Reviews tagging 'Bullying'

Delilah Green não está nem aí by Ashley Herring Blake

54 reviews

beth_s98's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted relaxing 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? It's complicated

5.0

Lots of twists and turns and the best romance tropes! Cannot wait for the next one

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frantically's review against another edition

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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

4.25

new achievement: i'm delilah green's type

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swalls95's review against another edition

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funny hopeful 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

this was a fucking masterpiece. sapphic romance perfection. Fun, flirty and sometimes a little filthy.. I loved every single character.

5*


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lewnie's review against another edition

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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 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.

 

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melaniereadsbooks's review against another edition

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hopeful 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

4.75

Wow, what an absolutely amazing and adorable adult romance book! Delilah is an absolutely amazing character and I both love her and envy her because she is BA. I also really love Claire and how empathetic she is towards others.  This was super adorable and I loved it.

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ecn'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? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Would I ever read it again? Did I like the characters? Did I care about the the characters? Do we learn enough about the characters? Was the ending NOT flat? All answers are a no. But I did enjoy the story and was moderately entertained. Some parts were spicy which is a fun sexy time but also… sounded boring? (maybe bc of the emotionality? Maybe bc it’s not necessarily what I would do? I dunno).
A lot of parts of the story needed more time spent on it and some parts dragged on. Maybe that’s to be expected in a book centered on romance, but it would be nice to have rounded characters and stories.
I also really hated the way it was written. Nothing wrapped me in - it felt more like I was being talked at rather than drawn into the story. Additionally, there was a lottttttt of writing about “cis straight white man,” which, don’t get me wrong, I’m not a fan. However, all main characters and most side characters? Were? Cis white people, and *two* trans+ characters, all presumably white? It felt like the author was just throwing around girl boss feminist phrases. Additionally, to always include “women and nonbinary” people as a monolith felt gross. I know it wasn’t the intent, and YES you can be a lesbian and be attracted to women and non-men, but as a non-cis person, the phrasing (always saying “women and nonbinary people” or “women and femmes” felt washy, shallow/careless, and white feminism. Just say non-men. 

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storykath's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful lighthearted medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

Once again, I got my hopes up that the next sapphic romance I read would be different, and I was mostly wrong.

When Delilah Green returns to her hometown to photograph her estranged stepsister's wedding, all she wants is a paycheck (and maybe to cause some chaos). However, she can't deny the chemistry between herself and the maid of honour, single mom Claire.

The other thing we can't deny is the numerous tropes squeezed in, many of which felt forced and incomplete. To name a few: only one bed! A romantic bet! Miscommunication! Grumpy-sunshine! Many of them came across as arbitrary, like the author just wanted to fit in as many trends as possible.

I can't say for certain if these characters are acting their age throughout the novel (not being 30 myself), but a lot of the conflicts and conversations come off as immature to me. Conflicts could have been more easily resolved if the characters bothered to take a minute to clarify and be honest. I just can't stand a plot that's only dragged out due to misunderstandings and not due to, you know, actual plot.

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noceur's review against another edition

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emotional funny lighthearted 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? It's complicated

4.0

this was a quick read. i liked it. it was funny emotional and heart warming. i loved our main characters and the chemistry between them. 



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sdupont'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

Delilah Green Doesn’t Care puts an interesting spin on the sibling’s best friend trope (stepsister’s best friend) with a side of complex family dynamics. This book was an enjoyable read but did leave me wanting more out of the story and Delilah and Claire’s relationship. I am looking forward to the sequel that will follow Astrid. 

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generic_username's review against another edition

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30 year old mean girls isn't my cup of tea. 

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