This book follows Gray who is feeling lost after a breakup and now living in a new city with her best friend. After a visit to a psychic, Gray decides to embark on an adventure and date a person from each of the astrological signs in the attempt to find her true love.

I really enjoyed this book. I am not a big astrology person but thought it was a really interesting concept. Gray is a good main character. I loved meeting all of the dates. The good and the comically bad! It was fairly clear early on who would end up being endgame for her. I think this is going to be a really great summer read.

Thank you to NetGalley and Dial Press for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A nice palate cleanser of a book. Astrology-rom-com where a chick goes on a date with someone from each sign to find her true love.

It’s super obvious early on who her true love will be. But it was still cute. Fluffy, harmless, and just fine.

Got it early from NetGalley, and I anticipate it’ll show up on a bunch of my ‘recommended for you’ lists once it’s published.

This book was so fun! I am a very casual fan of astrology, so while I didn't know about a lot of the traits, I was really looking forward to the Libra date and thankfully it was successful. I, however, knew that she would end up with the principle almost as soon as they met. But overall, this was a fun, queer, romcom that I honestly think could be a great movie as well.

It took a little while for me to get into this book, but when I did, I couldn't put it down! Reading about how different each date was from the next was very fun! I loved that Gray ended up staying friends with some of her dates in the end! That was absolutely adorable.

The friendship between Gray and Cherry was similar to a sibling relationship. Readers can see through their interactions how much they truly love one another and want what is best for the other.

I absolutely LOVED Veronica from the moment we meet her. She is a strong woman who knows what she wants and will protect it at all costs, even through the end. She was easily my favorite character, and wow I wish real life had more people like her!

I don't know much about astrology except that my sign is Aquarius and I was rooting the whole time for an Aquarius to work out in the end!

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Random House, Dial Press Trade Paperback for the eARC!

Looking for a Sign by Susie Diamond follows Gray as she embarks on a date with a person from each of the zodiac sign in search of her perfect partner while approaching her Saturn Return. I'm currently enduring my Saturn Return, so this hit home for me.

This book was cute and fun! I am a huge fan of astrology, so I personally loved the astrology parts and found those to be my favorite parts of the book. However, I found Gray to be kind of annoying throughout the book--she just felt SO immature and would do and say some things sometimes that I couldn’t get past. I did however, love her best friend Cherry and Cherry’s husband Robbie, so they definitely helped.

The concept of the book is strong, but I think execution could be better, especially for the second half. The pacing of the ending felt rushed and I wished there was more space for certain characters to develop.

★3.5 stars, rounded down

☆Summary:
Ten-year relationship: over. A new job and a new home in a completely new state. Saturn’s returning. 29-year old Gray’s life is hitting an existential crisis, to say the least. She wants it all: the happy, loving wife, the crazy kids, the white picket fence, essentially the whole picture. The problem is, she hasn’t dated in over ten years and doesn’t know where to begin. Thanks to the help of her lifelong best friend Cherry, a famous astrologer, and the stars themselves, our determined Aries Gray takes on an astrology dating challenge to point her in the direction of “the one.” 12 dates, 12 signs, and only 6 weeks til Saturn returns on her 29th birthday. Surely, the stars will align and show her the answer…right??

☆What You’ll Find:
- Sapphic romcom
- All the astrology goodness (and some not-so-goodness)
- A passionate, yet naïve Aries FMC in a quarter life crisis
- Open and closed door smut
- Friends to lovers
- Kind of a 3rd act breakup?
- Third person, told from the FMC’s POV
- Happy ending, no epilogue, but super fun goodies at the end!

☆My Thoughts:
I am not the biggest astroslut out there, but omg this was so fun. Learning about each sign through a dating challenge?? I completely geeked out with the signs I’m most familiar with – Aries (obvi we are the best), Libra, and Capricorn–as I could see my irl bffs personalities play out in the best ways. I also selfishly loved seeing what signs the Aries FMC was most compatible with, as a single gal myself lol.

Each date was unique in its own right, and after visiting New Orleans last year, it was so cool to see how well the author captured the NOLA vibes. Learned there’s a Tabasco Museum and I have been missing out!!! Gray might not be able to handle spice like me, but after completing the Hot Ones challenge like a CHAMP, I need to go asap!!!!

As someone with the same sign, I absolutely related to Gray in many ways: we’re bold, driven, competitive, fiery, passionate, we may make impulsive decisions, but we go all-in courageously. However, for a 29-year old, I found her to be extremely naïve. Gray, girl, independence is an important skill!

☆Would I Recommend:
For all my astro babes out there, yes! There isn’t an epilogue, but there are some fun tidbits at the end that I loved: an astrology newsletter from the famous astrologer Gray visits, a cute “the signs depicted as classic NOLA food & drinks” guide (ayooo I’m a Creole Bloody Mary and I’ve never felt more seen), and a couple recipes from the Aquarius Veronica.

I appreciated everything about this book! Navigating your late twenties when it comes to relationships and sexuality is messy and can be complicated. Susie Dumond did an amazing job of making this fun, interesting, and different. Definitely a breath of fresh air for queer romance. I will be recommending this to others.

LOOKING FOR A SIGN was a super fun read, with such a creative premise! I was so fascinated by the idea of astrology dictating someone's love life, and enjoyed seeing how that played out within the story as Gray takes on the challenge of dating every zodiac sign. I thought the chemistry between Gray and the love interest (no spoilers here!) was really well-done, but also appreciated the self-discovery element, how while Gray was trying to figure out who she was most compatible with, she also learned so much about herself and what she truly wanted in the process. However, I did struggle to connect with the writing style a little bit—it sometimes seemed like there was almost too much "telling" and not enough "showing," throughout the story—and I also wanted a little more depth from the whole "zodiac dating" concept. Some of the different people Gray dates tended to feel more like stereotypes of their signs rather than fully-formed characters, and I wished they had been fleshed out a little bit more. Still, the concept of this book was so great, and I do think astrology or romcom lovers (or both!) would enjoy LOOKING FOR A SIGN. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

I was hooked from the first chapter to the end! The premise was really fun -- I was initially worried that the addition of Gray's 12 dates (with each Zodiac sign) would clutter the cast of characters or that their interactions would feel superficial. The dates really ran the gamut of experiences and I appreciated the way Dumond used Gray's dates to also explore New Orleans, as Gray is also new to the city. I loved the development between Gray and the love interest that develops over the novel. Definitely give this novel a try!

It took me a bit to get into, but I’m glad I did in the end. I really enjoyed the premise being based in astrology, and the character growth it forced on the main character in the end. I’m still unsure about the consistency of the love interest’s character, but I was definitely rooting for their relationship in the end. I definitely plan to recommend this book to others.

Gray moves to New Orleans to start over and meet someone. She goes to an astrologer and learns more about the zodiac. This was an interesting book.

Do you like sapphic romances? Astrology? Then this is the book for you!

In Looking for a Sign, Gray goes on a date with one person from each of the 12 astrological signs to see which she might be the most compatible with. I'm a big fan of books that have a set structure like that—you know you're getting 12 dates with 12 different people, and so it keeps the story moving forward nicely. I will say that the ending was very predictable, probably about 1/3 of the way in, but it was a fun journey to get there. It was a lot of woo-woo astrology talk, which is not always my thing, but if it's yours, I think you'll really like this one.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an advance copy.

This book very clearly includes multiple love Interest and dates which makes it hard to get attached to any, which is probably the point. They likely arent the main one but its almost like whiplash.

I truly think this is an amazing conception but I’m not sure about the execution? The chemistry between the love interest and Gray felt downplayed. While I wanted them together there were so many better ways to build there tension. Some of the dates Gray went on had more chemistry in one chapter than these did the whole first half of the book.

I just think maybe it needed more on the end half. The ending happened so fast. There was also no epilogue which i would’ve died to see.

I think Grays development was shown well but couldve been explored more. The side characters and interactions between them add lots of depth to the story.

Thank you Netgalley, publisher and author for the arc copy of this book.

This story takes you through Gray’s story looking for love. Her friend, Cherry, sets her up on a challenge of dating a person from every zodiac sign. This sapphic love story brings you on a journey of finding love in a new light.

Recommend this book for those who are looking for something short and sweet.

A fun romance with an astrology twist! This book was cute! I've always enjoyed learning about astrology. So that was a nice part of the story. The amount of times the main character mentioned her buzzed hair was a bit excessive. Otherwise, I enjoyed this one!

Rating:
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
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Genre:
Sapphic romcom
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Tropes:
Enemies to friends, friends to lovers, found family
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Main Concepts:
Gray is having a mid life crisis and a whole lot of other crisis. On a mission to completely change her life, Gray moves to New Orleans with her best friend and begins an experiment she dubs as the astrology challenge. 6 weeks until her 29th birthday, Gray sets up to go on a date with one of each of the astrological signs to see which sign is her true match. Lots of twists and turns and love found in unexpected places.
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Spice level:
2/5 does have spice, just not super detailed or anything wild
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Overall thoughts:
This book is amazing. I was first attracted by the cover, because I am a moon and star girly but the author blurb just sold it for me.

This book is perfect for those that feel lost in the world, are healing from traumatic/toxic parents, and need help with realizing that life is not perfect and looks are deceiving. Not everything is as it is seen and we should stop trying to find that something perfect and comparing our lives to those around us. Our MC, Gray, feels lost in the world, after a decade long relationship break. She sets out on the crazy mission using astrology to guide her way and comes to some very real realization along the way.

I am honestly absolutely blown away from this book and enjoyed all the astrology tied in. Everything was written so smoothly and well. All of the dates were very interesting and kept me excited to see more.

I could tell for awhile though who Gray was going to end up with. Their connection, friendship and communication was just unparalleled when it came to the other dates/signs.

I also really really love that some of the sign dates actually became friends with Gray. The banter and friendship that was started with those 6 signs is just really sweet.

10/10 recommended everyone to pick up this book.

Thank you Netgalley for providing me with this ebook.

I absolutely loved this book! All of the astrology was written pitch perfectly, and the different encounters Gray had with the signs were sexy, funny, and all too accurate. Gray and Veronica were easy to root for— the Aries & Aquarius vibes were immaculate. I loved all the flings Gray had, and I loved her relationships with Cherry, with River. I would maybe have liked to see a little bit more of Gray's past, I felt a little veiled off from her at times, however, still such a great main character! I would definitely recommend to astrology inclined queers.

I stopped after chapter 1 (5%). The prose is overly narrative and it wasn’t the most gripping story. I’d guess three to four stars for readers.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for the ARC.

Looking For A Sign is an adult contemporary novel. And, oh my gosh, I loved this book! I’m not an astrology gay so I wasn’t sure how I was going to feel about this book, but I think it’s perfect for astrology lovers and for those who know nothing except their own sign (me 🙋🏼‍♀️).

Approaching her twenty-ninth birthday, Saturn returns has Gray undergoing a big shake up in her life. All she wants is to find a wife and have children. So she undertakes an astrological dating challenge where she dates a person from each sign in order.

Honestly, this book was so much fun. I wasn’t expecting to enjoy reading about all her dates. When they were good they were good (and steamy), but I even enjoyed the dates that didn’t go so well. I loved how she became friends with some of her dates (peak sapphic culture). And I absolutely love who Gray ended up with.

Some other things I liked. Gray had a found family with her best friend, Cherry. They’ve been friends forever and weren’t afraid to have tough conversations.

I also appreciated the way religious trauma was woven in as a part of Gray’s story. I don’t have the same experience as her, but I do have my fair share of religious trauma so I loved to see the way Gray unpacked and was healing from that.

All around I loved this book and highly recommend you add it to your tbr!

Publish date: June 11th 2024

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing for a copy of this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I really loved the concept of this book, and was so excited for a sapphic romance.
But unfortunately it fell kinda flat. As the reader I didn't feel like I was in the characters head enough to really understand her. The Love interest is never redeemed from her first interaction with the FMC, and neither are we given a reason, a backstory, on why she is the way she is. I understand with the character going on 12 dates, some parts are going to be rushed but there wasn't enough chemistry between the dates the the FMC
I really did enjoy the religious trauma and the way she coped with it, I have never been able to find a character I actually feel similar in. It was a little healing for me.
In all, its a cute little romance that you can't look at too deeply.