Krystal Baker’s fiancée proves to be not-so-loyal, her flat floods and she looses her job, all in the space of a few days; how will she cope?
What Planet Can I Blame This On? is out June 3rd, 2021!
Author of this hearty novel, Ellie Pilcher, is a South London based writer who works in book publishing. She runs a Careers, Books, and Lifestyle blog called EllesBellesNotebook, and is a public speaker on topics ranging from social media to zero waste lifestyles.
The synopsis
After the dreadful few days Krystal has had, in that her fiancée is a cheat, her flat has had a pipe burst and flood the place, and she got made redundant, she’s not in the best of moods. So far, things are not going the way she hoped coming up to her 29th birthday.
Her best friends Paige and Tina are on hand with wine and takeaways, looking after Krystal as she figures out what on Earth she’s going to do; then, Tina mentions the Saturn Return.
The Saturn Return is when the planet moves back to the same position it was in when you were born, 29.5 years ago, and according to legend (and Tina), this is why Krystal’s life is falling apart at an alarming rate.
So, once she’s mourned her tragic life for a little bit, Krystal sets to work learning about astrology; the stars and the planets are what got her into this mess, so if she follows her horoscope and appeases the planets, everything will work out, right?
So, what did I think?
As soon as I picked up What Planet Can I Blame This On?, I could hardly put it down. Usually, it takes me a few pages to sink into the theme and atmosphere of a book; but not this one. I immediately knew what I was getting into and once I’d finished reading, I was almost sad to be done with it.
This book was witty, heartwarming and relatable; it was like a mixture between Bridget Jones’s Diary and Miranda which, as you can imagine, was utter joy and comedy all the way through. Krystal really had a tough break, and I definitely felt for her as she struggled to get her life back together again.
I adored how her new love for astrology put purpose and meaning back into her life, and it was genuinely interesting to read about the planets and what it means when the move positions, and what a birth chart is.
Krystal has her faults, as we all do, which is what makes her human. She might’ve missed things and forgot about friends being so self-involved, but being selfish meant that she had a chance to find herself and discover who she is, as she’s now alone for the first time in her life.
I loved how Krystal, despite the blunders going on in her life, still remained a brilliant character to read about; at no point did she become boring due to her sadness, she was always a positive light throughout this book making it hard to put down.
The connection Krystal has to her family was so wholesome and charming; her mother nods along and asks questions about her crystal collection and astrology classes, and her grandfather is so sweet and kind; he reminded me of my own late granddad and made me smile widely.
They have their traditions and ways of doing things, which again made it a relatable story as we all do personal things like that with our families.
Krystal was a wonderful character, and this novel was so uplifting and an absolute delight to read. Her humour and incident-filled life was hilarious; I couldn’t get enough of this book!
What Planet Can I Blame This On? was beyond funny, charming and relatable; it’s full of pop culture references (which I found myself laughing out loud at), and has an amazing selection of characters that make the story so uplifting and memorable.
What Planet Can I Blame This On? is out from June 3rd!
Written by Melissa, who you can follow on Twitter @melissajournal
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