Jessie Rosen's breezy sophomore novel, All the Signs, follows a type-A Leo who goes on a mission to disprove her horoscope and unearths some unexpected insights about her life.
Dr. Leah Lockhart is poised to take over her father's medical practice when he retires. But right after an astrology reading at a friend's party says that she's living way out of alignment with her destiny, Leah's struck by a severe case of vertigo. Barred from work and determined to debunk the reading, she sets off on a winding journey to Venice, Istanbul, and Los Angeles--home of the mother who left her long ago. Leah meets fellow "Star Twins" who share her astrological map, and she gains a new perspective on her parents' stormy marriage and its implications for her past and present self. Coincidentally (or not?), her childhood best friend, now a handsome physical therapist, resurfaces just in time to help Leah heal her vertigo--and maybe her heart.
Rosen (The Heirloom) explores how astrology affects people's lives; though Leah is a diehard skeptic, she meets people whose own turning points have left them more open to its influence. Leah struggles to make sense of the sudden changes in her life, while she's also forced to confront her fears and desires, and what they mean for her future. Though her journey includes blissful moments of self-indulgence and freedom, Leah also asks herself tough questions about the kind of doctor, daughter, and woman she wants to be. All the Signs is a whirlwind escapist journey and a thoughtful meditation on identity and self-love. --Katie Noah Gibson, blogger at Cakes, Tea and Dreams