A Cosmic Kind of Love

by Samantha Young

When event planner Hallie Goodman receives party-inspiration material from the bride of her latest wedding project, the last thing she expects to find in the files are digital videos from Darcy’s ex-boyfriend. Hallie knows it’s wrong to keep watching these personal videos, but this guy is cute, funny, and an astronaut on the International Space Station to boot. She’s only human. And it’s not long until she starts sending e-mails and video diaries to his discontinued NASA address. Since they’re bouncing back, there’s no way anyone will ever be able to see them... right?

Christopher Ortiz is readjusting to life on earth and being constantly in the shadow of his deceased older brother. When a friend from NASA’s IT department forwards him the e-mails and video messages Hallie has sent, he can’t help but notice how much her sense of humor and pink hair make his heart race.

Separated by screens, Hallie and Chris are falling in love with each other, one transmission at a time. But can they make their star-crossed romance work when they each learn the other’s baggage?

Space is the last thing an event planner and an astronaut need in this charming new romantic comedy from New York Times bestselling author Samantha Young.

Genres: Romance, Contemporary, Contemporary Romance, Audiobook, Fiction, Adult, Friends To Lovers

390 pages, Paperback

First published October 18, 2022

About the author

Samantha is a New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal bestselling author and a Goodreads Choice Awards Nominee. Samantha has written over 60 books and is published in 31 countries. She writes emotional and angsty romance, often set where she resides—in her beloved home country Scotland. Samantha splits her time between her family, writing and chasing after two very mischievous cavapoos.

Sign up to Sam's newsletter for book updates, exclusive giveaways and freebies - https://authorsamanthayoung.com/subsc...

Find Sam online at www.authorsamanthayoung.com, and on IG, TikTok and FB @authorsamanthayoung

Reviews

[Nilufer Ozmekik · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is not only sweet, lighthearted, feelgood romance, it’s so emotional, poignant, a little angsty and powerful. Deeply layered characterization made me fall in love with both MCs. There are so many trigging subjects like verbal and psychological parental abuse, cheating that the author approach with care. You are not getting overwhelmed after you’re reading about both main characters’ dysfunctional family stories, on the contrary, you are respecting and feeling for them a lot.

Hallie Goodman: people pleaser, negotiator, sweetest woman who doesn’t like to deal with conflicts. You may get pissed off when you witness how her relatives take advantage of her good heart selfishly including the last douchebag she’s dating.

She’s a successful event planner and her new client Darcy, environmental lawyer, coming from a powerful, wealthy family is about to marry with a French artist. She sends some files to Hallie including her opinions about her wedding ceremony but accidentally she sends Hallie her ex boyfriend Captain Christopher Ortiz’s video letters specifically filmed for Darcy.

Hallie can’t resist to watch them all even though she feels so bad to intrude his privacy. She realizes she slowly develops a crush on him and for being fair she films her own video letters about her daily life, her struggles with her family, her demanding job, her humiliating experiences and sends him.

Chris already returns back from his last mission at space, planning to resign, hiding at Hamptons house of his painter aunt, rejecting to communicate with his father about his retirement plans. He feels lost and the video letters he gets from Hallie turns into the highlights of his dark days.

When Darcy invites him to her wedding, he decides to attend to meet this mysterious, pink haired, kind woman he secretly lusts for.

What will happen when they meet? Are they going to be friends? Could they become more than that as real life keeps throwing curveballs?

Overall: I love this beautifully written, smart, heartfelt romance story a lot! I enjoyed to see how both Chris and Hallie’s characterizations evolved. How they learn to deal with their family problems and life choices by putting themselves first!

Highly absolutely recommend! One of my best romance readings of the year!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing for sharing this amazing digital reviewer copy with me in exchange my honest thoughts.

[jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

cute and enjoyable. this is everything that the contemporary romance genre is nowadays - a meet-cute, a big city setting, some moments of great couples communication, and a plot that has a good message.

but the thing that really prevented me from really loving this was the characterisation of hallie. shes made into that whole ‘quirky, clumsy girl that isnt like other girls because she has pink hair and makes it her entire personality.’ like, gag me, honestly. she also has absolutely no backbone whatsoever (which i understand is for her to grow), but i could not stand the way she was a massive pushover. i just had no patience for it.

in summary, a nice story with deep topics and reflective commentary, but not connecting with the MC caused me to only enjoy this on a surface level.

↠ 2.5 stars

[Kezia Duah · Rating 4 out of 5]

My poor damn heart! constantly reading these incredibly sweet books!!

Let’s of course start with Hallie and Chris’ relationship. These two were beyond adorable. Their relationship started off with a little boundary invasion, but it’s okay. We’ll let it go. Afterward, they didn’t quite meet immediately. I really liked that because it gave us time to really get to know them individually before they even started talking. Their relationship still took its time to develop before entering into other levels. We do enter some unnecessary drama at the end, but honestly, their arguments were pretty realistic and didn’t have me completely rolling my eyes. It reflects the challenges couples can have when they haven’t had the best role models in their lives. It still didn’t need to be dragged out though.

Other issues were toxic relationships, mostly the ones we have with our parents. Chris and Hallie’s parents were awful. Yes, most of their issues stem from other issues they didn’t have much control of, but damn! They sure did strike some nerves. I love how this part of the book was handled.

Great book. Worth the read!

[Gabby · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was one of my most anticipated romances of the year because space vibes!!!! A character who works for NASA??? I’m here, let’s go!!! But sadly, this ended up being okay for me. There were some things I loved about the story, and some things I didn’t. Here are some quick thoughts:

-very much a slow burn, I appreciate that!! Feels more genuine and I love the build up
-Idk why I assumed he’d be in space during this book? He’s not 🫣
-They both have really shitty parents, especially their Fathers are the worst and it feels very heavy and serious at times which I wasn’t expecting
-I don’t love the male narrator on the audiobook, he sounds like he’s trying to do a Batman voice sometimes LOL 🤣
-Hallie also has a really shitty ex boyfriend as well, they both have a lot of trauma and baggage and this book is a little more heavy than I was anticipating
-Why has she used the word sexily so many times? Hearing the word sexily is not sexy 🫣
-There was a lot of unnecessary drama at the end, but at the same time I appreciate it in a way because it felt very real

I for the most part enjoyed and connected with Hallie’s character! But for some reason I struggled to connect with Christopher, I think it mostly had to do with the audiobook narration.

[Elena Armas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Listen, I've been wanting to read this book ever since I heard the title (they really had me at Cosmic). So when I was blessed with the chance of reading it early, my former inner book-blogger launched herself into it like the Sputnik into the low Earth orbit–yes, I had to wikipedia that.

A Cosmic Kind of Love not only has a refreshing premise but my goodness, it IS a *delight* to read. Fasten your seatbelts (if that's something astronauts do?) because Captain Chris Ortiz is ready for take off (do spacecrafts do that?) and he's about to sprinkle some starlight over your heart.

[Rachel L · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 stars

Event planner Hallie is mistakenly sent videos from her client’s ex-boyfriend Chris that he made when he was an astronaut in space. Hallie watches all the videos and loves them, but then realizes she has invaded Chris’ privacy. To make it up to him, she makes confessional videos of herself to send back. When the two meet at a party for her client, sparks fly right away and the two fall into an easy friendship.

I’ve said this before and I’ll say it forever, Samantha Young is one of my favorite authors and I’ll read anything she writes. Does it mean I love everything she writes? No. But I love that she tries new things and delivers different experiences to her readers. This book wasn’t fleshed out really well, it was slow in the beginning and then rushed in the middle to end. There was a lot that had to do with toxic parents that I wish had been better resolved by the end of the book.

Overall I liked this book, but I almost quit reading halfway through and it left me feeling unsatisfied by the ending. And I wasn’t rooting for this couple to make it, they annoyed me for most of the book.

ARC provided by the publisher via Netgalley

[Snjez · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was my first read by this author and I really enjoyed it for the most part. I loved Hallie and Chris as main characters. Everything about them worked for me: their personalities, how they met, their conversations. Also, I loved reading about a character who is an astronaut.

Both Hallie and Chris are dealing with toxic parents, so there is a lot of family drama. I'm not usually a fan, but I didn't mind it that much here. I think it worked with the story. It was emotional, but also funny at times. I do feel that some of that drama was resolved too quickly in the end.

The story is very slow paced, which I liked. It was going really well for me until about the 80% mark when there was some tension between Hallie and Chris followed by a sort of break up. I hoped this story wouldn't go that way, because their relationship was really good and more unique compared to other books in this genre. The rest of the book dragged a bit with some more drama added to the story, but the ending was satisfying.

Overall, I loved the writing and the main characters. Both are genuinely nice people. I also need to mention Chris's aunt and Hallie's friend Althea, who were great side characters.

[Heather Adores Books · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5⭐
Genre ~ contemporary romance
Setting ~ New York City
Publication date ~ October 18, 2022
Est page Count ~ 410 (43 chapters +e)
Audio length ~ 11 hours 22 minutes
Narrator ~ Andi Arndt, Noah B. Perez
POV ~ dual 1st
Featuring ~ event planner, astronaut, family drama, slow burn, friends to lovers, minimal steamage, miscommunication

Hallie & Chris
Hallie accidentally, but not really, watches private videos that Chris recorded for his girlfriend, Darcy, who also happens to be Hallie's client....who is now marrying someone else. She sends her own videos back to him in an effort to apologize and just relieve her family frustations, but she doesn't think he's watched them when they first meet, and guess what, he doesn't tell her right away, so how about we start this relationship out on a lie...seems like a great idea to me.

Hallie is often stereotyped as a party girl because she has pink hair and is an event planner, which made no sense to me. She was really sweet and someone I'd want to hang out with for sure. I just wish she would've stood up for herself more.
Chris is back from space and plans to write an autobiography in an effort to promote his work with NASA. I thought he was sweet at times, too, when he wasn't bugging me with the Darcy crap.
There was no denying their chemistry, but, not surprisingly, the miscommunication was for the birds.

Both of Hallie's parents and Chris's dad were pretty awful. Sometimes you have to cut toxic people out of your life even if they're your parents. On the flip side Chris's Aunt Richelle was an absolute doll. Hallie's friend, Althea, was pretty great and supportive, too.

It was a bit slow moving and bogged down with all the family and friend drama, which overpowered the story, but overall it was fun. And isn't that cover so eye catching?

I was able to listen to a copy as well.
Narration notes:
I've listened to Andi before and I always think she does a great job. Noah was okay, but a little too breathy. He did do pretty good female voices though.

*Thanks to the author, Berkley Books and NetGalley for the ARC. I am voluntarily leaving my honest review*

Connect with me ➡ Blog ~ Facebook ~ Twitter

[Christy · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars

A Cosmic Kind of Love is Samantha Young’s newest release and it was a fantastic friends to lovers romance. I loved the way this couple met- so unique! And of course watching them become friends and fall in love.

Hallie is an event planner who is never taken seriously by most of the people in her life. Her job is challenging and she’s great at it, but her parents and friends/family see her as a glorified party planner who doesn’t take anything series. Captain Christopher Ortiz is respected and taken very seriously. He’s an astronaut who’s getting used to being back on earth.

These two are drawn to each other and feel comfortable with one another right away. They were so sweet together but you could feel the tension and the chemistry they had right under the surface. I especially loved how much Captain Chris accepted Hallie for who she was and showed her so much respect and care. She desperately needed someone like that in her life.

This was sweet, fun, and charming and left me with a huge smile on my face. This is a romance I would definitely recommend!

[Greta Samuelson · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a cute “Hallmark Movie” type book. I needed something light when I picked this one up and A Cosmic Kind of Love filled that need for me.

Hallie is an event planner in New York.
Christopher is an astronaut that was on the International Space Station.
They don’t know each other at all.

Hallie is hired to plan an engagement party for Darcey, an elite model from a connected and extremely wealthy family in the city. She sends Hallie some ideas and inspirations and mistakenly sends video messages from Christopher (Darcey’s ex) while he was on the ISS.
Hallie watches them and feels connected to him. She answers one but she gets a bounce back message and then she begins to answer all of them and use this as a sort of therapy for herself to freely talk about her feelings since no one will ever see them.

The thing is, a staff member from NASA made them look like they bounced back but also sends them to Christopher.

They meet at Darcey’s engagement party both thinking that the other doesn’t know they watched each other’s video messages …. Yada Yada Ya … Lobster bisque ….after getting to know each other and becoming friends, the sexual tension is too much and, well… you can guess.

Both Hallie and Christopher have parental trauma and help each other deal with that as their relationship grows - you’ll want to see them together. Neither of them were annoying to me (which happens in these romance books for me sometimes)

Of course there is a happy ending after some bumps.

[Staci Hart · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Cosmic Kind Of Love will fly you to the moon and leave you stargazing. This clever romantic comedy about two souls brought together by the stars is everything you need in your life, complete with swoons, smiles, and steam enough to power a rocket. Cosmic Kind Of Love doesn't just get five stars--it gets the whole galaxy.

[Syndi · Rating 4 out of 5]

For Miss Young's writing style, A Cosmic Kind of Love is mild and yet entertaining story. I known Miss Young for her Dublin Street series. At the time she is writing in such dramatic and angsty way.

In Cosmic, the characters, Hallie and Chris are loveable characters. Not so much drama between them. Miss Young focusing more on the baggage these two characters carried into the story. I found both parents played a important role for the story development.
It is interesting approach. And yet it did not diminish the moral messages.

Overall this is a perfect book to close my weekend.

4 stars

[Ⓐlleskelle - That ranting lady ッ · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've been reading romance for some time now, yet I can't recall any astronaut male character from the astronomical amounts of books on my shelves. There will be no forgetting Captain Chris Ortiz though, this man is magnificent. The original premise and charming characters made it really easy to let myself swept away by their romance.

(for the record, yes, I intend to refer to the male character as Captain Chris Ortiz for the remainder of this review. Yes, it's certainly a mouthful. Wink.)

I loved the main characters, although at one point I wasn't too sure about Hallie. As an event planner being a capital P people pleaser is certainly an asset, in her personal life though she's got learn to stand for herself. It was almost painful for me to read about the ways she would go to make sure everyone was happy around her and how the people supposedly in her corner would abuse of this trait. Hallie character's growth is very much central to the story and Captain Chris Ortiz plays a good part supporting her, complimenting her, restoring her confidence. Captain Chris Ortiz praising Hallie was all kinds of hot.

There's undeniable chemistry between Hallie and Captain Chris Ortiz on page, an effortless gravitation between them, I adored the super cute texting (kuddos for the formatting!), it made my epistolary romance addict happy!

I loved this opposites attract romance, it's full of quality banter and heartfelt moments although sometimes it felt like there was a smidge too much drama to deal with. Both characters are dealing with toxic families and as great as it was to see them both taking necessary steps towards emancipation, there was no need for the third act drama piling up on already much conflict in an otherwise low angst story.

[rach⭑]

DNF @ 45%

I really wanted to like this because I have loved other books written by this author but for some reason I just can’t get into it.

The first 30% before the main characters met felt very slow paced to the point I did not want to keep reading at times but kept pushing myself to see if the pace picked up once both characters had met… it didn’t.

The romance between main characters also has a bit too much insta attraction when they were still technically strangers. And anyone who knows me, knows I don’t vibe with insta anything. I much prefer a slow burn.

One of the main things I was also not enjoying was the fact that both main characters have very toxic parents. And it’s just a personal preference of mine to not read books with toxic family relationships. I think I could’ve handled it if it was just one of them that had the toxic relationship but the both of them was a bit too much.

I’ll maybe visit this again because I truly do love Samantha Young’s books.

[Lisa (Remarkablylisa) · Rating 2 out of 5]

why was this book soooooo incredibly painful and boring lmaoooooooooooooooooo it was like a good set up and i had such high hopes and then bamn. we hit the flatline.

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

How does this author manage to combine so many of my favorite romance aspects into one amazing book all of the time? I swear if another author tried to write a book that was part rom com but also had lots of angst and pining it wouldn’t work. She is just SO good at blending so many different elements together and she ends up with these epic stories of love. I adored both Chris and Hallie right from the jump and could not wait for them to get together. It was a bit of a wait, this was a slow burn (that’s where the angst comes in) but it was the delicious kind of torture that only certain authors can pull off. I was lining myself 😂 There was a ton of character development and growth as well, you see both of them come so far by the end, both separately and together and I always appreciate that deep type of growth. Overall an outstanding romance that I truly adored, if you’re already a fan of the author you’ll be pleased and if you’ve never read her before you should!

[Tonya · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hallie received digital files of Christopher, the Astronaut and Veteran who pours out his heart in the videos to his now former fiancé. Although she knows she shouldn't, she can't help but watch the videos and she sends him an email that he pretends to have never read. Of course all their secrets will come out eventually- but in the meantime, they meet and eventually start falling for each other in real life. I really liked Hallie, she is quirky with a lot of depth and character development. I felt like the reader doesn't get to know the many layers of Chris as well as they get to know Hallie. Fun, romantic comedy with plenty of miscommunication and mishaps along the way!

Rounded up to 4 Stars.. more depth would have made it clean 5.

Thank you to NetGalley, Berkley Publishing Group and author Samantha Young for this digital review copy for me to read and enjoy. As always, my reviews are voluntary and my opinions are my own.

[✰ Bianca ✰ BJ's Book Blog ✰ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hallie + Chris

They don't know each other. And they won't meet for a little while longer.
Hallie found Chris in an email file that a client accidentally sent her.
It was supposed to be engagement party inspirations, but instead it's the bride's ex sending her video-letters from SPACE! Yup. From the International Space Station, where he was a year ago.
And Hallie just can't resist watching those videos. She's halfway in love with the hot astronaut already. And since she knows that the email address doesn't exisist anymore she answers with her own diary videos - where she talks about her crazy life.
But those videos don't get lost in space - they arrive ...
And Chris seems just as fascinated by what he sees and hears.

What will happen with Hallie + Chris?
Will we get a happily ever after?
READ THE BOOK TO FIND OUT! ☺

═════════════════




Adorable!
I just loved this book!
It was so cute and sweet and a bit sad with their crazy parental units. I really enjoyed reading this. I loved their insta attraction and the funny and crazy moments in their lives. And I loved the aunt and the dog and the house in the Hamptons - I want one too!
It was just the most adorable romantic comedy and I so need to see this on Netflix one day! Nothing more to say - READ IT!

A COSMIC KIND OF LOVE was such an adorable love story! Sparks, funny moments, sexy moments, New York moments, doggie moments, sad parent moments... and so much more!
Run to your nearest amazon for your own Chris - this one is MINE!


💜 💜

[Rozberry🍓 · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.25/.5 ‘Cosmic’ stars

Right off the cover definitely caught my eye & the premise appealed to me as well. Still, I’ve read a handful of Samantha Young books & the results have been very mixed. So I really wasn’t so sure what I would find either. Turns out A Cosmic Kind Of Love is a very pleasant surprise & the first time one of my other SY reads rivaled my favorite book of hers - Before Jamaica Lane 🥰.

The feels ✔️. It’s been a while since a book made me a sappy pile goo & I was totally good with that 😂, ‘cause ACKOL did just that, it hit right smack in the feels for me throughout. Their path to finding each other(I really enjoyed the unorthodox way they were introduced) as well as finding pieces of themselves just hit the spot so well for me. It was sweet, funny, endearing, & sexy story with some outside hurdles (toxic parents primarily) to overcome as their relationship was developing & growing deeper.

Anyhoo, in a way, I’m a little surprised by its sub 4 star rating, but at the same time, I’m also no stranger to unpopular opinions. So I’m so glad I didn’t let ratings change my mind, kept it on my tbr & finally got around to it. I found a new favorite narrator — Noah B. Perez — as well with the audiobook. Although he almost sounds familiar, so maybe it’s an alias of an existing favorite. Wouldn’t be the first time 😂.

[Rae (semi-hiatus) · Rating 2 out of 5]

I’m too pissed to write a proper review right now. I’m also sad and disappointed for the FMC. The MMC was straight up garbage. What were we supposed to swoon over? Ugh. 😔😒

—————-

I’m terrified of space, even just thinking about it. LET’S GOOOO

[Alba and Her Secrets..♥ · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 'Mi cielo' Stars!
ARC provided by the the publisher in exchange for an honest review.


The premise for this story definitely caught my attention. And when I saw one of my favorite authors was the creator, I was all over the idea. I mean, when I saw the words “astronaut hero”, “event planner” and “romantic comedy” I was oh-so-ready to read A Cosmic Kind of Love. Samantha Young and Berkley Publishing join forces again with a unique, heartwarming love story that will make you fall in love with Captain Christopher Ortiz and his “cielo”.

So, A Cosmic Kind of Love is Young’s upcoming standalone and, as I mentioned, it’s the love story between a former astronaut and a quirky event planner. But their paths cross in a very peculiar way. Hallie Goodman is planning Chris' ex's wedding and she “meets” him watching some old videos Chris sent to Darcy while he was in space. Chris is readjusting after coming back and he is not having it with these videos he keeps receiving from a stranger. Or is he? A strong connection starts without them even meeting in person and when they finally do? Get ready for this emotional and adorable space ride!

It seemed we were drawn to each other like binary stars. It was addictive and disorienting.

I have to say one thing. I devoured this book in less than a day (which is pretty fast for me nowadays). I was sucked right into this story and the backgrounds of these two unique characters. This love story is not only rare because of Chris and Hallie, it’s different because it deals with important issues in today’s world. Also, the theme of space is very much new to me in romance and I find that very refreshing. I do have to confess though; this is one heck of a slow burn. We definitely have to wait quite a while for this couple to get together and it was a bit too slow for me sometimes. But I still loved to read every single page to get to its HEA.

“But being yours . . . that’s the only thing in my life I am one hundred percent certain I want and need to be.”

Therefore, I am rating A Cosmic Kind of Love with 4 STARS because, of course, Samantha Young’s writing continues to be one of my favorite ones, I loved this unique, heartfelt love story and its extraordinary characters. It has a little bit of everything (even though the slow burn was a bit too much for me) and I loved reading and meeting Captain Chris Ortiz and Hallie Goodman. If you are a fan of Samantha’s writing, save the date and grab your copy on October 18th!

[Angie · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 ⭐️ A cute, low-stakes rom-com


WHAT TO EXPECT:
✨ astronaut MMC
✨ party planner FMC
✨ crush to client to friend to lover
✨ a little bit of spice
✨ toxic families
✨ other woman drama (no cheating)
✨ third act ‘break-up’
✨ HEA

I actually really liked the story. The premise was super cute. The characters were interesting. I thought the video messages were a creative way to bring the couple together. And Aunt Richelle and Althea are the real MVPs! Absolutely adore them and their support of the MCs!

My main issue was that I didn't enjoy the family drama, which besides the romance, was the entire focus of the story. Chris and Hallie get together relatively quickly, so once that happened, the story fell a little flat romance-wise. And at that point, it felt like Chris and Hallie's issues with their parents, as well as Chris' identity crisis, are what pushed the plot forward. Of course, characters need something to struggle with, but I hated how both Chris and Hallie allowed people who have repeatedly treated them like garbage to affect their lives so much. And by the end, not that much is resolved. Chris is still on the outs with his dad and Hallie is in a decent place with her parents, which we were told about, instead of really seeing it play out and get resolved. The family drama played such a big role in this story, but it didn't have a very satisfying ending.


Overall, it was an interesting, cute rom-com. I liked the romance and side characters but would have enjoyed it if the family drama had been lessened or resolved better.

[b.andherbooks · Rating 1 out of 5]

um. so. this is why I have a goodreads, so I can be o.O about a book I need to review for others to enjoy.

Between the small dick joke bit (to break up with an ex) to an epilogue that was quite unexpected, yeah no this wasn't for me.

Content notes: transphobic jokes, fatphobia (countered, from parents), toxic parents, divorced parents fighting, drinking, emesis

thanks to the pub for the ARC.

[Carrie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review coming soon.

[Bookgasms Book Blog · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hallie and Chris were absolutely adorable. I love Samantha Young's writing and saw alot of buzz about this book. I also haven't read a story about an astronaut before so I was very interested!

Overall I think the characters were fantastic. Hallie was independent and confident and Chris was just delicious. I will admit that this story was a slow start for me. I love slow burns but I didn't feel a huge connection between them. Furthermore I usually love emails in a story (technology as a whole such as texts/emails etc.) But I found that this story felt slightly off. I didn't feel the chemistry between them as much as I wanted to. I felt like the story focused more on self-improvement and their family life vs a romance. As a whole, though, this story was a nice sweet read that showcased Young's amazing writing. 3.5 stars! ~Ratula

[Sabi · Rating 2 out of 5]

Liked the premise and the epilogue but the romance lacked excitement and the side stories of both the parents of the leads were stretched.


Wasn't a fan of Male Lead's voice in my audiobook as well.

[Chelsea ✨Arielle’s Nebular Ally and Team Acrux✨ · Rating 2 out of 5]

*ARC Provided by publisher in exchange for an honest review*

My whole life I'd done the chasing, the people-pleasing. No one had ever chased me. No one had ever prioritized me the way I was willing to prioritize them.

This poor soul of a book had the unfortunate circumstance of being read in a year where 95% of the time I’ve rated every book 5 stars. That is to say, I’ve had almost a full year of perfection and this book was just not…that.

It was cute, sweet, and a typical romance, but I just never truly got into it fully. I can’t say it was bad, but I can’t say it was extremely well-written either….and, again, I don’t think it was poorly written. This book was just maddeningly average and I didn’t feel much depth and I am honestly scrabbling for what to say. And while I sometimes don’t mind quick romances with a hero I really enjoy (and I really really truly did like him), sometimes it doesn’t work out that I fall as easily for it as I normally would. That is the case here, unfortunately.

A tad too predictable, a bit lacking in side characters I cared about, and just…I didn’t believe it, no matter HOW choked up a few of the hero’s quotes made me. And that’s the part that really stinks is there were some great things mentioned about self-worth and embracing who you are, about loving someone for who they are and not what they DO. There was a lot of good to unpack here, just not a lot to follow it up…and that’s where, unfortunately, the story fell short for me.

So while this book will likely appeal to a lot of people, I just couldn’t fall for it. Maybe a different time, maybe a different place in my life…but I just highly doubt it. If you’re looking for a cute, fun, quick read, then I highly recommend it for that. Otherwise, if you perhaps want more to happen, maybe save this for a rainy day.


For more of my reviews, please visit:

[Christie«SHBBblogger» · Rating 4 out of 5]

Title: A Cosmic Kind of Love
Series: standalone
Author: Samantha Young
Release date: October 18, 2022
Cliffhanger: no
Genre: contemporary romance

I was really excited to read a romance with an astronaut protagonist as it's something that you don't typically see in the contemporary romance genre. I was really impressed with the author's attention to detail when describing Chris' experience in outer space as well as his inner dialogue regarding his challenging acclimatization back on earth. I learned a lot of interesting things about astronauts while reading this novel, and one thing in particular that I really appreciated was the fact that Samantha Young didn't just sugarcoat and romanticize it. Not only did we see the rewarding side of Chris' job, but we also saw the realistic difficulties that people in the field may go through.

Captain Christopher Ortiz was such an endearing hero. He very much has the "Golden Boy" image because of his high profile job and social media popularity, but secretly he's lost in many ways. He poured his heart and soul into making it to outer space to honor his late brother, but now that he achieved that unimaginably difficult goal at such a young age, he's at a crossroads.

For years I’d had focus, I’d had goals, and now that I had none of that, it was like the nineteen years since she’d passed were but months.

Not only does he feel conflicted about continuing his career at NASA, his personal life is simultaneously in shambles. Chris is not one of these commitment-phobe, womanizing jerks whom you see all too much in romance. He's that long-term relationship unicorn guy who's an all-around good person. Which makes it all the more awful that the woman he cared about selfishly cheated on him. Another issue Chris has is his broken relationship with his father. Their relationship has been toxic for some time, and causes him a lot of frustration and turmoil. While he wishes they could somehow bridge the huge gap between them, there's a lot of built up resentment and anger towards his father that he doesn't know how to get past. All of this is weighing heavily on his mind when he meets Hallie.

Hallie Goodman has an unhealthy relationship with her parents as well, but rather than avoiding them like Chris does with his father, she tries to slap a band-aid on the situation by putting up with their childish behavior. Seriously, the parents in this book were absolutely horrific. Trust me, you're going to be internally screaming at the sheer audacity of their abuse. Hallie's issue in dealing with her parents is that she's anti-confrontation and pro-placater. In other words, she's a tragic people pleaser who doesn't know how to say no. She often puts herself in the middle of very uncomfortable and unfair situations in order to make others happy, but ends up making herself miserable. Some might say that this could turn her into a bit of a doormat with those who knowingly take advantage of her kindness, but the one thing that saves her from that is her self-awareness. She is completely cognizant of the fact that she has a problem, and she would like to adjust her behavior, but unfortunately she doesn't know how.

She was messy but cute. And from what I could tell, her life was messy and not cute. Just like mine. Though my messy was an empty kind of messy, while hers was mostly definitely because she had too many things going on.

Chris and Hallie have a unique meet-cute over private video messages. The unusual thing is that neither one of them know that the other person is watching their videos. Hallie stumbles across Chris' messages to his ex (her client), and she knows she shouldn't watch them, but she's incredibly drawn to his humor and vulnerability. Chris receives her videos that are more of a personal diary, but she is emailing them to him thinking that they are all bouncing back to her with him none the wiser. When they finally do meet in person, Hallie immediately comes clean about her transgression, but Chris is too afraid to confess because he fears that she'll write him off before they have a chance to really get to know each other. Obviously starting a friendship rooted in deception is not going to end well, and becoming romantically involved further complicates Chris' predicament. I give him major points however for keeping her in the friend zone until he can drum up the nerve to tell her the truth. On a positive note, this creates a lot of anticipation and tension as they both grow deep feelings for one another that they have to keep bottled up.

There was something about her . . . I felt like I could trust her, and there weren’t many people who came into my life I felt certain about like that. That seemed worth exploring, even if only in a friendship.

I love how Chris accepted Hallie's awkwardness, but also helped her become confident enough to avoid those awful situations by setting boundaries with people. Aside from one really good friend at work, she hasn't had anyone in her corner who is rooting for her to live her best life. This couple's relationship developed naturally and realistically with low drama/angst. That's not to say that there weren't any conflicts, there were, but the two of them handled things in a pretty straightforward way.

A Cosmic Kind of Love was funny, unique, and super sweet. Hallie was the goofy, quirky girl that everyone sells short who somehow snags one of the most eligible bachelors out there. How can you resist that kind of opposites attract theme? Also, if you're a fan of friends to lovers books, this one will most likely hit the mark. I think this couple will very easily win you over.

My whole life I’d done the chasing, the people-pleasing. No one had ever chased me. No one had ever prioritized me the way I was willing to prioritize them. Until now.

FOLLOW SMOKIN HOT BOOK BLOG ON:

[Capt. · Rating 1 out of 5]

The title is a cosmic kind of love btw 💀💀 and if by cosmic means a manipulative gaslighter gets a happy ending with a too stupid to live doormat then yeah. And I pity the girl really. Hallie is the type of woman, the people pleasing spineless doormat type, who can tolerate and let someone like Chris walk all over her and her dignity like can she get anymore embarrassing? 😭

I have NEVER seen a more gaslighting piece of shit manipulative asshole than the MMC in here. Did the author took inspiration from her people irl?

The MMC did not want to be lied to and was mad at the FMC for lying to him at the start but all throughout the book he lied and lied and lied by omission to the FMC.

The MMC kept on prioritizing his ex. Like if she called best believe he will be there and he kept on gaslighting the FMC that SHE is WRONG and that nothing is happening between them, they are just good friends that’s all!!!!
Good friends my ass!!! If you kept going to her because your cheating ex needed you and wants you to be her shoulder to cry on and kept choosing her over your own fucking girlfriend then you are nothing but a piss of atrocious waste of sperm I hope he dies a horrible painful gory death. God I hated the MMC so much because apart from his manipulation, he is bland and boring.

I hope authors know that they are writing romance books and not a guide on how to be a relationship with a gaslighting sob.

[h o l l i s · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sadly, this didn't quite do for me what I see it did for a lot of my friends. This felt a little too drama-filled for me and honestly had maybe one (or two..) too many things on the go; something I've noticed more and more with romances these days. They seem to be trying to do it all instead of doing a few things really well and that's a shame.

I am happy to report that Hallie was easily the better of the characters but sadly that is an easy claim to make because Chris wasn't really as swoon worthy as we were meant to believe. But maybe that's just me.

Also, that ending scene was something of a choice and I did not vibe. I'm sure some can find the romance in it all but I am not one of them.

2.5ish?