Susie Dumond

Thank you to Susie Dumond and The Dial Press for an advanced reader copy in return for my honest review.

3.5 out of 5 stars

Looking for a Sign by Susie Dumond follows Gray, a newly-single almost 29 year old who's ready to settle down and start a family. After moving to New Orleans to be closer to her best friend Cherry post-breakup, she visits an astrologer to get an idea of where to go next in life. After some willful misinterpretation of the astrologer's advice, she ends up on a quest to date one person from every zodiac sign prior to her 29th birthday so she can determine which signs she's most compatable with. Hijinks ensue, and she learns that sometimes the best things in life come from the place you least expect them. This book is great for people who love astrology (except maybe Earth signs), found family, adorable children, and sapphic romance.

I was so excited for this book and honestly, it fell flat for me. Don't get me wrong, the premise was great and I think Dumond did a great job of handling something that could so easily felt gimmicky (okay, it still sometimes felt gimmicky, but not in a bad way; just in a rom-com way). However, I think Dumond was trying to do too much with the plot and let the characters and their growth suffer for it.

I just could not connect with Gray. She was earnest, loved her friends, and I do think that she was always doing what she genuinely thought was best. However, she was also very stereotypically Aries: impulsive, self-centered, and presumptuous. To be fair, I am a Virgo and clearly Virgos and Aries are not meant to be (but the Virgo slander in this book!), so if those are character traits you don't mind, your mileage may vary here. It bothers me more because I can see a way for Gray to have grown as a character, specifically the point that she eventually makes about how she grew up with religion and this appeal to astrology was her attempt to trust in a higher power when she felt vulnerable. I think Dumond could have done a lot with that if the realization had hit earlier in the book, but it didn't which means it just felt like a wasted opportunity. What growth she was able to have was almost immediately contradicted by everyone around her immediately forgiving her and sometimes even apologizing? It felt as though all of her lessons learned were forgotten almost immediately afterward. It ended up feeling like she was still too immature to end up with the love interest in the end; Veronica definitely deserved better.

I think the side characters were in general the best part of the book. They were all stereotypes as well, but given the plot it worked. Some were better than others (and you could clearly see which signs the author liked better than others, because some of the characterizations felt a little mean-spirited), but they were generally interesting and I'd have liked to learn more about most of them.

Overall, it had promise but I think Dumond tried to fit too much into the book (or maybe just bring it to a close too fast); Gray's personality combined with her lack of personality growth made it hard to root for her in the end, and made the payoff less impactful.… (más)

between 3.5 and 4 stars. fun, charming, queer book that is less about the romance and more about the friendships and self discovery. i liked where the focus was here. (in fact, the main conflict is not in the romance, it's between the main character and her best friend! yes!) it's also unusual to set a book - especially a queer book - in oklahoma, when it's not about being gay in oklahoma in 2014. i mean it is, but it's about so much more than that. i really liked that this went into issues like religion and what gay marriage means to equal rights and the movement for equality in general. the debate about whether being a part of straight weddings is in some way harmful to progress in gay marriage. it was interesting and thoughtful and well done.

i liked spending time with amy and her friends (especially joel and damian) and while i don't feel like i knew charley all that well or understood why she couldn't have texted a few times, i didn't care all that much because the romance wasn't actually the main point here. community was and that shone through.

i enjoyed this and i'd read her again.… (más)