If, like me, you read Written in the Stars you not only fell in love with Darcy and Elle but also Brendon. (If you haven’t read it, go get it and thank me later.)

Brendon believes in Happily Ever After. Brendon cries at weddings, loves rom coms and believes in the power of the “grand gesture”. For someone who has built his career on being the ultimate matchmaker and created an app to do just that, Brendon still hasn’t met his “one”. Or has he? When his childhood crush and sisters’s best friend comes for a visit, she is jaded in love, not sure if her current career and career plans are making her happy and is at a crossroads in her life. Brendon (with the help of Darcy) takes the opportunity to show Annie that taking a chance and moving closer to her friends and opening herself up to love, may be worth the risk.

The love and friendship between Darcy and Annie was a joy to behold. I enjoyed how this book included the importance of friendship and being with your “people” and didn’t make it only about the relationship with your partner.

I appreciated that the relationship between Annie and Brendon felt more realistic than many romances. No manufactured drama was needed. Instead, the author was able to capture the fear and uncertainty in making important life changes and/or beginning new relationships.

Hang the Moon is a charming, feel good, rom-com that makes you feel hopeful and believe in the power of love and friendship. Highly recommend to all lovers of romance.

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon for the advance review copy in exchange for my honest feedback!

** Thank you to NetGalley & publishers for a copy of this book in return for an honest review! This review contains opinions that are only my own.

A huge part of this review will be made shorter just by saying: if you want to read this you really really should read Written in the Stars before. You could get by without, but I feel like I’d be a lot more out of touch with these characters if I haven’t read Written in the Stars beforehand.

The book did an amazing job expanding on Annie and Brendon both, but a lot more Annie than Brendon. I think that’s mostly because we got to know Brendon quite well in Written in the Stars. In this we see some of his personality expanding and we see new sides of him, but the basics are in Written in the Stars. Annie, however, we learn all about in this. We even learn how her and Darcy became friends and Annie’s feelings towards their friendship.

I really loved the slow, slow, slow coming together of these characters that will literally take the reader until the end of the book. The main problem is introduced early and the reader is kept wondering how this problem of Annie moving in two weeks will be solved if they want a relationship. It almost felt like I was in a relationship with them because I wanted to love this ship so much but then my heart would remember but..... the problem reminded me to not love them too much yet.

The ending is a nice wrap up to the story and satisfies the plot of the book. The romance is written through a lot of dialog, which was written like watching a tv show or movie. The plot itself takes place over two weeks and it’s fast paced, but fast paced because it keeps the reader so entertained and needing to know how this all ends. Even though the romance feels agonizingly slow (in a good way), it’s actually a fast falling if you remember it’s only two weeks in time.

One thing I can say that let me down a little more than Written in the Stars is that I felt like a lot of character traits were just switched, like Darcy never wanted to fall in love but Elle made her fall... the same exact plot is used here with Annie not believing in love and Brendon dedicates time to make her fall in love. There’s more of a big emphasis on that main belief in this book but it was a huge parallel. Even some quotes are the same, like both couples look at each other “like they hung the moon,” which would be cute to reference the title had it not been said in Written in the Stars too.

I was also a little disappointed in Darcy with this book, I know Elle had a big part in opening her up, but it seemed like Darcy was a totally different character other few little quirks mentioned like all porcelain cups, plates and dishes. But her dialog was more like Elle’s personality until the very end. I feel like if someone reads this before Written in the Stars they’ll be disappointed in Darcy being so different in the first book to this.

I highly recommend this book to those who have read Written in the Stars. Annie and Brendon are lovely characters who feel like personal friends to the reader. The author does an amazing job of putting the reader in the middle of the story instead of having the reader reading it like a memoir. However, I would have to recommend reading Written in the Stars before Hang the Moon. I feel like I would love this equally as much had I not read Written in the Stars, but I wouldn’t appreciate the side characters at all like I do now.

Hang the Moon is the companion novel to Alexandria Bellefleur’s first novel, Written in the Stars. It follows Annie as she surprises her best friend, Darcy, by visiting her in Seattle. She ends up spending a lot of time with Brendon, Darcy’s brother, as he shows her around the city. Brendon runs a dating app, is a hopeless romantic, and has had a crush on Annie since he was a kid. As they start to grow closer, Annie’s upcoming move to London becomes more difficult to accept.

GOD this book was so perfect. Both of the books in this series have been so absolutely delightful and charming. I smiled the entire time reading this. Alexandria Bellefleur has such an incredible way of creating characters that are so loveable, realistic, and easy to root for. Her novels are exactly what I’m looking for when I read romance, and I am so excited to read everything she releases in the future.

I fell in love with Brendon in the first book, with his inability to wink, his love for all of my favorite romance movies, his need to meddle in everyone else’s love life. I was so happy to see he was getting his own book, and even happier to say it lived up to all of my expectations. So many romance novels focus on men who are ‘alphas’, who suck at expressing their emotions. Brendon is the complete antithesis to this. He is an absolute sweetheart. There is never a time where he’s holding himself back to appear more ‘manly’, he’s just a dork who wants to live in a Nora Ephron film.

As for Annie, I loved seeing her internal monologue. Her reasons for the things she was feeling were so realistic and understandable, which is another thing I don’t see enough of in romance novels. Her fears of getting hurt didn’t made her an unlikable character, as she never took out her problems by hurting those close to her.

One of the highlights of Hang the Moon was definitely seeing Annie and Darcy’s relationship. Darcy is one of my favorite book characters of all time, and getting to see more of her, especially this more mature and evolved version of her that we got at the end of Written in the Stars was such a delight. Alexandria Bellefleur has a really strong talent in writing relationships that feel deeply rooted and natural, so seeing so many different relationships at play withing Hang the Moon made it that much more special.

Written in the Stars was one of my favorite releases of 2020, but with it being her debut adult romance, I was nervous that her future books wouldn’t pack the same emotional, endearing punch. I’m so glad to say that wasn’t the case at all, and Hang the Moon is a perfect follow up. Alexandria Bellefleur is proving herself to be my perfect author.

Thank you so much to Netgalley and Avon for providing me an eARC in exchange for a review!

3.5 stars. I have to say I’m a bit disappointed because I absolutely loved Written in the Stars. Maybe my expectations were too high. I just had a hard time connecting with the characters. Brendon and Annie, especially Annie, were very two-dimensional. Brendon is too into finding love, Annie has given up on finding love, and that’s basically the entire story. The author spent way too much time repeating the same things instead of delving deeper into the characters. There was so much potential for this to be a 4-5 star read. Nevertheless it was cute, I enjoyed it anyway, and I’m excited to read Margot’s story in 2022. I also have to say I appreciate so much that this book included a bisexual protagonist in a relationship with a person of the opposite gender, and not one person implied that it made her bisexuality any less valid and real!

Thank you NetGalley, author and publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Annie works for an independent human resources firm in Philadelphia and has accepted a promotion as a managing director at their London office. She books a spur of the moment trip to Seattle to surprise her best friend, Darcy, with a visit before she moves.
Darcy’s brother Brendan is a hopeless romantic, having created a dating app, One True Pairing. He also had a major crush on Annie when he was a teenager, but now that he’s all grown up (all 6’4” of him) he’s caught her eye. When Brendon finds out Annie believes romance is dead and has sworn off dating, he becomes determined to change her mind.

I was really excited when I got the email and I thank NetGalley, Avon Books/ Harper Voyager, and Alexandria Bellefleur for graciously accepting my request for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Hang the Moon is the follow up to Alexandria Bellefleur’s debut novel, Written in the Stars, but it can be read as a stand alone. However, if you plan to read Written in the Stars, read it first as this gives away quite a bit of that story.

I really enjoyed this book. It was well written and the perfect, feel good rom-com; sweet, funny, swoony, and light.

I loved Annie and Brendon and their chemistry. Brendan is super sweet, swoony sunshine, and has a bit of a naughty side. He’s super adorkable.

The supporting characters (most from the first book) were fun and warm. It really makes me want to go back and read Written in the Stars, even though I vaguely know what happens now. I liked that the book touched a lot on the friendship between Annie and Darcy and that Darcy was the meddler this time around.

There were horoscope additions in a few chapters that are fun, a nod to the first book.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. I’m going to go back and read Darcy and Elle’s story and look forward to the third addition, coming in 2022.

Brendon believes in your One True Love. Annie's sick of the revolving door that many who date in the digital age are far too familiar with. Do two people coming at love from truly opposite ends of the emotional spectrum have a chance at love?

The answer—thank goodness, is yes! This was a joy to read, to return to the ensemble cast I've come to love, to get inside the mind of people-pleaser, fix-your-problems Brendon, and to meet Darcy's elusive best friend, Annie. HANG THE MOON explored different themes and backstories than its predecessor WRITTEN IN THE STARS but it was no less RomCom pitch-perfect and oh-so-swoony.

I love Alexandria's gift for writing emotionally complex characters without miring a plot in overwrought angst or melodrama. Her conflict feels believable, her characters' flaws realistic, and yet this still feels so deliciously decadent because she hits those romance beats without fail. Yes, we have realistic characters but we're surrounded by the whimsy and wonder, the joy and butterflies of romance that is such a lovely counterpoint to the obstacles woven throughout her narrative.

In short, HANG THE MOON, like WRITTEN IN THE STARS is truly your quintessential feel-good, swoony, endearing RomCom. I love the diversity and inclusion of this story (and series) in its representation of queer love and its bold love for the romance genre within its own pages. Lovers of RomCom movies, grand gestures, and countless nods to the hope & big heart of the romance genre will be delighted with this next installment, out Spring 2021!

Thank you to Avon & NetGalley for this advance review copy—all opinions are my own!

I didn't read the first book so I was unprepared for the level of cuteness coming at me. The writing is witty and well-done. I knew Annie was going to be the wishy-washy waffling one (though with good reason). I also liked that Brendon was the sweet romantic since we typically see that attributed to the female characters.

Kindly received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Hang the Moon is a truly charming sequel to Written In The Stars. It centers on Annie, Darcy's best friend who lives in Philadelphia but recently got a big promotion and will be moving to London. She decides to surprise Darcy with a visit -- only to find out that Darcy is out of town for the weekend with her girlfriend Elle. Annie ends up spending the weekend with Darcy's brother, Brendon, who is the creator of the dating app One True Pairing. He is a diehard romantic who believes in grand gestures and true love. He is appalled that Annie has given up on dating and makes it his mission to make her believe in love again. Surprise, surprise, they end up developing feelings for each other and Annie has to decide if she'll follow her plan and move to London or follow her heart and move to Seattle.

Admittedly there's not a ton of plot in this book -- but sometimes you don't need it! The book is mostly Annie and Brendon bopping around on various cute dates and trying to pretend they're not wildly attracted to each other (before they give in and starting hooking up *cue the steam*). But it's a charming read and Annie and Brendon are likeable characters who are easy to root for. I also really liked the developments in Annie and Darcy's friendship, as Darcy realizes she's been a mediocre friend to Annie, and Annie realizes how much she values true friendship -- and the degree to which she lacks that in Philadelphia. All in all, it's a very cute read and I'd highly recommend to anyone looking for a fun (and steamy!) romance!

Thank you to NetGalley, Avon, and Harper Voyager for the ARC in exchange for an honest review

Written in the Stars was one of my top 2020 reads so I jumped at the chance to read Alexandria Bellefleur's second novel and it did not let me down

I would recommend if you're looking for (SPOILERS)

-m/f friends to lovers
-vacation romance
-childhood crush
-best friend's younger brother
-only one bed
-opposites attract
-a sunshine, cinnamon roll of a hero who is also a hopeless romantic
-a jaded, bisexual, heroine, giving up on love
-so many callbacks to my favorite romcom movies
-a mishap on a ferris wheel
-so much sexual tension
-a love fern
-flirting through traslations

I loved this book. Such a comfort read, a true romcom. I love, love, love Brendon. He is just too precious for words. How open he is with his feelings, how sweet he is, and spicy behind closed doors. His fascination with romantic comedies and proving to Annie that love isn't dead. I have found my nest book boyfriend.

Annie wasn't a grump, she leaves that to her best friend Darcy, but she's not optimistic. Resigning herself to a job she doesn't love, wary after too many bad dates. The tension as she fights her feelings for Brendon was just so good. The horoscopes, the grovel, I love everything about this book.

I also have to give a shout out to Darcy who was the comedic relief in this one for me. Every time she came back into a scene, her dry wit and that she loved both Annie and Brendon so much, wanting them together. There was no unnecessary drama in this book. It was so nice to see Darcy and Elle have their happily ever after. And I am beyond excited for Margot to get hers.

Rating: Rave:
Steam: 3

CW: brief discussion of parental abandonment