Looking for a Sign

Finished June 25

Looking for a Sign by Susie Dumond

Gray, the main character has recently moved to New Orleans after a break-up from her long-term girlfriend. She has moved in with her best friend Cherry, Cherry's husband Robbie, and their toddler son River. She helps out with River, and takes time to get herself familiar with the city before finding a place of her own. 

Cherry convinces her to go to an astrologer, Madame Nouvelle Lune, to get her palm read. Following this visit, the two decide that since Gray, at nearly twenty-nine is reaching a turning point in her life astrologically, she should date people from every sign to determine which she was most compatible with. A deadline of her upcoming birthday in six weeks is agreed upon. 

Gray's new job is doing PR and marketing for a local private school system. She ends up late for an first meeting with one of the school system's new principals, Victoria. But she begs for a second chance and works hard to put together a number of ideas to help the principal in her drive to make the school more diverse and bring new material to their curriculum. 

The two meet outside of work when they go to the same park, Gray with River, and Victoria with her son, and this begins a new friendship for her. 

As Gray works her way, in order, through the star signs, starting with her own sign Aries, she makes other friends, and has a few sexual experiences. 

The idea of the storyline is interesting, but Gray felt a little naive for her age on the personal level, unlike her professional persona. I also felt a lack of depth in the characters, and some generalizations and depictions that made me a little uncomfortable, particularly in terms of sexual identity. I feel like the book could have used some sensitivity readers to address this. 

The novel had some great passages, but overall it failed to really grab me. The ending saved it a bit, and the extra material was novel and interesting. 

Written in the Stars

Finished March 12
Written in the Stars by Alexandria Bellefleur

This romance novel takes place in Seattle and is a delightful rom-com of a read. Darcy Lowell is an entrepreneur and astrologist on the verge of a big business deal, with her and her business partner Margot signing a deal with a popular matchmaking firm. The principal at the matchmaking firm that they've been working with on the deal has set Darcy up with his sister Elle, who's recently come out of a painful break-up and moved to Seattle only after that.
But things don't go well on that first date, which is per usual lately for Darcy. Darcy is feeling down, not just because of her non-existent love life, but also because her family doesn't see her unconventional career choice as a serious venture, despite her success.
Elle is also not feeling great about her life. She's tired of her brother trying to set her up, and doesn't have the energy to keep going on bad dates. When she tells a lie about the date to buy some time from her brother, she ends up making a deal with Darcy that might help them both. If it doesn't hurt them.
Both women have been burnt in relationships and are a bit wary of getting hurt again. Both have families that have some issues.
There's some intriguing things happening her, and I had trouble putting this book down. A fun and engrossing read.

Star-Crossed

Finished April 19
Star-Crossed by Minnie Darke

This Australian novel was a delightful read. Justine Carmichael has been working as a copy-runner at the Alexandria Park Star, doing whatever is asked of her while she waits for a reporting position to open up. The Star has developed over the last thirty years from a street rag to a glossy current affairs magazine. Justine runs errands, gets coffee, delivers messages and generally does whatever needs to be done. Justine has an incredible memory, a love of literature, and a penchant for correct grammar. She carries a sharpie in her purse and corrects signs, menus, and other sources of grammar and spelling mistakes that she encounters in her day. Nick Jordan is an actor, so far not very successful. His latest gig has him wearing a fish costume at the local market, which is where Justine and him meet, or rather meet again after several years of not seeing each other. Their mothers had been best friends, until his family moved across the country. Justine has never really forgot Nick and the one evening they spent together at the young age their were then.
Catching up on each other's lives, Justine discovers that Nick is a big believer in horoscopes, particularly the ones that run in the magazine she works for. When an unexpected opening at work brings the transcription of the horoscopes under Justine's purview, she can't resist tweaking them to encourage Nick to think of her romantically. But of course, Nick is not the only Aquarius reading those horoscopes, and there are other people who make life choices based on what Justine has done.
I really enjoyed this read, liking Justine, and Nick and several of the other characters that come along. There is a good deal of humour, a general light-hearted flavour to the book, and of course some romance. Definitely recommended.