Review: Delilah Green Doesn't Care by Ashley Herring Blake

Delilah Green Doesn't Care
(Bright Falls #1)
Ashley Herring Blake
Release: February 22, 2022
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A clever and steamy queer romantic comedy about taking chances and accepting love—with all its complications—by debut author Ashley Herring Blake.

Delilah Green swore she would never go back to Bright Falls—nothing is there for her but memories of a lonely childhood where she was little more than a burden to her cold and distant stepfamily. Her life is in New York, with her photography career finally gaining steam and her bed never empty. Sure, it’s a different woman every night, but that’s just fine with her.

When Delilah’s estranged stepsister, Astrid, pressures her into photographing her wedding with a guilt trip and a five-figure check, Delilah finds herself back in the godforsaken town that she used to call home. She plans to breeze in and out, but then she sees Claire Sutherland, one of Astrid’s stuck-up besties, and decides that maybe there’s some fun (and a little retribution) to be had in Bright Falls, after all.

Having raised her eleven-year-old daughter mostly on her own while dealing with her unreliable ex and running a bookstore, Claire Sutherland depends upon a life without surprises. And Delilah Green is an unwelcome surprise…at first. Though they’ve known each other for years, they don’t really know each other—so Claire is unsettled when Delilah figures out exactly what buttons to push. When they’re forced together during a gauntlet of wedding preparations—including a plot to save Astrid from her horrible fiancé—Claire isn’t sure she has the strength to resist Delilah’s charms. Even worse, she’s starting to think she doesn’t want to…

Review:
One of my reading goals for 2022 is to read more queer romance, specifically more sapphic romance. There is a lot of good hype around this book which always makes me nervous. I shouldn't have been. Delilah Green Doesn't Care lived up to all of my expectations plus some! I loved it so much! It was tender, funny, sexy, and heartbreaking all at the same time.

Struggling artist, Delilah Green, has been hired to photograph her estranged stepsister, Astrid's wedding which means returning to her hometown of Bright Falls. The one she ran away from ten years ago. She doesn't want to go back to the place where she didn't fit in but she needs the money desperately. Her first night back, she gets hit on at the bar by none other than Claire Sutherland, one of her stepsister's best friends. What follows is a series of swoon-worthy sexy times, snark, hi-jinks, and wedding shenanigans that show Delilah that Bright Falls might not be as bad as she remembered.

Delilah and her prickly edges captured my attention from the start. Despite the title and what Delilah thinks, she did indeed care. In fact, I would say she cares a lot. And OMG! The pining! And the snark! All Delilah has wanted was to fit in and be included and it pulled at my heart strings even though she found a place for herself in the world with her tattoos and her art. I wanted her to have a happy ever after and a forever partner before I was done with the first chapter!

Oh! And I adored Claire and her warmth, curviness (stretchmarks and all) and her awesome bisexual energy! And she runs an independent bookstore! In the last few years I have become a fan of the drama that comes with single parent love interests in romance and I quickly fell for Claire's daughter, Ruby. I loved how Delilah wasn't hesitant to step in and lend a hand. I am practically swooning over this romance still days after I finished it! 

But the romance wasn't the only star of this book! The platonic friendships and the familial relationships added so much depth to this story that I would love for each of the main side characters to get their own books. 

I can't wait to read Astrid's book that comes out later this year! And I really, really hope we get an Iris book! If you're looking for an awesome F/F romance, you must go read it immediately! It will definitely be on my top ten favorite books of the year list for sure!

ARC provided by the publisher via Netgalley.

    

  5 / 5 Stars!