Book Review: "Miranda in Retrograde" by Lauren Layne

Over the past few years, Lauren Layne has become an auto-buy author for me. Her books are fun and funny, romantic and emotional, and I can’t seem to get enough of them.

Dr. Miranda Reed is an astronomer and a professor at Nova University in New York City. She’s a brilliant researcher and her classes are all well-loved. More than that, she’s become a bit of a celebrity, invited to provide scientific information on news programs, and she’s even guest hosted Jeopardy! a few times.

But Miranda is shocked when the university decides to deny her tenure. Has everything that she’s given her career to been a mistake? The administration encourages her to take a year-long sabbatical and then she can have a lesser position upon her return.

Miranda’s best friend tries to convince her to do something completely different, perhaps even life-changing. Why not study astrology and spend a year following the advice of her horoscope? It seems unfathomable for someone who once denounced astrology on television, but somehow she decided to give it a try. So she moves into her Aunt Lillian’s townhome for a year.

Her horoscope seems pretty spot-on a lot of the time. As she bonds with the grumpy artist who lives next door, she’s relieved that he’s not an astrological match, but the handsome father of a young girl she’s tutoring certainly is. But as her year progresses, has she just traded one set of rules for another? Is she capable of making her own decisions, based on her heart and not on science or the stars?

I really enjoyed this. I loved the banter between the characters, watching Miranda grow and change (or maybe not), and all the moments that made me smile. Did the stars make me read this?

Book Review: "Penelope in Retrograde" by Brooke Abrams

Wow, this was a fun book! It was my second choice from September's Amazon First Reads, but of course Prime members were only allowed to pick one that month. But I jumped on it as soon as it was published.

Despite the wishes of her parents, Penelope didn't graduate from Princeton, nor did she take a job at her father's engineering firm. Instead, she followed her true passion—writing—and now she's a successful romance writer. But given the disdain with which her parents view her choices (they don't even know her pen name), as well as her penchant for running away when family tensions get high, she's fairly estranged from everyone.

When she and her two roommates—also romance writers—develop an idea for a new romance-only bookstore, they need an infusion of capital. So it's time for Penelope to try and mend fences with her family to see if her father would be willing to invest in her new business venture. And what better time than the Thanksgiving holiday? She heads back to the family home on Coronado, and prepares to be reunited with her parents, her twin sister Phoebe, and her beloved Nana Rosie.

But things start awkwardly. Penelope's ride share from the airport has an unexpected passenger: Smith, her ex-husband. They've not really spoken since their marriage imploded, so he's the last person she thought she'd see. They endure a strange ride, during which Penelope feels some of the old chemistry between them as well as reinforcement that their divorce was the right decision. And to add to her tension, her mother is trying to set her up with one of her father's employees, Martin, who will be having Thanksgiving dinner with them.

It's not long before Penelope is fighting with her parents and Phoebe, and trying to convince Martin to be her fake boyfriend so Smith didn't think she was still pining for him. But what to do when you find yourself falling back into the same patterns with your family, rehashing old arguments and hurts? Can she stand up for herself without putting her potential business venture at risk?

Penelope in Retrograde is a fun and heartfelt story about love, friendship, following your dreams, family (both blood and chosen), and the pull of the stars. While some of the familial tension definitely was more her family's fault than Penelope's, I know what it's like to feel like you're always the one in the wrong. This really was a great balance of humor, romance, and emotion.

Book Review: "Written in the Stars" by Alexandria Bellefleur

Alexandria Bellefleur's Written in the Stars is just the fun and sexy rom-com I was looking for!

Ever since she moved to Seattle, Darcy’s brother Brendon keeps setting her up on blind dates that don’t seem to work. The latest one was the last straw. While she and Elle definitely had chemistry, they couldn’t have been less suited for each other—Elle is a quirky free spirit and an astrologer, and Darcy is an actuary who definitely doesn’t believe in that stuff.

In an effort to get her brother off her back, Darcy tells him that she has fallen for Elle. Of course, she didn’t count on him telling Elle (who happens to be his new business partner), who was surprised considering how dismissive Darcy was during their date. (She heard her tell someone on the phone that Elle was "a mess.") But when Darcy begs her to play along for a while, Elle agrees, because Darcy’s stability might help her own family take her seriously for once.

So they decide to fake their relationship, just for a few weeks. What could go wrong? It’s not like they’ll ACTUALLY fall for each other, right? (If you’ve never read a rom-com before you might wonder what will happen, lol.)

This was fun, steamy, and romantic, and I loved Darcy and Elle, as well as the two supporting characters, Margot and Brendon. I so enjoy the fake-dating trope, and this book had so much going for it.

I’d love to see this made into a movie. I’m also psyched that Bellefleur is writing a second book with Brendon as the protagonist. Of course, we'll have to wait until sometime in 2021...