A review by wardenred
Astrid Parker Doesn't Fail by Ashley Herring Blake

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

3.0

That could all wait. The whole world could wait and give her one night off, one night where her whole goal was to smile and laugh and not care so damn much.

Not a bad read, but less fun for me than the first book in the series. I think I didn’t connect with either of the leads enough, especially Jordan. With Astrid, I was at least already somewhat invested since she was such a prominent character in the previous installment, and I did find the aftermath of the arc she had there and the continuing development of her relationship with her mother pretty interesting. Though at the same time I feel like more could be done with the last one.

The overall plot with the inn renovation was pretty cute, and I found the initial animosity between Astrid and Jordan kind of entertaining. But the way they progressed from it to dating was somehow off for me—not in some bad way, more in the “it didn’t click for me“ way. Something about the pacing being kind of rocky, I think. There were definitely a few nice moments that I liked reading about, such as the movie scene, but overall, I just didn’t feel super invested in the romance. And unlike the first book that had a stronger B-plot and a more developed cast of characters, here there was little to focus on outside of the main storyline.

Speaking of the underdeveloped cast, it felt kind of weird that even the leads from the previous book felt rather flat. I barely recognized Delilah and Claire. Even the town itself had somehow less character. Honestly the only cast member who consistently had me smiling and invested when she was on the page was Iris. So I guess despite this book being a bit of a disappointment, I’ll still pick up the next one, since Iris is the MC in it.
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