A review by nmcannon
Delilah Green Doesn't Care by Ashley Herring Blake

emotional reflective medium-paced

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

4.0

Back when Twitter was, well, Twitter, I followed Ashley Herring Blake. When she announced that she’d be publishing an adult f/f romance book, I was excited, purchased a copy, and pitched it as a pick for our sapphic book club.

In Bright Falls, everyone knows that Delilah Green doesn’t care, especially Delilah herself. Well, she cares about her photography career in New York City, and she makes sure all her lovers have a great time in bed, but her step-sister Astrid must beg, borrow, and steal to entice Delilah to be her wedding photographer. A reluctant Delilah returns to Bright Falls and all the reminders of why she left. These reminders may be why it’s so easy to say yes when Claire, Astrid’s bestie, approaches her and asks if she’d like to break up the wedding.

Blake’s book is layered. While all the characters thought of themselves as badass feminists, their feminism feels distinctly second-wave, on a textual and meta-textual level. Women can do anything! Sisterhood is most important. Male characters are trash, except the dead ones, who are angels. Characters make multiple comments on how they should give up on partnering with men, and Blake’s other books with bi/pan women are all f/f pairings. A moment that really sticks in my mind is towards the end. Delilah takes down a group photo of white men, and Claire praises this choice, saying “ugh white dead men.” The new picture, however, is all white women. They’re queer white women, but their queerness is not visible in the photo. Their feminism needs to grow more. Women aren’t a separate, superior species. While an occasional “men are trash” joke can feel cathartic, realistically we all need to work together, in community, to make the world more equitable.

All that being said, Delilah Green Doesn’t Care is a very enjoyable book. I believed in Claire and Delilah’s burgeoning love, and how their pasts informed it. The circumstances that drove Delilah away from Claire, Astrid, and Bright Falls feel all too real. Everyone is a mess; everyone is working on it. The pacing is superb. I was hooked. Blake reverses lavender’s usual symbolism into smothering conformity, which tumbled my mind delightfully. Water came to symbolize a freedom to express truth and emotion. Parent Trap-esque hijinks provided some fun humor. Blake was already a good writer, but I think with time she’ll become a great one. We had an avid book club discussion over Delilah Green Doesn’t Care.

I’m unsure if I’ll purchase the rest of the series, but I’ll definitely keep my eye out at the library. I want to see Iris and Astrid’s stories and check in on Delilah and Claire.