Lou’s Review: Count Your Lucky Stars, by Alexandria Bellefleur

While perusing Twitter (the name may have changed but I’m still procrastinating there just the same), I learned a fantastic new term: auto-buy author. A writer whose work you enjoy so much that purchasing their books becomes an automatic reaction. And with Count Your Lucky Stars, Alexandria Bellefleur has joined that illustrious category. Everything I enjoyed about the style and sensibilities behind Written in the Stars was even better this time round, and the story is completely gorgeous.

After her history of heartbreak, Margot Cooper is so not interested in romance. But with her best friends coupled up and building new lives together, Margot feels increasingly like an outsider. Matters are complicated when her friends hire Olivia Grant as their wedding planner, Margot’s former best friend and first love. Also: the last person on earth Margot wants to celebrate love & commitment with. But even after all this time she can’t forget their one perfect week together.

Olivia’s rebuilding her life after a ten years trapped in a hollow marriage. And while she’s thrilled to be free of Brad, Olivia has struggled to catch her break. Brad’s still under the illusion they’ll get back together, her dad’s recovering from a heart attack, and her new apartment is flooded. Having lost her roommate to matrimony, Margot offers Olivia a place to stay. In such close proximity, past feelings freshly awaken. But both women are still carrying baggage from their past.

Count Your Lucky Stars is a charming, compelling read from start to finish. Bellefleur’s writing is simply beautiful. I’m in love with the poetry of her descriptive language. And the PACING! It’s obvious that Bellefleur has a masterful understanding of her craft.

There’s absolutely no filler in this novel, every chapter and scene driving the plot forward while serving multiple purposes. The first time Margot and Olivia meet on page, they’re making arrangements to move in together by the end of the scene – and it’s completely convincing. I’m in awe.

And the tropes are utterly delicious. I wasn’t a fan of Second Chance romance until reading Melissa Lenhardt’s The Secret of You and Me. And Count Your Lucky Stars has deepened my appreciation of this particular dynamic, the depth and emotional resonance it adds to the relationship.

Also, Friends-to-Lovers isn’t usually my thing – before this book I thought that if characters hadn’t noticed their feelings, the chemistry couldn’t be that strong. But with the particular backstory between these characters, who grew up together as girls, it works perfectly. Plus, their friendship is founded in mutual respect – which was very much missing from Olivia’s marriage.

There are only two parts of this story which didn’t entirely work for me. The first is the miscommunication trope. Margot’s hang-ups are completely understandable given what she believes about Margot, but the nature of their past break-up lacks a degree of believability. And I didn’t feel the third act conflict, which is often my favourite plot beat. Margot’s side felt far too passive, and Olivia’s poor decisions made it pretty difficult to keep rooting for her.

That said, Count Your Lucky Stars is a special book. I particularly adore Margo. She’s spent the last two years watching her friends fall in love, move in with one another, and make serious commitments. And I LOVE that Margo gets to be in her feelings about these changes, having her fear of being left behind or forgotten taken seriously. Both her friends and the framing of the story affirm Margo’s perspective as valid.

Bellefleur fully taps into the anxiety of that time in your late twenties and early thirties when agemates can suddenly leapfrog you with the conventional markers of adulthood. Her writing is perceptive, her characterisation on point. And I want to read every last romance Bellefleur will ever release, regardless of whether the pairings are F/F or M/F. She’s one hell of an author.