I can see that some teen readers might find this book sweet, easy to read, and charming, It was a bit predictable and saccharine for me to read as an adult. Piper has grown up in a family of women who have taught her that the love of her life will be predicted by Fate. Once they feel Fate click into place, then each woman is expected to marry the love Fate has chosen, and be with that person forever. Of course, life doesn't work out this way, and Piper is dealing with the divorce of her parents, She also has feelings for her best friend Leo, but she has never felt Fate click into place with him, There's a love triangle when Piper meets Forest and feels Fate guide her towards him. Honestly, the aunts felt overbearing, and it's just plain rude the way they shunned Piper's mom, and tried to force Piper's parents back together, It never felt like Piper and Forest belonged together. I understand that there is an interesting message here about fate vs. free will, but it's hammered home pretty insistently.

Thank you NetGalley for the free digital ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review,

Rounded up from 4.5 stars

🙌 What worked for me:
• Piper's growth and figuring out who she is, outside of her family and the Blessing.
• The love triangle - I'm not normally a fan, but I enjoyed it in this one.
• Diana - she deserved mad props for putting up with Piper and Leo.
• Leo - I was rooting for him from the start.
• The disability rep! This is a main point for Piper's character, and it impacts how she is treated and how she thinks/acts. I really appreciated how the author wove this into the story.

🚫 What didn't work for me:
• The parent trap aspect of the story. I got real pissed at Piper after she continued trying to set her parents up even after they both told her it wasn't happening.
• If I had to hear one more time about "The Blessing" I was going to throw the book across the room. I was definitely with all the characters that were on the side of choosing your own fate.

🤜 Would I recommend: Yes. This was such a cute story. Even with my slight frustrations, I still loved the story and would definitely recommend to YA romance lovers!

Read if you enjoy:
✔️ Disability Rep
✔️ Magical Realism
✔️ YA Romance
✔️ Deciding your own fate

All the Stars Align was a really cute read, but honestly just so predictable. Also, I never want to see the world blessing ever again jfc

Overall this was a cute story. As a person living with multiple disabilities, I appreciated the disability representation in this book. I did enjoy this book more than Gretchen's first novel, though both were pretty cute. I also enjoyed the elements of magical realism in the story. It was an enjoyable and fun read!

I'm so dissapointed with this book. It started off so good, reminded me similar to emma lord writing and then the story just dropped off in quality. Like I know the premise of the book already, why is it shoved down my throat literally every second. The whole fated one thing was literally the only thing in this book and it made me want to dnf it a bunch of times. It was so repetitive and annoying. Our fmc is only good for one thing and she felt so hollow and one dimensional. This is a hard no for me. Thanks Netgalley for am early copy.

What a cute story with a great moral to the story! I loved Piper, Leo, and Diana. What a great group of characters. This book gave me all the feels I would want from a book.

I highly recommend this book.

I want to thank NetGalley and St Martin’s Press for this advanced readers copy. This is my honest opinion.

I get it, she’s living under the burden of “Fate’s Blessing,” this book did not have to keep saying it like a dozen or more times! Also, the family dynamics were pretty awful. DNF at 23%.

This was an absolutely…ok read for me. Sure it was cute, however not one moment of it surprised me. There was some personality in a few of the characters but not enough to really get to know them.
Like I said- it’s cute- if you need a nice easy read, there’s nothing wrong with picking up this book.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my honest review.

I loved the disability representation and the themes, which felt perfect for a YA audience, but something about this one just didn't click for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc! Opinions are my own.

Piper really wants to feel like she fits in her extended family, each of whom finds their one true love and sticks with them. But Piper's parents are divorced and she wants her best friend Leo to be her Fated one (but he isn't). She already feels different due to her physical differences. So she squeezes herself into the role her aunts want for her, even if it doesn't make her happy. There are some good messages her about being true to yourself, but overall I didn't really care for Piper. She was pretty selfish in the way she manipulated the people around her. For grades 7 & up.

Gretchen Schreiber's "All the Stars Align" is a heartfelt young adult novel that captivates readers with its exploration of love, family, and self-discovery. With a creative premise that weaves romance and fate, this is an enjoyable read, particularly for teens and fans of contemporary fiction.

The plot centers around eighteen-year-old Piper Hadley, whose family’s mystical "Blessing from Fate" allows them to identify their true love. As Piper navigates the emotional aftermath of her parents’ divorce, her journey to reconcile familial expectations with her own desires is both relatable and compelling. The inclusion of Piper’s genetic disability adds depth to her character, fostering meaningful conversations about self-worth and belonging. While the romantic triangle between Piper, Forest, and her estranged best friend Leo may lean on familiar tropes, it’s a narrative vehicle that young readers will find engaging as Piper must choose between fulfilling familial duty or following her heart.

Schreiber excels in portraying the dynamics of Piper's relationships with her family, vividly illustrating the emotional complexity of divorce and its lasting effects. The Hadley family, with their unique traditions, creates a rich backdrop that feels grounded yet whimsical. Piper herself is a sympathetic protagonist, whose vulnerabilities and determination resonate deeply.

Though the romantic interests, Leo and Forest, might not be as fleshed out as Piper, their presence amplifies the tension and drama of Piper's choices, which will keep readers turning pages. The themes of identity, loyalty, and love are thoughtfully presented in an age-appropriate manner, making this a great choice for young adult audiences. Queer representation in some characters adds a refreshing layer of diversity to the story.

"All the Stars Align" may not reinvent the genre, but it offers an enjoyable blend of heartfelt moments, introspection, and lighthearted romance. It's a book that encourages readers to reflect on their own paths while offering an escape into a world where fate and love intertwine.

Piper comes from a family deeply rooted in the belief that fate governs love—so much so that it practically runs in their blood. For generations, the women in her mother’s lineage have experienced the undeniable pull of love at first sight, leading almost all of them to their own fairy-tale endings.

Now a high school senior, Piper has yet to feel that fateful tug, and doubt begins to creep in. Could her parents' divorce have severed her connection to this family legacy? Or is she simply different destined for a love story that defies tradition? She wonders if she will share the fate of her aunt, who had to wait far longer than the others to experience the pull of destiny.

As Piper stands at the crossroads of love and her future, she must decide: Is upholding family tradition the key to happiness, or is forging her own path the true path to fulfillment?

Team Piper and Leo! So first off, I am a huge fan of Gretchen’s first novel, Ellie Haycock is Totally Normal, so I was really excited to get an arc of her sophomore novel. I am also a really huge fan of taking beloved tropes and adding disability representation to them, so the fact that Piper has a physical disability, which we don’t often see in fiction with authentic portrayal, really made me devour this! I’m also a sucker for friends to lovers, so watching Leo suffer while Piper figured out her love life was *chefs kiss.* Such a great mix of angst, disability authenticity, tropes, and a dash of fantasy that made for a really great read! My favorite YA of the year so far!

Reviewed for NetGalley:

Piper comes from a long line of women that can tell they found their true love after a first meeting, Soon Piper finds her seemingly true love via first sight. But without any real dating experience, Piper asks her former best friend, Leo, to help her learn the rules of dating.

While Piper and Leo rekindle their friendship, is there more there than the eye can see?

Enjoyable, bittersweet read.

Love is never as simple as a fairy tale, and Piper’s journey proves just that!

Every woman in Piper’s family experiences love at first sight, but she has never had that moment. When she finally believes she has found the one, she turns to her estranged best friend Leo for help. As he coaches her through winning over her supposed soulmate, their friendship shifts in unexpected ways.

I really liked how Piper’s disability was revealed naturally, giving time to understand her experience without it defining her entire storyy!

The book also explores different kinds of love, from romantic to familial, and the tension between destiny and personal choice. It made me think about how love is not always about grand signs but about the choices we make along the way!

This is a heartfelt read that challenges the idea of fate and proves that love is never just one thing!

Thank you Wednesday Books and NetGalley for the ARC

All the Stars Align by Gretchen Schreiber
Romantic, heartfelt, and brimming with emotion, All the Stars Align is a touching exploration of love, fate, and second chances. Gretchen Schreiber’s writing captures the magic of serendipity while grounding the story in deeply personal struggles. Fans of contemporary romance will be swept away by this beautifully crafted tale.

Okay so I love the idea of having a book with great representation and inspiration, a second chance and support from family and what not but this was NOT it. I knew this book was YA but my goodness, this girl was a bit too immature for me. She made fun of herself?! Like what??

This wasn't for me but maybe for others!

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press | Wednesday Books for an ARC of this title.

Thank you Wednesday Books @wednesdaybooks , St Martin’s Press @stmartinspress , Netgalley @netgalley , and Gretchen Schreiber @gretch_schreiber for this free ebook!
“All the Stars Align” by Gretchen Schreiber ⭐️⭐️⭐️ Genre:YA Romance with a touch of magical realism. Location: Crescent Falls, California, USA. Time: Present.
“A touch of fate and all the stars align…”
Piper Hadley (18) grew up with her ancestors' epic love stories repeated like fairy tales. All the Hadley women recognize their true love at first sight. The kind of fated love that lasts forever. Piper wants her own love story. But her family is convinced she’s doomed because she has a physical disability and her parents are divorced. She finds her true love at a party, but botches their 1st meeting. She needs love expert/best friend Leo to teach her his ways. But they haven’t spoken in 6 months. Then Leo confesses his love for Piper. Will fate choose her love, or will love choose her fate?

Author Schreiber has written a charming high school romance about true love, true friendship, and the yearning to belong. Her characters Piper has a rare disabling condition, but it’s shared slowly, in pieces, so the disability doesn’t overshadow Piper’s personality. That’s a big plus. Schreiber’s book has so much going on that it’s hard to focus on any one part. There’s the parents’s divorce and Piper’s attempts to get them back together, Piper’s yearning to find her one person, her strained relationship with her best friend, the aunts and all their drama, Piper’s disability and how it impacts her meeting new people, etc. That ‘s not so much of a plus. But if you’d like a mashup of Taylor Swift’s Enchanted and Cyrano de Bergerac, this is the book for you, and it’s 3 stars from me🌵📚💁🏼‍♀️🎀 #allthestarsalignnovel #NetGalley #SMPinfluencers #gretchenschreiber

Content Warning: divorce

+ This story is about a girl, who wants to fulfill receiving her Blessing. A Blessing is basically a soulmate – but in Piper’s family, all the women have had, even her mom, until the divorce happened. So what does that mean? I like how the story questions different types of love, relationships and fate versus choice. Piper’s parents loved one another, or still do, but they aren’t compatible and that wasn’t okay with Piper until she had to face some truths. Other types of love displayed are the love of parents with their child, the strained love of family, and the tumultuous love of the teenage years.

+ Piper is disabled and she blames herself for her parents’ divorce, which is sad. I did like the talk her mom had to have with her. Piper is so hell-bent on her plan to find her Blessing, be with that boy forever, and run her family’s business. She has a need to feel wanted by them instead of always feeling different from them. Piper has an amazing support system though – her parents and her best friends Leo and Diana really keep her protected.

+ Because Piper is trying her best to find this Blessing, she’s confused about how she feels about her best friend Leo, who she did have feelings for but they never said anything about it. And then she meets Forest, who supposedly is her Blessing – so things end up perfect right? Not really.

~ I had a bunch of issues with this story. The Blessings hint that something magical is tied to this family but it is so vague. Is it something truly magical or something they made up in their own family? It’s not clear. Piper’s focus on the Blessing did get tiresome. I understand why she clung to the hope of it, but it got repetitive. Hearing ‘the Blessing’ got tiresome too. Also, what kind of family pushes their own sister out because she got divorced? That was ridiculous! I’m glad Piper finally stood up for her mom.

~ Another thing that wasn’t clear – Piper’s disability. She mentions she’s disabled but it’s later in the book where Leo talks about her surgery. Eventually, she talks more about her arm but from the beginning it’s just not clear.

~ The back and forth with Leo was also not something I liked. Clearly they have feelings for each other but Piper’s belief in the Blessing and it not being Leo was frustrating. She does grow by the end and makes the right decision for her which is great, but the back and forth made me impatient. I guess it’s relatable because young love and all is so confusing, but I was frustrated for Leo.

Final Thoughts:

There are a lot of vague parts to this story especially when it came to the magic and Piper’s disability but I understand what the book is trying to do. I did like the themes about love and family in the story. Readers will find it relatable and it’s nice to have a disability rep as the main character. I think Piper’s relationship with her parents or how she feels about their divorce and what that meant about ‘the Blessing’ was my favorite part of this book. I like how Piper had to question fate versus choice. Overall, I got the message but the story itself fell a but flat for me.

All the Stars Align is a YA romance about high school senior Piper and her search for her one true love. I loved the concept of this book, but the execution was lacking. I had a hard time enjoying Piper’s journey with the constant discussion of her family, the interjections of her aunts and the constant reminder of the “BLESSING”. I always struggle with a friends to lovers as it is just a version of the miscommunication trope, but throwing in a love triangle as well was made this really hard for me to get through. I needed the magical realism to give more than just constantly feeding the word “Blessing” down my throat. Maybe I would have liked this in my younger years.