Astrid Parker needs to catch a break. After calling off her engagement the previous year, things have been going downhill. Her overbearing mother is making her displeasure at Astrid's situation known, her interior design business is struggling, and it seems like everyone around her has great romantic relationships. When she is given the opportunity to renovate a historic inn in her small city of Bright Falls--on a popular HGTV show to boot!--she jumps at the opportunity. But life has a way of never working out the way you expect.

Jordan Everwood’s life has also taken a sharp turn downward. Newly single and struggling to stay afloat emotionally, Jordan is happy to return to the inn that has been in their family for generations and to act as lead carpenter for the renovation. The morning the camera crew is going to roll into town, Jordan picks up coffee for her family when she *literally* runs into a woman, spilling coffee all over her white dress. She leaves the interaction shaken and with her name in the other woman’s phone as “Delightful Human Who Ruined Your Ugly Dress."

The last thing either of them expects is another run in but when they make their way to the Everwood Inn, Astrid and Jordan are thrown together professionally and personally. Will they be able to set their differences aside to renovate the inn? Can they put on happy faces for the cameras? Will they be able to agree on any aspect of the design? Who knows!

Just kidding, I know, lol. I was a HUGE fan of the first novel in this series—Delilah Green Doesn’t Care—and I think this book continues the story wonderfully. I was beside myself when I saw the first chapter of Astrid’s book at the end of Delilah and I have been anxiously waiting for it to make its way to NetGalley. I am happy to report that Astrid Parker Doesn’t Fail lives up to my own hype.

I thought Jordan and Astrid were really great characters. I enjoy the grumpy/sunshine trope and Ashley Herring Blake incorporates that into these characters beautifully. Each have their own backstories, emotional hang ups, mental health issues, and fears that work to create great tension and obstacles to overcome. It was really fun to see how Claire and Delilah are doing and AHB also set up Iris’ story very nicely (speaking of……I need Iris’ HEA right now, lol).

My favorite part of this book was the tension. I’m a big fan of will-they/won’t-they and that is alllll hereeee. That being said, Astrid is slower paced than Delilah. I personally think it works best here and I was waiting on the edge of my seat, but I can see it being a little bit of a surprise. Overall, I give this a resounding 5/5 stars and I am, once more, holding my breath until Iris Kelly Doesn’t Date makes it’s way to publication.

Couple quick fun comments before I round this out. I waited until I finished She-Ra to start this just because I knew I couldn’t handle any more angst and imagine my surprise that Jordan's truck is named Adora and she has a cat named Catra. It was SO FUN to see two explicit She-Ra references in the first few pages and it felt serendipitous.

Ashley Herring Blake also makes references to other queer romance books that have recently been published. It felt like I was part of an inside joke when I realized Astrid was looking at Written in the Stars by Alexandria Bellefleur and Love and Other Disasters by Anita Kelly. (There were two others mentioned as well but I don’t remember them off the top of my head).

**BIG thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an eARC copy in exchange for an honest review!

Allow me to begin pessimistically - my hopes were not high. I was happily surprised however - I liked this book a lot more than I liked "Delilah Green Doesn't Care". While this book shared some flaws with its predecessor, the things that annoyed me most about DGDC were not a problem here. The pacing of this book worked a lot better and most importantly, Astrid and Jordan's romance felt like the focal relationship of the plot. Don't get me wrong, I love the side characters in both books, but in the first book I felt that the step-sister relationship eclipsed the romance. I loved Jordan dearly and I found her to be a compelling love interest, and I found the development of both main characters was well paced and satisfying to read.
Oh yeah. Speaking of satisfying, this book has a bit of spice to it. And also toothache sweetness. Overall, a fun little treat to read. I find myself looking forward to the next book in the series in a way I was not for this one.

So I was put off almost immediately by the internal-monologue-info-dumping that takes up basically the first 10% of this book. Both characters take a full chapter each to just think their thoughts and introduce themselves and their problems to the audience, which felt a little blunt. But once we got past that, the book flew by on a friction-free current of standard romance novel fare. There are no surprises here, which isn't really a big deal. I don't read romance novels to be surprised. But even the steamy scenes felt rote, like the characters are going through the motions of being in the book just as we, the readers, are pretending not to know how the story will end. Like, it's hard to even explain--there was a spark in Delilah Green Doesn't Care (the first book in the series), and it feels like that spark burnt out somewhere between that book and this one. It reads more like a paint-by-numbers, fill-in-the-blank sort of project, with repetitive will-they-won't-they scenes that copy full sentences from one another and approximately 700 instances of someone "canting [their] head" (what does that even mean??).

There are also many, many, MANY instances of the phrase "women and nonbinary people" to mean, effectively, women, and a cringe-worthy scene where a character says that she "doesn't do cis men." I've always thought that Ashley Herring Blake handles gender thoughtfully, especially in her middle grade work, but this usage belies a more elementary, pink-hat conception of gender than I would have assumed from her. (quickly, because I'm not trying to belabor the point: if you don't understand why this phrasing is harmful, please type whatever you'd type into the comments section into a search engine instead.)

I'm not mad about this book, necessarily, but I did struggle to see any passion or tension or vision in it. It's just a nice romance novel starring two characters I didn't really connect with or like. Your mileage may vary!

I literally could not put this book down. I stayed up until 2 AM reading, passed out, then immediately picked it back up the next morning and didn’t get out of bed until I was finished reading it. There were multiple moments that me smile, laugh, and blush and press my face into my pillow because the characters had so much chemistry it was killing me.
I didn’t think it would be possible, but I might love this book even more than Delilah Green Doesn’t Care. I think it’s because the first book laid the groundwork for Astrid’s character development which happened in this one, so reading felt like a natural progression with great payoff. Her queer awakening, her realizations about her career and her relationship with her mother were all so well done. Jordan was a great character as well, and seeing her gain her own confidence throughout the story was wonderful.
Also, just like with Delilah Green Doesn’t Care, the sex scenes were perfect - I love how much thought this author puts into her characters’ personalities and how that would influence the way they have sex. I’m also a big fan of the way she incorporates consent into those scenes.
So basically, I’m eagerly awaiting the next book about Iris, and any other romance books Ashley Herring Blake may write in the future.

I absolutely loved this! I couldn't put it down and I was so sad to see it end! I loved Delilah Green Doesn't Care so I as very excited for this book and it definitely lived up to my expectations. Blake's characters are so wonderful and unique and real and the journeys both Jordan and Astrid take in this book were just written so beautifully. I loved them together, I loved them separately, of course the side characters are fantastic- I can't wait for Iris' book and I love the development of Delilah and Claire's relationship during this book. Absolutely wonderful, 10/10 would recommend.

Astrid Parker Doesn't Fail is a wonderful follow-up to Delilah Green Doesn't Care in which we get a view of Astrid's life after the cancellation of her marriage with Spencer. I really enjoyed how this book gave a deeper look at the relationship that she has with her mother and how it drives her to make so many decisions that leave her feeling unhappy. Although Isabel seems to be trying at the end of the book to bridge the gap with Astrid, she really doesn't win any points in my book because her relationship with Delilah still seems rather inexistent. The story arc with Jordan is pretty good as well, we see her regain confidence in herself and her work after it was largely destroyed due to her divorce. I am very excited to read Iris's book when it comes out because I love a good fake dating plot!

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Random House for providing me with this ARC. All opinions are strictly my own.

Absolutely LOVED this book! My expectations were very high after reading Delilah Green, and it did not disappoint! Another beautiful love story nestled in a cocoon of self discovery and female friendships. Five golden stars.

The second book in the Bright Falls series starts off with a BANG with one the most memorable meet-disasters ever!! I ADORED Jordan and absolutely LOVED seeing Astrid finally shed the image of herself she felt she needed to live up to - finally embracing the things that truly made her happy (as opposed to what her mother wanted for her)!!

A wonderful opposites attract, enemies to lovers, dual perspective Sapphic romance set in the same small town setting we all fell in love with in Delilah Green doesn't care. The whole queer coven is back, fully supportive and wonderfully quirky.

HGTV fans are going to enjoy the reality television renovation parts of the story and I highly recommend it for fans of Maggie moves on or Written in the stars. I couldn't put this book down and can't wait to read Iris's story next. Much thanks to NetGalley and Berkley Romance for my advance review copy!!!

Full review posted after embargo date.

I have a real soft spot for the long-suffering, misunderstood sister, so I knew I’d love Astrid’s book from the second she hit the page in Delilah Green Doesn’t Care. And I was right! I loved this book - the whole thing felt very soft and tender, as Astrid explores her sexuality and Jordan works through the recent loss of something herself. I think I’ll never 1000% love an AHB book, her writing style tends to get a little too bogged down in detail for my taste, but this was just a delight to read. I cannot wait to read Iris’s book!

I love this book!!! Delilah Green Doesn’t Care is one of my favorite books from 2022 and I was thrilled to get the next in the Bright Falls series. Astrid Parker is a blonde perfectionist, trying to keep her design business afloat in a small town. She also has a mother that would give the most well adjusted child mommy issues. Given the opportunity to be the designer for a local historic inn on a renovation tv show may be career making and she is up to the task. Jordan Everwood is the Inn owners granddaughter. Her life is a mess since her wife’s cancer. But she loves her family and using her talents in carpentry she is going to bring her own vision to the project.

These characters have deep emotions and insecurities. On top of the pressure of the job Astrid is drawn to Jordan. Even with her queer best friends and half sister, she has never considered herself anything but straight, until now. Everything is written beautifully and with feeling. I love these two women and being back in Bright Falls. I was so happy to be with this supportive friend group too.

If anyone reads this far in my review there is a moment when Astrid takes four romance books from her friends bookshelf. I easily recognized three by the descriptions as some of my favorites. But if anyone knows the title to the book that features two Dominican women on the cover please share in my comments. And I may need a necklace and predict there is going to be a run on Etsy stores.

I can’t recommend this book enough. The book can stand on its own but I would suggest reading Delilah’s story because these are characters you are going to fall in love with. Thank you to NetGalley, Berkley Publishing Group and Ashley Herring Blake for an eARC in exchange for an honest review. And please, please add me to your waiting list for Iris’s story. I can’t wait.

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

With this second Bright Falls book, Ashley Herring Blake has easily become one of my favorite romance authors! Astrid and Jordan are such a joy to read about! It felt really important to see a cold and closed off character like Astrid open up, And of course I loved Jordan from moment one. Basically this book was an absolute delight to read and it has left me even more excited to see what the girls in Bright Falls get up to next! (Looking at you, Iris!)

When I read Delilah Green Doesn't Care (the first book in the Bright Falls series), I never imagined that perfect blond stepsister Astrid Parker would be back with her own story. But here we are, and it's excellent. Astrid's struggling interior design business gets a much-needed boost when she's asked to reimagine a classic local inn as part of an HGTV-like show. Things are going great until she literally crashes into the inn owner's granddaughter Jordan Everwood, the overalls-wearing lead carpenter for the project. One ruined linen dress later, the two are at odds on every aspect of the remodel. Jordan has her own ideas for redesigning the inn without losing its character, but the rest of her family seems to be on board with Astrid's generically modern approach. Throw in some nosy friends, meddling exes, and a mutual attraction that both women are determined to ignore, and you have a great, fun book.

Thanks to Netgalley, the publisher, and the author for the ARC to review. All opinions are my own.

I *loved* DELILAH GREEN DOESN'T CARE and couldn't wait to read the next romance from Ashley Herring Blake. Couldn't wait, as in slammed the request button the second it was available on here. ASTRID PARKER DOESN'T FAIL is a perfect romance. It's funny and sexy and sweet. Jordan and Astrid are full, complete characters who you love from their first prickly meeting and only love them more as you watch them fall in love.

Ashley Herring Blake is quickly becoming my favorite romance author. Her books are an auto-buy for me and I recommend them to everyone I know.

Ashley Blake did it again! I am just as OBSESSED with this book as I was Delilah Green Doesn't Care. I could not put this book down and I didn't want it to end. I feel like the characters are ones that I would be friends with in real life. Everything in this book is so relatable especially for the girls who have never been with another girl before and are figuring themselves out! This book had just the right amount of spice! This book was everything I hoped it would be and more!

words can’t describe how much I loved this book. i was lucky enough to receive an arc and I dropped everything to read it immediately. i loved Jordan and Astrid from the jump. the roll of the two of cups tarot card had me absolutely bawling during the scene (iykyk). i also loved the references to other queer romance novels (written in the stars and love and other disasters to name a few). I love these two and their story. i can’t wait for iris’s, I know it’s gonna be a doozie.

I love this book. Love, love, love it!

I maintain that Ashley Blake is physically incapable of writing a poor novel. This book took all the wonderfulness that she established in Delilah Green and just flat out ran with it, it was phenomenal. Our returning characters were wonderful, especially the new focus on Astrid, and seeing her internal battles. And then we have the new characters, particularly Jordan and her family. Jordan...oh, Jordan. I can see why Astrid falls for her, it's clearly easy to do. As damaged as she may be, and absolutely feels easy to love.

I also love how this book talks about compulsory heterosexuality, how often people can be conditioned to think that same gender attraction is ANYTHING else...admiration, envy, what have you. It's done so well.

Any qualms are just minor things...the turning and running into/getting surprised by the love interest gag that kind of kicks off the story is used many more times in the 1st half of the book, maybe too many? And...that's it. That's honestly all I could think of.

I devoured this book, staying up until 2:30 in the morning because I just couldn't put it down. Now I can't wait for Iris' story! ^_^

The Bright Falls series follows such a well written group of characters, I want to be friends with them in real life! Astrid and Jordan have such a great love story throughout this book. Blake manages to use tropes in such a fresh way that makes the romcom genre beautifully queer-er.