Delilah Green Doesn’t Care delivers everything a reader could want in a romance--sexy, emotional, funny, tender, and effortlessly queer--I have no doubt this will soon become a fan-favorite, and a staple in the LGBTQ+ romance reads world.

From the moment I laid eyes on this gorgeous cover, I knew that I’d fall madly in love with this story. Delilah Green Doesn’t Care is the romantic comedy that my queer and nerdy heart has always dreamed about reading. I just love Delilah’s rough edges, tender heart, snarky attitude, frank manner of speaking and her beautiful tattoos! Claire stole a huge chunk of my heart because she will go above and beyond for her friends and family members and I can totally relate to some of the difficulties she has to deal with as a single parent.

This is definitely a well-written, character driven novel with dual points of view from Delilah and Claire. I couldn’t get enough of the sexual tension and the steamy moments between Claire and Delilah and I got all the feels when I watched them slowly fall in love with each other. Plus, I truly enjoyed every moment of the pre-wedding drama and the face-palm worthy schemes Delilah, Claire and Iris came up with. After reading this delightful story, I can’t wait to binge read the next book in this series!

Delilah Green is a hot up and coming photographer living in New York. She fled her small hometown after the death of her father (and the much earlier death of her mother) left her with no one but a cold stepmother and a much too cool for Delilah stepsister. And like the title suggests, Delilah is now too cool to care about anyone or anything. Except paying bills, which requires cash. So when her stepmother offers her an exorbitant amount to fly out and photograph her stepsister’s two weeks of wedding activities, Delilah can’t afford to say no. Though she does plan on making the whole situation as uncomfortable for her family as she can. Which is all well and good until she runs into Claire, her stepsister’s best friend from childhood, aka one of the girls who tortured Delilah when they were kids. Delilah and Claire have instant chemistry and after an only one bed situation, decide to hook up just while Delilah is in town. But we all know how that goes, and the more time the two spend together, the deeper they fall. But Delilah has a lot of unresolved–and some misinformed–issues she needs to deal with and Claire’s life isn’t exactly complication free. Both will have to find a way to figure out their shit and make it work (and they do, because romance).

This might sound a little messed up given her plethora of issues, but I want to be Delilah Green. She is so cool and artistic and even though she has many moments of self doubt, she is also comfortable in her skin and knows who she is. I don’t know how it’s possible to be confident and insecure at the same time, but she is and it totally works. I absolutely loved the immediate connection between Delilah and Claire (despite having known each other for years) and their chemistry is off the charts. What really put this one over the top for me was the relationship between Delilah and her stepsister. I loved watching them spar and loved even more watching them come together to figure out their long-standing issues. This was just an entertaining, heartwarming, gut wrenching read and I loved every second of it.

I really enjoyed this book! The characters were so well-written and fleshed out: Delilah was the cool yet wounded one, Claire was sweet and vulnerable and finding her strength, Astrid was a bit cold with a gooey center, and Iris was hilarious and a teeny-tiny mean but not in an evil way. The romance at the core between Claire and Delilah was so sweet and sexy. The sex scenes were hot! I particularly enjoyed the side relationships between Delilah and Astrid - their sibling rivalry. There was so much angst and I just wanted them to communicate so badly! When they finally did, the wait was worth it. All the secondary characters truly added to the story: Ruby, Josh, Isabel, "Shit boot" Spencer. Enjoyable in every way. I look forward to Astrid's book!

At the end of the day, I did finish this and I actually enjoyed half to most of it, so that deserves three stars. I really liked Astrid and though I'm not rushing to read a sequel about Delilah, I might just read the sequel since it's about her. The book did have two major issues:

1. The length. There really is no reason a lighthearted romance that takes place over two weeks needs to be this long. I can easily think of several scenes that could be cut (not even including sex scenes) and the plot would not change at all and every piece of angst would still be accurately conveyed.

2. Delilah. I'm all for a flawed protagonist but Delilah is so flawed that she barely has any redeeming qualities (besides as we are often told, being attractive, but in non-visual medium that's hardly a saving grace). She spends 95% of the book being immature and hung up on memories that even from her perspective sound suspicious. By the time she does show signs of growing up it seems like it happened without any natural development leading up to it. I liked Claire a lot more but it was hard to understand what she saw in Delilah.

Overall, not awful, but mostly only since good wlw romances are still really hard to come by.

THIS BOOK WAS AMAZING!!........ Okay, now that I have that out of the way, I can give a more detailed review. This book was spectacular. I went into this book knowing very little. I knew this was an LGBTQIA+, feel good book. I have never read a book by Ashley Herring Blake, but I will now be on the look out to snatch up any books by her when available.

This book follows Delilah Green who is a struggling artist in NYC. Her life is turned upside down when her step-sister, Astrid, requests that Delilah travel back to her small hometown to be her step-sister's wedding photographer. As Delilah arrives in her hometown, her childhood memories begin to flood back. Normally, Delilah wouldn't care, however this trip is different... This trip has Her. Delilah spends two weeks trying to battle her relationship with her step sister, her step mother, and all of the people she left behind when she fled town after high school. The question to be answered at the end of the book is: Does Delilah Green still not care?

This book was full of hilarious, puny humor that was met with an amazing plot and an unexpectedly spicy undertone. The character development was amazing. I realize that this is the first of a series of books (which I am beyond excited to read), but this book acts as an amazing standalone as well. I highly suggest picking up a copy of this if you are given the chance. I can imagine this being the "Red, White, & Royal Blue" of 2022 in the best way.

Special thanks to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for the opportunity to get an advanced copy of this amazing book! These opinions were voluntary and freely given!

Delilah Green Doesn't Care gave me everything that I wanted from it - it's a super cute and romantic story with tender touches. Previously isolated Delilah is still stinging from a childhood of feeling bullied by her stepsister and her best friends. When she returns to her hometown for stepsister Astrid's wedding, she finds herself instantly attracted to Astrid's best friend and her childhood nemesis, Claire. This book does a fantastic job of addressing the wrongs passed between all characters throughout their teen years and I loved the aspect of sisterly reconnection. There's plenty of healing and communication, thankfully avoiding the miscommunication trope for the majority of the book. I found all of the characters super real and relatable, and I loved Delilah as a whole.

My only complaint (this could be a slight spoiler, so don't read on if you want to know 0 info about the book before going in) - I can't stand the "let's make a bet that I can get in her pants before the end of _____" trope. It feels like a cheap toss in my opinion, and as soon as it's stated I know exactly what plot device it's going to serve as at the end of the book as leaves me frustrated.

That said, I think the book as a whole was a quick and delightful romance with the added bonus of queer women already developing into their lives and living as parents, friends, and family. Such a cute read!!

This was really good, it definitely dealt with a lot of family dynamics. It’s set up with a Cinderella style family (not a Cinderella retelling) and grief. Then the second character is dealing with being a single mother with an unreliable co parent. Theres a lot going on here.

I liked the romance and the use of art to discover what someone needs and as a way of healing. There were some funny light hearted scenes but it was a very heavy romance.

Delilah had never really belonged in her hometown, Bright Falls. She didn’t have friends, she struggled with her feelings, add her step-mother never cared for her. But now her sister is getting married in Bright Falls and Delilah has been hired as the wedding photographer and has to return to her hometown. This is such an amazing book. I had seen this book online before, but I did not expect to be blown away this much. I absolutely adored all the women in this book. They all have such unique personalities while also being so strong and relatable. I loved how this book showed Delilah growing and building strong relationships with Astrid, Iris. Ruby, and especially Claire. This book felt like a hug. It made me laugh, it made me feel seen, and it even made my eyes water. I can honestly say this is one of my favorite books, and I can’t wait for Astrid’s book!

While this wasn't quite the "wow, new-favourite!" read I had maybe hoped it would be, I would definitely read this author again, so I think that's still a win.

I think ultimately why this doesn't rate higher for me is a bit because it's at times somewhat childish and immature (such as in the case of the plans/hijinks the girls come up with to sabotage their friend's/sister's relationship, all towards proving said friend/sister isn't meant to be with him) but also.. yeah, I don't know. For a bunch of thirty year olds, somehow, it just read a little young. Maybe it was all the leftover childhood angst that infused it? I don't know.

I really wanted to root for the romance -- heyo, sapphic ladies who are super into wanting each other, more of this please -- but while I liked both characters in theory, only one really came off the page for me. And that was Delilah. I felt for what Claire was going through, appreciated who she represented (not only a young mother but also having had a child with a man while still being very queer/bi and how that dynamic had zero angst [well, not that kind of angst, at least]), but.. I didn't really like her beyond the theory? Delilah though.. she broke my heart. She was vibrant and dynamic and I was a little in love with her myself.

Sure, it has a bit of that Cinderella-ish feel to it, and I wish maybe some of the "villains" of the piece had been less campy (maybe this is where I felt the immaturity from, too?) but overall there's enough emotion to keep this grounded and from veering off in the direction of Too Much. Though some plot points maybe needed A Little More, too.

So, yes, on a whole? Not quite a slam dunk. But I will definitely read on in this series -- well, I say series, I imagine it'll be companion novels for the other friend and then the sister. But either way! I will read.

Ashley Herring Blake is one of my favorite authors. I have loved both the YA and middle grade books she has published, and I couldn’t wait to see what she did with an adult romance. All of my expectations were met and exceeded.
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There was remarkable chemistry between our two main characters Delilah and Claire throughout that was palpable through the page, and I also loved the platonic relationships. It was quite obvious that all of the girls care deeply about each other and it added a certain charm to the story.
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There were a lot of tropes used throughout as well that truly created something special in this book, and it was just a wonderful reading experience. I also loved how the past was not brushed aside in this book. All of the characters had history together, and they made steps to working through some old wounds throughout the course of the book. This story was also the perfect blend between fluffy and heavy, which was nice. Books such as this remind me how beautiful queer love is. I cannot recommend this book enough.
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Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing a copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

Have you ever read a book where you loved all the characters? Well, DELILAH GREEN DOESN’T CARE did that for me. I loved ALL the characters so much! All four of the "main" characters were some of my favorites ever. I could sit here all day and tell you all about why I loved Delilah, Claire, Iris, and even Astrid.

As much as this was probably one of the most perfect sapphic romances, it was a story about family and friends that made my heart all gooey. The way the multiple storylines were woven in and out of the main plot with these incredibly complex characters was something to admire.

The story has real heart. All of the interactions are so authentic and genuine that you can’t help to root for these characters.

Also, the chemistry between Claire and Delilah was absolute perfection. I was a huge fan of the sex scenes because wow, yet again, super genuine and honest.

All this to say, I need everyone to get their hands on this one next month! I’m already looking forward to the companion novel.

Thank you so freaking much to Berkley Romance for the chance to read this e-ARC! All of these opinions are my own!

This is going to be my favorite sapphic romance novel of this year - it's sweet, deep, soooo steamy, and I need more.

Delilah is prickly, she's outspoken and brass. She says all the wrong things on purpose to annoy her stepsister, Astrid, and stepmother, Isabel, ever since her father died and she was iced out of her new step family. She hates Bright Falls and the only thing that brought her home was a paycheck and the opportunity to annoy Astrid as much as possible. I loved Delilah's career as a photographer - the visualizations of her art made me wish there were illustrations with the book. Claire is one of Astrid's best friends: sweet, kind, struggling single mother who's continually frustrated, personally and sexually. She is loyal to a fault and the perfect opposite to Delilah.

My favorite part of this book was seeing Delilah and Claire circle around each other: Delilah, wanting to use her attraction to annoy Astrid and Claire, frustrated by her attraction and not wanting to tell anyone. They are complete opposites but what I found most endearing about this book was that their opposites started to rub off on the other: Delilah was able to see Claire's strengths (vulnerability, loyalty, honesty and kindness) as beautiful things; Claire seeing that Delilah's prickly exterior was hiding deepseated trauma, fear, and despair. It highlights that we are more than just one thing, just one experience or mistake. And yet, we bring those things with us and they shape who we are.

I also really loved the steam in this book: as a steam and spice lover, the sex scenes were built through chapters of tension, funny and oh so sexy. Definitely open door!

My one frustration with this book is the utter lack of racial diversity. I find it frustrating when I read queer books where literally everyone is white: as if LGBTQIA+ people of color don't even exist. Bright Falls felt very very white and I would love the author to increase the racial diversity in future books.

Overall, I loved this book and can't wait for more from Bright Falls.

Thank you to Berkley for my copy to review!

This book started off rough for me. Delilah was such a jerk. She was acting like the other girls were the mean girls but she was. And then it all clicked for me and I loved where the story went. Claire was awesome. I am looking forward to reading Astrid’s story in the next book!

Wow, this is the type of book that when you put it down, you immediately wish you were still reading it. Delilah is my favorite type of character- charming lesbian with a hard exterior and a secret heart of gold. I absolutely loved her witty banter with every other character and also found Claire to be equally endearing. I loved slowly seeing Delilah form a family after feeling so separated from hers for most of her life. But most of all, I was blown away by how well this book displayed how two sides of the same story can be so drastically different depending on the point of view. I can’t wait to see these characters live on in the next book and I will definitely be handselling this to all the romantics who stroll into the bookstore I work at. I loved it!

TW: sexual content (onscreen), death of parent (both parents, offscreen, past), grief (heavy theme), trauma, heavy alcohol consumption (arguably dependent), toxic relationship (emotionally abusive, gaslighting), cancer (death, mention, offscreen), parental abandonment (minor), infidelity (past, mention), blood (mention)

Things I liked:
-The chemistry between the characters. The romance between them is wildly compelling from the very beginning and is at the center of what drives this story. It is exactly as it should be for a romance book.
-The Parent Trap inspired camping trip? Brilliant. Has my whole heart. I was laughing out loud the whole time.
-The healing that is approached in the book. Be warned, this is not as light-hearted as it may suggest. We begin the story meeting all of the characters with all of their walls up, filled with fear and putting up a front in the world around them. As the story unravels, we begin to see the cracks in their defenses, and the vulnerability and the growth that is made to overcome their pain and to become better communicators, better friends, better lovers, and better people is astounding and beautiful to watch.
-The overall love in this book. These characters are more than just a friend group, they’re a family. This is shown through tenderness and sacrifice, but also shown through accountability and boundaries. Every single character has something to learn in the way they express love, even the side characters, which I find rare in romance novels. It was nice to see other characters as more than just backdrop or comedic effect.

Things I disliked:
-Despite the fact that Delilah is a lesbian, the word “lesbian” was not used even once. Always something that really bugs me, like as if the word is dirty.
-There is a constant display of dependency on alcohol that went unchecked and undiscussed. There was a drink in almost every character’s hands in nearly every scene, and in the rare moments that there wasn’t, they would say something like “I need a drink” or “I need something stronger” and had a drink in their hand within a matter of sentences. Considering how intense and constant their need for alcohol was, it seemed bizarre and frankly harmful for it to not be commented on AT ALL.
-I didn’t feel like Claire, Astrid, or Iris’s opinion on Delilah as a kid made sense at all. Delilah had literally lost a parent and was obviously deeply depressed and so they viewed her not only as weird, but thought she was a jerk for isolating herself in her own fear and grief? And blamed her for hurting Astrid’s feelings by not hanging out with her? It was just never believable to me and honestly made me think that the three of them were really awful.
-The photograph being used in the gallery show without Claire’s consent. Especially after there was a whole scene making a huge deal about how Delilah knew it was a huge invasion of privacy and would never share it without Claire’s permission, this felt REALLY gross. It wouldn’t have been that hard to insert a line somewhere in which Claire sees it and says something about it like “I wish you had shown it off” or “This is beautiful, it should be in a gallery,” etc. And if the issue was having the “reveal” of the picture later on, we could’ve not had it described to us, the audience, until the end, but Claire still deserved to be talked to about that.
-The choices made for the 3rd Act Breakup and the Get Back Together. Delilah just taking off without any communication feels directly disrespectful to Claire’s trauma and character growth. She is literally currently struggling with setting boundaries about people abandoning her or not communicating with her and for Delilah to do exactly that and then just expect to be taken back (and then be taken back) was so dismissive of Claire’s storyline. It gave Claire an unsatisfying and low-key upsetting conclusion to her story, with her growth being compromised for the sake of Delilah's - which was pretty ironic considering she gives a whole spiel about how she can’t and won’t compromise herself for anyone.

I was hooked from the first page of this book. It's a sapphic, dual-POV, hilarious romcom. More than that, though, it has real character development and character depth. Delilah Green, who has a complicated relationship with her stepsister and stepmother after leaving home and never looking back, has to go back to be the photographer at her sister, Astrid's, wedding. She meets Claire - Astrid's childhood BFF - and, well, proverbial sparks fly (even when they try to ignore it).

I absolutely adored all of the characters, they all had developed backstories and were complicated and messy (like real people are), and it made it easy to empathize with them and understand their motivations. The dynamic between Astrid and Delilah was also really fascinating and enjoyable, and something that I've found I sometimes miss in a lot of the romcoms I've read. The sheer amount of angst contained in this book was unexpected but much appreciated, and made me feel so deeply for the characters, especially Delilah. And while there was very intense emotional depth, there were still many moments of levity that were absolutely hilarious.

I'll certainly be buying this when it gets released, as I'm sure I'll want to reread it (likely multiple times). Looking forward to the other books in this series!

I love me a romance between someone's school-age friend and a sibling and this one did not disappoint. Delilah Green Doesn't Care is an amazing queer rom-com and was engaging from start to finish. I loved the fragility and strength of Delilah and Claire throughout the store both independently and coupled together. I can't wait to see what else Ashley Herring Blake creates.

I adored this book. I saw someone else describe it as a very queer book, not just because of the relationship between the women, but because of everything else too. Like coming out not being just a one-time event, the family dynamics, the feeling of coming back home from a big city, etc. All of it was delightful.

***6 STARS*** Review to go live on LAIROFBOOKS on February 22nd 2022 @8amEST

THE 411...

Twelve years have passed since Delilah Green turned her back on Bright Falls and started a new chapter of her life in New York City. The small town holds a lot of memories, many of them sad and painful. After the loss of her mother, Delilah's father re-married and that came with a step-sister she never quite felt comfortable around. When her estranged step-sister Astrid comes looking to hire her as a photographer for her wedding, Delilah is torn between ignoring the request or returning to a place she had sworn away. Life as a waitress/wedding photographer sustains her real dream which is art through a lens that focuses on queer people. She can't really pass up the chance to make some real money from Astrids gig so she decides to go with no real plans to stick around. That all changes when she crosses paths with Astrid's "stuck-up" BFF Claire Sutherland and decides to place a bet with her step-sister who is super protective of her besties. 

Claire Sutherland is a single mom raising a an 11 year old girl who also runs the towns local bookshop. In between dealing with her ex and his unreliability, she hasn't had much time for dating and she doesn't do random hook-ups. Her relationship with her child's father has left her with some trust/abandonment issues. She most certainly doesn't think someone like Delilah Green who is flighty & into casual sex, is a good idea to start something up with. Wedding preparations along with some sideline hijinks to stop Astrid from marrying the absolute biggest chauvinistic jerk on the planet, force these two to work together. It's definitely a case of instant sparks flying paired with undeniable chemistry that WORKED! 

CW: Cancer, death of a parent(s), grief, cheating, misogyny, abandonment

WRITING & FINAL THOUGHTS...

I've never been one to fan cast while reading any book but these characters were so well fleshed out that only Christina Hendricks (Mad Men) & Laura Prepon (OITNB) came to mind. From the vintage pin-up style Claire so flawlessly executes to Delilah's more wild devil-may-care attitude, these two had chemistry that jumped off the page. I LOVED them both and got so invested in their lives and the baggage they each were carrying. At its core we have a story about acceptance and learning how to allow yourself to be loved both romantically and platonically. The female friendships go back for these women to their childhood days and tied to that are feelings of being excluded and made out to feel like an outcast. Some of these characters (including supporting cast) are working through grief, co-parenting relationships, toxic relationships, feeling like they have to seek validation, and abandonment issues. Yes it's absolutely a full on romance but it also has a huge emphasis on friendship which made it all the more sweeter. When I was in the book I didn't want to put it down & when I was away from it, all I thought about was my next free moment to jump back in. I'm 100% the type of bookworm who loves character driven books but I was pleasantly surprised by the subplot and how much fun it added to the main storyline. Also! I can't not mention this. The love shown to a woman's body post having had a child was SUPER appreciated by this bookworm and just downright beautiful to see on the page. This is my first read from Ashley Herring Blake and I can already tell I may have found a new favorite author. There's an excerpt to the next book in this series which follows one of the characters in this book and even that was *Chefs Kiss* enough to keep me holding on haha! 

Things to look forward to on February 22nd...

📚An Idyllic small town with a cute Bookstore
📸Single Mom finding love
📚Bookworm MC’s
📸A tight knit female friend group
🏳️‍🌈Sapphic main characters
📸Photography explored
📚Co-Parenting ups/downs
📸Complex sibling relationship
📚Campsite Pranks
🌶Steamy AF sex scenes