Lauren Sweet’s narration enhances the comedic, charming, and sensual elements of this audiobook to make it a star of a rom-com. Actuary Darcy is as regimented as her statistical analyses. Astrologist Elle is her opposite—spacey and colorful. Both are pressured by family to find love, inspiring the two to fake a relationship during the holidays despite their disastrous first date. Elle enthusiastically reads zodiac-centric lists, and Darcy’s perfectionism is revealed as she warily agrees to new experiences. Naturally, all the time they spend faking their ruse leads to real feelings. Sweet’s nuanced narration is evident in its details such as a spooky storyteller’s voice to set the scene of an escape room and a voice that cracks with emotion during a tearful outburst. A.L.C. © AudioFile 2021, Portland, Maine
Written in the Stars: A Novel
Narrated by Lauren Sweet
Alexandria BellefleurUnabridged — 11 hours, 11 minutes
Written in the Stars: A Novel
Narrated by Lauren Sweet
Alexandria BellefleurUnabridged — 11 hours, 11 minutes
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Overview
Everything you could want in a rom-com. Featuring LGBTQ+ protagonists, witty dialogue and a sharp narrative voice, this is a Pride and Prejudice retelling that will warm your heart with the perfect combination of love and fun.
""I was hooked from the very first page!” - Christina Lauren, New York Times bestselling author of In a Holidaze
""This book is a delight."" - New York Times Book Review
A National Bestseller and winner of the Lambda Literary Award for Best Lesbian Romance! Featured on Shondaland, Oprah Mag, Bustle, The New York Times Book Review, Buzzfeed, POPSUGAR, Entertainment Weekly, Washington Post, NPR, Culturess, Vulture, and more. Named one of the Best Romances of 2020 by Washington Post, Bustle, and Buzzfeed!
With nods to Bridget Jones and Pride & Prejudice, this debut is a delightful queer rom-com about a free-spirited social media astrologer who agrees to fake a relationship with a grumpy actuary until New Year's Eve-with results not even the stars could predict!
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.
Darcy begs Elle to play along and she agrees to pretend they're dating. But with a few conditions: Darcy must help Elle navigate her own overbearing family during the holidays and their arrangement expires on New Year's Eve. The last thing they expect is to develop real feelings during a faux relationship. But maybe opposites can attract when true love is written in the stars?
""Everything I want from a rom-com: fun, whimsical, sexy."" - Talia Hibbert, USA Today bestselling author of Get a Life, Chloe Brown
Editorial Reviews
This book is a delight…
★ 08/10/2020
A disastrous blind date kicks off Bellefleur’s excellent rom-com debut. Elle Jones, an eternally optimistic astrologist, and Darcy Lowell, a tightly buttoned actuary who’s given up on love after a past betrayal, realize almost immediately that, though their physical chemistry is electric, their personalities mix like oil and water. Still, when Darcy’s brother, Brendon, who set them up, asks Darcy how it went, she says it was great to get him to stop worrying about her love life. Elle resents being pulled into the lie—but agrees to play along to get her own family off her back. As the women spend more time together, ironing out the details of their fake relationship and going on double dates with Brendon, they begin to see each other’s differences as turn-ons rather than turn-offs, and the line between reality and pretend blurs. Readers will be rapt by the sensuous love scenes once Darcy and Elle throw pretense aside—but Darcy’s inability to admit her feelings might still keep the couple from their happy ending. A moving subplot about Elle’s fight for her family’s acceptance rounds out the story, while astrology memes (“What brunch food are you based on your zodiac?”) and nods to Pride and Prejudice scattered throughout add texture. This is a delight. Agent: Sarah Younger, Nancy Yost Literary Agency. (Nov.)
Written in the Stars is everything I want from a romcom: fun, whimsical, sexy. This modern Pride & Prejudice glitters with romance.” — Talia Hibbert, USA Today bestselling author of Get a Life, Chloe Brown
“With perfectly woven vulnerability and playfulness, Written in the Stars is a riotous and heartfelt read. I was hooked from the very first page!” — Christina Lauren, New York Times bestselling author of In a Holidaze
"Bellefleur has a droll, distinct voice, and her one-liners zing off the page, striking both the heart and funny bone. She has a gift for comedy, possessing more style and panache than a debut writer has any right to... There's a sparkling quality here, one that mirrors the starry title. Bellefleur writes as if she's captured fairy lights in a mason jar, twinkly and lovely within something solid yet fragile." — Entertainment Weekly (Best Romances of November)
"This book is a delight." — New York Times Book Review
“There are many, many Pride and Prejudice retellings out there, but Written in the Stars by Alexandria Bellefleur might just be the best.” — Popsugar (Best New Romance Books in November)
"Just what 2020 needs: a delightful rom com that once again gives us the beloved fake relationship trope — and the fuzzies you didn’t know you needed." — Shondaland (5 Best Books of November)
"[A] distinctly modern frolic, charming and effervescent and entirely itself." — Washington Post
“In this heart-thawing holiday romance, debut novelist Bellefleur remixes Austen's indelible clash of personalities into something fresh and totally queer.” — O, the Oprah Magazine (Best LGBTQ Books of 2020)
"If you love the fake-dating trope, you won't want to miss Written in the Stars." — Bustle
"A disastrous blind date kicks off Bellefleur’s excellent rom-com debut... Readers will be rapt by the sensuous love scenes once Darcy and Elle throw pretense aside... A moving subplot about Elle’s fight for her family’s acceptance rounds out the story, while astrology memes (“What brunch food are you based on your zodiac?”) and nods to Pride and Prejudice scattered throughout add texture. This is a delight." — Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"A delightful, heart-warming romance, Bellefleur's novel shows eloquently how two characters can fall in love more deeply than either dared to dream. So whether you follow astrology or not, Written in the Stars has the reading you won't want to miss." — NPR
"[A]wkward first dates lead to passionate first kisses and time spent together reveals there is more to both women than meets the eye... Fans of pop culture–inspired astrology sites will love the effortless and entertaining way the author weaves zodiac memes throughout the text. The stars align in this charming queer rom-com." — Kirkus Reviews
"Bellefleur’s debut sprinkles amusing listicles throughout the text as Elle and Darcy cautiously move from uneasy allies to friends to something more. Well-developed leads, relatable conflicts, a strong supporting cast, and opposites-attract chemistry make for an engaging read. Fans of Alexis Hall's Boyfriend Material and Talia Hibbert's Take a Hint, Dani Brown will enjoy this Seattle-set love story that reads like a romantic holiday movie." — Booklist
"Polar opposites come together in Bellefleur’s cheerful #ownvoices debut... A dash of Pride and Prejudice and Bridget Jones’s Diary, mixed with a fresh, millennial f/f twist of opposites attract." — Library Journal
"Written in the Stars abounds with optimism and empathy for its characters, its wit always undergirded by sweetness. This is a comfort read, at a time when many of us need one badly, and a sparkling debut for Bellefleur." — Olivia Dade, author of Spoiler Alert
"Alexandria Bellefleur is an author to watch. Her writing is joyful and heartfelt, and her voice sparkles with a delightful mix of wit, humor, and good-natured sarcasm. I can't wait to see how she wows us next!" — Mia Sosa, USA Today bestselling author of The Worst Best Man
"WRITTEN IN THE STARS had me hooked from the first page. It's an adorable and heartfelt romance with everything I adore: a killer meet-cute, loads of cute banter, steamy love scenes, all the feels, and a happily ever after that left me in happy tears. I fell head over heels for Elle and Darcy's love story. Alexandria Bellefleur's debut will have readers seeing stars in the best way.” — Sarah Smith, author of Faker & Simmer Down
"A dazzling debut! The perfect combination of humor and heart really makes this book shine.” — Rachel Lacey, author of Don’t Cry for Me
“Written in the Stars is what you might get if your favorite Instagram astrologer wrote you an adorable romance novel. Delightful, funny and sweet, with just the right touch of woo-woo.” — Scarlett Peckham, USA Today bestselling author
"Alexandria Bellefleur has crafted an impeccable debut romance in WRITTEN IN THE STARS: lighthearted and sexy, contemporary and timeless, perfect to enjoy during the holiday season or for celebrating queer love any time of the year.” — Shelf Awareness
“WRITTEN IN THE STARS is the gay contemporary Pride and Prejudice retelling I’ve been looking to read for forever, and I so hope everyone who needs to read this book finds it. Elle’s openness and positivity and Darcy’s guardedness and skepticism and how they come together is a joy to read. Please check this one out. I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.” — Culturess
Written in the Stars is everything I want from a romcom: fun, whimsical, sexy. This modern Pride & Prejudice glitters with romance.”
"If you love the fake-dating trope, you won't want to miss Written in the Stars."
"This book is a delight."
In this heart-thawing holiday romance, debut novelist Bellefleur remixes Austen's indelible clash of personalities into something fresh and totally queer.
"[A] distinctly modern frolic, charming and effervescent and entirely itself."
With perfectly woven vulnerability and playfulness, Written in the Stars is a riotous and heartfelt read. I was hooked from the very first page!”
"Just what 2020 needs: a delightful rom com that once again gives us the beloved fake relationship trope — and the fuzzies you didn’t know you needed."
"Bellefleur has a droll, distinct voice, and her one-liners zing off the page, striking both the heart and funny bone. She has a gift for comedy, possessing more style and panache than a debut writer has any right to... There's a sparkling quality here, one that mirrors the starry title. Bellefleur writes as if she's captured fairy lights in a mason jar, twinkly and lovely within something solid yet fragile."
There are many, many Pride and Prejudice retellings out there, but Written in the Stars by Alexandria Bellefleur might just be the best.
"[A] distinctly modern frolic, charming and effervescent and entirely itself."
Written in the Stars is what you might get if your favorite Instagram astrologer wrote you an adorable romance novel. Delightful, funny and sweet, with just the right touch of woo-woo.”
WRITTEN IN THE STARS is the gay contemporary Pride and Prejudice retelling I’ve been looking to read for forever, and I so hope everyone who needs to read this book finds it. Elle’s openness and positivity and Darcy’s guardedness and skepticism and how they come together is a joy to read. Please check this one out. I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.
"Written in the Stars abounds with optimism and empathy for its characters, its wit always undergirded by sweetness. This is a comfort read, at a time when many of us need one badly, and a sparkling debut for Bellefleur."
"Bellefleur’s debut sprinkles amusing listicles throughout the text as Elle and Darcy cautiously move from uneasy allies to friends to something more. Well-developed leads, relatable conflicts, a strong supporting cast, and opposites-attract chemistry make for an engaging read. Fans of Alexis Hall's Boyfriend Material and Talia Hibbert's Take a Hint, Dani Brown will enjoy this Seattle-set love story that reads like a romantic holiday movie."
"Alexandria Bellefleur has crafted an impeccable debut romance in WRITTEN IN THE STARS: lighthearted and sexy, contemporary and timeless, perfect to enjoy during the holiday season or for celebrating queer love any time of the year.
"WRITTEN IN THE STARS had me hooked from the first page. It's an adorable and heartfelt romance with everything I adore: a killer meet-cute, loads of cute banter, steamy love scenes, all the feels, and a happily ever after that left me in happy tears. I fell head over heels for Elle and Darcy's love story. Alexandria Bellefleur's debut will have readers seeing stars in the best way.”
"A delightful, heart-warming romance, Bellefleur's novel shows eloquently how two characters can fall in love more deeply than either dared to dream. So whether you follow astrology or not, Written in the Stars has the reading you won't want to miss."
"A dazzling debut! The perfect combination of humor and heart really makes this book shine.”
"Bellefleur’s debut sprinkles amusing listicles throughout the text as Elle and Darcy cautiously move from uneasy allies to friends to something more. Well-developed leads, relatable conflicts, a strong supporting cast, and opposites-attract chemistry make for an engaging read. Fans of Alexis Hall's Boyfriend Material and Talia Hibbert's Take a Hint, Dani Brown will enjoy this Seattle-set love story that reads like a romantic holiday movie."
10/01/2020
DEBUT Polar opposites come together in Bellefleur's cheerful #ownvoices debut. Elle is a free-spirited social media astrologer. Darcy is a straight-laced actuary. On the surface, they have nothing in common, which is why their first blind date is a complete disaster. When Elle hears Darcy telling a friend on the phone that she thinks Elle's a hot mess, Elle ditches the date in disappointment. But Darcy's brother Brendon is pushing Darcy to go on more dates, so she claims she and Elle are a couple to get him off her back. Only Elle, who works with Brendon, discovers Darcy's lie. What can they do except to pretend to be a couple so that Brendon will stop interfering in Darcy's life and Elle can impress her family? The two sign a contract to "break up" on New Year's Eve, and only their growing attraction stands in the way of messing up their perfect arrangement. VERDICT A dash of Pride and Prejudice and Bridget Jones's Diary, mixed with a fresh, millennial f/f twist of opposites attract.—Kathryn Howe, Saint John Free P.L., NB
Lauren Sweet’s narration enhances the comedic, charming, and sensual elements of this audiobook to make it a star of a rom-com. Actuary Darcy is as regimented as her statistical analyses. Astrologist Elle is her opposite—spacey and colorful. Both are pressured by family to find love, inspiring the two to fake a relationship during the holidays despite their disastrous first date. Elle enthusiastically reads zodiac-centric lists, and Darcy’s perfectionism is revealed as she warily agrees to new experiences. Naturally, all the time they spend faking their ruse leads to real feelings. Sweet’s nuanced narration is evident in its details such as a spooky storyteller’s voice to set the scene of an escape room and a voice that cracks with emotion during a tearful outburst. A.L.C. © AudioFile 2021, Portland, Maine
2020-08-19
Two wildly different women fall in love while fake dating.
Elle Jones is on her way to a blind date with Darcy Lowell, and disaster seems imminent. Not only is this the latest in a string of dating disappointments, but she’s running late and wearing a pair of sexy undies so uncomfortable she can “practically taste her spring-fresh laundry detergent.” Despite Elle’s best intentions, the evening is, in fact, horrible. Where free-spirited astrologer Elle is endearingly optimistic, straight-laced actuary Darcy is harshly realistic. Elle loves cheap boxed wine; Darcy orders a $56 glass of Chardonnay. Elle believes in soul mates and is determined to find her own; Darcy had her heart broken by her ex-fiancee and is no longer interested in falling in love. Elle writes the night off as another loss, but Darcy has different plans. Tired of having her brother, Brandon—who's the creator of a dating app that's collaborating with Elle’s astrology business, Oh My Stars—meddling in her love life, she lies and says the two hit it off. When Darcy asks her to go along with the lie, it turns out that Elle has her own reasons to take part in a fake dating scheme: Her family finds her lifestyle unstable and unsuitable, and she thinks presenting herself in a solid relationship might take some of the pressure off. The plot doesn’t deviate much from other fake-dating favorites—awkward first dates lead to passionate first kisses and time spent together reveals there is more to both women than meets the eye. But the plot’s predictability doesn’t detract from its two compelling leading ladies, and there are interesting conversations around nontraditional career paths and breaking away from familial expectations. Fans of pop culture–inspired astrology sites will love the effortless and entertaining way the author weaves zodiac memes throughout the text.
The stars align in this charming queer rom-com.
Product Details
| BN ID: | 2940176987447 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | HarperCollins |
| Publication date: | 11/10/2020 |
| Edition description: | Unabridged |
| Sales rank: | 1,004,105 |
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