When it comes to romance, it seems Ashley Herring Blake doesn't disappoint. I adored Delilah Green Doesn't Care, and while I didn't love Astrid's character in that, by the end Blake had brought me around, so I was more than ready to dive into this one. And, of course, the book delivered. It's joyful, it's nuanced and deeply heartfelt, and it's snarky. Loved. Can't wait for book 3.

Dealing with the realization that Astrid has always liked women was so beautiful and realistic. From my experience of always being aware of women and having more of an intimate connection with them, yet having a narrative or expectation thrown on you and causing you to think it was nothing. That is so good to see.
Friendships and attraction are two different things, and I'm it was shown in this book that just because you deny a part of your DOES NOT mean that all your relationships, Platonic or intimate, are invalid.

Jordan is so sweet, and I just wanted to hug her for the whole book. It's a lot to love someone so deeply and be there for them in a very hard, dark moment and then have the person realize that they aren't happy with you and leave. It's utterly destroying and seeing her heal, work, and fall in love again was heartwarming! Plus seeing her receive recognization for her work!

I loved how both of them are working towards love, their careers (that they actually want) and that the friend group is consistent and wholesome!

I am SO glad that finally, Astrid could tell off her mother and make her realize that treating her like a project will not allow them to have a future relationship and have her mother understand that. She has a long way to go, but in the next book, we will see a glimpse of that in the background!

I absolutely loved Delilah Green Doesn't Care so I was very excited to return to their world and follow Astrid's story. Similar to book one, this is a small town romance set in the Pacific Northwest following Astrid Parker. In this case instead of our main character returning home, our love interest Jordan, has returned home to help save her family's beloved inn. While the overall plot was very similar to Delilah's, I thought it was interesting to see things from the side of Astrid. This book includes bisexual representation and discusses what it is like to discover things about your sexuality as an adult. As always I loved the banter and character development that Ashley Herring Blake gives us and I enjoyed seeing glimpses into the supporting characters lives that we had met before. I am a sucker for well written small town romances and this book truly fits the bill. I love that the ending of each book sets up the story for the next character, and I am excited to read about Iris. Thank you Berkeley Romance and NetGalley for providing me with an eARC in exchange for my honest review.

your honor I love them

I enjoyed Delilah Green Doesn’t Care, the first in this series--it gave me lots of warm fuzzies, but I didn't quite feel the near-feral investment in a relationship/characters that I show up in the romance genre for. This one? Warm fuzzies AND near-feral investment!! It gave me both butterflies and fire!! The perfect blend of sweet and heat (and angst!). I devoured it in a weekend, staying up way past my bedtime as I tore through the pages. I loved Astrid and Jordan and all of the different threads from each of their personal lives and histories that were woven into their love story. And I also loved to see the background progression in Delilah and Claire’s relationship, and the continuing change/healing in Delilah and Astrid’s fraught stepsisterhood. There is also a pretty epic misdirect that won my full respect. But most of all I loved Jordan and Astrid, Astrid and Jordan. They are so vividly and empathetically portrayed--they are both so relatable and I was rooting for them pretty much from page one. I love the diverse queer representation that is the foundation of this series! Can't wait for the next one. In the meantime, I have purchased a copy of this one and plan on a reread, like, tomorrow. I've been recommending it to everyone I know!

I loved this book as much as the first in the series! The late bi-awakening felt so authentic and I found the love story charming and organic. I can’t wait for the next one!

I really liked the first book in this series, and this one... not so much, maybe because I just enjoy the Delilah character more. Overall, I think these books are maybe 25% too long and could use copy editing. The conflict felt really contrived and uninteresting, and while I know this is a series and it's being set up to delve more into other characters, the introduction of so many characters with their own things going on really detracted from the actual plot. The characterization felt very surface-level to me, like "Astrid Parker is x, y and z and so she behaves like a, b, c" and every interaction she had felt like it was just hitting those same beats over and over instead of feeling like a fully=realized person/character.

Finally, it was difficult for me to believe the apparent 180 personality shift of the mother character - she's REALLY villainized in most of the book, which is fine, but then... I think she needs more of a subtle/thoughtful shift into understanding mother instead of the sudden sweetness she displays at the end of the book.

Thank You Berkley Romance for gifting me this eARC in exchange for an honest review!

Astrid was by far one of my favorite characters from Delilah Green Doesn't Care and my love for her as a character is definitely what kept me so engaged and in love with this story despite all of the ways it let me down. The bones of this story are not much different than Delilah's book. Obviously it is set in the same small town but like Claire, Astrid's love interest, Jordan, has an ex lover that is haunting her and holding her back from fully being able to move on. And similar to Delilah's struggles in book one with her step-mother, Astrid faces similar struggles that ended up making the stories feel repetitive. There were other tropes and scenarios that make the books unique from each other but at times it felt like reading the same story but from new perspectives. Astrid's book also felt like a debut novel instead of a sophomore one. Delilah Green's book overall felt stronger and more put together. This book focused too much on interior design details that quickly became receptive instead of diving deeper into the romance plot line. I found myself wanting more romance and more moments with the characters outside of the house because what occurred inside the house became very repetitive. By the time the third act came around, I felt the relationship wasn't developed enough to believe the reasoning behind the third act break up. It instead felt irrational and unprecedented. It was hard to understand WHY it happened (can't say much here without spoiling).

As I reviewer I can personally only speak on behalf of the bisexual representation which I thought was well done but I advise you to read over other GoodReads reviews as many discuss the other representations and diversity in this book.

Overall, I still gave this book 4 stars because I was so head over heels for Astrid and as a bi woman who also figured it out later in life, I really appreciated Astrid's journey and the vulnerability that came with it. I am always more hard on books I expect a lot from but I will be picking up Iris's book when it is released because I do love these characters and I look forward to seeing how Blake grows as an author.

Do I even need to say bow much I loved this book? I love Ashley Herring Blake and she can do no wrong in my eyes! This book just further proved to me that Blake is one of the best queer writers out there.

This was absolutely amazing! I was already a huge fan of Ashley Herring Blake after reading the stunner that is Delilah Green Doesn't Care - but Astrid Parker was even better! I loved being able to spend more time with these great, life changing friendships. And don't even get me started on Astrid's queer awakening because that was an excellent *chef's kiss*. I can't wait to return to Bright Falls to read Iris's story next year!

I absolutely loved Delilah Green Doesn't Care and I was so excited when I got a copy of Astrid Parker Doesn't Fail--and it did not disappoint! Ashley Herring Blake has a way of writing stories that are cute and funny but also have that emotional aspect that makes you feel so many things. Reading about Astrid finally realizing who she truly was on the inside was inspiring, and when she finally stood up to her overbearing mother, I cheered! I loved this book so much, and I cannot wait for the next installment in this trilogy!

Welp, I absolutely hate to say it but my 5 star Ashley Herring Blake streak has now come to an end. While I did still enjoy this (hence the 4 star rating!), I can't pretend that I didn't struggle quite a bit in the beginning to care about or connect with Astrid and Jordan. I found both of them to be their own worst enemies for a bit and it really took some time for me to warm up to them. However, once I did, I very easily fell right into the story and I really enjoyed being back in Bright Falls! I especially enjoyed following Astrid's baby gay journey bc I feel like that isn't something that we often get to see in trad-pub romance and my bisexual heart loved to see it, lol. Anyway, while this wasn't the new fav I was hoping it would be, I still had a lot of fun with it and I am definitely looking forward to returning for book three and finding out what the gang is up to next!!

CW: death of a loved one, terminal illness (cancer), anxiety

I am serious, Ashley, you want more than my heart? I already said you never miss with the first one, how do I go harder than that with this one?

Thank you to the publisher and the author for providing me with a review copy of one of my most anticipated reads of the year!

eeeeek! Y'all I cannot express how much I love these books. They are so relatable, so raw and real while at the same time heartwarming, fulfilling and magical. Ashley Herring Blake wrote a character just like me (Astrid). Stubborn, cares way too much about what the world thinks, rigid to a fault, and pristine. Made me realize that I am, in fact, my own problem (thank you Ashley and also Taylor Swift).

Then our other girl, Jordan, has so much trauma to deal with. Losing her life partner after 15 years after being with her through chemo. This might be considered a spoiler to some, so don't read the rest of this paragraph if you don't like any type of spoilers, but I thought it might be good for some to know she didn't lose her to cancer. She actually beat cancer and left stating she needed more. I won't say more, but I know that could have been triggering for some.

Also I need the famous necklace in this book.

Bottom line, one of my favorite rom coms this year and I can't wait for the third book!

Astrid Parker is an interior designer and failure is not in her vocabulary. Jordan is a hot mess. Together? Literal perfection I loved them so much. I had high hopes for the second installment of this story and I was not disappointed.

Thank you #netgalley for an early read of #astridparkerdoesn'tfail

I really liked the first book in the series, Delilah Green Doesn't Care. I wasn't a fan of her step-sister, Astrid, but I decided that maybe she was misunderstood, you know? Yeah...still don't like her. Part of that is because she's constantly running from her problems, and part of that is because she's still too much like her mother. I loved Jordan, and I thought her character was much better developed than Astrid.

Overall, it was good enough. But Astrid's character didn't grow enough to make me care about her.

this was cute and fun! i love a mean female character (or a mean woman in real life) and reading about these two grumps falling in love was super sweet. i preferred this over the first one!

Ashley Herring Blake delivers pitch perfect perfection with her latest book, Astrid Parker Doesn’t Fail.

This book has it all folks: terrific characters, conflict that makes sense and moves the plot along, and truly swoon worthy chemistry. Ashley’s first book in the Bright Falls series, Delilah Green Doesn’t Care has been on my TBR since it came out, so I was delighted to have a chance to read this one. I can confidently say the first book has now moved up in priority! This one can be read as a standalone although I suspect I would have gotten more from it if I had read the other first.

Ashley writes characters that are easy to love and I genuinely enjoyed both Astrid and Jordan. Astrid is a buttoned up, type A character. Highly organised and focused, she is always turned out and proper. Raised by a highly critical mom, she is terrified to disappoint anyone. But even as she does everything by the book, she is struggling to make a success of her interior design business. Jordan is more laid back with her tarot cards, and her vintage truck named Adora and her cat Catra (bonus points for awesome She-Ra references!) but she’s a bit of a mess. After a massive heartbreak a year ago she just can’t seem to pull herself together. She’s been fired from her job as a carpenter and doesn’t know what to do next. She’s stuck. The opportunity to makeover the Everwood Inn represents a major opportunity for both of them and I appreciated the dual viewpoint storytelling so we got to dive deep into the story from both characters’ perspectives.

The power of friendship and family both blood and found is a strong theme in this book. Fans who read the first book in the series will recognize Astrid’s step sister Delilah, as well as her two best friends Claire and Iris. They are delightful. I loved their friendship and how they were so there for each other. Jordan’s twin brother Simon and her grandmother Pru were also great. You could feel the love between them and how it shaped them all as people.

The chemistry between Astrid and Jordan was off the charts great. I loved all the tension the TV show helped create. There are some pretty spicy scenes in this book and they were very well done. I also really appreciated how Astrid started out as thinking she was straight and then, through her growing attraction to Jordan, had to face that maybe she isn’t. It just highlighted how sexuality is fluid and it’s okay to not put a label on things all the time. We see great queer representation in this book with multiple identities present.

Ashley has won another fan with this book. I’ve already ordered Delilah Green Doesn’t Care and I can’t wait for the next instalment, Iris Kelly Doesn’t Date.

Thank you, Berkley Romance for the ARC, in exchange for an honest review.

A perfect sequel! I loved this book so much I can’t even express it. I was so excited for this book and I was so impressed that I wasn’t disappointed by the result. The first book was great but I think I might love this one even more. Astrid really grew on me from the first book and I loved her romance so much!

This is one of those books where when I was reading it, I enjoyed it. But when I would think about it after, I noticed a bunch of things I didn’t like or didn’t make sense.

I thought Astrid was such an intriguing character in the first book Delilah Green, so I was excited to read this one. But after I finished reading, other than a bad mother and some anxiety we really didn’t learn much about her. And the same with Jordan other than a terrible ex-wife, we didn’t really get to know Jordan either. And the romance was seriously lacking, it was tension and then suddenly together. It didn’t develop well for me. And the whole tv show plot was just so random and didn't fit well with the book as a whole. I honestly would forget about it until it was brought up.

I will say the book kept my attention the whole time and I enjoyed it while I was reading it. But like I said, it’s one of those books where when you sit down and really analyze this book there were a lot of issues.

Ashley Herring Blake does a lot of things right in her second installment of the Bright Falls series. She nails the underlying concept needed for any romance to be successful: The conflict challenging the main characters must be a reflection of a relatable human condition. It drives the purpose and the why of the story. Without it, readers would lose interest in the story and struggle to connect to the characters.

Not so here, though. In Astrid Parker Doesn’t Fail, Blake taps into one’s sense of worthiness and self understanding to drive her story forward. It works too; readers’ hearts are snagged as Astrid and Jordan struggle with a healthy sense of self-worth and love. Blake writes it into the storyline masterfully too. Astrid has a complicated history with her family, especially her mother. Jordan suffers from feelings of inadequacy that are rooted in an emotionally knotty and confusing divorce. Both characters’ histories play on readers’ sympathies, ultimately driving the storytelling and giving it direction. The result is a story that’s not only relatable but emotionally appealing.

Astrid Parker Doesn’t Fail’s storyline isn’t anything readers haven’t seen before; the enemies to lovers trope is quite popular in this genre. What makes it different though is its fresh twist. Along with some creative story arc construction, Blake gives eagle-eye attention to the integrity of each character’s arc. She creates two well-developed and well-rounded main characters in Astrid and Jordan. Their identities and backstories are curated with real care and diligence, adding texture and color to not only the character development but the story as well. With this comes an emotional honesty that can’t be denied and the book shines because of it. Readers form an emotional attachment to Astrid and Jordan that’s hard to refuse, as is their romance.

Likable characters aren’t the only thing that hooks readers’ attention in this appealing tale. Astrid Parker Doesn’t Fail’s romantic timing is spot-on. Blake orchestrates Astrid and Jordan’s romance with real finesse. She not only captures readers’ attention but their hearts, making this book hard to put down. She accomplishes this through nicely plotted starts and stops. These scenes are well-scripted and even a little heart- tugging. The “meet” between the couple is disastrous, to say the least, but it feeds the tension soundly and sets the stage swimmingly. The road to couplehood is fraught with eventful trials and tribulations, but Blake uses it to drive one of the most essential elements of storytelling–character change. Astrid and Jordan’s dark moments are felt full-on, making their sacrifices and declarations of love all the more satisfying.

Final remarks…


The Bright Falls series is built on the solid ground of a fun and entertaining story world; one wouldn’t mind visiting there in real life. It contains a charming and eclectic cast of characters that not only fortify the storytelling, they make it richer. The themes of self-discovery and sexual awakening are compelling, giving Astrid Parker Doesn’t Fail real substance. I enjoyed every minute inside these pages and hope to see more of Bright Falls soon.

Strengths…

Well-developed, charming characters
Fresh and honest storytelling
Fun, banter-filled dialogue
Well-constructed story arc
Emotionally appealing romance