This book was cute and quite spicy.
The writing was fresh and concise.
Thank you to the publisher for the opportunity to read it.

Thank you so much to Random House Publishing Group and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book early in exchange for an honest review.

Looking for a Sign follows Gray who decides to date one person from each zodiac sign in order to find the one.

This book surprised me! The found family dynamics of Gray with Cherry’s family were so fun and I immensely enjoyed any scene with River in it. I didn’t expect the range of people Gray went on dates with, nor their importance throughout the rest of the book.

Although it was clear from the beginning who the end love interest was going to be, I loved her! She did come across as very distant and cold for a good portion of the book, but all the times we got to see her character, it instantly made sense why she and Gray worked together.

I was also excited that Gray’s dates were not just cis women and especially appreciated the pronoun switching that occurred in the text even before Gray brought it up with her she/they date.

I did find that at times the book tended to info dump but the premise and characters were interesting enough that I was able to persevere and I’m glad I did. I don’t know how I’ll be able to wait until June to pick up a copy!

Thank you to Random House for this eARC! This book was okay! It did hit me pretty hard emotionally as someone who is also about to turn 29 and has no idea what to do with my romantic life. The fade to black sex scenes were a little bit annoying because they didn't really give me a chance to connect with some of the couplings. I didn't love how quickly the main characters were to anger with one another but they sort of made up for it with the communication. Grey's friendship with Cherry was a lovely feature that did keep me engaged the whole time.

RATING: ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫/5 (3.5/5)

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.

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. As a pisces, I was most excited to seeing how my sign was represented which came at the end of the chart so it was fun to look forward to!

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 LGBTQIA+ representation in this one is great too - so if you’re a fan of astrology then you should pick it up!

Thank you Netgalley and Dial Press Trade for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

OUT ON 06/11/24

This was very fun! Enjoyed the turns & adventures & all the characters we got to meet along the way!

Do you think you can find your soul mate based on their zodiac sign? Such a fun read! I loved the premise of this book and also I’m really big into astrology signs so that was a plus. The different dates and experiences were fun to read about. Cute, unique, steamy queer romcom with really fun characters! Thank you NetGalley and Random house for this eARC!

This was one of my most anticipated reads of 2024 and I was lucky enough to receive an ARC from NetGalley! Thanks NetGalley! :)

I was really excited for this book because I thought the concept was super cool, but what it had in originality it lacked in depth. The characters were very one-sided and they felt underdeveloped. I definitely enjoyed the book, but I think it could’ve been about 100 pages longer. A lot of the actions were told to the audience, rather than shown.

I also had a bit of an issue with the ideality that someone who is attracted to any and all genders can identify as a lesbian, just because they "like the title". First of all, as a proud wlw lesbian, it felt invalidating to my label. But more importantly it felt dangerous towards trans men. A person identifying as a lesbian dating who is still interested in dating a trans man invalidates that person's gender. I asked some of my trans friends for their opinions on this, and they agreed this was offensive. I urge you to take a long hard look at that section of the book and decide if it is truly necessary to move the plot forward.

Regardless, this is a fun read for anyone who enjoys astrology even a little bit!

I loved the premise for this book. Do astrological signs make a difference in a relationship. Cute, unique, steamy queer romcom with fun characters.

I breezed through this one!! I was googling astrology facts the whole time, because I was invested in Gray’s journey. Such a fun read!! I really appreciate a story that does "found family' well and this one hit the spot!

4.5 stars from me! I found the plot and premise of this book to be so super fun! It was a great read! I read other comments and just want to clarify, as a spicy wlw novel reader, I feel like this book was not super spicy. Sexy things were more so alluded to but not really described in detail. Definitely was rooting for Gray to find her perfect match and have a happy ending. If you love HEA, this book will deliver! Even if a bit stereotypical, getting to know the signs as Gray went on her dates was entertaining and interesting! Loved this one, one of my favorite Netgalley reads!

I loved quite a few things about this book: the astrology, the tour of NOLA, the southern & religious trauma (ha! I also grew up in the south... gimme a break. It was relatable). The sign archetypes were a lot of fun, and it had me guessing about what dates with future signs would be like.

The story was a little slow to get started for me, and the story felt a little predictable at times -- I mean we were literally dating through the zodiac, so what comes next wasn't too much of a mystery. But it was still enjoyable overall.

The timeline seemed a bit hurried, I was also a little taken out of the story because of the idea of a hard ending date (Gray's birthday) to something like a Saturn Return didn't ring true (and felt tushed). In astrology, major events like these (and eclipses, etc.) have some gray area of influence on either side of the "end date" and for characters who were supposed to be astrology-aware -- that felt like a bit of a miss.

Overall, it was a really fun and unique story. (I also really liked Veronica.) I would recommend it, especially if you enjoy astrology or have southern, queer religious trauma.

Looking for a Sign was a cute premise but ultimately a little thin. The central romance was obvious from the beginning so the "twist" didn't land for me. Still, a pretty fun read.
3/5 Stars

Thank you Net Galley and Random House for an eARC of Looking for a Sign!

I struggle a bit with rating this book. I absolutely loved the concept of Looking for a Sign of a late 20s queer woman having a major life change, and deciding the best way to find her way in life is by finding her true love by dating one of each sign. However, the execution felt lacking in numerous ways. 

First, I want to say how much this book meant to me. As a queer person from the conservative state of Oklahoma, all of the representation I manage to find in our libraries and bookstores are stories mostly taken place in New York, California, maybe the occasional Portland or Denver. I cannot think of the last time I read a piece of queer media that mentioned my state numerous times, not to mention that takes place in a conservative southern state. I did not realize how much this representation would mean to me until I read it and got to see someone like myself being represented and loved and happy in a state like my own. 

To later find out the author went to the same places, knows the some of the same people as me blew my mind. I thank Susie Dummond for showing queer readers like me that it is possible to be happily visibly queer in Oklahoma and other conservative states.

Now, onto my critiques. Starting at the beginning, there was a lot of “telling” instead of “showing” in the story, and this only continued throughout the book. Yes, beginnings of books are more likely to have exposition drops, but we are told Grey’s traits immediately before, or sometimes while, showing her character acting the exact opposite. We also learn so much about Grey’s past relationship that is central to her character development, but never meet the ex through the current timeline or through a flashback; we only get told everything about this important named character, but even still not much about her as a person.

Another example of us being “told” the story instead of “shown” is on what is the, for the lack of a better word, “gimmick” of the whole book: the first of the twelve zodiac dates. I was so excited to experience the highs and lows and specific zodiac characteristics of each dates, but we only see the very first few sentences of the first date and are then fast forward to the next day after their date. I know the zodiac dates are a bigger framing than the true purpose of the story, but it is confusing to miss the very first attempt at showing your reader what they came to the book for. 

Most importantly, I found the chemistry severely lacking in the ultimate love interest. I think she is an amazing character and romantic option, but the two seem to be at such different points in their lives and shown no romantic or sexual chemistry prior to the moment it becomes very obvious. I wanted to see more little moments of potential interest leading up — a flirty comment here, admiring something intimate about the other there, more signs of any kind.

There were many, many funny lines and situations in the book, which really did help me stay engaged. Grey is an absolute hot mess, someone you might root for, relate to, or might have you yelling at the page, but either way you have strong feelings toward. The characters and dates were all unique and special in their own way

I think Looking for a Sign has a chance to be a huge hit for queer people with or without knowledge in astrology, even if it did fall short for me in some major ways. Almost all of these could be fixed with another careful review, and I hope this is something that could be done before release as it has the potential to be a really special book.

To find my review after publication date, you can look on StoryGraph and TikTok with my username @notsobinaryart or @notsobinary.art on Instagram.

This was a pretty fun read, I binged it really fast! I did feel that dating just *one* person per astrology sign (which is what the MC did) wasn't super demonstrative of the sign as a whole, lol, but that aside, the different dates and experiences were a very fun read!

TWs - because there were so many characters, there a number of minor triggers, but the main one is this - gay kid forced into conversion therapy by parents (the MC)

-- ty to the author, the publisher and Netgalley for an advanced copy!

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
A sweet and spicy story I could not put down. It’s a cute LGBTQIAP+ story. I thought the idea of finding your life partner based on zodiac signs is amusing and not in a lot of books.

The idea of finding your life partner based on zodiac signs is an amusing one. Gray, the main character, has recently ended a ten-year relationship with her girlfriend after finally admitting to herself that her girlfriend is never going to be on the marriage with multiple children path that Gray wants. Gray has moved from Tulsa to New Orleans, where she is living with her best friend (Cherry) and her husband and son (Robbie and River respectively) and starting a new public relations job at a local school. Cherry arranged for Gray to see a renowned astrologer. As she recounted the experience to Cherry and they talked about astrology and its implications, they got carried away and came up with a plan where Gray will date one person from each zodiac sign in order from Aries to Pisces before her twenty-ninth birthday, six weeks away. That birthday coincides with Saturn’s return and is therefore particularly auspicious for making life changes.

I enjoyed the descriptions of the general characteristics of people born under each sign and how Gray and her best friend Cherry tried to tailor Gray’s ice-breaker questions on the dating app to fit the particular zodiac sign of the potential date. The dates were amusing, with some going really well and others being disasters. There was plenty of humor involved. The person that Gray ends up with is both surprising and not surprising, and there will be obstacles to overcome before they can attempt to make a relationship work. I liked that Gray did not limit her choices to woman who identified as lesbian but also included potential matches who identified as bisexual, transgender or nonbinary. I also liked that the author had Gray develop friendships with some of the people she dated. There were multiple dates where the romantic spark was missing but there were common interests that could and did form the basis of an ongoing friendship.

String romance. Weak point was the li but I adored the main char so much and the scenario was so wacky and fun. Thank s for the arc

3.5 ⭐️ - I was drawn in VG the concept of this book, the idea of dating someone from each zodiac sign was such a fun idea that I had to pick this us. There was thing I really enjoyed about this book. I liked following Gray along on her dates as she explored the world of dating post breaking up with her long term girlfriend. The dates were a mix of hilariously awkward to the point I was getting embarrassed for the characters to big smutty success’. I also liked that that Gray was a PR girl not working for an agency - as a fellow PR girl this was a nice change! I did also like the friendship between Gray and Cherry and their back story.

What I didn’t really jive with in this story was I felt like Gray was a bit dramatic and honestly pretty selfish at times. Some of the scenarios, especially around Cherry really made my stomach roll with second hand embarrassment of how out of touch she was at times with things going on beyond her sphere. I do think we see her grow a bit as a person but I honestly think that she still has a lot of growing up to do and I would have liked to have seen that happen within the book.

All that aside I did have fun reading this book and I was happy to see another LGBTQ+ fun romcom hitting shelves!

Thanks to NetGalley, Random House Publishing Group and the author Susie Dumond for providing me an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

So I'm not into astrology at all, but that didn't stop me from falling in love with this book which involves the main character trying to heal her heart by dating someone from each star sign to figure out who she is meant to be with. The plot about her love life was fun, but I also really loved the secondary plot about her work as the PR person for a private school (which begins to intersect with her love life as well)... So much fun and such a great concept for a book. One of those rom-coms that makes you think, duh, why hasn't anyone thought of this before!

Looking for a Sign is one of my new favorite novels. It was honestly just a really fun read, full of mini-adventures and a lot of well done characters. It tackled some more serious topics while also keeping an overall light tone. This was a book that I couldn't put down and tore through in one late-night read. I would recommend this to anyone and everyone!

Approaching her Saturn return, a celestial event occurring every 30ish years that apparently means big change in her life, Grey ends a decade long relationship in favor of searching for someone who shares her goals of having a family. After visiting a astrological psychic she gets the idea to try dating one person from each sign in order to learn more about herself and what kind of person she wants to spend her life with. Adventure ensues.

The Good Parts:
-This novel was fun, plain and simple. The series of dates spans the quite the range of experience so you get a bunch of mini-adventures packed into one novel. The characters were witty and entertaining, and I just overall really enjoyed the entire read!
-Dating: I almost never see a romance novel that features dating like this. Usually its a set couple working their way towards each other so this was a breath of fresh air, something different. I liked how it showcased that some dates are good, some bad, and some in between. The bad dates were/are not a fair judgement of you as a person and another good experience is around the corner. I also loved how many of the dates ended up as friendships which was nice to see in its own way as it showcased how all types of relationships can enrich your life, not just romantic ones (as well as how the Capricorn date ended, hah).
-The relationship between Grey and the eventual love interest was great in my opinion. We got to see it grow organically and develop better than most of the more shallow relationships that are often depicted. I also liked the ending and how it was more realistic and avoided the fairytale style one that I was expecting.
-Although lighthearted, the novel tackles some heavier and more serious issues and does it well. This includes Grey's experience growing up in a deeply religious and conservative household and town, as a queer person.
-Representation! Across the board excellent, no notes.

Not Parts Other People Didn't Like, But I Didn't Really Mind:
-The "twist" was incredibly obvious, but I personally didn't mind. I don't think it needed to be a surprise to be more effective, but at the same time it can be nice to have an unexpected twist.
-Each date was a strong stereotype of their sign. Again, this didn't really bother me because it was on theme and was meant (I think) to mostly demonstrate how exposure to different types of people can enrich your life in various ways and teach you things about yourself. They also addressed it directly in the novel in a later conversation about how astrology isn't really set in stone or tells the future. That said, it was slightly cartoonish how well everyone fit their stereotypes.
--Follow-up to above: I bet some people reading this may not enjoy the depiction of their sign if they were given one of the less likable characters. Oh well though!