Reviews tagging 'Panic attacks/disorders'

Iris Kelly Doesn't Date by Ashley Herring Blake

101 reviews

katndrsn's review against another edition

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders

Minor: Biphobia, Homophobia, and Toxic relationship

cristina_margarita's review against another edition

emotional 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

My feelings on this one are a little mixed. It definitely took me the longest to get into of the trilogy. 

I found the opening few chapters with Stevie painfully difficult to read as a person who struggles with anxiety & panic attacks. 

I thought the story itself was cute once I got into it & I ended up really liking Stevie. Stevie was such a sweet character & I loved the set up of the play. I’m not exactly sure how I felt about their deal/sexual arrangement but that’s probably just my own sensibilities. Also I do think that Ashley should have kept the play a bigger part of the book since it & Stevies friends basically dropped out at the half way mark. 

At the beginning I found it odd that Iris had had a big life/career change off screen but once Thayer came in, it made sense why the author made that decision. It did feel super convenient but Iris did not take advantage of it in time to prevent their second third act break up, which was frustrating. But I am glad Iris made a grand gesture herself (it made me tear up) otherwise I don’t think I could fully get behind the story. (She would have been a Landon.) 

Part of me thought the epilogue was the perfect way to wrap everything up but another part of me felt that it was too neat & took away from Stevie & Iris’s story to focus on the conclusion of the trilogy.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders

Moderate: Vomit

madelineslibrary's review

challenging emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective relaxing sad 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

Iris Kelly Doesn't Date perfectly wraps up the Bright Falls series, although I seriously wish that there was more. This world she's created is a space that feels realistic and full of such love between the characters. With Iris needing inspiration for the romance novel she's writing, and Stevie needing seduction lessons, this book is romantic, hilariously funny, emotional, and heartfelt. 

This book is for you if you like...

😘Fake dating 
👩‍🏫"Teach me" seduction lessons dynamics
🌇Small Town 
💔Afraid of commitment 
🎭Theatre life
💕Found family 
🌈Sapphic romance (Bisexual FMC & Lesbian FMC)
🫂 Anxiety / mental health rep

The story for Iris and Stevie that the author crafted is so uniquely appropriate for them. I loved seeing both of these characters grow, and also peeking in at the lives of the previous books' MCs. Iris and Stevie make such an adorable couple, and watching them carefully unravel each other with their fake dating trope and "teach me how to seduce someone" lessons had me unable to put this book down! Plus, the gender-bent queer representation in the Much Ado About Nothing production happening in this book was phenomenal to imagine. Now I want to see all of Shakespeare's plays to be re-envisioned this way! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, and Sexual content

Moderate: Cursing, Emotional abuse, and Gaslighting

Minor: Infidelity and Abandonment

Stevie has anxiety and this story represents scenes where she has anxiety attacks from her pov and how she comes down from them. It's also discussed with other characters in the book. Some of the supporting characters seem borderline emotionally abusive at times even though they have good intentions, but they're put in their place and learn from that experience by the end. An ex that's still in the friend group is manipulative and sometimes gaslights. Cursing language is used. Sexual scenes are graphic and wonderfully written. Brief mention of being abandoned and betrayed by an ex through infidelity.

katbotelho's review

lighthearted medium-paced

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

3.0

this was my least favourite of the series tbh,, and it carried on a lot if problems i saw with the last two aka the lack of diversity of the main cast. i feel like having the main cast only consist of lesbian and bisexual white women does not constitute a diverse cast. I am once again asking for BIPOC and trans characters who aren’t mentioned once as background character and never seen again. (Ren ticks both boxes but is still a side character) Hell there wasn’t even a straight person in the books.

also i find by the end of this series the cast of characters is just too large to keep track off bc there’s the main three plus their partners plus simon and emery plus stevies three friends my head hurts tryna keep track of them all. i must say the large cast issue might be solved with aroace characters but anyway-

also this whole new york business just annoyed me.

like ren telling iris about it when stevie spent the entire book tryna tell everyone that shes an adult whos capable oc doing things for herself and then her closest friend once again not letting her make decisions for herself bc they thought they knew whats best for them

also

stevie not telling iris until after accepting the offer what the hell was that about ?? glad you’re finally making a decision for urself girl but part of that is realizing your decisions effect other people bffr

also felt like the theatre plot got shoved to the side for a while.

in conclusion i learned im not a fan of the fake dating trope

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders and Sexual content

abby_can_read's review against another edition

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

📱
I had a good time reading this book and the series. I thought Iris and Stevie were cute together and their relationship was sweet. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, and Sexual content

Moderate: Toxic relationship, Vomit, and Alcohol

Minor: Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Infidelity, and Toxic friendship

malisac16'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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders

Minor: Toxic relationship

luna_98's review against another edition

funny hopeful 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? Yes

4.5

so spicy and so cute. i loved the balance in iris and stevie’s relationship. loved the ending and thought it was the perfect ending to the series :)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, and Sexual content

Moderate: Vomit

llams's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted 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? No

5.0

I loved this final iteration of the bright falls trilogy! I feel like the characters choices were true to themselves. I loved the honest mental health rep as well as the normalized (albeit brief) normalization of exploring the ace/aro spectrum. Ashley Herring Blake continues to be an auto-read author!!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Vomit, and Alcohol

fleur____'s review against another edition

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, and Sexual content

Moderate: Biphobia, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol

Minor: Homophobia and Infidelity

nightworldlove's review

emotional funny hopeful inspiring 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, and Sexual content

Moderate: Cursing and Alcohol