I didn’t enjoy this one and I ended up DNFing around 60%. There was a lot going on, probably too much and I just couldn’t bring myself to care about any of it. I’m not sure if it’s my age as this is a YA novel, but I just couldn’t connect to a single aspect.

DNF @ 10% Thank you to NetGalley and Wednesday Books in exchange for my honest thoughts.

I really wanted to love this one. I thought this premise was so interesting but I felt like the pacing didn't pick up enough for me to get hooked. I did read to the end to figure out what happened and what I expected to happen did happen. I think the characters read a bit younger than 18 but I still think this story would work well for younger YA readers.

3 stars. Tops.

What happens when you live for Fate? Piper is a senior in high school and comes from a thick family history of Fated loves in the cozy town of Crescent Falls. Along with her best friend Diana and Leo, she makes her way through their senior year searching for her Fated one. Meeting Forest at a party one night, thanks to Leo, she suddenly feels the Blessing of Fate and knows him to be the one for her. But she’s never dated before and enlists the help of Leo to teach her the way.

I loved the idea/concept of this book, but it just fell so flat for me. Was the book enjoyable, I guess. But there could have been more. Predictable, even in the early pages, there was only the question of how far the FMC would go to keep the Blessing going. I really had to force myself to finish this.

While I didn’t love this book I think it be great for someone else definitely a younger reader. This book’s premise was almost identical to anther book I read this year ( and enjoyed a lot more). There was much back and forth when the outcome seemed obvious from the beginning. Just wasn’t my favorite.

Did not finish. I could not get into the story. The writing was nice but I wasn't connecting with the plot.

All the Stars Align by Gretchen Schreiber is the kind of story that doesn’t just entertain. It reaches into the quiet, complicated corners of your heart and holds them with startling tenderness. I went into this book expecting a sweeping love story and vibrant world, but what I found was so much deeper. It is a raw, beautifully layered reflection of what it means to live with chronic illness/disability and the exhausting emotional gymnastics of constantly balancing not only your own expectations, but the expectations of those around you.

Piper is, without question, one of the most resonant protagonists I’ve ever encountered. Her journey feels achingly familiar to anyone who has ever carried the invisible weight of a body that doesn’t always cooperate. A body that people either misunderstand, romanticize, or resent. Schreiber masterfully portrays the emotional tightrope of navigating illness, ambition, and legacy, weaving Piper’s personal struggle into the larger constellation of family history and cultural identity. There is this heartbreaking nuance to how Piper shoulders both her dreams and the dreams inherited from generations before her. Expectations carved by love, heritage, and unspoken sacrifice.

What truly elevates All the Stars Align is how seamlessly Schreiber balances the personal and the fantastical. The worldbuilding is lush without ever feeling overwhelming. Every star-studded sky and every moment of cosmic wonder is threaded with the same quiet ache and hope that pulses through Piper herself. The universe here feels vast and intimate all at once. A place where love, legacy, and pain collide under a backdrop of shimmering possibility.

Character development is where this novel absolutely shines. Piper is complex, vulnerable, and resilient in ways that feel deeply real. Especially to those of us who understand the dual exhaustion of managing our own limitations while constantly translating them for others. Some might perceive Piper’s optimism as a flaw of the young. But I see it as something far more powerful. There is a beautiful kind of strength in holding on to hope when the world meets you with sidelong glances and quiet judgment. When your body betrays you, when others doubt you, choosing to keep believing in your own future becomes its own quiet form of rebellion.

The pacing is beautifully calibrated. The story unfolds with a steady rhythm, giving space for introspection without sacrificing momentum. Schreiber knows when to linger in the quiet, reflective moments and when to let the plot crest into heart-stopping emotional turns. It is a rare balance, and it makes every chapter feel earned.

All the Stars Align is more than a love story or a coming-of-age tale. It is a luminous testament to survival, identity, and finding your place in a world that doesn’t always know what to do with complicated, imperfect bodies. It is for the chronically ill and disabled, the dreamers with aching bones, and the quiet fighters trying to carve out space beneath the weight of legacy.

This book is hope written in stardust, and I will be carrying it with me for a long, long time.

Inspired by Taylor? Say less. Bonus points for such a cool cover.

I enjoyed this a lot! A really beautiful story that, at it's heart, is all about learning to respect your own desires. As a recovering people pleaser, I related to Piper's journey immensely. This book felt like glowing fairy lights, warm and somewhat magical.

Piper has always believed in a magical blessing that would tell her exactly who she was fated to be with. Everyone in her family lives and breathes the true love blessing, and Piper wants nothing more than to fit in. When she finally feels it, she enlists her best friend to help her figure out what to do next.

This has shades of Cyrano alongside Taylor Swift’s Enchanted, combining to make a slightly magical YA romance.

This was sweet and refreshing, though I will admit that there were points where Piper drove me a bit crazy. I think this would really find its home among younger teen readers.

Author Gretchen Schreiber’s story is enticing, and her exploration of the power of choice is worthwhile. The story is fairly predictable; I knew the outcome early on, and the aunts’ manipulation of Piper is beyond frustrating. Good book, first time reading from this author.

Thank you, NetGalley for an ARC for honest review.

All the Stars Align is a sweet story, but it was just an okay book overall. The writing is fine, but there were a lot of grammatical errors. The storyline was predictable, but the characters were pretty likable. There were a couple of mentions of a bisexual experience that seemed out of place and forced. Maybe it was to support the “I am who I am no matter what you want me to be” theme. I loved the inclusion of the main character having scoliosis and some physical issues because of having it. There was some language in it which made it more appropriate for a YA novel, but I felt like the love triangle angst was more on a junior high level. Anyone who has ever had trouble with feeling “seen” or been steered into a certain type of job or relationship because of their family’s history will be able to relate to this book.

This book was ok, but not great.

I really liked Piper's character for most of the book, but her unwillingness to look beyond "The Blessing" for love was hard.

I know, it's just a story, but I do feel that sometimes people ignore love that's right in front of them, in the hopes of finding something better.

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC! This was really cute and heartwarming, with an interesting magical twist

I have received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

"You asked Fate for a love that your family would talk about forever," he says and flips the coin into the pool. "They won't forget us."


Okay, All the Stars Align was all kinds of cute. I really enjoyed watching Piper and Leo fall in love. There's just something special about friends becoming lovers. Especially when they both had crushes on one another. Throw in some magic about finding your true love, and that might make things a bit messy.

I truly thought Leo had a crush on her the entire time and was just waiting for this guy to say it out loud. Then with Piper, we always knew she felt some type of way but didn't think he felt the same. So, yeah, they did what all normal people would do in this situation... push the other away. As for Forest, meh. He could be a great friend... to them. Maybe. I don't know.

Love triangles are a hit or miss. I'm honestly not a fan of them and I didn't really care for this one. Mostly because I knew in my heart that Leo and Piper were endgame. If they weren't, well, then I would be planning a riot. Then there's Diana and Lauren; they totally had those vibes and I'm glad that Piper now knows.

This was such a cute book, and I can't wait for the next one Gretchen writes!

Oh, to find the true love! This is that story, family pressure, ticking clock and the women in her life know the moment they meet the one. No pressure at all. Maybe she missed it and she already met the one? She is going to need all the help she needs to she enlists her friend Leo.

This a cute story of family, finding love and loving yourself.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for a copy of this book for my honest review.

A quick take: I do tend to enjoy YA but I think I've read so much that eventually things just become to easy for me to figure out what is going to happen before it does.

Unfortunately this felt like a case of an interesting premise that didn't quite live up to what was promised. What could have unfolded as a deeply meaningful story about choosing your own life vs the life chosen for you, with some magical realism thrown in, fell a little flat. The pacing was a bit rough, and the characters felt younger than 18. I guessed the ending very early on, and felt a little exhausted by how long it took the characters to come to the same conclusion. I appreciated the disability representation but it also felt a little off to me, as thought it was an after thought instead of a more integrated part of the main character. It wasn't a bad book, but it also wasn't great.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is a cute, fun YA novel. I enjoyed reading it a lot!

Thank you St. Martin's Press for the ARC!

3-stars

All the Stars Align is a very sweet YA romance that was a great palate cleanser for me! The main character Piper lives under the pressure of her family traditions and grapples with the possibility of being one of the only family member who doesn't get a chance to participate in them. She has to make some hard decisions about living true to herself or giving in to the expectations her extended family has for her.

I think this story would be a perfect read for teenage readers, and I think younger me would have eaten this up! I really appreciated the representation of a disabled character and how the author put some of her own life experiences into that representation.

The story, for me, ended up being very predictable which made it difficult to get through at times, but I know a lot of people would really love this take on a story about Fate and decisions.

2.5 stars

A somewhat cute, but rather predictable YA romance. The story focuses on Fate and believing it can do everything for you and knows what's best. It also focuses on family and how they are the most important thing and know Fate will fix it all. Supposedly.

The main character, Piper, believes in her family's Blessing and is waiting for her turn to receive it. The Blessing chooses the person's love, and Piper's family believes it is the most important thing and no one should ever go against it or the family itself. I found myself frustrated a lot with this book. Piper believes in the Blessing and not disappointing her family so much that she won't make any choices or herself. Her job, her college degree, her love life, everything revolves around what her family wants and letting the Blessing choose her love for her. Because she believes so much in all of this, she can't see how incredibly toxic her aunts are.

Piper's parents divorced, going against the Blessing and everything the family stands for, Piper can't accept this at first, and conspires with her aunts to get them back together. No one can accept that Piper's parents went against the Blessing and have their own thoughts and dreams and feelings. Piper's aunts basically threaten her with getting them back together in order for her to be able to take over the family jewelry business. Towards the end of the book the aunts pull an absolutely ridiculous stunt, which for any normal family would have been waaaay over the line and really ground in how toxic they are. Just because you have a family doesn't mean they are always good or that you have to stick by them no matter what.

The romance and how everything works out is rather predictable. There is a love triangle, which I don't generally enjoy, that comes about because of the Blessing and Piper's absolute stubbornness over it. Also, you will never forget there is a Blessing, as it is mentioned on damn near every page. And if it's not, then fate is.

I think this will appeal to younger teenagers. Though the teens in this are all 18, they certainly don't act like it most of the time. But the whole Fate and Blessing storyline will fit better with a younger crowd than those of us who have grown up and out of those kinds of things.

I just need to start by saying definitely Taylor swift vibes. Loved the romance and it felt like a Taylor swift album.