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benjch 's review for:
Written In The Stars
by Alexandria Bellefleur
I picked this up expecting a standard trope-y romance, but there was something about it as I read that made this really stand out.
For a book that leans into tropes so hard (fake dating, enemies-ish to lovers, golden retriever/black cat), it actual subverts a lot of the tropes. At first glance I thought I knew what this was going to be, and I kept expecting to get hit with the same old plot points I've come to expect.
The biggest one, the one the whole book sets you up for is the standard miscommunication trope. When a love story is going very well but half the book is left, you just know someone's going to overhear something out of context and storm off. What I love about Written in the Stars is that Bellefleur.
Darcy and Elle are definitely trope-y characters. I know for a fact that if I met Elle in real life I would not be able to stand her. But there's a reason these tropes exist. We can't help but root for two people that are so different to come together and find common ground.
I will say, the whole dating app astrology thing is weird, and was probably the biggest struggle for me. I know you need a generic Hallmark movie subplot to keep things on the rails, but it's just kind of awkward. Also Darcy's brother is an ass and you can't convince me otherwise. The main storyline romance is amazing, but the set dressing I could take or leave.
This was just shy of perfect, but if you like Emily Henry or others in that vein, I think you will love this. 4/5
For a book that leans into tropes so hard (fake dating, enemies-ish to lovers, golden retriever/black cat), it actual subverts a lot of the tropes. At first glance I thought I knew what this was going to be, and I kept expecting to get hit with the same old plot points I've come to expect.
The biggest one, the one the whole book sets you up for is the standard miscommunication trope. When a love story is going very well but half the book is left, you just know someone's going to overhear something out of context and storm off. What I love about Written in the Stars is that Bellefleur
Spoiler
has that tense moment of overhearing, but it isn't really out of context. When Darcy says it's complicated, she says that because to her it really is complicated. Darcy and Elle have different needs and want different things from the relationship at the start, and they have to legitimately work through that. It feels like a real romance between two real people who really need to work out their differences. There's no "they get married and ride off" at the end. They both know there's a possibility that things don't end up working out, but theyre willing to take that chance. Chef's kissDarcy and Elle are definitely trope-y characters. I know for a fact that if I met Elle in real life I would not be able to stand her. But there's a reason these tropes exist. We can't help but root for two people that are so different to come together and find common ground.
I will say, the whole dating app astrology thing is weird, and was probably the biggest struggle for me. I know you need a generic Hallmark movie subplot to keep things on the rails, but it's just kind of awkward. Also Darcy's brother is an ass and you can't convince me otherwise. The main storyline romance is amazing, but the set dressing I could take or leave.
This was just shy of perfect, but if you like Emily Henry or others in that vein, I think you will love this. 4/5