This belongs on your shelf if you:
- Are into astrology
- Like hot messes that are hilarious
- Are a fan of the fake dating trope and meddling siblings
- Want to read about someone who makes their own fate
Review:
I wonder if I will ever get sick of the “grumpy, straight-laced perfectionist falling for the literal ray of sunshine that throws caution to the wind” trope in rom-coms. So far, it hasn’t happened yet and if you enjoy this trope as much as I do, odds are Written in the Stars will be right up your alley!
Not being the savviest in terms of Pride and Prejudice and Bridget Jones, I can’t really speak to the “reimagining” that the author did but I do feel like Darcy and Elle (Elizabeth) are modelled after their prickly and romantic counterparts in P&P more so than the plot being reused. Darcy is headstrong, proper, and likes everything to have its order. So, when she meets Elle for a blind date her brother set her up on (one of many that she never manages to talk her brother out of) and Elle proceeds to ruin not only her dress but her evening with her clumsiness, Darcy is not amused. And yet, when her brother asks her how it went, she tells him that it was a match made in heaven just so he will stop pestering her, which lands her in a semi-fake relationship with a woman who is everything Darcy is not: spontaneous, funny, and carefree.
Darcy and Elle’s dynamic in this book is perfect for anyone who likes to read about fake relationships, but needs that little bit of adversity, that little enemies-to-lovers feel to be fully invested. Both Darcy and Elle quickly realise that their differences aren’t really that much of an issue in the face of sparks flying wildly.
One of my favourite things about this story was the conflict Elle had with her family. Both Elle and Darcy have issues with their families – obviously, Brendon likes to meddle where he shouldn’t, but Elle and her family have an even worse relationship. Her parents don’t understand social media and don’t even try to see what Elle has built together with her best friend and what an amazing thing it is to be collaborating with Brendon’s company. Instead, they and her siblings tend to speak about nothing but stable jobs, benefits, their marital status, or their kids and it just was so relatable! I feel like even though social media is now part of everyone’s life to some degree, people still don’t see it as something more than entertainment, when in reality, a lot of works goes into it. Elle, being one half of the popular Twitter account Oh My Stars that gets a lot of interaction and requests is something that she and her friend have built over years together and is an incredible achievement that is just not taken seriously by her family. Somehow, that just really hit me in the feels.
Also, if you’re into astrology at all, or are more of a cynic when it comes to the stars determining your fate, you’ll love the discussions Darcy and Elle have about fate versus choice! I know I did.
Overall, Written in the Stars shows that prickly cynic meets sunshine incarnated works even better with sapphic protagonists!
Written in the Stars is available from Amazon, Book Depository, and other good book retailers, like your local bookstore, as of November 10th 2020.
Will you be picking up Written in the Stars? Tell us in the comments below!
Synopsis | Goodreads
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?
