Miranda in Retrograde by Lauren Layne Purchase on: Amazon, iBooks
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Synopsis:
After getting passed over for tenure and having her life upended in the process, a physics professor decides to throw caution to the wind and live by her horoscope predictions for a year in this effervescent rom-com from the New York Times bestselling author of Made in Manhattan.
As the youngest physics professor at her university, practical-minded Miranda Reed plans her life with minute precision. But that’s before she’s denied tenure and the promotion she thought was guaranteed. Suddenly, her tidy life is anything but constant.
Overdue for a sabbatical, Miranda takes some time to look towards the stars—only this time, she’s not looking for black holes. With her faith in science shaken, Miranda turns to a practice she’s long dismissed as preposterous: astrology.
Determined to figure out why her life has suddenly gone sideways, Miranda commits to a year of letting her horoscope guide her. Soon she’s taking on new home improvement projects, adopting a new pet, and studying what the stars have to say about her ideal love match. The intriguingly aloof artist living next door? Never. His Aries energy is all wrong. On the other hand, the charming father of her new tutoring pupil is Sagittarian perfection. Made for her...right?
As Miranda navigates life with new a perspective, she slowly discovers neither science nor the stars have all the answers. And that, when it comes to love, you sometimes just have to trust your heart.
Review:
Miranda in Retrograde was unique, loveable, fun, and I can’t recommend it enough! This adult slow burn romance pulled us into its orbit with characters that were memorable, a storyline that took us on an emotional journey, and the most wonderful happily ever after!
“I think the point, my dear girl”— Aunt Lillian pats my hand fondly—“ is that life isn’t meant to be hypothesized.”
I frown, not liking that one bit. “What’s life meant for then?”
Aunt Lillian smiles. “To be lived.”
I adored Miranda right away! Her ex left her, she was denied tenure, and her parents and brother didn’t seem supportive. Yet an adorable meet cute was in her future, where she met her knight in shining armor, Christian. So while she took a sabbatical from her job, I loved watching Miranda find herself. With living in her Aunt’s home, taking care of her plants, letting her horoscope guide her, and having a very interesting neighbor too!
But there is maybe just the tiniest part of me that can’t stop wondering:
Am I following my heart?
Or my horoscope?
This book felt so unique in that while Miranda didn’t believe in her horoscope, she went all in. She learned everything she could, and allowed it to help her make life decisions. Her experiment during her time off will have you smiling! It not only helped push her into Christian and his adorable daughter, Kylee, but it also led her in other directions too. Yet Miranda still seemed lost to what she truly wanted in life. It felt like the times she was true to herself, was when she was around Archer.
“I was alone. Figured you were, too. Not the way one should spend a holiday if they don’t have to.”
“That’s surprisingly . . . thoughtful.”
“Just had my software updated,” he says, tapping his temple, then balls up the sandwich wrapper with a large fist and drops it into the empty bag.
Archer was Miranda’s neighbor, and he could be such a smartass. I loved that he called her Randy! Their first meeting was awful, but just wait because the second one was even worse haha. Archer had no problem invading Miranda’s space, and their banter and openness with one another became everything! But at the same time, he could be so thoughtful. So while he kept his cards close to his chest, just know that Archer was the ultimate book boyfriend. He was sexy, brooding and you’ll fall head over heels in love with him!
This. This is what scares me. Because whatever it is feels too big to fit into the temporariness of what this experimental, sabbatical year is supposed to be.
With sweet moments between Miranda and Christian, and moments that simmered between Archer and Miranda, I had to know what happened next. Plus I was curious what Miranda would do when her sabbatical was up. So with thoughtful Christmas presents, beautiful talks on the roof at night, a zipper scene, and kitchen dancing, this book had it all! Plus, I cried all the tears later in the story, that moment was so perfect! If you’re looking for a romance that will keep you smiling, while you’re cheering on the heroine to find her own happiness, definitely pick this one up!
“I didn’t mean it like that.”
“Uh-huh.”
“I didn’t. I mean . . .” He exhales, sounding frustrated. “You did crash my solitude. But I don’t . . . mind it. As much as I thought I’d mind it. Or at all, really.”
Archer follows me out to the foyer, though when I open the front door, he places his palm on it to close it again.
I glance up in question, and his blue eyes are guarded as he briefly clenches his jaw. “Hey. Randy. You look . . . nice. Okay? You look good.”
The guarded gaze drops for a split second, revealing what I could have sworn is a flash of heat before it disappears.
I agree, this book made me smile. It was fun and sweet. The banter between Miranda and Archer was fantastic, and I adored seeing their relationship grow and change. Those rooftop meetings! Archer was grumpy with a heart of gold which is one of my favorite kind of heroes.