Written in the Stars by Alexandria Bellefleur
“Elle loved herself, but what a feeling it must be, being loved by someone else exactly as you are, quirks and warts and all. She wouldn’t know.”
Even though this book isn’t perfect, I did find it quite addictive
I enjoyed this book. Written in the Stars is a fast-paced, fun, and light-hearted story. Yet there were some downsides such as the sometimes very strange translations and typos (in the Dutch version at least). The characters felt a bit flat and the ending was quite rushed. I finish this book very quickly. Once I started reading, I couldn’t stop!
Synopsis
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?
I love this cover. I like the colors, Elle and Darcy and the star constellations. The only regret I think is the translation of the title. In Dutch, the title of this book is “Elle & Darcy” and I don’t like that title. For me, the title could have stayed the same or just translated to “Written in the Stars” or something.
The storyline was fun. I enjoy the whole fake dating trope. Beware; this book is aaaaall about the romance. We don’t really see much of Elle and Darcy’s lives besides their love life and relationship. I also had the feeling that there were still many loose ends that should have ended. I thought Written in the Stars was going to get a sequel just because so many questions came to mind at the end. So it turns out that the book is indeed a standalone and I have to make do with this information.
The end was a bit too rushed. Bellefleur clearly wanted to end this book, and it shows. One more chapter could have been added to close the remaining loose ends, and it would’ve been much better.
Elle and Darcy were great characters to follow. Written in the Stars is written in two point-of-views, Elle’s and Darcy’s. Normally I find this is okay. I don’t really have a preference – one point of view or multiple – but in this book it was quite confusing. The story is also written in third person, so I would’ve liked to know whose turn it was to speak. Just put ‘Elle’ or ‘Darcy’ at the beginning of the chapter. It would make it much easier for me to actually know who is speaking. The fact that this was lacking, created an extra distance between me and the characters. I couldn’t connect as much with the characters as I would’ve liked.
Both women also lacked some depth. It’s not like I had no connection with them, but I know just a too little about them to really be 100% invested in the story.
One detail I loved was the constellation lists. Almost everyone has already looked up which color suits their month of birth or zodiac sign. In Elle & Darcy you will occasionally come across such a list and you will find out which Christmas song, brunch dish or rom-com you are based on your zodiac sign.
I cannot say much about the writing style of the author, because this book is strangely translated. Not only are there typing and writing errors in the book, the sentences were also sometimes very strange. It was as if someone ran the sentences through Google Translate and put them in the translation. That sometimes bothered because I had to read certain sentences several times before I finally understood what they meant. Had I read the book in English, my rating would probably have been slightly higher.
Do I recommend it?
I mean… yeah. I am a sucker for sapphic romances, so I would probably still recommend it even though it wasn’t the best book I read this year.
Trigger warnings
Explicit sex scenes, lying, cheating
Representation in this book
F/f romance, lesbian mc, bisexual mc, gay side character, pansexual side character
Genre
Romance
Pages
384
Publication date
November 10th, 2020
About the author
Alexandria Bellefleur is an author of swoony contemporary romance often featuring loveable grumps and the sunshine characters who bring them to their knees. A Pacific Northwesterner at heart, Alexandria has a weakness for good coffee, Pike IPA, and Voodoo Doughnuts. Her special skills include finding the best Pad Thai in every city she visits, remembering faces but not names, falling asleep in movie theaters, and keeping cool while reading smutty books in public. She was a 2018 Romance Writers of America Golden Heart finalist.
Do you like fake dating tropes? Let me know in the comments!
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