Really liked this story! It was an easy, romantic read and a good distraction from the world. I love that the hopeless romantic in the story was male, breaking down the toxic masculinity barrier, and that he wanted to woo Annie instead of just getting in her pants (though he was happy to do that as well...lol).

I'm loving all of these interconnected rom-com series that have been coming out over the last couple of years (Talia Hibbert's and Alisha Rai's are two favorites) and Alexandria Bellefleur is definitely on that list! While I enjoyed WRITTEN IN THE STARS, I liked HANG THE MOON even more. There was so much squee worthy chemistry, I loved all the characters, and I always appreciate the discussions of complicated friendship and family dynamics. Highly recommend!

The second book from Alexandra Bellefleur I read in 2020, having fully enjoyed "Written in the Stars"!

Brendon is absolutely a hopeless romantic. He loves romantic comedies and is the head of an online dating app that is designed to create love matches instead of random hookups. When his sister's best friend shows up unexpectedly - while his sister is out of town - Brendon becomes the de facto tour guide for the woman he nursed crushes on as a teenager! She's given up on dating, so it's up to Brendon to prove to her that romance can still exist in a world of "swipe right or left".

This is a great addition to a series of queer love stories - Annie is bisexual, yes, even though she fell in love with a man.

Last year, I read WRITTEN IN THE STARS and it was one of my favorite books of the year. So it was a great deal of hope and anticipation that I started HANG THE MOON as my first read of 2021. This book met and exceeded every single one of my hopes.
I loved this book. Brendon is just as sweet and optimistic as he was in WRITTEN IN THE STARS and meeting Annie, Darcy's best friend, was the best. She is funny, snarky, vulnerable, and flawed in ways that made me completely fall in love with her.
I love romance books that bring along characters we already know and love and this was no exception. Darcy, Elle, and Margot are present and prominent characters in this book and I hope we will see more of all of them in any future books from this author.

I love this book! This is the best way to start 2021.

You really should read Written in the Stars before you read this. You probably could get by without having done so, but I feel like I wouldn’t have the connection with the characters if I haven’t read Written in the Stars before. Hang the Moon centers on Annie, Darcy's best friend who lives in Philadelphia but recently got a big promotion and will be moving to London. Before she moves halfway around the world, she decides to surprise Darcy with a visit, only to find out that Darcy is out of town for the weekend with her girlfriend Elle. Annie ends up spending the weekend with Darcy's brother, Brendon, who is the creator of a dating app and had a huge crush on her growing up. He is a diehard romantic who believes in grand gestures and true love like you see in the movies. He is shocked that Annie has given up on dating and is cynical about love. He makes it his mission to make her believe in love again. Along the way, they end up developing feelings for one another and Annie has to decide if she'll follow her head and move to London or follow her heart and move to Seattle and maybe find everything that she’s looking for.

The book did a great job expanding on Annie and Brendon, but there was lot more expanding Annie’s character than Brendon. I think the reason for that is because we got to know Brendon pretty well in Written in the Stars. In Hang the Moon we see his personality expanding and new sides of him, but the basics are in Written in the Stars. We didn’t know much about Annie before this book, and we learn all about her. I loved that we learn how Annie and Darcy became friends (the story was so funny and Darcy’s reaction was typical Darcy) and Annie’s feelings regarding their friendship and how it’s changed. Annie and Brendon’s chemistry is sizzling and jumps off the page. Brendon is super sweet, romantic, adorkable with a naughty side. He leaps in with both feet and is the perfect other half for Annie who is more cautious and reserved. Her reasons for the things she was feeling were so realistic and understandable. I am a rom-com fanatic and I was so happy with all of the movie references throughout the book. Alexandria Bellefleur has such a spectacular way of writing characters that are loveable, and realistic. Written in the Stars was one of my favorite books in 2020 and was thrilled when I saw she was coming out with Brendon’s story. Her novels are exactly what I’m looking for when I read romance: a great story, well-thought out characters, and sizzling chemistry. This was the perfect, feel good rom-com; I think this book will be a big hit. I’m so excited that book 3 will delve into Margot, I absolutely love her character and I can’t wait!! I HIGHLY recommend this and Written in the Stars to all romance lovers!

This book is for everyone who adores romantic comedies and believes in happy endings. Brendon is a true romantic. Heck he even founded a matchmaking website (similar to eHarmony - but with a broader reach). He loves all things romance and wants everyone to find love and a happily ever after. He even successfully matched his sister with her girlfriend. He's been working hard at finding his own happily ever after but hasn't found anyone he feels fireworks with. Annie is Brendon's sister's best-friend. She is a world-traveling HR consultant who has finally accepted a position that will keep her in one place - London. A really long way from Seattle where Brendon and his sister live. Brendon had a major league crush on Annie growing up - but hasn't seen her in 8 years. When Annie visits Seattle as a surprise - they reconnect in a major way. Brendon wants to convince Annie that romance isn't dead - and Annie goes along for the ride.

I loved everything about this - Brendon is just pretty much the sweetest guy ever. He listens to Annie and really wants to learn her and support her happiness in a very real way. Annie is skeptical of the whole romantic experience - she just doesn't trust that it can last. Her issues and concerns are handled in a really honest way.

I also think the other characters were just wonderful as well!

Overall - I highly recommend this to anyone who loves a happy ending and a hero who is the opposite of toxic masculinity!

I was extremely lucky to receive this as an ARC from NetGalley, but these opinions are all my own!

An adorable love story. I really loved Brendan and Annie, they were sweet and very undramatic which is an odd description but I love how simple they were. Brendan was wonderful, he was so sweet and it was nice reading about the guy being the one in love with love.

I was over the moon excited to recieve this ARC copy and intentionally saved it to be my first read in 2021. This is the sequel to "Written in the Stars" which is at the top of my reads for 2020. I was happy to be back in the world of Elle and Darcy. Annie Kyriakos, Darcy's life long best friend makes a surprise visit to Seattle. Darcy is gone for the weekend and asks her brother Brendon to show her the city till she returns. Brendon is sweet, clumsy, nerdy and the creator of a successful dating app. He also wants to find the person perfect for him. Brendon had a crush on Annie when he last knew her eight years ago and the attraction is still there. There are so many happy tropes in this book, childhood friends to lovers, salute to romantic movie moments, first date mis-haps I could go on and on. Annie's dilemma is she has accepted a job promotion in London. Are two weeks with friends and a potential love enough to change her plans?

This book is light-hearted, cute and includes lots of pop culture and rom-com movie references. The main romance is m/f, but one line refers to Annie as Bi. It is very positive in its lgbtq representation with Elle, Darcy and Margot as supportive friends. This is my first Bi character that is involved with a member of the opposite sex instead of the same gender and it isn't an issue. I loved the first book a little more and felt it's angst a bit harder but this is a wonderful sequel. (It can be read alone but more enjoyable in chronological order.).

I can't believe I am going to have to wait another year to get Margot's story. Put me on the waiting list now. A big thank you to NetGalley, Avon and Harper Voyager and the author for the ARC ebook in exchange for an honest review.

Brendon Lowell has devoted his life to fixing everyone's problems. He built a successful dating app on the premise that every person has one perfect person out there for them. Now if only he could find the perfect person for him. Brendon has been crushing on his sister's best friend, Annie, since high school. When Annie shows up in Seattle to surprise Brendon's sister (who happens to be out of town), Brendon takes it upon himself to show her the city and convince her that romance isn't dead.

I loved getting to know Brendon in the first book of this series - Written in the Stars - when we first witness his matchmaking prowess and his unending devotion to happily ever afters. Seeing him fall in love with Annie (who we also meet in book #1) was so delightful. I loved seeing more of Elle, Darcy, and Margot too - who wouldn't want to be part of that friend group?! - and can't wait for Margot's book to debut in 2022. Alexandria Bellefleur writes relatable and realistic characters, with flaws that make you love them even more.

Thanks to Avon Books, Harper Voyager US, and NetGalley for the early copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

This was such a nice book to finish 2020, thank you Netgalley and Avon and Harper Voyager for giving me the opportunity to read this book in advance. I spent such a good time reading this book, I smiled the entire time reading it, it was so comforting.

Annie thinks romance is dead and Brendon wants to prove her wrong and he knows a lot about romance since he created a dating app. The dynamic between these two was so delightful.
There were so many movie references that were so dear to my heart.
Other than the sweet romance, we got to see Annie made important choices for her future. I loved her so much, she owns my heart.
The epilogue was such a beautiful ending to me, i loved it so much....chef kiss!!!
Darcy made some appearance in this book, and we got to see the brother-sister bond between Brendon and Darcy and this was so nice!
I haven't read Written in the stars, but now I am even more excited to read it.

Such a fairytale novel, I loved reading this heartwarming story! I like the twist of the man loving love and going to great lengths to prove that love still exists. Great, quick read!

If, like me, you read Written in the Stars you not only fell in love with Darcy and Elle but also Brendon. (If you haven’t read it, go get it and thank me later.)

Brendon believes in Happily Ever After. Brendon cries at weddings, loves rom coms and believes in the power of the “grand gesture”. For someone who has built his career on being the ultimate matchmaker and created an app to do just that, Brendon still hasn’t met his “one”. Or has he? When his childhood crush and sisters’s best friend comes for a visit, she is jaded in love, not sure if her current career and career plans are making her happy and is at a crossroads in her life. Brendon (with the help of Darcy) takes the opportunity to show Annie that taking a chance and moving closer to her friends and opening herself up to love, may be worth the risk.

The love and friendship between Darcy and Annie was a joy to behold. I enjoyed how this book included the importance of friendship and being with your “people” and didn’t make it only about the relationship with your partner.

I appreciated that the relationship between Annie and Brendon felt more realistic than many romances. No manufactured drama was needed. Instead, the author was able to capture the fear and uncertainty in making important life changes and/or beginning new relationships.

Hang the Moon is a charming, feel good, rom-com that makes you feel hopeful and believe in the power of love and friendship. Highly recommend to all lovers of romance.

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon for the advance review copy in exchange for my honest feedback!

Hang the Moon is the companion novel to Alexandria Bellefleur’s first novel, Written in the Stars. It follows Annie as she surprises her best friend, Darcy, by visiting her in Seattle. She ends up spending a lot of time with Brendon, Darcy’s brother, as he shows her around the city. Brendon runs a dating app, is a hopeless romantic, and has had a crush on Annie since he was a kid. As they start to grow closer, Annie’s upcoming move to London becomes more difficult to accept.

GOD this book was so perfect. Both of the books in this series have been so absolutely delightful and charming. I smiled the entire time reading this. Alexandria Bellefleur has such an incredible way of creating characters that are so loveable, realistic, and easy to root for. Her novels are exactly what I’m looking for when I read romance, and I am so excited to read everything she releases in the future.

I fell in love with Brendon in the first book, with his inability to wink, his love for all of my favorite romance movies, his need to meddle in everyone else’s love life. I was so happy to see he was getting his own book, and even happier to say it lived up to all of my expectations. So many romance novels focus on men who are ‘alphas’, who suck at expressing their emotions. Brendon is the complete antithesis to this. He is an absolute sweetheart. There is never a time where he’s holding himself back to appear more ‘manly’, he’s just a dork who wants to live in a Nora Ephron film.

As for Annie, I loved seeing her internal monologue. Her reasons for the things she was feeling were so realistic and understandable, which is another thing I don’t see enough of in romance novels. Her fears of getting hurt didn’t made her an unlikable character, as she never took out her problems by hurting those close to her.

One of the highlights of Hang the Moon was definitely seeing Annie and Darcy’s relationship. Darcy is one of my favorite book characters of all time, and getting to see more of her, especially this more mature and evolved version of her that we got at the end of Written in the Stars was such a delight. Alexandria Bellefleur has a really strong talent in writing relationships that feel deeply rooted and natural, so seeing so many different relationships at play withing Hang the Moon made it that much more special.

Written in the Stars was one of my favorite releases of 2020, but with it being her debut adult romance, I was nervous that her future books wouldn’t pack the same emotional, endearing punch. I’m so glad to say that wasn’t the case at all, and Hang the Moon is a perfect follow up. Alexandria Bellefleur is proving herself to be my perfect author.

Thank you so much to Netgalley and Avon for providing me an eARC in exchange for a review!

3.5 stars. I have to say I’m a bit disappointed because I absolutely loved Written in the Stars. Maybe my expectations were too high. I just had a hard time connecting with the characters. Brendon and Annie, especially Annie, were very two-dimensional. Brendon is too into finding love, Annie has given up on finding love, and that’s basically the entire story. The author spent way too much time repeating the same things instead of delving deeper into the characters. There was so much potential for this to be a 4-5 star read. Nevertheless it was cute, I enjoyed it anyway, and I’m excited to read Margot’s story in 2022. I also have to say I appreciate so much that this book included a bisexual protagonist in a relationship with a person of the opposite gender, and not one person implied that it made her bisexuality any less valid and real!

Thank you NetGalley, author and publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Annie works for an independent human resources firm in Philadelphia and has accepted a promotion as a managing director at their London office. She books a spur of the moment trip to Seattle to surprise her best friend, Darcy, with a visit before she moves.
Darcy’s brother Brendan is a hopeless romantic, having created a dating app, One True Pairing. He also had a major crush on Annie when he was a teenager, but now that he’s all grown up (all 6’4” of him) he’s caught her eye. When Brendon finds out Annie believes romance is dead and has sworn off dating, he becomes determined to change her mind.

I was really excited when I got the email and I thank NetGalley, Avon Books/ Harper Voyager, and Alexandria Bellefleur for graciously accepting my request for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Hang the Moon is the follow up to Alexandria Bellefleur’s debut novel, Written in the Stars, but it can be read as a stand alone. However, if you plan to read Written in the Stars, read it first as this gives away quite a bit of that story.

I really enjoyed this book. It was well written and the perfect, feel good rom-com; sweet, funny, swoony, and light.

I loved Annie and Brendon and their chemistry. Brendan is super sweet, swoony sunshine, and has a bit of a naughty side. He’s super adorkable.

The supporting characters (most from the first book) were fun and warm. It really makes me want to go back and read Written in the Stars, even though I vaguely know what happens now. I liked that the book touched a lot on the friendship between Annie and Darcy and that Darcy was the meddler this time around.

There were horoscope additions in a few chapters that are fun, a nod to the first book.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. I’m going to go back and read Darcy and Elle’s story and look forward to the third addition, coming in 2022.

Brendon believes in your One True Love. Annie's sick of the revolving door that many who date in the digital age are far too familiar with. Do two people coming at love from truly opposite ends of the emotional spectrum have a chance at love?

The answer—thank goodness, is yes! This was a joy to read, to return to the ensemble cast I've come to love, to get inside the mind of people-pleaser, fix-your-problems Brendon, and to meet Darcy's elusive best friend, Annie. HANG THE MOON explored different themes and backstories than its predecessor WRITTEN IN THE STARS but it was no less RomCom pitch-perfect and oh-so-swoony.

I love Alexandria's gift for writing emotionally complex characters without miring a plot in overwrought angst or melodrama. Her conflict feels believable, her characters' flaws realistic, and yet this still feels so deliciously decadent because she hits those romance beats without fail. Yes, we have realistic characters but we're surrounded by the whimsy and wonder, the joy and butterflies of romance that is such a lovely counterpoint to the obstacles woven throughout her narrative.

In short, HANG THE MOON, like WRITTEN IN THE STARS is truly your quintessential feel-good, swoony, endearing RomCom. I love the diversity and inclusion of this story (and series) in its representation of queer love and its bold love for the romance genre within its own pages. Lovers of RomCom movies, grand gestures, and countless nods to the hope & big heart of the romance genre will be delighted with this next installment, out Spring 2021!

Thank you to Avon & NetGalley for this advance review copy—all opinions are my own!

I didn't read the first book so I was unprepared for the level of cuteness coming at me. The writing is witty and well-done. I knew Annie was going to be the wishy-washy waffling one (though with good reason). I also liked that Brendon was the sweet romantic since we typically see that attributed to the female characters.

Kindly received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Hang the Moon is a truly charming sequel to Written In The Stars. It centers on Annie, Darcy's best friend who lives in Philadelphia but recently got a big promotion and will be moving to London. She decides to surprise Darcy with a visit -- only to find out that Darcy is out of town for the weekend with her girlfriend Elle. Annie ends up spending the weekend with Darcy's brother, Brendon, who is the creator of the dating app One True Pairing. He is a diehard romantic who believes in grand gestures and true love. He is appalled that Annie has given up on dating and makes it his mission to make her believe in love again. Surprise, surprise, they end up developing feelings for each other and Annie has to decide if she'll follow her plan and move to London or follow her heart and move to Seattle.

Admittedly there's not a ton of plot in this book -- but sometimes you don't need it! The book is mostly Annie and Brendon bopping around on various cute dates and trying to pretend they're not wildly attracted to each other (before they give in and starting hooking up *cue the steam*). But it's a charming read and Annie and Brendon are likeable characters who are easy to root for. I also really liked the developments in Annie and Darcy's friendship, as Darcy realizes she's been a mediocre friend to Annie, and Annie realizes how much she values true friendship -- and the degree to which she lacks that in Philadelphia. All in all, it's a very cute read and I'd highly recommend to anyone looking for a fun (and steamy!) romance!

Thank you to NetGalley, Avon, and Harper Voyager for the ARC in exchange for an honest review

Written in the Stars was one of my top 2020 reads so I jumped at the chance to read Alexandria Bellefleur's second novel and it did not let me down

I would recommend if you're looking for (SPOILERS)

-m/f friends to lovers
-vacation romance
-childhood crush
-best friend's younger brother
-only one bed
-opposites attract
-a sunshine, cinnamon roll of a hero who is also a hopeless romantic
-a jaded, bisexual, heroine, giving up on love
-so many callbacks to my favorite romcom movies
-a mishap on a ferris wheel
-so much sexual tension
-a love fern
-flirting through traslations

I loved this book. Such a comfort read, a true romcom. I love, love, love Brendon. He is just too precious for words. How open he is with his feelings, how sweet he is, and spicy behind closed doors. His fascination with romantic comedies and proving to Annie that love isn't dead. I have found my nest book boyfriend.

Annie wasn't a grump, she leaves that to her best friend Darcy, but she's not optimistic. Resigning herself to a job she doesn't love, wary after too many bad dates. The tension as she fights her feelings for Brendon was just so good. The horoscopes, the grovel, I love everything about this book.

I also have to give a shout out to Darcy who was the comedic relief in this one for me. Every time she came back into a scene, her dry wit and that she loved both Annie and Brendon so much, wanting them together. There was no unnecessary drama in this book. It was so nice to see Darcy and Elle have their happily ever after. And I am beyond excited for Margot to get hers.

Rating: Rave:
Steam: 3

CW: brief discussion of parental abandonment