Written in the Stars Review

 My thoughts on Written in the Stars by Alexandria Bellefleur

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5 stars

I think I found this on a Tik Tok about like what you should read after The Song of Achilles and so obviously I had to read this. I originally thought that this was a middle-grade because of the cover but no. It is definitely not. It is very steamy.

The Blurb

After a disastrous blind date, Darcy Lowell is desperate to stop her well-meaning brother from playing matchmaker ever again. Love—and the inevitable heartbreak—is the last thing she wants. So she fibs and says her latest set up was a success. Darcy doesn’t expect her lie to bite her in the ass.

Elle Jones, one of the astrologers behind the popular Twitter account, Oh My Stars, dreams of finding her soul mate. But she knows it is most assuredly not Darcy... a no-nonsense stick-in-the-mud, who is way too analytical, punctual, and skeptical for someone as free-spirited as Elle. When Darcy’s brother—and Elle's new business partner—expresses how happy he is that they hit it off, Elle is baffled. Was Darcy on the same date? Because... awkward.

When Darcy begs Elle to play along, she agrees to pretend they’re dating to save face. But with a few conditions: Darcy must help Elle navigate her own overbearing family over the holidays and their arrangement expires on New Year’s Eve. The last thing they expect is to develop real feelings during a fake relationship.

But maybe opposites can attract when true love is written in the stars?

The Plot

This book is a sapphic fake-dating enemies-to-lovers adult romance with nods to Pride and Prejudice and Bridgette Jones. It is about Elizabeth/Elle and Darcy (yes, just like Pride and Prejudice) who get set up for a blind date by Darcy's brother Brendon and it goes horribly because they both want very different things. But then of course Darcy tells Brendon that it went very well so that he will stop setting her up with people. When Elle finds out about this situation she is not happy but eventually agrees and the story goes on from there.

Thoughts

I really liked the writing style with the dual third-person perspectives and I also love the cover! They had these amazing little lists throughout the book from Elle's blog. I'll put an example.

What Rom-Com Are You Based On Your Zodiac Sign?

Aries - Fools Rush In

Taurus - Sweet Home Alabama

Gemini - She's All That

Cancer - While You Were Sleeping

Leo - How To Lose A Guy In Ten Days

Virgo - The Proposal

Libra - Sleepless In Seattle

Scorpio - My Best Friend's Wedding

Sagittarius - The Holiday

Capricorn - Two Weeks Notice

Aquarius - Clueless

Pisces - Never Been Kissed

I am a Pisces and I have never watched that movie so I'll have to check it out. But anyway I've always found lists like these very fun to read. The chemistry between Elle and Darcy was perfect too.

The Characters

Elle

Elle is an astrologer and one of the creators of the Oh My Stars twitter blog. She is about to enter into a new contract with the OTP dating app run by Brendan. She dreams of finding her soulmate and lives with her best friend Margot. Her family are very unsupportive of her career and are overall not very nice to her.

Darcy

Darcy is definitely my favourite character. I just love her! She works as an... umm... oh yes actuary. I forgot what they do but supposedly maths stuff and she is studying for a test she needs to pass to get a promotion. She is very cynical and doesn't believe in the stars or soulmates because she has gotten her heart broken before and decided to not trust it. She also has a not very good mother. Her best friend is Annie whom I also love.

Brendon

Brendon is Darcy's brother and the creator of OTP. He is sweet and caring and just an amazing cinnamon roll. I believe the next book is about him and Annie which I'm quite excited for.

Margot

Margot is Elle's best friend and fellow creator of Oh My Stars. She is such a strong badass character and I love her for it. When Elle got through a heartbreak Margot is right there for her and it is great. She is also very funny. The third book is about her and some person I don't know yet. 

Annie

Annie is Darcy's best friend. In the parts we see of her she is travelling in Berlin and speaking German which is very cool. At first I didn't like her because she was trash-talking Elle with Darcy over the phone during their date but then we got to know them both and I love her now! Again, the next book is about her and Brendon which sound like a lot of fun.

The Negative

Although I did really enjoy this book there is one critique I have. There was a misunderstanding at the end. I get why it's there, to have a grand act of forgiveness and stuff but I prefer if it's just something else instead of that. 

Who I Would Recommend This To

I think I would recommend this to people who love contemporary romance and LGBTQ+ books and also people who love astrology.

Content Warnings:

Misogyny, some family trauma, attachment trauma, homophobia (framed in a negative light), cheating (off-page)

If You Liked This Try Reading:

- Hani and Ishu's Guide to Fake Dating (I've never actually read this but the blurb sounds similar)

- One Last Stop (Very different plot but another great sapphic book)

My Rating System
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ = LOVE

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5 = Almost love

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ = Really like

⭐️⭐️⭐️.5 = A bit better than 3 stars

⭐️⭐️⭐️ = Like

⭐️⭐️ = Meh

⭐️ = Hate/dislike/DNF