I read a fair bit of romances, bu this one exceeded my expectations! The characters felt real, the romance felt fleshed out and the resolution of the plot was amazing. A definite recommendation to any romance readers. I’m excited to see what Blake writes next.

A heartfelt thank you to Berkley and Netgalley for this eARC

It's done! The trilogy is done, and now I don't know what to do! I don't want to leave Bright Falls! *proceeds to collapse in a crying, blubbering mess*

This was exactly what I wanted for Ashley's three book queer rom-com trilogy. As with the others, it was damned near perfect. Plus, with this one, Iris is working as a writing working on a sapphic rom-com so the nudges to the audience talking about tropes while living the tropes? Romanception. ^_^

I'm going to keep this brief, I'll come back for a fuller review closer to the release date as I've done in the past, but lemme just say I love how she leaves the girls we've come to know and adore, and Stevie and the new arrivals? Chef's kiss. Perfect.

Plus, the snippet from Ashley's next title? Can't wait already...

More to come!

This book was a true personal attack. I loved Delilah Green Doesn't Care, and REALLY related to Delilah. Book 2 was really good, but neither character hit quite as many notes for me personally.

THIS ONE THOUGH? Iris has commitment and inadequacy issues, and Stevie has severe anxiety. ME TOO GIRL ME TOO!! Needless to say, every chapter of this just got me right in the heart and I absolutely sobbed at the end.

A beautiful love story!!!!!

Ever since I read Delilah Green Doesn't Care, I have become obsessed with the Bright Falls characters and books! Iris Kelly certainly didn't disappoint and it was everything I hoped it would be and more. It was so good to be back in Bright Falls with Delilah, Astrid, and Iris. Plus, let's not forget Claire and Jordan. I've always loved Iris's spunk in all of the books and it was really nice to get to know her more in this one. I will admit that it did take me a while to actually like Stevie only because she got on my nerves at first. The Bright Falls books really made me feel like I was actually in the stories and I relate so much to the characters. When I finished this one, I just sat there for a while not knowing what to do with myself. I'm not sure how I feel about the Bright Falls books being over and I will miss reading new books about the characters, but this trilogy ended perfectly. Ashley Blake is one of my favorite authors now after reading this books and I always recommend her!

After reading the first book in the Bright Falls series, Ashley Herring Blake became an auto-read author for me. Now that I've read the third (and-sob-final) installment of the series I can easily say she has become one of my favorite romance authors. I have loved every book in the series and each time thought "this is the best one" only to have Blake produce another book that outdoes the last.

I loved Iris and Stevie's story. I love the way Stevie's anxiety plays into the story. Blake masterfully makes it central to who she is and also deals deftly with the ways Stevie's anxiety makes dating feel impossible. Iris is a fierce and vulnerable character who it's impossible not to love. Together, they are perfection.

All of my favorite tropes! Fake dating! Forced proximity! Healing love! Ashley Herring Blake delivers a beautiful send off to our Bright Falls crew. I was hoping that our focus would shift to the Portland friends we met in this book during her next novel, but the preview chapter is about totally new people. This book is as spicy and romantic as we have come to expect from the other books. The details about acting, Iris’s art and planners, and her writing process all added richness to the story. Goodbye, Bright Falls. Thanks for all the fun.

Iris Kelly doesn’t date was amazing. This is the final instalment in the bright falls series and it concluded so wonderfully. I’ve loved Iris since the first book and seeing her character development was something I enjoyed so much. This was so fun, and stevie was such a likeable love interest, some of her struggles I related to and it was nice to read about. Their relationship was so beautiful, I loved the growth between the two of them!

*Received as a free ARC*
After reading Astrid Parker Doesn't Fail, I had to know how Iris's story ended. Iris and Stevie were adorable. The resolution of all the Bright Falls storylines felt solid. I found it funny how there were nods to the books through Iris's perspective as a romance novelist. It was very tongue in cheek. Over all, it was a fairly light read (as a romcom there had to be a LITTLE angst). Now I really do need to read Delilah Green. Excited for her next book!

A truly delightful conclusion to this loosely connected trilogy. While I do think that a reader could pick up with Iris Kelly, I think the series really benefits from being read in order. I loved the little glimpses into Delilah and Claire's life together, and I wish we got a little bit more from Astrid and Jordan that way.

There is an element of kind of meta-fiction "wink wink" to romance readers, as Iris Kelly is writing a romance novel and using the "fake dating" with Stevie to "research," and those occasionally got to be a little much for my taste, but overall a very small complaint.

4.5 stars rounded up

Once again the Bright Falls universe has stolen my heart! Iris and Stevie’s story was the perfect mix of romantic and sexy!! And that last chapter AHHH MY HEART <3

In this third installment, we return to Bright falls with the third member of the crew. Iris Kelly doesn't do relationships or romance, and she is totally happy that way. But she isn't really. Her friends and family are all coupled up and her mom is always on her case about settling down. Not to mention she can't seem to find inspiration for her second novel.

Enter Stevie Scott. After six years together, Stevie's ex broke it off, which honestly may have been for the best. But that doesn't mean she's loving her ex dating her friend. Plus, her acting career is stagnated. Stevie knows she needs to break outside of her comfort zone, but that isn't easy to do with Generalized Anxiety Disorder.

After a one-night stand gone wrong, Stevie and Iris don't think they will ever see each other again. But then Iris shows up at the theatre where Stevie is working.

This book is told through alternating viewpoints and both Stevie and Iris are compelling characters. Stevie's struggles with anxiety and friends that underestimate her are relatable. Iris's struggles with self-worth make sense, given her dating history. I really like that it is addressed that external sexualization led to her internally sexualizing herself, leading to this belief that people only want her for sex. However, she's frustrating at times because she stubbornly refuses to let people in, and she won't admit to her family, her friends, Stevie, and often herself, about how she really feels about things. If she doesn't want to deal with something, she will just refuse to talk about it and leave if people don't drop it.

At times, the fact that the main character was writing a romance novel in a romance novel became too meta, such as when Iris declared she liked the third act break up and reconciliation, right before the book used that trope. I personally felt like the breakup was unnecessary. The characters felt like they had grown past that at that point in the book, however the reconciliation scene was cute. I also wanted Iris's mother's actions addressed. She has no respect for Iris's boundaries and constantly belittles her life choices.

Regardless, I loved this book (especially my queen Stevie) and I would reread every Bright Falls book multiple times, so it still gets five stars. But maybe Iris should consider therapy.

Is it weird to say every character written by Ashley Herring Blake has felt like it was a self insert for me? Becuase genuinely all six of these girls in the Bright Falls sapphic coven feels like some version or other of me. Iris and Stevie are if my high school theatre kid got to grow into an adult and Iris's artist/writing self is what I would have turned into had I continued art from college.

Stevie's and Iris's struggles with self, pressures from the people who love them yet don't understand them fully is so reflective of my own experience. I enjoyed seeing them struggle through their initial meeting with incredible compassion towards each other and grow into friends and more.

I loved seeing all the other characters from previous books, seeing their love from outside of themselves and the closeness these girls share through the years. I am a husk of a person now that the series is over but just know I will be revisiting this series CONSTANTLY.

This book is delightful and I loved seeing the whole crew again! Fake dating is one of my favorite tropes, and Ashley did it so well. The way Stevie and her anxiety were written, with such care and respect, was really nice to read as someone who deals with those same issues.

And Stevie and Iris together- chef's kiss! There was sweetness, there was tension, there were some truly hot sexy times. Iris x Stevie are perfection.

I just really loved this and the whole series and I'm sad to say goodbye to Bright Falls, but it was the perfect send off!

I absolutely loved this book. It's definitely for all the queer theatre kids out there. I loved the mental health representation and that it was dealt with in a realistic, but also healthy way. I love the queer found family trope in both Iris's and Stevie's friend groups. This is definitely a book I needed while in a reading slump. Because even though there were some heavy parts, it felt light and cute and quirky.

once again, the cover art makes me want to date the characters of this book

💌 ARC from Netgalley. <b>SPOILERS AHEAD</b>

It almost seems unfair to review this book after how much I loved ASTRID PARKER DOESN'T FAIL, because having to stand up to that wound up impacting my feelings about this one.

IRIS KELLY DOESN'T DATE is the final novel in the Bright Falls series — it, once again, doesn’t improve on some of the pet peeves I had with the prior installments (in particular, the smut felt like it was being written by someone who was just … making shit up as they went along? I’m not going to make assumptions about the author’s life, but as a reader it was very noticeable? I actually wound up skipping most of smut scenes after the initial hookup and the stuff at Malibu — they were distracting and lackluster.)

I also felt like every single character in this book was introduced by their race and sexuality before anything else, which made it feel like the author was just going down a checklist of identities to showcase rather than putting thought into their characters. No one was portrayed badly, but it was … <em>prominent</em>. There certainly could have been more effort out in to introduce us to the same characters in a way that felt organic.

Aside from that, I did like this book. Iris and Stevie were less enjoyable than the other two couples to me, mostly because I don’t love reading about my own disorder in romance since it takes away from the escapism a little — I’m sure there will be people that read this book and feel represented, which is great! I’m just not one of them. I don’t think they qualified for an “actual stakes” fake dating scenario, which is the only time I tend to like the trope, but it wasn’t a bad book at all. IMO, I think this and Astrid Parker should have been switched around in the order, because I felt like that book had a stronger ending.

Still, I’ll be recommending this to people.

What a lovely conclusion to the Bright Falls series. I think this one might be my favorite. I loved the story arc, and getting to know Iris even more as she fought falling in love with Stevie. Sweet, funny, and steamy. Definitely a win.

Iris Kelly is a romance writer, struggling to get her next book into draft form after her own romantic failings. Enter Stevie. Stevie is a sweet and anxious actress who is just trying to move on from her six year long relationship. She doesn’t want her ex, she just wants to get on with her life. When Stevie meets Iris, she assumes everything will be great by their instant attraction, but one thing leads to another and soon an awkward failed one-night stand is the least of their worries! Will they be able to play opposite each other in the community theatre production of Much Ado About Nothing? Can they keep up the ruse that they’re “dating” in front of Stevie’s friends? Most importantly, can they do all this while still protecting their hearts?

Fans of the romance genre will find plenty to love in this big-hearted swoony romance. Tropes like fake-dating and romance lessons equal all the love in this amazing story. It’s steamy, it’s fun, and it has the whole Bright Falls cast. This is hit ending to the series and has everything you want in a queer romance!