- lesbian x bi
- workplace romance
- forced proximity
- small town
- opposites attract
- overcoming perfectionism
- bi awakening/comphet deconstructing

Spice: Smedium
3-4 explicit scenes with explicit language

My thoughts:

Mixed feelings about this one tbh. I loved Astrid in Delilah Green Doesn’t Care so I thought I would love her own book even more...unfortunately not. It's turned out to be my least favourite of the series.

Don't get me wrong, I still love Astrid and I loved seeing her grow and finally stand up to her mom. It was mostly Jordan who I didn't vibe with. I thought I would grow to like her but it was kind of the opposite. I liked her less and less as time went on. Which is tragic because we're both Pisceans who consult our tarot cards for everything. We should totally vibe. I don't know, I just feel like Astrid grew a lot by the end of the book, whereas I felt like Jordan reall didn't.

By the end, she barely even set up boundaries with her ex. The one who called her current partner "some blond bitch" by the way, then proceeded to sabotage her relationship with her AND the job she was very financially dependent on. But in the end it was just "I need some space". Um, hello? That is blocking everywhere, no contact, fuck you very much behaviour...but that's just my opinion I guess.

But despite all that, Jordan kept acting like she was somehow better than Astrid. There are multiple examples but the biggest one for me was when Astrid's mom came over and chewed her out and Jordan somehow flipped that around and started insulting Astrid. Literally wtf?

Besides that, I also just kind of felt a lack of chemistry. Like they were sort of just chucked together and that's that. I wanted to see them actually getting to know each other but most of that potential time was taken up by drama. I love drama as much as the next person but in the words of Tati Westbrook: "Time and place". No cardinal sins were committed or anything but her attitude was really ticking me off y'know.

All that being said, I did really like Astrid, like I said at the beginning. I'm glad she finally stood up to her mom but I'm also glad Isabel was willing to change. That was a pleasant surpise. With all the "abandoned parents" FB groups out there, it's nice to see a parent take accountability for their emotional abuse and actively work to repair their relationship with their child. Love that for Astrid.

Anyways, onto Iris Kelly. I've been really liking her so far so I'm 90% sure I'm going to love her book...hopefully. (Spoiler alert: I loved it and it ended up being my favourite in the series)

Content Warnings

fuzzywilson's review against another edition

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emotional medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

Content Warnings

cass_ward's review against another edition

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challenging emotional hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

Where was bisexual representation like this when I was a closeted teenager? I’ve been out for years but reading this book took me right back to how it felt to fall in love with my queerness. Astrid and Jordan are cute and awkward and frustrating and incredibly perfect. Getting to know Astrid in “Delilah Green Doesn’t Care” and then seeing her truly come to life in this book was such a joy. Wow wow wow. Just wow. I’m so grateful there are stories like this for bi’s like me 🥺

Content Warnings

readwithria's review against another edition

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emotional funny lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Astrid Parker Doesn't Fail is a book for the women who put too much pressure on themselves. It's a book for the women who value everyone else's expectations above their personal happiness. It's for the women who keep doing what they're doing without ever asking if it's actually what they want. Astrid resonated with me so much, and her growth in this book was phenomenal.

With that said, something was missing for me. The main conflict in the second half of the book could have been avoided, or changed, and I felt that way for a large chunk of the book. But then I got to the last couple chapters and I saw the vision for the ending, so while I understand why the book was written the way it was I strongly believe there was another option that would have had better communication and less general lying.

Read this if you love
- baking
- self-discovery
- home renovation and interior design
- queer joy
- opposites attract

I can't wait to read more from Ashley Herring Blake. 4 stars!

Content Warnings

haileyhardcover's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Ok so these books just don’t miss, huh? The banter, the character development, the spice?! 🌶️😅 Five stars all around.

I love Astrid. I loved her even in the first book when she was cast almost like a villain. She deserves a happy ending (in every sense) and some goddamn joy and FREEDOM. I’m so happy for her! Jordan was a little harder for me to love, probably because the things that I dislike the most about myself, I saw in her 🙃 She is so good for Astrid, though!

Continuing my Enneagram typing of the Bright Falls characters - Jordan gave me major 4w5 vibes. I maintain that Astrid is a 1w9, Claire a 9w1, Delilah an 8w9 and Iris a 8w7.

Really looking forward to jumping into Iris Kelly next, but first I’m off to spend the rest of the evening on Etsy hunting for a very specific type of necklace 😏

Content Warnings

jay_da_bookworm's review against another edition

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funny hopeful lighthearted reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No

3.5

After reading both Delilah’s and Astrid’s stories, I found Astrid’s storyline to be more enjoyable. Although, I will admit there were some parts that I found to be a bit cringey like Astrid being compared to a Twilight vampire on more than one occasion. I loved the exploration of her character with the self-doubt about who she is, who her mother wants her to be, and who she wants to be. It was nice to see Astrid grow as an individual and slowly discover the person she wants to be instead of the person she believes she has to be.

I also felt like the romance was a tad bit more developed; it really played into the theme of self-discovery. One aspect I did have an issue with was the third-act breakup. I’m not a fan of the trope to begin with and the fact it was done in the previous book made it that more annoying. There was no need for it except for maybe introducing Jordan's ex and honestly, I could have gone the whole book without that.

I would have also loved some more representation as far as POCs go, other than the random side character here and there. Just because a book is queer doesn’t mean that it is also diverse. Hopefully, Iris Kelly Doesn’t Date will make up for some of the issues I had with the last two books.

Content Warnings

redefiningrachel's review against another edition

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emotional funny 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

4.0

Content Warnings

prettynerdy3's review against another edition

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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

4.0

Content Warnings

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