I have been holding off writing this review because... well because I refuse to believe that this is the end of the Written in the Stars series. 😭

I'll start by saying I am 100% biased because Margot is my favorite character (also we have 2/3 of the same big 3). I was so excited to read this and when I finally did, it was everything I wanted and more. Bellefleur does an amazing job at wrapping things up in a cute little bow without making it feel too rushed. Written in the Stars was the first adult sapphic rom-com I've ever read and it set the bar for what I look for when reading sapphic rom-coms.

Count Your Lucky Stars took everything amazing about Written in the Stars and gave me 10,000x more of it. I absolutely loved the estranged friends-to-lovers trope and the feeling of familiarity between all the characters, it just made me feel like I was friends with these people AND THEY'RE NOT EVEN REAL (I'm so mad about this😤)

Let's talk about the important stuff...the spice. Besties... I don't know what it is but, by far the spiciest, most well-written, not cringy at all, spice I've ever read. The chemistry between Margot and Olivia was just so clean and present and messy but in the most realistic & natural way possible. One of my biggest pet peeves when reading romance is when the character's feelings don't progress in a natural realistic way and Alexandria Bellefleur NEVER has had a problem with that. She can truly make you feel the tension build without blatantly having to state it.

If you've read any or all of the books in the series, this epilogue is going to warm your heart up! It literally thawed my frozen ass heart lol. I care so deeply for all of these characters and the way that Bellefleur used the epilogue to close up the love story of not only Margot and Oliva but the other two books as well... *chefs kiss*. I can't say enough good things about this book, I'm still fangirling about it and also mourning the end of a series I care so deeply about.

OH MY GOD. I was already obsessed with all of Alexandria Bellefleur's books, so getting am ARC of my most anticipated read of 2022 blew my mind. This book follows Margot, co-founder of Oh My Stars, and Olivia, wedding planner extraordinaire, as they navigate reuniting and rooming together 11 years after their friendship fallout. What ensues is sweet, funny, sexy romance that had me blushing and laughing out loud (which I should be ashamed off but I'm never ashamed of it with this series).

The characters in this book were fun, spunky, and loveable. Plus, the way that Margot flirts with Olivia is... phenomenal to say the least. I loved catching up with the characters from the other books too, and adding Olivia to the mix brightened everything. The plot was super cute as well, with lots of fun side moments. After reading CYLS, I'm even more obsessed with Bellefleur's books now and can't wait to see what she does next!!

Another fabulous book by Bellefleur! I loved this romance universe and will be so sad not to spend time with these characters. Dare I say it, this one may be my favorite! I love the childhood friends to lovers trope and Margot felt so relatable to me as a character. Can't wait to see what is next from Bellefleur!

After reading Written in the Stars, I had to continue with the characters’ stories. I like the author’s writing, she always seems to make my heart pitter patter in the nicest way, and keeps me at the edge of my bed when I read her work. Count Your Lucky Stars was amazing, following Margot and her childhood friend Olivia, who is recently divorced and moved to Seattle to focus on her job. They re-encounter when Olivia meets Brandon and Annie in order to plan their wedding. Margot and Olivia have an unresolved romantic background that somewhat rapidly grows throughout the book and I couldn’t be more happy for the way that it did. I definitely recommend giving Count Your Lucky Stars a read.

And thank you Netgalley for approving my request to read Count Your Lucky Stars.

I read this book because I was in a reading slump and it did not disappoint. The sex scenes are explosive. I love that it features prominently the characters from the previous books. I love this former bff to lovers romance. This book was a delight.

I still think Written in the Stars is my favorite of the series but this one was still really enjoyable! I always liked Margot and so it was great to get her second chance love story with Olivia. Any romance that references Persuasion has my heart, but I did feel some of the plot points fell a little flat, particularly in the final third or so of the book. But Margot and Olivia have great (and steamy!) chemistry and the way all the other friends were incorporated was really well done.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ /5
Count yours lucky stars was such a cute love story between Margot and Olivia. The chemistry between Olivia and Mar was top notch and you could definitely feel it coming through the book. As always, Bellefleur writes with just wit and humor you can’t help but find yourself smiling at this book from time to time. I also love how Bellefleur intermingles her characters from the other two books in the series, I adore their friendship.


Thank you Netgalley and Avon/Harper Collins for the advanced reader copy of this book.

The premise of this book sounded exciting but left little to be desired.

The sex scenes felt well written and some of it was really hot. A few times I found myself grinning at the antics in the book as well.

Overall though, this was a pretty disappointing read. I just could not get into this book and it felt like some of the "witty" banter could have been edited a bit and rather focus that time on character development. There was a lack of connecting with the characters, their history was spelt out pretty quick and there was a noticeable lack of diversity.

This was an alright sapphic romance novel but I feel like there is definitely much better out there. I'd say this is a good romance for a quick and easy queer read.

Another wonderful queer romance from Alexandria Bellefleur! While I didn't love this one quite as much as Written in the Stars or Hang the Moon (which, to be fair, is an incredibly high bar), Olivia and Margot still have a really touching love story. It's also a step up in steaminess from the previous two books. I'm generally a huge fan of romances featuring mutual pining, and there's certainly a lot of it in this one, but I did wish the book as a whole had been a bit longer so we could see more once that had finally resolved. I really loved getting to see Darcy, Elle, Brendon, and Annie again!

CW: parental illness, past infidelity

I’ve enjoyed all the book from this series so it’s a joy to be back with what feels old friends. This book as expected is light smutty lgbt reading and it delivers. It was refreshing to finally peel back the layers of Margot. Always so confident and charming in the first books it’s nice to see her vulnerable story front and center.

I really love this series and this was one of my most anticipated reads for 2022. Imagine my surprise when it was one of the first books I was approved for on NetGalley! Book one is Darcy & Elle, book two is Brendan & Annie and this one, book three is Margot & Olivia. Margot has been the friend in the wings for the previous two books & now we get to see the real Margot. I really liked Margot & it made me happy to see her finding love again. Like the previous 2 books, this one full of steam (maybe even more so 🥵) and so super sweet. Bellefleur is definitely an auto buy author for me & I can’t wait to see what she comes up with next.

CW: caring for older parent, adultery, divorce

To be honest I think this book just wasn't for me. I was really excited about the premise and I enjoyed Written in the Stars when I read it last year, however, this fell flat. I found the characters undiscernible from each other and that nothing really happened. I was confused by conflict at the very end and didn't think that there was enough of an emphasis on the importance of the event. Overall it was cute but didn't do anything for me.

Reviewed for Shelf Awareness PRO, review will post a few weeks before release date
***


Like her first two romantic comedies, Alexandria Bellefleur's Count Your Lucky Stars sparkles with humor and wit, but readers will be particularly drawn into this story by the near-palpable yearning evinced by the two main characters.
Count Your Lucky Stars opens as the central couple from Hang the Moon is frantically searching for a new wedding venue and Olivia's boss taps her to plan the event for them. Margot is friends and in business with the groom and when she shows up at the first meeting between Olivia and the engaged pair, awkwardness reigns.
High school best friends Olivia and Margot once spent an ill-fated week of romantic and sexual bliss together and haven't spoken since Olivia got back together with the boy who would eventually become her ex-husband. Ten years later, Margot is more than happy to pretend to her friends that she and Olivia have no uncomfortable history, so when Olivia is forced to vacate her apartment due to flooding, Margot offers her spare room and Olivia moves in.
Bellefleur keeps the camera close, ramping up the tension with forced proximity. Demonstrating her skill at characterization, she tailors the speed of the romantic and physical relationship to the couple in each book and given the history between Margot and Olivia, Count Your Lucky Stars is a bit steamier than the first two. Margot and Olivia have spent years grieving their friendship and while they both want desperately to protect their hearts, they're helpless to resist their attraction.
Bellefleur cleverly uses callbacks in a couple of places to great effect, illustrating how difficult it is for the two women to keep things casual.

"No, Olivia wouldn't indulge that desire. If she let it blossom, bloom, she'd get her hopes up and... this was good. This could be enough. She could happy.
Something with Margot would always be better than nothing." [pp 151]

"It might not be everything Margo wanted, everything she craved, everything her greedy heart desired, but it was something.
And something with Olivia Grant would always be better than nothing." [217]

As Olivia finally puts distance between herself and her ex and Margot finds her place among a friend group that's seemingly paired up and moved on without her, they realize that life's too short not to be with the people you love. Count Your Lucky Stars has all the makings of a great rom-com: crackling banter, meddling friends, an outspoken cat and an irresistible romance.

I really enjoyed the previous two books in this series, and I was excited to finally get Margot’s story! And it was sapphic, which is always a plus. While I had some issues with the book, I did find it enjoyable in some ways. Count Your Lucky Stars was a second-chance romance between two former best friends.

When Olivia convinces her boss to take on a big client’s last-minute wedding, she doesn’t expect to see Margot, her former best friend and current what-if. Margot is surprised to see her too and decides to get more involved with the wedding planning for Brendan and Annie. After Olivia’s apartment is flooded, Margot offers her her spare room, and they quickly become as close as before, if not closer.

It was great to return to this world and familiar cast of characters. Olivia is planning Brendan and Annie’s wedding, which of course, Darcy and Elle are also heavily involved in, as is Margot. You don’t have to read the previous two books to read this one though; it definitely could be read as a standalone.

I liked seeing Olivia’s character growth. She’s recently divorced her high school sweetheart of ten years and is ready to carve out a life for herself even though he still calls her for trivial questions. Margot helps her realize that she doesn’t owe him anything, even if he’s supposed to send her updates on her dad, who recently had a heart attack.

Unfortunately, I was mostly bored throughout the majority of this story. I think it was due to a myriad of things; for one thing, I don’t really feel like we expanded on Margot’s character past what we saw of her in the past two books. Also, I didn’t really feel the tension between Margot and Olivia before they fell into the casual sex thing. They were supposed to have a “what could’ve been” thing, but I didn’t get a chance to feel that before they were basically together. This led me to not really be invested in the story as I could have been. However, this is just my personal opinion! I think other people will enjoy this story far more than I did.

Count Your Lucky Stars featured a sapphic second-chance romance between two former best friends. It didn’t really work for me because I didn’t feel invested in Margot and Olivia’s story due to the lack of development. I do think other people will enjoy this book more than I did, so please give it a try if you’re interested in it!

Count Your Lucky Stars is another warm hearted queer romance from author Alexandria Belledleur.

Really enjoyed the best friends second chance romance! I know the feeling of falling in love with your straight best friend, so this take where said friend not be so straight was a joy to read!

The chemistry and banter between Margot and Olivia is spot on, and the humor was laugh out loud!

Highly recommend this queer romance!

Such a great read, I thoroughly enjoyed it. Alexandria has a way of creating great characters. So much heart and humor!

I blew through this book in a day and now I’m just bummed that there isn’t any more of it.

I enjoyed the characters and the themes centered around communication (which I’m tired of being treated as a deeply unsexy topic) for both friends and significant others, but in a nonpreachy way and sans high horse. It’s a fun read that goes exactly where you expect it to, and manages to hit on the perfect amount of smut without crossing over into something that would be entirely too horrifying in audiobook form.

Absolutely enjoyed it, absolutely would read again.

Writing is engaging, even if there was some tired phrasing, for example "really feeling the love here..." is overused and boring. DNF because the hints of longing and sexual tension started way too early in the narrative for me. I'm sure others who read sapphic tales will certainly enjoy this one.

Alexandria Bellefleur can do no wrong. Count Your Lucky Stars is so stinking cute. I was so excited for Margot's story and this book did not disappoint. I generally don't like friends to lovers and I also usually hate second chance stories and this book is both of those tropes in one. BUT the conflict between Olivia and Margot that caused them to fall out of contact is based on a series of misunderstandings that are super believable and grounded in both of them as characters. And while their reconciliation is a bit fast (and based on somewhat unbelievable circumstances as they become roommate through a weird twist of fate) I liked them both as characters too much to be mad. And like holy hell is this book HOT. The steam is real here folks!! I loved the first two books in this series and this one is no exception!

Alexandria Bellefleur knocked its out of the park again!!

Margo and Olivia spent a magic week together in High School and then went their separate ways because of a lack of communication. 11 years later they are reunited when Olivia is made the wedding planner for Margo’s best friend Brendan. What will they make of their second chance?

First I’ll say for those that have read the series that she really upped the steam level in this book so be ready! I absolutely loved getting more of the friendships in this book. They’re what really make this great in terms of characters as you can feel the depth of their personalities and love they have for each other. I loved how she showed Margot and Olivia trying to figure out together how a relationship works just like in a real life romance! The pining, being surprise roommates, sexting, all of it worked so well.

Highly recommend for everyone!

Thank you Netgalley and Avon/Harper Collins for the advanced reader copy of this book.

Staci McIntyre