[Review] When the Stars Lead to You by Ronni Davis

When the Stars Lead to You by Ronni Davis

Rating: 4.5 stars

Format: ARC

Release Date: November 12th 2019 

Goodreads Synopsis:

Eighteen-year-old Devon longs for two things.

The stars.

And the boy she fell in love with last summer.
When Ashton breaks Devon’s heart at the end of the most romantic and magical summer ever, she thinks her heart will never heal again. But over the course of the following year, Devon finds herself slowly putting the broken pieces back together.
Now it’s senior year, and she’s determined to enjoy every moment of it as she prepares for a future studying the galaxies. That is, until Ashton shows up on the first day of school. Can she forgive him and open her heart again? Or are they doomed to repeat history?

TW: suicidal ideation, depression, abuse

I mentioned this before on Twitter but I just am really enjoying contemporaries lately and they're normally not my cup of tea. But they've been tackling a bunch of serious issues and have really well-developed characters.

My latest contemp is When the Stars Lead to You, and it follows Devon, aspiring astrophysicist, who dreams of having the best summer ever. She meets Ashton, and the two have a perfect summer romance, until he disappears from her life without as much as a goodbye. Though Devon is devastated, she picks up the pieces of her heart and mostly moves on, and wishes, a year later, to have a perfect senior year. But when Ashton comes back into her life, as a fellow student of Preston Academy, that might be an obstacle in her perfect year.


First thing - STEM student M/C? And she's biracial? That rep! I loved Devon's drive and determination to stick to her goals. She definitely struggles with trying to stay afoot (especially when it came to Ashton), but she didn't let it deter her. The romance pulled me so strongly, watching Devon go back and forth between wanting to talk to Ashton and wanting to keep him in her past.

ALSO I'm so all in for supportive best friends. I adored Blair's loyalty to Devon, and vice versa.

Blair huffed. "I swear, I'm going to throat punch him. Twice. Once for hurting you. Once for getting you all flustered. Once for being so damned gorgeous." - p. 82

Seeing all the couples twirling around the floor made me achingly sad, but I found enough room in my lonely heart to be thrilled for Blair. She looked so happy, and I loved to see my friend glowing like that. - p. 131

Blair stepped close to Ashton. "Listen up. The second you turn my best friend's smile upside down, I will knock your ass back to the beach where she met you."
Ashton stared blankly at her. "Okay."
"I mean it. You hurt her again, you answer to me. And you won't like what I have to ay."
"Oh my God. Come on." I yanked her into the classroom. "See you later," I said to Ashton.
He kissed his fingertips and pointed them toward me, then headed down the hall.
"I can't believe you threatened him," I said to Blair after we'd gotten settled.
"Do you even know how I am? Of course I threatened him. It's because I love you." - p. 155

When it came to the portrayal of depression and suicidal ideation in Ashton, my heart felt for him. This is an important book when it comes to handling with a loved one's depression. It was also super important that both Ashton and Devon were super supportive of each other, throughout everything.

Also, even though her and Ashton broke up in the end, this didn't deter her at all! She's going to have a happy life with or without him (I like how she didn't let him define her happiness) and honestly, more contemps need to have this ambiguous, realistic, and totally not a perfect HEA ending. It makes sense.

There was also an undercurrent of privilege discussion here, when it came to Devon being biracial, needing financial aid for college, and when dating Ashton, as his parents didn't think she was good enough to him. I liked that Davis was able to address all of this and show how much Devon, and POC have to go through. And even with all of this - Devon perseveres! And doesn't let anything get her down. It made me angry to think that Ashton's parents thought she had to be good enough for him, and earn her place in their spoiled egalitarian world.

Everyone should read this book! It's empowering and moving in so many different ways.