Star-Crossed has an interesting premise but I could not get into it as I never connected with any of it--the (re)meet cute, the wacky idea leading to repercussions, the you know what's coming cue the happy ending--none of it worked for me. In addition, the familiar plot took a while to get going as there's at least fifty or so pages that could be cut from the first third of the book. The characters were okay, as they hit the trope marks, but Justine and Nick weren't memorable. While Star-Crossed would make a great Netflix rom com, it doesn't quite connect as a book.

This was a cute book that I imagine will be quite popular once released. The story was clever and definitely entertaining, if a bit circuitous. The side plots between chapters came together beautifully and very satisfyingly at the end in a very Love Actually kind of way but were rather confusing and lacked context through the first 80ish% of the book. I ended up really enjoying the story and was definitely invested in the last quarter of the book, but it did took me a while to get through it. The ending was wacky and adorably chaotic and tied together perfectly making any kind of “trudging” I did fully worth it.

Thank you to NetGalley for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

Nick and Justine are childhood best friends until their families move a part. They later run into each other as adults, Justine a copy runner and Star Magazine and Nick an actor. Justine still finds herself in love with Nick and Nick loves astrology and is a big believer the Stars in the big shot astrologists horoscopes, and astrologist that no one has seen. When she gets promoted and now transcribes the horoscopes for the magazine. Justine decided to change Nicks horoscopes to make him fall in love with her but little does she know she’s turning him to an ex girlfriend and making life changes to many other readers.

Nick and Justine are childhood friends who meet cute again as adults, only Nick doesn’t quite feel that initial spark. Justine looks to the stars to give destiny a nudge. This will they/won’t they rom com will delight fans of astrology. It’s already an international hit and will certainly take the US by storm.

Justine and Nick are childhood friends who shared both the sandbox and one night of teenage romance. Now ten years have passed without contact until they unexpectedly run into each other. Their friendship is quickly rekindled and Justine's crush on Nick is as well. Unfortunately Nick has a supermodel almost-fiance and Justine has missed her chance at a grown-up romance with her childhood friend. Then again, Nick also makes most of his important life decisions based on his monthly horoscope; the same horoscope that Justine edits at her job so maybe not all hope is lost. Obviously Justine messes with his horoscope and obviously it has ripple effects on other readers in their community and obviously I loved it.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book! It's full of laugh-out-loud antics, awkwardness, and angst. Darke does a fantastic job of creating characters who are so flawed as to be relatable, but loveable at the same time. The story is also unique in that, in one sense, it's many stories that weave throughout an overarching love story. They all come together in a satisfying finale. Absolutely wonderful!

Justine and Nick have been friends since basically birth. After losing touch for approximately a decade, they run into each other again. 

Nick loves reading the horoscopes in the magazine Justine works for, and Justine decides to start changing the horoscopes to give Nick hints about how she feels about him.

But he doesn't get it.

Instead, he sees the stars taking him a different direction, despite Justine feeling like she's giving good clues.

I loved how this book captured various characters and how reading the stars affected their decisions. I'll fully admit I'm not one to look at my horoscope (total Virgo here), but while reading this book, it occurred to me that plenty of people likely do. And that they see them as confirmation to decisions they need to/want to make. 

I think it was a really neat way of encapsulating how Justine's actions affected not just Nick, but anyone who read the magazine.

It was also interesting to see just how differently each person interpreted their stars, even multiple people under the same sign. I also loved how some of the characters connected with each other throughout the book. As a reader, I was wondering if all these various people we were being introduced to would somehow meet up, and some of them do. 

I read this book with baited breath, hoping that Nick would finally see the direction Justine was trying to lead him with his stars. 

Overall, Star-Crossed is a great read, and I highly recommend it to anyone looking for a romance under the stars.

I came across Minnie Darke’s newest novel, Star-Crossed, on Taylor Jenkins Reid’s Instagram page and then went on NetGalley to request for it immediately. Star-Crossed follows Justine and Nick, childhood friends, who bump into each other as adults. When Justine learns that Nick has complete faith in the stars and religiously reads his horoscope in the magazine she works for, Justine decides to take Nick’s horoscope and fate into her own hands. Overall, this was a cute romcom and it reminded me of when I was growing up, I used to read the astrology section in the newspaper everyday along with the advice columns which were a guilty pleasure of mine. I liked the way that the chapters were broken out and that it flowed pretty well. There were so many characters introduced, but it somehow worked well. The story was a bit too cheesy for me though. I wasn’t a big fan of the cusp chapters and felt that the other subplots were a bit boring even though I understood why the author included those. If you’re looking for something light to read or are a fan of romance novels, I’d recommend this.

Disclaimer: I received a free advanced digital copy of this book from Crown Publishing in exchange for my honest opinion. This has no effect on my opinion, review or rating.

"When the Moon is in the Seventh House
And Jupiter aligns with Mars,
Then peace will guide the planets
And love will steer the stars" *

Yes, there are more to these words than one can imagine. There are those, whose horoscopes rule their lives. For Justine, a Sagittarius and Nick an Aquarius it would be the stars that might (or might not) bring them together. As it happens, Justine is a writer for Nick's favorite magazine, and Nick is an actor who is completely devoted to reading the magazine's horoscope as if his life depends upon it. As children they were friends until his family moved away until one day they reconnect. With a little help from Justine, the stars are re-aligned...

This delightful romcom was a delight to read. For myself I am not a reader of horoscopes, but putting that aside, this book was a light story that was entertaining, humorous and a joy. My thanks to Netgalley for this advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

*Lyrics from the song Aquarius from the play "Hair"

I wanted to like this book, but I found myself bored. The astrology bit was too cutesy for me, although I do like books about people reconnecting (that's what kept me going). I can see a lot of people liking this however. It just wasn't for me. Thanks to NetGalley and Crown Publishing.

I really wanted to love this book. The idea behind it was so cute, but it just didn’t draw me in like I’d hoped. While I enjoyed the side stories about how the horoscope effected others, it just made the book feel a bit too choppy for me. I got invested in someone and then you didn’t hear about them again until the end where everything was wrapped up nicely. The story was there and I did enjoy it, but the choppiness threw off my reading vibes.

I received an advanced copy in exchange of an honest review.

I thought this book was extremely unique. I had never read a book quite like it before to be honest. It had a super cute romance within it and full of astronomy/zodiac elements. Definitely recommend!

Star-Crossed is a touching story about friendships & choices. I was instantly hooked & enjoyed the characters immensely. I would recommend this book to anyone!