‘problem’ of the book wasn’t rooted in their queerness, and the novel wasn’t focused on coming out. The main characters were all white, and while I overall loved this sweet romance, it would have been nice to see more BIPOC characters.

I loved Bellefleur’s writing and am definitely counting Written in the Stars as one of my new favorite romances. The pacing was spot-on, and the chemistry and tension between the two protagonists was palpable. Once I picked this one up, I couldn’t put it down because I just needed to see Darcy and Elle admit their feelings for each other. The Seattle setting and the timing (set around Christmas and New Year’s) made this contemporary feel so atmospheric and cozy. Written in the Stars is cute and sweet, but it’s also full of steam! And while there’s a wealth of fake-dating stories out there right now, Alexandria Bellefleur definitely brought a new, fresh spin to this trope.

Written in the Stars is an utterly adorable, heart-warming contemporary queer romance that had me swooning from start to finish. Romance readers who enjoy the fake-dating or opposites-attract tropes will love this one, as well as fans of Pride & Prejudice. I’ll also be recommending this one to fans of Casey McQuiston and Meryl Wilsner. Alexandria Bellefleur has definitely become an auto-read author for me and I have a feeling I’ll adore her next book--it’s practically written in the stars.