"If you knew where your lantern was going, would it be as beautiful of a journey?"

This is the question Laura Kung Jessen is asking in the form of characters Rooney and Jack.

We meet Rooney (Red String Girl), an Artist who believes in fate and all its possibilities. Rooney meets Mr grumpy Jack, a serious NASA systems engineer, who puts his faith in fact, decisions and outcomes. When the meet-cutes happen, the two connect for one short evening. The evening reminds me of 'before sunrise'; the nightime exploration around New York gave both of them plenty of oppoetunities to share their theories on fate and love. However fate and FATE took them temporarily in different directions. When united, they explore what this means.

"Don't wait around forever being an observer in your own life"

I really enjoyed thinking about both POV's, I feel I can be Jack or I can be Rooney, depending on who else is around me. I liked the references to the world, how connected we are/can be, and how much agency we actually do have.

However, I did feel the last third of the story was repetitive, and actually this didn't fit into Rooney's developing arc as a confident woman with agency in work, life and love. Jack's arc was held back by occasional memories of seeking validation from his parents, but this didn't make much sense as his gong gong was a consistent presence in his life and regularly encouraged him to live his life. Talia, Rooney's best friend is a good supporting character who needs her own story!

Altogether, it was a cute easy read for a lazy weekend. This is a standalone story, but some characters in Laura K Jenssen's first book Lunar Love also makes an appearance.