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Bright Falls #3
Iris Kelly Doesn't Date
Everyone around Iris Kelly is in love. Her best friends are all coupled up, her siblings have partners that are perfect for them, her parents are still in marital bliss. And she’s happy for all of them, truly. So what if she usually cries in her Lyft on the way home. So what if she misses her friends, who are so busy with their own wonderful love lives, they don’t really notice Iris is spiraling. At least she has a brand-new career writing romance novels (yes, she realizes the irony of it). She is now working on her second book but has one problem: she is completely out of ideas after having spent all of her romantic energy on her debut.
Perfectly happy to ignore her problems as per usual, Iris goes to a bar in Portland and meets a sexy stranger, Stefania, and a night of dancing and making out turns into the worst one-night stand Iris has had in her life (vomit and crying are regretfully involved). To get her mind off everything and overcome her writer's block, Iris tries out for a local play, but comes face-to-face with Stefania—or, Stevie, her real name. When Stevie desperately asks Iris to play along as her girlfriend, Iris is shocked, but goes along with it because maybe this fake relationship will actually get her creative juices flowing and she can get her book written. As the two women play the part of a couple, they turn into a constant state of hot-and-bothered and soon it just comes down to who will make the real first move…
Perfectly happy to ignore her problems as per usual, Iris goes to a bar in Portland and meets a sexy stranger, Stefania, and a night of dancing and making out turns into the worst one-night stand Iris has had in her life (vomit and crying are regretfully involved). To get her mind off everything and overcome her writer's block, Iris tries out for a local play, but comes face-to-face with Stefania—or, Stevie, her real name. When Stevie desperately asks Iris to play along as her girlfriend, Iris is shocked, but goes along with it because maybe this fake relationship will actually get her creative juices flowing and she can get her book written. As the two women play the part of a couple, they turn into a constant state of hot-and-bothered and soon it just comes down to who will make the real first move…
400 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 24, 2023
About the author
Ashley Herring Blake
16 books5,953 followersAshley Herring Blake is a reader, writer, and mom to two boisterous boys. She holds a Master’s degree in teaching and loves coffee, arranging her books by color, and cold weather. She is the author of the young adult novels Suffer Love, How to Make a Wish, and Girl Made of Stars (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt), the middle grade novels Ivy Aberdeen’s Letter to the World, The Mighty Heart of Sunny St. James, and Hazel Bly and the Deep Blue Sea (Little, Brown), and the adult romance novels Delilah Green Doesn't Care and Astrid Parker Doesn't Fail (Berkley). Ivy Aberdeen’s Letter to the World was a Stonewall Honor Book, as well as a Kirkus, School Library Journal, NYPL, and NPR Best Book of 2018. Her YA novel Girl Made of Stars was a Lambda Literary Award finalist. You can find her on Twitter and Instagram at @ashleyhblake and on the web at www.ashleyherringblake.com. She lives in Georgia.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 3,865 reviews
January 23, 2024
OKAY I CRIED this is literally the best one yet. there’s so so much love wrapped up in this. what an amazing conclusion to the series.
*seeking: a shy theatre nerd who’s literally a total softy at heart/ a closed off romance author who deep down just wants to be loved unconditionally
Read my full review here
Thank you to Edelweiss and the publisher for providing this review copy!
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*seeking: a shy theatre nerd who’s literally a total softy at heart/ a closed off romance author who deep down just wants to be loved unconditionally
Read my full review here
Thank you to Edelweiss and the publisher for providing this review copy!
Follow me on Instagram
December 21, 2023
i read this, as always, in a futile, neverending quest titled The Search For My Next Comfort Read, Or Generally A Romance Book I'll Actually Like, Not Because I Think I'm Above Romance (It's Honestly One Of The Genres I Like Most When At It's Best) But Because I Am Picky And Have A Bundle Of Unpopular Opinions Where My Heart Should Be.
and as always, i expected to fail in that.
but guess what.
i found at least SOMETHING here.
this wasn't a perfect book, but what it was was cute and frustrating and angsty and OHMYGODTHESECHARACTERSARESOSTUPIDPLEASEJUSTTALKTOEACHOTHER.
which is what i look for in a romance.
both of the prior installments of this series missed the mark for me but i knew there was potential. there is so much i love in this! small towns, friendships, banter. and though there were things i didn't like about this (theater kids) there was more that i did.
bottom line: let's call it a win.
(3.5 / thanks to the publisher for the e-arc)
and as always, i expected to fail in that.
but guess what.
i found at least SOMETHING here.
this wasn't a perfect book, but what it was was cute and frustrating and angsty and OHMYGODTHESECHARACTERSARESOSTUPIDPLEASEJUSTTALKTOEACHOTHER.
which is what i look for in a romance.
both of the prior installments of this series missed the mark for me but i knew there was potential. there is so much i love in this! small towns, friendships, banter. and though there were things i didn't like about this (theater kids) there was more that i did.
bottom line: let's call it a win.
(3.5 / thanks to the publisher for the e-arc)
July 25, 2023
The way this series just keeps delivering sapphic masterpieces😋
Finished it and review to come!😭🫶🏼
Finished it and review to come!😭🫶🏼
May 6, 2024
2023 Pride Month
I fell in love with Astrid's story. I did not fall in love with Iris'. Two points I will make that endeared her to me: 1) Growing up Roman Catholic with immigrant parents, and 2) Knowing her own mind and leaving a partner that she loved because she knew she never wanted children. So in this way, I found Iris' parents entirely unbearable. So, too, were her siblings. I just felt Iris deserved more. Stevie was fine. Ren was also fine. Iris' ex is absolutely fucking trash. Vanessa felt a little pick-me. Also, Colombia the country is spelled with two Os, not a U.
Reviews: Book 1 | Book 2
📱 NetGalley
I fell in love with Astrid's story. I did not fall in love with Iris'. Two points I will make that endeared her to me: 1) Growing up Roman Catholic with immigrant parents, and 2) Knowing her own mind and leaving a partner that she loved because she knew she never wanted children. So in this way, I found Iris' parents entirely unbearable. So, too, were her siblings. I just felt Iris deserved more. Stevie was fine. Ren was also fine. Iris' ex is absolutely fucking trash. Vanessa felt a little pick-me. Also, Colombia the country is spelled with two Os, not a U.
Reviews: Book 1 | Book 2
📱 NetGalley
November 13, 2023
The crowning jewel of disappointment with this series.
This book frustrated me to a point where I had to make copious amounts of notes while reading it, so let me just organize them thematically, starting with...
Representation
Delilah had some problems with performative language, but remained readable. Astrid was hard not to roll your eyes at. Iris tripled down on the bad aspects. I'm honestly surprised that there are not many reviews pointing it out... Representation is this book is borderline offensive, at best it's insincere. At best. I've made my point in my review of Astrid Parker that the way AHB writes about queerness is weirdly uniform, in a cool-kids-club way, a way that seems perplexed at the idea of genuine diversity and is only capable of treating it as a background. It somehow got worse. It all feels very juvenile and naive. Women in their 30's who are out for years are naming their groupchats "Cheers for Queers" and get starry eyed seeing a coffee drink named "Pansexual Pistachio Cold Brew". Trans people are used as props for the author or the characters to pat themselves on the back for how inclusive they are. "In the play it's two men, one of them is trans" "I love that" say the two cis characters, using a man's identity to make themselves feel progressive. I'm sure he's happy about that. The book doesn't even give the poor guy any lines, but makes a point to mention him again, this time by the narrator: "It was two gay men - one of them trans(...)". WE ALREADY KNOW. Any characters who are more diverse than the main cast (i.e not cis, thin, white) are used as a throwaway line, they don't even show up ("Phoebe was a trans woman and a costume designer" "Tori was a Black lesbian"). Nuh-uh! You don't get to use their identities like that if you don't put any work into involving them as PEOPLE. (There is Stevie's nonbinary friend I guess, but they lack any depth and are also introduced as an identity checkbox, and those identities also apparently make them "the single coolest person Stevie knew"). Inclusion as performance. You can see it in small details; like: "What about them? Ren said pointing to a white woman with long blond hair" (what's the point of using a neutral pronoun if you're gonna assume this person's gender in the same sentence lmao). Or Stevie buying a lesbian flag coloured swimsuit at 17 (11 years ago), despite sunset lesbian flag being invented in 2018. It might seem nitpicky but it paints a larger picture all combined together. It makes it seem like the author isn't really interested in portraying queerness as anything else than stereotypes. And it DOES bleed into the view or relationships and romance. I found it quite concerning how sapphic relationships are depicted... Those that work out are described as never-ending honeymoon phases where they constantly have "48h orgasm sessions" and forever behave as if they'd just met. The ones that fall apart do so because they have less sex and fall into behaving like roommates. Relationships are not just waiting for a magical person that will make you feel teenage love all the time. In real relationships, there will be problems and there will be the mundane, and it's a conscious act of love to make everyday life exciting. Stevie and Iris are required to "work" on themselves and improve their behaviour, but only to the point of "getting the girl" - the ultimate end goal. Once it's achieved, long-term relationships (like Claire and Delilah's) don't seem to require any effort and any sign of work to be done on the relationship is meant to be taken as if the relationship is doomed.
Plot
Stevie is an actress with Generalized Anxiety Disorder. Did you know that she has anxiety? Yes? Are you sure? I think I'm gonna mention it again, just to be safe? Did you really get it? She has anxiety. (I have GAD and I actually was lowkey offended by this lol, we're not some incapable beans defined by anxiety who can't go thru a single interaction w/o throwing up). Iris suddenly became a romance author off-page in between books (was this change made to make this book more meta?) and is struggling to come up with a plot, because she lacks romantic inspiration in life and is tired of people trying to set her up for dating. Funny circumstances ensue and the two end up fake-dating and starring in a play together. This... didn't make too much sense to me. Stevie and Iris had a failed hookup and Stevie's (shitty) friends started pressing and asking if they're dating. In what world was it easier to lie and say "yea we are" instead of being like "it was one hookup, it's too early to tell yet"? Iris's reason for agreeing was also far-fetched (needing inspiration for her novel?). But okay, let's roll with it: as far as fake dating goes, Stevie acts very lacklustre and uninvested, seeming like a really bad girlfriend. Stevie's ex constantly bullies Iris, but it's Iris that gets chastised for standing her ground, Stevie never tries to defend her. It seems like in the previous book, everything was Astrid's fault and she was not allowed to be hurt. Here Iris is treated in a similar way. Not allowed to be upset, defend herself, have her doubts etc it's all painted as if she's in the wrong. I couldn't feel chemistry between them, it was all so unserious. Many of their conversations felt out of place, not fitting the moment, as if AHB needed them there to further the plot. Most of their problems are because those bitches just refuse to TALK TO EACH OTHER. Iris's friends, bar Simon, all felt stripped out of their original personalities (really? Claire is nothing more than a mum friend now?). The third-act breakup was so badly done and unnecessary and the HEA was barely even existent, we got one page of it... if that!
Miscellaneous
Just some loose thoughts that didn't fit anywhere else, arranged in points:
- Adults don't say "fuckity fuck"
- "Creamy" is not a good descriptor of boobs
- No scissoring this time! Yay!
- Iris' Irish family is full of Irish stereotypes and if her parents are actual 1st gen immigrants, they don't speak like Irish people and AHB should have looked up Irish name spellings
- The owner of the Bitch's Brew cafe is from Liverpool but has a cockney accent? Please research what you write, what is this lmaooo
- There is so much overexplaining and telling-not-showing
- Ofc the characters have a "disdain for literary fiction" and think it's pretentious. Boohoo a book makes you think and doesn't rely on tropes
- Queer friend groups are depicted as toxic and thriving on drama
- Astrid Parker had a clit necklace. This book has "flowers that look live vulvas, which Iris is all about"
- It seems... a choice to make the few POC characters obscenely rich, some of them from generational wealth
Not a fun time, this one!
This book frustrated me to a point where I had to make copious amounts of notes while reading it, so let me just organize them thematically, starting with...
Representation
Delilah had some problems with performative language, but remained readable. Astrid was hard not to roll your eyes at. Iris tripled down on the bad aspects. I'm honestly surprised that there are not many reviews pointing it out... Representation is this book is borderline offensive, at best it's insincere. At best. I've made my point in my review of Astrid Parker that the way AHB writes about queerness is weirdly uniform, in a cool-kids-club way, a way that seems perplexed at the idea of genuine diversity and is only capable of treating it as a background. It somehow got worse. It all feels very juvenile and naive. Women in their 30's who are out for years are naming their groupchats "Cheers for Queers" and get starry eyed seeing a coffee drink named "Pansexual Pistachio Cold Brew". Trans people are used as props for the author or the characters to pat themselves on the back for how inclusive they are. "In the play it's two men, one of them is trans" "I love that" say the two cis characters, using a man's identity to make themselves feel progressive. I'm sure he's happy about that. The book doesn't even give the poor guy any lines, but makes a point to mention him again, this time by the narrator: "It was two gay men - one of them trans(...)". WE ALREADY KNOW. Any characters who are more diverse than the main cast (i.e not cis, thin, white) are used as a throwaway line, they don't even show up ("Phoebe was a trans woman and a costume designer" "Tori was a Black lesbian"). Nuh-uh! You don't get to use their identities like that if you don't put any work into involving them as PEOPLE. (There is Stevie's nonbinary friend I guess, but they lack any depth and are also introduced as an identity checkbox, and those identities also apparently make them "the single coolest person Stevie knew"). Inclusion as performance. You can see it in small details; like: "What about them? Ren said pointing to a white woman with long blond hair" (what's the point of using a neutral pronoun if you're gonna assume this person's gender in the same sentence lmao). Or Stevie buying a lesbian flag coloured swimsuit at 17 (11 years ago), despite sunset lesbian flag being invented in 2018. It might seem nitpicky but it paints a larger picture all combined together. It makes it seem like the author isn't really interested in portraying queerness as anything else than stereotypes. And it DOES bleed into the view or relationships and romance. I found it quite concerning how sapphic relationships are depicted... Those that work out are described as never-ending honeymoon phases where they constantly have "48h orgasm sessions" and forever behave as if they'd just met. The ones that fall apart do so because they have less sex and fall into behaving like roommates. Relationships are not just waiting for a magical person that will make you feel teenage love all the time. In real relationships, there will be problems and there will be the mundane, and it's a conscious act of love to make everyday life exciting. Stevie and Iris are required to "work" on themselves and improve their behaviour, but only to the point of "getting the girl" - the ultimate end goal. Once it's achieved, long-term relationships (like Claire and Delilah's) don't seem to require any effort and any sign of work to be done on the relationship is meant to be taken as if the relationship is doomed.
Plot
Stevie is an actress with Generalized Anxiety Disorder. Did you know that she has anxiety? Yes? Are you sure? I think I'm gonna mention it again, just to be safe? Did you really get it? She has anxiety. (I have GAD and I actually was lowkey offended by this lol, we're not some incapable beans defined by anxiety who can't go thru a single interaction w/o throwing up). Iris suddenly became a romance author off-page in between books (was this change made to make this book more meta?) and is struggling to come up with a plot, because she lacks romantic inspiration in life and is tired of people trying to set her up for dating. Funny circumstances ensue and the two end up fake-dating and starring in a play together. This... didn't make too much sense to me. Stevie and Iris had a failed hookup and Stevie's (shitty) friends started pressing and asking if they're dating. In what world was it easier to lie and say "yea we are" instead of being like "it was one hookup, it's too early to tell yet"? Iris's reason for agreeing was also far-fetched (needing inspiration for her novel?). But okay, let's roll with it: as far as fake dating goes, Stevie acts very lacklustre and uninvested, seeming like a really bad girlfriend. Stevie's ex constantly bullies Iris, but it's Iris that gets chastised for standing her ground, Stevie never tries to defend her. It seems like in the previous book, everything was Astrid's fault and she was not allowed to be hurt. Here Iris is treated in a similar way. Not allowed to be upset, defend herself, have her doubts etc it's all painted as if she's in the wrong. I couldn't feel chemistry between them, it was all so unserious. Many of their conversations felt out of place, not fitting the moment, as if AHB needed them there to further the plot. Most of their problems are because those bitches just refuse to TALK TO EACH OTHER. Iris's friends, bar Simon, all felt stripped out of their original personalities (really? Claire is nothing more than a mum friend now?). The third-act breakup was so badly done and unnecessary and the HEA was barely even existent, we got one page of it... if that!
Miscellaneous
Just some loose thoughts that didn't fit anywhere else, arranged in points:
- Adults don't say "fuckity fuck"
- "Creamy" is not a good descriptor of boobs
- No scissoring this time! Yay!
- Iris' Irish family is full of Irish stereotypes and if her parents are actual 1st gen immigrants, they don't speak like Irish people and AHB should have looked up Irish name spellings
- The owner of the Bitch's Brew cafe is from Liverpool but has a cockney accent? Please research what you write, what is this lmaooo
- There is so much overexplaining and telling-not-showing
- Ofc the characters have a "disdain for literary fiction" and think it's pretentious. Boohoo a book makes you think and doesn't rely on tropes
- Queer friend groups are depicted as toxic and thriving on drama
- Astrid Parker had a clit necklace. This book has "flowers that look live vulvas, which Iris is all about"
- It seems... a choice to make the few POC characters obscenely rich, some of them from generational wealth
Not a fun time, this one!
March 9, 2024
I am a big fan of Ashley Herring Blake’s Bright Falls series. Delilah Green Doesn’t Care? Five stars, fantastic, made me laugh, made me cry. Astrid Parker Doesn’t Fail? Started a bit slow, but grew on me to the point where I was yet again a sobbing mess saying “aww” through my tears. So when I tell you I jumped for joy when I was approved for an arc of the final instalment in the series, Iris Kelly Doesn’t Date, just know I’m not speaking in a figurative sense.
Suffice it to say; my hopes were very high for this book. And I wouldn’t say I was disappointed, but I did have a few more points of contention with this third book in the series, some of which began to rear their head in the second novel, but I was able to brush them aside in light of how fantastic the rest of the book turned out to be.
So let me get my few little gripes out of the way first so I can gush…
1. Blake has a tendency to introduce characters by describing their race and gender identity (and sometimes also their sexual orientation) in a way that feels a bit stilted and unrealistic. I understand her wanting to imbue the book with more diversity and to state that diversity clearly, but when it’s a character that’s being mentioned but never actually appears on the page or speaks, someone we never interact with, I don’t need to know their race and gender and sexual identity. It feels a bit like lip service, being able to point out how diverse the book is without those characters actually existing in the narrative. I don’t remember this being a problem in the first book. However, it has been a while since I read it, so I could be misremembering. But this was definitely something that was present in the second book and felt a bit awkward. Still, it became much more apparent in this final instalment and didn’t flow or feel natural. On top of the issue with the flow, it just doesn’t feel realistic. Especially when you’re in queer communities, you can’t know from looking at someone what their gender and sexual identity are. So describing a stranger at a bar as “female-identifying” felt very weird because unless that person was wearing a pin or holding up a sign stating that, looking at them is not enough information to go off of to determine that they are, in fact, female-identifying.
2. Stevie’s friends are the worst. Not just Adri, her ex-girlfriend, who I think we’re supposed to kind of hate, but also Ren, who is supposed to be her closest friend in the group and Vanessa, too, though she had very little page time. We get a little bit in the way of Stevie setting boundaries with her friends, explaining what she needs from them, and asking them to respect her as a person and her choices, but it wasn’t enough for my taste. The way they treated her was really not cool, and it made me dread spending time in Stevie’s chapters and having to read the things her friends were doing and saying.
3. The ending. I don’t want to spoil anything, and it was adorable in many ways, but it felt a bit abrupt. Not only did it try to wrap up all three of the love stories from the series in a single chapter, but it did it in such a way that it drew focus away from the couple we’d spent 300+ pages with, leaving us in a bit of an uncertain place with them as a couple and their future. Where are they going to settle? How is the relationship going? How are they integrating into each other’s lives and connecting with each other’s friends? We don’t get answers to any of these questions, and it felt a little unsatisfying for me, especially knowing this is the final book of the series, so we won’t be able to see snapshots of them later on in their relationship as we had the privilege to do with the first two couples.
4. This is minor, but I am pretty certain either Iris or Stevie said they were allergic to strawberries earlier on in the book, and then later in the book, they both eat strawberry pie. I was very concerned for their health, and it was never addressed!
Now on to the positive!
I loved Iris as a protagonist. She gave great bisexual rep, and I loved her confidence in her curvier body and her exuberance and wittiness and fun spirit! I also loved that we got to see her vulnerable underside, her hurt and the parts of herself she locked up for good, and the ways that Stevie can open her up again to the idea of love and partnership in a way that is so deeply relatable to so many people who have gone through a heartbreak.
I loved Stevie as a love interest. As a former actor who has dealt with anxiety and panic attacks, reading about a character who is an actor and has an anxiety disorder was a bit cathartic, to be honest. I felt the representation was great and loved how the author addressed that being an actor and dealing with anxiety are not mutually exclusive and that playing a part can be an escape for those who suffer from anxiety to get out of their own head and take on a new persona. It took a while to get to know Stevie on a deeper level. Still, as the book progressed, I began to really love her and enjoy the way she was incredibly thoughtful and supportive of Iris, in much the same way that Iris was so incredibly supportive and understanding of her.
Speaking of support and understanding, their dynamic was fantastic. The love, care, and respect they had for each other was next level and reminded me of my relationship with my partner and how we support each other through trauma, mental health struggles, insecurities, and more. In some ways, this felt like the most real, authentic, deep, and fully developed relationship from this series, and seeing the way they communicated with each other and learned to support each other was beautiful to read.
I found the setup of Iris writing a romance book and agreeing to fake date Stevie so she could get inspiration for writing the romantic scenes and Stevie trying to prove to her friends that she was self-sufficient and was moving on from her past relationship by fake dating Iris quite fun, and especially loved the inclusion of a production of a Shakespearean play. As a theatre nerd and big lover of Shakespeare, that’s always a plus in my book!
I struggled with the third-act misunderstanding/breakup that is so common in contemporary romance, and I struggled with reading the self-sabotage on both sides, but even still, I was so invested in their love story that I was able to push through for that happily ever after.
The steamy scenes were quite steamy, and the romantic scenes were absolutely adorable. The grand gesture was so thoughtful and sweet, and I may or may not have shed several tears as I read it.
Overall this was a great read, with possibly my two favourite characters from this entire series, in a book with a few more pet peeves and problems to pull me out of the narrative. I think with a little bit of re-working, many of the issues I had with his book could be fixed. It is a little disappointing to feel like the weaker parts of this book held back the incredible character development and love story at the centre. However, I am still thrilled I read it and will likely reread it in the future and will definitely be recommending it to everyone I know who enjoys romance!
Trigger/Content Warnings: panic attacks, vomit
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Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC!
Suffice it to say; my hopes were very high for this book. And I wouldn’t say I was disappointed, but I did have a few more points of contention with this third book in the series, some of which began to rear their head in the second novel, but I was able to brush them aside in light of how fantastic the rest of the book turned out to be.
So let me get my few little gripes out of the way first so I can gush…
1. Blake has a tendency to introduce characters by describing their race and gender identity (and sometimes also their sexual orientation) in a way that feels a bit stilted and unrealistic. I understand her wanting to imbue the book with more diversity and to state that diversity clearly, but when it’s a character that’s being mentioned but never actually appears on the page or speaks, someone we never interact with, I don’t need to know their race and gender and sexual identity. It feels a bit like lip service, being able to point out how diverse the book is without those characters actually existing in the narrative. I don’t remember this being a problem in the first book. However, it has been a while since I read it, so I could be misremembering. But this was definitely something that was present in the second book and felt a bit awkward. Still, it became much more apparent in this final instalment and didn’t flow or feel natural. On top of the issue with the flow, it just doesn’t feel realistic. Especially when you’re in queer communities, you can’t know from looking at someone what their gender and sexual identity are. So describing a stranger at a bar as “female-identifying” felt very weird because unless that person was wearing a pin or holding up a sign stating that, looking at them is not enough information to go off of to determine that they are, in fact, female-identifying.
2. Stevie’s friends are the worst. Not just Adri, her ex-girlfriend, who I think we’re supposed to kind of hate, but also Ren, who is supposed to be her closest friend in the group and Vanessa, too, though she had very little page time. We get a little bit in the way of Stevie setting boundaries with her friends, explaining what she needs from them, and asking them to respect her as a person and her choices, but it wasn’t enough for my taste. The way they treated her was really not cool, and it made me dread spending time in Stevie’s chapters and having to read the things her friends were doing and saying.
3. The ending. I don’t want to spoil anything, and it was adorable in many ways, but it felt a bit abrupt. Not only did it try to wrap up all three of the love stories from the series in a single chapter, but it did it in such a way that it drew focus away from the couple we’d spent 300+ pages with, leaving us in a bit of an uncertain place with them as a couple and their future. Where are they going to settle? How is the relationship going? How are they integrating into each other’s lives and connecting with each other’s friends? We don’t get answers to any of these questions, and it felt a little unsatisfying for me, especially knowing this is the final book of the series, so we won’t be able to see snapshots of them later on in their relationship as we had the privilege to do with the first two couples.
4. This is minor, but I am pretty certain either Iris or Stevie said they were allergic to strawberries earlier on in the book, and then later in the book, they both eat strawberry pie. I was very concerned for their health, and it was never addressed!
Now on to the positive!
I loved Iris as a protagonist. She gave great bisexual rep, and I loved her confidence in her curvier body and her exuberance and wittiness and fun spirit! I also loved that we got to see her vulnerable underside, her hurt and the parts of herself she locked up for good, and the ways that Stevie can open her up again to the idea of love and partnership in a way that is so deeply relatable to so many people who have gone through a heartbreak.
I loved Stevie as a love interest. As a former actor who has dealt with anxiety and panic attacks, reading about a character who is an actor and has an anxiety disorder was a bit cathartic, to be honest. I felt the representation was great and loved how the author addressed that being an actor and dealing with anxiety are not mutually exclusive and that playing a part can be an escape for those who suffer from anxiety to get out of their own head and take on a new persona. It took a while to get to know Stevie on a deeper level. Still, as the book progressed, I began to really love her and enjoy the way she was incredibly thoughtful and supportive of Iris, in much the same way that Iris was so incredibly supportive and understanding of her.
Speaking of support and understanding, their dynamic was fantastic. The love, care, and respect they had for each other was next level and reminded me of my relationship with my partner and how we support each other through trauma, mental health struggles, insecurities, and more. In some ways, this felt like the most real, authentic, deep, and fully developed relationship from this series, and seeing the way they communicated with each other and learned to support each other was beautiful to read.
I found the setup of Iris writing a romance book and agreeing to fake date Stevie so she could get inspiration for writing the romantic scenes and Stevie trying to prove to her friends that she was self-sufficient and was moving on from her past relationship by fake dating Iris quite fun, and especially loved the inclusion of a production of a Shakespearean play. As a theatre nerd and big lover of Shakespeare, that’s always a plus in my book!
I struggled with the third-act misunderstanding/breakup that is so common in contemporary romance, and I struggled with reading the self-sabotage on both sides, but even still, I was so invested in their love story that I was able to push through for that happily ever after.
The steamy scenes were quite steamy, and the romantic scenes were absolutely adorable. The grand gesture was so thoughtful and sweet, and I may or may not have shed several tears as I read it.
Overall this was a great read, with possibly my two favourite characters from this entire series, in a book with a few more pet peeves and problems to pull me out of the narrative. I think with a little bit of re-working, many of the issues I had with his book could be fixed. It is a little disappointing to feel like the weaker parts of this book held back the incredible character development and love story at the centre. However, I am still thrilled I read it and will likely reread it in the future and will definitely be recommending it to everyone I know who enjoys romance!
Trigger/Content Warnings: panic attacks, vomit
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October 5, 2023
Stevie is the butchest Ashley Herring Blake can make a main character of hers before getting scared
One of the side characters is giving sidekick of color who only exists to further the plot and development of white girl main characters
Thank you to Libro.fm for the alc
One of the side characters is giving sidekick of color who only exists to further the plot and development of white girl main characters
Thank you to Libro.fm for the alc
Want to read
January 30, 2023Saw "sapphic" and "theater" and came running.
THE SHOW IS A QUEER RETELLING OF MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING? TAKE ALL OF MY MONEY
THE SHOW IS A QUEER RETELLING OF MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING? TAKE ALL OF MY MONEY
April 16, 2024
➥ 3 Stars *:･ﾟ✧
This review will not be nearly as coherent as some of my past proudest ones, because I've not been on here in a while. It has just taken a backseat while I've had other priorities and things that bring me joy.
In this instance particularly, I feel like I've taken off a pair of rose-tinted glasses. For the previous books in the series, I was able to generally see past the cliche flaws and enjoy Blake's books for what they are: charming, lighthearted and somewhat shallow romcoms. And I liked that. Straight people get those, so why shouldn't we? I enjoyed the mediocre romance with some sexy characters and cheesy romance.
But now I'm wondering if I imagined it all? Was I just generously ignorant while reading the first two? Because this one just missed for me in most aspects.
It's not uncommon for there to be embarrassing moments in romcoms. I suppose the writers believe it'll break the tension or allow for humour but I rarely enjoy the moments. Still, there was more embarrassment and humiliation in here than I could handle.
Especially in front of the love interest? I suppose it serves the purpose of making the two characters work together to salvage a disaster but I'm NAWT a fan.
From puking on someone while hooking up to your bathing suit straps breaking flashing your crush, how much worse could it get? I mean would it kill ya to just give the characers some cute lil moments?
To be fair, I did enjoy Iris's (h) character. She was bold, confident and flirty. And she always felt very human. Sometimes in fiction I feel like I'm watching a play with bad actors: awkward dialogue with awkward execution that feels overall unnatural. What came out of Iris's mouth wasn't bad.
But Stevie's (h)? Jesus christ. Obviously this remains my opinion, but her insecurities were just slathered on every page of this book. It's normal to be insecure and perfectly reasonable to work through that with your partner, but nearly EVERY interaction between our leads was turned into this deep conversation where one had to comfort and pep talk and reassure the other. There wasn't one time where they would just flirt a little man 😭 nothing to giggle about or swing your feet to.
And that's shame because I loved a good few elements of this book, despite how much of a hater I sound. I enjoyed the theatre/play plotline. I thought it was really interesting and was overall endearing.
I loved revisiting the friend group of the previous books and seeing snippets of their lives progressing too. Astrid clutching her purse at the club CRACKED me up.
And that's about it. Also WHY SO MUCH OW DRAMA? Tbf, according to lesbian stereotypes there is a messy sapphic web but god, it was just so tiring.
Encounters with nightmare exes should NOT be a staple in romcoms. Especially when it literally does not make sense? It was so random and jarring. It overall did not fit.
So Blake proceeds with these cliches that everyone's TIRED of: ex-drama, secondhand embarrassment, trauma dumping, miscommunication and third-act conflicts.
And yet the one cliche she refuses to go for is the romantic one? There are so many well set-up moments for a cheesy romantic moment but noooo. She wants to subvert expectations.
And yk what? Hey I get that. You want to do something newww and unpredictable because, fair, romance is inherently predictable so you gotta spice it up sometimes. But she does not REALLOCATE opportunities for romance. She does not put romance in situations that are less predictable...no. She just doesn't do any at all!!!!! Whippee!! Yay!!!
RomComs nowadays looove to play with their own declared self-awareness. "This would only happen in a RomCom, can't be happening for me!" etc. And yet, authors are not self aware ENOUGH to really think about what they bring to the table. I feel really harsh for where I'm going, so let me just say that I know tradpub is limiting etc. However, RomCom authors need to give the people what they WANT.
Cheesy romantic moments, with niche hobby backdrops, at least 1 hot sex scene and characters with chemistry and charm. We don't NEED the stinky realism of embarrassment and conflict (that is usually contrived anyway in these, LOL).
You can add angst and tension, sure. This book works with the fwb trope. I fkn love this one ok? But there were SO many opportunities for tension and actual quality romance that were wasted.
Blake skims the surface of this vision sometimes, like when Stevie discovers Iris's , because you've got the yearning, the care, the admiration, the thought.
But that...it? And we only get it at the end to sort of convince us that their relationship can be salvaged after that disaster?
I mean they've been in conflict for the whole book and you're gonna give us a respectively FATTER CONFLICT where one literally
Count me OUT of relationships if this is how it is because there's like 2 grams of logic left in either of the lead's heads.
And everytime something good happened (something romantic or they had sex), something bad would SOON FOLLOW? Surely that is not the pattern of a healthy relationship, nor one to root for. Who am I to talk about health relationships, you may ask? Not someone who should be, BUT... it just pisses me off because there's this chunk of eyeroll-worthy filler every time I get minorly reinvested in their relationship.
Speaking of sex scenes, maybe it's just me but I did NAWT appreciate the use of dick and cock during the GAY sex scenes. I mean maybe it's just me, but I'm willing to join a movement of "call it the strap!"
Speaking of the sex scenes, I thought they would be the saviour of this wreck. Because in the past two books I remember enjoying them. Lots of chemistry, dialogue and actions that seemed true to the characters and overall well-written and new.
Yet...I just gotta ask. Why did miss "i'm so shy and insecure 😖😖" make a switch to "BEG ME if u want to come". Like okayyyyyy 😀 . Whatever you say, hun.
And just overall the dialogue was STILL stilted, awkward and bland. Which to be fair...most romcoms are also like that. But you should strive to do better! Not fit the mediocre standards for RomComs. Make people take them more seriously by making them better and more impactful. So many people prefer romantasy because the stakes make the characters form a genuine connection even through hardship. Whereas here, it's just practically a jungle.
Lets start making love stories that are also a little bit sexy, PLEASE. Make me believe they should make a fantastic married couple from the first time they interact.
Add some playfulness, if you don't want to go all serious. But blandness is a CRIME.
Anyway, Stevie and Iris's arrangement consists of Iris teaching Stevie sex and Stevie teaching Iris romance. So they go on dates right? Yes, I read one in full detail.
ONLY FOR THE NEXT CHAPTER TO BLANDLY LIST THE LIKE 8 MORE DATES THEY WENT ON? FOR 2 MORE WEEKS? Now, I'm no expert (I so fuckin am, let's be real), but maybe you should include the literal CORE OF RELATIONSHIP DEVELOPMENT IN THE ROMANCE BOOK? Like...I think that was more important than...all the other filler that is described to us in DETAIL.
Now, I'll give Blake a SMALL...applause for finally using the word lesbian in a positive context. Lol. She was getting flamed for not doing that before and honestly, that was deserved. So she's trying to fix it up a lil! This was a bi/bi romance though, btw.
Also can I just say...I read "slicked on mascara" like a good 3 times. Who chose that verb??? Slicks on?? As if it's sunscreen? Mascara is carefully, strategically APPLIED. So yeah, needed to complain about that.
You want to hear another cliche here? For the third act conflict, the characters DEADASS said "I was scared". Like them being scared of being loved and in a committed relationship is saurrrrr fucking cliche, I'm sick.
Boring, NEXT!!
And telling someone "you love me" is next level sick, STAND UP. Or idk. Good luck w/ that.
The quote I featured...eh, I guess it's alright but you know it's bad when there's nothing sexy to put there instead.
Despite that extensive overview of my opinions of this lil book, my overall stance is that this book was heartbreakingly mediocre yet somewhat enjoyable and gay. Thus, 3 stars.
"I spent a lot of time," Iris went on, "convincing myself I wasn't built to last, wasn't built for romance, for love. But maybe..." Tears bloomed into her eyes. "Maybe I was just build for you."
━━━━━━━━━━━ ♡ ━━━━━━━━━━━
This review will not be nearly as coherent as some of my past proudest ones, because I've not been on here in a while. It has just taken a backseat while I've had other priorities and things that bring me joy.
In this instance particularly, I feel like I've taken off a pair of rose-tinted glasses. For the previous books in the series, I was able to generally see past the cliche flaws and enjoy Blake's books for what they are: charming, lighthearted and somewhat shallow romcoms. And I liked that. Straight people get those, so why shouldn't we? I enjoyed the mediocre romance with some sexy characters and cheesy romance.
But now I'm wondering if I imagined it all? Was I just generously ignorant while reading the first two? Because this one just missed for me in most aspects.
It's not uncommon for there to be embarrassing moments in romcoms. I suppose the writers believe it'll break the tension or allow for humour but I rarely enjoy the moments. Still, there was more embarrassment and humiliation in here than I could handle.
Especially in front of the love interest? I suppose it serves the purpose of making the two characters work together to salvage a disaster but I'm NAWT a fan.
From puking on someone while hooking up to your bathing suit straps breaking flashing your crush, how much worse could it get? I mean would it kill ya to just give the characers some cute lil moments?
To be fair, I did enjoy Iris's (h) character. She was bold, confident and flirty. And she always felt very human. Sometimes in fiction I feel like I'm watching a play with bad actors: awkward dialogue with awkward execution that feels overall unnatural. What came out of Iris's mouth wasn't bad.
But Stevie's (h)? Jesus christ. Obviously this remains my opinion, but her insecurities were just slathered on every page of this book. It's normal to be insecure and perfectly reasonable to work through that with your partner, but nearly EVERY interaction between our leads was turned into this deep conversation where one had to comfort and pep talk and reassure the other. There wasn't one time where they would just flirt a little man 😭 nothing to giggle about or swing your feet to.
And that's shame because I loved a good few elements of this book, despite how much of a hater I sound. I enjoyed the theatre/play plotline. I thought it was really interesting and was overall endearing.
I loved revisiting the friend group of the previous books and seeing snippets of their lives progressing too. Astrid clutching her purse at the club CRACKED me up.
And that's about it. Also WHY SO MUCH OW DRAMA? Tbf, according to lesbian stereotypes there is a messy sapphic web but god, it was just so tiring.
Encounters with nightmare exes should NOT be a staple in romcoms. Especially when it literally does not make sense? It was so random and jarring. It overall did not fit.
So Blake proceeds with these cliches that everyone's TIRED of: ex-drama, secondhand embarrassment, trauma dumping, miscommunication and third-act conflicts.
And yet the one cliche she refuses to go for is the romantic one? There are so many well set-up moments for a cheesy romantic moment but noooo. She wants to subvert expectations.
And yk what? Hey I get that. You want to do something newww and unpredictable because, fair, romance is inherently predictable so you gotta spice it up sometimes. But she does not REALLOCATE opportunities for romance. She does not put romance in situations that are less predictable...no. She just doesn't do any at all!!!!! Whippee!! Yay!!!
RomComs nowadays looove to play with their own declared self-awareness. "This would only happen in a RomCom, can't be happening for me!" etc. And yet, authors are not self aware ENOUGH to really think about what they bring to the table. I feel really harsh for where I'm going, so let me just say that I know tradpub is limiting etc. However, RomCom authors need to give the people what they WANT.
Cheesy romantic moments, with niche hobby backdrops, at least 1 hot sex scene and characters with chemistry and charm. We don't NEED the stinky realism of embarrassment and conflict (that is usually contrived anyway in these, LOL).
You can add angst and tension, sure. This book works with the fwb trope. I fkn love this one ok? But there were SO many opportunities for tension and actual quality romance that were wasted.
Blake skims the surface of this vision sometimes, like when Stevie discovers Iris's , because you've got the yearning, the care, the admiration, the thought.
But that...it? And we only get it at the end to sort of convince us that their relationship can be salvaged after that disaster?
I mean they've been in conflict for the whole book and you're gonna give us a respectively FATTER CONFLICT where one literally
Count me OUT of relationships if this is how it is because there's like 2 grams of logic left in either of the lead's heads.
And everytime something good happened (something romantic or they had sex), something bad would SOON FOLLOW? Surely that is not the pattern of a healthy relationship, nor one to root for. Who am I to talk about health relationships, you may ask? Not someone who should be, BUT... it just pisses me off because there's this chunk of eyeroll-worthy filler every time I get minorly reinvested in their relationship.
Speaking of sex scenes, maybe it's just me but I did NAWT appreciate the use of dick and cock during the GAY sex scenes. I mean maybe it's just me, but I'm willing to join a movement of "call it the strap!"
Speaking of the sex scenes, I thought they would be the saviour of this wreck. Because in the past two books I remember enjoying them. Lots of chemistry, dialogue and actions that seemed true to the characters and overall well-written and new.
Yet...I just gotta ask. Why did miss "i'm so shy and insecure 😖😖" make a switch to "BEG ME if u want to come". Like okayyyyyy 😀 . Whatever you say, hun.
And just overall the dialogue was STILL stilted, awkward and bland. Which to be fair...most romcoms are also like that. But you should strive to do better! Not fit the mediocre standards for RomComs. Make people take them more seriously by making them better and more impactful. So many people prefer romantasy because the stakes make the characters form a genuine connection even through hardship. Whereas here, it's just practically a jungle.
Lets start making love stories that are also a little bit sexy, PLEASE. Make me believe they should make a fantastic married couple from the first time they interact.
Add some playfulness, if you don't want to go all serious. But blandness is a CRIME.
Anyway, Stevie and Iris's arrangement consists of Iris teaching Stevie sex and Stevie teaching Iris romance. So they go on dates right? Yes, I read one in full detail.
ONLY FOR THE NEXT CHAPTER TO BLANDLY LIST THE LIKE 8 MORE DATES THEY WENT ON? FOR 2 MORE WEEKS? Now, I'm no expert (I so fuckin am, let's be real), but maybe you should include the literal CORE OF RELATIONSHIP DEVELOPMENT IN THE ROMANCE BOOK? Like...I think that was more important than...all the other filler that is described to us in DETAIL.
Now, I'll give Blake a SMALL...applause for finally using the word lesbian in a positive context. Lol. She was getting flamed for not doing that before and honestly, that was deserved. So she's trying to fix it up a lil! This was a bi/bi romance though, btw.
Also can I just say...I read "slicked on mascara" like a good 3 times. Who chose that verb??? Slicks on?? As if it's sunscreen? Mascara is carefully, strategically APPLIED. So yeah, needed to complain about that.
You want to hear another cliche here? For the third act conflict, the characters DEADASS said "I was scared". Like them being scared of being loved and in a committed relationship is saurrrrr fucking cliche, I'm sick.
Boring, NEXT!!
And telling someone "you love me" is next level sick, STAND UP. Or idk. Good luck w/ that.
The quote I featured...eh, I guess it's alright but you know it's bad when there's nothing sexy to put there instead.
Despite that extensive overview of my opinions of this lil book, my overall stance is that this book was heartbreakingly mediocre yet somewhat enjoyable and gay. Thus, 3 stars.
━━━━━━━━━━━ ♡ ━━━━━━━━━━━
October 28, 2023
Good news! I am an absolute monster once again!!!
1. You do not get Diversity Points for making all of your leads cis/white but identifying every side or one-off character as non-cis/white.
2. “Generalized anxiety disorder” was Stevie’s entire personality and it got real exhausting real quick. (This is not a drag on real people with anxiety - I am also Haunted by Deliah’s entire personality being having Curly Hair and Tattoos (in PORTLAND))
3. Jesus fucking christ why don’t you alleged lesbians TALK TO EACH OTHER. Like you’re going to make everyone a hodgepodge of random queer stereotypes, but you skip THAT ONE??
4. Ah yes, so, it turns out that “throwing every single queer stereotype at the wall and seeing what sticks” worked for me for precisely one book. I am annoyed by this now!
5. No one in the editing process clocked that same sex marriage in Oregon was via a court decision, not legislation? These characters were out and in their 20s when same-sex marriage was legalized, you’re telling me they don’t know how it happened? (Do non-lawyer gays not having a working knowledge of this?? Am I the weird one here?!)
6. It is valid to not want a significant other!! The idea that Iris needed to be fixed and couldn’t have a fulfilling and happy life as a single gal is gross.
1. You do not get Diversity Points for making all of your leads cis/white but identifying every side or one-off character as non-cis/white.
2. “Generalized anxiety disorder” was Stevie’s entire personality and it got real exhausting real quick. (This is not a drag on real people with anxiety - I am also Haunted by Deliah’s entire personality being having Curly Hair and Tattoos (in PORTLAND))
3. Jesus fucking christ why don’t you alleged lesbians TALK TO EACH OTHER. Like you’re going to make everyone a hodgepodge of random queer stereotypes, but you skip THAT ONE??
4. Ah yes, so, it turns out that “throwing every single queer stereotype at the wall and seeing what sticks” worked for me for precisely one book. I am annoyed by this now!
5. No one in the editing process clocked that same sex marriage in Oregon was via a court decision, not legislation? These characters were out and in their 20s when same-sex marriage was legalized, you’re telling me they don’t know how it happened? (Do non-lawyer gays not having a working knowledge of this?? Am I the weird one here?!)
6. It is valid to not want a significant other!! The idea that Iris needed to be fixed and couldn’t have a fulfilling and happy life as a single gal is gross.
November 4, 2023
I've really loved this entire series. And while I've seen some criticisms of Iris Kelly that are fair, I still have to say I had a great reading experience. It was funny and did a great job with the fake dating trope. Quite steamy as well, but the story is really about moving from something purely physical to a relationship that is also romantic and deeply invested in feelings.
November 28, 2023
Where do I even begin? The bottom line is that this book seems like it was written by a millennial who thinks they know what’s “trendy” right now, but proof read and approved by a thirteen year old who reads too much fan fiction (though some of the fan fiction was probably better).
I can’t say I’m shocked but I will say that I’m disappointed that Blake hasn’t improved much over the course of writing this trilogy. One difference that I did notice, and appreciate, was that she finally realized that she can just say “her” or use the character’s name when writing scenes between two women instead of constantly saying “the other woman.”
My main critique of this book is that it seemed like Blake had a checklist of every single marginalized identity while writing this and there was someone holding a gun to her head and threatening to pull the trigger if she didn’t mention at least several of them per page. I’m all for more diversity in books but not when it comes across as tokenizing marginalized communities and not when it’s incorporated so unnaturally.
Here is one example of how unnaturally she incorporates part of a character’s identity: “…two gay men—one of them trans—played Hero and Claudio.” This example particularly demonstrates my point because of the use of the em dashes — just to really make sure you didn’t miss that info! — as well the fact that this was literally already said, word for word, pages before this one.
I think I’ve already mentioned before how this type of incorporation of many identities feels so cheap when the main characters are all cisgender white people. To make matters even worse, the author clearly has no interest in actually doing research on any of the cultures she mentions, a fact that becomes glaringly obvious when you see that she spelled the country of Colombia as “Columbia.” Yikes. It’s so clear to me that Blake just wants to get a pat on the back for being such a good, inclusive ally rather than to actually do the work it takes to be helpful to the communities who you’re benefitting from by writing about them and making yourself seem so “woke” (or so you think).
The last comment I’ll make, which kind of ties into the previous ones, is about the amount of buzz words Blake throws in, which also feels so unnatural. Below are some examples:
“…from the ice water already set out at their table, chewing on the end of her biodegradable rainbow straw…” Like are you trying to secure a good review from Greta Thunberg or what?
“…she pulled a still-pale Iris away until they reached the gender-neutral locker room...” I feel like she was so proud of this one lol.
“Then there was Jillian, who ended up being married—and not in an ethically nonmonogamous sort of way—” So ya downloaded TikTok. Really wanted to make sure the polycules didn’t come for your throat, huh?
I’ll close with a bit of positive feedback, which is that the sex scenes were definitely steamier in this book, though they did head in a strange direction when Iris starts telling Stevie “f*ck me with your c*ck” when Stevie is strapping her…
Anyways, I could write a book longer than this book about all of the issues I have with it. But, like I said, it was at least entertaining enough to finish. I also felt like I should finish it just to be done with the trilogy, so this holiday season I give thanks that I no longer feel obligated to read any of her books just for the satisfaction of completing a series.
I can’t say I’m shocked but I will say that I’m disappointed that Blake hasn’t improved much over the course of writing this trilogy. One difference that I did notice, and appreciate, was that she finally realized that she can just say “her” or use the character’s name when writing scenes between two women instead of constantly saying “the other woman.”
My main critique of this book is that it seemed like Blake had a checklist of every single marginalized identity while writing this and there was someone holding a gun to her head and threatening to pull the trigger if she didn’t mention at least several of them per page. I’m all for more diversity in books but not when it comes across as tokenizing marginalized communities and not when it’s incorporated so unnaturally.
Here is one example of how unnaturally she incorporates part of a character’s identity: “…two gay men—one of them trans—played Hero and Claudio.” This example particularly demonstrates my point because of the use of the em dashes — just to really make sure you didn’t miss that info! — as well the fact that this was literally already said, word for word, pages before this one.
I think I’ve already mentioned before how this type of incorporation of many identities feels so cheap when the main characters are all cisgender white people. To make matters even worse, the author clearly has no interest in actually doing research on any of the cultures she mentions, a fact that becomes glaringly obvious when you see that she spelled the country of Colombia as “Columbia.” Yikes. It’s so clear to me that Blake just wants to get a pat on the back for being such a good, inclusive ally rather than to actually do the work it takes to be helpful to the communities who you’re benefitting from by writing about them and making yourself seem so “woke” (or so you think).
The last comment I’ll make, which kind of ties into the previous ones, is about the amount of buzz words Blake throws in, which also feels so unnatural. Below are some examples:
“…from the ice water already set out at their table, chewing on the end of her biodegradable rainbow straw…” Like are you trying to secure a good review from Greta Thunberg or what?
“…she pulled a still-pale Iris away until they reached the gender-neutral locker room...” I feel like she was so proud of this one lol.
“Then there was Jillian, who ended up being married—and not in an ethically nonmonogamous sort of way—” So ya downloaded TikTok. Really wanted to make sure the polycules didn’t come for your throat, huh?
I’ll close with a bit of positive feedback, which is that the sex scenes were definitely steamier in this book, though they did head in a strange direction when Iris starts telling Stevie “f*ck me with your c*ck” when Stevie is strapping her…
Anyways, I could write a book longer than this book about all of the issues I have with it. But, like I said, it was at least entertaining enough to finish. I also felt like I should finish it just to be done with the trilogy, so this holiday season I give thanks that I no longer feel obligated to read any of her books just for the satisfaction of completing a series.
November 17, 2023
Okay, so my memory sucks and I remember enjoying the first two Bright Falls books a lot but did I laugh as much as with this one? I don’t think so. I loved Iris from the start and I’m so happy she got her own story. She’s witty and unhinged and delightful. And of course all that wit and and fun hides a world of hurt that makes Iris get in her own way again and again when it comes to Stevie. The truth is, Iris Kelly is terrified of not being enough. Stevie, on the other hand, is terrified of almost everything, and that makes her the perfect match. To get their HEA, they’ll both need to conquer their fears.
Which sounds very dramatic in a way that is totally fitting since part of that happens on stage. Stevie is a talented actress whose anxiety disorder has until now kept her in Portland. A disastrous one night stand with Iris, who’s had to close her paper shop and is now a debut novelist, turns into a fake relationship as one of Iris’s friends (Simon, Jordan’s brother from Astrid’s book) convinces her to try out for a small part in the production of a queer production of Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing at a local community theatre.
While I love Iris, Stevie was a bit more difficult for me. Not that she’s not charming, she totally is. The anxiety disorder hit a bit too close to home however. Kudos to the author for writing it in such a realistic manner, by the way.
As with the other two books in this series, Ashley Herring Blake successfully mixes witty repartee and emotional journeys. All the feels and genuine laughter are enhanced by Kristen DiMercurio‘s brilliant narration—though, not being an accent expert, I can’t tell whether she went with cockney or scouse for Stevie’s coffee shop owner boss, the author mentioning both in relation to the character. DiMercurio’s the reason I rated Astrid Parker Doesn’t Fail so high and probably why I enjoyed this book so much too. Once again I wish I’d listened to the first book because as much as I loved it, I regret not hearing a book choke-full of Delilah Green. Seriously, I loved Iris in Delilah’s book and Delilah in Iris’s book and that one opens the series while the other closes it is perfection. I enjoyed all the other characters, and all DiMercurio’s amazing voices, but Delilah and Iris have my whole heart. 4.5⭐️
I received a copy through Libro.fm and I am voluntarily leaving a review.
Read all my reviews on my blog (and please buy from the affiliation links!): Jude in the Stars
October 12, 2023
ARC received from Netgalley.
Iris Kelly struggles to finish this book, and so do I.
This felt as performative as a high school production of "Rent"
I really enjoyed Delilah Green Doesn't Care, I thought that it was a great deconstruction of the tropes that plagued the romance genre. Then I read Astrid Parker Doesn't Fail and realised that the cliches weren't deconstructions at all, but the features of the story. I really wanted to have hope that this book would turn the cliches around, but it took all of the things that were wrong with the series and solidified them. The diversity felt like pandering, the side characters felt like cardboard cutouts, and the plot points were constructed entirely out of cliches.
As a queer person, I felt immensely disappointed with the diversity of this book. It doesn't make me feel seen, because I have been out for more than 10 minutes. I don't swoon at seeing a trans person mentioned in a book and forgotten just as fast. Queer and POC characters show up and vanish at exactly the same speed, giving you whiplash and making it feel like they are nothing but a checked box on a long list of checked boxes. . The queer characters in the book don't feel like people, they feel like caricatures or set dressing. It feels like the queerness on display (both in the leads and the minor characters) is very uniform. All of the bisexuals are shown to have the same experience. The book also uses outdated terms like "latinx" that have been widely panned by the hispanic community as a whole.
All of the characters in the book feel so two-dimensional. I hoped that this was a trait that was reserved for the side characters but even the main characters of the book suffered from this. Stevie is an actress with anxiety who is struggling to break out of the Portland theatre scene. . Iris Kelly is struggling to get her love life together because she's "really good at sex" but struggles in relationships.. She runs a successful business and is a published writer but the author wants us to believe that this woman is incapable. She's perfect at everything that she sets her mind to. . These characters are supposed to be in their late 20s to their early 30s and they all behave like teenagers at any given moment.
The main characters from the previous installments return in this book, again with muted personalities and importance to both the plot and the characters.
The romantic leads have genuine romantic chemistry which makes the rest of the book feel lacking in comparison. It falls into so many plot contrivances to make sure that the leads don't notice each other acting and reacting a certain way to a situation. . The sheer amount of Deja Vu that I had felt from reading these characters pulled back and forth between themselves made me care very little about the romantic climax of the book (). .
I truly wanted this book to be good, but I am left wondering how people are rating this at 5 stars.
Iris Kelly struggles to finish this book, and so do I.
This felt as performative as a high school production of "Rent"
I really enjoyed Delilah Green Doesn't Care, I thought that it was a great deconstruction of the tropes that plagued the romance genre. Then I read Astrid Parker Doesn't Fail and realised that the cliches weren't deconstructions at all, but the features of the story. I really wanted to have hope that this book would turn the cliches around, but it took all of the things that were wrong with the series and solidified them. The diversity felt like pandering, the side characters felt like cardboard cutouts, and the plot points were constructed entirely out of cliches.
As a queer person, I felt immensely disappointed with the diversity of this book. It doesn't make me feel seen, because I have been out for more than 10 minutes. I don't swoon at seeing a trans person mentioned in a book and forgotten just as fast. Queer and POC characters show up and vanish at exactly the same speed, giving you whiplash and making it feel like they are nothing but a checked box on a long list of checked boxes. . The queer characters in the book don't feel like people, they feel like caricatures or set dressing. It feels like the queerness on display (both in the leads and the minor characters) is very uniform. All of the bisexuals are shown to have the same experience. The book also uses outdated terms like "latinx" that have been widely panned by the hispanic community as a whole.
All of the characters in the book feel so two-dimensional. I hoped that this was a trait that was reserved for the side characters but even the main characters of the book suffered from this. Stevie is an actress with anxiety who is struggling to break out of the Portland theatre scene. . Iris Kelly is struggling to get her love life together because she's "really good at sex" but struggles in relationships.. She runs a successful business and is a published writer but the author wants us to believe that this woman is incapable. She's perfect at everything that she sets her mind to. . These characters are supposed to be in their late 20s to their early 30s and they all behave like teenagers at any given moment.
The main characters from the previous installments return in this book, again with muted personalities and importance to both the plot and the characters.
The romantic leads have genuine romantic chemistry which makes the rest of the book feel lacking in comparison. It falls into so many plot contrivances to make sure that the leads don't notice each other acting and reacting a certain way to a situation. . The sheer amount of Deja Vu that I had felt from reading these characters pulled back and forth between themselves made me care very little about the romantic climax of the book (). .
I truly wanted this book to be good, but I am left wondering how people are rating this at 5 stars.
June 4, 2023
"You assume you know what's best for me before even giving me the space to figure it out myself."
°•*⁀➷
Thank you to NetGalley, the author, & the publisher for a chance to read & review an ARC of this book. I never take it lightly, and I am so happy to spread so much joy for it!!!
What a perfect way to end this sweet little Bright Falls timeline. I was so happy inside these pages: I know I'll go back to them every time I need a story that will only bring me comfort, and show me happy, honest growth.
While I will always lean towards the first as my favorite, this one snuck up on me. I never really understood Iris' character, and if I'm honest, I still don't, but I think that's what made this story so fun. Because I did know Stevie. I am Stevie. I'm the friend who feels crippled by her anxiety, and to see my truth lived so freely in these pages felt like a breath of fresh air.
Which is ironic, because that's all Stevie and I are ever looking for.
I found it here, and Stevie found it in Iris. Crazy, over the top, energetic, kind, understanding Iris. All things I didn't realize until I watched her soften her pointy feelings over Stevie's too-rounded ones. I felt it every time Stevie lost the ability to breathe, and felt it ten-fold every time Iris did something silly to combat it.
I loved the nicknames. I loved the inside jokes. I loved that even though this was a "fake relationship", it never read like one because consent was so important to both of them. I love that Stevie was the one with generalized anxiety, but Iris needed just as much help to believe in herself. I love the idea Iris took on of refueling your creative side with a new passion to find the love for your real one. I love that Stevie was never portrayed as weak, but also never told how strong she was. I loved that anxiety was a part of the story, but it was never the plot.
Because that's how it is in reality as well.
When Stevie used the above quote to remind the people who love her that she can take care of herself, all I could think was... I can, too. And I loved seeing Stevie take on her dreams for herself, not for anyone else. I loved everything about her.
I want to be like her when I grow up. Because we aren't broken, we aren't lost, we aren't just making out way through life. We're living it. And we get to choose how we see it.
& last, but certainly not least. These friendships. Have I ever read a more beautiful last line to a book about childhood friends that truly only want the best for each other? Even seeing Iris struggle so passionately because of her love for her friends meant the world.
I need every author to take some tips for Blake. This is what written friendship should be.
- Paige
°•*⁀➷
Thank you to NetGalley, the author, & the publisher for a chance to read & review an ARC of this book. I never take it lightly, and I am so happy to spread so much joy for it!!!
What a perfect way to end this sweet little Bright Falls timeline. I was so happy inside these pages: I know I'll go back to them every time I need a story that will only bring me comfort, and show me happy, honest growth.
While I will always lean towards the first as my favorite, this one snuck up on me. I never really understood Iris' character, and if I'm honest, I still don't, but I think that's what made this story so fun. Because I did know Stevie. I am Stevie. I'm the friend who feels crippled by her anxiety, and to see my truth lived so freely in these pages felt like a breath of fresh air.
Which is ironic, because that's all Stevie and I are ever looking for.
I found it here, and Stevie found it in Iris. Crazy, over the top, energetic, kind, understanding Iris. All things I didn't realize until I watched her soften her pointy feelings over Stevie's too-rounded ones. I felt it every time Stevie lost the ability to breathe, and felt it ten-fold every time Iris did something silly to combat it.
I loved the nicknames. I loved the inside jokes. I loved that even though this was a "fake relationship", it never read like one because consent was so important to both of them. I love that Stevie was the one with generalized anxiety, but Iris needed just as much help to believe in herself. I love the idea Iris took on of refueling your creative side with a new passion to find the love for your real one. I love that Stevie was never portrayed as weak, but also never told how strong she was. I loved that anxiety was a part of the story, but it was never the plot.
Because that's how it is in reality as well.
When Stevie used the above quote to remind the people who love her that she can take care of herself, all I could think was... I can, too. And I loved seeing Stevie take on her dreams for herself, not for anyone else. I loved everything about her.
I want to be like her when I grow up. Because we aren't broken, we aren't lost, we aren't just making out way through life. We're living it. And we get to choose how we see it.
& last, but certainly not least. These friendships. Have I ever read a more beautiful last line to a book about childhood friends that truly only want the best for each other? Even seeing Iris struggle so passionately because of her love for her friends meant the world.
I need every author to take some tips for Blake. This is what written friendship should be.
- Paige
August 12, 2023
4.5 ★
this series brings me so much joy! the cute & cheesy (in the best way) love stories, the incredible friendships, the queer representation, the big life/career choices that come with being in your late 20s!! all of their journeys are so relatable and I’ve loved seeing pieces of myself in the characters of this series. . I am so sad to say goodbye to bright falls and these characters!
Iris and Stevie's story was chaotic and flirty and fun but with the sweetest moments thrown in. Stevie finally finding someone who had the patience to let her be herself. Iris Kelly trying so hard not to fall for her. I loved their development and the level of trust they had between them. Seeing Stevie truly come out of her shell with Iris was such a joy. Would definitely recommend!
this series brings me so much joy! the cute & cheesy (in the best way) love stories, the incredible friendships, the queer representation, the big life/career choices that come with being in your late 20s!! all of their journeys are so relatable and I’ve loved seeing pieces of myself in the characters of this series. . I am so sad to say goodbye to bright falls and these characters!
Iris and Stevie's story was chaotic and flirty and fun but with the sweetest moments thrown in. Stevie finally finding someone who had the patience to let her be herself. Iris Kelly trying so hard not to fall for her. I loved their development and the level of trust they had between them. Seeing Stevie truly come out of her shell with Iris was such a joy. Would definitely recommend!
November 9, 2023
THAT ENDING WAS SO CUTE I CAN’T BREATHE.
What I liked: I found both Iris and Stevie relatable in a lot of ways. I love seeing anxiety rep in books, AND awesome bisexual rep! Stevie’s anxiety, while different from mine, also felt so familiar. My heart ached for the way her friends took advantage of her, the way she made herself small to be more likable. Watching her journey throughout the book was so wonderful. With Iris, I really related to the way everyone in her life was constantly pressuring her to live life the way they thought was best. Truly, these two characters are the closest I have felt to fictional people in a long time. They were nuanced and real and didn’t always make the right choices, and I loved them. And then putting them together?? Absolute magic! Their love story was so sweet, it had me wishing for a real life romance just like it.
What I didn’t like: at times I felt like this was a little bit miscommunication, or more accurately, lack of communication-y. That isn’t my favorite trope, and there were times I wanted to jump through the page and yell at them to just talk to each other!! But I also did enjoy the fake dating aspect, and know there wouldn’t have been the same buildup without -some- lack of communication.
Overall: I would highly recommend this for the artfully crafted characters, anxiety rep, and fantastic romance.
TW: slut shaming (challenged), biphobia (challenged), toxic friendships
Thank you Berkley for the ARC
What I liked: I found both Iris and Stevie relatable in a lot of ways. I love seeing anxiety rep in books, AND awesome bisexual rep! Stevie’s anxiety, while different from mine, also felt so familiar. My heart ached for the way her friends took advantage of her, the way she made herself small to be more likable. Watching her journey throughout the book was so wonderful. With Iris, I really related to the way everyone in her life was constantly pressuring her to live life the way they thought was best. Truly, these two characters are the closest I have felt to fictional people in a long time. They were nuanced and real and didn’t always make the right choices, and I loved them. And then putting them together?? Absolute magic! Their love story was so sweet, it had me wishing for a real life romance just like it.
What I didn’t like: at times I felt like this was a little bit miscommunication, or more accurately, lack of communication-y. That isn’t my favorite trope, and there were times I wanted to jump through the page and yell at them to just talk to each other!! But I also did enjoy the fake dating aspect, and know there wouldn’t have been the same buildup without -some- lack of communication.
Overall: I would highly recommend this for the artfully crafted characters, anxiety rep, and fantastic romance.
TW: slut shaming (challenged), biphobia (challenged), toxic friendships
Thank you Berkley for the ARC
Want to read
May 23, 2022AGHHHHHHH IM SO EXCITED FOR THIS SONEOAJFO
October 31, 2023
“I spent a lot of time, convincing myself I wasn’t built to last, wasn’t built for romance, for love. But maybe . . . Maybe I was just built for you.”
HOY REVIVIO EL ROMANCE
HOY REVIVIO EL ROMANCE
October 30, 2023
I’m wondering if I built up my love for the first book up too much in my head. I’m curious if I go back and re-read my copy if I will enjoy it as much as I thought I did? Bc I was pretty let down by Astrid’s book, and I was deeply bummed to feel similarly abt this one, too.
I think it comes down to not rooting for the couple to get together, AND being kind of annoyed by the plot/character arcs that were around them. Iris not wanting a partner or marriage and babies, enjoying hookups, and literally everyone in her life judging her for that, and then having her arc be “okay, turns out I was wrong, and all of you judgy motherfuckers were right, actually”? is ANNOYING!!! and I felt like we never rlly got much of a resolution with her family, esp her little sister, Emma. From what I remember abt the first book (and maybe i'm misremembering how much this was the focus???), is that I loved the friendship and the fraught sister dynamics with Delilah and Astrid. and that for me felt so lacking in book 2, and now i feel the same here in this one, as well.
I also felt like Stevie RLLY needed to learn how to be by herself, not jump into another relationship after the toxic shit with Adri (also, RLLY confused abt her and Vanessa’s whole deal throughout the book, they honestly, seemed like shit friends. Ren, too, for that matter. so, that was a bummer bc we saw a lot more of them than of the crew I loved from book 1).
So, as much as I love the fake dating trope, love theater, and much ado abt nothing is my fav Shakespeare play, it fell so flat for me. I never felt giddy or excited abt any of their interactions. It’s a bummer that I didnt connect with Stevie that much, bc I can DEF relate to her anxiety, particularly abt dating/meeting new ppl (not quite to her levels, but, still) but I never rlly did. (Similar to how I felt abt Jordan in book 2, I though not as extreme as i pretty much never warmed up to her at all).
I’m just... bummed. I wonder if I built up book one too much and maybe I didn’t actually love it as much as I thought i did. I didn’t even like Delilah and Claire much as side characters!!! Ugh. What a goddamn bummer. I’ll still give at least another book by this author a try, (the first chapter of the snipet in the back of this one made me curious) but it might be a case of one worked for me, and ultimately I don’t mesh well as a reader for her.
(also a VERY MINOR and petty gripe is this paperback is bigger/taller than the other two and now they don't match on my shelf :(
I think it comes down to not rooting for the couple to get together, AND being kind of annoyed by the plot/character arcs that were around them. Iris not wanting a partner or marriage and babies, enjoying hookups, and literally everyone in her life judging her for that, and then having her arc be “okay, turns out I was wrong, and all of you judgy motherfuckers were right, actually”? is ANNOYING!!! and I felt like we never rlly got much of a resolution with her family, esp her little sister, Emma. From what I remember abt the first book (and maybe i'm misremembering how much this was the focus???), is that I loved the friendship and the fraught sister dynamics with Delilah and Astrid. and that for me felt so lacking in book 2, and now i feel the same here in this one, as well.
I also felt like Stevie RLLY needed to learn how to be by herself, not jump into another relationship after the toxic shit with Adri (also, RLLY confused abt her and Vanessa’s whole deal throughout the book, they honestly, seemed like shit friends. Ren, too, for that matter. so, that was a bummer bc we saw a lot more of them than of the crew I loved from book 1).
So, as much as I love the fake dating trope, love theater, and much ado abt nothing is my fav Shakespeare play, it fell so flat for me. I never felt giddy or excited abt any of their interactions. It’s a bummer that I didnt connect with Stevie that much, bc I can DEF relate to her anxiety, particularly abt dating/meeting new ppl (not quite to her levels, but, still) but I never rlly did. (Similar to how I felt abt Jordan in book 2, I though not as extreme as i pretty much never warmed up to her at all).
I’m just... bummed. I wonder if I built up book one too much and maybe I didn’t actually love it as much as I thought i did. I didn’t even like Delilah and Claire much as side characters!!! Ugh. What a goddamn bummer. I’ll still give at least another book by this author a try, (the first chapter of the snipet in the back of this one made me curious) but it might be a case of one worked for me, and ultimately I don’t mesh well as a reader for her.
(also a VERY MINOR and petty gripe is this paperback is bigger/taller than the other two and now they don't match on my shelf :(
January 18, 2024
✩ 4.5 𝓼𝓽𝓪𝓻𝓼
~
i need iris’ book recommendations
~
#firstreadoftheyear
~
i need iris’ book recommendations
~
#firstreadoftheyear
November 27, 2023
take a shot every time the writing is specifically millennial baby gay 2014 tumblr cringe and you’d be dead
January 4, 2024
came to make more mommy jokes, left feeling too perceived and vulnerable
October 29, 2023
Content warnings: alcohol consumption, mentions of cheating (past, happened in book 2 where Iris' ex girlfriend was cheating on her wife with Iris), sexism, slut shaming, aphobic comments (unchallenged, the people didn't even realise they were doing it), vomit, panic attacks,
Rep: Iris (MC) is cis, white, bisexual, and 'curvy'. Stevie (MC) is cis, white, lesbian, and has generalised anxiety disorder.
Side queer characters, side trans characters, side POC characters, side queer POC characters.
All sapphic coven? Activated.
Thank you to the eARC deities who gave me a copy of this book to read the moment it became available.
Iris Kelly has been through a lot. She's loud and opinionated. She has a big heart and loves so very fiercely that anyone who is loved by her should be happy they are.
She is vehemently against dating after a string of bad relationships, including her last girlfriend, Jillian, cheating on her wife with Iris. So she swears off dating.
The downside is that her lack of romance is putting a damper on her ability to write romance novels.
Stevie Scott is fresh out of a long term relationship that had fizzled out long before the relationship had officially ended, and she is in a rut with her acting career. She loves the stage - is an amazing theatre performer. She just wishes she could channel that confidence into her every day life.
Being on the stage is easy for Stevie - she's a whole other character, one that doesn't have her anxiety and brain that won't stop spiralling.
Iris and Stevie meet at a bar one night and after a hookup gone wrong, they don't expect to see each other ever again.
Except Stevie's friends think that Iris is her girlfriend, and what's a girl to do except fake date Iris to get her well meaning, but pushy, friends off her back.
I LOVE me some fake dating. This one definitely took it a completely new way for me and I loved it even more.
Now have the spoiler cut for the hopefully not too spoilery goods of my review:
I talk about books at these places: Instagram / Twitter / TikTok / Blog
Rep: Iris (MC) is cis, white, bisexual, and 'curvy'. Stevie (MC) is cis, white, lesbian, and has generalised anxiety disorder.
Side queer characters, side trans characters, side POC characters, side queer POC characters.
All sapphic coven? Activated.
Thank you to the eARC deities who gave me a copy of this book to read the moment it became available.
Iris Kelly has been through a lot. She's loud and opinionated. She has a big heart and loves so very fiercely that anyone who is loved by her should be happy they are.
She is vehemently against dating after a string of bad relationships, including her last girlfriend, Jillian, cheating on her wife with Iris. So she swears off dating.
The downside is that her lack of romance is putting a damper on her ability to write romance novels.
Stevie Scott is fresh out of a long term relationship that had fizzled out long before the relationship had officially ended, and she is in a rut with her acting career. She loves the stage - is an amazing theatre performer. She just wishes she could channel that confidence into her every day life.
Being on the stage is easy for Stevie - she's a whole other character, one that doesn't have her anxiety and brain that won't stop spiralling.
Iris and Stevie meet at a bar one night and after a hookup gone wrong, they don't expect to see each other ever again.
Except Stevie's friends think that Iris is her girlfriend, and what's a girl to do except fake date Iris to get her well meaning, but pushy, friends off her back.
I LOVE me some fake dating. This one definitely took it a completely new way for me and I loved it even more.
Now have the spoiler cut for the hopefully not too spoilery goods of my review:
Because Iris Kelly was worth loving.
I talk about books at these places: Instagram / Twitter / TikTok / Blog
November 12, 2023
Solid 4* read, I was leaning towards 3.75 but that would be unfair as I did really enjoy seeing these two figure things out on their terms.
Mostly rounded up for the awesome queer stage adaptation of Shakespeare (despite Adri's 🤬 toxicity [aside I do not feel this was properly addressed but whatevs]).
So we might as well start there with Stevie's friends, in what will possibly be a surprise to those who enjoy my reviews - this friend group dynamic does not get my 😍 🤩 for the majority of this read. Honourable mention to Ren I guess as their heart is in the right place and I get why things have to play out as they do for Stevie's growth but yikes does it make for uncomfy reading in the mean time 🤔
While on the topic of friend groups we know how I feel about the amigo squad established in the previous two books and they do not disappoint here. Every interaction between Iris & Simon melted my heart; how she leaned on him + how he showed up for her including his patented tough love as needed. Obviously Delilah's delicious snarky quips, Claire's unwavering if sometimes overwhelming support, Astrid & Jordan's steadying input + wee Ruby's wonderful additions were so welcome and always added to the story never taking anything away from the turmoil the MCs go through to find themsleves 🙃
However the less said about Iris' family is prob for the best, colour me unimpressed with them tbh 😕
Stevie & Iris are legit messes in their own adorkable ways in this and yes the paths they chose tug at even my broken heartstrings. The growth they both undertake to get where they need to be for each other despite their lesbe honest [sorry not sorry] failed attempt at fake dating from disastrous first encounter through swoony woo'ing to the often inevitable third act breakup (I saw what you did there AHB having Iris be an author who loves this trope - sadly I rarely do) culminating in a very sweet GG (yes you got me again 😬)
I flew through this read rooting for them and I for one cannot wait to see what Ms Herring Blake writes next. I will 100% be picking it up thanks to the sneaky preview we get eventhough it appears we're sadly set to leave Bright Falls (I'm hoping just for now tho and maybe we'll get a return visit some day for Ruby's story 🤞) and head for the bright lights of Nashville.
Mostly rounded up for the awesome queer stage adaptation of Shakespeare (despite Adri's 🤬 toxicity [aside I do not feel this was properly addressed but whatevs]).
So we might as well start there with Stevie's friends, in what will possibly be a surprise to those who enjoy my reviews - this friend group dynamic does not get my 😍 🤩 for the majority of this read. Honourable mention to Ren I guess as their heart is in the right place and I get why things have to play out as they do for Stevie's growth but yikes does it make for uncomfy reading in the mean time 🤔
While on the topic of friend groups we know how I feel about the amigo squad established in the previous two books and they do not disappoint here. Every interaction between Iris & Simon melted my heart; how she leaned on him + how he showed up for her including his patented tough love as needed. Obviously Delilah's delicious snarky quips, Claire's unwavering if sometimes overwhelming support, Astrid & Jordan's steadying input + wee Ruby's wonderful additions were so welcome and always added to the story never taking anything away from the turmoil the MCs go through to find themsleves 🙃
However the less said about Iris' family is prob for the best, colour me unimpressed with them tbh 😕
Stevie & Iris are legit messes in their own adorkable ways in this and yes the paths they chose tug at even my broken heartstrings. The growth they both undertake to get where they need to be for each other despite their lesbe honest [sorry not sorry] failed attempt at fake dating from disastrous first encounter through swoony woo'ing to the often inevitable third act breakup (I saw what you did there AHB having Iris be an author who loves this trope - sadly I rarely do) culminating in a very sweet GG (yes you got me again 😬)
I flew through this read rooting for them and I for one cannot wait to see what Ms Herring Blake writes next. I will 100% be picking it up thanks to the sneaky preview we get eventhough it appears we're sadly set to leave Bright Falls (I'm hoping just for now tho and maybe we'll get a return visit some day for Ruby's story 🤞) and head for the bright lights of Nashville.
January 9, 2024
✨“I’m just a girl standing in front of another girl, asking her to fuck her senseless.”✨
I mean I think that quote pretty much sums it up! I really loved this one. I think book two remains my favorite—I would do illegal things for Astrid Parker—but Iris Kelly Doesn’t Date is definitely a close second! I loved both Iris and Stevie, and we definitely got a lot of the friend group content.
I’ve been seeing a lot of fake dating hate recently, but I really enjoy it, especially here. I loved seeing Adri get jealous because she thought they were dating—hello getting the only one bed FAKE OUT LOL—and it wasn’t a crazy leap to think that the fake dating was actually pretty logical (given the circumstances).
I only lost a bit of steam around the third act breakup. Don’t get me wrong, it needed to happen, I just lost some interest due to how it happened. But the reunion was dramatic, and the epilogue/conclusion to the series (I think???) made me tear up. I’ve listened this whole series via audio, and definitely recommend you give them a listen!
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.25/5 🌶️🌶️.5/5
Thanks so much to the publisher for an eARC via NetGalley and to PRHaudio for an ALC. All opinions are honest and my own.
I mean I think that quote pretty much sums it up! I really loved this one. I think book two remains my favorite—I would do illegal things for Astrid Parker—but Iris Kelly Doesn’t Date is definitely a close second! I loved both Iris and Stevie, and we definitely got a lot of the friend group content.
I’ve been seeing a lot of fake dating hate recently, but I really enjoy it, especially here. I loved seeing Adri get jealous because she thought they were dating—hello getting the only one bed FAKE OUT LOL—and it wasn’t a crazy leap to think that the fake dating was actually pretty logical (given the circumstances).
I only lost a bit of steam around the third act breakup. Don’t get me wrong, it needed to happen, I just lost some interest due to how it happened. But the reunion was dramatic, and the epilogue/conclusion to the series (I think???) made me tear up. I’ve listened this whole series via audio, and definitely recommend you give them a listen!
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.25/5 🌶️🌶️.5/5
Thanks so much to the publisher for an eARC via NetGalley and to PRHaudio for an ALC. All opinions are honest and my own.
December 29, 2023
This is third in a romance series that I recommend reading in order. We've seen a bunch of Iris, including some of her more painful experiences leading to her not dating.
I've liked Iris and empathized with her difficulty, particularly with the breakup with Sam because she just doesn't want kids. I mean, way to make the tough, but honest, choice! So I was looking forward to her story.
And maybe that's the problem? Because the Iris in this story, with her stupid negative motivation* of forgoing relationships for just a bunch of sex, is unsympathetic and boring. She's blocked on writing her book and I'm thinking someone so completely anti-romance would, in fact, have a tough time writing romance novels. But even with that, the author tying her writers block so closely to her finding a relationship feels a bit cheap.
And I really wanted to like Stevie what with her painful generalized anxiety disorder, but I found that just getting on my nerves as well. It doesn't help that there's no way she can make a career in Portland as a working actress. Sure, there's got to be some opportunities but if you really want to live on your talent and craft, you need to go somewhere with enough actual jobs on offer that you can make a living with it. Also, her "friends" are so unsympathetic I kind of don't want the "save the theater" plotline to succeed. And that's just wrong.
Once I realized that I was having no joy in the story, I put it down and never looked back. This is a real shame as I mostly, sort-of liked the others in the series. I might be willing if the author manages another story/series, but it's nowhere near being an auto-checkout at this point.
* Negative Motivations: I kind of hate that the term "negative motivation" isn't widespread, yet. Since it isn't, I'm going to save off this little jag to append to my reviews that feature the term. Jennifer Crusie blogged about it a bit back (or, if that link doesn't work, here's a cache of the original) and it changed how I understand story. The problem with the term is that if you've never heard it before, you'd assume it meant motivations that are harmful or immoral. Not so. What it refers to is motivations not to do something. The thing is that many of us are motivated to not do things for a lot of different, perfectly valid and reasonable, reasons. The problem is that in a story motivations to not do things are a huge drag on the plot—particularly considering the fact that most negative motivations are overcome by the character simply deciding they don't care any more (or, rather, that they do care and are now motivated to do the thing). So not only do you have a counter to action but you also have a situation where to overcome it, all a character has to do is change their mind. Which means eventually, the reader is rooting for the character to get over him/herself already and do the thing we want them to do. Conflict drives story. Conflict between a reader and a main character drives readers away from story.
I've liked Iris and empathized with her difficulty, particularly with the breakup with Sam because she just doesn't want kids. I mean, way to make the tough, but honest, choice! So I was looking forward to her story.
And maybe that's the problem? Because the Iris in this story, with her stupid negative motivation* of forgoing relationships for just a bunch of sex, is unsympathetic and boring. She's blocked on writing her book and I'm thinking someone so completely anti-romance would, in fact, have a tough time writing romance novels. But even with that, the author tying her writers block so closely to her finding a relationship feels a bit cheap.
And I really wanted to like Stevie what with her painful generalized anxiety disorder, but I found that just getting on my nerves as well. It doesn't help that there's no way she can make a career in Portland as a working actress. Sure, there's got to be some opportunities but if you really want to live on your talent and craft, you need to go somewhere with enough actual jobs on offer that you can make a living with it. Also, her "friends" are so unsympathetic I kind of don't want the "save the theater" plotline to succeed. And that's just wrong.
Once I realized that I was having no joy in the story, I put it down and never looked back. This is a real shame as I mostly, sort-of liked the others in the series. I might be willing if the author manages another story/series, but it's nowhere near being an auto-checkout at this point.
* Negative Motivations: I kind of hate that the term "negative motivation" isn't widespread, yet. Since it isn't, I'm going to save off this little jag to append to my reviews that feature the term. Jennifer Crusie blogged about it a bit back (or, if that link doesn't work, here's a cache of the original) and it changed how I understand story. The problem with the term is that if you've never heard it before, you'd assume it meant motivations that are harmful or immoral. Not so. What it refers to is motivations not to do something. The thing is that many of us are motivated to not do things for a lot of different, perfectly valid and reasonable, reasons. The problem is that in a story motivations to not do things are a huge drag on the plot—particularly considering the fact that most negative motivations are overcome by the character simply deciding they don't care any more (or, rather, that they do care and are now motivated to do the thing). So not only do you have a counter to action but you also have a situation where to overcome it, all a character has to do is change their mind. Which means eventually, the reader is rooting for the character to get over him/herself already and do the thing we want them to do. Conflict drives story. Conflict between a reader and a main character drives readers away from story.
July 18, 2023
This was better than Astrid's book--it would be hard not to be--but not as good as Delilah's.
A lot of my specific feelings can be chalked up to the use of tropes that just simply don't work for me. I absolutely hate "we're just kissing for practice, teehee!" which is a huge dynamic here. I also really hate when the narration starts referring to people as partners or girlfriends/boyfriends when the characters themselves never had a conversation about it; it feels incredibly juvenile for two adults who have been hooking up for a few days to suddenly agree that they're ~together~ without ever even talking about it, and I think the dynamic of "are we together or not" is always worth exploring, and it's a shame when books just completely skip over it. I also didn't like the sort of vague gesture at fake dating; the book acknowledges that fake dating is stupid and overdone while also halfheartedly doing it, when it really is not needed whatsoever. The result is a story that feels like a jumble of random half-finished tropes without any real commitment to a specific premise.
So that's the stuff that just bothers me as a reader--your mileage might vary greatly from mine. But there's also a pervasive attitude throughout all three books in the series--especially this one and the one before it--of, like, faux-progressive, smugly performative queer politics that really get on my nerves. We see the term "female-identifying" a lot in this book, which is just a useless term no one actually likes. You know what term you could use instead that includes both cis and trans women?...yeah, it's "women." It just reads really clueless and cringy throughout, and I have a bigger problem with that than I do the structure of the plot.
A lot of my specific feelings can be chalked up to the use of tropes that just simply don't work for me. I absolutely hate "we're just kissing for practice, teehee!" which is a huge dynamic here. I also really hate when the narration starts referring to people as partners or girlfriends/boyfriends when the characters themselves never had a conversation about it; it feels incredibly juvenile for two adults who have been hooking up for a few days to suddenly agree that they're ~together~ without ever even talking about it, and I think the dynamic of "are we together or not" is always worth exploring, and it's a shame when books just completely skip over it. I also didn't like the sort of vague gesture at fake dating; the book acknowledges that fake dating is stupid and overdone while also halfheartedly doing it, when it really is not needed whatsoever. The result is a story that feels like a jumble of random half-finished tropes without any real commitment to a specific premise.
So that's the stuff that just bothers me as a reader--your mileage might vary greatly from mine. But there's also a pervasive attitude throughout all three books in the series--especially this one and the one before it--of, like, faux-progressive, smugly performative queer politics that really get on my nerves. We see the term "female-identifying" a lot in this book, which is just a useless term no one actually likes. You know what term you could use instead that includes both cis and trans women?...yeah, it's "women." It just reads really clueless and cringy throughout, and I have a bigger problem with that than I do the structure of the plot.
July 13, 2023
HELLO SAPPHIC COMMUNITY IRIS WILL FIND TRUE LOVE IN 2023
Update: I read it and loved it! Review below.
“Yes, I chose me, but I choose you too. That’s what love is, right? I want both, and I know you do too.”
The third in Blake’s Bright Falls series, IRIS KELLY DOESN’T DATE is another swoony, sexy sapphic romance that ticked all the boxes for me. Iris, burned by her past two relationships and a lifetime of being seen as just a hookup, has sworn off dating. Stevie, fresh from a long-term relationship and learning how to manage her anxiety independently, is struggling to get back into the dating scene. From there the plot got honestly a little too complicated for my tastes, with a failed hookup and a queer community theater production of Much Ado About Nothing leading to a fake dating scheme, with romance lessons and practice sex mixed in, as well as this meta level of the romance novel Iris is writing mirroring her romance with Stevie. But somehow this all came together beautifully; I loved the tender vulnerability unfolding between Iris and Stevie, and I wept through the last chapter. It was such a delight to see Delilah, Claire, Astrid, and Jordan again; I adore the centrality of friendship and queer community in this series. This book is a new favorite, and I can see myself revisiting this series again and again. Thanks to Berkley for the eARC; this book is out 10/24.
Content warnings: anxiety, panic attacks, toxic relationships
Update: I read it and loved it! Review below.
“Yes, I chose me, but I choose you too. That’s what love is, right? I want both, and I know you do too.”
The third in Blake’s Bright Falls series, IRIS KELLY DOESN’T DATE is another swoony, sexy sapphic romance that ticked all the boxes for me. Iris, burned by her past two relationships and a lifetime of being seen as just a hookup, has sworn off dating. Stevie, fresh from a long-term relationship and learning how to manage her anxiety independently, is struggling to get back into the dating scene. From there the plot got honestly a little too complicated for my tastes, with a failed hookup and a queer community theater production of Much Ado About Nothing leading to a fake dating scheme, with romance lessons and practice sex mixed in, as well as this meta level of the romance novel Iris is writing mirroring her romance with Stevie. But somehow this all came together beautifully; I loved the tender vulnerability unfolding between Iris and Stevie, and I wept through the last chapter. It was such a delight to see Delilah, Claire, Astrid, and Jordan again; I adore the centrality of friendship and queer community in this series. This book is a new favorite, and I can see myself revisiting this series again and again. Thanks to Berkley for the eARC; this book is out 10/24.
Content warnings: anxiety, panic attacks, toxic relationships
August 27, 2023
i already feel bad, but i dnfed at 70% 😭
so. the book itself was fine. the characterization though…
i didn’t like stevie at all. her pov was awkward from the very beginning and i wasn’t a fan. not to mention, she kissed iris right after having kissed another woman? weird
but i loved that we got more claire 🫶🫶
pre-reading review:
i got an arc!!
so. the book itself was fine. the characterization though…
i didn’t like stevie at all. her pov was awkward from the very beginning and i wasn’t a fan. not to mention, she kissed iris right after having kissed another woman? weird
but i loved that we got more claire 🫶🫶
pre-reading review:
i got an arc!!
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