𝘛𝘰 𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘧𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘵 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘻𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘺 𝘣𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦.We met Tabitha and Gabe in Still Beating and Lotus, so it is 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐥𝐲 recommended that you read those first! You get both characters’ back stories in those novels, and I really don’t think you could appreciate their journey or some of the plot in this book without understanding what they have previously gone through.Before The Stars Are on Our Side, both our MCs had gone through the ringer. Tabitha is a single mom who was kidnapped watched the man she love, and father of her baby, die in front of her. Gabe is the brother of a different kidnapping victim and had a whole lot of drama happen to him too (no spoilers here-go read Lotus). When they met in Lotus they hit it off, but both had some things to work through and we find them at the start of this book having decided to be friends, albeit there is a lot of pining for what they can’t have.This book goes on to give us their twisted and emotional love story, while also including a side plot that gave us a lot of excitement and drama! The story is told both in the past and present, with Tabitha telling her story to Evan, the writer neighbor we met in Lotus. Through this interview process, we flash back to two years prior and get to know Tabitha’s story with the matchmaker and what happened to her and Matthew in that basement. In present time, we see Tabitha struggling with her mental health and trying to heal from the trauma she went through. While she wants to be with Gabe, she is haunted by her past and doesn’t know if she’ll ever be able to be with him in the way she thinks he deserves. Gabe is her safe space and solace, but he is dealing with demons of his own and a new danger arises that threatens to tear them apart.Jennifer Hartmann has a way of writing books to both emotionally devastate you and then wrap you up in a warm hug and heal your soul. The story of Tabitha and Gabe was no different. This book had me crying, laughing, smiling, and cheering on these two broken people with all my heart.Gabe is the biggest sweetheart of a MMC and does everything he can to care for, support, and protect Tabitha. He is so patient with her and promises over and over to wait for her, however long it takes. He says things like “I’ll be your wings”, “You can always land here”, and “You don’t have to save yourself this time. You’re not alone anymore”. I just cannot gush enough about this man and how wonderful her is to her. He also goes through so many things himself in this book, and is just such a selfless, strong, amazing MMC.Tabitha goes through such a journey in this book. We finally get her full story in the flashbacks, and everything she went through with Matthew had my heart breaking and tears flowing. Even knowing the tragedy that was going to happen, I still found myself falling in love with Matthew and being devastated with the ending we knew was going to happen. There was so much trauma that Tabitha went through and I appreciated how much she knew that she needed to heal herself before she could fully be with Gabe. I also would like to commend the comment made about difficulty accessing mental health care and how Tabitha acknowledged she needed therapy but couldn’t afford it.I loved that this book was dual POV and we could see both other their perspectives. While we felt that unrequited love from Gabe, we knew on Tabitha’s side that she felt just as much but wanted to protect him from her trauma. I felt like the pacing of this book was pretty fast, but as always with Hartmann’s books, the emotional aspect makes me slow down and really take it in.I was not expecting the side story that happens with Gabe, but appreciated that we had a bit more drama in the book and things going on outside of Tabitha’s journey. It added some more thrill to the book and had me hooked to see how far it was going to go!We also had so many past characters show up and play a role in this book! We got to hang out with Cora & Dean again (Still Beating) and had lots of time with Sydney and Oliver (Lotus). I also enjoyed Evan’s role in the book, and I need to go read his book now! I loved getting to spend time with our old favorites and get some more closure on their stories as well. The epilogue was such a wholesome time and I’m so glad we got that moment!Overall, a fantastic addition to this world that Jennifer has created. The hurting and healing she puts into her characters is palpable and I cannot recommend these books enough. If you’re looking for a book to rip your heart out, tear it to pieces, then put you back together again, I strongly suggest reading this series!