Definitely recommend if you are in the mood for a good romcom! And I am very happy to learn the author has a book in the works featuring a character from this one. With the craziness of this year, I have found myself seeking out cute and charming stories more than usual. This book provided a pleasant, escape from reality type of reading experience. The two female characters had good chemistry and it was fun rooting for them to find happiness. When Darcy begs Elle to play along, she agrees to pretend they’re dating to save face. But with a few conditions: Darcy must help Elle navigate her own overbearing family over the holidays and their arrangement expires on New Year’s Eve. The last thing they expect is to develop real feelings during a fake relationship. It was all still an enjoyable read but I was expecting so much more from it. The strongest parts of the book were definitely more towards the beginning so it was a gradual let down and slowly getting more and more disinterested. It’s not that anything was inherently bad with anything written but some passages were a little too corny for my taste. And not the kind of tooth aching sweetness that will make you feel fuzzy and smiley, but just overused 2015 Tumblr cheesiness I thought the world had moved passed.

we have an adorable astrology theme keeps things fun and whimsical, and we have realistic angst as well. and there's a fleshed-out cast of friends and family members for both elle and darcy. Characters: Darcy and Elle were so vivid, and I loved seeing their personalities clash, and eventually compliment each other, through the course of the book. It was adorable to watch them open up more, despite their differences. Now Elle and Darcy find themselves in a “fauxmance” just to make a few social events more palatable, up until New Year’s Eve. Darcy and Elle are set up on a blind date by Darcy's brother, Brendon. The date is a bit of a disaster and the two go on their separate ways. That is until Darcy decides to tell Brendon she hit it off with Elle and they are now dating. A bit of a spur of the moment idea but this will hopefully get Brendon to stop playing matchmaker. Elle agrees to go along with the whole fake dating scheme because now she can bring her as her date to her family's Thanksgiving dinner. Maybe now Elle's family won't look at her as such a disappointment if she is "dating" someone like prim and proper, Darcy. This fake relationship might actually turn out to be mutually beneficial in more ways than one.

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Plot: The semi enemies-to-lovers trope was really well done! However it seemed like a lot of points were rehashed over and over (yes, we get it, Darcy thinks falling for Elle would be a bad move, and Elle doesn’t want to mess up her business deal with Brendon). There was also noticeably repetitive language. Although, my copy was an ARC, so keep that in mind Despite their differences, despite the obstacles that should keep them apart, Elle and Darcy not only find a way to be together, but their journey is so rich, so embedded in who they are, we can't help but root for them. Despite their differences, despite the obstacles that should keep them apart, Elle and Darcy not only find a way to be together, but their journey is so rich, so embedded in who they are, we can't help but root for them. It's also educational; they model the way a strong relationship can work, which is always a good read. elle was very earnest and sweet, i liked her too. the steamy moments were well written and the writing style was very entertaining to read. i absolutely loved the development of darcy and elle’s relationship for most of the book and thought that they had great chemistry. Also, the fan fiction mentions made me happy (as a former — okay, sometimes current — peruser of fanfic, you bet I noticed them), and the phrase OTP has never been so aptly applied.

cons: darcy’s brother was just on the side of too much when it came to his pushiness with his involvement in darcy’s love life. i get that he cared a lot about her and wanted her to be happy, but it was annoying at times how much he ignored her boundaries. the ending was not quite what i had hoped and left me a bit disappointed. Speaking of, fandoms and fandom spaces were brought up a few times throughout this book but it never felt very organic and always a little contrived and off.

Obviously, everything works out for the best, but I just feel like the set up made me not love the book as much as I normally would have. Especially because the sex scenes in this book are so hot and sexy! Also, I am very in love with Margo who is pan and is Elle’s roommate and also works alongside Elle on “Oh My Stars” where they analyze birth charts on the internet and will soon have a book out! (Also… Margo is totally going to be the one that gets a spin off too, but she deserves better, hahah) I was so enthused when I started this book because these characters’ first meeting was a wild ride but so very perfect to set the tone, I just wished the rest had kept up. Elle was technicolor chaos and the feelings she inspired in Darcy were a hazard straight out of Pandora’s box.” With nods to Bridget Jones and Pride and Prejudice, a charming #ownvoices queer rom-com debut about a free-spirited social media astrologer who agrees to fake a relationship with an uptight actuary until New Year’s Eve—with results not even the stars could predict! With nods to Bridget Jones and Pride & Prejudice, this debut is a delightful queer rom-com about a free-spirited social media astrologer who agrees to fake a relationship with a grumpy actuary until New Year’s Eve—with results not even the stars could predict!