Cover Image: A Cosmic Kind of Love

A Cosmic Kind of Love

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Member Reviews

Omg this is such a sweet, funny, and lovely story, it made me laugh and sigh, I loved it.

Hallie is an event planner and one of her clients sends her some material for an engagement party and by mistake she sends videos of her ex-boyfriend, when he was in space, Hallie can't help but see them and feel captivated by Chris, the charismatic and funny astronaut, and she decides to send videos to Chris, to his old NASA email, telling him about her life.
I loved the videos, the connection they both feel towards the person behind the screen and how little by little they both fall in love through them.

Sparks fly between them from the first time they meet, and as the story progresses we see that their deep connection is not just physical but emotional. They are so good together, and so cute, I swooned so hard. I liked the way the author tells the story and how Hallie and Chris help each other to be the best version of themselves and support each other to overcome the complex baggage they both have, they are soulmates, they are meant to be. I loved Chris's aunt, she's my spirit animal.

This is a captivating, adorable and funny story about self-improvement, love, friendship and second chances.
This book is perfect for fans of
Star-crossed romance
Slow burn
RomCom
Soulmates

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Hallie and Chris were absolutely adorable. I love Samantha Young's writing and saw alot of buzz about this book. I also haven't read a story about an astronaut before so I was very interested!

Overall I think the characters were fantastic. Hallie was independent and confident and Chris was just delicious. I will admit that this story was a slow start for me. I love slow burns but I didn't feel a huge connection between them. Furthermore I usually love emails in a story (technology as a whole such as texts/emails etc.) But I found that this story felt slightly off. I didn't feel the chemistry between them as much as I wanted to. I felt like the story focused more on self-improvement and their family life vs a romance. As a whole, though, this story was a nice sweet read that showcased Young's amazing writing. 4 stars! ~Ratula

I would like to thank Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book for an honest review!

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“Something tells me that no matter where we end up, it will always be together. What we have is kind of cosmic like that.”

Hallie has been planning an engagement party for one of her clients, but the bride-to-be accidentally sent videos of her ex-boyfriend detailing his experiences up on the ISS. Instead of deleting the videos, she ends up watching the videos and starts making her own video diaries talking about her crazy and messy life. Chris has been readjusting his life back on Earth after being in space and things aren’t going easy with him especially with his father. But when he starts to receive video diaries from Hallie, he’s eager to meet the woman that’s been making his life better.

A Cosmic Kind of Love was a blast to read! I love the idea of two complete strangers falling in love without meeting or even talking to each other yet. Sounds scary in real life, but it was heartfelt and beautifully written.

🪐READ IF YOU LIKE🪐:
- dual POV
- event planner x astronaut
- video diaries
- opposites attract
- NASA
- family dynamics
- Back to the Future movie
- Mexican-American rep
- mental health x LGBTQ+ rep

cw: death of loved one, toxic families, derogatory, divorce, cancer, verbal/psychological abuse, cheating, manipulation, grief

Thank you to @netgalley and @berkleyromance for the advanced copy! A Cosmic Kind of Love is available on October 18, 2022!

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The writing was decent, but the tropes used to progress the plot were *so* trite and overdone. Fantastic premise, lackluster final product.

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I just adore Samantha Young. She writes characters that grow and evolve and her characters are visceral on the pages. A Cosmic Kind of Love is no different - with perpetual people pleaser Hallie paired up with former astronaut Chris, the chemistry comes alive immediately.

And the seggsy scenes were *chef’s kiss*

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Not a whole lot happens in this one. I feel like it could have been a lot shorter. The author did a lot of telling instead of having the characters show what's going on through the dialog. I got 70% of the way through and just kind of skimmed the ending because I didn't want to spend any more time with it. This one was just kind of blah.

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If you read the acknowledgements of A Cosmic Kind of Love, Samantha Young mentions that she doesn't think she's read a romance with an astronaut featured and it got me thinking, and I don't think I have either. It's something I didn't realize I was missing until I read this novel.



In this novel, Hallie is a smart, ambitious event planner for one of the hottest firms in NYC and Chris is a retired astronaut trying to figure out his next move. They end up together through an unusual meet cute--she accidentally opens up his video diary (sent to her client (his ex-girlfriend) who accidentally sent it to Hallie) and becomes hooked on the smart, sexy, kind Chris. In an effort to even the score, once she's binged all of his videos and feels guilty about it, she sends him some video diaries, thinking he's never seeing them (even though he is) and all of that leads to them meeting at his ex-girlfriend's engagement party, planned by....you guessed it, Hallie. Upon their first meeting, Hallie admits to watching his videos, he doesn't admit to watching hers, but the attraction is immediate so he concocts a plan to have her plan an event for him as a way to get to know her better.



It's through their meetings that their romance begins and we get to know more about them--their messed up childhoods, their insecurities, and just how really awesome they both are. Of course, their path to an HEA isn't straight--there are several events and obstacles that throw them some curves--but ultimately, the things that they have to overcome aren't too terribly painful and we don't have to suffer too much to get to that happy ending.



A Cosmic Kind of Love is a quick read with pages packed with funny moments, as well as moments that are more emotional. The characters are easy to fall in love with and you can't help but want them to end up together, living their best lives.

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I really loved this book! Samantha Young has become an auto-buy for our store! She always writes a wonderful romance and the customers adore her books! Can't wait to put this one on our shelves this Fall!

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This was a sweet read, and while the miscommunication trope is often a miss for me, this story managed to pull it off. I loved the main character (honestly related to her so much) and felt that the romance had so many great moments with minor quibbles.

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Rating- 4.5
Firstly, I am a huge fan of Samantha Young’s books- they are always fun, flirty, and full of lively characters, and this one is no exception! I ADORED THIS BOOK! Shall I say it was ‘out of this world’!?! Bueller?...Bueller?...Anybody?

What’s it about?
Meet Hallie, a successful event planner whose client accidentally sent her a link to videos from their ex-boyfriend, Chris, a famous astronaut on the space station. Instead of ignoring the videos, Hallie can’t stop watching this stranger talk about his life and decides to send an apologetic video back to Chris for impeaching his privacy, but when the video bounces back, Hallie starts using this as a way to cope with everyday life… after all, no one is watching them… right? Meet Chris, who just got home from space and is having trouble readjusting to life on Earth. One day NASA’s I.T. department forwards Chris a video of Hallie and he can’t help but be captivated by her. While he keeps bouncing her emails back, he starts to gravitate toward her and begins to wonder if their story was destined for more. The adventure that follows is full of friendship, authenticity, humor, and growth as these two try to navigate the stars in hopes that maybe one day they will align.

What I loved:
The Relationship: This was a story about 2 people that GENUINELY cared for one another. They were so supportive, constantly validating, and continuously trying their best. I loved that this story focused on the growth of the couple, but individually both Chris and Hallie had their own character growth and fought their own goliaths.

Vulnerability: I’ll be the first to admit that a lot of the side characters were extreme, and at times, Hallie was at well (with her quirky/clumsy nature). But in terms of vulnerability, I think Young did a great job of displaying that through Hallie. I think I saw myself in her at times and it was refreshing to see emotions that were dealt with maturely and with authenticity. This is reflected in her insecurities, how she sees herself, and the messy family dynamics from family.

Some of the plot and background characters that just loved to stir the pot got old for me, but in terms of the 2 love interests, truly I don’t think I’ve ever read about a couple that was so supportive- it really felt like they knew each other and were real.

Thank you to Berkley Publishing and Netgalley for gifting me this copy in exchange for my honest review.

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I loved this book!! It was so unique and unlike anything I’ve ever read. I adored the plot, the characters, everything. I’m so excited to get a physical copy!

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The premise of this book was refreshingly different! I liked how the characters met. There were a couple of conflict moments that made me want to scream in frustration but they were resolved in a way that actually made sense so it was okay!

It was nice to see how Hallie learned to manage her people-pleasing tendencies. I am a people pleaser so that was QUITE a revelation for me and I went through that journey with her. Chris was interestingly naïve for a male character and that leads to some miscommunication. I liked their pairing and I really would've loved to smack some sense into their parents!

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I loved this book so much. It was fluffy and just sweet. Spicy scenes were spicy but not overly spicy. I really adored the main characters, especially Hallie. I think I felt like I related to her which made me love this book even more. I really hope there is more in this series. I couldn’t put it down and blew through it in 2 days.

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Hallie, an event planner, is accidentally forwarded personal video from Chris, a hot astronaut. They were intended for his girlfriend while he was in space (ISS). Hallie can’t help herself so she watches one, then all of them, and develops a crush on him. Feeling guilty, she send him a video confessing her transgression. Irritated, he has NASA bounce the videos back… while secretly watching them himself. Of course, he develops a crush on her. All quite cosmic, eh?
This is a sweet, and sexy, slow burn romance. Hallie is a quirky sparkling character but sheesh does she have some personal body issues and people-pleasing issues. But I think that makes her human. Chris is a charming and amazingly honest guy. He is just a bit clueless about his ex and his father. But that simply makes his character less of a Boy Scout.
It is an endearing, sexy, and amusing tale. I would recommend it to my patrons.

I received this ARC from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for my honest review.

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This book is trying too hard.

The premise is novel: an event planner who gets nothing right falls for an astronaut who gets everything right. They connect when she watches the videos meant for another woman so she sends one to him to apologize and when the video is returned, she decides to send videos into the world (knowing they’ll never make it anywhere) to talk about her life. Except, dun dun dun, he gets the videos.

But that’s it. I mean, c’mon. How many fucking romcoms do we need where the heroine is barely 30, is an events planner (or in advertising, or works for a glossy magazine), in NYC? Why not move it to Boston, or DC, or somewhere else. It’s always got to be about NYC which takes control over the story itself. Yeah, we get it, you know NYC. Woop de doo.

I stopped reading after the first 15%, I just couldn’t tolerate another rom com set in NYC that is trying too hard. The story is just average. At best.

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I like Samantha Young but this book was just Ok for me. I liked the two main characters but I feel like nothing really happened. There were storylines but it seemed like it was just little issues that popped up but I never felt like there was a clear main storyline.

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I would say this is about a 3.75 for me, the premise of this book is what really snagged my attention. I have yet to read a book like this so needless to say I was super excited going into it.

~Definite spoiler below~

Overall I would say I enjoyed the book but there were quite a few things that I found I didn’t care for, one (and the biggest) thing being Hallie’s body image insecurities which I do get, we all have them but it felt super displaced right in the beginning of their first time being together and killed the entire build up for me. Chris taking until 64% into the book to confess to Hallie about him seeing her videos was also pretty agonizing to say the least. There was also entirely too much family drama through out where I feel could have definitely given us more time to get invested into their relationship.

The ending completely made up for those dislikes though, I absolutely adored the “cliche” airport chase, it felt very “I got off the plane.” To me and it was very sweet 🥰

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Samantha Young has given me so many loves that I was SURE one that looked this pretty and sounded this unique was going to be a hit. It was okay. I still love her but A Cosmic Kind of Love was mostly frustrating. Less cosmic and more like those glow-in-the-dark ceiling stars you get from the dollar store.

This is a direct quote:

“I wasn’t perfect like him.
My belly was soft, not toned, and it had a slight roundness to it, which I could probably eliminate with some sit-ups, but the very thought bored me to tears.”

I would love nothing more than for lines like this to stop existing. What… what purpose does this serve? Why can’t we just be a little round and not have to back it up with maybe eliminating this softness? I’m actually so uninterested in the dialogue this creates, it’s not even funny. We made it 200 pages and in all that time it took the intimate moment they’re about to share for this to come forward as if it offers anything to what’s to come. This moment of insecurity could’ve been tackled by literally saying “I wasn’t perfect like him. My belly was soft, not toned” and he PROMPTLY CUTS OFF HER SELF DEPRECATING INNER MONOLOGUE BY SAYING HOW BEAUTIFUL HE THOUGHT SHE WAS. Reassuring her without her needing to even let those thoughts be released into the universe. I feel like the quote doesn’t even need to change but the intention behind it could’ve been shifted so that we are not saying that a little bit of roundness needs to be acknowledged like this. “Yeah I could do sit-ups but I’m not gonna” kinda energy not “I know I could fix this about myself and I wish I could because everyone in my life made me feel undervalued and I’m insecure”.

Anyways, I need to move on because I am mad. This part tore this book down a whole star, just so we all know.

This story was just not what I hoped it would be. Chris and Hallie had potential but the fact is that Hallie was too insecure and desperately needed therapy and Chris had the emotional development and availability of a teenager. He was a grown man completely unaware of the deception going on around him despite Hallie really laying it out for him like she’s laying out clothes for him to wear to school tomorrow. Their pairing to start was bizarre and I feel like it was different enough to pique my interest but I don’t know, I feel like these videos were a non-issue and yet Chris dragged it out for much longer when really.. the main conflict ended up being Darcy and both of their parents. As I said, I feel like we had potential but the journey was just… subpar.

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The author had a unique premise for this love story although it frustrated me when the hero waited too long to tell the heroine important information. Still, it was a quick, lovely romance perfect for the summer.

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This was a cute story that gets extra points for being about an astronaut. It starts with some light lying/concealing between the main characters, but they're respectable enough to not deepen their relationship until the lies are revealed.

Pros: likable main characters; pretty healthy relationship between the hero and heroine; interesting backstories and side characters; main characters don't lie to each other

Cons: almost *too* much going on in the background -- both characters have super toxic families and it was just a lot to process while they're also juggling their newfound relationship and what they want to do with their futures.

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