Reviewed by Larissa

TITLE: Stars Collide 

SERIES: Written in the Stars, Book 1

AUTHOR: Mia Monroe

PUBLISHER: self-published

RELEASE DATE: January 6, 2020

LENGTH: 268 pages

BLURB: 

He always gets what he wants. Until he meets me.

Above average intelligence is the only break life has given me. I studied hard, got the scholarship to my preferred school, and now I’m poised for my dream job. 

That is, until Gabriel struts into my life lobbying for the position he didn’t lift a finger for. And who gets to train him? This guy.

Gabriel is many things- soccer star, golden boy, rival- but this is one thing that won’t come easy to him. I’ll prove I’m the better candidate for the position and somehow manage not to get lost in his eyes. 

We spend our days talking about space, and when two stars collide, there’s always an explosion.

Stars Collide is a steamy, low angst, enemies to lovers, opposites attract, MM romance with a determined science major, a former athlete finding his way, a galaxy of assumptions, and only ONE bed. It is book one in the Written in the Stars series, featuring science-loving nerds and the men who fall for them. 

REVIEW: 

With the dreamy, steamy, swoony Stars Collide, Mia Monroe initiates us into the stellar world of her new Written in the Stars series and introduces us to a constellation of complex and endearing characters.  What a terrific way to kick off the new year: embarking on a new series full of fun, flirty fabulous books from Ms. Monroe.  Even better, Stars Collide has already landed on my list of Top M/M Romances of 2021.

* * *

Stars Collide delivers what I’ve come to expect and respect from Mia Monroe:  an impactful romance showcasing diversity.  In her prior series, most recently, the fabulous Tattoos and Temptation series, Ms. Monroe features characters with different ethnic backgrounds, appearances, sexualities, kinks, and needs.  Even the locale, vibrant Miami, puts a spotlight on diversity and acceptance.  Here, she comes at diversity from a different angle, but with no less effect.  The Written in the Stars series is set in a planetarium.  Yes, you heard that right.  How completely unexpected and refreshing.  Never fear though: the cast of characters does not consist of cookie cutter intellectuals with social hang-ups.  We meet a diverse group of people that work at the Blue Moon Planetarium which includes, but is not limited to, science loving intellectuals – such as our star in this book, Jeremiah – who are all different but sexy in their own ways.  They make up a delightful found family – something Ms. Monroe excels at creating – that will immediately worm its way into your heart.

Stars Collide focuses on the aforementioned Jeremiah, the brilliant, driven, PhD who is the director in all but title of the Blue Moon Planetarium.  Jeremiah, beleaguered by a terrible childhood and numerous obstacles, has doggedly pursued his goal of running the planetarium that he essentially considers his home.  His romantic and social life have been the casualties of that single-minded determination, but he has his twin brother Samuel, and a close knit group of co-workers who respect and adore him.  That’s enough for him.

Enter Gabriel, who is wealthy in dollars but poor in love and affection, particularly from his father, who demands Gabriel be obsequious and fulfill crippling expectations.  Gabriel is thrust into an impossible situation:  vying for the position of director of the planetarium, despite his complete lack of qualifications, against Jeremiah, who is obviously respected and loved by his co-workers and is indisputably the perfect person for the job.  No one wants Gabriel there, a feeling he has dealt with many times and in many ways during his life.  Compounding the awkwardness of it all, he’s immediately and impossibly attracted to Jeremiah.  Gabriel has his own childhood baggage, as well as a determined and defiant spirit.  But if there ever was a no-win situation, he’s seemingly in it.

The dynamic between Jeremiah and Gabriel could have been a trite opposites attract, enemies-to-lovers tale, but Ms. Monroe never kowtows to expectation.  Instead, we get two complex, colorful men sparking against each other while falling further into each other’s orbits.  While there’s definite competition and a desire to mutually dislike each other (because that just makes it easier, doesn’t it?), there’s an undeniable magnetic pull between them and an unerring inability to truly sabotage because they are both professional, kind and decent at heart.  The steamy scenes are unexpected, unusual, sexy and beautiful all at once.  Jeremiah and Gabriel literally have sex under the stars.  It’s hot and so romantic.  And different.  And I loved every minute of it.

Underpinning this heartwarming, engaging romance is a subtly weaved thread which I expect will carry through the whole Written in the Stars series:  perspective.  The whole point of a planetarium is to educate and remind people that there is more to this world than just us.  In a time of me, me, me, where division is sown in so many aspects of our lives, and our view of what’s truly important becomes increasingly egocentric and myopic, what better reminder is there that differences we perceive as irrevocably divisive are meaningless in the grand scheme of things.  At the end of the day, we are all human beings in a single world within one galaxy in a universe of innumerable planets and stars.  Love is love and transcends it all.  

RATING:  

BUY LINK: 

Amazon