JULY 2021 - AudioFile
Lauren Sweet narrates a whimsical romance between a die-hard romantic and a cynical skeptic. Annie and Brendon have known each other since they were kids, but the timing for romance has never been right. Now that Annie is unexpectedly in town, Brendon decides to throw caution to the winds and persuade her to take a chance on love. Sweet captures Brendon’s unshakable belief that love will conquer all, while also deftly showing Annie’s more complex and unsettled view: Sometimes love can lift you up, but it can also let you down. Ultimately, true love wins, of course. Sweet delivers a performance that will surely make the heart of any romantic sing. K.M.P. © AudioFile 2021, Portland, Maine
From the Publisher
"Smart, sexy, and sweet. Readers will be over the moon for this rom-com." — Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
“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
"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)
“Hang the Moon reads like a classic rom-com, updated for the 21st century. Bellefleur peppers the book with Seattle landmarks and traditions and occasional nods to classic rom-com films. Snappy banter and modern dating humor brighten this grounded yet optimistic romance, and though the story feels complete, readers will ache for just a few more pages as they fall in love right along with Brendon and Annie.... Readers will laugh, swoon and be swept away, along with the characters, in Alexandria Bellefleur's sparkling romance.” — Shelf Awareness
"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) on Written in the Stars
"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
"[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 on Written in the Stars
"If you love the fake-dating trope, you won't want to miss Written in the Stars." — Bustle
"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
"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, on Written in the Stars
"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
"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
“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)
“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
"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
"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
"This book is a delight." — New York Times Book Review
Christina Lauren
With perfectly woven vulnerability and playfulness, Written in the Stars is a riotous and heartfelt read. I was hooked from the very first page!”
Talia Hibbert
Written in the Stars is everything I want from a romcom: fun, whimsical, sexy. This modern Pride & Prejudice glitters with romance.”
Bustle
"If you love the fake-dating trope, you won't want to miss Written in the Stars."
Entertainment Weekly (Best Romances of November)
"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."
Shelf Awareness
Hang the Moon reads like a classic rom-com, updated for the 21st century. Bellefleur peppers the book with Seattle landmarks and traditions and occasional nods to classic rom-com films. Snappy banter and modern dating humor brighten this grounded yet optimistic romance, and though the story feels complete, readers will ache for just a few more pages as they fall in love right along with Brendon and Annie.... Readers will laugh, swoon and be swept away, along with the characters, in Alexandria Bellefleur's sparkling romance.
Olivia Dade
"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."
Mia Sosa
"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!"
Booklist
"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."
Culturess
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.
Scarlett Peckham
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.”
New York Times Book Review
"This book is a delight."
Rachel Lacey
"A dazzling debut! The perfect combination of humor and heart really makes this book shine.”
Shondaland (5 Best Books of 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."
the Oprah Magazine (Best LGBTQ Books of 2020) O
In this heart-thawing holiday romance, debut novelist Bellefleur remixes Austen's indelible clash of personalities into something fresh and totally queer.
NPR
"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."
Sarah Smith
"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.”
Washington Post
"[A] distinctly modern frolic, charming and effervescent and entirely itself."
Booklist
"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."
Washington Post
"[A] distinctly modern frolic, charming and effervescent and entirely itself."
JULY 2021 - AudioFile
Lauren Sweet narrates a whimsical romance between a die-hard romantic and a cynical skeptic. Annie and Brendon have known each other since they were kids, but the timing for romance has never been right. Now that Annie is unexpectedly in town, Brendon decides to throw caution to the winds and persuade her to take a chance on love. Sweet captures Brendon’s unshakable belief that love will conquer all, while also deftly showing Annie’s more complex and unsettled view: Sometimes love can lift you up, but it can also let you down. Ultimately, true love wins, of course. Sweet delivers a performance that will surely make the heart of any romantic sing. K.M.P. © AudioFile 2021, Portland, Maine
Kirkus Reviews
★ 2021-01-27
A woman who doesn’t believe in love and a man who's made finding love his life’s work discover that real romance is more complicated than either imagined.
Annie Kyriakos has just arrived in Seattle to surprise her best friend, Darcy. With Annie’s constant travel for her job at a human resources consulting firm and Darcy’s preoccupation with her new girlfriend, Elle, the two haven’t seen each other in more than a year. But Annie’s got other motives for her impromptu visit: She’s moving to London for a promotion and wants to tell Darcy in person. The bad news? Darcy is on vacation in Vancouver. The good news? Her brother, Brendon, has the key to her apartment. When Brendon Lowell, hopeless romantic and founder of dating app OTP, hears that Annie is in town, he hopes he might have another shot with his teenage crush. At dinner, the two hit it off immediately. But Annie is not looking to be swept off her feet, especially not by her best friend’s younger (though unexpectedly very handsome) brother. In fact, Annie thinks love is dead, and dating apps like Brendon’s are partly to blame. So, Brendon devises a plan: He’ll take cues from his favorite rom-com films to prove to Annie that romance is real and, with a little help from Darcy, Elle, and their friend Margot, convince her to leave her unfulfilling job and stay in Seattle. The rom-com re-creations give the plot some structure. Tropes including “there’s only one bed” and embarrassing moments like falling into a lake in formal clothes are used to great result—but the author doesn’t let the gimmick overtake strong character development, and the writing feels fresh, never derivative.
Smart, sexy, and sweet. Readers will be over the moon for this rom-com.
