A very fun idea, well executed. Perfectly predictable love interest, but on the way you get to guess how the date with each zodiac sign will go.

The definition of lesbian is someone who loves girls, and nonbinary/gender non conforming peoples. Trans men are men regardless of appearance. I’m not trying to gatekeep lesbianism but definitions of words are important in a world where labels matter. I liked the tarot aspect of the story and the challenge of finding people from each zodiac. I saw the main couple of this book coupling up way before they did.

Gray, the main character has recently moved to New Orleans after a break-up from her long-term girlfriend. She has moved in with her best friend Cherry, Cherry's husband Robbie, and their toddler son River. She helps out with River, and takes time to get herself familiar with the city before finding a place of her own.
Cherry convinces her to go to an astrologer, Madame Nouvelle Lune, to get her palm read. Following this visit, the two decide that since Gray, at nearly twenty-nine is reaching a turning point in her life astrologically, she should date people from every sign to determine which she was most compatible with. A deadline of her upcoming birthday in six weeks is agreed upon.
Gray's new job is doing PR and marketing for a local private school system. She ends up late for an first meeting with one of the school system's new principals, Victoria. But she begs for a second chance and works hard to put together a number of ideas to help the principal in her drive to make the school more diverse and bring new material to their curriculum.
The two meet outside of work when they go to the same park, Gray with River, and Victoria with her son, and this begins a new friendship for her.
As Gray works her way, in order, through the star signs, starting with her own sign Aries, she makes other friends, and has a few sexual experiences.
The idea of the storyline is interesting, but Gray felt a little naive for her age on the personal level, unlike her professional persona. I also felt a lack of depth in the characters, and some generalizations and depictions that made me a little uncomfortable, particularly in terms of sexual identity. I feel like the book could have used some sensitivity readers to address this.
The novel had some great passages, but overall it failed to really grab me. The ending saved it a bit, and the extra material was novel and interesting.

I wanted to love this book SO badly. I bought a signed copy even after being granted a digital ARC because I thought this would be an instant favorite. I’m so torn in how to review. I’m disappointed for sure, and I finished it almost out of spite. I guessed where it was going and got almost annoyed when I realized I was right. I loved the premise. The first time talking to my now spouse on the phone was going over my birth chart and learning about my sign and I only started really looking into astrology because of them so I was expecting all the warm and fuzzies. Instead, this was a character who was hard to root for. She seemed immature and stubborn and like she was following this idea as an end-all be all and while she learned from that narrow view, it was like 98% what are you doing vs. 2% growth rushed at the very end in an unrealistic way. It’s hard to talk specifics without spoilers, but I wanted to love Gray so much more than I did. But it got to the point where I was writing snarky “what did you think was going to happen” comments in the margin. I think if the pacing was swapped a bit and her clusterfuck experiment (which was a lot of fun) was more 50% and then 50% growth and lessons learned I would have been way more on board. But it was really unbalanced and hard to root for and stop from rolling my eyes.

This was definitely a cute read! I hadn't read anything like this before & ended up really enjoying it. It kind of felt like speed dating in a way & although I don't really understand astrology I had fun with it. I kind of would have liked to see her end up with one of the girls she dated, but I still liked how it ended!

Thanks to Susie Dumond & NetGalley for the chance to read this book in exchange for an honest review!

3 stars.

"Looking for a Sign" by Susie Dumond boasts a fun, sexy spin on the dating-after-divorce trope, roping in astrological signs as the catalyst for the main character, Gray, to get back out there and try to find something long-lasting for herself in a new city. She has just moved to New Orleans for a new job and to be closer to her best friend and godson. Together, they devise a plan for Gray to date someone from each zodiac sign to see their compatibility. I don't personally think 'speed-dating' each zodiac sign in such a short time frame would lead to relationship longevity, but stranger things have happened, and Gray winds up finding love in the place she least expected. I don't feel like I learned a whole heck of a lot about the different zodiac signs, but this was still a compelling book for the most part. I went back and forth on how much I liked Gray as a character. She is pretty naive and exceedingly immature, but she also seems to have her head in the right place? It was a bit of a conundrum. Gray had more chemistry with at least one of her dates than she did with who she winds up with. All in all, this is a mixed bag on the romance front (though I wasn't wowed by her chemistry with anyone, quite frankly). My biggest issue with this book is it feels like it ends too quickly and too conveniently. The story takes a long time to unfold, but then gets quickly wrapped up with little to no fanfare. It gave me whiplash! This book likely won't make my "best of" list, but it was a mostly entertaining read nonetheless.

Thank you to NetGalley, Susie Dumond, Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, and Dial Press Trade Paperback for the complimentary ARC of this book. All opinions are my own. I was not compensated for this review.

Yes yes yes! This book got everything right!

I was actually heartbroken when this book ended because I didn’t want to leave the world of these characters. The way these characters were written makes them feel like you are friends with them. It really feels like you are a part of their lives and story.

I was worried that the astrology aspect of this book would be confusing to me since I am not super knowledgeable on it, but I found it to be super palatable and easy to understand! It actually helped me understand astrology better!

Our FMC is going through a crisis after a 10-year long relationship comes to a plummeting end. Getting to follow her story is so intriguing and fun! I really think everyone can enjoy this story and highly recommend if you love a wholesome sapphic romcom!

4.5 stars rounded up

Gray has recently moved to New Orleans for a life change. She recently broke up with her long term girlfriend. They wanted different things. She moved in with her best friend Cherry and her husband and son, River. She has a new job as a PR consultant with a private school in New Orleans. She meets with a famous astrologer. Who tells her she is in Saturn Return and this is a good time to date each of the astrology signs. Gray and Cherry decide that Gray should date each of the astrology signs before her 29th birthday.

I really enjoyed this book. It was a fun pride read. A book filled with heart and finding one trueself. I don't really believe in astrology but it's fun to read about. This book helped me out of a reading slump.

A deihtfulqueer rom com. Not usually a fan of astrology, but I think this was a wonderful book and a perfect addition to queer romance!

This was so much fun! I loved the characters, the NOLA setting, the astrology quirks - just a delight all of the way through! I was rooting for this couple as soon as I met them and it made the read all the sweeter!

This was my second Pride month read and possibly the best. I was overwhelming entertained by Susie Drumond's latest magical story of astrological romance. I was smiling during my entire read. I love it when a book leaves me feeling blissed out.

Thank you to Random House Publishing Group - Random House | Dial Press Trade Paperback and NetGalley for providing an eARC for a honest review.

If you like Astrology and romcoms this is the book for you! I thought this one was cute, but towards the end it got a little cheesy! The love connection was obvious, but their “love conversations” seemed awkward.
Gary grew up in a very religious household and as soon as she could get out she did. She came out as a lesbian in her late teens and it made her parents disown her. A decade later she is getting over a relationship and moves to New Orleans to be near her best friend. After seeing an Astrologist and hearing that she needs to find her mate before her birthday she comes up with a plan to date one of each astrological sign in the next six weeks hoping to find her true love. It was fun going through all of her dates and their connections.

I knew from the moment this started with the main character going to a professional astrologer I was going to be invested in this story. I really enjoyed the story starting off with the information about year 29 being the Saturn return. I think it's a part of life that is pretty accurate, not in so much because of the astrology, but because a lot of humans go through life changes at that time naturally. Friends settling down, having kids, figuring out what the next part of life is. As someone who's a little older than 29 but still feeling the changes of life, I related to that hard.

From there Gray and her bestie Cherry come up with the plan to date someone from every single one of the Zodiac signs and boy were there some fun dates. Gray starts off with a bang and from there she starts going on a ton of dates, while also managing her new job as a PR representative for a local private middle school. I really enjoyed the fact that the author didn't make Gray sleep with everyone and on top of that not every sex scene was open door. The best moment in the book by far is the scene with Gray finding out the Virgo, Stephanie, was a republican and Gray leaving mid sex scene. 10/10 experience.

I wish some of the zodiac signs weren't so stereotypical. Like the Cancer being emotional and the Leo being self-absorbed were let downs. Those signs have so much more to offer and Gray to learn about and it was just a missed opportunity.

Well well well this one is a winner! This story follows Grey on an adventure of dating one person from each sign to see who she's compatible with hopefully to find her soulmate. While I did feel these dates were a bit too soon after she broke off from a ten year relationship (1 think some time alone would've benefited her) I did really enjoy this whole book. Grey was a great main character. She was real and her traumatic backstory was so heartbreaking. The religious background of both Grey and her bestie Cherry was done really well.
There aren't many stories out there with this forced religion storyline and I love that this was told. Aside from that, Grey and Cherry have such a great friendship and Cherry's son is just a peach! It was fun following Grey on all her dates. It could've easily gotten boring with twelves dates but they were all so unique and fun it made for a great read. The ending was a bit predictable who she ended up with but I was happy Grey took the time and realized what she actually wanted in life compared to what she thought she wanted.
Overall this is a sweet sapphic romance that will have you hooked on this wild astrology ride from the beginning!

This book was quite cute. Overall, I'd say it was a good read that offered up lots of humor. Gave me plenty of laughs and left me smiling.

🌟2.5 Stars 🌟
Honestly I think this book would have been more compelling if it was lit fic and not a romance novel. The structure of Gray dating every sign in the zodiac was really fun, but it led to there being less time for her to form a relationship with Veronica. I would have liked this book more if it was focused on Gray’s self discovery and becoming an independent person. She spent a decade in her previous relationship and from what I gathered she never got to be a single queer adult. I wish she wouldn’t have ended up with anyone. The big third act discussion with Cherry really hammered that home for me. Gray has put all her former religious beliefs into the idea of fate and she has a fairy tale idea of what her future marriage will be. I don’t think she needs to rush into getting a girlfriend I think she needs to be single and go to therapy.

I am bummed to say that I was really disappointed to read the main character stating that she was a lesbian, but would date a trans man. Trans men are men, and othering them in this way was a huge turn off.

Other than that, I did not find the main character to be particularly likable, and I felt that she had zero romantic chemistry with her main love interest, which made the ending feel super lack luster.

I thought the astrology concept in this book was super fun. Unfortunately the main character gray was just so unlikable the way she treated her best friend almost had me DNF the book.

𝚁𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐: 4 ⭐️
𝙶𝚎𝚗𝚛𝚎: contemporary romance 📚

𝙼𝚢 𝚃𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚐𝚑𝚝𝚜:
A fun and unique sapphic romance

𝚁𝚎𝚊𝚍 𝚒𝚏 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎:
Astrology
Sapphic romance
Mid life crisis
Friends to lovers
NOLA setting
Found family
Online dating

𝚃𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚜 𝙸 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎𝚍:
The side characters were great

𝚃𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚜 𝙸 𝚍𝚒𝚍𝚗’𝚝 𝚌𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚏𝚘𝚛:
It was a little too astrology based for me- I don’t love that they were characterizing people by their signs but it was fun

I had to double-check how Looking for a Sign was being promoted, because the tag I received is that it is a romance. When I went looking for the tag on purchase sites, I noticed it wasn’t getting high ratings and I think I know why. It could technically be called a romance, but it is more of a fiction book. The main character sleeps with multiple people in the story and in romances, unless they are poly are kink related, readers have a tendency to like one person for one person.

The other major issue, for me at least, is that on Location 84, Susie Dumond has the character think of herself as a “lesbian.” During the dating challenge, Gray goes out with Niko. When Cherry, Gray’s best friend, notices that Gray uses the pronoun “he” to refer to Niko, she questions Gray about going out with a “him.” Gray replies, “Niko. Trans man.” Is this supposed to imply that because Niko is AFAB that Niko is a lesbian too? Or does Gray not really see Niko as a man? This is a huge faux pas on the author’s part. If Gray recognized that Niko is a man, then Gray would either be bisexual or pansexual. I think if you are going to write about something you may not know all of the nuances of, you might want to get a sensitivity reader to ensure that no missteps occur.
I agree with Gray’s final thoughts in regards to herself and her maturity level. This was an issue I struggled with throughout the story because it is beyond obvious.

I think I had just seen this as LGBTQ+ fiction versus a romance, I would have enjoyed it more. I confess to wanting my romance to be fantasy and not like real-life.