I LOVED this book. I adored Delilah and book 1 and this book absolutely lived up to that and more. First of all - any home reno story and I am immediately hooked. Enemies to lovers? Check! steamy romance?! Double check

I am slightly obsessed with a Astrid (shocker) and Jordan .

But what I most loved was both characters facing their fears of failure and busting through their own barriers and figuring out their dreams. Also seeing them navigate their feelings and relationships was

After meeting Astrid in Delilah Green Doesn’t Care, her book quickly became one of my most anticipated reads of the year. I saw so much of myself in her, her struggles, her insecurities, her need to be perfect. I really loved getting to be inside her head in this book. She has such a personal journey in this book with her career, her recent break up, her sexuality, her relationship with her mother. I love that Jordan was there for it all, patiently & selflessly supporting her. Jordan had a lot of anger to overcome, and I really enjoyed seeing her let it go and let herself find love again. The setting of the inn renovation and film set was so fun and unlike anything I’ve read before, I really enjoyed that aspect of it. I felt like the 3rd act break up was a little forced given that they had been communication so well and had been so emotionally mature at every stage, but that was my only small issue. Ultimately loved the book and Im so glad we got to see more of Claire & Delilah too!

When it comes to queer romances, one of my absolute favorite things is messy characters who navigate their sexuality in adulthood, since queerness isn’t always something that was “known all along” for a lot of people. That is definitely the case when it comes to Astrid Parker, an over achieving interior designer whose life is upended when she is assigned to remodeling a local BnB with Jordan Everwood.

From the beginning, it is obvious that Astrid and Jordan are polar opposites, and things heat up as they constantly clash over the remodeling project that they are both working on. While they were at each other’s throats, the chemistry between them was palpable even if Astrid was in total denial about her attraction to women (cue bisexual disaster moments).

I also think the author does a really phenomenal job of examining and unpacking toxic familial relationships and the fact that it not only okay, but necessary to establish firm boundaries when it comes to family. Astrid’s relationship with her mother is all too familiar to me, and I really appreciated watching Astrid unpack everything and break out of her shell especially with the help of Jordan.

I can’t say enough good things about this book, and this author is definitely an auto read for me now!

This is one of the best romances of the year. Astrid and Jordan have so much to work through for themselves and are tentatively falling in love as they reno Jordan's grandmother's inn. The central external conflict could have been better handled (if reputation is everything, why risk being caught? Why not just make it a joint effort?) and that was the weakest point of the plot. But they really do grow as people and their sweet (and hot!!) love story works so well. I love the found family group of friends Astrid has to support her and for her to be supportive of. All of you looking for a great contemporary romance to warm up the cold winter nights - Ashley Herring Blake's got you covered with this one.

“Astrid Parker Doesn’t Fail” is a fun, sweet and heartfelt slow burn F/F romance that is a great addition to the Bright Falls series. I was hooked on Astrid and Jordan’s banter and their enemies to lovers story.

After canceling her wedding, Astrid is trying to find her footing again and she has been working on her career. Astrid accepts a job as the lead designer for the renovation of the Everwood Inn which will also air on TV. But one of the lead carpenters is Jordan Everwood and the two have already had a tense meeting. Jordan has been divorced from her wife and is also trying to find her way again. The two have a tension between each other that first is over the job but as they get to know each other, they both realize an underlying attraction.

I loved the first book and was excited to start Astrid’s story. Astrid is smart, intense and knows what she wants. She comes off as difficult but with how she was raised, she doesn’t know any other way. I love how this book focused on Astrid having her bi-awakening. Some find their way later in life and having a book like this out in the world is important. I loved Jordan from the beginning and she became an instant favorite for me. Jordan’s divorce was heartbreaking for her and all the circumstances that led to it. But her confidence is so attractive and I loved that she works with her hands and is a carpenter. The story is a slow burn since the two start out as enemies and Astrid is trying to figure out herself. But when we finally get to them, they’re well written and accurate. I loved having Delilah, Claire and Iris throughout the story and I can’t wait to read.Iris’s story next.

Earlier this year, I read Delilah Green Doesn’t Care and I fell in love with that cast of characters, so I was super excited to get to know Astrid more, and boy, does this new book deliver! So much of the two books is the same: you root for the main characters and groan when they can’t seem to get their heads out of their own asses. There’s real talk and communication between the characters. The friend group is solid. Everything is great. I gobbled this book in a mere two days and I’m so grateful that I had the chance to read it earlier. Im basically going to throw this book at customers from here on out haha

Conhecemos Astrid Parker em Delilah Green Doesn't Care. Para a arquiteta, falhar não existe em seu vocabulário. E agora que ela está a frente de um grande projeto que pode alavancar sua carreira - a renovação de uma pousada que estrelará um programa de reformas -, ela está mais decidida do que nunca a mostrar para sua mãe que sua vida vai muito bem obrigada.

O que Astrid não contava era com Jordan Everwood, com quem teve um péssimo primeiro encontro e descobre ser a neta da sua mais nova cliente. Porém, a presença da carpinteira faz nascer em Astrid sentimentos que ela nunca vivenciou.

Astrid é uma personagem que muito me instigou em sua participação no livro anterior. Apesar de toda fachada de dondoca privilegiada, temos uma mulher adulta que paga suas contas sempre fazendo de tudo para ter a validação de sua mãe, já que essa é a única forma de amor que ela já demonstrou à filha. Aqui, vemos que Astrid se sente perdida no âmbito profissional e também no sentimental. Ao longo do livro, vamos conhecer um novo lado da arquiteta: uma mulher leal, de grande coração, com um senso de humor meio ácido, e que se preocupa com aqueles que lhes são importantes.

Já Jordan está tentando seguir em frente, e ajudar na renovação e preservar a história de sua família é um dos meios para fazer isso acontecer. Enquanto ela é boa na carpintaria, ela traz muita bagagem de um passado recente que a magoou bastante. Jordan lembra um pouco Delilah, com seu sarcasmo e ironia para mascarar as dores que sente, mas no fundo é uma grande manteiga derretida romântica e altruísta.

A dinâmica entre Astrid e Jordan é bem divertida de se acompanhar. De primeira, claramente há aquela animosidade entre as duas, mas a atração está ali; apesar que Jordan tenta evitar e Astrid não entende esses sentimentos. Gostei bastante do desenvolvimento das duas em relação essa descoberta de Astrid. Jordan é paciente e compreensiva, mas também impõe seus limites para não se machucar novamente. Já Astrid está aberta a essa nova realidade e deseja Jordan por ser apenas Jordan ao seu lado.

Assim como o livro anterior, temos discussão sobre relacionamentos, sejam eles familiares ou amorosos e como acabam influenciando não apenas nossa vida, mas também futuros relacionamentos e como eles podem ser tóxicos. O pano de fundo da renovação da pousada dá uma vibe bem Irmãos à Obra e também tem uma participação bastante importante no relacionamento entre as duas. E nem vou falar das cenas mais quentes... achei super divertido e bastante fofo o fato de Astrid ir atrás de algumas ~aulas~ para retribuir tudo o que Jordan lhe entrega.

Contamos com participação de personagens já conhecidas. Amei conferir essa nova dinâmica entre Delilah e Astrid, onde uma pode encontrar apoio na outra. Me diverti demais com Iris e sua bruta honestidade e falta de filtro. Inclusive super ansiosa por seu livro, Iris Kelly Doesn't Date, que está previsto para fevereiro do ano que vem.

Confession - I stalked the publicist of this book to beg for an advanced copy. Earlier this year, I gave five stars to Ashley Herring Blake's 𝗗𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗹𝗮𝗵 𝗚𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗗𝗼𝗲𝘀𝗻'𝘁 𝗖𝗮𝗿𝗲, the first in the 𝘉𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘍𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘴 series, and could not wait to revisit the characters I loved in book #2. I wasn't disappointed.

Once again, Blake writes characters who are messy and imperfect with relatable and believable issues. Astrid and Jordan have fantastic banter and a swoon-worthy romance, but what makes them come alive is how layered their backstories are. They are two damaged people trying to deal with their pasts and figure out what they want from their futures. The book explores all kinds of relationships - romantic, parent/child, siblings, friendships - and has as much heart as it does steam.

I cannot wait for 𝗜𝗿𝗶𝘀 𝗞𝗲𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗗𝗼𝗲𝘀𝗻'𝘁 𝗗𝗮𝘁𝗲, book #3 in the series which comes out next year!

4.5 stars

Huge thanks to Berkley Publishing for the copy to review.

Included as a top pick in bimonthly November New Releases post, which highlights and promotes upcoming releases of the month (link attached)

Astrid Parker Doesn't Fail is the second book in the Bright Falls series by Ashley Herring Blake. 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.

1 star, didn’t get to the spice

I want to start by saying that this was one of my most anticipated reads of the year. I loved Delilah’s book (my favorite sapphic book period) and as someone who is (according to the book description) very similar to Astrid I was expecting this book to be a good representation of me. I am a professional interior designer and I was so eager to read this that when I was turned down on NetGalley I went out of my way to directly request from the publisher. They were kind enough to send me one - but here comes the issue. I truly believe they turned me down on NetGalley because of my profession. The author did zero research into interior design.

I have never seen such a poor representation of my field. She could have talked to a designer for 15 minutes and would have known what no to do in her book (It would have been easy, reach out on facebook, instagram, TikTok, linkedin!)

What she is doing in the book isn’t even decorating, much less interior design. She is perpetuating stereotypes that we are already having to constantly fight. What she shows isn’t even a good representation of what an HGTV show would be (which is already a poor representation of the field)

The only way I would find it acceptable for Astrid Parker not to fail would be if she

1- went back to school and got a degree in interior design (4-5 years) Did the internships and then worked in the field (vs. getting a business admin degree then calling herself an interior design right out of school)
2- hired interior designers so she could do the work of business administration that she was actually trained in
3- a full group of designers did the work because that actually what happens on HGTV shows

In many states its actually illegal to call yourself an interior designer until you have passed your NCIDQ exams which also require a certain number of hours signed off by a professional above you.

Astrid has a business admin degree, has never worked in design, and ‘designs’ everything white and modern like the house she grew up in. She wants to fill a Victorian bed and breakfast with cool gray walls, and crate and barrel furniture. She somehow has never been in the space until she presents these ‘designs’ - we go and survey the space - takes photos and measurements. She is also getting this renovation done in 6 weeks, when the designs arent’ even approved. News flash - most furniture takes 12-16 weeks to come in. Property brothers only does 6 week timelines because they have entire crews, and because every material and piece of furniture is on hand that the beginning. It is 6 weeks of construction which is still absurdly fast.

I tried to pick up this book several more times over the last month, but I truly can’t do it. The way she portrays us is insulting.

In simple terms Interior Designers are to Decorators as Fashion Designers are to Stylists.


Apart from the interior design issue, it also seemed there was a character included that was just there to encourage the main characters to fight with one another.
It was infuriating.

Thank you Netgalley for the advanced reading copy! This was a sweet and thoughtful follow up to Herring Blake’s Bright Falls series. Astrid runs a design business in Bright Falls, when Jordan comes into town. They are thrust together through a reality show, design project, renovating Jordan’s grandmother’s inn. I liked this book a lot, particularly loving Astrid. I love a pent up, grumpy, workaholic, recovering from trauma, and that’s Astrid to a T. I cannot stress how much I love a complicated, grumpy woman and I liked their meet-cute happening over her being a bitch about a coffee accident on her beautiful dress. I feel like I didn’t get to know Jordan as much throughout the story, but I thought they were good for each other, particularly with helping each other grow and overcome trauma. This is also the first sapphic romance I have read where the adult main character comes out during the book, and I thought that was well done and poignant. Full disclosure, I have read Delilah Green Doesn’t Care before this, the first of this series, and I really loved that book, so it’s hard to not compare the two, since the other characters all are featured in this one. I thought that the Delilah story hit a lot of the right notes for me from both of the main characters. But overall I really liked this story, thought the writing was great, and enjoyed the pacing. Overall, I recommend this book for fans of the author, sapphic and LGBTQ+ contemporary romances, and small town love.

I loved Delilah Parker Doesn't Care and couldn't wait for Astrid's story. Since canceling her wedding, things have not been great. Now she can at least get her career back on track with an opportunity to be on Innside America as the lead design for the renovation of a local, historic hotel. Unfortunately, she and the lead carpenter, Jordan Everwood, immediately clash over her plans for to modernize the hotel. It's a wonderful romance between two people who both need this opportunity to figure out what they actually want in their lives.

Blake is an American author of many YA and middle school novels and now has released her second adult LGBTQ2+ romance novel. Set in the same world as her first one, "Delilah Green Doesn't Care", this one features Astrid from the first book. She is a designer and has been hired to lead the work on a an town landmark, The Everwood Inn's renovation on a popular TV show. Thinking this is a chance to make her name, impress her hard to please mother and distract herself from her failed relationships, she signs on. When she meets Jordan, the granddaughter of the inn's owner and the lead carpenter, they disagree about the direction to take with the renovation. Of course this is a romance, and those sparks of disagreement eventually change into something else. This is a fun, somewhat spicy romance and sure to please anyone looking for that type of light reading.

Another lovely F/F romance from Ashley Herring Blake! I really appreciated the care this book took in its depiction of figuring out your sexuality and identity later in life, especially with the support of a found family. The sex scenes were even better than in 'Delilah Green' in my opinion, and I loved the focus on communication and play within those moments.

I did struggle to connect with the new love interest for the first quarter of the book, although everything clicked into place more once Astrid and Jordan (spoiler) began working on designs together. I do wish that the book expanded in scope a bit, like its predecessor, focusing more on the ancillary characters that make the world of Bright Falls so lovable, as opposed to mainly its two romantic leads. Overall, a solid continuation of the series that I would recommend to friends and lovers of romance!

Thanks to NetGalley and Berkley for my e-ARC of Astrid Parker Doesn't Fail!

Did I finish this book yesterday? Yes.
Am I still freaking out about it actively? Also yes.

I enjoyed this far more than I thought I would, especially because I wasn't super fond of Astrid in Delilah Green Doesn't Care. However, after seeing Astrid grow away from her mother's image of what she wanted her to be and become her own person, I realized that I loved this book more than I loved Delilah's. Astrid's character arc and her discovery of her sexuality stroked a cord with me; her being unlabeled but accepting of her queerness nonetheless made me feel seen, made me feel heard.

Her and Jordan's relationship was the tension-filled romance I was hoping for, and oh boy did it deliver. I loved Jordan's spunk and her growth as a character, too, though the focus was on Astrid's more. Everything with Meredith made me hurt for her, but to see her bounce back from that was inspiring.

In Delilah's book, I was worried about the pacing, since it was quite slow (not just because of the slow burn, but because of the plot itself). Astrid's book, though, I felt had a very good pacing; not very fast, but also not dragging. It was the perfect pace that this story needed. I could talk about this book forever.

One thing of note: man, AHB loves the word "amalgam".

5/5 stars.

A follow-up to Delilah Green Doesn't Care that should satisfy fans of the original, even if it falls a little flat.

While I can't say that I loved this book, there were a lot of positives.
1. Astrid--the more I got to know her the more I loved her
2. The representation of discovering one's sexuality late in life
3. A lot of effort was made towards diversity, even if the execution wasn't great (leading the introduction of a character by explicitly labeling their race--there are better ways!)
4. Characters learning to navigate relationships with people who harm their mental health/sense of self

While Astrid Parker Doesn't Fail has a complete storyline, it is fairly reliant on the backstory created in DGDC. It might be harder to sympathize with Astrid, especially the storyline with her mother, if you haven't read the first in the series. A lot of the drama felt quite forced and I rarely felt the way I think it was intended for the reader to feel.

Astrid Parker loathes failing, more than the average person. A talented interior designer, her life is thrown into chaos when her engagement abruptly ends. Wanting to get back on the map, she's thrilled when the opportunity to design the renovation of the Bright Falls Everwood Inn. This entire event is going to be televised, and Astrid is determined to make her mark.

Enter lead carpenter Jordan Everwood. The two butt heads from their very first meeting after Jordan voices her unhappiness with the plans that Astrid has for renovating the home. They soon learn that the line between love and hate is way thinner than they ever thought, and their enemies-to-lovers vibes sends them tumbling right over it.

I love the depiction of both mental health and sexuality in this book. Astrid learns to forgive herself and give herself some grace. She doesn't need to excel at everything in her life at all times. She also learns that she is free to be herself, even if being herself means she finds her sexuality later in life.

I loved this sequel and can't wait to see what Ashley Herring Blake writes next!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinions.

Delilah Green Doesn't Care is one of my favorite romances I've read this year, and I had high expectations for Astrid Parker Doesn't Fail. I wasn't the biggest fan of Astrid in Delilah's book, but I knew she had room for growth.

This book picks up a year after the events of the first. Astrid has focused on her career, but things aren't going so well. Meanwhile, Jordan Everwood is going through her own struggles. When Pru Everwood hires Astrid and Jordan to assist with a renovation for the Everwood Inn on a reality TV show called Innside America, the two clash over a mishap (and a difference in styles). After Jordan takes matters into her own hands, the two somehow find themselves growing closer.

I found myself sympathizing with Astrid and Jordan because of their past traumas. I'm not sure I can believe that any sabotage to the level Jordan took would have gone over well, and the way things ended with the TV show made it seem like it only happened to create drama for the third act. I still enjoyed this book and felt like I flew through it, so I can't wait to read the next book in the series!

Thank you to NetGalley and Little Brown Book Group for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you Berkley Romance for providing me with an eARC in exchanged for an honest review.

Astrid's story had me swooning and kicking my feet in the air! Dare I say I loved this more than DELILAH GREEN DOESN'T CARE!? The author did such an amazing job at cultivating the relationship between Astrid and Jordan. Both women got their own time in the spotlight to work through issues within their personal life and it only made the romance better for it.

THE TENSION BETWEEN ASTRID AND JORDAN WAS KILLER. THE PAYOFF WAS SO WORTH IT. I LOVED THIS SO MUCH!!

Note - I am unable to speak to the queer representation in this novel. Particularly for Astrid since she believed herself to be straight for her entire life until she met Jordan. This is something that Astrid works through and you should read queer book reviewers' thoughts on Astrid's queer representation.