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A review by bookswithjess
Astrid Parker Doesn't Fail by Ashley Herring Blake
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
sad
tense
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
I really enjoy Ashley Herring Blake's writing, and I really enjoyed this companion novel to Delilah Green Doesn't Care! I cannot wait for Iris's story, just because we've met her in two books now and she's already a character I adore and is well-developed, but anyway, onto Astrid's story!
Reading about Astrid was lovely, you got to see who she actually is rather than who she is told she needs to be. She goes through self-discovery struggles, and she does her best, even if she doesn't feel up to it.
Jordan was a tougher perspective for me to get into, because the reason this novel got a 4 instead of a 5 is because of her, and her actions! Not that I didn't love her character - her experience was unique (to the books I've personally read) and something I was not anticipating. Spoiler: Cancer Mentions in the book, I do wish I knew of that prior but it wasn't a big part of the story, but it was mentioned a couple times. Still, the way Jordan thought of it and how it affected her life (spoiler: she was not the one with cancer) felt well-thought out and cared for.
Ashley Herring Blake has an amazing way of making the stories so enriching, it's not just about the two main characters but she's able to flesh out the surrounding characters as well. There was more to this book than just a love story, and I really loved that! I like seeing characters grow outside of the relationship that they're going to be in.
So the reason I can't really give this book five stars is because of how Jordan went with the renovation in the beginning of the book. I really didn't like how she went on about it; her grandmother got a loan for this renovation, to pay Astrid, and how she meddles with the design seems really disrespectful. She wasn't considering what anyone else but herself wants and not taking anyone else into consideration, even if she does think she knows better but it's not really her place.
I do understand that she has big feelings over the renovations, since it means a lot to her and she has a lot of lovely memories there, but the issue is she didn't even try to voice her concern to her grandmother, her brother, to Astrid, to the producers, she just decided it's "my way or the highway" and started going behind their backs and did whatever she wanted, and just complain about Astrid's design instead of actually communicating?
In the end, when Astrid told everyone the truth it was Astrid who got blamed; however, it was actually Jordan's fault, in my opinion. They wouldn't have been in that situation if Jordan hadn't meddled or voiced her concern in the beginning.
Also, I think the author missed an opportunity by not outwardly getting Astrid (Jordan too, but mostly Astrid) into therapy after everything went down.
Reading about Astrid was lovely, you got to see who she actually is rather than who she is told she needs to be. She goes through self-discovery struggles, and she does her best, even if she doesn't feel up to it.
Jordan was a tougher perspective for me to get into, because the reason this novel got a 4 instead of a 5 is because of her, and her actions! Not that I didn't love her character - her experience was unique (to the books I've personally read) and something I was not anticipating. Spoiler: Cancer Mentions in the book, I do wish I knew of that prior but it wasn't a big part of the story, but it was mentioned a couple times. Still, the way Jordan thought of it and how it affected her life (spoiler: she was not the one with cancer) felt well-thought out and cared for.
Ashley Herring Blake has an amazing way of making the stories so enriching, it's not just about the two main characters but she's able to flesh out the surrounding characters as well. There was more to this book than just a love story, and I really loved that! I like seeing characters grow outside of the relationship that they're going to be in.
I do understand that she has big feelings over the renovations, since it means a lot to her and she has a lot of lovely memories there, but the issue is she didn't even try to voice her concern to her grandmother, her brother, to Astrid, to the producers, she just decided it's "my way or the highway" and started going behind their backs and did whatever she wanted, and just complain about Astrid's design instead of actually communicating?
In the end, when Astrid told everyone the truth it was Astrid who got blamed; however, it was actually Jordan's fault, in my opinion. They wouldn't have been in that situation if Jordan hadn't meddled or voiced her concern in the beginning.
Also, I think the author missed an opportunity by not outwardly getting Astrid (Jordan too, but mostly Astrid) into therapy after everything went down.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Cancer and Sexual content
Minor: Infidelity