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3.81 AVERAGE
3.81 AVERAGE
I would read a romance about two potted plants if it were written by Alexandria Bellefleur. She is quickly becoming one of my favorite romance writers, next to Casey McQuiston, for her last two books.
The second book in Bellefleur’s Written in the Stars series follows Brendon, ever the hopeless romantic, and Annie, ever the realist and skeptic. Watching them tease through the intricacies of falling in love, making huge life decisions, and navigating other friendships and relationships along the way was a true delight.
One of my only complaints about this book is that it didn’t have enough of Elle! She was by far my favorite part of the first book, and I sincerely hope that we get to see more of her in the next one! I’d highly recommend to anyone looking for a fun, sweet, quirky summer romance.
The second book in Bellefleur’s Written in the Stars series follows Brendon, ever the hopeless romantic, and Annie, ever the realist and skeptic. Watching them tease through the intricacies of falling in love, making huge life decisions, and navigating other friendships and relationships along the way was a true delight.
One of my only complaints about this book is that it didn’t have enough of Elle! She was by far my favorite part of the first book, and I sincerely hope that we get to see more of her in the next one! I’d highly recommend to anyone looking for a fun, sweet, quirky summer romance.
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Brendon and Annie were so cute, Brendon especially was just such a sweetheart which I loved seeing compared to the 'traditional' book boys that you see. The fact that he was the one obsessed with romcoms and huge romantic gestures whereas she was more sceptical was just such a nice switch up and I will continue to eat it up every single time. This was such a fun read, as most romances are, and a certain scene towards the end with Annie had me so giddy. I love these two so much.
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
funny
hopeful
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
emotional
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Minor: Cursing, Alcohol
This is a fun cozy romance book, but it's not quite the book for me. I adored Bellefleur's first novel, Written In The Stars, which was about two women; I'm a hard six on the ol' Kinsey scale, so I knew my experience with Hang The Moon would be different, but I was hoping for more in-depth engagement with queer themes, especially given the book is labeled a "queer rom com" on the back cover.
TO BE QUITE CLEAR: bi erasure is a real thing and I'm noooot saying that Annie (the bi protagonist) isn't queer. She's bi and that means she's 100% in the LGBTQ community! I just came to the book wanting to learn about how that impacts her life - how being bi impacts her feelings about (for instance) her dating history and her life goals, both subjects that are extremely important in the plot. The absence of discussion or introspection on those points felt strange to me.
In any event, that's not to say this isn't a pretty fun romance novel, but it falls short of Written In The Stars in a few ways for me. The conceit isn't quite as strong; Annie and Brendon's immediate unspoken attraction doesn't have any of the conflict or drama of Elle and Darcy's disastrous first date and hasty conspiracy of deception.
And the resolution, for me, was anti-climactic next to Written To The Stars. In WITS,. In Hang The Moon,
If you're looking for a cozy, low stakes read, this is a good fit, and hey, if you just NEED more Darcy and Elle, there's a lot of them in this, which is great! But as a romance novel it doesn't quite rise to the heights of Bellefleur's last novel, and if you're here for the LGBTQ content it's good to know that it's sparse and incidental.
TO BE QUITE CLEAR: bi erasure is a real thing and I'm noooot saying that Annie (the bi protagonist) isn't queer. She's bi and that means she's 100% in the LGBTQ community! I just came to the book wanting to learn about how that impacts her life - how being bi impacts her feelings about (for instance) her dating history and her life goals, both subjects that are extremely important in the plot. The absence of discussion or introspection on those points felt strange to me.
In any event, that's not to say this isn't a pretty fun romance novel, but it falls short of Written In The Stars in a few ways for me. The conceit isn't quite as strong; Annie and Brendon's immediate unspoken attraction doesn't have any of the conflict or drama of Elle and Darcy's disastrous first date and hasty conspiracy of deception.
And the resolution, for me, was anti-climactic next to Written To The Stars. In WITS,
Spoiler
Darcy is inexcusably cruel to Elle and then has to deal with the fear that she's permanently damaged the relationship; when she apologizes to Elle, she does so with humility, generosity and insight she wasn't capable of before. Likewise, when Elle walks out on Darcy and then ultimately forgives her she shows that she's grown stronger and braver, but hasn't lost her kindness in the process. It pays off both character's arcs, and their sadness before the reconcile is heartbreakingSpoiler
Annie decides she's moving too fast, and asks for time to think before she commits to Brendon. Brendon agrees. She thinks about it for three weeks, then commits to him. The stakes are pretty dang low.If you're looking for a cozy, low stakes read, this is a good fit, and hey, if you just NEED more Darcy and Elle, there's a lot of them in this, which is great! But as a romance novel it doesn't quite rise to the heights of Bellefleur's last novel, and if you're here for the LGBTQ content it's good to know that it's sparse and incidental.
I want to be a part of this friend group so desperately I love them all so much