Thank you @avonbooks for the [gifted] copies of WRITTEN IN THE STARS and COUNT YOUR LUCKY STARS!

As a Seattlite I was absolutely thrilled to read a romance series set in my beloved city. It’s always so fun to see places and restaurants I adore called out on the page. And she absolutely nails some of the quirkiness of the people who live in Seattle and the PNW!

Another thing that I absolutely loved about this series is Bellefleur’s representation of many different sexualities. She has bisexual, pansexual, homosexual and heterosexual main characters. I loved seeing these characters get their HEAs.

COUNT YOUR LUCKY STARS - Y’all know I love a second chance romance trope and this one did not disappoint. We also get some forced proximity in this one too as Olivia becomes Margot’s new roommate due to a leak at her apartment. A lot of the drama in CYLS is based off of miscommunication which normally drives me crazy. But considering that a lot of their issues stem back from when they were insecure high school seniors, it worked for me.

COUNT YOUR LUCKY STARS is out today, February 1, 2022!
4/5 stars

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4504435750
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/CZcWEBuvAbh/

“I’ve never felt like I’d die if I didn’t touch someone. You make me feel that way.”

I adored this second chance, roommates, childhood besties to lovers sapphic romance! There are many tropes, but there’s also amazing banter, some steam that hits just right, some heartfelt and honest moments, and just a super sweet story of two people figuring out if their second chance is lust or love. Sigh. I love Margot & Olivia. They have a bit of a grumpy/sunshine vibe, but it’s not super pronounced on either side. They do struggle a bit with communication, but it feels very true to their characters and even though miscommunication isn’t my FAVORITE, it definitely worked for me in CYLS. As a side not, the whole cast of characters in this one is just so good. You can tell it’s just this sweet found family and I adore that. I didn’t read the first two books, but now I’m going to need to go back and do so.

Anyway. Highly recommend for anyone who enjoys childhood besties and second chance romance that stems from sort of a missed opportunity. I enjoyed this one and can’t wait to check out more from Bellefleur!

Count Your Lucky Stars is a standalone novel and the third in the Written in the Stars series by Alexandria Bellefleur.

I was so excited for Margot to finally get her story, after getting to know her in the first two books. When Margot runs into Olivia for the first time in 11 years, I was on the edge just waiting for them to find their way through the pining and misunderstandings. I love how the sexuality of each character is never questioned, Margot is pan and Olivia is bi, these are the truths.

I loved the steamy scenes in this one, the romance, the mutual pining, Olivia being a cinnamon roll to Margot being more of a grump. I loved how real they both were in terms of their anxieties and fears. I loved watching the two of them fall in love and learn how to love themselves as much as they love others. Watching Olivia and Margot work through their feelings felt true to friends turned lovers. Alexandria shows different types of love and stresses that they don’t take away from each other.

As always, I loved the inclusion of horoscopes in this book. The sexual tension and steamy scenes will leave you thirsty. I loved being able to see more of Darcy and Elle as well as Brendon and Annie. I'm sad to see this series end, but am beyond grateful to have read it.

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon for providing me with an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you Avon Books for the gifted copy.

I loved the first two books in this series, and I was excited to find out that Margot was getting her own book. This book was good, just not as good as the other two. The second chance trope is always one of my favorites, but the miscommunication between Margot and Olivia, as far as the past and how they feel about each other now was a little frustrating. Their sexual tension was great at the beginning, but they went from zero to a zillion quickly! There were some overused words during the sexy time scenes that annoyed me, but overall they were well done.

Definitely read this if you've enjoyed the other two books in the series. I'll pretty much read anything this author writes!

Included as a top pick in bimonthly February New Releases post, which highlights and promotes upcoming releases of the month (link attached)

This was my favorite one of the series! It was so cute and I just loved every minute of it. The writing was just as fun as it always is, making for a quick read! Perfect conclusion!

Margot Cooper is the ultimate fifth wheel after her best friends have paired off (shout out to Elle and Darcy and Brendon and Annie whose individual books in this series are DELIGHTFUL). She is unprepared to run into her newly divorced childhood friend Olivia who is now planning Brendon and Annie’s wedding.

Bellefleur’s books are sexy, charming and FUNNY. There’s a joke in the fourth chapter involving the cat that had me laughing out loud. I really think with each of her “Written in the Stars” books, she has gotten better and better, capturing what makes each relationship fun and different and very very sexy. (Seriously though this book is 🥵).

I was so excited to finally get Margot’s story. Margot is surly and confident, but I loved her the most when she was vulnerable. There’s something so relatable about the feeling of being left behind while all your friends move on. I also really enjoyed meeting Olivia (and Cat!) and getting to watch the second-chance love story between Margot and Olivia unfold.

I really think Bellefleur is an author to watch in the romance space and I’m excited to see what she writes in the future!

Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher for letting me read an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

⭐️⭐️⭐️.5/5

HAPPY RELEASE DAY!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the chance to read and review a copy of ‘Count Your Lucky Stars’ before it’s release.

“I’m a whole person. And the idea of needing to find someone to make you complete seems like bullshit to me. The right person shouldn’t complete you, they should love you the way you are. And it’s cool if they make you want to be better, but they should never make you feel like you’re too much or not enough exactly as you are.”

I absolutely LOVED Annie and Brendon’s story in ‘Hang the Moon’ so I was very surprised and excited to see that Margot’s story was finally here! It did take me a couple chapters to recall the relationships between everyone from the previous two books in the series, but I quickly caught back on.

One of the things that I loved about this, and the series itself, is the characters. They are all really developed, and really great characters. They’re also super funny and I love how they always rely on one another. The astrology tidbits are fun too!

This one is about two best friends, who fell apart after a romantic encounter, and are suddenly thrown into each other’s lives again. You can feel the awkwardness coming off the page at first, and then feel it turn into something less awkward and romantic. I thought that was great! I also really enjoyed the relationship that Olivia had with her father. The LGBTQ+ rep is excellent.

My biggest issue was that this book seemed to be a lot more sex-driven and vulgar than what I remember from the last book. I mean there was sex in just about every other chapter towards the middle of the book until the end. It was enough to the point that I was uncomfortable, and I usually don’t mind any type of sex scene.It was just too much for me personally.

The lack of communication between Margot and Olivia was also slightly annoying at times but also realistic in the sense if “what are we?” that is often experienced in newer relationships.

Overall, not a bad story, just not my favorite of the series.

“No one ever dreams of their problems when they think about the future.”

omg y'all i just love all these characters so much!! this was such a perfect end to the series and and i'm both so happy it ended on such a good book and bitter that's it's over :(

if you know anything about me, i'm OBSESSED with second chance romance, so i'll eat up pretty much anything with that trope. but make it sapphic on top of that???? bitch i was obsessed from the first chapter. nothing hits me harder that sapphic angst and mutual pining i just adore it. and this book was full of it. i literally was tearing up in the beginning at the descriptions of margot and olivia's yearning for one another but feeling like the other person didn't reciprocate, i know some people don't like that trope because they hate any kind of miscommunication, but i personally love it because angst>>>>>>everything. ofc this book was also rly hot and i'm gay so... yeah 😭😭 and i was a bit afraid i wouldn't like the third act conflict of this book, but i actually think it worked well for the characters and wasn't too over the top or unnecessarily dragged out so it's safe to say this book 100% worked for me and i'm so so so happy to have another 5 star sapphic romance to obsess over because you can never have too many :))))

also we love to see the pan rep we deserve with margot!!!! simply iconic

This novel is just the right amount of comfort, relatability, and spice. I knew I would love it because I've absolutely fallen in love with the two previous installments in this series but it somehow exceeded my expectations. Olivia was such a lovable main character, and Margot too who we have already gotten to know through the other books. I thoroughly enjoyed this and can't wait to read what Bellefleur does next!

I love this series so much!! I have loved Margot since Written in the Stars. I admired her take no crap attitude. I was wonderful to see her walls come down in such healthy ways with Olivia. I also relayed to Olivia a lot because I am also a people pleaser who worries about others before herself. Their story was just the right amount of second chance & friends to lovers & I feel privileged to have read it early. I loved it so much I have a preoder print copy on the way.

I am so sad this series is over! I am so going to miss all these characters, though I'm excited to see what Alexandria Bellefleur comes up with next.

Count Your Lucky Stars is the third book in the Written in the Stars trilogy, a series following three queer couples in Seattle, WA. In this book specifically we follow Margot, a character we've gotten to know and love throughout the series, and a brand new character, Olivia. Olivia and Margot were once the best of friends but drifted apart after a failed spring fling their senior year of high school. They meet again eleven years later after it turns out Olivia is in charge of planning Brendon and Annie's wedding, where Margot is the best woman. After a twist of fate and a plumbing incident, Olivia and Margot are also forced to share an apartment together even though the two might still have feelings for each other. What follows is a sweet second chance romance about new beginnings and finding one's place.

I've really enjoyed the first two books in this series and I even count Hang the Moon as one of my favorite romances ever. I was so excited I got an advanced copy (courtesy of NetGalley) and I was so sure I'd love this one. Count Your Lucky Stars, however, turned out to be good but not great. I'm a little disappointed but I still liked the book so I'm not sure what to feel.

I thought Margot and Olivia were a great couple. They were very sweet and relatively drama free, although I wish they'd started communicating sooner. The hijinks the two got up to were so funny as well. The scene with Cat and the sex toy was my favorite in the book; I couldn't stop laughing.

Unfortunately, I thought there wasn't really enough to the story to make me love it. I've always thought that I like second chance romances but every one I've read has been disappointing, including this one. Perhaps it's time for me to realize that I like the concept and not the real deal. Mostly I feel like the book was very quick because there wasn't really any angst or build up to their feelings. Olivia and Margot have amazing chemistry but I think I just prefer watching couples build up to the relationship rather than fix it.

I also thought the reason Olivia and Margot first separate is kind of stupid and could have easily been solved in a quick conversation. Literally the whole thing was just a misunderstading. Instead, the issue gets dragged out through the whole book and they don't even talk about it until like the 80% mark. I get that they were teenagers at the time but I just didn't understand why adult Margot couldn't just talk to Olivia or vice versa. I also understand that in real life their avoidance makes a lot of sense but I personally don't like realism in my romcoms. If Margot and Olivia were going to be kept apart it should have been for a juicier reason.

Long story short, there just wasn't enough to this romance to make me love it. I liked what was there but I wanted more buildup and less miscommunication.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for an e-arc

This was truly a wonderful queer read! I'll admit, I have a soft spot for the "rekindled friends" trope, but I think this one was done so well! I loved how unique both Olivia and Margot were, and how the story showed their progression in them realizing that they are both back in each other's lives again. I'll even go as far to say that I really thought I saw a lot of myself in Olivia (bisexual, event planner background, and someone who worries so damn much about everything) so that made the book even more special for me. Oh! And the steam! This book packs so much of it in there. I'm sad this is probably the last book in Alexandria Bellefleur's universe she's created (idk what to call it, friends in Seattle?) but I love her writing and admittedly, this was my first one so I'm excited to go back and read Written in the Stars and Hang the Moon! (Obviously I know they get together in the end, but to see the story unfurl is fun in it of itself!)

Count Your Lucky Stars is the third book in the series however, it can easily be read as a stand-alone. I had not read the other books in the series (although I enjoyed the characters enough that I probably will pick them up!) I did want more background on the characters but mostly from Olivia who I don't believe was in the other books anyway.

The best part about this book is the spice! It's so well written and super steamy! If you are into that I highly recommend!

The romance between Olivia and Margot is really cute and their connection is believable. I also really liked Margot as a character. I related to her and her feelings that she wasn't as "sunshine and rainbows" as her friends and feeling pressure to fake that for them.

However, the miscommunication trope was just too much for me, It felt very basic - if that makes sense? Like so easy to resolve and not that big of an issue. I would have loved a little more drama between Olivia and Margot.

Overall, this is still one of the better sapphic romances I have read. And would recommend to romance fans who are looking for a fun cute story!

This was a perfect addition to the universe that Bellefleur has crafted through these three books. Lots of heart and banter, and a lovely second chance romance. Every book I’m this series has had excellent tropes, but this combo of second chance, chance encounter, and forced proximity was a bullseye.

Alexandria Bellefleur always has a way of writing characters that are so relatable and always make me feel seen. This is such an honest and raw love story, the TENSION in this book let me tell you. Margot is a character that I've grown to love over the course of these books and her approach to love and having her guard up is refreshing and something I really understand. Bellefleur's books made me appreciate romance books more and getting to see two women fall in love and the right person wrong time aspect of their relationship is one I feel many people can relate to. I feel like I really got to grow with these characters in this book and I feel we got a great ending.

Margot is shocked to learn that her friend's wedding planner is her high school crush. After a brief fling, Olivia went back to her boyfriend, breaking Margot's heart. When Olivia suddenly finds herself homeless, Margot invites her to move in. Can they remain just roommates, or will history repeat itself?

This is a fun, emotional, steamy read with a ton of unresolved tension between the heroines. It's fairly long angst, with the main obstacles being past misunderstandings. The characters from the previous books in the series make a strong showing in this novel as well. If you like sapphic romance with a little humor and a lot of heat, this book is a good choice.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.

Count Your Lucky Stars follows Margot and Olivia. Margot and Olivia were friends in high school but lost touch with each other after high school. Olivia works as a wedding planner and is planning the wedding in which Margot is the best woman. And they are reunited after years of not seeing each other. One day, Olivia's apartment floods and she needs a place to stay, Margot offers Olivia to stay with her. Once, they become roommates they mend their friendship. Soon they start hooking up with each other with no strings attached. However, they realize that they might love each other. Will they act on those feelings of love or hide them?

This was a really cute read. There were some spicy parts which I liked. I like how the author focused on their friendship before, going into the romantic stuff. This book is the third book in a series and I did not read the other two ( however, I love this author's writing and already have the other two books. I can not wait to read those.). And you do not need to read the other two books to read this one. I do wish there was a little more character development ( that might be in the other two books). But other than that one minor thing I thought this was a cute friendship/romance book. If you are in the mood for a cute romance with little bit of spice I would suggest this one.

Thank you to NetGalley, Alexandria Bellefleur, and Avon and Harper Voyager for this book.

I love the Written in the Stars series so much!! It's such a joy to return to Seattle; the city a character of the series itself! This queer romance centers on Margot (best friend and business partner to Elle) and Olivia, who is planning Brendon and Annie's wedding, and surprise, is Margot's childhood best friend! Olivia is recently out of her marriage to her high school boyfriend, and we discover that Margot & Olivia had a fling back in high school. Not only are they around each other due to the wedding festivities, but when Olivia finds herself without a place to stay unexpectedly, Margot offers up her spare room. Will they reconnect or ignore their repressed feelings for each other? I just love the friendships and relationships we get to revisit from the prior books! I loved reading about Margot and Olivia dancing around, and eventually exploring their feelings for each other in this steamy read! I can't recommend this series enough!

Actual rating: 3.5 stars
I went a little out of order here reading the third book in the series first, but I read that it wasn't necessary to read the other two first. I actually had the first book in the series on my TBR already and still plan on going back and reading the other two. I stayed up entirely too late last night trying to finish this book and I'm paying for it today. But I really enjoyed it. Most of this book was a 4 star for me. I like the cast of characters and there's a cat! I was so happy to see a character call out communication because miscommunication is my least favorite trope. I didn't really care for how much of a pushover Olivia was about her ex-husband and the big conflict was really redundant and didn't make much sense to me which is why this is a 3.5 for me overall. I haven't read many FF romance novels but I definitely need to read more. This was so fun and cute and swoony. AND the spicy scenes were great. Well written, not cringey!