Count Your Lucky Stars

Count Your Lucky Stars by Alexandria Bellefleur is a return to her romantic universe focusing on Margot. Margot doesn’t want anyone to date, but her childhood friend returns, and things take a change.

From Goodreads:

Margot Cooper doesn’t do relationships. She tried and it blew up in her face, so she’ll stick with casual hookups, thank you very much. But now her entire crew has found “the one” and she’s beginning to feel like a fifth wheel. And then fate (the heartless bitch) intervenes. While touring a wedding venue with her engaged friends, Margot comes face-to-face with Olivia Grant—her childhood friend, her first love, her first… well, everything. It’s been ten years, but the moment they lock eyes, Margot’s cold, dead heart thumps in her chest.

Olivia must be hallucinating. In the decade since she last saw Margot, her life hasn’t gone exactly as planned. At almost thirty, she’s been married… and divorced. However, a wedding planner job in Seattle means a fresh start and a chance to follow her dreams. Never in a million years did she expect her important new client’s Best Woman would be the one that got away.

When a series of unfortunate events leaves Olivia without a place to stay, Margot offers up her spare room because she’s a Very Good Person. Obviously. It has nothing to do with the fact that Olivia is as beautiful as ever and the sparks between them still make Margot tingle. As they spend time in close quarters, Margot starts to question her no-strings stance. Olivia is everything she’s ever wanted, but Margot let her in once and it ended in disaster. Will history repeat itself or should she count her lucky stars that she gets a second chance with her first love?

All quotes are from an advanced reader copy, and may or may not reflect the published edition.

“I’m a whole person. And the idea of needing to find someone to make you complete seems like bullshit to me.”

It’s a well-known rule of thumb that romance is far from my favorite genre. However, Bellefleur’s books are an exception to the rule. While I didn’t read the book focusing on Brandon, I have read Written in the Stars and found it fun and lovable. Count Your Lucky stars fits that style well and remained light-hearted in the right spots, and heavy where it fits best. Bellefleur does this in a way that feels seamless.

“The right person shouldn’t complete you, they should love you the way you are.”

Margot is an interesting character, and I’m glad we got a chance to get to know her a little more. However, for a character who exists in another book, she didn’t feel nearly as fleshed out as Olivia. Olivia’s backstory and history with Margot made her interesting and her emotions made sense to me. Margot felt almost as though she clung to a high school grudge for so long that she didn’t know how to look past it. Overall, it felt a little petty.

Despite that, I was invested in their romance and how this relationship would develop. I appreciated the way that they discussed putting yourself first. It also looked at healthy communication, and the ways we can unintentionally avoid it. Additionally, the majority of the sex scenes are individual chapters. I mention this as someone who doesn’t always like to read those, and really love when I have the option to skip them without losing anything important in the plot!

“And it’s cool if they make you want to be better, but they should never make you feel like you’re too much or not enough exactly as you are.”

Overall, this book was just as fun and entertaining as her other stories. Although some of the characters can be a little petty and flat, it still leads to an interesting story. The pacing is incredibly well done, and the more steamy scenes are well written and placed in such a way that you can skip them if you wanted to. This really appeals to me as a reader, and makes me want to read more from this author!

“All I’m saying is, it’s a slippery slope and it’s easy to go from being selfless to self-sacrificing. Self-sabotaging.”

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Read more reviews here.