This is the sequel to Written in the Stars, which was one of my favourite books of 2021 – so it’s no surprise that I loved this.

It’s another romance novel, this time between Darcy’s brother Brendon and her best friend Annie. She’s visiting Seattle for a brief trip to break the news that she’s moving to London, and Brendon is trying to persuade her to stay – and also that romance isn’t dead. Where the first book used fake dating, this leans into big romantic gestures. It’s a charming tale of them both learning to be vulnerable and loving, and navigating each other’s love languages.

It’s sweet and charming, and I inhaled it in less than a day. The characters are warm and bubbly, and the friendship and love feels heart-warming and genuine. Although it revolves around Annie and Brendon, I enjoyed the brief glimpses of Darcy, Margot, and Elle.

I read this as a paperback rather than the audiobook, and it worked better – the text message conversations work much better that way.

I’m ashamed to admit that even though I knew it’d be a happy ending, and the nature of said ending is heavily telegraphed, I completely failed to see it coming. But I enjoyed it all the same!

This firmly cements Alexandria Bellefleur as one of my favourite authors, and I imagine I’ll be re-reading this one on a regular basis.

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