Samantha Young is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of the Hart's Boardwalk series and the On Dublin Street series, including Moonlight Way, Echoes of Scotland Street, Fall from India Place, Before Jamaica Lane, Down London Road, and On Dublin Street. She resides in Scotland. You can find her online at AuthorSamanthaYoung.com and on Instagram and Facebook @AuthorSamanthaYoung.
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 is a collection of videos from the bride's ex-boyfriend. Hallie knows it's wrong to keep watching these personal messages, 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 before she starts sending emails and video diaries to his deactivated 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 emails and video messages Hallie has sent, he can't help but notice how much her sense of humor and pink hair made his heart race. Separated by screens, Hallie and Chris are falling in love, one transmission at a time. But can they make their star-crossed romance work when they each learn the other's baggage?
Okay, I definitely had fun crafting those little phrases that related to the Cosmic part of the title, but let's get down to business, here. Samantha Young's A Cosmic Kind of Love an an enjoyable, if slow, read. Despite it's crazy premise—videos from space! an astronaut!—this book works because of how grounded in the present day it is. Young doesn't pull any punches; from examining the true drawbacks of having toxic parents, the horrible ways you can self-sabotage when being a people pleaser, and the impact of social media on, well, everything, Young really takes a detailed look at life. While all of this content makes the book heavier than expected, and does sometimes slow down the pace, it overall makes the two main characters more relatable. I would find it hard to believe that any reader wouldn't be able to relate to at least one thing that either Hallie or Chris goes through over the course of the novel.
There aren't a whole lot of favorite romance tropes going on in A Cosmic Kind of Love, but I think that works in the story's favor. The story truly does revolve around these two people getting to know one another, which includes their real-life, depressing, heavy baggage. Hallie has to overcome her desire to always please people, which she learns over the course of the novel by standing up for herself. Chris, on the other hand, has to figure out what he wants from life, which sometimes includes looking outwards in addition to inwards. Despite the heavy themes, the romance is lighthearted. There are a lot of sweet moments that balance out the deeper ones, which makes the romance feel well-balanced. While I wasn't sure I always bought into the chemistry, I did believe that these characters were complex, and that because of that, they were perfect for one another.
One of the things I wasn't expecting was how heavy this book was going to be in the first place. I definitely think if a reader is looking for a purely lighthearted read, this book isn't it. There are a lot of heavy themes, and can sometimes deviate into darker territories for some. Again, I don't think this works against the story, but it's just something to be wary of if that's not the type of romance read you're looking for right now! Another thing that took me by surprise was how little Chris was actually in space. In fact, during the present story, he's not in space at all. Again, works in the story's favor regarding actually developing a relationship with Hallie, but was just something that took me by surprise. The back cover copy didn't do a whole lot in making readers believe he wouldn't be in space (which I do believe is done deliberately) and I don't want anyone to be disappointed if they come across this and do think he's in space for majority of the novel—he isn't!
Samantha Young certainly knows how to craft an enjoyable and realistic read. I'll certainly be checking her out the next time I'm looking for one. Until then, you can find Samantha online at AuthorSamanthaYoung.com and on Instagram and Facebook @AuthorSamanthaYoung.
*This review can also be found on my Goodreads page*
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