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cassielaj's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This book is funny as hell. That’s my main takeaway. But it’s also very sweet and emotional. I like the switch in perspectives so we could dive into both Delilah and Claire’s thoughts and feelings as their relationship developed. I’m excited to learn more about Astrid and Iris in future books, as they were definitely supporting characters in this one (though still well-developed). Delilah’s childhood story is heartbreaking, and it’s lovely to see her open up throughout the book.
As a side note, I love that it’s not a queer discovery story, but just a story about queer people falling in love
As a side note, I love that it’s not a queer discovery story, but just a story about queer people falling in love
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content and Grief
Moderate: Toxic relationship and Death of parent
Minor: Alcohol, Cancer, and Blood
thereadinghammock's review against another edition
emotional
funny
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I loved this book from page one. All the main characters were relatable, hilarious, and wonderfully, deeply flawed. From the jump, Delilah was a hysterical and terribly unreliable narrator, reluctant to drag herself home for her estranged sister, Astrid's, wedding. Claire, one of Astrid's childhood best friends and adorable train wreck adult, is just trying to be a good Mom while considering getting back in the dating saddle. Being queer and dating in the small town you grew up in is never easy, so when dark, brooding, and unrecognizable Delilah walks in to the local bar, Claire shoots her shot and sparks fly, however briefly before Astrid recognizes her sister and Delilah and Claire begin their "We shouldn't, but I want to" dance.
I love how Ashley Herring Blake explored the repercussions of the trauma of losing one's parent at such a young age, while tackling some of the awkward family dynamics of blended families, while balancing the deep seated prejudices that come with adolescent misunderstanding. Needless to say, this book covers some heavy baggage while still feeling breezy and fun. I especially loved the supportive female friendships that took center stage to this story. Astrid, Iris, and Claire being the best friends they can be to each other. Claire and Delilah growing closer through the story, bonding with their blossoming friendship and through Ruby's admiration of Delilah. Claire, Iris, and Delilah hatching a plan to get Astrid to call off the wedding to the absolute trash bag of a human that is her fiancé Spencer. And finally, the one that got me the most, Delilah and Astrid, reconciling after decades of misunderstanding and finally finding their path to forging their tentative sisterly bond.
I'm so glad I picked up this book after seeing it recommended time and time again on Bookstagram!
I love how Ashley Herring Blake explored the repercussions of the trauma of losing one's parent at such a young age, while tackling some of the awkward family dynamics of blended families, while balancing the deep seated prejudices that come with adolescent misunderstanding. Needless to say, this book covers some heavy baggage while still feeling breezy and fun. I especially loved the supportive female friendships that took center stage to this story. Astrid, Iris, and Claire being the best friends they can be to each other. Claire and Delilah growing closer through the story, bonding with their blossoming friendship and through Ruby's admiration of Delilah. Claire, Iris, and Delilah hatching a plan to get Astrid to call off the wedding to the absolute trash bag of a human that is her fiancé Spencer. And finally, the one that got me the most, Delilah and Astrid, reconciling after decades of misunderstanding and finally finding their path to forging their tentative sisterly bond.
I'm so glad I picked up this book after seeing it recommended time and time again on Bookstagram!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Sexual content, and Grief
Moderate: Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Toxic relationship, and Cancer
Minor: Panic attacks/disorders and Misogyny
frantically's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
new achievement: i'm delilah green's type
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent
Moderate: Emotional abuse
Minor: Bullying and Cancer
mjwhitlock18's review against another edition
funny
medium-paced
4.0
Just a sapphic romcom with LOTS of tropes. I loved their chemistry. I always like a forced proximity trope. I liked all the different complicated relationships. Plenty of funny moments and several very good swoon worthy ones.
I can’t ever be fully convinced by insta-love stories, and the third act breakup seemed a bit contrived, like it happened without any discussion between them at all. I HATE the Delilah used the photo of Claire in her gallery show without permission. It feels so gross, especially after her previously commenting on it being an invasion of privacy. And is it just me, or do all these people drink a lot…? .
I listened to the audiobook narrated by Kristen DiMercurio, and the narration was fantastic!
I listened to the audiobook narrated by Kristen DiMercurio, and the narration was fantastic!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Death of parent, Sexual content, and Grief
Moderate: Infidelity and Toxic relationship
Minor: Cancer
edict's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Cursing and Death of parent
Minor: Sexism and Cancer
sonyareadsbooks's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death of parent
Minor: Cancer
lewnie's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Delilah Green only came back to her small hometown of Bright Falls, Oregon to photograph her stepsister Astrid’s wedding and head back to Brooklyn $15,000 richer. She’s not interested in re-living any of the bad memories here or playing nice with Astrid and her two best friends, Claire and Iris. But when the focus turns from bridesmaid's activities to sabotaging Astrid’s relationship with her terrible fiancé, Claire and Delilah realize there might be something sparking between them. As their tension-filled flirting turns into more, Claire and Delilah have to face the reality of their situation: single-mother Claire isn’t interested in casual relationships but Delilah has a blossoming photography career waiting for her in New York.
The good: I was excited about the prospect of a f/f rom-com, particularly with such strong bisexual representation. I think that Blake really shines in her portrayal of bisexual women, and I personally felt very connected to her characters. I also appreciated the growth that both Astrid and Delilah show throughout the course of the book. They have each suffered their own childhood traumas that they are clearly continuing to work through and I enjoyed the way that Blake develops that growth without trying to jump to an immediate conclusion.
The female relationships, good and bad, are front and center here. I loved the exploration of female friendship, sisterhood, and the different iterations of mother-daughter relationships. While there is pain and toxicity in some of these relationships, there is also beauty, growth, empowerment, and love.
The female relationships, good and bad, are front and center here. I loved the exploration of female friendship, sisterhood, and the different iterations of mother-daughter relationships. While there is pain and toxicity in some of these relationships, there is also beauty, growth, empowerment, and love.
The bad: Astrid, Claire, and Iris clearly filled the role of the high school mean girls. However, Blake’s attempt to rehabilitate them fell a little flat for me. Claire’s obvious guilt for her role in bullying Delilah felt forced in her flashbacks, and I think Delilah let it go too quickly for how deeply it affected her life.
(For me personally, I couldn’t get past the setting. Being from this area of Oregon myself, I want to believe that this quaint little town could exist. However the reality of it really drew me out of the story. For anyone else, I am sure that this would not be an issue but I really struggled with it.)
Overall: This checks all of my rom-com boxes. I loved the relationships and the representations of the queer characters. I think the relationship between Delilah and Claire’s daughter Ruby was very sweet and an excellent addition. I enjoyed the growth of Delilah and Claire’s relationship as well as the relationship between Delilah and Astrid. I also think the healing process Delilah grows through is powerful and lends the overall story a little more heft than a typical rom-com. While I may harbor some resentment for the past actions of Astrid’s mean-girl clique, I don’t think it detracts from the story in a negative way. Overall, I think this is a heartwarming comfort-read. While I probably won’t read this again, I absolutely see its value in the romance canon and would recommend it to anyone looking for a great Sapphic rom-com.
For fans of Alexandra Bellefleur, Casey McQuiston, and Tessa Bailey.
Rep.: f/f relationship; lesbian mc; bi mc; bi sc.
CW: sexual content, death of a parent, grief, toxic relationship, abandonment, alcohol, bullying, misogyny.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Alcohol, Bullying, Sexual content, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Death of parent, Grief, and Misogyny
Minor: Cancer, Classism, Infidelity, Pregnancy, and Sexism
sembich1031's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Delilah and Claire’s relationship is very cute during their moments together but it does focus a lot on character flaws and it’s giving very much “I should have gone to therapy” vibes.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Minor: Cancer and Death of parent
readandfindout's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
Style/writing: 3 stars
Themes: 4.5 stars
Characters: 4 stars
Plot: 3.5 stars
Themes: 4.5 stars
Characters: 4 stars
Plot: 3.5 stars
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief
Moderate: Abandonment, Misogyny, Emotional abuse, Death of parent, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Infidelity, Blood, and Cancer
theespressoedition's review against another edition
emotional
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This has got to be the cutest queer romance book I've ever read. And that's saying something. But like - I was squealing through most of the story. It was just so good.
First and foremost, I loved the cast - the entire cast. Every single person was so valuable to the story and made it so interesting and balanced. There was no singular person who I thought could've been left out.
Secondly, the deeper conflicts in the book were just as excellent - if not more - than the romance itself. The fact that Delilah struggles throughout the book with her identity as a daughter and sister, despite being so confident in every other aspect of her life was so well done.
And on the other hand, there's Claire, a bi, single mom with the intense desire to make sure everyone around her is comfortable and happy - without really taking much care of herself and her own needs. She also struggles with raising her daughter, trusting her ex, and being happy with someone who her friends don't necessarily approve of.
There's a bit of a "forbidden love" vibe, which was almost addictive. The secret dating kept things steamy throughout the entire story, which was a lot of fun (especially at the spa *wink wink*). Even though the chemistry was there very early on, it was a slow burn but in the best way possible.
Of course, Astrid's story is a huge aspect of this book, which was a bit of a surprise. I figured the "get her away from her fiancé" thing wouldn't last super long, but it wound up being a really integral part. From what I've heard, the sequel is going to be primarily about Astrid, which I love. She was fascinating to me and I can't wait to see what happens in her life.
I would absolutely read this book again. It was cute and sweet but also had a ton of great depth!
First and foremost, I loved the cast - the entire cast. Every single person was so valuable to the story and made it so interesting and balanced. There was no singular person who I thought could've been left out.
Secondly, the deeper conflicts in the book were just as excellent - if not more - than the romance itself. The fact that Delilah struggles throughout the book with her identity as a daughter and sister, despite being so confident in every other aspect of her life was so well done.
And on the other hand, there's Claire, a bi, single mom with the intense desire to make sure everyone around her is comfortable and happy - without really taking much care of herself and her own needs. She also struggles with raising her daughter, trusting her ex, and being happy with someone who her friends don't necessarily approve of.
There's a bit of a "forbidden love" vibe, which was almost addictive. The secret dating kept things steamy throughout the entire story, which was a lot of fun (especially at the spa *wink wink*). Even though the chemistry was there very early on, it was a slow burn but in the best way possible.
Of course, Astrid's story is a huge aspect of this book, which was a bit of a surprise. I figured the "get her away from her fiancé" thing wouldn't last super long, but it wound up being a really integral part. From what I've heard, the sequel is going to be primarily about Astrid, which I love. She was fascinating to me and I can't wait to see what happens in her life.
I would absolutely read this book again. It was cute and sweet but also had a ton of great depth!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, and Sexual content
Moderate: Sexism and Abandonment
Minor: Cancer