For whatever reason, I have been craving fluffy and slightly-spicy adult romance novels lately after loving The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood. While I don't mind picking up one of the billions of heterosexual romance novels out there, it's always a special little delight to find a great sapphic romcom that fits the bill. 

I skipped right over the first two books in this series, which have been on my radar, to pick up Count Your Lucky Stars on NetGalley. The novels are really standalone tales focused on different members of a friend group as they each find their happily ever afters. I was certainly able to enjoy Count Your Lucky Stars without reading the other books, though the author clearly inserted additional details about the characters from the earlier books that might have been lost on me. 

Count Your Lucky Stars is, at its heart, a romcom that plays with several romance tropes: friends to lovers, second chance romance, and forced proximity. Our leads, Margot and Olivia, were friends in high school until one fateful week where they threw caution to the wind and slept together. Olivia immediately got back with her ex-boyfriend, effectively ending the budding relationship before it could even truly begin. Ten years later, Olivia shows up as the wedding planner for a wedding Margot is in and, SURPRISE, she also needs a place to live. BOOM. The relationship gets a second chance.


The plot of this story was predictable in the most general sense (yes, we do get a happy ending, of course), but didn't always take the path I expected. For some readers, that might be frustrating, but I was pleasantly surprised. Some things happened sooner than I thought or in different ways. In particular, I was pleased with how well the characters communicated with each other. I'm very glad to see more of a trend in books where the primary plot tension doesn't rely on constant miscommunication or non-communication as a plot device. That's not to say that there isn't any miscommunication in this novel (in fact, it's a key plot point), but that this miscommunication felt realistic and purposeful...like something real people might experience. 

One of the biggest shifts for me with reading more adult romcoms has been the inclusion of...ummm...very explicit spicy content. This isn't erotica, but it's also not a YA novel where the sex is described generally or takes place off-page. There are SEVERAL spicy scenes here. I don't feel fully qualified to discuss the quality of those scene without building my knowledge base through reading similar novels, but I would be remiss to not mention the spicy level juuuuuuust in case spicy content would make or break a potential reader's experience. Just be aware...it's there. And it's queer. 

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. It was a fast read and I was invested in the characters. I liked them. I rooted for them. However, there were a few things I didn't care for. The biggest thing was how hokey the forced-roommates trope was in the exposition of the story. Olivia's apartment is having maintenance issues that might take a long time to fix, so she is suddenly without a place to stay on the exact day when she sees Margot for the first time in ten years...and Margot just so happens to need a roommate. Olivia never even considered trying explore different options, they both just got pressured into this "perfect solution" by Margot's friends. I do think Bellefleur tried reeeeeeally hard to execute this trope in a believable way, but I'm always a trope-skeptic despite my desperate love for all things trope-y. 

It's a curse, really. 

FINAL GRADE: B  Count Your Lucky Stars is a delightful and refreshingly fun romcom with both spice and heart. It's definitely on the fluffy side in all the best ways and would be a great follow-up to books like Red, White, and Royal Blue, She Drives Me Crazy, You Should See Me In A Crown, Her Royal Highness, and all things Becky Albertelli. This was NOT a professional read for consideration in my high school library, as the spice content and target audience are a bit out of our range, but I can see this having excellent crossover appeal for the more mature YA sapphic reader.

Count Your Lucky Stars is the perfect addition to the Written in the Stars series! Readers will adore spending more time with Margot and getting to know Olivia. It was so fun to have so many cameos from the characters in the previous books too. It was so believable that Margot and Olivia were childhood friends to lovers and then found their way back to each other again. They both had such compelling stories that will make the reader invested in their relationships.

Alexandria Bellefleur came out with two great novels, "Written in the Stars" and "Hang the Moon" which both revolve around a small cast of characters living in Seattle, Washington. After reading the first, I was immediately excited for the second one, and "Hang the Moon" was perhaps my favorite of the three. While I wasn't completely invested in Margot, I was willing to take up her story eagerly because of how pleasantly surprised I was for the other books. Sadly though, "Count Your Lucky Stars" does not live up to Bellefleur's other books and was kind of a disappointment for the series.

As mentioned before, "Count Your Lucky Stars" follows Margot, Elle's former roommate as she reunites with an old friend, Olivia, who happens to be the wedding planner for Brendon and Annie's wedding. Margot and Olivia have a very complicated past, and by a fun turn of events, the two end up living together. The book follows their story as they work out their history and how to move forward wanting each other but being too afraid to bring things up.

Overall, the plot is very cliche (which is never a complaint of mine) but this book felt like Bellefleur shoved as many cliches into a book as possible with little regard for the characters. Margot and Olivia don't get as much character development as the other characters do in their respective books. I know about them, but I feel like these were the most 2D characters she has written about.

Going back to the cliches though, it was just too many for one book and pacing that made the book lose steam quite quickly. Margot and Olivia become FWB about a third of the way through which is a trope I don't care much for, but I know it can be done right. What made it so annoying in this book was that you know both of them are pining hard after each other. It's painful (and not in the yearning romance novel way) to read which annoyed me.

It continues though as the characters just seemingly run in circles though. I know what happened in this book, but I also don't feel like anything happened.

While it was great to catch up on the older characters from this book, it was a letdown, which I am really sad to say because I love Bellefleur's other books and the characters she created in this little world, but it simply is not needed nor does it hold up the same as her other books. I highly recommend skipping out on this one, as it doesn't hold up the same, doesn't add much to the stories, and lost its steam quickly into the book.

This book was a little bit disappointing. I really wanted to like it more than I did.

So many of the issues in this book as caused by a miscommunication as well as a general lack of communication between Margot and Olivia.

I’m not a huge fan of second chance romance and also not a huge fan of the miscommunication trope.

The ending was kind of abrupt and I don’t love that they didn’t just tell each other they loved each other when they obviously did. It’s a romance book. A declaration of love is a requirement.

Another thing that bugged me was that Olivia never wanted kids, that was why her marriage ended. Margot knew that about her but we never learn how Margot feels about kids.

The epilogue was really cute and I’m glad we got to see all of the characters getting their happy ending. This was good but I spent a lot of my time reading this being really annoyed about the lack of communication.

Thank you NetGalley, Avon Books, and Alexandria Bellefleur for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review! I loved this entire series and read all three books in only a couple days. They showcase the best parts of love in such a fun way and I fell in love with all of the characters.

Count Your Lucky Stars follows Margot and her old best friend, Olivia, that she had feelings for. Fate offers them a second-chance when Olivia is hired to be the wedding planner for her engaged friends and they reconnect. Olivia ends up living with Margot due to some unexpected events, which gives them another chance at love.

Alexandria Bellefleur is an amazing writer and this book had me both laughing out loud and anxious for the fate of our main characters. I never loved Margot in the other two books, but I really enjoyed her in this one and learning more about her. Olivia was also a sweet and relatable character. I also loved the real star of the show, Cat the cat, haha! This book involves many tropes that I like, such as second-chance romance, friends to lovers, and forced proximity. The ending was definitely more dramatic than the others in my opinion and I was on the edge of my seat the entire time. It was fun seeing these two characters fall in love again and I really enjoyed it!

I also really loved the epilogue. I’m a sucker for epilogues that are set in the future and this one was super cute and made me feel nostalgic towards the other books. Bellefleur intertwined the other character’s stories into this one really well and it was nice getting to see what they’re up to as well.

I highly recommend this book, and series, for romance fans! They’re some of the best romances I’ve ever read and I’ll definitely be rereading them soon.

A cute second chance romance! Happy to see Margot get her own book and happy ending. While helping plan Annie and Brandon’s wedding, and doing her job as the maid of honor, a chance of fate brings her face to face with her childhood best friend, Olivia Grant. Did I mention that the two also had a short love affair during high school? Oh yeah, the tension thickens. After hooking up during high school, Olivia ends up going back to her boyfriend who she eventually marries and divorces. Because of a lack of communication between the two they never get together and they think that’s the end of it till the cross paths again. Olivia moves in with Margot after some damage to her place, and begins to get closer to their friend group and ultimately Margot. The sexual tension between them is off the roof, but the sweeter softer moments is what I enjoyed. Seeing casual hook up Margot fall once again for her best friend, had me rooting for the both of them to find their happily ever after. As a kind of side not I also very much enjoyed seeing all the previous characters back in this one. Seeing the whole gang together getting their happy ending had me melting ♥️♥️

i wasn't a huge fan of the first book in this series, Written in the Stars, but still thought this installment was well done! the humor was a bit better in this book which is a huge improvement.

Count Your Lucky Stars was a very sweet read, nothing too special but enjoyable all the same. I loved the characters and cute plot but I doubt I'll be thinking about this book much in the future.

another flaw was the lack of racial diversity, in the entire trilogy really. at times these books really screams white millennial which...isn't ideal.

overall it was an alright read, perfect for summer.

thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

COUNT YOUR LUCKY STARS

I’m not saying it’s my favorite in the series, but I’m not not saying that either.

Thoughts
Childhood friends to lovers to estranged friends to roommates to lovers!!

Listen. I love these books and I will read anything this author writes. I love that there is always a bi main character in her books and she’s never made them go through any closetings/outings/biphobic moments/outrageous trauma/etc. to progress the plot. They decidedly have normal people problems and it’s easy to just relax into the story. One of my favorite things about series like this one is how previous characters weave into the storylines as well. It’s nice to feel like they get to come along after their own HEA.

At one point, I was like I need you bitches to air all of this shit out right now, but they did shortly thereafter and I was pleased by this. I know not everyone is keen on the miscommunication trope, but I do think it’s realistic given that the miscommunication centers on them in high school and the feeling have been repressed for so long. Rehashing the past isn’t fun and I can see not wanting to avoid it at all costs.

In case you can’t tell: I really loved it.

Main thought while reading: Do I want to BE Margot or BE WITH Margot? A tale as old as time.

While I suppose this could technically be read as a standalone, its definitely best if you read them first because each book continues where the last leaves off and there are definitely spoilers for the others.

Read if you like: Spicy sapphics, friends-to-lovers, queer pining, second chance romance, forced proximity, the previous books in this series

TWs: Infidelity/bad marriage, sick parent (off page)

Great book, it was a good romance book and had an interesting plot and I'd really enjoy to read other books from this author, all though this book took me a while to read considering how large it was.

Count Your Lucky Stars is such a feel good romance! I love how well Alexandria Bellefleur balances steamy love scenes with real stakes problems in her characters’ relationships. Margot and Olivia were no exception. The balance between the two, their insecurities, and their passion for each other made this story easy to become invested in.

I loved getting more on Margot!! I loved her in the other 2 books in the series. I definitely related to her the most.
The details in this book were so beautiful and descriptive; the author really painted a clear image in my head.
Let’s also touch on the spicy scenes because WOW were they amazing!! Again, so descriptive and well explained. It’s hard to find good wlw spice.
My only gripe is that it felt a bit surface level at times. I know it is a second chance romance, and they already knew one another. But I just didn’t completely buy into their love.

Margot is happy and content with the way things are. But things are changing and changing rapidly in Margot's happy circle of friends. Where once there was game nights and casual hangouts, now it's turned into a couples thing and Margot is feeling like the fifth wheel.

Doesn't help that THE blast from the past shows up as you guess it...her best friends wedding planner. Olivia is the one, the one that got away that Margot still thinks about. They were best friends and were always together. Until one sweet hook up turned them from friends to merely acquaintances and they haven't seen each other in over a decade. Olivia got married to her high school sweetheart, but she is divorced now and on her own. Margot and Olivia find each other working closer together than ever before - will be they able to mend their friendship and possibly turn it into something more?

I loved Olivia in the previous books of the Written in the Stars series. She is such a fun and outgoing person and I love her personality. I was so excited for her to get her own story in Count Your Lucky Stars. I really enjoyed the tension between Margot and Olivia. What happened to make these two best friends who were inseparable suddenly without their best friend. The journey of why these two lost touch was so bittersweet.

I really enjoyed the premise of this book. Second chance romance is such a favorite trope of mine and I love the angst and tension that it brings. However, I do feel like I wasn't fully invested in these two characters as a couple. I wanted to feel more for why they were separated and sadly I didn't get that in Count Your Lucky Stars. I understand that Margot as a character was going through a lot of changes with it feeling like losing her friends because they were all in relationships, but she seemed very insecure and that's not the vibe I got from her in the first two books.

Overall, I really enjoyed the Written in the Stars series! While I didn't really click with the characters of Count Your Lucky Stars, so many friends really loved this book.

Alexandria Bellefleur has done it again. I have no idea how she succeeded in authoring not one, not two, but THREE books--all in the same series--that top my favorite romances, year after year. Each book feels the same author, but is distinct in plot and emotion, making all three books worthy of a reader's time. In this story, we see event planner Olivia reunited with her childhood BFF, Margot. And did I mention they had a fling in high school? When Margot turns out to be the Best Woman in a wedding Olivia is planning, we get forced proximity dreams and tension for the ages. This steamy F/F romance continues to showcase Bellefleur's stellar writing and plotting, and she's cemented herself as an autobuy author for me.

Thanks to Avon and TLC Book Tours for my eARC and finished copy! All thoughts and opinions are my own.

5 stars - 10/10

What a cute and surprisingly steamy story. I'm not complaining, I loved everything that happened and, everything did happen. We have Margot who we know from the previous books as Elle's best friend. Elle, who, in the first book, fell in love with Darcy, who is Brandon's sister. Brandon, who, in the second book, fell in love with Annie. Brandon proposed to Annie and now they're a couple weeks away from the big day without a wedding planner. So along comes Olivia, assistant wedding planner, and guess what? Margot's high school best friend, the one who broke her heart after they spent an incredible time together, TOGETHER. Now Margot, now without a roommate, offers the room to Olivia who had an emergency at her old place and was in urgent need f a new house. Sparks fly again right away. They had so much to talk about and they needed to just sit down and actually talk. But did they talk? They didn't. They had sex like all the time. An obscenely amount of time. They were constantly horny, those two. Of course they will eventually talk, this is a romcom with a certain HEA, so of course it's going to happen.
I really enjoyed the book and all its details and how present were the characters of the previous books, and I loved getting to know Margot better, understand why she behaved the way she behaved and how she was feeling seeing all her friends paring up and feeling excluded from their romance happy bubble.
It was fun and plenty romantic, with a lot of feelings and steam.

Count Your Lucky Stars by Alexandria Bellefleur is another hit by this author. I’ve loved this series from the beginning and this book is no exception. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I loved getting to see the softer side of Margot. We get to see that she’s not all sarcastic sass and beneath the prickly exterior is a girl feeling like a fifth wheel to her friends who have now paired up.

Margot and Olivia were perfection together. Their communication style with one another was so heartfelt and tender.

Trope wise, I loved the combination of forced proximity with former best friends who become each other’s second chance at love.

This f/f romance is steamy, funny, and left me with a big smile and my heart full of happiness. I adored it!

The cover creator also deserves gushing praise because the covers on all 3 books in the series are perfection.

This is the third and final book in what has become one of my favorite romance series, Written In The Stars by Alexandria Bellefleur. This book follows Margot Cooper, a woman who doesn’t really want a long-term relationship. That is, until she runs into her childhood best friend and first love, Olivia Grant. The two of them reconnect and the sparks between them quickly begin to fly. I love the chemistry between the two characters and I enjoyed watching them fall for each other again. The second chance romance trope was used very well here! I also thought that the ending/epilogue was very cute and wholesome. I’m sad that this series is coming to an end, but this story was a great conclusion.

Oh my, oh my! I ADORED this book with my heart and soul. I absolutely loved Written in the Stars and was super excited when I heard she was writing another sapphic romance and a second chance romance at that! I’m so glad to have this read this book and to have gotten the book as soon as I could. It’s sweet & spicy and beautiful in a way I can’t explain!!

Having read the first two in this series, I was very excited to get an ARC copy of this book. I was not disappointed. It was excellent to read about familiar characters and also meet new ones. I really enjoyed the past history between our main characters and understood how miscommunication was possible in their situation. This story had parts that made me laugh out loud and other parts that made my heart ache with pining. The spicy scenes were so well done and really added to this story. I loved this and cannot wait to read more by Alexandria Bellefleur.

Thank you Netgalley and Avon and Harper Voyager for this book!

https://www.instagram.com/p/CZaukl9M3tF/?utm_medium=copy_link

Wow just wow! This is the W|W romance we deserve! I love that we are getting more sapphic stories and that this didn’t focus on coming out. While I appreciate those stories sometimes I just want to bask in queer joy. This book made my heart happy.

3.5 stars

This book was so much fun!! I took a gamble on this one, since I tried the first book in the series and did NOT like it. But I'm glad to say that this one worked for me! It helped that I liked the characters much more in this one, and I feel like their romance was just much more interesting because they had a backstory that complicated their current situation. I also appreciated that you didn't have to read the other two books in the series to understand and have fun with this one. Definitely recommend!