★★★★☆ 3.8 / 5 (calculated from Amazon, Goodreads & romance.io reader ratings — 75,240 combined)
| Overall | 7.7 | Romance | 7.8 |
| Characters | 8.0 | Writing | 8.3 |
| Emotion | 7.0 | Heat | 8.0 |
| Ending | 6.0 | Re-read value | 7.5 |
An astrologer and an actuary fake-date until New Year’s Eve — and neither the zodiac nor the reader sees the real feelings coming.
If you love fake-dating, grumpy-sunshine banter, and a queer Pride and Prejudice with a holiday glow, Written in the Stars by Alexandria Bellefleur belongs on your list. This Lambda Literary Award-winning debut launched one of the most-loved sapphic rom-com series of the decade.
Our take: a witty, warm, genuinely funny opposites-attract romance carried by two vivid heroines and some of the sharpest one-liners in contemporary queer fiction — held back only by a famously abrupt, epilogue-free ending that leaves readers wanting the last chapter that never comes.
The Evidence Scorecard
Every score below is backed by what readers and reviewers actually reported across Amazon, Goodreads and romance.io — not vibes. Here is the case for each rating.
Writing & Voice ★★★★☆
Evidence
- ✓ Sharp, “zinging” one-liners singled out by Entertainment Weekly as reading like a seasoned author, not a debut
- ✓ Two genuinely distinct narrative voices — Darcy clipped and precise, Elle a warm ramble
- ✓ Astrology memes and listicles woven through the text add texture without stalling the story
- ✓ Starred review from Publishers Weekly; praised by NPR, Kirkus and the New York Times Book Review
- ✓ Reader consensus: the prose is the book’s strongest, most consistently praised element
Dialogue & Banter ★★★★★
Evidence
- ✓ Believable, character-specific teasing — reviewers repeatedly call the banter “laugh out loud funny”
- ✓ Text-message exchanges used to deepen character differences rather than pad word count
- ✓ Even a critical 3-star reviewer conceded the dialogue was “more natural sounding than I’ve read in some others”
- ✓ Natural escalation from hostile to flirtatious as the fake relationship thaws
Chemistry & Romance ★★★★☆
Evidence
- ✓ Classic grumpy/sunshine pairing that readers describe as “explosive” and “cheesy-grin” inducing
- ✓ Fake-dating premise gives the leads a plausible reason to keep colliding
- ✓ Split opinion: some readers felt the connection tipped into insta-lust rather than earned intimacy
- ✓ A recurring wish that the two shared more in common beyond the initial “spark”
Heat ★★★★☆
Evidence
- ✓ Rated Steam 4/5 — explicit, open-door — on romance.io
- ✓ Multiple reviewers describe the love scenes as “fire” and “sizzling”
- ✓ A minority felt the intimate scenes were “not as creative” as the rest of the writing
- ✓ Sexual content flagged as moderate in reader content notes
Emotion & Depth ★★★½☆
Evidence
- ✓ Elle’s fight for acceptance from her academic family gives the book real emotional stakes
- ✓ Darcy's guardedness (rooted in a cheating ex) earns genuine reader sympathy once revealed
- ✓ Divided reception: some readers found the emotional connection “all physical” and under-explored
- ✓ Darcy's backstory hurt is set up but, several reviewers note, never fully unpacked on the page
Pacing ★★★½☆
Evidence
- ✓ Strong, hooky opening — the disastrous blind date pulls readers in immediately
- ✓ Momentum builds well through the middle as pretense gives way to real feeling
- ✓ Reader opinions divided on the second half — some call it slow, others say it “really takes off”
- ✓ Third-act miscommunication drama felt “unnecessary” to a number of reviewers
Ending ★★★☆☆
Evidence
- ✓ The single most common criticism across all three platforms: the book ends abruptly
- ✓ No epilogue and, several readers argue, no real denouement — “the conflict resolves in literally the last sentence”
- ✓ The HEA is present but the make-up feels rushed after significant angst
- ✓ Readers wanting a time-skip or a settled-couple coda are left wishing for more
Re-read & Comfort Value ★★★★☆
Evidence
- ✓ Widely described as a “comfort read” and an easy “palette cleanser”
- ✓ The holiday setting makes it a popular seasonal re-read
- ✓ Fans routinely continue straight into the series (Hang the Moon, Count Your Lucky Stars)
- ✓ Counterpoint: some readers say the thin plot means once was enough
Quick Facts
| Title | Written in the Stars |
| Author | Alexandria Bellefleur |
| Series | Written in the Stars #1 (reads as a standalone) |
| Publisher | Avon — 10 November 2020 |
| Length | 384 pages |
| Genre | Contemporary sapphic rom-com / holiday romance |
| Tropes | Fake dating, grumpy/sunshine, opposites attract, forced proximity, holiday romance |
| Heat level | Explicit, open-door (4/5) |
| POV | Dual, third person |
| Ending | HEA (abrupt, no epilogue) |
| Awards | Lambda Literary Award (Best Lesbian Romance); Ripped Bodice Award |
You'll Love This If…
- ✓ Fake dating is your comfort trope and you want it done with warmth and wit
- ✓ You adore a grumpy/sunshine dynamic and an ice-queen who slowly melts
- ✓ You want a queer, feel-good Pride and Prejudice riff with a holiday backdrop
- ✓ You like your banter razor-sharp and your one-liners quotable
- ✓ You want open-door heat inside a genuinely funny rom-com
Avoid If…
- You need a fully wrapped-up ending with an epilogue and on-page denouement
- Insta-attraction and a “spark first, substance later” arc frustrate you
- You want deep, fully-excavated emotional backstory over breezy charm
- Third-act miscommunication drama is a dealbreaker
- Frequent Harry Potter references would pull you out of the story
Book Synopsis
After a blind date goes spectacularly wrong, no-nonsense actuary Darcy Lowell wants nothing more than to get her matchmaking brother off her back. So she lies and says the date — with free-spirited social-media astrologer Elle Jones — went great. The problem: Elle is her brother's new business partner, and she knows the date was a disaster.
To keep the peace, Darcy talks Elle into a fake relationship with an expiration date of New Year's Eve. In exchange, Darcy will help Elle survive her own overbearing family through the holidays. Two women who could not be more different agree to perform a romance neither believes in — and, of course, the performance starts feeling real. It is a modern, queer spin on Pride and Prejudice (right down to the names) wrapped in astrology memes, Seattle winter, and a whole lot of banter.
My Review
Written in the Stars earns its reputation as one of the gateway sapphic rom-coms — and the numbers tell an interesting story. It is beloved (a Lambda Award winner with tens of thousands of ratings), yet its Goodreads average sits at a comparatively modest 3.8. That gap is the whole review in miniature: readers adore the charm and the voice, but a chorus of them trip over the same structural stumble at the finish line.
What works is immediate. Bellefleur writes banter like she was born to it, and Elle and Darcy read as two distinct people rather than trope placeholders. Elle's tumbling enthusiasm and Darcy's dry precision generate real comic friction, and the fake-dating conceit gives them a believable engine to keep circling each other. The heat, when it arrives, is unambiguously open-door and, for most readers, a highlight.
What holds it back is the landing. Across Amazon, Goodreads and romance.io, the same note recurs: the book essentially stops rather than resolves. There is no epilogue, the third-act conflict is patched up quickly, and Darcy's emotional baggage — the engine of her guardedness — is set up more thoroughly than it is paid off. A minority of readers also felt the early attraction skewed toward lust before the characters truly knew one another.
Taken together, this is a genuinely fun, quotable, comfort-read debut that rewards readers who prize voice and banter over airtight structure. If you go in for the charm and forgive the abrupt curtain, you will likely finish it grinning — and reach straight for book two.
Romance Profile
| Pairing | F/F — astrologer (Elle) & actuary (Darcy) |
| Dynamic | Grumpy/sunshine, opposites attract, ice-queen thaw |
| Central trope | Fake dating with an expiration date |
| Conflict | Fear of vulnerability vs. hope; overbearing families |
| Heat | Explicit, open-door (4/5) |
| Spice pacing | Slow to simmer, then hot in the back half |
Emotional Profile
- ✓ Cozy, funny and low-angst for most of its length
- ✓ Warm found-family and friendship threads (Margot, Brendon)
- ✓ A real ache around family acceptance and self-worth
- ✓ A brief but sharp third-act gut-punch before the HEA
Content Warnings
- Explicit sexual content (open-door)
- Past infidelity (a cheating ex, off-page)
- Family neglect / emotional distance from a parent
- Alcohol use
- Brief third-act relationship conflict / breakup beat
Book DNA
| Vibe | Cozy holiday rom-com with a millennial, astrology-meme sensibility |
| Setting | Seattle, winter through New Year's Eve |
| Pace | Breezy; strong open, divisive second half |
| Comps | Pride and Prejudice, Bridget Jones, Talia Hibbert, Alexis Hall |
| Best for | Fake-dating fans who want voice-driven comfort reading |
Similar Books You Might Enjoy
- Delilah Green Doesn't Care by Ashley Herring Blake — grumpy/sunshine sapphic rom-com with sharp banter and real feeling
- The Fiancée Farce by Alexandria Bellefleur — same author, another fake-relationship sapphic charmer (with a tighter ending)
- Hang the Moon by Alexandria Bellefleur — the follow-up, if you want more of this world
- Kiss Her Once for Me by Alison Cochrun — fake-dating, holiday-set, cozy queer romance
- Something to Talk About by Meryl Wilsner — slow-burn sapphic with an opposites-attract charge
For more like this, visit our best fake-dating sapphic romances roundup.
About the Author
Alexandria Bellefleur is a bestselling, award-winning author of contemporary romance known for lovable grumps and the sunshine characters who bring them to their knees. A Pacific Northwesterner at heart now based in New York City, she made her debut with Written in the Stars, which won the 2021 Lambda Literary Award and a Ripped Bodice Award for Excellence in Romantic Fiction. Her other titles include Hang the Moon, Count Your Lucky Stars, and The Fiancée Farce.
Read more Alexandria Bellefleur reviews →
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Written in the Stars a standalone or part of a series?
It is Book 1 of the Written in the Stars trilogy, but it reads perfectly well as a standalone with its own HEA. Books 2 and 3 follow different couples.
How steamy is Written in the Stars?
It is explicit and open-door — rated 4 out of 5 on romance.io. The spice builds gradually and heats up in the back half.
Does Written in the Stars have a happy ending?
Yes, it ends with an HEA. Be warned, though: many readers find the ending abrupt, with no epilogue and a very quick resolution.
Is it really a Pride and Prejudice retelling?
It is a loose, affectionate riff rather than a strict retelling — it borrows the names (Darcy, Elle/Elizabeth), the overheard-insult meet, and the opposites-attract spirit, then goes its own way.
Who are the main characters?
Elle Jones, a warm, free-spirited social-media astrologer, and Darcy Lowell, a reserved, skeptical actuary. Classic grumpy/sunshine.
What are the main tropes?
Fake dating, grumpy/sunshine, opposites attract, forced proximity, and a holiday setting.
Why is the Goodreads rating only 3.8 if it is so popular?
Readers love the voice, banter and chemistry but are widely split on the abrupt, epilogue-free ending and a connection some found more lust- than substance-driven — which pulls the average down.
Should I read it for the holidays?
Absolutely. It is Seattle-set from winter through New Year's Eve and reads as a cozy seasonal comfort book.
Final Verdict
Written in the Stars is a witty, warm, open-door sapphic rom-com whose banter and characters shine brighter than almost anything in the subgenre — a genuine comfort read and a worthy Lambda winner. It stumbles only at the finish, with an abrupt, epilogue-free ending that leaves some emotional threads dangling. Go in for the charm, forgive the landing, and you will likely reach straight for book two. 3.8 / 5.
Where to Buy
Buy Written in the Stars on Amazon
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