Reviews with content warning for Biphobia - Iris Kelly Doesn't Date

Reviews tagging 'Biphobia'

Iris Kelly Doesn't Date by Ashley Herring Blake

14 reviews

hazel_oat's review against another edition

emotional hopeful 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

3.0

this one is hard to rate for me b/c it will have the most beautifully written chapter of stevie trying her absolute fucking best followed by iris bumbling around making all the obviously-this-is-the-dumbest-choice choices … so prepare for whiplash?

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aseel_reads's review against another edition

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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

2.5

While I appreciated the struggles the main characters went through and parts were funny, I wasn't as invested in this one, compared to the first two

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bridge_to_narnia's review against another edition

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emotional 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

3.75

Cute story! I love the chemistry between Iris and Stevie. It was a new refreshing take on the Fake Dating trope. (

While Stevie's friends need to be tricked, Iris's friends are in the know which makes it feel refreshing.

) I like the portrayal of how your past and mental health can keep you from getting to where you want and while some of the choice made because of this gave me anxiety, the ending was very very sweet.

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pixelpigeon's review against another edition

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funny lighthearted medium-paced

Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

There were a few parts of the plot that I thought were a little flimsy, but overall it's a really enjoyable love story with very vivid characters like the first 2 books. And of course, deliciously spicy scenes 🌶🌶🔥🔥

It ends the trio of books in a satisfying and sweet way.

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lunep's review

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emotional hopeful fast-paced

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

4.0

This was a great book...up until the third act conflict. I was so excited because I was loving it and rooting for Stevie and Iris, they were so cute, so fun, the sex scenes were great, there was angts, but then in the third act conflict Iris lost me. And I feel so mad at myself!! Bc I can think about why she acted the way she acted in a logical way, I understand why she did what she did, but I still think she was unfair to Stevie, and her attitude made me not feel excited at the end 😭😭😭

Like, I even got excited for Stevie when Olivia asked her out!!

, I even tried to think "if Iris was a man and this was a hetero romance, would you feel the same way?" trying to rule out internalized misogyny and tbf...I'm not sure 😩 so that's why I'm still giving it 4 stars, I can't completely rule out internalized misogyny from my feelings and I don't wanna hurt a book that I was genuinely loving up until the 86% mark

There were another couple things I didn't love, but I didn't mind that much:

The way Adri didn't get any accountability ever. I'm sorry but she was a shitty friend/ex, and I know ending long friendship like theirs is hard, but she never even apologized, and Stevie just accepts it because "she knew everything she needed from Adri she'd already given to herself"
after telling each other "I love you platonically", and after the fact that the last conversation the two had on the page ammounted to Adri telling Stevie that she wanted her back but she didn't want to break up with Vanessa???
, nuh uh, sorry
Iris's family. Also never apologized to her for being so shitty and never understanding her, and her brother seemed so misogynystic?? Making "jokes" about how a Happily Ever After is really a "Shittily Ever After" and other kind of "jokes" like that with his BIL, like, just say you hate your wife and go
And, the one I ignored the most bc ofc, this is a romance book, and I was actually rooting for them: that I don't love when a MC is constantly telling their family "I don't want to date, I'm happy by myself, I do not need you to set me up on dates, I actually hate it" and their pushy family doesn't accept it only for the MC to, in fact, fall in love/realize that they weren't happy by themself. The petty side in me doesn't like giving the pushy families the satisfaction lmao

But one thing I ADORED were Iris's friends! At first I was a little lost ngl, when they're first introduced via group chat, because I couldn't keep up with who was who and who was with who, but I know that's on me for starting on the last book of the trilogy lmao, and once I was able to keep them straight, they're just the most supportive, lovely group of friends <3 (specially compared to Stevie's 😒 cuz I don't let Vanessa off the hook either, even tho I didn't talk about her when talking about Adri

,but dating your supposed best friend's ex two months after they broke up?? Hell no, not even the "queer spaces are tight knit" excuse can save that for me

. And now that I think about it, Ren felt way more like Stevie's best friend that Vanessa did)

I also LOOOVED Stevie's character growth, at the end, I felt she was the MC more than Iris (tho, since it was dual POV I'm pretty sure they're both of them are MCs, and neither is just "the love interest") because through most of the book I didn't feel like Iris got much development

besides her getting out of her writing slump and becoming more of a romantic

, Stevie FLOURISHED. I might be a little biased tbf, bc I saw myself on Stevie a lot (I don't have an anxiety diagnosis and I don't think I've ever had a panic attack, but a lot of Stevie's problems with one night stands, romance, and confidence I felt applied to me too), but I just think she grew a lot and I loved seeing her stand up for herself

and then moving to NY and, even tho she got anxious sometimes, pushing through it knowing she can do whatever she put her mind to

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mangofraiche's review against another edition

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emotional funny 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

3.5

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cats33'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

5.0

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blakeandbooks's review

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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

This is my favorite book of the Bright Falls series, and I’m so sad that it’s over! Iris and Stevie are so good together, and I absolutely loved their fake dating scheme and that they play their love interests in a queer Shakespeare play causing some forced proximity between the two of them. There’s a fair amount of representation in this book: anxiety, lesbian, bisexual, non-binary representation. There’s probably more I’m missing, but those are the ones I’m remembering off the top of my head.

One of the aspects I always look forward to in this series is the found family, and this didn’t disappoint! We not only got Iris’s found family that we’ve come to know and love, but we also got to add Stevie’s found family as well. I loved getting the group texts between Iris, Delilah, Claire, Astrid, and Jordan. They’re all so funny together!

What took a star rating off was the 3rd act breakup for me… I understood it, but it was so annoying 🫠 I definitely think they had to find themselves outside of being with each other, but I felt like it could’ve went a bit differently.

Overall, I really enjoy this final installment of the Bright Falls series!! Can’t wait to see what else Ashley writes. 🩵

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ladythana's review

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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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elliott_the_clementine's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful lighthearted reflective 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

4.5

Genuine and self-aware, Iris Kelly Doesn’t Date (starring the relatable, perpetually single Iris and the relatable, sweet Stevie) conveys its central method strongly: we all deserve to love and to be loved. It is the best installment of Bright Falls, cementing the trilogy in my romance series hall of fame and Ashley Herring Blake as an instant read.

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